I Peter 4:10

This verse really hit me this morning.... 


"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."   I Peter 4:10


Last Tuesday, I had several good friends go over to Mom and Dad's retirement village to help me entertain the resident's there.   It's certainly not a "glamorous" gig, but I believe that when we follow this verse, using our "gifts" to serve others, and not just to help ourselves, then we are blessed beyond measure.  There's nothing like serving others to help get yourself out of your own pity party!!  :-)  


Thank you to Deanie Richardson, Tim Buppert, Jon Vezner and Rick Huckaby for being so willing to share their gifts with Mom, Dad and their friends at Sycamores Terrace Retirement Community!!  You guys ROCK!!!  Love you all!!

God has given each of us unique talents and abilities to use for His Glory....  I pray you have the chance to use your's today!!  :-)


... now, I gotta go exercise, which is NOT one of my talents, but I'm hanging on through my experiment of sticking with exercise for the entire month of April, to evaluate the benefits in my life.  But that topic will have to wait until another posting! 


HAPPY FRIDAY!!

The "Yellowbird" Cafe...

This is my 3rd year to head down to Atlanta and play the "Yellowbird"....  our friends Fran and Rosie have a wonderful annual house concert that I always enjoy playing.  Rosie is an AMAZING chef so the food is incredible, and then we have a awesome evening playing songs, singing, laughing, eating and drinking (a little)..  LOL   

We are heading home today.... and yes, I DID get a work-out IN yesterday morning before we left for Atlanta!!  But, to be honest, whether or not I get one in today when I get home is debatable. 

April 17th

I actually WON $200!!  Whoo-hoo.... 

Now, I'm off to Atlanta for a house concert with my buddies, Greg Johnson, Rob Harris, and A.J. Masters.  Love these guys!

April 12th & 13th

Did a great work-out last night while watching DWTS... but tonight, I think I've hit a wall.  Have no desire or energy to work-out.  I've been writing like crazy, singing a bunch, and trying to keep the house from totally falling apart.  Luckily, I'm having a little break this weekend.  Hitting Metropolis with Mary and Vicky.  We always have such a relaxing time.  There is something very relaxing about sitting in front of a slot machine for hours.  I'm really not that much of a gambler.  I rarely venture away from the penny slots.  You can't win much on those, but you don't lose much either, so I figure if I can leave there with the same amount of money I showed up with, then I WON!  :-)   Can't WAIT!!!

April 10th & 11th

Got on the elliptical machine last night for about 20 minutes.  Not much of a work-out, but since I worked my bootie off cleaning my house earlier in the day, then I'm proud I did even THAT.  Have to admit that I'm starting to feel a difference.  I'm 11 days in... I've done some sort of work-out 10/11 days now (I took Easter Sunday off).  I've lost about 3 lbs and I feel more energetic.  I also feel a BIT stronger in my arms and legs.  Nothing earth-shattering, but I do feel like I'm slowly seeing the benefits.  Can't wait to see how I feel at the end of the month!

April 9th...

Wow. Wow. Wow.  

I can hardly move this morning. 

That pilates work-out kicked my ARSE yesterday. 

UPDATE:  I did manage to get a small work-out in this morning, even though I was sore.  That's 8 out of 9 days that i've done something for my body.  I'm pretty proud of that!

April 8th

Day 8 of my April work-out commitment.  I decided to mix it up a bit and did a pilates work-out.  Something I taped from FitTV.  That channel is amazing!  All KINDS of work-out routines.  Everything from cardio, pilates, yoga, kick-boxing, strength training... even belly-dancing!  Way better than hitting the boring old gym.... at least for now.

Anyway, the pilates things is much harder than it looks.  Yow!  I'm gonna be hurting tomorrow... I can tell already.  Still not "loving" working out.  Sure hoping that my desire to work-out everyday becomes stronger as I keep doing it.  Maybe when I start seeing my energy going up, feeling stronger, and hopefully my clothes fitting different, I'll develop a love for it. 

April 7th

Had light work-outs on the 5th and 6th, and the soreness in my lower back seems to be subsiding.  I'm going to try and hit it pretty hard again and see what happens.   My work-out "pattern" in the past has been to do too much too soon and injure myself.  I'm desperately trying to avoid that this time, but still continue to do some form of exercise everyday.  I gotta admit, besides being sore, I'm not noticing much of a difference in my world yet, but then again, it's only been a week, right?   

UPDATE:  Oh yeah... I did a GOOD work-out today!  Well... I should say tonight.  Didn't get a morning work-out, but I somehow got the motivation to workout this evening and hopefully it will help me get back on track. 

April 5th & 6th

Did 15 mins of cardio/weights on the 5th... doesn't sound like much, but I did something.

Now it's time for a good workout today (the 6th)..... here I go.

April 4th

Ugh.  I'm S-O-R-E....... And it's Easter Sunday.   


I really didn't think through this whole new "I'm gonna exercise every single day of the month of April" thing....  WHO exercises on EASTER SUNDAY???    Don't I get to take a day off for Easter???

Easter is about Jesus, family time, colored-eggs, bonnets, baskets and chocolate bunnies.  Not about exercise routines, right??   AND... when your muscles are really, really sore,  aren't you supposed to let them rest a day to recover?  


Hmmmmmmm......




UPDATE:  No, I didn't exercise today.  But I was really, really sore.  And did I mention that it was EASTER?!?!?!    :-)   I'll get back on the band-wagon tomorrow.  I promise.

April 3rd...

Day three of my new commitment towards getting fit.  I'm having my morning coffee and contemplating what my exercise of choice will be today.  Elliptical machine?  FitTV work out with Gilad?  Yoga?  


Does crawling up in the attic to get my spring/summer clothes down, then crawling back up to put away my fall/winter clothes count as a work-out??  :-)

UPDATE:  I worked out with Gilad... and it was a hard work-out.  My muscles were trembling for awhile afterwards.  I think I'm gonna be sore for Easter.  LOL

April 2nd...

So... I did great yesterday... not so great today.  Ate way too many carbs and didn't get a cardio workout in... but I did do some yoga and some sit-ups, so I did something.   Plus I drank alot of water, so I'm not going to beat myself up for not doing more and celebrate the little things.  


This could be a l-o-n-g month.....

April 1st...

Ok....I'm making some changes.  BIG changes.  TODAY.  And this is NOT an April Fool's joke.


I've never been a big exerciser.  I mean I've gotten on exercise "kicks" where I make a little attempt at starting a regular exercise program, but it fades pretty quickly every time.  I keep hearing all the benefits of regular exercise (lose weight, more energy, better overall health, etc...) and how "once you start exercising alot, you'll start to LOVE it because of the benefits of it."  Well, I guess I've never stayed with a program long enough to get to that "loving feeling"... but I'm going to try and commit to ONE month of serious exercise. 


 SO......the month of April is going to be the month.  The month that I really give daily exercise a chance.


Do you think that I will see a difference by May 1st?   Will I lose weight?   Will I have more energy?  Will my skin clear up?  Will my aches and pains go away?  Will my hair stop coming in gray????   Ok, ok.... I know that last question is a "No", but one can hope, right? 


I'm going to use this little blogspot of mine to keep myself accountable.  My plan is to exercise every morning before I take Sam to school.  However, I know that won't always be "do-able", so i'm going to have to exercise at night if I don't get to it in the morning.  I will be posting my progress on here.   Even if no one else but me and my mother-in-law (Hi Janet!) is reading it, at least I will be able to see my progress.  


First step... get off this computer and turn on FitTV right NOW!!   Wish me luck.....

Here is my workout instructor for the day.... did 30 minutes with him from 7:30 - 8:00am.  That's pretty good for day one, right?




UPDATE: Had a good day for day ONE of my new fitness routine.  I exercised with Gilad (see above), had fruit for breakfast, a salad w/chicken for lunch, and grilled pork chops for dinner.  THEN, I cleaned up my eliptical machine that's been sitting in my garage for two years, and made Sam and Mike move it into the sunroom so I can use the darn thing!!  I'm on my way.....