Day 141-Sleep In On Sunday Without Guilt

I love sleeping in on Sundays. It is a luxury that I have always loved and will always love. Sometimes I feel guilty for sleeping in. Like I am somehow lazy and should be up at my regular time getting stuff done. What do I need to do on a Sunday? The answer is simple, sleep! I release myself from the guilt I feel every Sunday morning for having slept until 8:00 (yep that is how late I sleep, shocking). Life is too short to worry about what others might think about me spending my Sundays in bed a little later, in my jammies a little longer and reading the paper until 12:00.

Day 140 - Stay Out Of My Kids Peer Issues

This one is pretty easy and one I am more than happy to do. It is time for me to stay out of my kids problems with friends and leave it to them to take care of it. For the most part I do stay out of things. But, once in awhile a stick my nose where it does not belong. Time for that to end. They are old enough and wise enough to take care of this stuff without their mom getting involved. Further more, I would rather stay out of it. I am not in middle school, I already survived that hell so why should I put myself right back into it? Today, I am done.

Day 139 - Only Eat When Hungry

I have a tendency to eat when I am bored, or finish everything on my plate when full. I know that these are very bad habits. I need to get into the mind set that I only eat when hungry and stop before I am full.

Today I try to start doing that. One thing I can do is leave one bite of everything on my plate when eating meals. Or when I feel the urge to eat something out of boredom, I find something else to do. Maybe take a walk of organize a closet. I really believe that when I start doing this, I will see the pounds drop off even more than they are now.

Day 138 - Make My Bucket List

I need to make my bucket list. You know that list of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket". I am not planning an early demise, but, my list of wants is so big, that I think it is time to start scratching things off my list. So, here is a my start:

1. Go to Paris

2. Go to Greece

3. Get a tattoo ( I am scared of needles, so this may not happen)

4. See the Grand Canyon

5. See the Pyramids

6. Run a marathon (I hate running, so this may be a problem)

7. Learn how to garden like my husband

8. Have ONE weekend alone in my house

9. Eat a French dinner while looking at the Eiffel Tower

10. Go to every state in the U.S.A.

11. See all 3 of my children graduate from excellent colleges

12.Live in NYC for 1 summer

13. See Journey in concert with Steve Perry, not the new guy

14. Learn how to knit

15. Take a cooking class with my husband

16. Live closer to my parents

This list is just a start, and some things will be easy to accomplish. Others, not so easy. Until the Middle East is safe for Americans, the Pyramids will be a problem. But, I have hope. Life is short. I am a very healthy person, with a lot of decades a head of me. Never the less, I don't want to waste a single moment saying maybe next time.

Day 137 - Keep The Car Clean, Or At Least Try.

With 3 kids and 2 dogs, my car can become very messy. Over the years I have gotten used to candy stuck in the carpet, endless juice box straws and a weird smell that can only come from kids. It has always seemed to me to be part of parenting. We accept that our car will become a dump. But, that mind set is starting to lose it's charm.

I really don't like driving in a dirty car and I think that the kids need to understand that they need to throw their junk away, or bring their stuff into the house when we are done driving. Contrary to the opinion of children every where, the car is not another garbage receptacle. Today, I work on changing my mind set and the kids mind set. We treat the car with some respect and keep it clean. After all, we spend a lot of time driving from place to place. It is always nicer when it is clean.

In December I paid to have it cleaned and detailed. I know that sounds like a big expense. But, keep in mind that the car I am currently driving is 7 years old. My youngest was a baby when we bought it. I had never paid for such a service, but vowed to have clean and detail the car yearly after seeing what a difference it made. For the first few weeks the kids were motivated to keep the space clean. But, as time went by, they forgot and so did I. We change that today, today we start to keep it clean.

Day 136 - Change The Strength Training Routine

Today I changed my strength training. I am sore! It was time for me to shake things up a little bit and give myself more of a challenge. Based on how my arms feel right now, I think it is safe to say, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

During this year long quest to better health, I have been exercising regularly. But, I am in a rut and tend to avoid pushing myself. I know that does not help in losing weight and making myself stronger. So, I finally gave in and will continue to challenge myself during my workouts from now on. This new mind set also applies to the cardio routine that I do daily, but with less effort than I am capable of.

In 4 weeks I am going to see my trainer again for an even tougher routine. As the year goes on, every 4 weeks will see a change. Maybe by December my arms will be a little less jiggly!

Day 135 - Teach My Kids The Value Of A Dollar

My son has started to referee soccer games on the weekends. The pay is pretty good for a 13 year old. He gets $12/game which is $12/hour. Not bad! He can sign up for as many games as he wants on the weekends. Today it dawned on him that he could easily make $100 in a weekend doing something he loves. He is motivated and ready to work. He understands that the money he earns is his, that he will be using it for movies, clothing beyond what we will buy and anything else he wants. He gets it.

My daughter wants to earn her money as well. She is babysitter certified and has made some money this month. She wants to have cash on hand, as she likes to go to the mall on the weekends with friends. We do not just give her money to burn, so often times she is there with no more than $10. She is starting to understand that if she wants to spend, she has to earn.

I think they are both learning the value of money and hard work. While we have not been great when it comes to allowance, we have made them buy things with their own money over the years for things we do not always think they need. I know they are learning because when that happens they are happy, almost proud to buy these things themselves. I am hoping this summer they have opportunity to really earn some money that they can use to help contribute to those back to school wardrobes they will be wanting. It will mean so much more to them if it is their own.