Over on EEE

Hey everyone!

I hope to get back on schedule soon. Things with the internet have been a bit crazy here at the hotel in Hawaii. Want to hear the "good" news? We're stuck here until the beginning of March. Yeah...four more weeks. Ugh!

Anyway, I have been trying to keep up with my other obligations. As such, you can find me of at Encourage. Empower. Extend. where I spout wise sayings about love and foundations. Yep. WISE.

FORGOT TO ADD WEBSITE ADDRESS: http://encourageempowerextend.blogspot.com

In the meanntime, here's a couple beach pics for you to drool over. Muahaha...

(Late) Goals 2011

So, exactly how much thought did I give my goals for 2011 over the last two days? About five minutes.

Quit laughing.

Actually, I only gave them about five minutes of thought because I already knew what most of them were going to be. I just needed to figure out how to phrase them in the “proper” way. There’s a proper way, you ask. Yes, yes there is.
Goals need to have the five W’s and the H. You learned them in school, and here they’re popping up again.

Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How?

Who: Who is doing this? Is it just you? A family goal? A goal with a business partner?

What: Be specific when making a goal. It shouldn’t be I want to lose weight. It should be I want to lose ten pounds.

When: Give yourself a deadline. Without a deadline, we are more inclined to procrastinate. I want to lose ten pounds by June 1st.

Where: Is not always applicable, but sometimes with the “how” you need a where. Like maybe for a weight loss goal you need a gym.

How: We are more apt to stick with goals if we have a plan. If we leave the goal as just that, it kind of hangs out there—mocking us. Yes, goals can be evil like that. Again, be as specific as possible. I want to lose ten pounds by June 1st by sticking to a 1500 calorie diet and going to the gym three times a week.

I saved “Why” for last because I think it is the most important, and the least thought about. Why are you setting this goal? You feel it is important enough to actually set as a goal, a commitment, but why? Going back to the weight loss, there are many possibilities—health, feel better about how you look, keep up with kids, envy, embarrassment…whatever it is, if you nail the reason, you’ll have that metaphoric yellow, polka-dot bikini.

So, short summary—be specific and go deeper, set deadline and a plan. One more big thing—make sure the goal is attainable, but also challenges you. If it’s too out there, you won’t follow through, and if it’s too easy, either it won’t stick or, again, you won’t follow through.

My goals? So glad you asked…

I want to lose twenty pounds by June 21st (my anniversary), and then another ten by the end of the year. I am going to follow my diabetic diet and walk/workout at least four times a week. I want to lose weight so that I can keep up with my kids and feel better about myself, knowing I’m taking care of me.

I will write at least 500/day, six days a week (excluding Sundays), by using my free time more productively. These words can be my novels, blogs, or articles—as long as it’s something other than emails and Facebook updates. I want to develop a routine that becomes second nature to me so that I can better my craft.

I will follow Flylady.net’s routines to the letter for six months in my home. I am a crazy housekeeper and I need to change my ways so that I’m not embarrassed when someone appears at my door unannounced. Hopefully, by the end of six months, some of it will be ingrained in my thick skull.

Those are my top three. What about you? What are your goals for 2011? Let’s keep each other accountable. I will revisit my goals (and yours) in three months to see where we are and what changes may need to be made.

*GASP* That’s right. You can CHANGE your goals because life sure doesn’t stay the same!

New Year, Really?

You know what happens when you move? If your not careful, you lose all ability to tell time. Yep. I'm sure it's a proven fact. Somewhere. On the web.

So, it occurs to me that it's already 2011 and I really haven't thought much about my goals for the year. I know, I'm SO behind. I mean, I know I want to lose some weight (hello, I'm IN Hawaii). I know I need to finish Dividing Spirits so I can move on the next novel in the series. I know there are probably several other things that I'm forgetting.

Time just gets away from me sometimes. Part of the reason I haven't considered my goals too seriously yet is that I am an organized person (usually), and right now my life is total chaos.

I live in a hotel room with two rambuncious (but cute!) preschoolers, a feisty and demanding seven-month-old, and an equally exhausted and frustrated husband. We don't know what exactly is happening with my husband's job, we're trying to get out of getting screwed over by the housing department, and I'm trying to "manage" the daily stuff like homeschooling, cleaning, writing without all the stuff we're used to having around.

Obviously, I don't thrive in chaos.

Anyway, the best way to beat the blues is to get on top of them. Be proactive. Take and running start and LEAP. Weeeeeeee...and see where you land.

So.

On Friday, come back to see what I come up with for my goals. I'll also probably go ahead and post last year's goal post for those of you who don't know all about "setting goals". There is a formula. It works. Most of the time.

Happy Hump Day! See ya right before the weekend. God bless!

A Small Hop to Hawaii

My how time flies when you’re moving! I can’t believe it’s the new year already—and we’re in Hawaii. If you’ve never moved over the holidays (or with the Army), let me tell you, it’s quite the experience. I’ve never done an “overseas” move with the military before, and there’s a lot that goes with it—from figuring out how to get your vehicle to where you’re going, to planning the best way for you and your family to get there in one piece (i.e. not throwing your hubby out of the plane at 28,000 feet).

Our entire journey was quite the…um…yeah.

As you all know, we took thirty days to visit our families before we made the little hop to Hawaii. Originally, our plan was to fly out of Virginia after visiting with my family—but the Army wouldn’t pay for that, and if we paid for the tickets and got reimbursed, we would have been out a thousand bucks. So…we had to make our way back to St. Louis. There was this whole vehicle situation b/c our van was already on its way to Hawaii, so all we had was our car, which my sister in Virginia was buying. With a little give and take, we ended up taking our car to my in-laws, who then followed us to St. Louis with the plan to take the car back with them and meet up with my sister at a later date.

So, we get to St. Louis on Saturday to stay the night because our flight left at 10:25 on Sunday. At about 12:45 in the morning, my husband gets a automated phone call saying that our connecting flight to Dallas was canceled. What!? (Side note: We had to get to Hawaii on Sunday because hubby had to be at work Monday morning) We spent the next hour on the phone trying to reach American Airlines—only to find that their computers were down. Call back later.

The next morning we call again. The nice agent was able to get us on a flight to LAX and then on to Hawaii. Great! Problem? It leaves in two hours—and we’re not packed (nor have we had breakfast). Rush, rush, rush—we make it to the gate with twenty minutes to spare.

This is the first flight for all my children. They survived the four and a half hour trip to LAX with little trouble. Some fighting there at toward the end, but nothing too major. Well, except for the constant complaining about being hungry, but who could blame them. We didn’t have breakfast. Did you know that American Airlines does not serve complimentary snacks? Not even peanuts! Grrr…

When we got up above the clouds though, Kyra asked me, “Are those clouds?”

“Yes.”

A big smile crossed her face. “Where’s God?”

Then we had a five hour layover at LAX. Oh boy… During this time I discovered a huge whole in my pants, and I’m not kidding when I say huge. I was so embarrassed I wore my jacket tied around my waist. Yeah. The girls were getting antsy having to wait all that time. We made a few trips to the restroom, but mostly, while our gate was empty, I let them run around. May not have been very proper of me, but I know how energetic my kids are.

The second flight, the girls slept most of the way. Connor, however, was just fussy, fussy, fussy. I think he was getting tired of being cooped up all day. Car seat, stroller, car seat again… So everyone got to sleep, except for me. Again, they didn’t have any complimentary snacks as we flew over dinnertime. I don’t think I’m so much a fan of American Airlines.

At last, we make our decent into Hawaii and it’s dark out. How’s that for fun? We spend about an hour waiting on our ride, and finally arrive at the inn where we’re staying at like 11:30. This is when we find out that, instead of a suite like we hoped, we’re staying in an hotel room. A hotel room for up to 60 days—with 3 kids, 3 energetic kids. Yes, I’m counting Connor because he’s crawling and getting into everything.

Anyway, hubby goes to the convenience store to get us some dinner (finally!) Just as he returns to the room, the electricity on like half the island goes out. Did I ever mention my girls are afraid of the dark? *sigh* Everyone to bed…

When the electricity went out, all the lights were on, as well as the TV. Three hours later, when everyone was asleep, the power came back on—along with everything else. Yeah…I needed the whole next day to recover.

Then it rained. And rained. And rained. Rained so much at one point, the hotel started to flood and they put sandbags in front of our door. Luckily, we’ve had an afternoon or two of sun to let the kids get out a bit, and on Saturday it was just gorgeous. We got out and did some exploring. Next? The beach…if the weather holds out.

On a completely different subject. You have to check out the new blog I'm writing for with one of my blogging friends. It's a website for women about getting back to the basics of life and remembering who we are as women beyond what society says.

Encourage. Empower. Extend.