Trying For Consistency

Another one of my New Year resolutions this year is to try to be consistent.

1. Consistent with my exercise:
~3 days a week of weight training.
~I have been using Joyce Vedral's books for over 20 years now. Bottoms Up and Definition are my favorites. http://www.joycevedral.com/
~3 days a week of cardio. I love interval cardio where you vary your speeds from low to high to low to high, whether walking, running, swimming etc.
~2 days a week of yoga/pilates. Check out free yoga at www.yogatoday.com


2. Consistent with my clean-eating.
~meaning eating foods as close to their natural source as possible. No white flour, sugar, processed foods etc. Check out Clean Eating magazine at http://www.cleaneatingmagazine.com/



3. Consistent with reading to my students.
~By far, my favorite part of the day. Nothing is better than reading a book that we all enjoy. We are currently reading "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and "Prince Caspian" from The Chronicles of Narnia series. Very Exciting!



4. Consistent with my cleaning routine.
~I am still trying with FlyLady! http://www.flylady.net/



5. Consistent with keeping track of our finances.
It just feels good to be able to keep track. When we were unemployed there was NOTHING to keep track of! http://www.daveramsey.com/

So consistency is the name of my game right now. Just a little at a time. I am not trying to make a big deal about any of these things~just trying to get them in if even for 15 minutes.

Have a great day!

Getting Through Unemployment

Hei! Mita Kuuluu! (Hi! How are you!-in Finnish)

Lenny has been unemployed from his auto design job for almost 3 months now. With 8 children and a mortgage we were a little nervous at first. The company he worked for has unemployment benefits and that is a tremendous help. It also helps that we have no other debt besides our mortgage. We have followed Dave Ramsey's advice. He is our personal finance advisor. (He could be yours,too. See http://www.daveramsey.com/)

I thought I would share with you a few things I have learned from this whole experience of unemployment.

1. God provides!

2. It's a good excuse to say "no" to running the kids all over creation! (gas is money)

3. I didn't buy annual flowers for my windowboxes and borders and it's OK!

4. I can live without buying new clothes. I have plenty in my own closet!

5. It's nice having the hubby home throughout the day. Honestly, Lenny wonders how he had time to work before!

6. I am more appreciative of what we already have!

7. I have learned to look for the window God is opening for us!

8. I have realized how loving and generous people are.

10. I have learned that children are very accepting to changes when explained to them.

11. That opportunity abounds everywhere if we look for it!

Now here is a list of what I WANT to do when Lenny gets a job:

1. Get a pedicure. I've only had 2 pedicures in my whole life, the last one being in the spring and I have to tell you that I LOVED my toes! I know it's silly, but it was so much fun to have pretty toes. I have homely feet so I felt quite fancy with my pretty toes. I also teach yoga classes and I felt pretty professional with sharp looking feet! Lenny says that this gives him a whole new motivation to get a job!

2. Buy the part to our oven that's broke so I can make homemade bread! Nothing has compared to whole-grain, homemade bread with simple ingredients! I have made a whole-grain english muffin recipe that you make on a griddle, though.

3. Get all of our small kitchen appliances fixed: k-tec blender, Kitchenaid mixer, etc that I was procrastinating about even before the layoff.

4. I would still love to get to Manistee to finally do some yoga on the beach!

5. Visit L'Anse on the bay of Lake Superior one more time when my Mom and Dad are there! They make it so much fun for us and the kids! Honestly, I think they bring life to that little town!


I definitely do not want to take having a steady paycheck for granted when we finally get one. I have learned that yes, God provides and yes, a paycheck is nice and yes, we can get by on less but I have also learned that it is a gift and a privilege to live in the Land of Plenty and all the THINGS of this world are not a REQUIREMENT! We only need a childlike faith in our Heavenly Father and to keep our eyes open to what He is trying to give us and He wants to give us EVERYTHING!

Who's Throwing Money At Me When I Run?

Okay, I know this isn't a big money-making tactic, but after reading "Five Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth", I couldn't help but think that this might be a small way of 'winning in the margins' like the author mentioned. What am I talking about, you may be thinking? Well, I run down our road a few times a week and I always find money along the way. It is like someone is paying me to run. Now, I am not a professional athlete or anything, because they are not paying me much, but it never fails-I find money EVERY time! It is in the form of returnable aluminum cans. I have to bring a plastic grocery bag for all the 'money' I collect along the way. I come home from my run and tell the kids that someone is throwing money at me when I run. They are all amazed. I then put the 'money' in my 'returnable' bag in the mudroom until it is full. Free money for doing nothing but what I was going to do anyway! Amazing!

What would happen if I invested that money? Free money + investing = more free money. I do not know much about investing, but I am hoping to learn more. It is a brilliant idea!



Now, about that book! It did open my eyes to many things. It is a short book that is easy to read. The author is Richard Paul Evans, author of "The Christmas Box." I would recommend reading it. These are the 5 lessons he talks about:



1. Decide to be wealthy.

2. Take responsibility for your money.

3. Keep a portion of everything you earn.

4. Win in the margins.

5. Give back.



I hope you find some free money on your daily walks. We definitely have a lot to be thankful for!