525,600/year or 10080/week-How do you measure your time?

525,600 minutes.  525,000 moments so dear.  525,600 minutes- how do you measure, measure a year? (From the musical “Rent”, yeah, I’m a musical junkie)

A shout out to my pastor, Pastor Bill, you gave us a little something to think about this week.  There are 10,080 minutes in a week.  How many of those minutes do we use to serve God or just try to do something good.  Now I’m not going to go all preachy on you, not my style.  But it has set the wheels a spinning and those hamsters in my head seem to be training for a marathon. 

If you think about it, if you work 40 hours a week and let’s say you are one of the lucky few that actually gets 8 hours of sleep each night plus getting ready for work and fixing supper each night (guessing and hour for each) , that’s 6,600 minutes just working, sleeping, eating, and getting dressed.  That leaves you with 3,480 minutes of your week open to a variety of things. Now if you are a mom and have kids, that number is pretty much gone before you know it.  Plus if you are trying to get healthy and adding an hour each day to get sweaty, well there goes another 420 minutes, which brings you to 3,060 minutes filled with what is your daily normal life! (By the way, I had to use a calculator; I’m not a math whiz at all)

Isn’t funny, how we think we have all this time, and then when we take just a few moments to catch our breaths and focus on the present we realize that it goes by in a flash.  Now I work out 6/7 days a week for at least 40 to 90 minutes each time come heck or high water.  I think if I skip just one, it’s a slippery slope to skipping another, then another and before I know it, I’m back to where I started.  I know me and I know how my brain and I used to come to terms, it would “suggest” working out and eating well, and my body would agree, but the laziness genie would pop out of her bottle and somehow grant my unspoken wish and before I realized it she had granted me out of my original goal and replaced it with her easy, who cares if you can’t zip your jeans, your sweat pants still fit and you have a man, so why go through all the hassle!  That genie is tricky, because all it used to take was a few “minutes” sitting, thinking I’m going to get up and do that, and before you know it an hour has passed and you no longer have the gumption to do anything. Well that is no longer my m.o. (method of operation)

We are blessed with a new day every day! Now I will admit to you I didn’t wake up this morning singing to the birds or dancing, but I did wake up and started chatting with my kitties as they twirled around my legs acting as if I haven’t feed them in a month.  But if I don’t get up, they come and get me.  The one minute where my son, still half asleep bundled in a blanket, said, “Thanks Mom, love you too much”.  Just the one minute where my hubby decided to make me smile and gave me a kiss and wished me a good day.  Or when a co-worker gave me hug or is always willing to supply me with any goodies I desire in order to make my day a little better.  This is not something that takes a lot of time.  Minutes, sometimes, only seconds to smile or hug someone and to you it’s just a minute, to the person who receives it, it’s so much more.

I think everyone “deserves” to feel like they matter!  I smile to people I don’t know, I wave to people at the stop lights and have even had the impromptu dance off at stop lights, which I have to tell you was a surprise but extremely fun (and if you catch me jamming to my tunes in my car, feel free to wave and honk and even hold up a napkin with the number 10 on it to tell me how awesome my car dancing is).  I talk to people on elevators and smile to those I pass on the sidewalk and on more than one occasion I’ve been known to strike conversations with complete strangers in the grocery line only to leave them with a smile because let’s face it, I’m quite the conversationalist and love to leave on a laughing note.

So even though our days are filled with kids, work, commitments, sports, working out, and life in general, sometimes if we just take a MINUTE out of the 10,080 we get each week and chose to use it on someone else, just because, not expecting anything in return, we gain so much in return.  I know some of you are out there saying, “I don’t have a minute to spare?”  Seriously you don’t have a minute to spare to smile at someone, wish them Good Morning, tell them they look nice, hold open a door, wave, send a text, give a hug, or just say hey?  Well it has taken you more than 2 minutes to read this blog, and I’m willing to have you sacrifice reading the rest of it in order for you to look up from your device of choice, and smile or say Good Day to someone!

As someone who has lost many people close to me from a young age, I know too well that time is short.  And there are only so many minutes in day, a week, and a year.  So I love that you take time out of your busy schedules to read my rantings.  I realize it only takes you a few minutes, but when I see how many have viewed my blog, I’m elated.  When you take your “minute” to tell me in person how much you love to read them, I’m through the stratosphere. So you see just by you reading this, you are giving me a minute of your time and YOU are giving me happiness!  Which makes me want to write more and make you smile, so you can see the amazing circle of goodness that can be created.

So make every minute of your day count!  Time is free, but it’s priceless.  You can’t own it, but you can use it.  You can’t keep it, but you can spend it.  Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.

So I wish you a peachy rest of your week.  I hope all your minutes are filled with happiness and hope.

Until next time my friends!!!!

From 60 degrees to 12 inches of Snow to Topless in Iowa

I think Iowa weather is a lot like my weight.  You go through the seasons and you get a little bit of encouragement (ie dropped pounds, or 60 degree weather with lots of sunshine) and then Karma/Mother Nature throw a curve ball at you to test your patience.  Tomorrow through Saturday we are "predicted" to get from 9 to 14 inches of snow in the area.  That's like stepping on the scale on Monday and seeing a 5 pound loss and then stepping on it on Wednesday and it shows you gained 10 pounds.  Makes no sense whatsoever, right!  But if we wanted our weather to be constant and never changing we would live in California or Arizona.

I did a little undergarment shopping for the upper half of my torso, also known to most as bra shopping this weekend.  Now the last time I actually went to try on bras, not sports bras, I'm almost embarrassed to say, but it has been many, many years. Now I'm not much on frilly and would much rather just put on a sports bra and call it a day.  Sure I might have a uniboob but under a sweatshirt, who the heck will ever know.  So on a mission with my amazing daughter, Savannah, and our mission that we chose to take on, FIND MOM NEW BRAS!

Have you ever tried to find bras?  This is a baffling part of the clothing industry.  How can something that basically consists of the least amount of fabric cost so much? Why can't it be simple? Now I googled, pinterest, and internet searched for ways to find the correct fitting bra, and they all had their own ways of figuring your size.  But at the end of each one, it would say, "Though measurements are helpful, the best way to find a bra that fits correctly is to try it on".  Which was helpful but a bit discouraging.  But I measured and had a general idea of what I was getting myself in for.

So into the store we go and a beeline to the lingerie department.  Now maybe some of you are blessed with just enough to make you happy, but unfortunately I have more than a handful to try to keep above the equator.  Now I would love to get a cute little bra that has polka dots and lace and cute little straps, but in order to keep my girls from defecting, we needed to call in the National Guard of Bras.  So after picking about 8 different bra styles and cups and alternating sizes, I went on to the dressing rooms to try each on and find the mystical thing called the "Perfect Fitting Bra"

Now I'm not much of an exhibitionist, ok maybe a little bit in my youth, but being topless for a long period of time in a dressing room can #1 be a bit awkward #2 kind of chilly and #3 made me wonder how do exotic dancers do this for a whole shift and bounce around also.  I have a new respect of those ladies, I couldn't do it.  Anyway after trying on bra after bra after bra, I was getting discouraged.  Either it fit at the band but the cups were too big, or the straps were uncomfortable and one even made me look like I was going to do a music video for Madonna in the 80's.

So after narrowing down the size I kind of needed, another bout to the aisles we head and load up on more to try on.  Now this store has about 8 dressing rooms all in a line.  When no one is in a room the door is open, when someone is occupying a room the door is closed.  Pretty easy system to follow.  Well while enjoying my topless venture and of course, while I was in between fittings, silly me thought the lock on the door worked.  Without a dinner invitation, a promise of marriage, a piece of jewelry or a how do you do, in walks some lady with a handful of shirts to try on.  All I could do was wave and flash a smile, while she looked me directly in the chest region, not my eyes. Which I will take as a compliment, since she seemed to be dazzled by my impressive ability to stand there and not scream bloody murder at her.  Then she quickly shut the door and apologized.  By this time, I was secretly laughing to myself.  So out of curiosity I waited a moment and then put on a top and stepped out.  Out of the 8 dressing rooms, mine was the only one with the door closed, besides the one my fan just walked into.  So this lady must be stalking me, it's the only explanation I can come to since, she had 7 other rooms to choose from, but she chose to open mine!

Savannah laughed at me when I told her.  But she kept an eye out for her for the rest of the day just in case.  I hear stalkers can be a bit of nuisance.

So 4 bras and 4 sports bras were purchased.  This is a huge accomplishment on my part as I promised to throw away all my old bras when I got home, because to be honest, most of them are too big and stretched out and should have been replaced when Bush was in the White House, George W, not his dad.

So it was a successful trip, and after wearing them for a few days, it is nice to have them not laying but actually being supported.  And I have to admit, it was a bit freeing to be topless for that long a period of time, but think I will wait until retirement and sieze the day and go to a nude beach with my best friends like that Walgreen's commercial.  And those that have vacationed with me, I promised to buy a VAT of Sunscreen, I'll buy the spray kind so you don't have to help me rub it on.  I'm that nice of a friend.

So on this weight loss journey I'm having to HAVE TO buy myself new things.  This is not a selfish act but more out of necessity than anything.

Another milestone done and am happy to say that I was happy with my purchases, not only did I buy one and get one half price but got another 35% off my total purchase, so my timing was excellent.  But to be honest it seems like a lot to spend on a small patch of fabric, guys don't spend $40 on one set of underwear, so why do us ladies have to.  Another mystery of the shopping industry I will never understand.

So I raise my glass to the things that surprise us, to the people who help us laugh about them, and to those that love us even though the weirdest things only seem to happen to us.

Be safe my friends and bundle up for the storm that is brewing.  I'm excited for the snow, but I know I'm in the minority, but look forward to some snuggle time with those I love.

Thanks for reading and have a peachy day!!!!

Valentines Day-Day of Love or Day of Torture!

Yes, it's the day after Valentines Day and I'm proud to say I did very well but I didn't think I was going to make it.  Valentine's Day has been kind of an extra day for me since my wedding anniversary is 3 days before, so I don't expect much on this day, plus I'm extremely lucky to be with someone who makes me feel loved every day.  I got flowers from my daughter and my son made me cookies.  And my hubby gave me him.  Ok enough mush, back to my thought.
This is a day when flowers and candy are a given, in fact, it's the second biggest chocolate holiday behind Halloween, which means it ranks very high in the "holy crap, do I have the willpower to get though this day" emotion.
Everywhere I turned on this day there was candy handed to me.  Tossed around like it was on fire.  I would stare longingly at the shiny red wrappers and smell the chocolatey goodness inside.  Every corner I took someone was offering me chocolate.  They were being polite but in my mind it was a cosmic sabotage that perhaps Miss Karma was testing my commitment.  Well she wasn't going to win, at least I was determined not to give in and let her win.  I'm slightly competitive like that.
So despite baracading myself in my office for the day in order to avoid all the temptation surrounding me, my precious son, Spencer, wanted to do something for his Mom and Dad for Valentines and made homemade chocolate chip cookies (see that chocolate thing keeps creeping up on me).  He forgot that his Dad and I don't eat cookies at this time, but that it was super sweet of him to make us cookies.  Now to look into those big blue eyes and say that we weren't going to eat his cookies was enough to break even Hercules.  What kind of cold hearted mother would deny their wonderful, caring, thoughtful child of eating one of his creations made with his own two hands all by himself and he even cleaned up and did all the dishes after?
The answer to that question, ladies and gentlemen, is ME! Call me a monster, heck, give me a scarlett letter to wear on my chest with an H, for horrible, uncaring mother of the year.  I gave him a hug, told him he was the best kid ever but I knew from the heavenly smell of them and all the chocolate chips staring at me that if I started with one I don't think I could stop myself from eating more.  My Spencer is the greatest and he decided to put 4 cookies in the foodsaver and put in the freezer for the day I did decide I could actually eat them.  I'm lucky to have a great kid!  He also froze a piece of his confirmation cake from September for me too, it's still in the freezer by the way, but it looks delicious.
Anyway, the funny part is, while my husband and I were in the kitchen at 8:00 last night and he had a craving for something sweet, he went for his yogurt, I'm not a yogurt fan, so I joked that if he just crumbled a cookie in it, it would probably taste better.  He in turn said, "I'll split one with you, and I will crumble it in my yogurt".  The love of my life was willing to cheat on his diet and basically was promising not to tell a sole of our transgression.  But I give him a big kiss and and hug and told him nice try, but NO!  Eat your yogurt and I walked away, secretly kicking myself in the backside for being such a stubborn chick but deep down a little proud of myself for not caving.  It's so easy to cave if you have a partner willing to do the crime with you and excuse the expression "hide the body so no one knows".  A good cover up person is hard to find.  Not that I've needed a cover up person, But should I ever need one, it's good to know I have one handy that sleeps next to me.
So did you survive on love or chocolate yesterday?  Lucky for me, I chose LOVE.  Love for my goals, love my progress, and love for myself.  Though I have to admit it was not easy in any sense of the word.  In fact, I unwrapped a chocolate and was devilishly close to popping it in my mouth, when a small voice deep down whispered, "do you want to do 250 squats and 100 crunches just to work off this tiny little piece of chocolate?  Just the thought of all the exercise to work off this very small bite of heaven was enough for me to put the wrapper back on and say no thank you.  Also I really am not a huge fan of squats and crunches.  I do them often, but not my fave to do, that's a struggle for a different post.
So another holiday survived, though there were some close calls.  But waking up without a ring of chocolate wrappers around my body and not suffering from a sugar coma this morning was an extreme high.
So if you kind of fell off the wagon yesterday, give yourself a "get out of jail free" card and move forward.  Today is a new day and each day is a fresh start.  They say every journey begins with a single step and every kiss begins with k.  Ha ha just had to throw that in there.
So keep your chin up and your heart light for we are the champions, my friend, and we'll keep on fighting til the end!!!! (Any Queen fan's out there, shout out to you)
Thanks for reading and a peachy day to all!

February-A Short Month Full of So Much

February is the month of groundhogs, love, presidents, and this year the Super Bowl.  That a lot of things to cram pack into such a small month.  But February is small but mighty.  The groundhog decided 6 more weeks of winter was our destiny and if you live in Iowa that could easily stretch to 10 weeks but the forecast for this week seems to be giving us a little hope.

I'm a winter person.  I like the snow and the cold, the ice, not so much! But you take the good with the bad.  I think one of the reason I liked the cold was because it was ok to wear your baggy sweaters and sweatshirts.  If you gained a pound or two or thirty, no one was the wiser until spring.  Then all heck broke loose and you had to try to stuff all that extra winter body into your spring/summer attire from the year before and nothing is more depressing then trying on a swimsuit. Especially after a long winter and you have no resemblance of any sort of a tan and if there wasn't a roof on the store they could spot my white flesh from the space station.  If you are a person who enjoys trying on swimsuits, then I tip my hat to you, because this is something that is dreaded every year, in my opinion, by most women, me in particular!  But guess what, that is a bridge I will have to cross in a few months, because, ta daa, my old suit literally falls off my body.  Who knew eating healthy and exercise could work!  Why am I talking swimsuits in February?  Because the stores love to jump the gun and bring out seasonal things a full season before you will need them and I find this hilarious because I saw a swimsuit with valentine hearts on it.  Now I can see a need for this in California or Florida, but Iowa???? But hey, who am I to tell big business how to run.  I buy a swimsuit once every 10 years so guess I'm not the demographic they are trying to hit!!!!

Valentine;s Day is just around the corner, but for me February marks my 28th year as a married woman!  On February 11th at 5:30 p.m. I will have been Mrs. Jeff Jacobs for 28 years.  This is a huge accomplishment I think.  But in all honesty, it has flown by.  I have been married more years than I was single.  My husband is funny and handsome and is the reason my heart beats.  Don't get me wrong, we love each other but there are those moments in time when you watch multiple tv shows on "how to kill your spouse" on ID and think maybe this information might come in handy one day. In fact, my hubby jokes when I'm watching a marathon of shows of this nature, that perhaps the children should test his food first before he eats it.  I told him he was safe until he notices I'm purchasing large quantities of lye and purchase a new shovel.  So I think he's safe for awhile, I hate going to the hardware store and looking for new shovels and lye is heavy!!!!

But one of my loves this month is ZUMBA!  This is a class that after 60 minutes of exercise, I literally have sweat through my clothes.  The thing is, it doesn't feel like 60 minutes.  Ever been on the treadmill and you keep looking at the time and you just keep counting down until you are done.  In Zumba, you have no acknowledgement of time.  When that first song starts you get sucked in by the beat.  For me it's a mass concentration on what to do with my feet and hands at the same time trying to do the moves to the beat of the music while also being persuaded by our instructors (Miriam and Jill) to whoop and holler all while trying to breathe.  Now I have never proclaimed to a great dancer, heaven to mergatroid, I'm excited to just bounce around to the beat.  And I'm a great multitasker, but when it comes to multitasking my body, I'm a bit of a spaz!  But hey, I am a Zumba Spaz and proud of it.  I give it 110% and leave feeling happy and exhausted but enlightened all at the same time.  The ladies I have the privilege to spend pretending like I'm Beyonce or Jennifer Lopez, make me smile and are a big reason I love this class!

So not much to report on the weight front, waiting until the 19th to weigh in, but may break down and have a small treat on the 11th, because after 28th years, I think I deserve a little celebration treat for being with the best guy ever.

So whether your team won in the Super Bowl (by the way the Patriots won if you haven't heard), you have someone to hug and kiss on Valentines Day, you bundled up your coat and decided that groundhogs are odd animals to predict the weather, or you get a day off for President's Day, I hope each day you remember that it's a new day and anything can happen.  How do you want today to turn out?  I pep talk to myself a lot and sometimes it becomes a barroom brawl with all my multiple voices in my head, but with the exception of the diva in my head that has a sweet tooth, the rest of them are on my side and I have to remember that it really is all up to ME!

You are worth it!  There is no other you like you!  And in my case, that probably is a good thing.  Don't think the planet can handle two of me, could be a job for the Avengers should something that earth shattering happen!  But hey, if I get to be swooped up by Captain America and maybe watch as Thor does pushups all while quoting poetry to me, then maybe I'm for this twin thing.

Have a great day my friends and remember each day is a gift!  Open it and see what amazing things are in store for you!!!!

Until next time, thanks for reading!!!!