The wonderful ladies over at 5 Minutes for Mom have added my blog to their Health listing, along with an interview of Yours Truly!  What an honor to be on such a cool website that is dedicated to doing so much to help mom bloggers out there.  I really enjoy their Tackle it Tuesdays and Wordless Wednesdays.  I hope you take a minute to check them out and also check out some of the other blogs they have listed! 

Sometimes things are just good and they don’t need analyzing, explaining, deep-exploration, or extra thought.  Sometimes, life just is.  And I am enjoying that! 

I think I am at a place in my life now where I am actually just happy (gasp!).  No, everything is not perfect.  (But we all know what I discovered about being “perfect”.)  And yes, life is still life.  Laundry still needs to be done.  Dishes still waiting to be washed.  Food journal just waiting to be logged.  And To Do List is still as long as ever.  But…

I’m happy. I’m content. Life is just good.

I’d really love to bottle up this feeling and store it in my pantry for when I eventually feel differently.  But rather than do that (as if it were possible, duh) I am just going to enjoy it and be grateful. 

Grateful that I’ve been feeling this way a lot lately. 

Grateful that I am finally getting to share in my weight loss journey with my hubby now.

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So Week 1 of Domestic Weight Wars (that’s what I’m calling the battle of the bulge between me and my hubby now) is officially over!  After a week of hard work, exercise, and sweating our brains out in our North Carolina heatwave… this week’s Biggest Loser is…

ME!  YAAAAY!!!!  GO MEEEE!!!! 
(I hope hubby doesn’t tune in and see how badly I am gloating in this post.. or maybe I DO!!!)

So the official numbers are as follows:  Hubby lost a total of 2.8 pounds for the week and I lost a whopping 3.6 pounds!!!

I’m thinking my super massive huge 3.6 pounds is partly from the fact that I didn’t eat so well the two days prior to the challenge starting so some of that is probably fake weight.  But NOT ALL OF IT BABY!!!!

Yeah, I’m stoked to see that my weight losing abilities are back and that I am finally making progress again!!  My first 5k is coming up this Saturday so I am looking forward to another nice, healthy week of running and healthy eating.

Thanks for all the support!  You guys have been awesome in helping me stay motivated and focused! 

TJ’s post the other day and this article from Gail Blanke, the awesome Life Coach from Real Simple Magazine, really got me thinking about listening and how important it is for us and those around us.  This is a skill that I was born with and growing up I was always good at.  And just to clarify, I am not talking about the kind of listening where your mom says “go clean your room” and you “listen” to her and go do it.  Nope, I was never good at that kind listening.  :) 

I’m talking about the kind of listening that helps develop friendships, deepen relationships, and build trust.  The kind of listening that we do when we are genuinely concerned or care about what someone is saying. 

Growing up I always made friends with the outgoing types, because I was not.  As you probably know, outgoing types like to talk!  And what better friend for them than someone who likes to listen?!  But somewhere along the way, my listening skills literally diminished.  Let’s just say that the older I get, the more my attention span has grown shorter right along with my patience.  I swear I thought it was supposed to happen in the opposite way!  That being said, I would like to improve my listening skills.

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Wow, have I found one heck of a contest!  I just happened to stumble upon this contest from The Secret is in the Sauce… through the Eightcrazy Designs website.  So check it out, ladies from The Secret is in the Sauce are giving away A Blogger’s Survival Kit.  And oh-my-goodness, this kit includes some awesome stuff! 

Some items included in the kit are: A blog makeover by Eightcrazy Designs ($90 value), a Fuji Fine Picks Digital Camera ($150 value), Sony Digital Voice Recorder ($45 value), $15 gift card to itunes, a t-shirt from The Secret is in the Sauce, Gel Mouse Pad with Wrist Support, and to top it all off, chocolate from Trader Joe’s!! 

Go here to see the official post with all the rules for the contest and pictures of items from the kit.  The deadline to enter the contest is today so get moving people!  This contest is too awesome to pass up!

Quite honestly, our Useful Website of the Week this week is one of the most comprehensive, user-friendly, and fun weight loss websites I have found.  SparkPeople.com is the name, my friends, and if losing weight/living a healthy lifestyle is your game, then this is a must-see website.  As with many subscription based websites, you have to register (of course) to gain full access to what SparkPeople has to offer.  But if you don’t want to register, I’ll try to break it down for you as best as I can here.  Let me just say that from the moment I set my eyes on SparkPeople, I’ve been back everyday since.

Basically, SparkPeople is another weight loss website that offers all the same stuff that almost all of them do.  That would be food journaling/tracking, exercise tracking, recipes, message boards, advice, etc.  There are several things that set them apart from the pack though.  First of all, the website is visually pleasing with it’s soothing yet vibrant colors, easy navigation, and wonderful start page that packs all your necessary info into one place.  But that’s not all.  Below are several other items that I have found to be particularly cool, different, and exciting in my use of SparkPeople:

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This is my first meme tag!  Jojo tagged me last week.  I’m not sure what meme actually means so maybe someone could enlighten me?  Anyhoo, here are my answers!   

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Manager at Dairy Queen (accounts for at least 10% of the weight I need to lose!)
2. Camp Counselor
3. IT Assistant for a Law Firm in CA
4. Order Processor for a Photography Studio

What are four ways you know you are living your life’s purpose?
1. One of my life’s purposes is to be an awesome wife and mom and to strive to build a strong family.
2. To continually work on strengthening my relationship with God.  That’s where all my guidance and direction comes from.
3. To learn how to live a healthy life (mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional) and to give my daughter every opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle herself.
4. Learning how to just be.

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