The birds are singing and brilliance of color fills the view from any window I look. It's a joy and blessing to know the alarm won't need to be set for bit. It wasn't until last night when I deleted all my notifications that I realized I was exhausted and needed a break. Once again my family saw it before I did. I slept in until 6 a.m. this morning, which is an hour and half later than normal.

I contemplated grabbing my Bible and sitting on the deck yet the insurmountable piles of disorganization and chaos surrounding me in every room I walked motivated me to get-r-done. I know myself too well, I would not focus on my reading, the birds singing, or the beauty around me until I have control of the interior of our home. Although I've never watched "Hoarders", our house isn't as bad as episodes my friends have talked about BUT it's the worst I've ever let it go. Hubby doesn't mind but my mother and grandmother would be mortified, this is bad, even for the relaxed in spirit and mind. I've got some work to do before enjoying the deck.

We have enjoyed the deck the past few evenings. Our trusty little grills works great yet thanks to my Dad, a sweet grill will be taking it's place. We're keeping this one for traveling and such because there isn't anything wrong with it.

An added joy of our deck is the opportunity to sit, technology free, and visit with family and friends. With the size and ease of today's cellular devices and assorted technological devices, it is difficult to get away. Our deck is the tech-free-get-away. I look forward to regaining our "home" inside so I can chillax outside with no worries and lists on the inside. 

Some people are gifted to forget about the piles within the house and simply enjoy the beauty and serenity of the deck. I have never been wired this way yet I've grown in the sense that prior to January 2019, I would have chosen sleep deprivation over the messy house. 

As I focus on "renewal" of my spiritual, physical, and emotional health...letting things go and prioritizing are necessary. As I type this I realize it is nearly hypocritical as I should have sat on the deck this morning instead of tackling the piles yet organizing at least one area inside allowed me to enjoy ten minutes outside that I couldn't have thinking about the magnitude of things to do. Life is learning the balance, understanding who we are, how we are wired, and accepting these things. We can't change who we are. If you accept the way you are made and wired, it's easy to keep the important things above the line while letting the not-so-important go. Give it a try.

I'm a planner, there are always lists. As I look forward to the short summer, there are things I'd like to do. They will uplift my spirits, renew my spiritual health, continue a healthier life style, and relaxation of both body and mind.

Here are a few things:
*Walk outside 4x a week
*Continue eating healthy
*Finish weeding the gardens at home
*Finish weeding the rock walkway in our backyard
*Weed the Heidi Allen Remembrance Garden 
*Attend a week long writers' conference
*Rebrand so the blog, podcast, writing, & speaking mesh 
*Update the budget
*Purge stuff we don't use or need
*Clean, I mean CLEAN the house (including the windows, lol)

If you want to buy this book, of course I'll appreciate the book sale but before you run out and buy multiple copies, let me warn you. It's a short book full of lines, it's a journal. I haven't put the words in there, YOU NEED TO BE THE CREATIVE GENIUS and write yourself. Some have been let down when they saw this book because they thought it was a small book on wisdom to help them journal but instead, it's a journal sized to fit in your purse or bag to capture the ideas floating around in your mind. It's an inexpensive journal that can go with you each day. Happy writing!​

I went to the gym bright and early this morning before meeting friends at Dunkin Donuts. The gym was quiet and I started my work out the same as usual, thirty minutes of cardio and then hit the machines for a full-body workout. Instead of ending with more cardio I attempted a couple of the exercises my new trainer, Brandon, showed me. One is your basic plank and the other used the TRX.

Here's the deal, the last time I planked I was able to hold myself up for about five or ten seconds BUT on Thursday when Brandon asked me to plank for the preliminary assessment, I held myself up for 30 seconds! Woo Hoo! As my arms were shaking nearing the thirty second mark, I was shocked. When Brandon said, "done"...I was thrilled and couldn't contain myself. It's good to celebrate our success, small and large. 

In January I started the journey to healthy eating, incorporating exercise, and changing my lifestyle with the help of Dr. Jack Kunkel's knowledge. Six months later I've taken another step and invested in a trainer. I know Thursday's blog asked what you are investing in. In my choice of health, there have been a lot of changes. Up until this past Thursday, none had induced fear. 

The TRX, Brandon, and falling backwards equal fear. 

I have choice to make...Do I face this fear for the sake of health or ask for a different exercise to work the same muscles? 

Hmm...What's a woman to chose? Be sure to check back next week and see what direction I go...forward or backward? I'm thinking either way is forward...

This past January I worked with Dr. Jack Kunkel to improve my health. He shared his knowledge with me, along with weekly check-ins to step up my goals and not let me settle or give up. It was a positive experience, the only negative was the distance between Jack and myself. Although the phone calls still proved to be beneficial, I wasn't gaining all I could.

The greatest obstacle I faced was to start exercising. Once I started though, it's been an easy and forward-moving journey. I have a lot to learn so six months later, we've invested in a personal trainer. Brandon is wonderful. My daughter and I signed up together, I paid the money and took a deep breath.

It's a basic started package, or something like that. We had our first session today. We didn't get into the actual plan or training yet but sat and answered questions about our eating & exercise habits, likes & dislikes, and a range of other things. Similar to the questions I answered in January. I felt good to be able to answer so differently. It was an eye opener and I realized I have been working hard and doing good things and made gains. Gains shown in better health, sleeping, and skin...not on the scale.

The difference with this new investment is it's to teach me how not only to eat and drink healthier but specific exercises to increase strength, balance, and endurance. In order to figure out our individual "plans", Brandon had us do different exercises and such. As he asked us to do certain things, we would each laugh out loud at different times because of our comfort levels. It was fun and I look forward to learning more, improving my health, and the thing I look forward to the most is spending time with my daughter in the process and doing this together. I'm sure we'll but heads a time or two (per session, lol) but we'll be bonding and learning together.

This has been a busy week. On Monday I had the honor to present this year's Empower Federal Credit Union's Heidi Allen Scholarship recipient with their scholarship. Heidi's love of education, sports, and family coupled with her drive to help others is represented through this opportunity for students transitioning from high school to college. It's the first year Empower asked the family to present the award and we are grateful and honored. I pray the students receiving the scholarship embrace their college experience and remember to always be there for their friends and family as they achieve their academic goals. Heidi's memory is alive and her priorities will be remembered thanks to Empower.

Thursday, Friday, and today were spent at the Ride for Missing Children in the Mohawk Valley. The staff and volunteers at the center, the hundreds of volunteers serving on steering committees, and the community have raised awareness and funds all year. The actual day of the bicycle ride is a symbol of hope and determination. Children receive education at school.

Families and strangers come together to remember Sara Ann Wood and all the missing children while spreading awareness and hope so no more children will  be kidnapped and exploited. We look forward to this event every year and are grateful for the outpouring of support. Families of the missing are always overwhelmed and grateful. We travel this journey because we have to.

​The participants, volunteers, and communities involved come alongside us out of love, hope,  and compassion. It's a beautiful thing to experience. Thanks to all who make this weekend of hope a reality. You encourage, inspire, and lift us up!

A few years ago I started writing down the things I wanted to do, you know, goal setting. Through this process I decided to put it into book format. I shared it with a couple friends and they asked for a copy. After their feedback I decided to release it for purchase. There are a couple reviews on Amazon.com already but if you have this book or purchase it after reading today's blog, would you mind leaving a review. Your reviews help authors, and future readers, more than you might know. Depending on the number of reviews a book receives, Amazon will promote the book and add it to "suggested book" lists for other readers based on your review. How neat is this? 

As you look forward and set your goals, this might be a tool and resource to help you on this journey. Thank you for checking it out.