On Our Ornery Acres

What a treasure!  The Big Book of Earth and Sky, is simply amazing!  It's like no book you've ever seen, unless you own the Big Book of History, of course.  The Big Book of Earth and Sky is not your everyday "flip through the pages" kind of book.  It's a multi-sensory experience.  The hardbound book is really an holder for the 15 ft poster that can be read like a book, or stretched out and put on the walls of your schoolroom, playroom, living room, or anywhere you'd like to explore.

The limits of Earth and space exploration become endless once you open the first page.  Dates, facts, and beautiful pictures and illustrations make learning coming alive as students gain knowledge about everything that makes up our Earth.  The sea, the sky, the soil and more. There are detailed charts that come alive next to wonderfully detailed information.  We've loved spilling over the who book, end to end.

New Leaf Publishing describes this wonder as a way to "Let your child take an exciting, visual journey from Earth's core to the edge of the outer atmosphere!"  And, that's exactly what is does.  My kids haven't stopped asking to read it every day since it arrived.  To make it even more interesting and fun to learn, there's even a teacher's guide to prompt questions and give references to other texts for use to expand the learning experience.

New Leaf Publishing has given us another beautifully crafted resource that appeals to all ages and levels. If you've got anyone in your life who's interested in Earth science, this is the book for them!  You can find it here http://tinyurl.com/c9ya66j

**** Our family received this item in exchange for an unbiased review*****

We all face it at some point...the I need to get in better shape idea. OK, maybe some people don't like amazing workout gurus, and lifelong fitness enthusiasts.  NOT!  Not all, but most of them, have a the I was overweight and decided to do something about it story.

All that said, the journey continues.  I wasn't going to document this, but somehow I feel I must.  My brain says I need the accountability and my body knows it... so here it is... I'm not going to give me starting weight, I'm not going to cry over bad days,I'm not going to drone on about how sick I feel or crappy things are when I can't get them done.... Alright, maybe a little bit, but I try to keep it positive and keep it going.  What I am going to do is try and work through all of this weight loss, get fit stuff an look for a little support on the way.

Soooo, here goes. The back story.  I was a gym rat, a looong time ago.  I worked out near fanatically, I ate majorly healthy.  It helped that when I was a kid we lived next door to a health food store, and my mom was friendly with the owner.  At the time, health food stores were considered weird and even bordered on being hippie outposts that were only frequented by people who wanted to eat grass and smoke it.  Seriously, that's what a lot of people thought.  Fast forward to meeting a guy who loved eating healthy, working out and good music. Done! Married him!  We were the goofy people who took a cooler of brown rice and veg on canoe trips while everyone else drank beer and at hoagies.  We had cool little snack packs full of fruits and veggie treats and natural flavored water.  Ahhh, those were the days... NOT!  I came from a family where, although I ate healthy with my mom, at my grandparents' and assorted aunts' and uncles' houses the food was AMAZINGLY delicious, and oh so not good for you.  did I mention it was AMAZINGLY delicious?  I have extended family who KNOW HOW TO COOK, and they taught me all they know.  I can churn out a ham dinner with all the trimmings guaranteed to satisfy and definitely add to your waistline.  Do I want to cook that same meal in a healthy way? Um, yep, sure, go with that... not really, if I'm honest.  Do I want to get back to some semblance of me, at a healthy level? Yes, for sure I do!

I knew how to eat healthy, exercise and all that, and I lived it pretty well for a long time... Then working full time, working out and running the rat race constantly I fell into the trap that most of us face.  It became easier to just do the fast food, diner, restaurant thing at work, rather than pack a meal.  It became easier to say, 'I'll work out tomorrow when I have the time.'  Well, tomorrow never came, or when it did, I was too darn tired to do anything about it.  I would up doing the, Weight Watchers see-saw and lost weight only to get pregnant with my first and gain it all back.  Lost it again when I had my second, thank God for breastfeeding!  Then fast forward 10 years and I've got 45lbs hanging around that I can't stand! 

Soooooo, here goes my dedication! Here goes my life change!  I actually started a week ago, but I didn't have a chance to document this...  If I'm honest, I'd love to lose 45lbs and then some.  That's the marker goal.  The immediate goal is to get back to healthy without compromise, no matter how little or much I lose.  I began tweaking changes in my overall eating and worked out 3 times last week.  My goal is to workout daily 5-6 days/week (not like I used to though, which was 2 hours in the gym and another 30-60 minutes as often as I could fit it into my schedule, did I mention my gym rat status?) and eat better.  One of my favorite sites is

they have fantastic encouragement, tips and recipes!  Today I'm making homemade protein bars to add to my arsenal.  Check out their site and get fit, if that's your thing.
OK, so here it is...I've lost 4 lbs my first week at weigh in and I really didn't change that much.  This week sees me changing more eating habits and drinking more water than last week and exercising more.  Working gradually toward my goals in both the food and exercise categories. 

If anyone is out there and wants to chime in, feel free.  I'll even share my height and weigh in numbers with you via email.  My reason for doing this is, I don't want anyone to get stuck in, or on, the idea that this person looks like this before or after and they lost this much weight roller coaster.  It doesn't work to see someone who is 5'2" lose 80lbs and look insanely model ready and another who is 5'9", lose 40lbs and look the same... it's apples and oranges. 

Well, that's it for now... I'm on this ride and not getting off until I've reached my goal.
Blessings,
Alana

Lorrie Flem, over at Eternal Encouragement, has done it again!  She's managed to put together one of her online seminars for all to hear and share.  If you struggle with contentment, if you need a fresh, spiritual reminder of where God has put you and why you should really feel good about where you are, you need to hear this seminar.  It's not about our life circumstances, our work circumstances, our kids lives, etc..  It's about equipping our own lives to realize God's provision and to live a life content in Him, therefore, content in all things.  This lovely seminar, done in Lorrie's down-to-earth, beautiful way is a treasure. You'll receive the PDF with the link to the whole seminar as well as all of the sweet slides used with all of the 14 steps to finding and holding onto consistent contentment in your life.  You'll find it everything for this seminar at http://tinyurl.com/ago66yk

This seminar is such a blessing.  You'll feel the peace that comes from Lorrie's teaching, you will begin to understand the idea of contentment more fully in your life while listening to Lorrie.  This seminar will help you to realize there is time to breathe, there is time to fully enjoy the blessings that have been bestowed upon you and to feel comfortable in your God given space in this world. It sounds like a lot to take in, and it is...

Stop on over to Eternal Encouragement at www.eemagazine.com and find a little contentment.  You might even find yourself clicking through to some of her other wonderful resources.  If all of that amazing content isn't enough for you, keep in mind that there will be another seminar coming soon. How soon? This title will be up on the Eternal Encouragement site on March 1st!  Check it out at the following link http://tinyurl.com/aegnncp that seminar is called, True Womanhood is not for Wimpy Women...check this one out, too!

Yep, it's definitely a day for links... Maybe I should rephrase that and say a day of connections.  I like connections better.  Or, maybe, just maybe, I should say threads.  That's the essence of the article I've listed in this post.  A dear brother, Rich Little, and no I don't mean the guy who does impressions, has a great piece today on PEACE... take a read.  I tell you, it's worth it.  Some of us are threadbare, others weave a tapestry that others admire, all of us are a woven fabric in Christ, if we seek Him and strive for peace to hold it all together.  Intricately woven, created by a master artisan, threads brought together to bind us to Him... Take a moment to consider what is frayed, what needs mending and what threads are holding you together.

Seeking Peace in All the Wrong Places
http://tinyurl.com/a8syahh

Blessings,
Alana

This day seems to be about links to amazing articles.  Well, at least it looks like it'll be turning out that way.  I've got a sore throat, getting something in the sick category, and not one original thought of my own.  Ugh! For a writer, this is like being caught in Groundhog Day!  Anyway... As I venture on this journey of parenting, especially parenting an adventurous, yet introverted and intelligent young man and his equally creative, extroverted, and adventurous sister, I find myself drawn to those who are tripping over the same roots on the path.  The following article is from one of my favorite blogs, Boy Dads.  Take a read and chime in if you have any thoughts or comments.

http://tinyurl.com/a8ygf72

Blessings,
Alana

Those of us with children hit the question at some point in our parenting, 'Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing?  Am I doing enough? Why are my kids doing this or that?' OK, at least some form of this question pops into our brains at some point, I hope.  The link below is to an article that most people need to read, IMHO.   This article isn't the end-all-be-all of parenting, but it is refreshing to hear someone state the obvious for the masses.  Take a look, let's hear your thoughts...

http://tinyurl.com/a4ame6p

Look for more posts on what pops into my brain, goes on in our homeschool and life in general, coming soon to this blog, near your webs surfside shore.

Blessings,
Alana