A New Habit

According to several websites on the internet it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit.

Here is what I am going to do and I am bringing all 6 of my followers with me. I am going to form a new habit. What is it? Exercise. Why? Because I want to be healthier and be a good example to my kids.

I have realized lately that exercise has to be a part of my life. Not just a quick month or two to lose a few pounds but an actual part. This means that I have to form a habit of exercising.

Here is my plan. I have committed myself to exercising 6 days a week for 30-40 minutes a day (the Department of Health and Human Services suggests 30 minutes a day) alternating strength and cardio. I hate exercise but I will do this for at least the 66 days that is the average to form a habit. I started on January 4 (no this is not a New Years resolution. I don't believe in them) and I will be checking in periodically on my blog to let you know how I am doing.

Here is what I have done so far. As of January 4th I have worked out 10 times and have done a total of 400 crunches. I have also gone from barley being able to do 3 or 4 push-ups to doing 9. I know that might not sound like much but for me it is huge.

So, wish me luck. Keep an eye out for my updates and send me a message every now and then to keep me going.

The Happiest Place On Earth

Taking a family vacation has always been very important to Kelly and I. Every year so far we have gone to Disney World and every year we have just as much fun. The kids love it and every year we have managed to see or learn something new.

One of my favorite things about vacation is eating out every day. This year we wanted to try all new restaurants. Thanks to the World Showcase at EPCOT we where even able to eat in different countries. We had Moroccan, French, African and Greek/American. We also ate at a few American restaurants that were wonderful.

The weather was a bit cool for Florida but it was still much warmer than Minnesota. The girls got their faces painted, we did a family caricature, saw all of the Disney Christmas lights and just had a really good time hanging out together.

Happy Anniversary Golft Terrace Motel

January 1 marks the 1 year anniversary of us taking over the motel. It has been a year of growing pains. Some good, some hard, some funny. We have grown so much in the last year as people and as a family.

One of the biggest things that I think we have learned is that no matter how we try and control things God is the one in charge. We can try and tell him how to run our lives, give him our opinion on what we think is best, but in the long run it is all up to Him.

We have been so blessed by this little motel over the last year and every month (even the slow months) it has met our needs. We have met some very interesting and fun people as well as been able to help a few people in need.

I am so looking forward to what God has planned for us and the motel in the next year.

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of some of the things that I have been thankful for this year.

I am thankful for (in no specific order):

A loving God who always knows what is best for us even when we think we do.
A motel that provides our family with everything we could ever need.
Kids that make me laugh every day.
A husband that gets my weird sense of humor.
A house that got re-sided and re-roofed right before we bought it.
Family that has supported our crazy adventure here in Crookston. Even if the support was after a bit of, "Huh? You're doing what?".
Kids who are very well behaved, smart, independent, creative, loving, funny, caring, generous. . . . . I could go on forever.
My dogs.
Plumbing that works and great water pressure in our old house.
A husband who can fix above said plumbing.
Radiators that keep our old house warm.
The snow falling outside right now (it is beautiful!).
Old friends, new friends, and future friends.
Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino Light. I know that is a weird thing to be thankful for but I really am.
A dry basement.
Thunderstorms.
Faith. Without faith I would have nothing.

My Sister, My Therapist, My Friend

I have been blessed to have one of the most beautiful, talented, fun, caring sisters. If not for her advice to "stay calm" I would be in a hospital right now curled up in a ball crying (that's where her therapist side comes in).

My sister and I did not always get along. She was the older sister who I looked up to and wanted to be just like. I was the little sister who annoyed her by using the phone in her room and stealing her sweaters.

We only shared a room until I was 3 and then after that our parents made sure that we had our own space. However, when we had guests spend the night (grandparents or friends staying from out of town) then we were forced to share a room for the weekend. One of the things that my sister loved to do to me during our sleep overs was scare me. As soon as mom tucked us in and turned out the lights Missy would whisper, "Debbie, there's someone at the window." Now, had I thought for just a second I would realize that would not be possible. Our bedrooms were on the second floor. However, it scared me to death

Having our own rooms was very helpful in keeping the peace at our house. Unless Missy would come into my room. I was the youngest and quite territorial. When I would tell her to leave my room she would drop to the floor and say, "I can't move. You'll have to carry me out." Did I mention I am 6 years younger than her? Carrying her out was not an option at that age.

I don't know at what point we realized that we had much more in common than stealing clothes and trying to scare each other.

I am happy to say that today she is truly one of my best friends. She talked me through the first few days of being a new mom. She talked me through helping Ada deal with a bully on the bus in kindergarten. She let me know ahead of time that my kids were going to ask questions that I was not ready to answer and I just needed to stay calm. And it worked.

Have I Mentioned We Do Alot Of Laundry Here?

Well, the last few weeks here have been crazy busy! The harvest is done so all of the beet drivers are gone. We will now stop being full all week and begin our weekend hockey tournaments and traveling Canadians. Hopefully we will have some time to breath and do some maintenance on the motel and at home and I will have some more time to update my blog.

We are so thankful that we were so busy this summer and have had an amazing time learning the motel business. I was very skeptical when Kelly brought this whole crazy idea to me last year and I am so glad that I let him lead us here. We have met some very interesting and fun people and have experienced so many new things that we never would have before.

I am also so grateful to God for seeing us through this adventure. Without Him we would have never been able to do this.

Happy Birthday Chicken

Nine years ago today Ada made me a mommy for the first time. She is so much fun to have as a member of our family and I am so thankful for her and her humor.

Ada is always looking for an audience and has such an innocent take on life. I have started calling her our "free-range child" due to her free-spirit and crazy attitude. I love this little girl so much and can not wait to see what she comes up with in the next year.

Below are a couple of what I call "Ada-isms".

"When I grow up I want to be a single. I will not drive a car. I will ride my bike everywhere. Not because I care about the environment, just because bikes are cool."

The other day Ada's teacher was reprimanding a boy in class for goofing off. She then asked the rhetorical question, "who thinks he's funny?" Ada was the only one to raise her hand.