Monday, March 29, 2010

THE BEGINNING...

The day before the 1st day of 30 days.  
  
     Let me explain the reason for this short term blog experiment. My sister, Gayle, is going to England for a month to be with her son Travis, his wife Teresa, and their son Jack. Jack is her first and, until there are others, her only grandchild. It goes without saying then that he is her favorite. Jack will be celebrating his first birthday while my sister is with them and he will also be taking his first step. Teresa is with child again, expecting in October. They will also be vacationing in Spain for a week while she is there.
     And me? I have moved into my sister's home in El Paso while she is gone, keeping her two dogs, Cricket and Willow, company and watering the plants. Pray for my wife as she remains at home in San Antonio and trudges back and forth to work daily. She is our bread winner and my biggest supporter. I wasn't the first choice for my sister's house sitter; her first choice cancelled three days ago due to the offer of employment in Austin. There was little time for preparation or thought, two days later I was on a plane to El Paso. 
     The next 30 days will be an experiment and proving ground for me to do better with my life. I have always believed that if you did something 20 times it would become a habit. I have numerous bad habits to break and several specific habits I hope to acquire during the next 30 days. 
     I watch too much television, waste too much time on unproductive things, consume too much food while exercising too little. On a positive note, I am challenging myself to acquire a host of good habits. My blood sugar is much too high. My weight is problematic. I need to structure my time for writing and complete the re-write on my novel, prepare my collection of devotions for publication, alter the mindless time I spend in front of the television with inspiring time spent in the pages of uplifting literature. I want to commune more with God, offering praise and prayers and listening for His voice. 
     I will post here daily, beginning tomorrow my weight, my blood sugar levels, my food consumption, my exercise activities, my writing progress, my pages read, my prayers offered, my daily activities and my thoughts for the day. 
     Come and join with me. Hold me accountable daily. Come along side and break your bad habits and acquire new healthy ones. Let's do this, accept the challenge. 


     We can do better... 


I just put my sister on the plane. On my way back to her house I stopped at the grocery store and picked up $108.00 of nutritious, healthy and low calorie foods. I now have fresh fish, chicken breasts, fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread and a variety of heart-healthy, low calorie, fat-free snacks. I had an apple with 2 TBL of peanut butter when I got home. I put up the food and now I'm headed out for a 30 minute walk.  It would be a good time to pray for strength of my convictions as the empty house I will come back to has a 55" flatscreen in the living room and a 42" in the den. 

4 comments:

  1. Dave & I will certainly join you in the health quest! I am now on day 8 with no caffeine(my biggest weakness) and have been eating and cooking healthier. Dave has decided he will join me and eat whatever I make. Good luck! Im sure you'll do great!

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  2. Hi honey, I am so proud of you in your attitude to change your bad habits!!! Know that I will be praying for you and talking you thru this daily!!! Love, your lonely wife XOXOXO

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  3. Sounds like you're doing great, dear!! I am excited about your journey and will cheer you every step of the way!!! I am trying to do well here also. If I can at least get my walk in and watch my carbs, I figure I am doing pretty good!!! Wish you were here, but if you can't be, at least you are doing something good for yourself!!! Keep up the good work!!!

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  4. Well, I look forward to following you on your journey. Your very fortunate to have this time alone to grow in so many ways... and shrink in others hee hee. I will check in on Liz now and then. Blessings to you - Tina :o)

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