2011 Reading List.

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Here we go again...

1. The G Free Diet - Elisabeth Hasselbeck
2. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
3. Half Broke Horses - Jeanette Walls
4. Fashion Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones (Do not recommend - totally forgettable)
5. The Almost Moon - Alice Seibold
6. You Can Be a Friend - Tony & Lauren Dungy (children's book - loved it)
7. One in a Million - Priscilla Shirer
8. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin
9. The 7th Victim - Alan Jacobson
10. He Speaks to Me - Priscilla Shirer
11. Private - James Patterson
12. The Postcard Killers - James Patterson
13. Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin
14. Step on a Crack - James Patterson
15. Run for your Life - James Patterson
16. Love and Respect - Emerson Eggerichs
17. Worst Case - James Patterson
18. Sacred Marriage - Gary Thomas
19. Beauty and the Beast - Marie Le Prince de Beaumont
20. id know you anywhere - Laura Lippman
21. If You Have to Cry Go Outside - Kelly Cutrone
22. Discerning the Voice of God - Priscilla Schirer
23. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
24. Tick Tock - James Patterson
25. Summer in the South - Cathy Holton
26. 1st to Die - James Patterson
27. Compact with the Devil - Bethany Maines
28. 2nd Chance - James Patterson
29. 3rd Degree - James Patterson
30. Ruth - Kelly Minter
31. These Things Hidden - Heather Gudenkauf
32. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
33. 4th of July - James Patterson
34. Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire
35. 5th Horseman - James Patterson

Note: links to book reviews for the books I felt like reviewing/had time to review.

These are My Confessions...

I am an epic failure. I have to confess finally after 2 weeks that I am not gfree. Not even a little bit. I tried for oh about 2 days before I got bored, hungry, and overwelmed by how much more expensive the food was and I quit. I am happily eating gluten on daily basis but before I could totally feel good about that I had to tell you all that I failed my March challenge. Ack.

You know I hate failture. In fact, this weeks sermon at church (we're in a great series) was about the fear of failure which I have confessed in previous entries is a big deal for me. I am terrified of failing. But I have to say it's freeing that I've not confessed this to you all and can go on eating glutenously in peace.

Sorry, March - but hey, here's to April's challenge being better. Although, I'm slightly terrified by the idea of taking a picture of myself every day. Does that mean I have to wear makeup on the weekends? Boo. Well, I guess if Katy Perry can reveal her makeup-less self on Twitter, I can do it on the blog.



(Katy Perry pic posted by Russell Brand, her hubs, via Twitter)


Love,
B

Success in 2011.

Over the past few weeks you've probably put some time into making plans for 2011. What you want to accomplish this year, who you want to be, goals, travel plans, etc. If, like me, you don't buy into new years resolutions that people never seem to keep, that's ok but a new year is a great time to analyse what you want to do better in the coming months. I don't make resolutions, per se but I do sit down every few months and think about what's next for me.

Once you've gotten that far it's time to start putting your goals into action. How are you going to get from point a to point b in 2011. My advice? Start with taking responsibility. There is nothing more frustrating to me (and I'd venture to guess for you) than people who play the victim. Guess what? Life is hard for all of us. We all have the same amount of hours in a day and for most of us it never feels like enough. We do what's important to us. Our time and our progress in life is a reflection of our priorities.

So it's time to let go of all the excuses you made in 2010 that kept you from getting done last year what you now hope to accomplish this year. I am no exception. 2010 was a big year for me and as I shared before I really honed in on building a more disciplined lifestyle. I knew that my eating, my sleeping, my time management, my household (cleaning), etc were out of control and I knew I didn't want to live another year that way! I may have absolutely dominated 2010, which let's be honest, I did...but there's much left to be done.

I remember before I started losing the weight (in April) sitting down and trying to be honest with myself. Why had I let myself get overweight to begin with? Why had I never really tried to get it off before? Don't get me wrong, I tried every fad diet and quick weight loss plan in the book but I never really put in the work. Losing weight isn't easy. It's not drinking slim fast out of a can or skipping meals or even just working out a little more. And honestly, I had to quit feeling sorry for myself for being the one who 'got the bad genes' and realize that the only person limiting my success, was me! You have to change your habits to have long-term success. And again, you have to stop making excuses. I finally took ownership for being the one who got myself into that mess and I got myself back out!

You have time to exercise. You have 24 hours in every day. Set aside 1 of those 24 hours and stick with it. With my crazy lifestyle that sometimes means 5am and sometimes means 10pm. But you know what? I make it a date and I show up.

I read 50 books last year. Between 2 workouts a day, leading bible study, book club, daily devotionals, keeping up a house, traveling 16 times, being a good friend, etc - I still read 50 books. People are always saying to me 'I wish I had more time to read like you'. Time? You want to talk about time? My Dad is probably the only person I know who was busier than me this time last year.

It's not that I have all this extra time laying around to read - it's that I value reading as a way to keep my mind sharp. So what did I do? I cut the crap. I cut out the TV time that most of my friends relish. While they were sitting in front of the 'boob tube' 2 hours a night, I was reading a book, on the bike, at the gym. I read books while I dried my hair. I packed lunch and read on my lunch breaks instead of going out. I made time where it didn't exist.

So here's my challenge...what's one thing you're always saying you want to do, but you never get the job done? Is it losing weight? Is it working out? Is it spending time with the Lord? Is it being a better friend? Is it journaling? Is it reading more books? We all have something. Now, tell me what it is and how you're going to make it happen this year. You know what you want, what sacrifices are you going to make to get there?

Don't worry, I'm not letting myself off the hook after calling you guys to stop making excuses and 'do work'. : ] Continuing in the theme of discipline I've added 2 new challenges for myself in 2011...

Morning devotions. Giving the Lord the FIRST part of my day, not the leftovers. I do not judge anyone who doesn't do theirs in the morning. As long as you're spending time with Him daily, I think you're doing a great job! But for me, it was time to take this too the next level and I feel like the Lord wants me to get up and get with Him in the am.

Morning workouts. I know, I know, I'm officially crazy. Not only have I been working out 1.5 hours a day but I've now added morning workouts to the routine. At 6am! Ouch. And they haven't replaces my nighttime workouts. Even more brutal. But I'm committed to reaching my ideal weight this year and I'm willing to put in the work to do it. Jillian Michael's is always saying in my videos, ' results don't come for free' well I'm paying for mine with my sweat morning and night now.

You may have noticed the 'morning' theme here. I hate mornings. I want to sleep til the last minute, then be timely and oragnized when I enter the office. But guess what? I also want to eat 5000 calories a day and watch reality TV at night. Doing that just isn't going to get me where I really want to be. So I'm dragging my butt up in the mornings and getting to work. I'll say here that I'll take all the prayers I can get about this one...hopefully I'll get use to it soon. 6am sure has been feeling early lately.

Love,
B

2011 Goals by Month.

January - Jog my first 5k. I'm registered to run on January 15th in St. Pete Beach. I really recognize more than ever what a gift it is to have a functioning, healthy body. I'm committed to using it!
- I will also finish Reverb 10 as suggested my one of my friends and readers, Mindy, in the month of January.

February - in February I will take Paige's suggestion and do a fast. I will plan to do a 21 day long Daniel Fast - which means giving up meat, bread, caffeine (sob) and sweets. I believe that fasting should always be with a purpose. Mine will be as a sacrifice and to pray for direction on the next few years of my life. As I've worked towards creating a '5 year plan' I continue to pursue the Lord's will for my life. I hope this fast will open my eyes further to what that will might be.

March - Thank you to Lisa for March's challenge - I will be going Gluten-free for a month! This totally and completely freaks me out by the way. Especially following 3 weeks of fasting. My food life is going to be challenging in the Spring. But I bought the book, I'm going to read up over my break (Christmas) and I'm going to go for it in March.

April - An Anon commenter suggested that I take a picture of myself and post it everyday for a month (actually I think they meant a year but the request was for 1 month challenges, so I'm changing that a little)! This should be interesting. I hope it does as you say, spark creativity! I hope you all don't get sick of looking at me. : ] You asked for it - you're getting my mug (or something) every day for a month in April.

May, June, & July - Read through the bible in 90 Days! This suggestion came from Elisa, thank you. I hope I'm up to the challenge. I found out I can get it on my Kindle (so it can travel with me through the summer), so I plan to read the e-bible in 90 days.

- Note: I'm also hoping to reach my ideal goal weight in June or July of this year. : ] I'll let you know as that gets closer if I think I'm going to make it.

August - In August I'm going to volunteer 4 times (the equivalent of once per week). I think this will give me the chance to get my hands dirty in several activities and will make August a month to focus on giving of myself.

September - my birthday month! In the month of september I'm going to go somewhere I've never been before. But I won't be revealing where at this time. I'm going to decide between now and then. Stay tuned.

October - Thanks to Courtney and Meghan I've decided October's goal will have to do with cooking. In the month of October I will try one new recipe per week and actually cook something - healthy! I've got the Biggest Loser book so perhaps I'll cook from that. I will share with you here my experiences, of course, and the recipes (if I like them).

November - Complete the 'Write Brain' book my sister and bro-in-law gave me to prepare my for writing my first book. There are over 360 activities but I'd like to finish 200 activities by November (I figure I won't actually want to do EVERY activity).

December - Complete my second year-long book list. My goal for this year is 24 books. That's 2 per month. I'm scaling back my reading goal because I hope that 2011 will be more focused on writing than reading.

I hope that 2011 will be full of new adventures and chances to grow as a person. This list is only scratching the service of all the things that I want to accomplish this year - but it's a great start with some bold choices. Thank you to all the ladies who made suggestions - I feel really inspired.

Love,
B

One Word.

Well first off, thank you to everyone who's offered up suggestions on goals I should achieve in 2011! I got some great ideas to kick off the new year motivated to make it the best yet. I'm taking them all into consideration, but honestly, it's looking like every single one will make the list! You all are just THAT good.

The first one, however, starts before the new year. Mindy, a friend from college and my first major (photography) suggested I do the reverb '10. The idea of reverb is to finish 2010 by celebrating the victories. This has certainly been a great year for me and it deserves some attention. I'm starting it 13 days late, but I'm going to go back and start at the beginning because I love the idea. Thank Mindy.

Day One - describe your year (2010) in one word (then of course elaborate).

2010 for me has been about discipline. Towards the end of 2009 I sat down and really assessed my life and if I was going ot work towards the life I wanted, where do I start? I realized I needed discipline in a lot of areas of my life where it was currently lacking. I started with my finances because let's me honest, when you graduate college and get your first job you REALLY realize how little you know about money and how far you have to make that first salary stretch. Yikes.

AS 2010 came around, I tackled one area at a time. In January I moved into my first home and suddenly had to balance housework (much more of it) than ever before. More bills. More repairs. More cleaning. Gag. You get the idea.

Next came my health as I started a journey to better health in April by joining a 'biggest loser' competition at work. I sought out a more disciplined lifestyle through diet and excercise. I'm happy to report success in this area in a more noticeable way than any other - as of today I'm down 57lbs in 8 months.

I've learned also to be more disciplined with my time as I created space for the important things and people in my life and worked towards reading 50 books this year. I'm 180 pages from completing this goal as well.

Discipline has been the overwelming theme of 2010 for me and I hope to continue along that path in 2011. Though I hope that when I write to you on this side of 2011, in December of next year, the word to describe my year will be 'love'. I'll leave you to interpret what I mean by that on your own. ;] You'll just have to wait and see what I have up my sleeve.

Love you guys and thankful for your inspiration,

B

2011 Plans in the Making.

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Well I added two new states to my list of places I've been this year as I continue in my journey to see all 50 states before I kick the bucket. With 21 to go at only 25, I think there's a good chance I'll make it yet. Though, it's probably about time I get to work on some trips!

Speaking of which, it's been fun to have a clean slate for 2011 with my new calender insert installed. 12 months ahead to explore new places, meet new goals, and enjoy this amazing stage of life I am in! I can't wait to share with you for New Years my recap of 2010, which has been an absolutely incredible year for me - but you know me, I'm already forging ahead to what's next!

I was thrilled to make the first big insert into my new calender a visit from my best friend in February. Reuniting with 'the other Bekah' for some hang time in May has also been added to the books with much excitement. A college buddy is visiting in January (hopefully) and I'm working on a few others to get Florida trips on their books. My aunt, uncle, and cousin Wesley will be down in March for baseball tournaments and I'm hoping I can host them at the condo a few night while they're in town as well. Those being said (with much enthusiasum) I'm also hoping to get out of town and see a few places myself this year...

- I want to drive over a spend a weekend in St. Augustine, Florida. My family went a few years ago and I love it there. Since moving back to the Sunshine State I've been meaning to go back there, but just haven't had the time yet. Expect to see that in 2011.

- Scottsburg, Indiana. That's right - as Josh fondly refers to it as 'Mayberry' it has stolen a piece of my heart (since it holds my best friend, her hubby, Ellen, and a town full of sweet people and cute little places to go). I want to head down there in late 2010 or early 2011 so see my bff's new home and spend some time with the people she loves, and I've grown to love.

- Washington, DC! My aunt Ju and Uncle David live there and I haven't been to explore the city since the days of living in Maryland with my family (when I was under 10). It's time. I love spending time with my aunt and uncle and I'm hoping to catch my cuz, Whitley, playing some baseball (at the University of Virginia) while I'm up there. With a few free flights just around the corner from my 2010 travels, I look forward to planning a trip up that way in 2011.

- I should know in the next month or so where I'll be traveling for work in 2011 - but you can look forward to a long list of those destinations in early 2011 too and I'm hoping maybe a few new destinations for me will be on that list as well.

- Jacksonsville. I broke tradition last year (out of necessity) and skipped the Colts v. Jags came in Jacksonville but I fully intend to be back at my tradition in 2011. Who's with me?

- Atlanta. I want to hit the ATL for a trip sometime in 2011 and I'm hoping that'll include some face time with T.

I'm still open to suggestions (and invitations for free places to stay, naturally) for my 2011 adventures.

Love,

B

So Long St. Louie.

Well I'm back from St. Louis and now back on the blog. Hope you enjoyed my product recommendation I left you with while I was away. I hope it's been added to your Christmas list, as it has been to a few of my coworkers and a few of my close friends since they've got inspired by all my gabbing about it.

I wasn't lying when I said it would be another chilly weekend. It was just that. Actually, it was freezing! But our weekend with the St. Louis Rams was a smashing success. Another great All Pro Dad Event, that our team and theirs can be proud of.

Since being back I did find the perfect shoes to go with my New Years Eve dress - so a special thank you for all the input that I received here on the blog. I took all the advice into consideration and without you, wouldn't have considered, let alone bought what I did. I will reveal that with a picture sometime soon - promise!

As 2010 nears an end I want to ask some feedback from you lovely readers. There's been some transitions and some new topics brought up here this year - some were met enthusiastically while other's weren't. So what I want to know is what do you want to see more of here on the blog in 2011? I take all the comments I get here seriously and will really consider all requests and try to meet as many as possible. But I'm going to go ahead and say there will continue to be little or no blog action as related to my dating life - so for those of you who like to ask for that regularly - you are out of luck! A girl has to have her lines she doesn't cross.

Here are a few things I'd like to see more of in 2011:

- Followers. Obviously, any blogger wants to know their writing is being read! And for me, many of my readers are from facebook, but aren't official followers. So, that being said, I wouldn't mind a little more commitment from you anon's out there. ; ]

- Giveaways! I want to work towards being able to give you all more for your loyal readership. You know I love to give, give, give! I hope to be able to give even more back to you this coming year.

- Book reviews. I'm loving the response I'm getting to the book recent book reviews. I hope to work towards, quality and quantity of reviews in 2011 - in hopes that you all might continue to read what I recommend and give me feedback as well. I love talking to you all about books! (Note: currently reading - A Million Little Pieces by James Frey).

- The honesty that stretches me. This year I wore myself out being open and honest with you all on some entries that I'm proud of. I hope for more of those entries in 2011 and it is my hope that I will continue to receive such incredible responses to them from you all.

Alright, your turn to do your part!

Love,
B