It's time! Head on over...

to my new bloggie home!

All of the fun is waiting at Intend to Live.   Click right down below...




See you there! {Smile}

An unopened gift {Five Minute Friday}

I wrote a message yesterday to my readers  friends about what this blog has be meant to me, and more importantly, that the fact that you READ it means so much to me.  

And now, looking forward.

Intend to Live, the blog I am launching on Sunday with Tracey, is an unopened gift.

There is the excitement leading up to the day, not sure what exactly is going to be inside the package.  Sure, we made a list of what we hope it might be.  We put work and thought into it, and we each have our hopes of what it will become.

I am looking forward with anticipation as to what possible gifts will come from joining with a good friend to create a new blog will bring.  Since that friend has already brought awesome gifts into my life, I can only imagine that they will continue to grow and multiply.

And hopefully its an unopened gift to you.  Isn't blogging in general?  Who knows what waits for you as you sleep and people across the world hit "publish".  We see the gifts of creativity, organization, love, tenderness, photography, skills in the kitchen and other places.  We see the gifts of the people that we share interests, loves and faith with.

My hope and prayer is that going forward you only find unopened gifts to keep you excited about what tomorrow has to offer.

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Make sure to visit The Gypsy Mama for more wonderful women's Five Minute Fridays

A letter to my readers (and friends)

Dear  Readers Friends, 

I started this little blog just about a year ago {in ernest, anyways} and I could have never imagined what has come from it.  I know it isn't all because of the blog.

Most of it has to do with you, the readers, my friends, my family and friends who I haven't met yet.

There haven't always been a lot of comments, but that doesn't mean much to me.  I know you are there.

You are reading, cheering me on.  Who knows, maybe chiding me?  It doesn't matter, I just know that you are there.  And that makes all the difference.

 It has changed me from being a lazy a*s who would find any excuse to NOT get off the couch, 

to being a girl who feels guilty if she doesn't get her exercise in FIRST thing in the morning.  

It has changed me from a Mom who was doing a subpar job into a Mom who is doing...well, less of a subpar job.  

Ha.  Okay, I'm most definitely a better mama than I was a year ago.   

It has changed me from a person who knows nothing in the kitchen to a person who knows...

well, a little bit. 

It has changed me from someone who was wondering what to do with her time, 

to someone who knows what she is going to get accomplished.  

So thank you.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Because of you, I'm a better person.

I truly help you'll stick around thru the weekend and follow me over to our new bloggie home.  It WILL only get better from here.

Really, it will.

And you don't want to miss that, do you?   {Smile}

Cheers,
Jenny

xoxoxo

Tracey's Thoughts

Hi all!

Instead of our regular Challenge Wednesday, Tracey and I are just trading blogs to share some thoughts on our new Intend to Live home.  Just want to make sure you keep getting a chance to get to know this lovely woman.  So, with that....here she is!

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I have found over the last couple of years that I enjoy writing. It has become comfortable, in a way that my wedding ring feels comfortable. I notice it when it is missing. And I feel naked without it.

Despite the comfort I find, I do not consider myself a writer. Not like Jen, who dreams of having her thoughts, her imagination, printed in some form or another. Nope. Not me. I write like I am talking to a dear friend. My husband recently told me that a common trait of introverts is that they are much more likely to reveal themselves via media such as blogging. That makes sense to me. I cannot always deal with people, and talking exhausts me. I am not socially awkward, nor do I romanticize my solitude. I just need some time to recover after particularly social situations. I have a word limit, and when I have used up all my words I am done. But sometimes I still have things to say.

So I write.

Blogging has become my method of choice for sharing myself with others, and for keeping track of my musings and adventures (read: hair-brained schemes and fickle flitting from one obsession to another). I want to keep doing it, but I want to protect myself. From burnout. From stalemate. From writing becoming a chore.

Source: examiner.com via Becky on Pinterest

Intend to Live was born from a desire to keep life simple, and it has grown into a common theme: get rid of the excess everything so we can spend our time living.

This partnership means we can still record our thoughts, share our dreams, and reveal who we are; it also means we can share the load of writing so we can build more experiences. And building more experiences will in turn give us inspiration

to write.

And, to live.

Source: tumblr.com via Chantelle on Pinterest

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Well said Tracey, well said.  

Coming attractions...

Hey ya'll.

First of all...there was question after yesterday's post about whether or not this bloggity blog would still be up when Intend to Live makes its humble entrance to the world on Sunday.

The short answer is, yes.  It'll always be here for history's sake, but the answer that you were probably looking for? I won't be updating it much.

The idea behind creating the new home was to cut back on my blogging time so I can focus on other things.   But the best part of the new home?

There are two of us, so much more {and better!} content.

Tracey knows her way around a kitchen a bit better than I do.  Which means more recipes, like sauerkraut and ideas for picky eaters.  {Guessing sauerkraut won't be on that list.  Hehe.}

I'm going to get back to my roots a bit and talk about bucket lists, and how to start one in case you've been thinking about it.  There are a ton of resources out there, so I'll be sharing some of that.  Not even that, but there will be more coming about healthy living.

And who knows....we might even drop a giveaway or two in there.  So make sure to follow here or at Tracey's home, to make sure you are there for the big launch!

Day 65. {perspective}

Last week was last week.  It's over and done with {thankfully}.

This week is a new beginning and begins with good news.


Weight check-in:
Starting weight (this week): 198.4
Goal weight for week (1%): 196.4
End weight:  194.4
Total weight loss (since start):  20.4 pounds 


Four pounds!  20 total?  Happy girl right here.  

It's amazing what a new perspective can do.  When I look at the weight loss as a whole, instead of focusing so much on the tiny weekly number?  It gives me a renewed sense of purpose.  

I started this journey wanting to lose 85 pounds total.  And I am about a fourth of the way there.  

That gives me a boatload of motivation.  

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What are you thinking about that could use a "new perspective" this week?

Intend to Live: the Details

In just under a week, my new bloggie home with Tracey from Control the Chaos will launch!

So excited.  And now it is time to fill you on some of the details.  I bet you were just sitting there, drinking your coffee, wondering, what exactly are you guys going to write about?

Well, you asked {okay, maybe you didn't} and I answer.

Mondays and Wednesdays will be my domain.  Mondays will be for bucket list updates, photography fun (maybe even some challenges?) and other memory making and keeping thoughts.  Wednesdays will be my weekly update on my healthy life/weight loss journey and any other great tips about living well that we want to share.  

Tuesdays and Saturdays Tracey will be filling us in on simplifying and making more time for living.  Essentially living naturally.  Living simply.  

Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays we'll toss it back and forth.  Sharing projects that we have pinned on pinterest {and then actually completed!} and other favorites we want to share with you.  Like fun new blogs, books, products....you get the idea!  

So what do you think?  It's in just six short days!