Reason, Season, Lifetime.....

“People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.When someone is in your life for a REASON,it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.They have come to assist you through a difficulty,to provide you with guidance and support,to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.They may seem like a godsend, and they are.They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrong doing on your partor at an inconvenient time,this person will say or do somethingto bring the relationship to an end.Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.What we must realize is that our need has been met,our desire fulfilled; their work is done.The prayer you sent up has been answeredand it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON,it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.They may teach you something you have never done.They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;those things you must build uponin order to have a solid emotional foundation.Your job is to accept the lesson,love the person/people (anyway);and put what you have learned to use in allother relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.”
~Brian A. "Drew" Chalker

Does this apply to any of you?? Have you recently found that the friends you had before you had children, have sort of drifted away? Or what about when your values, morals, views change~ have you found that old friends dissapate, and new friends enter?

I'm a firm believer that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. There are reasons, sometimes that we don't fully understand, things happen to us.

I hope you find peace in this writing and in your days from here out!!!

Blessings to you,

~T

Menu Plan Monday January 5th

Monday: Teriyaki Chicken, Rice, Some sort of salad, ice cream for dessert

Tuesday: Crockpot Beef Roast Potatoes & Carrots and Homemade Bread

Wednesday: Salmon with dill sauce, Brown Rice, Salad

Thursday: Tatertot Casserole (see recipe below), Tossed Salad, and chocolate pudding

Friday: Homemade Pizza & Fruit Salad

Saturday: Asian Beef Stirfry and Chocolate Shakes
The stirfry recipe comes from Bill Phillips Eating For Life recipe book. This is family favorite and we all gobble it down faster than we can say the name. LOL

Sunday: Make your own or C. O. R. N


Breakfasts:
Scrambled Eggs/Toast
Oatmeal & fruit
Pancakes & sausage
Bagels/cream cheese and yogurt
Cereal and OJ


Lunches:
Grilled Cheese and soup
Mac & Cheese with hot dogs
Pigs in a blanket
Baked Potatoes and Salad
Leftovers
Hard boiled eggs
Tuna Melts

This week we are going to start baking our own bread, and introducing desserts again as a fun thing for the family. We haven't done desserts in years, and I'm looking forward to this sweet treat for all of us. I'm not quite sure what we will do each night...I'm thinking about letting the girls decide and be in charge of desserts three or four nights this week. They will be thrilled to have this cooking responsibility.
Another adaption I am making to our meals is bringing back six small meals a day, as Body For Life recommends. I'm hoping to get back into the routine of working out six days a week and eating clean six days and having Sunday as my free day to eat what ever my heart desires.....I can't wait to see the results in 12 weeks.

Not sure what Body For Life is??? Check out the website...you'll be blown away!!!! I've been doing this off and on for almost 7 years and always get HUGE results. I just need to stay on the plan and then I'd be able to keep this weight off. Really the only thing that really prevented me from continuing on the plan was my pregnancies. I'm not having anymore babies, so I think this time around will be much more successful!

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Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients~

1 pound ground beef
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
2-1/2 cups low fat milk
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 (14.5 ounce) cans French style green beans
1 (32 ounce) package tater tots

Directions~


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. In a large skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef and drain fat. Stir in condensed cream of mushroom soup, milk, garlic salt and green beans. Pour the mixture into a medium-sized casserole dish and layer with the tater tots.

3. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until tater tots are browned and crispy.

Enjoy

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I'd love to hear what you all think..and to see what you got cooking this week!!! Do you have a budget and spending goal this week??? Do share Do share!


Make it a GREAT week!!!!
~T

Happy 2009!!!!

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!!! I hope & pray that 2009 is filled with prosperity, peace, hope, and joy!

I have to say, 2008 sure did fly on by, as our family achieved some very big milestones. Mykiah moved to Houston with her Daddy and Grandmother in February, where she is officially a Kindergartener. Mykiah also was tested for the gifted program (which we are awaiting results from). Allen Michael turned 16 in October, three of the kids came back home to be homeschooled, Allen Michael took on the Timpani in marching band (football season 2008) and now is tackling it again in Winter Drum Line, I finally found some pain relief in my lower back by getting facet injections into my lumbar spine....three injections seemed to do the trick, and have relieved about 50 percent of my terrible pain, and I decided to go back to the company that saw me through very hard times as a single mother in the late 90s and early 2000. It's an honor to be back with Mary Kay Cosmetics again.....life will never be the same again!!!!

As we say goodbye to 2008 and welcome in 2009, we are reflecting on what our goals were and what was achieved, and in 2009 we are creating a mapped out plan of what we want to do, see, and change to improve on the prior year.

Today I plan to map out our future...set goals, budgets, develop healthier living and eating plans, and remove the negativity and replace it with optimism and positivity.


What 3 goals do I have for the new year??

1) Adopt a Fresh Financial Start, as laid out by Suze Orman read about it here---->Suze Orman's 10 Tips for a Fresh Financial Start


2) Lose 30 pounds. How will I do this you ask??? I'm going back to living the Body For Life way.
In 2004, I took the 12 week challenge, working out 6 days per week, eating 6 smaller meals per day, and using Sunday as my free day. By following the steps laid out by Bill Phillips I lost 25 pounds and so many inches. To find out more about Body For Life click here ------->BFL .

3) De-Clutter my life and my home.
Time seems to get out of balance VERY QUICKLY!!!! In order to get control of my time, I have a Family Calendar that hangs right by my desk. I write EVERY activity, appointment, bills due, work schedule, etc on this calendar. Having a family calendar not only helps me stay organized, but it will show me if I am spending enough time with my loved ones. Along with having a family calendar posted I also have a Control Journal. Flylady introduced this form of organization to me years ago. I've never been the same since I created my own CJ. To read more about a Control Journal go to Flylady's website, you will thank me once you do.
To get more enjoyment out of my Space, I plan to eliminate things I don't need or use. My goal is to make my life, my time, and my home simpler. When we eliminate things we don’t need or use, life becomes simpler, with less stress and more balance.


Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything. -Napoleon Hill


What goals have you set for 2009??? Please share!


From our family to yours....Happy 2009!

~T