Just a quick thought today: who are you surrounding yourself with?
I've thought more and more about this lately. I don't have a lot of time to invest in relationships. My marriage and kids take up a lot of my time and I devote a good chunk of my time to my fitness (and with it, my family, my future, my psychological well-being, etc.). As a result, I've begun limiting time I spend with negative people. Negative people suck your positivity and bring down your mood. Why would you want that?
By nature, I'm an introvert. In other words, being around people tends to drain me. I need time by myself, or at least quiet time off in a corner, to recharge. If the people I'm around are negative, it's even worse. I get frustrated. Some people aren't even negative, but they're takers. There's no give with them and they will suck you dry if you let them. Limit your time with them. If they're family, I don't advocate cutting them out of your life unless they are really toxic and damaging. But it's not a relationship you need to invest a lot of time and energy in.
I'm trying to be more positive too. I don't want to be a gossip or someone people avoid because all I do is talk about ME and my life. I want to be a person people enjoy being around and enrich their life. Part of that is just being more conscious of my mood and what I say. I decide if I am happy. I can find the positive if I look for it. To be honest, I don't need to look very hard to find the good in my life. I've started surrounding myself with more positive, like-minded people. If someone is supportive and stubbornly positive, I want them near me. I've "liked" and friended more and more people like this, especially in the fitness field. It keeps me motivated and thinking positively. You begin to reflect the people around you.
So who are you reflecting?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Letter 2010
Merry Christmas! 2010 has been a big year for us.
Steve began a new job in April and currently works at the IT help desk at United Bank and Trust. He loves this change in job, since this is closer to what he wants to do as a career. After being there eight months, he's taking on more responsibility and is moving towards a network administrative job. At home, he's been honing his culinary skills and even posts his recipes on a blog.
Paula has shifted from working part-time to being a stay-at-home mom full-time. She recently took on Beachbody coaching to build her credibility in the fitness field. She plans to certify to teach Turbo Kick in 2011, moving towards her goal of combining her love of fitness with counseling. Since April, Paula has lost most of her pregnancy weight and has completed a round of TurboFire. She's been working with the girls at home, teaching Ella more words and Mia more numbers and letters. As the organizer of the house, she keeps things running smoothly. She also joined MOPS and appreciates the (kid-free!) time with other moms.
Ella turned four in November and is now potty trained! She's learning to spell more words and can sound out some written words. She's very smart and likes to negotiate, whether for a lighter punishment or extra cookies. Of the girls, she is definitely the boss.
Amelia is two and a half and talks like she's 70. She carries on the most entertaining conversations. She's our sweet, sensitive child and is very affectionate. She adores her baby sister and loves to help. She also follows Steve around almost constantly when he's home and "helps" him make dinner. Mia can climb almost anything but will trip over nothing. She keeps Paula on her toes, especially when she tried to potty train herself...
Nora Ann was added to the family in April. Except for her hazel eyes and darker hair, she is the spitting image of Ella as a baby. She's good-natured and pretty easygoing. She loves to play with her sisters and is happiest when she's near them. Her current obsessions are books and shoes (as I'm typing this, she has a trail of books behind her and is sitting in a pile of shoes). She likes to dance and babbles a lot. Just this week, she started crawling and got her first tooth. She's now eight months old.
Steve and Paula celebrated their fifth anniversary earlier this month. With everything that has happened since the wedding, we're curious what 2011 holds. We hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and warm. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Scotts!
Steve began a new job in April and currently works at the IT help desk at United Bank and Trust. He loves this change in job, since this is closer to what he wants to do as a career. After being there eight months, he's taking on more responsibility and is moving towards a network administrative job. At home, he's been honing his culinary skills and even posts his recipes on a blog.
Paula has shifted from working part-time to being a stay-at-home mom full-time. She recently took on Beachbody coaching to build her credibility in the fitness field. She plans to certify to teach Turbo Kick in 2011, moving towards her goal of combining her love of fitness with counseling. Since April, Paula has lost most of her pregnancy weight and has completed a round of TurboFire. She's been working with the girls at home, teaching Ella more words and Mia more numbers and letters. As the organizer of the house, she keeps things running smoothly. She also joined MOPS and appreciates the (kid-free!) time with other moms.
Ella turned four in November and is now potty trained! She's learning to spell more words and can sound out some written words. She's very smart and likes to negotiate, whether for a lighter punishment or extra cookies. Of the girls, she is definitely the boss.
Amelia is two and a half and talks like she's 70. She carries on the most entertaining conversations. She's our sweet, sensitive child and is very affectionate. She adores her baby sister and loves to help. She also follows Steve around almost constantly when he's home and "helps" him make dinner. Mia can climb almost anything but will trip over nothing. She keeps Paula on her toes, especially when she tried to potty train herself...
Nora Ann was added to the family in April. Except for her hazel eyes and darker hair, she is the spitting image of Ella as a baby. She's good-natured and pretty easygoing. She loves to play with her sisters and is happiest when she's near them. Her current obsessions are books and shoes (as I'm typing this, she has a trail of books behind her and is sitting in a pile of shoes). She likes to dance and babbles a lot. Just this week, she started crawling and got her first tooth. She's now eight months old.
Steve and Paula celebrated their fifth anniversary earlier this month. With everything that has happened since the wedding, we're curious what 2011 holds. We hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and warm. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Scotts!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Houston, we have a crawler!
Nora has been getting around pretty well for a few weeks now. She'd kinda scoot backwards, sit up, twist, and scoot some more and get where she wanted to go. She was sort of crawling backwards too, but not using her legs, just shoving herself backwards with her hands. About a week ago she would get on her hands and knees and rock. I predicted she'd crawl before Christmas. I was right.
Yesterday she was trying to get Steve's shoes. Nora loves shoes and slippers. Apparently they're just the right size to plant on the floor between her legs and gnaw on them. (Still no teeth.) I glanced over in time to see her moving her hands forward and then her knees. And then she did it again! Steve saw it too. She's only done it once or twice since then, so I don't think she realizes she's figured out a better way to get around, but she did it. This will make Christmas MUCH more interesting. :)
Yesterday she was trying to get Steve's shoes. Nora loves shoes and slippers. Apparently they're just the right size to plant on the floor between her legs and gnaw on them. (Still no teeth.) I glanced over in time to see her moving her hands forward and then her knees. And then she did it again! Steve saw it too. She's only done it once or twice since then, so I don't think she realizes she's figured out a better way to get around, but she did it. This will make Christmas MUCH more interesting. :)
Friday, December 10, 2010
5 years and counting
Today was our fifth wedding anniversary. Crazy, to think back over everything that's happened and realize it's all been packed into five years. We've had three kids, bought a house, earned a masters degree, changed jobs, bought a car and a minivan, lost two grandparents, been through parents' health issues, been to seven graduations (all immediate family - apparently we're well-educated), and celebrated the weddings of two siblings and the births of three nieces (soon to be four). We've been blessed more than burdened and we're happy.
I know I say this a lot, but Steve is my best friend and the best husband I could have imagined. He makes me laugh, he's supportive and shares my burdens, he takes care of me, and he gets my goofy jokes and thinks I'm funny. On our wedding day, I loved him. But I had no idea how much my love for him would grow and deepen. Without a doubt, having our daughters has been one of the single greatest bonds. It's like when each girl was born, I'd watch Steve with them and fall more in love with him. It's been absolutely amazing to watch him as a dad. I am so grateful that he is the father to our girls. I could go on and on about him and the things he does for me and why I love him, but I won't. God knew what He was doing, giving me Steve. Thanks, God.
Happy anniversary, Steve. I hope we have many, many years to come and they're a bit less eventful than the first five. ;) I love you.
I know I say this a lot, but Steve is my best friend and the best husband I could have imagined. He makes me laugh, he's supportive and shares my burdens, he takes care of me, and he gets my goofy jokes and thinks I'm funny. On our wedding day, I loved him. But I had no idea how much my love for him would grow and deepen. Without a doubt, having our daughters has been one of the single greatest bonds. It's like when each girl was born, I'd watch Steve with them and fall more in love with him. It's been absolutely amazing to watch him as a dad. I am so grateful that he is the father to our girls. I could go on and on about him and the things he does for me and why I love him, but I won't. God knew what He was doing, giving me Steve. Thanks, God.
Happy anniversary, Steve. I hope we have many, many years to come and they're a bit less eventful than the first five. ;) I love you.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Number Post
- 4 - Ella is now 4. At her appointment, she got 4 shots and we found out she is 40 lbs and 41 inches tall.
- All 4s - Nora gets on 'em and rocks. She is SO close to crawling.
- 0 - The number of teeth Nora has. Still.
- 8 - Number of lbs left until I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. :) Also the number of months old Nora is and the number of months Steve has been at UBT.
- 5th - The anniversary Steve and I celebrate tomorrow! Actually our anniversary is tomorrow but we're celebrating Saturday. Leslie and Paul are keeping the girls at their apartment so we get kid-free time. I love them anyhow, but I love them even more for that!
- 3 - The number of little girls in our house that are almost constantly making noise. Ella and Mia chatter endlessly. Nora babbles and shrieks. At least it's usually happy noise.
- 50-something - The number of ornaments I'm guessing are on our tree. There are a lot.
- Too high to count - The number of toys in our house. We're going to keep Christmas small this year and probably weed out the toys we do have.
- 1/2-ish - The number of inches of snow on the ground. Kinda sad. But there's snow in the forecast.
- 28 - The age I keep thinking I am.
- 27 - The age I actually am. I'm not sure why I think I'm older than I am. The year I was 26, I thought I was 25. Maybe I've matured a lot in the last few years?
- 32 - Mia's age in months. That's about how many times a day she shrieks. She's always screaming. That's also about the number of times she shows affection in a day. She's very sweet and very loud.
- 78 - The number of minutes until Steve gets home from work. And the number of minutes in my workout. I better go... ;)
- All 4s - Nora gets on 'em and rocks. She is SO close to crawling.
- 0 - The number of teeth Nora has. Still.
- 8 - Number of lbs left until I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. :) Also the number of months old Nora is and the number of months Steve has been at UBT.
- 5th - The anniversary Steve and I celebrate tomorrow! Actually our anniversary is tomorrow but we're celebrating Saturday. Leslie and Paul are keeping the girls at their apartment so we get kid-free time. I love them anyhow, but I love them even more for that!
- 3 - The number of little girls in our house that are almost constantly making noise. Ella and Mia chatter endlessly. Nora babbles and shrieks. At least it's usually happy noise.
- 50-something - The number of ornaments I'm guessing are on our tree. There are a lot.
- Too high to count - The number of toys in our house. We're going to keep Christmas small this year and probably weed out the toys we do have.
- 1/2-ish - The number of inches of snow on the ground. Kinda sad. But there's snow in the forecast.
- 28 - The age I keep thinking I am.
- 27 - The age I actually am. I'm not sure why I think I'm older than I am. The year I was 26, I thought I was 25. Maybe I've matured a lot in the last few years?
- 32 - Mia's age in months. That's about how many times a day she shrieks. She's always screaming. That's also about the number of times she shows affection in a day. She's very sweet and very loud.
- 78 - The number of minutes until Steve gets home from work. And the number of minutes in my workout. I better go... ;)
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Best quotes of the night
While driving through the Christmas lights at the fairgrounds...
Mia: He's my best little big fella. (We can't for the life of us remember what this was in reference to, but I was dying with laughter.)
Mia: Can I go in the balloon with the elf? He's my best friend.
Ella: It's a clown! (Looking at an elf.)
Ella: I want to get lost in the forest. I don't get scared in the forest.I walk around and I find my cat. I get really happy when I find my cat.
Ella: (When asked who her best friend is) Stacy. (From Phineas and Ferb. Then I asked if Mia was her friend.) No, Mia is my SISTER. (I explained Mia can be her friend and her sister.) Mia is my sister and my friend and Stacy is my friend. Two friends is enough.
Ella: (About a minute after Steve went into the store.) Mommy. I think Daddy got lost in the store.
Mia: He's my best little big fella. (We can't for the life of us remember what this was in reference to, but I was dying with laughter.)
Mia: Can I go in the balloon with the elf? He's my best friend.
Ella: It's a clown! (Looking at an elf.)
Ella: I want to get lost in the forest. I don't get scared in the forest.I walk around and I find my cat. I get really happy when I find my cat.
Ella: (When asked who her best friend is) Stacy. (From Phineas and Ferb. Then I asked if Mia was her friend.) No, Mia is my SISTER. (I explained Mia can be her friend and her sister.) Mia is my sister and my friend and Stacy is my friend. Two friends is enough.
Ella: (About a minute after Steve went into the store.) Mommy. I think Daddy got lost in the store.
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