Project April Update

Happy Monday everybody!! Last week was a busy one. I had to write the first draft of my final paper for College Writing 2 and then I spent much of Friday and Saturday baking for my brother's friends, the Men of Churchill. They always come to our house near the end of the semester for a home-cooked meal. My mom does the cooking and I do the baking. We like it like that. Though tonight I'm doing the cooking too, chicken here I come. I love cooking chicken. It's kinda a weird thing to love, but there's so much you can do with a boneless, skinless chicken breast :P
Anywho...... what does that have to do with Project April? Well, it means that pretty much no new organization has taken place in my room. And that baking? Let's just say it made me terrified to get on the scale this morning for my Monday weigh-in. But guess what?? Down 2.6 pounds! Yes! It's a good day :)

Keep on singing,

Project April Update

I just got done doing the shred so I'm in cool down, drink tons of water mode. I figured now was a good time to update you all :)
I'm officially down 5 pounds which is exciting but not quite as much as I would have liked by this point. I keep telling myself I'm adding muscle with the shred but who knows . . .
This week is going to be crazy busy with school. But, as we all know, you can't sit for 8 hours straight doing schoolwork and not take some breaks! Today, I spent my breaks finally organizing that last drawer of my desk and I must say it looks great! Here's some before and after pics!

As you can clearly see, this drawer was full of junk. I pulled it completely out to make sure I got everything and could wipe the whole thing clean of pencil shavings.

 Now, here it is nice and organized. As I said I pulled everything out of the drawer and sorted it into piles based on function. From there, it was easy to see what belonged in the drawer and what had gotten thrown in there, which, unfortunately, wasn't much. Almost all of it went back into the drawer. But now you can see what's there!

Even the back of the drawer that I can never reach anyway is organized!

This makes me happy :)

Keep on singing,

Project March Update . . . Say What?

Okay, I know. It's not March. But, I owe you all one final project March update! Not that you all really care that much :P
Anyway, the journaling went pretty well over all. Those 5 extra credit points really push a girl! Only about 17 days left and I've guaranteed my (much needed) extra credit points.
The devotions everyday did not go so well. In fact, it went pretty terribly. I really need to find a way to work that into my everyday schedule. It's not as though I feel distant from God. In fact, for the past year and a half I've felt closer to God and felt I have a stronger relationship with him then I ever have. Yet, I know this is something that I'm supposed to be doing. . . or is it? I know I'm supposed to be growing closer to God and everyone always tells you that the way to do that is through a personal daily devotion but . . . What do you think? How do you stay close to God in your everyday walk?
Next part of Project March, my room. It is currently clean. However, beyond those two drawers I did back in the first week of March I haven't gotten any further in organization. I still have one desk drawer, six dresser drawers and one whole cabinet. *sigh*
And that diet? Well, it's going okay. I've been really frustrated recently with our scale. I was slowly losing, in fact I was down a whole 5 pounds and then suddenly it added back the five pounds plus two more! I was so frustrated because I hadn't over-eaten or anything. The only thing I can think of was that I'd done the 30 Day Shred two days in a row and maybe I was gaining muscle. But still, not that much muscle! Stupid Scale. I think I'm going to rename the 30 day shred the 20 pound shred cause there's no way I'm moving past level one after only 10 days. It's killer! My cousin calls it the "Death Workout" :D
So, needless to say, all four of my March goals will be continuing to April and it's now--Project April!! Just what you guys wanted to hear right?

Keep on singing,

Project March Update 2

 Last week was . . . a disaster in terms of Project March. I got absolutely no room cleaning done, devotions and journaling went out the window, and while I didn't gain any weight, I didn't lose any either. I'm blaming it on the fact that the first half of the week I was sick and the second I was on spring break, but that, as I said, is just an excuse. This week has been better. I have done devotions and journaling everyday except Sunday (I was still on spring break :P ). I haven't had much opportunity to clean my room because I've been so busy with school, but I haven't let it get any worse either. The diet and exercise has been going great! I've drank my 64 oz. of water and exercised every day. I've even managed to stay inside my calorie and carb ranges! In addition to the weighted hula hoop, I have added another new form of exercise, and it's much more fun than your basic walking--more about that later perhaps. Project March will definitely be extending into April, May, June, ect. However, it's gonna be worth it!

Keep on singing,

Project March Update

It's the second week of March and Project March is off to a pretty decent start! I've managed to do my devotions and journal every day. I've already lost 2 pounds (which doesn't seem like much, but it is when you haven't been losing anything!! and exercised every day I meant too. Also I've added a new exercise to my routine - hula hooping! It's a weighted hula hoop I borrowed from a friend. She can't remember whether it's a 3lb. or a 5lb., but either way it's a workout! I'm already sore!
My room project hasn't gone quite as well as I would hope. It just so happens that so far March has been a killer homework month. In addition to all the homework I have due before spring break next week I also started my 10 hours of fieldwork yesterday and I have more hours today which uses up my whole afternoon.
However, I have managed to organize 2 of my desk drawers! It looks so much better and it's so much easier to find things! Here are some before and after shots --

Before . . .

After . . .

Before . . .

After . . .

There, much better don't you think?

Keep on singing,

Project 4 ~ The Me

The fourth project in my series of four is--the me! Or...er... me, just me. Me.

Me--Transparent. Me--Honest. Me--healthy.

It's hard being transparent. I've realized that and I've only been trying for what? 5 days? No one wants to admit their shortcomings. I could make a list of all my flaws right here, but I won't. If you ask me, I'll tell you, but just spouting them off cause I can doesn't benefit anyone. But the thing about being transparent with the world around you is that it makes you transparent to you. I have this theory; I think we spend so much time trying to convince the people around us that the fake me is actually the real me, that we start to believe it too. Now this can be a good thing or a bad thing. Example, you want to seem mature, so you start drinking coffee. Now, you think coffee is the nastiest stuff on earth, but you want to "fit in" with your cooler, much more amazing friends. And they drink coffee. So you drink coffee, and you tell them that you like it. And, sure enough, after a while you really think you do! Liking coffee is not a bad thing. Yes, you shouldn't have lied to people, but liking coffee isn't bad. Now for an example of the bad (which is far more common) kind -

You're overweight. You know it. Your family knows it. Your friends now it. You try to not to think about; you try to make it not seem so awful. You call it overweight instead of fat or (heaven forbid!) obese*. But the fact remains--you weigh much more than you should, much, much more. But you're a Christian, so you know that we should be concerned with inner beauty not outward beauty. And you're a Christian, so you know you shouldn't want to be attractive**! So you convince yourself that you don't care . . . and your weight goes up. And you try to diet, but you keep telling everyone that you don't care how you look, it's all about who you are on the inside. You start to think that you really don't care, it really doesn't matter. But deep down, you know. You know that it does matter. You do care. You're sick and tired of being who you are and you just wish that you could be - something else. But you put on your happy face and tell others (and yourself) that you don't care. See how damaging that can be?

Now that first example is so not me! I really do like coffee. I like it a lot actually. And I drink it even when my friends don't and when my brother tells me it's nasty, and I lose respect in his eyes every time I drink it (and he's only half kidding!). But that second example?? That's me. No one wants to admit that they're fat, but there comes a point in life where you (where I) can't deny it anymore. So I tell myself that it's okay, that Jesus loves me anyway. And He does! But it's not okay.

I've always thought that I was overweight. Even when I was little, and by little I mean like six. I loved to play dress up with my friends, but, at the same time, I dreaded it. I hated feeling like I wouldn't fit in all those cute little dresses my friends wore. And you know what the funny thing is? I wasn't even that much larger than they were!

That's me on the left. The right is my friend Cherie, you know, the one getting married!

Silly wasn't I? To think that six year old me was fat? Oh if I was only that "fat!" I don't know why I thought that then, but I did. And sure enough, it became like a self fulfilling prophecy. Here's another picture of us, taken back in 2007. By this time I now longer took full body shots (I don't think I have any from the past 6 years or so!).

Seriously, it's pics like this that make me just love my Chee! I'm so blessed to have a friend like that since, well, infancy.

Now, I don't actually believe I'm overweight because I thought I was when I was six. I know that being overweight is actually hereditary (I learned that in Psyche class of all things!), and my inactivity (can I help it I book is more interesting to me than sports?? :P) certainly doesn't help matters! But I've tried losing weight in the past and I've never succeeded. I always wondered why. I mean, I wanted it badly enough . . . or did I?

In the past two months I took a good hard look at myself and my weight. And I don't like what I see. I've lied to myself. I've told myself that I don't care what I look like. I've told myself that I shouldn't want to be attractive**. I've told myself that I couldn't help it. But I do, I should, and I can.

All of this (whew, this is a long post! Sorry for all the rambling!) has led to project four. Me. No more lies.

I'm fat--I don't want to be. I don't think I'm pretty--I want to. I want to do this--and I can!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me - Philippians 4:13.

*rabbit trail - isn't it funny how some words just sound grosser than others. Say chocolate. Nice word right? Sounds pretty, rolls off your tongue. Say obese. Eww. Am I right?

**More about this in a later post.

Project 3 ~ The Journal

The third project in my series of four is--the journal! This project is kinda like the last one . . . something I've always wanted/tried to do and always end up being inconsistent. Journaling is one of those things that I know the benefit of and I enjoy doing but I just fail miserably when I try. So what's my motivation this time? My College Writing 2 professor is offering 5 bonus points if I journal everyday for eight weeks. The problem with this plan? She wants us to do three 8 1/2x11 sheets of paper every day. I can usually find enough thoughts to fill that much paper, but it takes me forever to hand write three pages. And I mean forever! Because apparently to have my handwriting look like anything better than chicken scrabble I have to write r e a l l y slowly. Luckily five bonus points is very motivating!

Project 2 ~ The Bible

The second in my series of four projects is--the Bible!* I've striven for years to have a personal devotional time, and somehow I always manage to screw up. I hear that if you do something for a month straight it becomes I habit. Well the closest I ever got to consistency in a devotional time was 2 months . . . I thought for sure 60 days (double the "required" time!) would surely cement my daily devotional time. Wrong!

So what makes this month different? Maybe nothing, maybe motivation. Who knows? But I know that I serve a living Saviour, an awesome God, and He deserves consistency, dedication, and respect. So here we go!


*Disclaimer: These projects are not in order of importance!

Project 1 ~ The Room

So not only is March the start of transparency, I'm also starting four new projects this months. Some of them, project one included, will take more than a month, but I'll start them this month. I'll be sharing a project a day for the next four days :) So without further ado....project one!

The room. Yeah . . . so this girl, you know, the one who drools over organized spaces?? Well she let her room get to the point where it looks like this -

Can you believe it?? I can't :( And just think, this is after I took out the unrolled sleeping bag that's be in my room since my dear friend Elizabeth visited me in January . . . you read right, January.
I can't take it anymore! So project one is to get this room cleaned up! I'll share pictures as it progresses. This time I'm aiming for clean and organized! We'll see how well that goes :)

March - A New Frontier

March! Boldly going where no . . . Johannah? . . . has gone before!

What is "march." Well, it's a month, the third one in the year to be precise. It's a verb meaning "to walk or proceed with measured, regular steps." And, apparently, as I learned last night from my trusty Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary, a noun meaning "frontier." This new knowledge (because apparently I have an obsession with dictionaries and looking of the "real" meaning of words) led me to look up the definition of frontier. And, while I found the normal definition we all think of, that of unsettled land, I also found this definition - a new or unexplored area of thought or knowledge. Well that got me thinking. It's the first day of March - a new month, perhaps a new start? And here I am trying to work on transparent living, this lifestyle that involves a completely different (dare I say, new) way of thinking. This kind of change doesn't happen overnight. I don't go to bed on February 28th saying tomorrow I will be different, better, transparent, and wake up March 1st changed. Rather, a lifestyle change is something that needs to take place slowly, with measured, regular forward motion.

How fitting that I should truly begin this march into a new march in the month of March! Transparent living here I come! Just let me get there with regular, measured steps!