2011 Goals Revisited: May

So back in January, I posted about my goals for the new year, and resolved to blog every month about my progress.  So I'm warning you in advance that today's post contains no amusing anecdotes, or stories about the Islands.  Feel free to skip, and come back later when I have something interesting to say!

Ok, now, on to my goals.  April was another humdinger month, in which I plowed along and stayed on top of my 5 goals.  I'm pretty proud of myself this month!

1.  Focus on Scott
I blogged last month that we were settling back into our old comfortable, easy rhythm.  Ever since my 'aha moment' back in February, and how God washed my heart with the water of his word, Scott and I have been knitting closer and closer together.  It's funny how when your heart gets in line, everything else lines up behind it! 
This month, we connected by working on turning our backyard wasteland into a paradise retreat.  I also tried to serve Scott by continuing to bring his coffee and breakfast to him in the mornings while he gets dressed, and have started packing 'snickety-snacks' (our family vernacular) in a brown bag for him to take to work.  Lastly, I have continued to work on holding my tongue when I know we're both tired and empty, and a fight's brewing over something silly. 
"A"

2.  Focus on Sophie and Xander. 
Ok, so let's be real.  You know how sometimes you just don't enjoy your kids?  They get on your nerves, push your buttons, etc?  This month, I was so blessed by some moments where I just reveled in them.  I have really enjoyed homeschooling Sophie (and Xander by proxy) this month.  We are studying insects, and it has provided hours of fun and peppered our days with teachable moments.  To copy Hannah over at A Quite Spot, here's some of what we've done:
-Made a papier mache replica of an insect (still not done).  This was very effective in teaching Sophie the terms, 'head', 'thorax', and 'abdomen'. 
-Stopped to observe every insect we come across.  (Me:  "Xander, be gentle with the insect."  Xander:  "Can I kill it?")
-Checked out loads of insect / bug books from the library, as well as a few DVD's. 
-Started numerous insect collections.
-Ordered butterfly larva to start raising, and thus observe the process of metamorphosis. 
-Sorted clip art pics of bugs that are insects, and bugs that aren't. 
"A"

3.  Focus on the family.
We haven't taken any family trips or outings.  Scott and I have been pretty lazered in on the backyard.  But, the kids did participate in working on the yard with us (Xander was so cute with his little tools!).  And, we've made a conscious effort to do family devotions right before bed time each night.  For the Easter month, we did Easter story eggs, then gave each family member a chance to pray.  We could have been more consistent on this one.  It's easy to skip family devo's when you're tired, and just want those kids in bed so you can relax!
"B+"

4.  Focus on my writing.
I think I was really consistent in keeping up my blog this month.  I sat down to write even when I was tired and pretty uninspired, but managed to come up with some posts that satisfied me. 
"A" for effort. 

5.  Focus on my body.
Ok, this one I'm REALLY excited about!  At the beginning of the month, I kicked my running into a higher gear and bumped my distance up to 3 miles.  This is a feat for me.  I haven't run anything over 2 miles since cross country in high school.  I kept up the distance, running on average 4 times a week.  I also did pilates for 30 minutes during the afternoons.  Nothing tones and refines your body like pilates!  I'm starting to see real progress, and am very happy.
But, I ran into a roadblock (yes, pun intended!).  As soon as I kicked up my mileage, I was voraciously hungry and exhausted all day.  It was a struggle not to snack on junk.  Even when I was a good girl in my eating, my weight did not budge.  In fact, I hit a very frustrating plateau that lasted nearly all month!  What could I be doing wrong to not lose weight after running 3 miles a day with pilates on top of that?! 
Well, turns out that I was not feeding my body properly.  I talked with a friend who runs, and she said I should be eating a protein and a carb every three hours.  For example, eggs and whole wheat toast for breakfast, an apple and string cheese three hours later, turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread for lunch, banana and peanut butter for snack.  You get the idea.  She recommended the book, Eating for Life, by Bill Phillips.  It contains lots of great, balanced meals.  I borrowed her copy, and lost three pounds in the first three days!  This was just last week, so I expect to report some weight loss next month.  Because of my running, I still get an:
"A"