Notes from Farrah will be changing slightly.

After some thinking and spending time with my sister, a recent widow and mom of 3 (soon to be 4), I decided I wanted to do more with her. Not only that but I definitely needed to wake up this space some more. I’ve been feeling a bit stagnant in life and realized it was time to get myself back in gear. I recognized the fact that I’ve been in this winter season and just dragging by lately- a tad unmotivated. Time for a spring, a new beginning for both my sister and I. A time for revival of the mind and body.

We both love products and life, therefore, together we’re changing Notes from Farrah to  something that reflects the two of us. We’re eclectic, we’re warm, we’re us. Together we giggle insanely no matter if others on the outside don’t understand. We have a relationship unlike any other one we have because we are sisters.

You’ll see some changes around here as we redecorate. Soon the name will change. As we work on her upcoming move into her new place next weekend, I’ll be doing some interior work around here. Soon we’ll share more about our lives and various products that make things easier for us. As a mom to 3 & 4, we’re quite busy as you can imagine.

What Next?

Demon: Your mother’s in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it.

My sister lost her husband unexpectedly, my work did a fundraiser to help her and the kids, she’s in her last weeks of pregnancy (she’s expecting baby #4), she’s moving the end of this month to a bigger home closer to her work and sitter, I picked up new freelance work in the form of graphic design to compliment book tours, work’s been busy wrapping up the fiscal year in hopes that we’ve hit our goal, summer vacation for my 3 kids…oh the list just goes on and on!

And the latest? My oldest daughter is starting middle school tomorrow! Can I scream FREAK OUT?! My goodness! I feel that time is flying too fast. There were days I couldn’t wait for her to walk, talk, start school, and now? I’m crying and wanting her to slow down and remain innocent for as long as possible. The middle school years are the years when things soak in or not. She’ll be influenced by things she’s never been influenced by, there will be boys, there will be boys (yeah PURPOSELY typed that twice), and a heavier school load she’s never experienced before.

Her school day will start earlier  (bus at 6:30am…INSANE!) but that also means her day ends earlier than before. I wonder how it will work out now and when her younger siblings start school in a couple of weeks. Will I be able to manage 3 kids in school, their after school activities, their social schedule, my work, my other work, my reading, my writing, myself, and of course we can’t forget my marriage and the house! Ugh…so much, so much! (STILL trying to convince my husband to let me hire a maid 2x a month for heavy cleaning…)

But then the other side of me, the young girly side of me, is looking forward to chick-flick nights in front of the tube doing manis & pedis while munching on yummy snack foods. The fun shopping trips I look forward to (well the expenses for that I’m NOT looking forward to) and of course the clothes sharing (yes, she’s taller than me and minus the chest, pretty close to my size already).

Right now I need to breathe…we’re starting a new adventure. She is and we are. Together I’m hoping for the best.

BTW…I’ll be getting active again soon. So much will be happening around here, I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say. Now off to my next post writing! Organization & planning!

I’m working out in the gym again. I even did 175 crunches the other day and 30 push-ups. Woot Woot!! And boy do I still feel the effects of that workout the other day! But man…it feels great!! I finally bumped myself up to 3.0 incline and 3.5mph for 30minutes. For me, that’s progress. We even bought Just Dance 2 and boy is that fun! Not only is it fun but it’s definitely a workout that will have you sweating in a fun way! Great for the ENTIRE family or for a gathering of friends.

I’m still doing Weight Watchers but I’m more on an “improvised” version of the Points Plus plan. I’m not tracking as strictly but my portion control is definitely under control and I actually enjoy foods more now. Not that I didn’t enjoy food before but I found that I was going over board and feeling horrible psychologically and physically afterward. In the beginning I was using measuring cups, spoons, and plate sizes to help me with portion control. Now I’m happy eating just a serving size of something no matter how yummy and this time I have no guilt. And honestly, I’m learning to recognize when my body is full. Often it’s much sooner than I thought before and I usually have much left over for another meal. Eating salads before my meal has also helped me tremendously with eating healthier portions of foods. This works for me and in the long run what I think will work best. I’m definitely eating more fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. And happily my family is following suit.

What about you? Do you have portion control or exercise secrets or tips? Please share!

What Next?

When I begin to lose the inches, my skin gets softer and of course jigglier in some areas (inner thighs & the dreaded post pregnancy belly, which I’ve had for at least 10 years…ugh…). Other areas happily get firmer (arms, butt, and calves) but the 2 areas that I’m the MOST self-conscious about seem to “go south”.

I freak out and it seems I almost instantly want to “fill in” the space so it appears firmer, even if it’s just a layer of fat. But at least then it doesn’t jiggle nearly as much.

I know…I know…

I’ve got to be patient, I’ve got to keep going…it will (hopefully) all eventually even out with the rest of my body.

It will get firmer in time.

There’s no need to freak out so soon.

It’s just so hard when you already have mental weight issues…Am I the only one?

This past week I did manage to get back to the gym after 2 weeks of healthy lifestyle hell. I was more food conscious and made some healthier eating choices. I walked the 3 flights up and down at the office more.

This week will be better. I know it will. I’m feeling more conscious of things. I will keep the above freak out in check.

The two most powerful warriors are
patience and time. – Leo Tolstoy

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BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Mamavation.  Two blogging carnival participants will receive a Hydracoach.  Join in on the carnival by answering the following question in your blog post and link back to the Mamavation website.  Link up your post here to share with others.

How do you encourage your children to contribute to your family’s healthy lifestyle?

For my house, I encourage my children to contribute to the family’s healthy lifestyle by:

• having healthier yet enticing family meals, this is also great for time of family bonding
• teaching them to choose healthier foods & always having on hand healthier snacks
• incorporating daily exercise whether it’s participating in a sport or being active at home and play

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV

This post is sponsored by Mamavation and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

What Next?

I’m a working mom of 3 kids, 2 cats, and 1 adult kid (hubby). I work in the marketing field, I am a travel business owner, I help promote authors and their books, I pick up/chauffeur to/attend extracurricular games/practices, I do the shopping, I handle the dr. appointments, I clean house, I manage bills, I oversee homework, I cook dinner, blah blah blah…the list could and probably does go on and on. To some that’s not a lot, to some that’s a lot, to me it’s manageable IF I have the appropriate amount of energy. And lately I’ve found that I’m been working in overdrive off of stress energy! Time to reclaim that positive energy and mentality back to regain the sanity! It’s time for me to recharge mentally and physically.

This year when it came to deciding what would fall on the resolutions list, I decided to re-evaluate my life and it’s priorities. What’s most important for me? Is it really trying to be superwoman/mom who is perfect in all matters of her universe? Yeah…that’s NOT an attainable, realistic goal for me. In fact I think it’s rather silly for anyone to try to be , but that’s just my opinion.

This year my list is this…seriously, this list looks long but in reality it should be more part of my everyday life…

• Laugh more (time to get silly and get that belly jiggling in a good way)
• Play more (as adults I don’t think we do enough of this)
• Enjoy food more (it’s time to slow down and savor what I put into my mouth, I mean REALLY enjoy it instead of just shoving food down my throat without thinking about it)
• Get more active (yes, yes, time to get my butt in gear, but this year I’m not saying how much weight I need to lose)
• Love more (give love, get love, need I say more?)
• Listen more (time to zip up my mouth and just listen, I mean REALLY listen to what others have to say)
• Read more (knowledge is gained from reading and reading gives us a place to go when there is nowhere else to go)
• Stretch more (stiffness is not going to hold me back anymore)
• Meditate more (I need to feel more at peace throughout my day, I need a closer walk with my faith…)

See, I told you, it’s not that bad…am I right? You know I am!

Of course I could also tell you that…

• I’d like to get my cafe/bookstore business plan finalized by year end (I think I’ve talked about this for the last couple of YEARS)
• I’d like to rewrite a book I started on years ago and self-publish it
• I’d like to stick to a better budget and actually start pulling myself out of debt

Notice I said “I’d like”…I’m not going to beat myself up by year end if I don’t. These are just other goals I’d like to work on throughout the year. This list is the kind of list that went on forever and ever it seemed year after year.

But in all honesty, if I just do the things in the first life, my life will be so much better for me and everyone around me. My life will be much more balanced.

Perhaps I could be SuperMom of my own universe after all!

Where’s that bad-ass glitterfied purple cape of mine?!

So…to kick off the new year, I am giving away THREE copies of Get Energy! by Denise Austin over at my book blog The Book Faery Reviews HERE. Be sure to stop HERE, leave a comment, do a couple things to gain extra entries, and by all means, share! What are you waiting for?? Get on over THERE!

Sure, I’d love it if you left me a comment here and TELL ME WHAT’S ONE THING YOU COULD BE DOING MORE OF THIS YEAR (in fact I would even give you an EXTRA ENTRY just for doing so! Just let me know on the other post that you left a comment here.)

SIDE NOTE…I have to admit, summer this year was not so much fun for me. It was way too hot and yucky feeling out and since I rarely got to go to the pool, lake, or beach this year to cool off, I was just miserable outdoors. Summer time is fiscal year end time at work so it has  been pretty hectic; leaving me exhausted and overheated by the time I got home (due to NO A/C in the truck) after nearly an hour commute. My weekends just felt all rushed because I was trying to get everything done that I missed during the week .

Soccer practice has started back up again for Ladybug so back to being a Soccer Mom I have become. Trying to squeeze productive reading/writing time in while snapping quick shots of her in motion. Last night we had school orientation and met the new teachers. Now Little One is counting down the months to Fall ’11 when she can finally go to school like the big kids. Peanut will likely either take guitar lessons or do wrestling this fall and Little One wants to do gymnastics. As a working mother of 3 kids and a husband who works unpredictable construction hours (he’s an electrician), talk about some crazy chaos!

As I think about how the summer went, how we’re ending the summer (we failed to keep our planned family vacation this summer) , and what’s left to prepare for the school year (doing laundry and buying those last minute school supplies and groceries), I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be able to efficiently manage the family schedules, needs, and wants for all.

I mean, as much as I want to believe I could be one of those “super mom’s” we read about on other blogs or on TV who can do it all (cook, clean, tutor kids, bake goodies, exercise to stay slender, are super attentive to hubby, AND work all at the same time while toting their baby in a snuggly or breastfeeding their kid)  I’m no super mom…I’m just me, doing what I can, when I can.

BUT…I do want to make some changes in our daily routine to make things easier and happier for all.

• I need less chaotic (and loving, if that’s possible) mornings with the kids.
• I need Me  Time for meditation or exercise to get my day going.
• I need to figure out a better home maintenance plan so I’m not jamming it all into one day on the weekend.
• I need to stick to my guns and get those kids more active in cleaning around the house so hubby and I aren’t stressed out doing it all.
• I need to make sure that each kid gets their OWN night of activity so this mom can get to places unrushed and let the kid know it’s THEIR moment to shine without another sibling competing for attention.
• I need to do some better meal planning and freezer cooking to help on busy nights on the run.
• I need to take more pictures like I did when I was home with them (TONS of pictures were taken for each month of the year).
• I need to better plan for next year’s family vacation so we don’t have to miss it like we did this year.

So now that I’ve gotten that off my mind and recorded…I’m off to finish the last minute details. (Thank goodness I took tomorrow off!)

Do you find yourself pulled in multiple directions when the kids go back to school?

What are you doing differently this year?