~ Giving Thanks ~

I am thankful for my family and friends.

I am thankful for getting through this tough year thus far.

I am thankful for the gifts yet to come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been hard for me to get into the holiday season. In my area, the weather has not been the norm. Just last week it was ranging in the 60s. My city has the Christmas power pole decorations up already — two weeks ago! It’s just now Thanksgiving! At least this week has been more like November. Colder temps. Rainy days. It rained all day today. I was really thankful for all that mild weather we were having. I could really go for a California Christmas. I’m not ready for snow and below zero temps just yet.

I didn’t need Thanksgiving to be thankful for all the gifts we have been given this year — making it one day at a time. The past couple of years have been tough for us. Just like the rest of the world, getting those bills paid at times is stressful. But you find a way to get it done and you make it through. I have been telling myself that God is giving us a lesson in all of this. When things are good, they are good. When they get too good, here comes a setback for that wake-up call. We will keep on keepin’ on!

To top off our Thanksgiving Day, as my girls and I were watching Elf (to get into the Christmas spirit), that rain turned into snow. My girls got on their coats, gloves, and boots as fast as they could to go meet the falling snow. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

~ A New Birth ~

Happy Birthday to me! Thirty-seven years ago, on this day, my parents welcomed me into their lives. As young children we look forward to birthdays as a way to get presents (you know it’s true) and stuff our faces with cake and ice cream. Well, who am I kidding! I could take a party right now. It IS my birthday. I want some cake, and eat it too! I want to celebrate life, my life.

So, as adults, we may not get presents from all of our family and friends, but we learn what a gift it is to reach each birthday given to us by God. As I am getting older, and wiser, I am ready to focus on a new year, a new birth. What do I want for the next year; what kind of person do I aspire to be; what gift does the world want to give to me? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to find out.

Kristen Renee Lusch

November 9, 1973

~ Sweet Love Affair ~

Since September I have been steadily walking every morning with a fellow momma. We drop our kids off at school and are off to our local nature trail. Now, to be honest, there have been days, like today, that didn’t work out. And now that the temps are dropping, we will be looking for somewhere indoors or I will be shopping for some long johns.

We initially started walking three miles, and now we are walking four. It didn’t take long that I was feeling better, some pep in my step. People also started to notice that I had lost some weight. That always boosts the morale. I haven’t changed my food habits much at all, but I have been trying to eat better foods and watch my portions. So after a couple of months walking and losing around five pounds, it is time to step it up. I have so many more pounds to lose.

The soda must go!!!

Soda is my weakness. If it has cherry in it, oh I’m in love. I’m taken back to when I was young and could go to an old diner and buy a real Cherry Coke for a nickel. Plain Coke with cherry syrup poured right in. The ole diner no longer stands — just a garden in its place. As I’ve gotten older, I favor Cherry Pepsi. I know when I’m stressed, it is soda that I look for. Unlike Oprah with potato chips, I would rather have a tall Cherry Pepsi (or Coke) on the rocks.

As a child, my mother never bought soda. I was raised on milk and Kool-Aid for a refreshing drink. I never really had the stuff unless we were out shopping with my grandparents and stop to have dinner somewhere. I do remember getting a soda and sucking it down before dinner was even served. Once I got to high school, it was official — I was a soda junkie! With soda machines readily available, two dollars for lunch, I bought a soda and whatever-sounded-great out of the vending machine. My love affair with soda began. My high-school sweetheart!

As a mother myself, I keep soda out of the house because I don’t want my kids getting addicted, as well. I do let them have it if we’re out sometimes. But I would rather get them away from soda altogether. I want them to understand it’s not a great choice. As a family we have been trying to eat better, cut out fast food, and make better choices all around for our bodies.

Soda has not only contributed to my weight, but falling into the trap of fast food because of being a busy mom. I know showing my girls how to take care of their bodies rather than just telling them is a better lesson. I know I will learn something, too, along the way. Exercising, or keeping active rather, is not only good for our physical health but our mental health too.