Week 36 of Healthier Living in 2015

9/23/2015
For week of: 9/16 - 9/23/2015
Weigh in Weight: 160.6 lbs.
Previous Weigh in Weight: 159.6 lbs. gain of 1lb.

Goals for Week 36:
1) 30 minutes to an hour of writing daily.  Includes writing for the big project I'm working on for the Montana Synod of the ELCA and parish newsletter.
2) 30 minutes to an hour of reading daily
3) Work on speech therapy homework and some other educational activities with my 3 year old son
4) Upload more photos on the site for my side money gig
5) Daily walking either on treadmill, outside or both (weather permitting)

I posted late for week 35 so I ended up discussing a little bit about how stressful the first half of week 36 of my healthier living journey was.  It is too personal to share on this blog, but the situation is much better and my mental and emotional status are much better.

Unfortunately I am starting to deal with some water retention issues again mostly stress related, which will hopefully ease up by drinking more water, getting more sleep, and continued exercise.  Some of the weight I put on is baby boy and that is good because it means he is growing like he needs to be. :)

Despite the extreme stress I was under, I was able to work on and complete all of my goals except uploading more photos onto my iStock account, otherwise known as my side money gig.  I was especially proud of the work I've been able to do with minimal time on the Reformation timeline I am working on for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation for the Montana Synod of the ELCA 500th committee.  I was intellectually stimulated which helped my mental and emotional health.

I wrote in my journal quite a bit as well.  My daily reading consisted of doing research online, reading blogs on various subjects, and catching up slowly on my TIME magazines.  Again, with this goal I was able to feed my intellectual side, which in turn helped my mental and emotional health.

Working on my son's speech therapy homework and doing fun educational activities together has been such a blessing for us.  We have had some wonderful binding time and he seems to be feeling much more confident with his verbal skills.  Working with his speech therapist has helped him even more than what we can do with him at home, but I love watching him bloom when he learns a new skill and can express his excitement about it now.  Slowly but surely he'll be speaking and people will understand him in turn. :)

I either walked on the treadmill or walked outside each day.  Some days I was able to do both.  The weather has mostly been favorable to do so.  What will happen when it gets too cold to walk outside, I have no idea, but for now, I am happy to be able to continue walking outside with my family or just my son, when my husband can't join us.  The physical activity has really helped me with my energy levels.  Though I am in my third trimester and exhaustion is creepy back in, getting some form of daily exercise helps me a great deal to keep going each day.

My goals will continue to be similar to previous weeks for week 37.  Until next week, Keep on keeping on!

Goals for Week 37:
1) Preschool activities and speech therapy homework with my son.
2) 30 minutes to an hour of reading a day
3) 30 minutes to a hour of writing a day, including working on my timeline project
4) Daily walking on the treadmill, outside or both (weather permitting)
5) Start working Baby step #1 of the Dave Ramsey method, save $1000 for emergency fund.

Adventures in Box Gardening.

I had every intention of blogging and posting photos of our garden from the start of the gardening season to the end, but didn't.

So instead, I will share some of the photos I took at the different stages of our gardening adventures this year as well as some of our bountiful harvest.  We will save a lot of money not having to buy all of our fresh vegetables. :)

It looks like we will have a lot of zucchini and various kinds of tomatoes.  We should also have a decent crop of spaghetti squash and acorn squash. 

Our eggplant might be a bust again this year, but there is potential to get two or three as long as it stays on the warmer side this week.  Our cucumber wasn't great this year nor our peas.  We are hoping for a few more cucumber before we dig up the plants for the winter.

Our yellow summer squash haven't done well, but we only ended up planting only one of those plants for some reason and there is potential for more production depending on the weather the next couple of weeks.

Our peppers are a variety and some varieties are doing well but the Bell peppers might not produce before we are hit with colder weather.

We have harvested, blanched and frozen several quart sized Ziploc bags of zucchini already as well as eaten it fresh throughout the summer.  So overall, I think we will have a decent garden harvest this year.

Now if only the tomatoes would hurry up and ripen so we can pick them and can them or make them into sauce.  They have about a week to turn before we leave for a week vacation in MN.  Here's hoping.  Photos of our garden from the start to now will be posted on future posts. 

Week 35 of Healthier Living in 2015

9/16/2015
For week of: 9/9 - 9/16/2015
Weigh in Weight: 159.6 lbs
Previous Weigh in Weight: 159.2 lbs. gain of 4 oz

Goals for Week 35:
1) 30 minutes to an hour of reading daily
2) 30 minutes to an hour of writing daily
3) Continue to be better about being in contact with friends and family
4) Take at least 5 photos daily for my side money gig
5) Clean the house and laundry


Week 35 was a mixed bag for working on and completing goals I set for myself for the week.  I made time to read each day for 30 minutes to an hour.  I wrote for a project I'm working on and wrote in my journal and between the two things, wrote 30 minutes to an hour each day.  Through text and facebook I did better about being in contact with friends and family and with the help of my husband, we cleaned the house and I did all the laundry.

I keep forgetting to take our nice camera with us wherever we go to take photos for my side money gig.  I have been taking them with my phone instead, but still need to download them onto my laptop so I can upload them onto the site.  I have not been doing well with my side money gig daily, so it will continue to be on my goals list until it becomes part of my daily routine and I don't forget anymore.

I am definitely getting towards the end of my pregnancy.  I am a walking, talking hormonal mess.  I try really hard to not be, but at least once a day I lose my patience, especially with my husband.  It is the new program year at both churches (did I mention my husband is a pastor in the ELCA) and he isn't around as much as he was over the summer.  This means that I am single momming it a lot with my 3 year old son.  We love each other very much, but that much time together drives us both crazy.  Add on top of that, that I am in my third trimester of pregnancy and am exhausted all of the time and it creates a less than good situation in our household.  So I am trying to hold it together and not be stressed, take care of our son and be as supportive as I can with my husband.  Needless to say, week 35 was not a banner week.  Week 36 was even less of a banner week, but I'll get into that hopefully this coming Wednesday, like I should.

Okay, enough ranting and onto a new set of goals for week 36.  For week 36, I am going to label how each goal will help me live in a healthier way for the week.  So far week 36 has been one stressful situation after another, but if I stay focused on living healthier, the second half of the week will go much better than the first.

Goals for Week 36: 9/16 - 9/23/2015
1) 30 minutes to an hour of writing daily.  This includes writing for the big project I'm working on for the Montana Synod of the ELCA, and the parish newsletter.  (emotional/mental/intellectual health)
2) 30 minutes to an hour of reading daily.  (emotional/mental/intellectual health)
3) Work on speech therapy homework and some other educational activities with my 3 year old son. (bonding time/intellectual/emotional, mental health)
4) Upload more photos on to the site for my side money gig (creativity/physical health)
5) Daily walking either on the treadmill, outside if weather permits or both (physical health)

Week 34 of Healthier Living in 2015

9/9/2015
For week of: 9/2 - 9/9/2015
Weigh in Weight: 159.2 lbs
Previous weigh in weight: 160.6 lbs lose of 1 lb 4 oz

Goals for Week 34:
1) Get outside with camera and take some everyday life and nature photos for iStock
2) Daily walk (exercise) outside (weather/smoke permitting)
3) Coloring and writing with my son for 10 minutes each day
4) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to read daily
5) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to write daily
6) Be in better contact with friends and family this week

This is going to be a super short post because I am losing time with my husband who I haven't seen very much of this week to quickly type this post.

I worked on and completed 4 out of 6 goals for week 34.  I did not end up spending 10 minutes a day coloring and writing with my son and I wasn't able to write for 30 minutes to an hour daily either.  The writing was hard to find time to do because a good friend of ours from our seminary days was visiting us from Saturday to Tuesday this past week.  Last Friday was our 5th Wedding Anniversary so we spent the day together as a family and then my husband and I went out for a wonderful dinner.  Well, as wonderful as it can get with gestational diabetes.  I am looking forward to going back to that restaurant again to eat a full meal with one of the yummy desserts on the menu. :)

As for why the 10 minutes a day coloring and writing with my son didn't happen, I have no excuse except that I didn't feel like dealing with my kid attempting for two seconds and then getting bored and throwing the coloring/writing utensils on the floor and leaving them there for me to pick up.  Yes, I realize that I should have him at least help me, but he's been sick and extremely cranky and I just didn't have the patience or energy to deal with it.  So no coloring or writing took place this last week.  I plan to try again with him soon. ;)

I did get outside and with the help of my husband took some pretty great photos this last week.  I also was able to get in daily walks either on the treadmill or outside.  One day my friend who was visiting and I did some mall walking too.  I read for 30 minutes every night before going to sleep so I completed my reading goal for this last week and I've been messaging and texting many friends and my family over the last week as well and making a better effort at staying in touch with them.

Overall, week 34 was a good week.  Many of my goals are the same for week 35, so I'm going to quickly type those up and get back upstairs to spend some quality time with my husband. :)

Goals for Week 35:
1) 30 minutes to an hour of reading daily
2) 30 minutes to an hour of writing daily
3) Continue to be better about being in contact with friends and family
4) Take at least 5 photos daily for my side money gig
5) Clean the house and laundry (the nesting stage is starting to set in big time)

Week 33 of Healthier Living in 2015

9/2/2015
For week of: 8/26 - 9/2/2015
Weigh in Weight: 160.6
Previous weigh in weight: 160.2 gain of 4 oz.

Goals for week 33:  8/26 - 9/2/2015
1) Arts and crafts, coloring, writing with my son
2) Daily exercise (get creative if stuck inside)
3) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to read each day
4) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to write each day
5) Get outside with camera and take photos to upload onto iStock account (weather/smoke permitting)

For week 33, I did three out of my five goals.  Actually, two out of my four goals.  I decided at the last minute to split the reading and writing into two separate goals.

I didn't end up doing really any arts and crafts with my son, which I need to get better about.  I, at least, need to get some writing and coloring time in with him for a little bit each day.  Hey, he may even start to enjoy it once it becomes part of our daily routine.

I didn't get outside with our nicest camera to take photos because it was too smokey and I couldn't be outside for any decent length of time to do it.  Now it is supposed to be cooler and rainy the next few days, so I more than likely won't have much of an opportunity then either.  I have picked out some photos that I already have on hand to upload to my iStock account.  So until the weather and smoke start to be agreeable, I'll have to do what I can with what I have already.

Each day, I figured out how to get some exercise.  I had one really bad blood sugar day this week.  It was hot and the smoke was terrible.  I didn't get enough exercise that day.  We spent part of the morning and afternoon in Great Falls doing errands and we ate out, which typically doesn't go well for me, unless I am able to walk around quite a bit afterwards.  My blood sugar went down the in the later part of the day.  I ended up taking a long nap while my son napped and then later in the evening got some much needed exercise in our basement den while my son also got exercise jumping on his small trampoline.  We exercised together, separately.  It was a lot of fun.  :)

I have made it a point to read 30 minutes to an hour a day as well as write for 30 minutes to an hour a day.  My writing is usually done in my journal, although I am starting to branch out a little because I am working on some projects that require me to type up a few different timelines for the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation that is coming up in two years.  I also have some poems and short stories swimming around in my head that I really need to start writing down.  As for my reading time, I am finally catching up on my TIME magazines and I am getting further along in my book club book for September.  I should have it finished within the next week.  I am a very slow reader when it comes to books, but I remember everything I read in great detail.  Yeah for having a photographic memory.  Forcing myself to find the time each day to do these things has helped me to relax in the midst of the chaos going on around me.  My son in his crazy, bi-polar 3 year old stage, my husband being absent more because the church program year is starting again, and my crazy pregnancy hormones and the stress of having gestational diabetes, have really put a lot of stress on me.  Taking some time for me each day has become part of the daily routine and has been a great blessing in this time of chaos.

For week 34 of my healthier living journey in 2015, I'm pretty much going to stick to the same goals as the previous couple of weeks.  I want to make each of these part of my daily or at least part of my weekly routine.  Until next week, Keep on keeping on folks!  :)

Goals for week 34: 9/2 - 9/9/2015
1) Get outside with camera and take some everyday life and nature photos
2) Daily exercise/walking outside (weather and smoke permitting)
3) Coloring and writing with my son for 10 minutes each day
4) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to read each day
5) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to write each day
6) Be in better contact with friends and family this week

Check out these websites that you can order my book on....

You can now officially order my book, "Crisis of Identity: Christians as Minorities in the Holy Land (1798-1948), a Brief History",  on the following websites:


My personal Tate Publishing Author website
meganpratola.tateauthor.com

Amazon.com (can be found in Kindle e-book format)
http://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Identity-Christians-Minorities-1798-1948/dp/1681422298/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440714964&sr=1-1&keywords=megan+pratola&pebp=1440715415849&perid=1EEN3WMQ22HSNDX5Y24T


Barnes&Noble.com (can be found in NOOK e-book format)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crisis-of-identity-megan-l-pratola/1121822022?ean=9781681422299

Check it out and purchase a copy for yourself, family member, member of your congregation, etc....

Enjoy!!! :)

Week 32 of Healthier Living in 2015

8/26/2012
For week of: 8/19 - 8/26/2015
Weigh in Weight: 160.2 lbs
Previous Weigh in Weight: 158.8 lbs gain of 1.4 lbs

Goals for Week 32:
1) Do more arts and crafts with my son to work on writing and coloring skills
2) Daily walk outside (weather permitting)
3) Set aside 30 minutes to 1 hour each day to read and also to write
4) Journal at least twice during the week
5) Get outside and take photos to upload on my contributor iStock account

Week 32 was a bit of a roller coaster for me.  I had some emotional breakdowns and I was stuck inside more than I would have liked to be because of the unhealthy air conditions due to smoke from the many wildfires in our part of the country.  I ended up having some water retention issues, which are starting to get better.  But mostly the weight gain is from my pregnancy.  It is a good weight gain and means baby boy is healthy and growing, so I'm not concerned with gaining weight at this point.  If I gain too much weight that will be a problem, but for the most part, I have gained a healthy amount and continue to fluctuate slightly depending on if I am having water retention issues or not.

Today I braved the outdoor air twice with my three year old son because neither of us could stand being inside anymore.  Our first short walk was this morning to the post office and our afternoon walk was to the bank.  Both short enough to get outside and not have too many problems with the terrible air quality.

As for my goals list for week 32, I am going to keep things brief.  I worked on four of my goals.  I kept forgetting our nice larger camera on the evenings that we went for walks so I didn't do much with my goal for taking photos to upload onto my contributor iStock account.  On the other hand, the most recent photos I submitted were accepted and are now up on the website for anyone to purchase and download, so I'm slowly getting my head on straight and will remember to take our camera on future outings.

I did do some arts and crafts with my three year old son, but not as much as I would have liked.  We spent more time in our den in the basement playing and relaxing this week because of the heat and smoke outside.  Most of the arts and crafts, I picked up for us to do together are quite messy and are better to do outside than inside.  The whole idea of nagging him to not make too big of a mess the whole time is just not appealing to me, so we did other play activities together instead.  Both my husband and I continue to work with him on writing, drawing and coloring, the latter two just for fun, the former because it is a basic skill he needs to learn.

I had to take shorter walks this week because of the smokey conditions outside.  Last night the air cleared a bit so the three of us took a longer walk during which our son fell asleep.  I really love taking walks with my family in the evening because we get to talk to each other, especially my husband and I.  It is a good bonding time for us and I will miss it very much as cooler autumn and winter approach.  Even when it is just my son and I on the walk, we get some good bonding time and chat a bit.

The best thing I've done for myself in a long time is to set aside 30 minutes to an hour to read and 30 minutes to an hour to write everyday.  I am getting caught up on my book club reading and TIME magazine reading.  I am writing in my journal, writing possible future blog post ideas, or just free writing which has been such a boon to my writers block the last few years.  I am actually motivated and believe that I can open up a new WORD document and start typing a story.  Or in my case, I have to continue working on a timeline for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation for the Montana Synod of the ELCA and I don't freeze when I open the document to start typing in more information.  Setting aside the time, to especially write has kicked my writer block to the curb for now.  Setting aside the time to read everyday has also been wonderful for me.  It helps alleviate anxiety about getting too far behind in my reading as well as allowing me to enjoy some great writing too.  The adage, "The more you read the better you write," is very true.  So I will be continuing to have this time for myself each day, even if it means that one of my son's shows is on in the background and he is making a mess of the living room while I do so.

I have been writing in my journal a lot lately because I've been anxious about the future.  Adding another member to the family can have that affect on a person.  How am I going to handle two kids in the middle of winter with no place to take them to escape the house?  How is it going to change my relationship with my husband?  How am I going to survive the winter and the church program year?  Where are we going to be in a year from now?  Knowing that I'm not cut out to be a stay-at-home-mom, what are some steps we can take as a family to move forward?  Transition is scary but I thank God that I am not alone and that through his grace he has put people in our lives that will help us through this time of transition, whether that means continuing where we are, or starting anew elsewhere.

Okay, so much for being brief with my comments on my week 32 goals.  I will bid you adieu for now with my list of goals for week 33.  Until next time, Keep on keeping on!

Goals for week 33: 8/26 - 9/2/2015
1) Do more arts and crafts with my 3 year old that help him with his writing, coloring and drawing skills
2) Daily exercise (get creative if stuck inside)
3) Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to read each day and 30 minutes to an hour to write
4) Get outside with our nice larger camera and take photos to upload onto my contributor iStock account