meet the sojourners..


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Grind

Note: The original author of this post is a man named Erik Ledin, I copied and pasted from this site here:LeanBodiesConsulting

*Just wanting to give credit where credit is due. So, nope this is not my original creative thought process, but a copy of someone else's....

However, that being said, with everything just being HARD right now. In ALL areas, gym, eating healty, kids, adoption adjustment, finances, friendships, etc.... this was a good reminder to just GRIND through it all, it's worth it!



The Grind
 
The Grind is that time in your physique transformation where you just put your head down and grind it out.

It's often the time between the initial fast "newbie" results and the final results. Changes are occurring in your body, but you may not see them from week to week.
 
Mentally, The Grind is also where some of that new program and new diet enthusiasm wears off and it all becomes routine, even boring. There's nothing left to do or say really; you just work the plan, day to day to day.
 
But toward the end of The Grind, what'll happen is that you'll glance back at your "befores" and realize you've made some major changes. Other people will begin to notice. And that positive feedback will reignite the enthusiasm. And that will cause you to kick the training up a notch, leading to more results.

I think The Grind applies to life in general too, not just to losing fat and gaining muscle. There are simply times when we have to put aside all distractions (even the good ones), put our heads down, grit our teeth, and grind it out. At the end of The Grind lies an achievement, something great, or some reward or pay-off. But The Grind always comes first.

 
Thing is, most people won't make this sacrifice; they won't even begin The Grind, much less finish it. And that's why most people don't succeed. The Grind is often what separates the great from the average.
 
It's as simple as that sometimes.



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

as promised...

the finished project.





Remember how I said my inspiration came from my incredibly talented friend Natalie? Well, if I were incredibly talented too, I could figure out what is going on with my camera and make it take pictures so the colors would actually LOOK like what the desks looks like.... but alas, I am not Natalie so this is the best you're gonna get. You'll just have to take my word for it that it looks better in person.

Monday, March 14, 2011

the little things

I'm a little unusual, I know. And I'm ok with that. Most girls don't count down the hours till they're back in the gym, most girls don't get psyched out when they GAIN weight, most girls don't prefer or get giddy over  shopping for gym clothes and tennis shoes... most girls don't strive to lift heavier weights each and everytime they are in the gym. And most girls certainly don't want to outlift the guy next to them. Most girls wouldn't take offense at being called SKINNY, or be thrilled at being called HUGE. But I would, and I'm okay with that, it's me. I LOVE it, I LOVE the challenge, the hard work, the sweat and the payoff- for me, it's the greatest FUN there is. Most girls accesorize and wear all kinds of "cute" jewelry, and that's great, just doesn't work for me. I wear rubber "live strong" bracelets on my wrist and when I can find it, my wedding ring. Just never could find a necklace that really suited me.... until now!

I am pleased to present my "GYM GEM"

See.... isn't it PERFECT!?!?! I love it!

Another shot:


Sunday, March 13, 2011

Yes, it's true...

I'm back... kinda. I'm not doing any adoption updates right now. Please don't ask for them, when I'm ready to share what's been going on around here, I'll share, until then, please respect that that area is off limits and private for now. We've had custody for just over 4 months, and been home just over 3. Vlad is in school, and ACADEMICALLY doing well beyond what his ESL teacher anticipated he'd be doing by this point. As a family we are still very much adjusting, we have some OK days, some bad days, and some days I consider slamming my head through a window...

But, that being said, here's a recent photo. He sure can be cute sometimes.


That being said, here are some projects I've been working on lately.
We've... errrr, ok, I've done some major overhaul on the house lately. Unfortunately after 3 months at attempting to keep all the boys together, it just wasn't working out. So, I cleaned out the playroom and have redistributed the toys and turned the playroom into Asher's "big boy" room. He hasn't slept in it yet, I'm waiting for his dresser to arrive-it's gotta be complete you know. Then the TV which also used to be in the playroom got moved to the office. The office had to downsize it's number of books to make room for a second desk since I'm going back to school in the fall (that's another story). And that lead to my sanding, priming and refinishing the old desk and turning it into the entertainment center, allowing me to move the dresser it had been sitting on upstairs for Vlad to use. Then Darren and I both got new $100 desks from Target. Yea, we're big spenders. HA.

Pictures of the desks makeover-inspiration came from my SUPER talented friend Natalie.


As it was
Sanded

1st coat of primer

3rd coat of primer

1st can of colored paint

After 3 cans... (it took a total of 6 cans of spray paint)

Finished pictures to be added at a later date. =)