A Positive Attitude…

Is a choice.

I read that off of a reader board church sign the other day and really liked it.

I figured it was GOD wanting me to get the message, so I turned around and stole the letters off the sign. Just kidding. But wouldn’t that be funny.

“Uh, you see officer, I felt like GOD wanted me to get that message so I took it. LOL!!!! ” 🙂

I do think a positive attitude is a choice. And, to be honest it’s a choice I haven’t been doing very well with lately. I seem to be a bit more sensitive and short fused. I know, I know…. it’s the stopping smoking. But, how long should I let that be an excuse?

Right here right now, I say stop using it as an excuse and focus on the positives. Focus on the feel good parts and the happy parts and be thankful for the challenges because the challenge is what makes it worth it. Right? Right!

Here is a pictures of our Mardi Gras dinner last week. Shrimp and grits. YUM!!!

Blog Food Pics 015

So, are you with me? From here on out my choice is a positive attitude. Not to worry about the things I can’t change, but change the things I can and to enjoy all the things that make me happy and not take them for granted. Especially shrimp and grits 🙂

Y’all Take Care!

Lori

Monday Money (week 2)

Happy Monday Y’all!

Last week we figured out how much money we have. I hope you kept up with it so that this Monday you already know how much money you have available to you. (you have kept up with it, right?)

This week we are going to add to the routine of keeping track of how much money we have with figuring out how much money we spend.

We are going to write down every penny we spend. Keep a piece of paper or an index card in your pocket or purse and every time you spend money I want you to write it down. Even if it’s just a cup of coffee, or a news paper… write it down. All week.

It doesn’t matter if it’s cash, debit card, check, or credit card, write it down.

Even if it’s something you do routinely like putting gas in the car, write it down.

The first time I did this it was very eye opening. It didn’t occur to me that those little daily purchases were actually costing me big money when added up. If you stop at the drive through dollar menu a few times a week for breakfast, then stop for a nice coffee a few times a week, believe me it’s adding up.

One of the main reasons I wanted to quit smoking is because of the money it was costing me. My smokes were costing me almost $5 a day, $35 a week, $140 a month all the way up to almost $1,700.00 a year! That’s huge!

The thing was, I knew I was wasting this money. I knew it because it was a stupid habit. It wasn’t like eating. I mean, we have to eat to fuel our body, to live. So stopping at the drive through for breakfast might seem ordinary because we are feeding our body, and our body needs food.

Those are the expenses that slip by us and we don’t realize how much they are adding up.

What we want to figure out this week is where our money is going. We aren’t going to alter our routines this week. The only goal here is to get a picture of where our money is going.

I hope you have a great day!

Y’all take care!

Lori

Friday Fun with Lori Likes….

It’s Friday, It’s Friday!!! Yea Yea, Yea Yea! It’s Friday, It’s Friday!!! Yea Yea, Yea Yea.

Go ahead you know you want to.

Nobody’s looking. Do it. Sing with me.

It’s Friday, It’s Friday!!! Yea Yea, Yea Yea!!

Thank you, I feel much better now, knowing I’m part of your day. FA-REAKY! 🙂

Don’t forget to “spring forward” this weekend. Set your clocks forward an hour on Saturday before you go to bed. Yep, spring is on the way! YYYAAAYYY

OK, there are some things in this world that I like. But there are some things in this world that I (honestly) consider as must haves! Anyone who knows me will agree that I love my…..

Yes, I love my lipstick and chapstick! These are just the ones I have right now in my purse. I can’t stand dry lips!!!! I feel like I can’t talk without my lipstick on. And, I’m sure sometimes the Zman wishes he could hide them all from me for that very reason. Which is exactly why I keep them stashed around the house, car, and my purse.

And, I’ll also share with you that I love big hair. Yep, I love big hair and I can not lie…. (got you singing again didn’t I) 🙂

Lipstick and big hair. Yep, those are two of my favorite things.

What? C’mon ladies, we should NOT blend in with the woodwork! We are BEAUTIFUL!!!

So, pull out your lipstick and hairspray and rock the big hair and hot lips this weekend! Be proud of it. Be confident. Be BEAUTIFUL!!!

I hope you have a Fun Friday and a lovely weekend!

P.S. You know what this means, right? Another one of my favorite things…

That’s right… homemade pizza and beer night with the Zman! Yea Yea!

Y’all take care!

Lori

The Last Bag!!!!

Zman and I are doing very good with our mission of stopping smoking, which is a very good thing, because I started my workout program on Tuesday and thought I might die! It was 25 minutes of cardio and I really thought I was going to cough up a lung after the workout. I can’t imagine what it would feel like if I had still been smoking. The burning in my chest, the coughing…. did not feel good.

But, I will push through, I will triumph!!! See me now, pumping my fist in the air in victory.

Ok, actually it’s more like seeing me trying to pick myself up off the floor, crawling to the sofa, gasping for air, wondering if I should call 911, can I even make it to the phone…. (note to Lori, keep phone close by when exercising)

VICTORIOUS!!!!

We are doing good… Sure the urges still come and go, but they aren’t as strong and there are fewer of them. This is a very good thing, it means that we are getting over the habit part of smoking.

Honestly, for me, the habit is the hardest part to get over. I’ve used dum dum suckers (ironic don’t you think?) to help me get over the hand to mouth sensation. The other day I pulled up to the stop sign at the end of the road where before I always lit a cigarette. I put a dum dum sucker in my mouth, then cracked the car window so the smoke could go out! Habit. I did get a good laugh at myself.

Zman on the other hand finds the nicotine and taste equally as hard as the habit part of stopping. But, he smoked full flavor menthol, and chewed the nicotine gum at work where he can’t smoke. So I get that he is having a harder time than me. Poor thing, I’m so proud of him!

While I still get urges of wanting a cigarette, honestly, the actual thought of the cigarette taste in my mouth turns my stomach. YUK! This is NOT the case for the Zman. He still misses the taste.

Back during Christmas time I bought several large bags of mini candy bars for the kids stocking stuffers. Now, our kids are older and do not live at home any more. But, our kids will always be our “kids” so I bought lots of candy for them. However, they politely let me know that “they really don’t eat that stuff anymore” Who knew????

So I was left with 3 very full, gallon bags of mini candy bars.

I stuck them into the freezer, Uh, because I wasn’t going to waste them!

This is what I found last night when I was doing the freezer inventory for the week.