Life's little blessings

wow, talk about a busy weekend.

Friday was spent volunterring and cleaning up, went to dinner with friends for a birthday :)  and then early to bed. 

Saturday was a go-go all day long.  We worked around the house for a little while in the morning, went to drop off some donated items and later in the day, went to Magoo's for a little get-together.  We got to see several of our classmates and just had a blast.  Danced and talked, does it get any better than that?

Sunday was a day for cleaning our own property.  I can not belive that the weather - it is stinkin' hot here.  And humid.  I think I got a little overheated.  We were standing there on the foundation of our house, sweating like crazy thinking that it was so overwhelming the amount of debis to clean up.

 Then a guy pulls up in a pickup truck, comes up to talk to us.  Asks if we are the owners of the house, his sister lives 2 houses down (thankfully she is ok)  and he is from TX and his church group wants to help us clean up our property.  When we were talking and telling him about our other houses, he told us that his group would just take care of this house so that we can focus on our other houses.  Is that not the best blessing?  God is working miracles here in Joplin every single day!  Don't you doubt it at all!!!

My favorite helper!

Wow! What a couple of days!  We have been meeting ourselves coming and going! 

Wednesday, we had Miss Madelyn and it was good to be in a somewhat normal routine.  She tagged along as we made a few food deliveries and kept us in laughs.  Not only is she bossy, but she is funny!!  She's my favorite helper!

She thought it was really funny that she could put her feet on the back of our seats.  She was pretty proud of herself!!

We have met with our insurance company on the rental properties.  All I can say is that if you are thinking of changing to a new insurance company - Columbia is THE one to go with!  They have treated us with the most respect and understanding and very promptly.  I have heard so many horror stories already and I'm sure there will be more to come.  We have been paid in full for the 3 total losses and the 1 house that is being repaired.  All within 1 week.  Can you ask for anything more?  I think not!

I've been posting interesting photos on my Feeling Fit with Dana facebook page.  I am not going to post any more photos of the damage and sadness, I'm just posting things I find interesting.  Today's photo is Spiderman in the tree with the flags flying!  LOVE it!

And if you didn't know, President Obama came to town.  We made the mistake of getting out in town and got stuck, could not get home because the motorcade was coming through.  So, we made the best of it:

Forgive the no makeup and bags under the eyes, we are worn slick!

 The beginning of the motorcade, I couldn't even begin to count how many motorcycle cops went by.

 The President is in there somewhere......

Traffic backed up FOREVER!

We finally made it home, we've been working like crazy, helping out as much as we can and just trying to recover!

Suprise, Suprise, Suprise!!!!

Hey everyone, it is Tuesday (already???) and I am having Fit Club tonight!   

I thought about canceling, but decided that we need to have some sort of normal routine and it is always good to see our friends and exercise is a GREAT way to burn off some stress.  Lord knows, everyone in our area is under a LOT of stress these days.

So, it is going to be Clubbers Choice Workout tonight!  You get to decide what workout we do.  We'll take a vote right before we get started, so SURPRISE workout tonight!

I'm getting back on my workout schedule today.  Workouts have been slacking, eating has been all over the place, eating whatever I could get my hands on.  I have been limiting my water intake (bathrooms are scarce around here) and today all that is changing!

I'm packing my lunch and packing my water!  Getting my workout groove on in about 5 minutes.  I'll be in WOWY, since I'm short, I'm usually on the front row :)  Don't have a coach or a WOWY account?  Get one here and I'll be your coach and help you reach your fitness/health goals! Oh yeah, it doesn't cost a thing and every time you log your workout, you have a chance to win cash or other cool prizes - ipod touch, cameras.....  WIN-WIN!

Discussion:  What is your workout today?

Eating on the run!

My eating has been off lately since we have been so busy, running around and working so much.  I am going to plan better this week and make better choices.

source

The problem I had was that I didn't take my food with me every day.  The first couple of days, I had a big bag with me - oranges, protein bars, shakeology, and almonds.  I could stop for a snack if I was hungry.  Most of the time that didn't happen, but I did have food that I could eat.

Then I got tired, didn't feel like packing any food up and just ran out the door thinking I could wing it - WRONG!  I ended up having a small bag of chips and peanut butter crackers most of the time for lunch.  First of all, that is not enough food and it is empty calories. 

So, I thought I could put a post together about eating on the run and the best choices to pack.

Fruit - easy and very portable, full of nutrition. Oranges, bananas, apples - whatever you like!

Almonds/Nuts - great protein pick me up - put them in the snack sized baggies for the correct portion sizes.

PB&J sammys - doesn't necessarily have to be refrigerated, easy to fix and transport.

Shakeology - just toss a packet in your bag and mix with water - super easy on-the-go meal with all the nutrition you need.

Protein bars/granola bars - Just make sure you don't take the chocolate ones if it is hot.  They get quite messy!!!

Water - toss in several bottles of water (now that the boil order has been lifted, you can use your re-fillable bottle!)  A cute water bottle always makes me smile!!

If you plan in advance, you CAN eat healthy on the run.  It may not be the same as eating at home, but healthy choices are available and it's so much better than a bag of chips!

not many words

This has just been a week.  There is so much to tell, yet I have no words.  I'll try.

Photo by Julia Buchholz 

I found out yesterday that a friend died at the Home Depot.  I am so saddened and pray for his family.  RIP Sam.

They still haven't found Will Norton.  Please keep praying for him and the family. I went to school with Tracey, Will's aunt.   Tracey is doing an amazing job and is the strongest person I know.  For those of you that are not familiar with his story, Will is an 18 year old that had just graduated from high school.  He and his dad, Mark were on their way home when the tornado struck.  The car flipped several times and Will was sucked out of the sunroof and hasn't been found.  Mark has injuries and is in the hospital, but will be ok.  Tracey has been spreading the word  and the photo of Will so that possibly someone will recogonize him and he can be found.

The insurance adjustor met with Brian yesterday and as we suspected,  we had 3 total losses and 1 house that will be able to be repaired.  I have to say that Columbia Insurance has stepped up to the plate and taken VERY good care of us - AGAIN!  (The tornado that struck Carl Junction in 2003 caused a lot of damage to our rental properties as well)

Several of my friends that have lost their homes or have damaged homes are now having to deal with looters.  Nothing like kicking a person when they are down.  I heard one story of a family being held at gunpoint while the looters took their things. 

Evidently, Obama is coming to town on Sunday.  This is going to be a mess.  I understand the need for him to come here, but talk about a nightmare in shutting things down.  We just need to find our people and clean up.  Sorry, just my opinion, it will be a 3 ring circus here on Sunday, we don't need that!

Joplin (and the surrounding communities) are STRONG, the people are wonderful, there is so much compassion and help and just lvoe.  There isn't one person that hasn't been affected by this in some way.

I'll try to find good stories to tell tomorrow, Lord only knows that we need some!

tornado damages

After my last post about the path to happiness, it has been hard to find the happiness in our area.  We were hit with an E F-5 tornado in our town. 

We are fine, our house is fine.

So many people have been lost, so many properties have been destroyed (about 1/3 of our town is gone). 

We own rental property in the disaster area, 3 houses are completely gone, 2 more have damage.  The happiness in this instance is that all the tenants are ok.  When you see what is left of some of these houses, you know that it was a miracle.

I took these first 2 photos of our rental properties the day after the tornado, it was storming yet again, so I apologize for the quality of them.  I am hoping to get by these properties today and get more photos and see what can be done there.

Jake's girlfriend, Morgan lost her aparment and most of her belongings.  We were able to recover some of her clothes, her hope chest and some memorablia. 

My niece, Stephanie lost her house as well.

It is sad, there are not a lot of smiles, but we are coping and trying to deal with it all.

We have been cleaning and searching for beloved items and have found many of them!  Our friend Judy's grandmother's ring, our friend Don's dad's ashes, things that are so special and basically can't be replaced.

That is what I am choosing to focus on - the good things that are happening - a baby found alive yesterday in a car on Main St.  Finding my friend that was missing.  Houses and things can be replaced, but people can't.

I'm sure you've seen the coverage on TV, so I won't go into all the details, but it is just so hard to describe, when we are driving around, it's hard to figure out where you are. The landmarks are gone, there are no street signs.  People are wandering around and it is absolutely crazy.  The photos just do not do it justice.

We are still missing some friends, so please keep our area in your prayers.

The path to happiness?

I have a VERY blessed life.  I have a wonderful husband, an amazing family, great friends and support system and a job I love.  I am so happy!

So, what is it that makes YOU happy?  Are you happy?

Here's what works for me.

Surround yourself with positive people.  No negative Nellies for me.  When you choose, yes it is a choice, to be positive, then positive things start to happen for you as well.  Life is too short to be around negative, unhappy people.  Find the people that you enjoy being around. 

Work on your personal developement.  I read personal developement books EVERY day.  Read 10 pages everyday.  Choose books that interest you.  But, you must work on yourself daily!    If you would like a suggestion of books to get you started, let me know.  I have a lot of great ones that I have read.

Do something fun everyday.  It can be as easy as putting on some music and dancing around the house, or playing a game with your kids, but do something fun every single day! 

Exercise and eat right.  You feel better, look better, sleep better and yes, you are happier!  Break a sweat for 10 minutes a day.  Do an exercise that you love, if you don't like to exercise, you just haven't found the right one for you yet.  Keep looking, it is out there.  I'd be happy to help you find one that is just right for you.  Eat healthy food.  Avoid processed foods and drive-thrus.  It's hard to be happy when you feel crappy. 

Smile.  Just smiling can make a HUGE difference, share your smile with others, spread the happiness with people you see.  Happiness is contagious.



Laugh.  Be with people that laugh and make you laugh.  It adds years to your life, and you will have some great memories to share and remember.

Keep a gratitude journal.  Seriously, write down the things you are grateful for and BE GRATEFUL.  Everyone has something in their lives to be appreicative about.  Write it down!  Get a cute notebook, it just makes it even better :)

Love yourself.  There are many great things about YOU!  You are one of a kind, know this and find the things you love about yourself.  If you are struggling with it, then change the things you don't love.  We are all a work in progress.  Nobody is perfect.  Don't compare yourself to others, just be the best YOU can be!

Pray.  Have a relationship with God.  Talk to him daily! 

I don't guarantee that if you do all these things you will be happy, but you will be more fulfilled and if you remember that happiness is a choice, all you have to do is choose to be happy!

Discussion:  What makes you happy?