Better.

So Jim and I have decided to be healthier. Being healthier in regards to food, activity and lifestyle. I am very much into coupons, but a lot of the foods that are on sale aren't the best things for you. So we've decided that the extra cost for healthier food is worth it for our family. I can still use my coupons to score free toiletries (All our shampoo/conditioner, deodorant and toilet paper I scored for FREE to under a dollar! If I ever had to pay full price for those items I would cringe! LOL), but no more junk food. If we get the munchies, instead of snacking on chips or cookies, we will snack on nuts (unsalted), fruits or veggies. But of course with the holidays coming up, we will have cheat meals/days (NOT going to deprive myself Thanksgiving dinner!), but overall, we are committing ourselves to eating healthier foods.

Also, we are becoming more active. I am now 10 lbs UNDER my pre-pregnancy weight and besides breatfeeding, I definitely feel I've played an active role to losing that baby weight. I am now walking with my neighbor Kim a few times a week in the mornings with her kiddos and Abigail and also going to the gym a few times a week in the evenings. Since Fresh N Easy, CVS and Sprouts are all within walking distance (less than a mile from my house) Abigail and I will be walking/jogging there when we need something from there. I think Abby has fun on our walks. She gets to breathe in fresh air and experience all the new sights and sounds that the outdoors bring. Fun for Abby and exercise for mommy, we both win. :)

As far as a healthier lifestyle, we are surrounding ourselves with friends who love God and want to live better for Him. Every other Tuesday night we have restarted our t-groups. 'T-groups' is short for transformation groups. Something our church does where you get together with a couple people of the same gender and can be totally transparent with. We tell each other our struggles, pray for each other, look for biblical answers to our questions and keep each other accountable to stay on the right path. I love that we've started t-groups again. We used to be involved with them about 2 years ago, but then we just didn't make it a priority anymore and it just fell off our schedules. We believe it's important to have those people in your life that you can go to for accountability, spiritual support and guidance. Also, we are hosting bible study at our home every Wednesday night. Hosting it assures that we will actually attend hehe and I purposely don't work Wednesday nights because of it. I am also trying out a new work schedule in December, so I will be able to go to church without rushing to get to work or falling asleep because I just got off work.

And I want to be better in my profession. Lately, I feel like I've just been going to work and trying to rush those 3 days so I can get to my 'real' job which is being at home with Abby the rest of the 4 days of the week. But it's not working. While I'm at work, I am trying to better myself as a nurse, but as soon as I get home, I forget about work until I have to go in again. Now my hospital is requiring all RNs to get their BSN - Bachelor's of Science in Nursing. I only have my Associate's of Applied Science in Nursing (but it took me and the rest of the associate's prepared RNs just as long to get their degrees, but don't even get me started on that...). Most hospitals won't hire you anymore if you don't have your BSN. The cutoff date at my hospital isn't until 2020, but I know the sooner I get it, the better. I was wanting to put it off until Abigail and our future child that we're planning on having were at least in pre-school/kindergarten, but I know I'll have an excuse then too to not want to go back to school, so there's no better time than the present. Logically, I know now is the best time while Abby is still young and won't remember this time and before the next baby is here. But school equals money and the money we've been trying to save up is supposed to go towards our dream home in Marley Park before their homes become too expensive again. So we'll see. I'm praying about this. I know I need to do this relatively soon. But besides getting my BSN, I want to takes steps to becoming a better nurse now. I have forgotten so much since nursing school and since I work on the medical side of the medical/oncology floor, I get patients with a wide variety of illnesses. I need to set aside time on my days off to study.