some changes.....

I've decided to change a few of my normal, everyday routine to make things easier, simpler, less time-consuming on me. Now, these are not major changes, but being a creature of habit, any change can be a bit overwhelming.
Let's start with Change #1......

1. I am starting my 'maternity leave' from jazzercise on Thursday, July 28th. Yes it makes me so incredibely sad that I won't see my regular jazzercise ladies every Tues & Thurs morning, but I know that is time for me to hang up my microphone & headset. For the past 2 weeks, my microphone belt has fallen off of me during every single class - apparently my stomach is past the 'stretch capacity limit' of the belt. During class I am starting to have lower back pains & was cramping up the other day. I'm also just gettng uncomfortable & pushing myself too hard to keep up with the momentum & energy that I used to have while teaching. I'm still going to go to class & continue working out, I'm just going to do it as a student where no one has to follow my cues!
2. I have always been one to carry around a big old purse full of everything I could ever imagine needing. For example, I currently have a full size bottle of Tums and some tampons in my purse (as if I have been needing those for the past ummmm 7 months???). Pretty sure my purse was weighing in around 8 -10 lbs & considering I'm already carrying an extra 20 lbs on my body, I think I can do without the extra purse weight. So I cleaned out my purse & switched to one of those Coach shoulder bags that slings over your body & can barely even fit my cell phone, iphone + wallet in it. It's a sacrifice, but I'm giving it a shot!! And hoping that my shoulder, back pain will ease up a little bit from it!!
3. I bought lipstick!!!!!!!!!! Yes I am very excited about change#3!!!! I feel a little more grown up & a lot more sophisticated when I put my new lipstick on my smackers :) It's Clinique's new Butter Shine Lipstick so it's like a lipstick & a shiny gloss all it one (except in the fun lipstick tube!) and my color is Pink Beach. It gives me some color without washing out my face (like those neutral tones do for me). I even re-loaded my kissers after dinner last night (YES, we were out for dinner last night).
4. Okay, saying this gives me a slight case of anxiety. But I'm trying it to 'simplify' my life. I AM GOING TO STOP BALANCING MY CHECKBOOK. (breathe. breathe....breathe....) You see, I've been balancing my checkbook since I was in the 6th grade. My dad taught me the importance of it & I have never ever stopped doing it because it gives me this sense of control over my bank account. It makes me look at every transaction, makes me think before buying, and it makes me aware of exactly how much money is in our account. And no, this is not just for the 'checks' that I write. It's for every debit card purchase that either JJ or I make from our bank account. Why am I stopping if I love doing it so much? Well, sometimes JJ will use our debit card when he's working & he makes a billion small purchases throughout the day. Which means I have to check online banking & go back into our check register & write each & every tiny transaction down (which gets a little annoying). Also, I've been majorly slacking & haven't balanced it (meaning subtracted each transaction from my total balance in our account) since ummmm May. So if I don't have the time or energy to do it now, what makes me think that I will be on top of it after we have the baby? I won't. Plain & simple. Plus, if you refer back to Change #2, you'll see that I've already had to make sacrifices on what's going to fit in my new & improved tiny purse. The checkbook & check register didn't make the cut.

So that's it!! I'll let you know how it goes & if I keep up on applying & re-applying my new lipstick!!!! Happy Weekend! MUAHHHH!