Here I am sitting in Platte City...

What a hot day we had today. Em played in her last soccer tournament for the season. The Salsa Tournament in Raytown, Mo. So fun but sooooo hot! We did get to splash around in our friend's pool in Blue Springs (home of AI David Cook!!) for an hour or so in between games.

We are now at the Best Western in Platte City, just 5 minutes from KCI. We have our churches Stake Conference in the morning. Elder Holland will be here from Salt Lake. We are all sooo excited! Several church members are staying at the same hotel. Jacks and Em are swimming, Dave is reading up in our room and I'm sitting in the cozy lobby by the fireplace writing. Imagine that...me writing. I sooo love this. I can already feel my soul starting to breathe easier and just relax. Love that about my writing. Man, I'm loving this keyboard, too. I'll have to look into buying one.

Besides posting about our weekend get-away, I'm ready to share something exciting with you. Starting June 30th I have decided to take the Body for Life fitness challenge. It is a 12 week long mind, body and soul transformation. And when I say take the challenge...I mean I am actually going to take photos, do the work and turn in my official BFL entry form. I have tried this before, made it nearly half way through and quit. I've been reading old journals of my last challenge and the changes I was making...all so good. Why I quit I'll never understand. This time though...this time I want it so bad.

Why June 30th? Several reasons. #1 is that is when the next challenge starts. The last one for the years begins Sept. 6th but I don't want to wait that long. Sure, I've tried talking myself out of this time...I mean I've got a family reunion, trip to Chicago and local fairs coming up. All of them involve FOOD. But honestly there is never going to be a right time. NEVER. So, I'm just gonna have to enjoy the event rather than the food, right?!
Since I've decided to begin the Challenge, I've found myself eating all my favorites. Mexican food, brownines, pizza and ice cream. With each bite I take I say to myself, "Enjoy this now because soon you won't be able to." That really isn't true. With BFL you are encouraged to take one FREE day and indulge a bit. So instead of eating poorly everyday you get to eat one or two of your favorite junk foods once a week.

To help me get through this challenge and to keep it honest I'm going to log everything here. Even my dreaded "Before" photo. YIKES!!

I know I have almost a month before the Challenge begins. I'm going to prepare by making a core list of meals and snacks, exercise plans and get my body used to getting up earlier. I am excited at what the future holds.