Today is a new day....

I know...a quote from "Chicken Little." What else do you expect from a mom with a 4 year old???

Let's first start this by saying that I've always wanted to blog. In the past, I've found excuses to never have the time. But in the past few months, I've suddenly found myself with LOTS of extra time on my hands (more about that later) and among many other things that I've started lately, I've decided to blog. So here it is...my new blog. Hopefully this will be more of a journey for me to look back on and laugh about how hectic life can be as a wife and mommy of 2 kids under the age of 5, mixed with a dog, a cat, a house and a full-time career.

To catch you up...if you are a follower of my Facebook, you've seen that life in the Evans household had DRASTICALLY changed over the past year. We added precious Madison (Maddie) Kendall to our family in June. She's coming up on a year soon (grrrr) and is soooo cute. Morgan will also celebrate her 5th birthday and graduate from Pre-K 4 in May. She will be starting Kindergarten at Northlake Christian next fall. You will also have realized as a Facebook follower that I quit my job at Cox in January and started a new life as an Internet Marketing Content Manager at PoolCorp. If you're not familiar, PoolCorp is the largest distributor of swimming pool, spa and recreational products in the world. The best part is that their international headquarters is located in Covington...yep, exactly 3 miles from my front door. As you remember (and heard me complain about often), my commute to Cox was about 40 miles one way. The worst part about the commute was losing over 3 hours a day getting to/from work. It was really taking a toll on the amount of time I was spending with my family. Now, I am home at 5:08 pm each night which allows me to cook dinner, play with the kids, etc. It's been awesome!

So, now that you're caught up...let me tell you about what else I've had time for that I've brushed aside for YEARS...working out. One of the perks of working at PoolCorp is that we get a great discount at several local fitness centers. So, I explored a few and chose one near our house. On February 1, I joined Star Fitness. Now, I've been a member of fitness centers before: Elmwood, Curetons, Loyola and UNO's Fitness Centers, Premiere...name it, I've probably had a membership at some point or another. But never have I been consistent. But there is something different about Star Fitness. It's small...when I say "small" I mean there's like 6 treadmills, 4 stationary bikes, only one class studio and a handful of weight machines. But that's what I think I like about it. It's never crowded (unless the Silver Sneakers are exercising on Saturday mornings). And it's not one of those meat market fitness centers. No one is flashing their muscles, staring at themselves in the mirror...it's just people trying to get healthy. So, I am proud to say that since Feb 1, I've been going 5-6 times a week. It's awesome. I've also adapted a new, healthier lifestyle by cutting out all fried foods (next to impossible in New Orleans), processed sugar (I never had one single piece of King Cake all season!), and carbonated drinks (even Diet Coke). And since Feb 1st until today, I've lost 26 lbs. I know that's taking a chance putting it out there like that because now people will hold me accountable (please do!), but it's something I'm proud of and hope to continue to work on.

And to keep motivated, I've also decided to walk/jog at least one or two organized 5Ks a month. I have a few coming up and would appreciate the encouragement... The "Keep Covington Beautiful" 5K on March 26th and the Northshore American Heart Association's Heart Walk on April 2. I'm raising money for that one by the way, if you would like to support with donations at Janel's Heart Walk Page.

I guess that's enough news for one blog, but I will keep you up to date with everything going on in our lives! Until next time, here's a pic of my cuties taken this past "Sunday Gras" before church.

Morgan (4) and Maddie (8 months) - 3/6/11

Janel