kim underwood

Be Loved.

kimunderwood — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:35:16 +0000

Valentines Day and be such a bummer day for those of us who are “not attached” as Jane Austen would say. This year, I haven’t really given it much thought…until last night.

I was going through my mail and got the most wonderful valentine from a dear friend!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries…my fave. 2 Days in a row! Need I say more?

Then I got out to my car and these beauties were on my windshield…I have amazing friends!

The day is not over…but it certainly has been fun!

Lavished.

fivegoodthings

Chocolate covered strawberries…do I really need to go on??
Mystery’s
Mystery’s solved
A great workout
Lights out at the end of the day

The Lavishing Kind

kimunderwood — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:45:03 +0000

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

It’s been brought to my attention that God loves to LAVISH His kids and since I’m one to forget, I thought I’d keep a Lavished List. I’m going to take a look back starting with my birthday and chronicle them here. Then…I won’t forget!

How is God lavishing you?

December

8th- Had an amazing night at the Joy Fm Christmas party…and then was given an amazing gift!

14th- Pam, Peg and Haley surprised me by coming into town for my birthday! Had a great night and a sleepover!

15th- Bday..spent time with great friends and just relaxed

21st- SURPRISE Birthday party with about 60 “family” members! I felt VERY loved! Did I mention that people also wrote really nice cards? Yeah, I cried.

23rd-25th- Home for Christmas. Talk about LAVISHED! There is nothing quite like being known.

29th-The Hughes family came over for a painting party! Well, it wasn’t really a party…but everything sounds more fun when you add party to the end of it.

30th- My annual girls sleep over. My HS small group girls will graduate this year. I’ve had them since they were little freshies and now they are off to face the world. I’m so proud of them…my heart is full when I’m around them. Sydney, Tori, Alyssa, Jenna, Phoebe, Mia, Mandy and Katy… I am better for knowing and loving you all.

31st- NYE! Friends, Word Salad and Wii…need I say more?

January

6th-10th- AMAZING girls trip! I went with my roomies Gina and Jess to the Dominican Republic! We stayed at the most beautiful hotel I’ve ever been in! Open air buildings…beds so big that we all watched CNN (One of the only english channels) together!

Towards the end of January I was blessed by the Hughes family with brand new bedding from Crate and Barrel It’s SO beautiful and cozy!

Late January- I received an incredible compliment by someone in the radio industry. This is a compliment that I can live on for quite awhile. So thankful!

As you might be able to tell, the common thread in all of this lavishing is people. You. I’m so grateful for the family and friendships that God has given me over the years. Grateful that you continually choose to look beyond my mistakes and messiness and love me. There are not enough words to tell you how truly loved I feel.

Can’t forget this….

fivegoodthings

Pretzels
Cubeland at work
Feeling safe
Dental Floss
Electricity

November and fivegoodthings

kimunderwood — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:01:03 +0000

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted on my work out. Mostly that’s because I’m not in as much pain and have no reason to whine! HA!

Since it’s November and we often take time as a culture to remember and be thankful, I thought I’d do ~~a month~~, an almost month of primarily fivegoodthings.

So…here we go!

fivegoodthings

7 inches down in my weight loss journey
Facing your fears, even though it’s scary
Pulling out the electric blanket..YES!
Friends who talk you off your ledge
A toothbrush

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

¹⁶Always be joyful ¹⁷and never stop praying. ¹⁸Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.

Measuring Up

kimunderwood — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:38:31 +0000

CORRECTION: Measuring DOWN!

Today, as we do every Thursday, we took our measurements before working out. After 6 weeks of training 3 days a week with a trainer, here’s where I stand.

Abs: -3 inches

Hips: -2 inches

Thighs: -1 inch

For a total of 6 inches lost! I’m pretty darn excited about that! It’s the length of 2 credit cards or as my friend and coworker, Nick pointed out, it’s the length of a He-Man action figure! Sweet!

I often wonder if all of the sweat and hard work is paying off and I’m thrilled to say that it is. It’s happening in baby steps. I’m not seeing a huge change in my weight yet, but my clothes feel better and I’m sleep so much better than I have in a long time. That’s enough to keep me rolling out of bed and heading to the YMCA.

Have I mentioned how fantastic our trainers are? Morgan, Stephanie and Brittany. They are so encouraging and won’t let me quite when I really want to. Hats off to them…they are amazing women and really a big reason why I like going.

fivegoodthings

Doing this right
Being my own “biggest loser”
The delete button
Being a part of Cardinal Nation
Vacation

Monday

kimunderwood — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:19:37 +0000

Last night I took some NyQuil, yes I now have what’s known as the “Joy FM cold” and to be quite honest, I was hoping this cold would get me out of my Monday morning workout! Needless to say it did not…in fact, I was able to endure it just fine. Waa…waaa.

Today was all about the kettlebells! It’s amazing how swinging this weight around is such a great workout! After a circuit of different lifts, we went to the weighted rope (as seen in day one) then on to tossing a weighted basketball around my back with a partner. All in all a great morning and I have to say, I’m glad that I didn’t quit and stay in bed like I wanted to!

fivegoodthings

Kleenex
Cold Meds
Lots of water
Digging deep
Suspense

Strapped!

kimunderwood — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:11:14 +0000

We had a weigh in and measure yesterday and I’m thrilled to say that I’m losing inches! It’s so easy to get caught up on the numbers on a scale, so I’m trying to keep focused on how I feel and how my clothes are fitting!

Yesterday our workout was TRX focused. If you remember, I mentioned that a few posts ago…it’s the strappy things that hang from the ceiling. We did 40 minutes of arms, legs and core work. It was great but let’s just say that I’m not able to move my arms very well today. I know I showed you a video of people doing the TRX…but here’s the deal. They’re good at it. They hardly struggle with it. So, I thought I’d show you a few pictures of a real person struggling. That’s right me…in all of my 7am…sweaty glory.

So, that’s what it looks like…from the beginner. It’s actually quite fun, and an incredible workout!

Have you been on the move? Tell me what kind of workout you’ve been trying?

fivegoodthings

A day of rest
Fall temps
A night on the couch
Hoodie days
Mums

Moral of the Story

kimunderwood — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:48:53 +0000

Ever read the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? I own it. While my day wasn’t quite as bad as Alexander’s, it had a less than stellar start.

Last week I think my body was finally asking me…”what the heck are you doing to me?” The intense workouts and earlier bedtimes caused my body and mind to stage a small coup and revolt against me. I’ll spare you the details, but trust me…it was not good.

In prep for my early rise this morning I took a few Tylenol PM…just to get rid of my headache and relax a bit. Well…I slept right through my alarm this morning! I MISSED my workout and woke up 20 minutes before I had to be at work. Did I mention that I really needed a shower because I didn’t take one yesterday? Did I also mention that our Monday staff meeting is now 30 minutes earlier than it used to be? Yeah, I was late for that too. I can’t believe that I’m going to write this, but I’m actually upset with myself that I missed my workout. I know..that might be our first Christmas miracle.

Moral of the story? If you’re going to take sleepy pills, do it earlier. Wait, is that the moral of the story?

fivegoodthings

Jeans out of the dryer
Creating boundaries
Lebanon, IL
Flipping the calendar
A hair dryer (which I did not have time to use today. Yikes.)

Everybody Has a Story

kimunderwood — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:07:50 +0000

I used to love watching the segment on CBS This Morning called “Everybody Has a Story“. Someone would throw a dart at a map and the host would go to that town. He would then pick a random name from the phonebook (remember when we had those???), call them from a pay phone and if they agree he would come to their home and the would chat. We would often have the privilege of hear stories of men and women who have served our country well in WWII and other wars. Ordinary people just like you and me, who always ended up having great heartache and even greater triumphs! Isn’t it true that we all have a story?

As I’m sitting at the Bommarito waiting for my oil change, I’m checking out Facebook. I mean, what else would I do? I come across a girl from high school that I didn’t really know very well…or at all really. As I look at her photos I’m reminded that things haven’t been easy for her in life. I can remember kids talking badly about her, remembering that the stories of her life seemed really scary to me and it was better if I just stayed away. I can see so clearly now, that while her outside was war-torn due to her home life, her heart was longing to be loved in the same unconditional way that we all long for it to be.

I wish that I would have had the sense enough to see that she was hurting.

Maybe I should say…I wish I would have been brave enough to have entered into her pain with her.

This little look into her life reminded me once again that whether we are 9 or 39, we all have a story. A story that runs deep. A story that is chalked full of joy and heartache. The best news about that is that there is a loving God…a very loving God who is not afraid to enter into our pain, in fact he grieves with us and takes great delight in our joys. His name is Jesus. And no matter what life has thrown at you, no matter what choices you’ve made. He’s waiting for you, arms open wide, no strings attached.

Will you let Him write the rest of your Story? Give Him the pen…this ink never smears. It writes perfectly.

fivegoodthings

Born in the Barn sale!!! ROAD TRIP!
Good nights sleep
Watching a stranger’s smile linger a good minute after she hang’s up the phone
Nature Valley granola bars
Flip flops

The Fight

kimunderwood — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:15:43 +0000

This week has been typical…hard but good. Today though was a particularly tough day…I almost…had to stop myself from…you got it, puking. Yes the work out was very challenging, (here’s a small taste) but my mind was my toughest battle. I found a real mental pushback during the workout and having a lot of doubt that this process is worth the hard work that I’m putting into it. With that in mind, I told myself that I’m not going to quit and I need to make a list of the benefits. SO…here I go…

Benefits of Tough Workouts

Sleeping better
Easier time getting out of bed
Feeling stronger that I did the day before
Knowing that I accomplished something really difficult
Honoring God in this
Deepening my dependence on God
Drinking more water and enjoying it
Not craving chocolate as much as I was
Motivating others…who knew??
Long term change

Well…I think those items are a good place to start! I shall repeat them over and over to myself.

fivegoodthings

Lime (green) Gatorade
The Avengers (It’s out today!)
Good dinner/convo with good friends
Instagram
Conflict Resolution

Nemesis

kimunderwood — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 03:49:13 +0000

Today was the day I met a new temporary enemy. The BALL. Yeah…that harmless bouncy thing. Turns out, it’s totally a torturing device. I know, right?

Here’s a pictorial of part of the workout.

I like to call this one…torture.

The Plank…

Then we shall finish off with Push-Up’s

It was rough but I feel great that I did it! By the way…you know that muscle that shows when people are showing off their “six pack”? I totally have that muscle. It’s just hidden…oh, but I can feel it. It’s been yellin’ at me all day.

fivegoodthings

Contact lenses
I Love Lucy
Finishing
Comfy shoes
Planning a trip