raquelcovington

I'm a mother of 3 who's determined to make 2009 her year for getting everything in it's proper place! Over the past few years, I've made distinct strides to clean up my life by setting boundaries that reflect my own priorities and values. This has taken the form re-evaluating the importance of various aspects of my life and taking measures to re-vamp everything from household responsibilities to family member roles and expectations. In the process, any non-productive, stale, stagnant or negative associations both professionally and personally speaking are been rehabilited or relinquished. Priorities are being re-evaluated, expectations are being clarified, goals are being constructed, and a simple, clear road-map is being developed to ensure positive results! The same is true of my physical being. Body image has always been an issue I struggled with even from childhood. During school I was "chubby", and I can't tell you how many times I was disheartened by the comment "you're cute; you have such a pretty face; you'd be beautiful if...". As a young adult, I became interested in (and eventually addicted to) step aerobics. Through regular exercise and intentional eating, I lost close to 30 lbs (my original weight was probably in the neighborhood of 165) and I was thrilled with my lean, yet muscular & toned physique (see little black dress photo). Shortly thereafter, I became pregnant with my oldest son only to never get back in the routine of regular workouts again (because of childcare issues and economical changes) for many years. Now nearly 13 years and 2 additional children later, I am fully prepared to accept the challenge and the reward of dedicating the necessary time, energy and resources on increasing my overall physical health and theirs too (they eat what I cook or they don't eat!).