Here's my Week 2 check-in regarding my plan to find joy in a more balanced life. I hope you'll share your progress as well. If you're new here, you can join anytime!

I should warn you though. This past week wasn't quite as inspiring as the last.

How are those 2010 diet resolutions coming along? I know lots of women who start off the new year strong with their goals to eat right and lose weight only to peter out sometime mid-January. Is this you? If so, try not to be too hard on yourself. It happens to the best of us. Instead of beating yourself up, check out these links to get you back on the healthy eating track...

It's time for my first weekly check-in regarding my plan to find joy in a more balanced life. I hope you'll share your progress as well. To stay balanced, I need all the support I can get. :) If everything fell apart last week, start again this week.

If you're new here, you can join anytime!

An anoynmous CafeMom has graciously agreed to share her weight loss journey with us and reveal herself at the end. She's a 29-year-old mama to Madison, 5, and Lucus, 1, and lives in Ohio. Her goal? To be more active and lose 26 pounds. Each week we're checking in with her to see her progress and give her words of encouragement!

Let's find out what happened during Week 1...

Sound familiar? My mom says this to me daily. The "protein myth" often comes up in conversations about vegetarian diets and cutting down on meat consumption. This misconception holds that meat is the best source of protein and, therefore, people who don't eat meat or eat less meat (like Mr. Cafe Kim and I are trying to do) aren't getting enough protein.

This belief simply isn't true. Mr Cafe Kim and I have found that we've had to be a little more creative about how we include protein in each meal on our "less meat" diet. But there are plenty of ways to get enough protein from plant sources. Here is one of our favorites...

The first step toward my 2010 Resolution to Be a Better Public School Mom is organizing my life at home. I'm never happier, nor do I feel more in control of life, than when my house is spanky clean, clear of clutter, with everything in its place.

My very small, closet-less house right now? Er, the exact opposite of what I just wrote.

This is one reason I'm constantly misplacing my son's homework and important school papers. He's failed to hand in several assignments this year because we're constantly losing them.

Right now I have designated a corner of the dining room table for these papers, which inevitably get swallowed up by my daughter's sketches, bills, newspapers, recipes, all those Pottery Barn catalogs ... oh, wait. I just found my Step 1.

Is your New Year's Resolution to lose weight? Then, you'll definitely want to check out this CafeMom's story...

I'm always so inspired by hearing other women's stories of how they've lost weight, increased their fitness, and adopted a more healthier lifestyle, aren't you?

One CafeMom has graciously agreed to share her weight loss journey with us. She's a 29-year-old mama to Madison, 5, and Lucus, 1, and lives in Ohio. Her goal? To be more active and lose 26 pounds. She's asked to remain anonymous for now, but plans to reveal herself at the end...how's that for suspense?

Each week we'll check in with her to see her progress and give her words of encouragement! But first, let's hear a little bit about why she's embarking on this important journey...

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to get organized. If this is one of you resolutions for 2010, here are some links to help you out: