2012

Happy New Year to you all.  I had a good start to my day, as Brian got the girls this morning and let me sleep in.  Thanks babe.  Today was day 1 of a week long detox I am doing.  I have been awful to my body over the last few months and I'm paying the price for it.  I know better than that, I mean, I really know better.  I love to study health and I am passionate about what our family eats.  I am a huge proponent of organic, raw, unproccesed, and whole foods.  My hubby will tell you I despise High Fructose Corn Syrup, GMO's, Food Dyes, and foods with hormones and antibiotics.  Here is a great article that talks about the effects of dyes on our children.  I will talk more about this in another post.

But when I am tired, stressed or depressed, I just don't care.  I'm laying it all out there because it's the truth.  I've treated my body like a trashcan and it has to stop.  It has to stop for me, my husband and my two beautiful girls.  So with a new year, comes new possibilities.  Brian challenged me to use my blog to keep me accountable, so that's what I am going to do.  Every Monday, I will report in and blog about my progress over that week.  This is not just about weight loss, although that's a huge part of it, but it's finally gaining control of what I eat and not letting my emotions dictate what I put in my mouth.  One of my goals this year is to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday in April.  That is a lofty goal I know.  Will I make it?  I have no clue, but I am gonna work my bootie off and try my best.  I'm doing it with what I believe it best for my body; raw, whole, organic foods.  That's it.  No magic diet pills or pre packaged food, just whole foods.

This week I am in detox mode.  I will eat only raw, organic, vegetarian foods and drink fresh juice from my juicer.  That's it.  For exercise, I will be walking and doing yoga, with a little strength training thrown in for fun.  I have to say that Day 1 went well.  I won't lie, I have a giant head ache right now, due to the fact that I haven't had any caffeine and my body is screaming for refined sugar, but I know the first few days are the hardest, so I expect it all.  I told Brian today that if I snap at him this week, to not take it personally.  :)

Here's what my day looked like today:  smoothies for breakfast, giant spinach and mixed greens salad with carrots, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, beets and olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the dressing.  For snack I had a cashew side salad from Whole Foods, lots of water, and I had another smoothie for dinner.  I also ate a bunch of carrots, an apple and a couple of oranges.  Whole Foods makes some great vegan salads that are to die for. I will probably be living there this week. On the Do Not Eat List:  breads, sugar, meat of any kind, cheese/dairy products, anything fried, caffeine and alcohol.

This is the only way I know how to really detox my body and get rid of alot of the toxins and inflammation going on in my body right now.  I'm kind of making up my own plan.  I'm not following a diet per se.  There are some great books out there on raw eating if you want to check them out.

Natalia Rose is one of my favorite raw food authors.  She even has a section about infertility on her blog and about the link between what you eat and the ability to become pregnant.  You can check it out here. 

This is another great book and I love her story about why she started eating raw food. You can check out Carol's blog here.

So that's it in a nutshell.  I've also ordered two DVD's from Amazon that I cannot wait to watch.  I think it will be life changing.  I will definitely be telling you about those in the future.

Do you have a weightloss goal in 2012?  I'd love to hear about it. 

Cheers to a happy and healthy new year!

Good Bye 2011

The fireworks have started and the girls are fast asleep.  I'm watching the countdown on tv and reflecting on what 2011 brought.  Some good and some bad, but I'm thankful for it all.  Every bit of it.  I am most thankful for my amazing hubby and my two beautiful girls.  I'm thankful for our families and for our friends.  Most importantly I am thankful for His grace. 

I am praying for blessings abundant in 2012.  Thank you for taking the time to check in and read what I have to say.  I so appreciate it.  Thanks for sticking with me through the ups and downs.  Love and blessings to you all.

I must go wake up my hubby who is asleep on the couch and give him a kiss. 

A New Year Has Come

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Brian and I actually were able to stay awake until midnight, just barely though. I was exhausted from all of our traveling this past week. We had a quiet evening at home. The girls went to bed early and so hubby and I got to chill out on the couch and catch up on some of our shows that we've DVR'd. I had to twist his arm to watch the New Year's Eve shows. We switched back and forth between Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly. The highlight was NKOTB and Backstreet Boys singing together. Did anyone else see them perform? I have to say that I was actually impressed. For a bunch of old guys they actually sounded great. Their vocals were right on and they can still dance. I bet their tour does well.

I am so glad 2011 is here. I have never been so excited for a new year to start in all of my life. There were definitely good parts to 2010 and those memories I will always cherish. Unfortunately, the bad outweighed the good and I am looking forward to a brand new start. I am praying that the Lord will pour His blessings upon our family.

I didn't make any resolutions this year. I have two things in mind that I want to work on. Those two things are reading more books and being "in the moment" with my family.

My husband is a reader. He always has been. He starting reading books when he was 5 and has never stopped. He loves anything that has to do with History and Business Marketing. I however, am not a big reader, unless you count Pottery Barn Catalogs, Country Living and Real Simple Magazines. That is my way to unwind and relax and I love it. I decided to broaden my horizons a bit and actually read a book. I got two new books for Christmas. The first one, Brian gave to me.

I'm halfway through it and love it so far. I am a huge fan of Giuliana & Bill and love watching their show on The Style Network. Their second season was a tear jerker. I won't spoil it for you in case you want to check out the reruns. I highly recommend it, especially if you are struggling through infertility. They are so open and real about their struggles to start a family.

The other book I just got and started reading is more of a devotional. I had someone recommend this book to me. The author lost a daughter and a son to a fatal disease just 6 months after their births. That reason alone made me go out and buy the book. If you are going through a painful time in your life, I highly recommend picking it up. I like it because it's broken down into weeks and not days, so if you miss a day it's no big deal.

The second thing I want to work on is just being "in the moment" with my girls. As a stay at home mom, of course I am always there with them, but I'm not always "there" if that makes any sense. I usually have my iPhone attached to my palm so I can check my emails and update Twitter and Facebook reguarly. I often have my laptop open so I can take a quick look at blogs that I follow. I've decided to set a time limit to my electronical devices. When I am with the girls and we are at home playing, they will have my undiveded attention. No exceptions! When they are playing by themselves or down for a nap, then I can go on the computer or check my iPhone. They are growing up so fast and I don't want to regret the time I had with them.

With that being said, It's time to get off the computer and have family movie night down in the basement. I heard the theatre is showing "Pollyanna".

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Yesterday morning we awoke to the whole house shaking violently. I knew immediately what it was. Being born and raised in California, I have lived through my share of earthquakes. I couldn't believe I was feeling an earthquake in Indiana, however. Brian and I were sleeping with the girls and as the house shook I just said, "It's an earthquake, hang on". It only lasted about 10 seconds and then it was over.

Brian asked me how strong I thought it was and I guessed 4.5 on the Richter Scale. We turned on the news and I was close. It was 4.2. Here's the kicker. The epicenter was literally Brian's grandma's house. I am not joking. I took a picture of the tv with my iPhone so you could see the map. See that pink dot? That is where we were staying. I have never been in an earthquake that was on the epicenter before. No wonder it was so jolting for us. Thankfully no one was hurt and there was no damage.

The girls didn't seem to mind at all and I couldn't believe they weren't scared. They just laid back down in bed, like, that was fun.

Tonight is New Year's Eve and like a bunch of old folks, we have no plans, but to stay in and enjoy a quiet evening at home. I like to watch all the New Year's Eve shows on t.v. I am going to do my best to stay up until midnight, but I'm not promising much. We will see if I last past 10:00.

Here's to 2011. I'm hopeful for a much better year than 2010 was for us. Cheers!