It Bit Me

When I have something on my mind that's too long for a facebook post, that's when I know I've been bit by my blogging bug. Apparently it hasn't bitten me since the middle of last year. Writing is an outlet for me, and since I no longer keep a handwritten journal, sometimes it feels like a craving to get some thoughts down in a written form. Aahhh...

Last year I declared 2011 "the year of my house" in a very joking way. I wanted to get my whole house clean and organized, room by room, you know, every woman's dream. It took me almost an entire month to get my kitchen painted and that's about as far as I got. Until July. One night I decided to look at houses online for fun. And I found my dream home. Uh-oh. The short version of the story is: I declutted my house in a week, (which translates to: cluttering an entire bedroom at my in-laws.), put a sign in our yard, spent a Saturday staging my house for pictures so I could create a flier, showed our house about a dozen times, sold it six weeks later, and in October I was living in a different house-one I think I will be content in for the rest of my life. How's that for "the year of my house"?

This year I decided to work on "me". Mind, body, spirit. Matt and I like to do a 3 week eating better challenge at the beginning of the year. We make up our own guidelines, basicly no animal products, no sugar, no processed stuff, and we eat good food. I'm not one to focus on everything I can't have. I truly felt like I was feasting for 3 weeks! Lots of fruit and vegetables and we also ate things like oatmeal, quinoa, some rice, rice pasta, brown lentils, red lentils, garbanzo beans, and a LOT of fruit and vegetables: kiwi, pears, grapes, strawberries, bananas, clementines, apples, dates, frozen mango, pineapple, and blueberries in smoothies. What I think of as veggies: garlic, onion, tomatoes, carrots, celery, brocoli, kale, swiss chard, zuchini, avacado, fresh spinach, arugula, mixed baby kale, cilantro, parsley. Some of the random items I used: almond milk, rice milk, coconut oil, almond butter, nuts, herbal tea. I gave up lattes (with one exception) and made coffee at home instead.  *My one exception was a small latte I had with a dear friend who came to town who I had not seen in about 16 years-we are both coffee lovers, and by all means, I was going to celebrate getting to see her! And take her to Aspen!

My "results" after 3 weeks.
I feel better and my stomach is not bloated at the end of everyday.
I eat more fresh fruit daily. In 3 short weeks, I replaced chips, crackers, pretzels, holiday sweets, chocolate bars, etc, with pretty much just fruit. If I craved chocolate, I ate fresh dates instead and was satisfied.
I drink more water and feel hydrated. A great feeling after about a month of ALWAYS feeling thirsty.
I don't wake up feeling sick and nauseaus.
It sets a good example for my boys. I have found that no matter what I am eating, they will want some! I would rather share apple slices and almond butter with them than a bag of chips or box of crackers.
I found a new love of cooked greens-like swiss chard and kale- and they have become my "winter salad".
I don't remember the last time I made so many good meals in 3 weeks time.
I love soup when it's cold outside.
I try to eat an apple everyday.
I never get tired of grilled vegetables.
I have finally written out a few of my recipes for some people who have been asking me for a long time.
I want to do this 3 week thing more than once a year.

My current challenge is nourishing my spirit. I wanted to get more involved at church and meet some new women, so I'm in a small weekly group and we are reading the Bible in 90 days. I am a Christian. I have read a lot of books in my life. Whole books. Cover to cover. Some I have read more than once. But I have never read the entire Bible cover to cover, which is pretty sad since it is THE book my faith is based on and basically my guidebook for life. I've started it, but never finished. This time I have a plan, accountability, and it's short term. 90 days is more appealing to me than 1 year, even if it means a little more reading time each day. I am excited about this journey and it's going to feel incredible when I read the words, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."!  If you hear someone shout "Amen!" around May 1, it's probably me.

(A little background-the man who came up with this 90 day plan was happily agnostic for more than 2 decades. He said he was a business man, and a good, moral person. He thougth his Christian friends were just wasting their time. But he decided to read through the Bible, and he did so secretly. During his reading, he realized he believed what he was reading and accepted it as Truth, and this changed his life. That's the power of the Bible. It is not "just a book".)

The newest thing I'm learning about in the health arena is essential oils. Have you ever noticed that things seem to happen at just the right time? For the last few months, it's been a recurring theme of people asking me about them, mentioning them, and Matt coming home one day saying "I think you'd enjoy learning about essential oils." Um, ok. Then a friend invited me to a class over the weekend and now I'm fascinated. I've got some essential oils ordered that should be here any day and I am so excited to start using them for me, my family, around my house and to help others that ask me, " what do you do for......?" I will finally have an answer. Essential oils have been researched and used for hundreds (thousands?) of years. It's about time I start using them!  I picture myself becoming "the crazy, oil lady." But it's better than cats, right!?

The last thought on my current yearly plan is.......exercise! I've never done it regularly. Ever. There are a million other things I'd rather be doing. Like cleaning our bathrooms. Seriously. I'm going to put it off for 88 more days and when I've read through the Bible, I can either keep making excuses or try to find something I enjoy. The weather will be nice then, so maybe I can walk (I hate running) or get brave and workout with Shelley Gray or try her classes. I've got a stash of Pilates videos if I'm feel super motivated and disciplined to do them on my own at home, while both boys are jumping on top of me, wrestling, and knocking me down.

I only felt brave enough to mention exercise because I doubt that Matt will read my blog. But if I hear him laughing hysterically, I'll know that he did. He would be proud of the rest of my changes because I'm heeding the advice he gives me for any complaint I've had in the last 8 1/2 years,

"If you don't like something, why don't you change it?!"