Day #1 PaleoRefresh

Day #1 I went grocery shopping yesterday and bought every veggie in my sight that looked good. I got a couple of apples and bananas, but I'm not much of a fruit person. I PLANNED for all meals and snack. Today was not a struggle at all :) Breakfast: Smoothie: Kale, frozen mixed berries, cranberry juice, banana Coffee w/Almond Milk AM Snack: 1/2 c blueberries Lunch: Chicken salad from chipotle PM Snack: 1 c cucumber slices 1 c carrot sticks Dinner: Taco salad: groud turkey, mixed salad greens, hot sauce, sliced green olives

Why Paleo?

About 5 years ago when I was still in college, I noticed I started to get extreme acid reflux with certain foods and drinks I would consume, and it would be rarely accompanied with heartburn. I didn't think much of it until it became more and more frequent in the past couple years, until I couldn't stand it any longer. I narrowed it down to pastas, cooked tomatoes(paste/sauces/salsa), and acidic fluids (mainly sodas and coffee). What I am feeling right now...bloated, tired, cranky, and just not myself, I usually do a fresh restart to get myself back on my feet. My fresh Restart happens about once a quarter - 6 days no carbs, no gluten (GE Diet found HERE) My doctor tested me for Celiac disease and although the results were negative he suggested I try a gluten free diet. I did. For three months I was gluten and tomato free. It was the hardest thing I ever did. And I felt better, much better. My usual symptoms of groggy, foggy, tired, grumpy, moody, bloated, etc etc...they were gone. I had more energy, less mood swings. I am going to be honest, after 3 months I really missed beer, and bread...mostly just beer. I started to introduce all things bread (rarely pasta) back into my diet and another surprise, I felt fine. Somewhere between eating bread and pasta on occasion turned into a free for all. My diet was the absolute worst, going on vacation, the beginning of summer, graduation...who had time to grocery shop, cook and eat healthy. I hated to admit it but the less I worked out the worse I ate. My dog ate better food and treats then I did. The guilty feelings arise when I watch my Biggest Loser competitions and see the winners - I think, I am not medically overweight, If they can do it then I can certainly do it. What I didn't get is the "lifestyle change". Why would I need a lifestyle change if I already know how to do it? I didn't have an addiction to food, I didn't have an overeating problem, did I have a problem at all? These last few months watching my diet and exercise plan plummet and get flushed down the toilet, I did learn that I DO have a problem. I hate this phrase and it is SO cliche but it is my life Motto. "If you don't PLAN to WIN then you are PLANNING to FAIL". That's it. I didn't plan. I didn't plan my meals, my dinners, my grocery shopping. I gave myself the perfect opportunity to FAIL and eat whatever it was I could find...or don't eat. So. What I am feeling right now: bloated, fat, tired, lazy, cranky, moody, exhausted, anxious, stressed, headaches, migraines, stomach aches...that demands a lifestyle change and I deserve so much more. I deserve to be happy and have energy and be who I desire to be, who God planned for me to be. People can make fun of me, tease me, tell me I jumped on the bandwagon. That's fine, maybe you should too because it is there for a reason, because it works for some people and not for others. Find what works for you :) Time to start this journey. Many people find their body going through many withdrawals and purges the first week. Let's pray mine isn't too bad!

DIY Coasters

DIY coasters.

There are picures of some of the coasters I made for girls at work for Christmas. Although it is a little time consuming, it is super easy, and you can make multiples at one time to get all your gifts done at once. I was really excited to see how nicely they came out!

Supplies:
Scrapbooking paper – you can usually find whole books of scrapbooking paper for
$9.99, normally $20.00 (50% off at
JoAnns/Michaels)
Tiles – from Lowes/Home Depot $0.10 ea
Mod Podge
Shilack Spray
Small round stick on felt pads – Lowes/Home Depot $3.99 for
85 count

Directions:
I cut out scrapbook paper 4in X 4in and curved some edges,
some I left the edges sharp
Glue down the paper to the tiles with the ModPodge. Let dry
for 30 sec – 1 min
Put a medium thickness layer down over the whole entire
tile, including the edges. Let dry for
3-5min
Repeat
Put a Third layer down over entire tile using a generous
amount, paying close attention to the edges of the paper so that they are
completely covered and will not come up.
**If you have thick scrapbook paper with designs, you may
need to hold the paper down between layers to keep the paper from curling up.
Allow ModPodge to complete dry, 1-2hrs – should not have any
tackiness to it.
Spray a thin layer with Shilack OUTSIDE. Spray the first two layers on lightly,
letting a couple minutes to dry between layers.
The third layer can be put on thicker, couple hours to dry.
When all finished, apply four small felt pads to the
bottoms. Tie together with ribbon.

CBUS

So i've been looking at new ways to decorate my home and how cool is this! I could totally get some letters, "C-B-U-S" and modpodge them with a black and white map to put up on the shelf in our family room. I am really excited I love the whole "map" look and when we get out our place we can incorporate it into our office with all the other black and white and old looking things and books. I'm so excited. Anyone want to craft night with me?!

eeeeeeeeeeekkkk!!!

Vintage Votives

This girl is amazing!! I can't believe I am just now finding her blog, but thanks to Pinterest I can find many things. She is so inspiring to let my creative side shine!! I really like the twine votive and the lightly fancy lace but some of the others one look a little "old fashioned" for me. Now...if only I could find time...

Annaboo's house: Vintage Votives: A simple algorithm : Empty jam jars and charity shop tumblers + vintage lace trims and garden twine = elegant vintage votives

Looks like i'm going to be taking a couple of trips to the goodwill for the next upcoming weeks!

Taco Chili Soup

I am so thankful for Pinterest. It is the biggest help on my journey to become a better cook, not only that but a healthy cook. I can search blogs very easily looking up various recipes and going through the ingredients and nutritional facts to make healthier choices.

To the point...

I found a recipe on Pinterest that is called the Crock-pot Tortilla Soup. If you are anything like me, I have a slight obsession with Max and Erma's Tortilla Soup, and there is nothing like it's cheesy goodness! With that being said, reading the ingredients I was happy to see that it looked very healthy and hoped that it tasted close to the real thing. As I was making it, I added and took away in areas that I thought would make it very similar. The blog with the website for the recipe HERE but I will give you my recipe which makes it more similar to a Taco Chili soup with all of the beans. It was amazing and tastes great with the toppings (use the cheese sparingly if concerned about added calories).

Tortilla Chili Soup

24 oz canned chicken
1/2 c chopped onion
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 pkg spicy taco mix
1 can green chiles
1 can pinto beans
1 can hot chili beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can seasoned diced tomatoes
dash chopped cilantro
dash chopped green onions
crumble tortilla chips
shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix all ingredients in pot or crock-pot and let simmer for 1 hour or more until hot

Notes: I used little to no onion since my husband is sensitive to onions, and used more green onions to make up for it. I used Mexican seasoned tomatoes to go with the theme. Since it has so many beans, it is easy to customize it to your liking like I mentioned earlier and it will still taste great!!

Happy Cooking!

Getting Back on Track

I had a dream last night. One that I am not so sure it is one to share...but it was disturbing to the very core. It shook my dreams, my realities, and my beliefs...and it nearly shook my faith in myself and dare I say my husband. I haven't been sleeping. 6 or 7 hours of sleep every night and somehow I wake up exhausted. I come home from work exhausted knowing I have so much work to do, so much housework, cooking...just being a wife, a friend. I haven't seen a friend or even talked to one for well over a week. I guess what I'm getting at is that I know that Satan is trying to get at me. When everything seems so perfect and things are finally starting to settle down...he doesn't want me to be happy and he's trying to get to me in my dreams. Scary huh? Whats even more scary is that I am still feeling that uneasiness 8 hours later. Time to pray, time to confess, time to fast...time to do something. Something that is giving back to God and making my like meaningful to those around me. I have been making excuses that I am not settled in yet...and I'm not. But in a couple weeks I will be painting (yay) then after that I'm sure I'll have another project, and another. I need to make this a priority. It's funny how God puts little hints in your life here and there-people or events or advertisements or fliers for different events...my eyes aren't open...until now that is.

It's time I open my eyes to where God wants to lead me and not where I think I should be going. God led me this far with the man I love, I'm pretty sure he knows what I want more than I do.

First things first...finding a life group. This is not my favorite area, I'm shy and I don't like sharing my personal life with people that I haven't "sniffed out yet." Yeah I know, kind of an awkward way to put it, but if I feel that someone might judge me or think different of me, I don't want to put myself out there only to be hurt. I haven't had the best track record of christian friends but hey I guess that's what trusting in God is all about.