Joy in the Journey

I have been wanting to write this blog post for awhile now, but didn't know exactly how to approach it. You see, what I want to talk about today is my journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Some people might call what I have been doing "diet and weightloss" or "work out plan", but for me it is more than that. This is a lifestyle change, a mindset change, and a determination not to be the person I was.
I have struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. I was put on prednizzone for my asthma and was on it for years. No matter what I ate, how much I ate, or how much I exercised I continued to put on weight because of the medication. So I kinda got in the mindset, it didn't matter how I treated my body.
After I was off the meds for awhile I found that I could loose weight by controlling what I ate. However, I did not do it in correct ways. I would binge and eat whatever I wanted to for one meal a day, and ignore the other meals, relying on caffeinated beverages to keep my energy up and do the things I needed to do. I am ashamed to say that this kept up alot longer than my "young and dumb" years.
After I had my daughter I lost alot of weight and liked the way I looked.

I was lighter than I ever had been, but I was skipping breakfast, eating a slice of turkey for lunch and then dinner. So of course the weight fell off, but the minute I "messed up" the weight came right back on.
I played with working out on and off, but nothing seemed to "stick". I would work out for awhile, and then I started making excuses not to work out. I always have wanted to be toned, but just lacked the determination.
A big change happened the day I turned 34, a friend of mine, for my birthday invited me to work out at her gym with her. I started going semi-regularly,and knew I needed to change. Not only for myself, but to show my children a good example, I wanted to teach them that you need to take time and take care of yourself.
I continued going to the gym until last July when I found out about a "crossfit type" group that met on the military post we are stationed on. I found out I liked picking up heavy things! I had never really worked out with weights before, relying on cardio only to keep my weight down. The group was extremely encouraging and I just kept going, and I found out that I like to work out! was shocked! Me, enjoying working out......I never thought that would happen.
Over the winter I got out of the habit a bit. The weather was bad and my husband had surgery and that kept me house bound. And then Maria Kang shocked the the online world with her "What's Your Excuse" picture. Where others took offense at it, I took inspiration. A friend of mine started a "No Excuse" workout group and I joined. Its an awesome community of women who workout together, support each other, celebrate any and every victory and push you to be the best you can be.
This year, 2014 things have just kinda clicked for me. It really hit me this week as we are in the middle of moving, but I am still making time for my workouts. Before I would have used this week as an excuse to "take it easy", but I have found that taking the time to work out has provided me with more energy and much needed breaks from the moving drama! I have loved the changes in my family as well. My kids are focusing on being active. We have gone on hikes and are planning more active things to do. My son, my little professor wants to be an "American Ninja Warrior". He has also made me promise to try out for it in two years time.....that will be interesting!

This is a picture of me recently. I am the same size as I was in the picture before, but weigh more! It just goes to show, the scale is not the important thing! It has taken me a long time to realize that!
This really has been a journey, and I know the journey is far from over. I know I will have days where I slip up, but I am able to get back up a lot quicker than a used to. I want to encourage other moms to take time for their health. It isn't being selfish, it isn't wrong, it is setting a wonderful example for our kids. It is taking good stewardship of the bodies God has given us.

Slowing It Down!!!

Did you know that what makes us "cry" when we cut onions is actually the onion's defense against predators? Before the cells of the onion are broken or cut it is actually sweet.
I learned this fact reading "Cooked" by Michael Pollen. I am only about 30 percent through the book, but it is amazing! I love history, and he really goes into the history of food. Fun fact....the English looked down on the French for using sauces and such in their cooking. The reason? England was much more prosperous and had good grass for grazing year round. They had high quality meat that all you needed to do was throw it on the fire and it tasted good. The less "well to do" French didn't have that and had to make the most of the tough meat they had by using vegetables and liquids to increase the flavor. And now French cooking is something to be sought after! How fun is that!! He also explains that science behind food, such as the onion explaining that not only to the onions make the meat taste good, they also helped protect the people from the bacteria that grows on meat.
He also talks about the patience that is takes to cook, and how in our world today, cooking should be the thing that slows us down and brings us together. It was that thought that was in my head as I prepared ziti for dinner tonight.
Usually when I make ziti, I just take some tomato sauce, add some spices and such and put it with the pasta and ricotta. Today I slowed it down a bit. I took the time to make a "proper" sauce. I took the time to roast the garlic before I added it to the ricotta. Now I am a stay at home mom, so I was able to do this during my kids quiet time and now it is just waiting for me to pop it in the oven for dinner. I love make ahead recipes!!

Slow It Down Baked Ziti

1 box ziti noodles cooked according to the package
1 onion diced small
2 carrots diced small
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups red wine
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 head garlic roasted
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups uncooked baby spinach
salt to taste
Mozzarella cheese for sprinkling

Roast your garlic by cutting a head in half, sprinkling it with salt and olive oil. Place uncovered in an over at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic is brown and juicy, set aside to cool. Once it is cool squeeze out of the skin and chop it up really small.

Drizzle olive oil in a saucepan. When the pan is hot add the onions, cook for about 5 minutes on med/low heat. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the red wine, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and pepper flakes, bring to a boil and then down to a simmer. You are going to want to slow cook it will it reduced by about a 1/3 or about 40 minutes.

While the sauce is reducing, add your lemon zell, nutmeg, salt, roasted garlic and baby spinach to the ricotta and fold together.

Once the sauce is reduced, let cool for about 15/20 minutes. Mix the noodles into the sauce and then fold in the ricotts. Place into a 13x9 and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

When you are ready to bake it, bake it covered for 30 min at 350 degrees and then take the cover off and continue cooking for another 15 to brown the cheese.

Enjoy!

A Little Taste of Warmer Times

This week started out with 9" of snow!! Not exactly springtime weather. I love winter, but am very, very ready for springtime! I am craving anything that reminds me of warmer weather.
About two years ago I had a salad at a restaurant that included mango and goat cheese. I feel in love with the flavor and have expanded on it and it is now one of my favorite lunches. One of the best parts was the creamy poppyseed dressing. This year I am trying to simplify the foods that I am eating and when I read the back of the dressing bottle I decided that there had to be a recipe with less "stuff" in it. I found one online, but other than using the quanitities of things, I changed some of ingredients to be healthier!

Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup 2% milk
2 TBSP honey
4 tsp Apple Cider vinegar
2 tsp poppyseeds

(the original recipe called for mayo and sugar)
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl, chill and serve with your favorite salad!

My salad includes spinach, arugula, radicchio, mango, strawberry, goat cheese and sliced almonds.

Confession Time

Little did I know that when I chose the word "consistency" to be my word for 2014 it would mean that I would be consistently shown areas in my life that I needed to change!! I should have picked an easier word like, "sleep" or "serenity".

Last week my dear husband had back surgery, which went very well, but requires a quite lengthy recovery period, 30 days to be exact. This is 30 days of him not being able to pick up anyting over 5 lbs, 30 days of him not being able to do anything but basically walking. I have been dreading this time. I have been complaining about this time, I have beein acting like a 2 year old in my brain about this time.

Until yesterday. Yesterday was a bad day, he was grumpy and in pain, the kids were wild and feeling the effects of two stressed out parents and I in a less than stellar mood. I started counting the hours till bedtime at about 8am. NOT GOOD. Last night after the kids were in bed I realized that in a way I enjoy playing the martyr.

In an odd way I like having something to complain about. I like taking all the burden on myself and showing how much I can do. On top of the regular things sometimes I add added burdens, things that I don't have to add, but that I think "look" good to others. I hope I am not the only mother out there who struggles with this. As moms we have alot to do, whether we are stay at home moms, or work outside the home, whether we have one child, or mulitiple little ones there is always something else to do. And we never get all the help we would like, even if we married our Prince Charming, he never steps in and helps as much as we would like. It comes down to the attitude we have as we go through our never ending "to do" list, and I have to admit that lately mine has not been steller.

I forget that I am not doing what I do each day for the approval of my friends on Facebook, no one on Pinterest is keeping track of how many crafts I do with my kids, or how many imaginative lunches I pack them. Better Homes and Gardens isn't lurking outside my house waiting for a chance to photograph my artfully arranged knick knacks. I do what I do each day for my kids, for my husband, for my Heavenly Father who blessed me with my family. Keeping my priorites straight in that way keeps the martyr complex away.

I love the first verse from Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Do Everything"




Your picking up toys on the living room floor for the fifteenth time today
Matching up socks
Sweeping up lost cheerios that got away

You put a baby on your hip
Color on your lips and head out the door

While I may not know you,
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?

Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you,
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Its All About The Love!

Don't you love it when everything you read, from all different sources all has to do with the same thing? Do you ever feel a bit "ganged up" on?

If you read my previous post, you know that this year I wanted to focus on being more consitant in my habits. One of my habits is getting up at 5:15am to have my quiet time before the rest of the household gets up. The days go much better if I can get myself prepared mentally and spiritually before the rest of the household wakes up!

I am reading through Beth Moore's book, "The Beloved Disciple", following the apostle John. So much about John's life, and the epistle's he wrote after Christ's return to heaven were about love, love it happy, love is mushy feelings, what could be convicting about love....right????

Well, here is the thing, being loved is mushy and gushy and wonderful, but sometimes being the one who is loving isn't easy. We are called to love as Christ loved, and guess what, He loved EVERYONE, even the people that weren't the easiest to love.

That is how my morning started out, and as I was reading and processing that and thinking over my list of people that I really need to work on loving, and if we are honest we all have that "list" of people, you know the ones, the ones where we kinda cringe when we know we have to interact with them. The ones that are hard for us to love. Then I get hit with another aspect of love, not judging.

OUCH. I log onto facebook and see an article. The article was all about how as mothers we need to stop judging other mothers over their parenting style (if you are on facebook, check out the original post on my page or on Mom and Pop Culture's page. I know as a mother most of the time I am just guessing when it comes to parenting, now they are usually educated guesses, but guesses still the same. However, if someone dares to "question" me, my immediate reaction is defensive. Or if someone has a "weird" approach to parenting I immediately get a holier than thou attitude. The article points out that we are all in this together. It isn't a contest, no one should be keeping score.


If I am judging I am not loving. If I am being defensive, I am not keeping myself open to receive love. Now I have another aspect in my life that I need to work on being consistent on!

Who knew love could be such a tough subject?

Happy 2014

2013 kind of sped by for me. Historians will say that it happened and that there were individul events, but it just kinda all mushed together for me.

So onto 2014!

Two of my friends posted the same article of facebook that challenged the reader that instead of coming up with a list of New Years Resolutions, to come up with a word that they would like to have dominate their year. After much thinking, I decided that I want my word to be CONSISTENCY. (for my fellow "Modern Family" friends picture me clapping and saying "yay" every time I type the word)

I love to start things. I start things well. However, the follow through is a little rough. I have quite the list of excuses, everything from, "it wasn't the right system for me", to "the organizer wasn't pretty enough to make me want to use it". Now that my kids are older consistency (yay) is getting to be very important. Not only do I want to show a good example to them, I also want them to know that I am someone they can depend on, in both the promises I make to them and the disciplinary aspect of parenting.

I am taking the month of January to "overload" myself on information so I can weed through things and start establishing routines. I read Gretchen Rubin's "Happier at Home", and have been challened to go through my home room by room this month and get rid of things and make my home more peaceful. She suggests in her book making a lists of tasks that you really don't want to do and work on them 15 minutes a day. I really like that idea and am working on my list. I tend to jump into the "yucky" tasks and get tired out a quarter of the way through and get left with a bigger mess than when a started. Plus, doing it this way will help me practice consistency!

One of the things that she mentioned in her book that I am really looking forward to doing is creating "shrines". Now if you are like me, I orginally cringed at the word "shrine" because to me that invoked an idea of creating a place of worship, but that wasn't her meaning at all. Her idea is to group your possessions to highlight their meaning for you. For example..... I have a set of three shelves above our "coffee bar" right next to our dining room table. It is the perfect place to display knick-knacks. I have had the shelves there for over a year and they have been a revolving door of things. My dear hubby and I have different tastes when it comes to things displayed so the shelves have also been a source of shall we say, some lively "discussions".

Yesterday I decided that the shelves were a good place to start. They are in a very central place in our living area, so I decided to make them a "shrine" to our family.

The middle shelve houses special family heirlooms that came from my grandparents houses.

I think it is important that our children grow up with a strong sense of family. I want them to understand where they came from. It was a fun project yesterday, I can't wait to finish it when I get pictures developed and put up there!

So if you had to pick a word for 2014 what would it be?