Day 4

day four.

Our detox started on Monday. It is now Thursday.

Allow me to share what we have learned.

   1.) If it is 90 degrees out side and you work very strenuous jobs while fasting, you might want to take it easy. And maybe not fast completely.
2.) Some flavors are really really horrible together, like, Kale-Lime-Ginger. YUCKY.
3.) Drink a lot of water. a LOT.

My husband has since lost 10 lbs! 

TEN.

I've lost maybe about 3. But its also that time of the month, so I can't really tell because I'm a little bloated even with drinking tons and tons of water. 

But, my skin which is usually really upset around this time of the month is clearing up rapidly and  there are no visible new breakouts! Yay! So I consider that a real win.

Now, we started out with every good intention of juicing completely but we both work crazy fast paced jobs in the heat which by the end of the first day, we both felt pretty awful. So we decided to eat 1 meal a day, mostly vegan or vegetarian. Raw if possible. I have to say that was a great idea, because my sweet husband was very willing to try this detox and he doesn't even eat salads!
We eat pretty healthy anyways, lots of chicken and low fat beef, whole grains etc. but we do have our weaknesses...caffeine, diet soda, ice cream, pizza and cheese. So I'm very proud of my Jamie for sticking to this, even more than me. I think the ability to see how the pure health of juicing is affecting him and giving  him the desire to keep it up. I'm really proud of us for sticking to it this long!

I can sleep through the night again, I haven't done that in about 6 weeks because of previous tooth pain before I got my wisdom teeth out. I still feel pretty draggy in the morning because of no coffee, maybe its mental? Maybe its a real need? I don't know, but I'm going to try to hold off from consuming major amounts once this detox is over because I've seen such a difference in my skin. I keep reading caffeine and dairy can really affect your skin, so I'd like to carry through with that. 

I've found some really great blogs (funny) about juicing that totally commiserate with what we're going through  and also a 


           FANTASTIC blog for vegan, dairy free, egg free and gluten free recipes! You can find it here----> yummyness.  I don't even know how I stumbled across it but I found this little gem that I'm going to make as a reward for my sweet man's 17+ hours of work yesterday and 12+ hours of work today. Its fried but I'm going to try and bake it. 


Cauliflower---as----CRISPY ORANGE CHICKEN----vegan Chinese. What??? Crazy. It looks delicious! 
 Here's the link to it Crispy Orange Cauliflower 

I will definitely be posting a review of this little baby, It looks sooooooo tasty!

Drink the rainbow.

10 days

About two weeks ago, my husband and I were just laying in bed doing our lazy routine before sleep, I had taken over the remote which is something I never do and found a documentary on Netflix called "FAT SICK AND NEARLY DEAD". Needless to say, we both wound up getting sucked in. Its most basic explanation is about a man from Australia who is very over weight, sick and well, nearly dead. He decides to juice. Exclusively for 60 days and see what happens. Long story short he loses a lot of weight and is on the road to a healthy recovery. Along the way he meets others who are in the same boat as he is and converts them over to try juicing at least for 10 days, the results are pretty amazing! If you'd like to learn more about Joe Cross (the fat, sick, dying man) here's the link to his story.

   Jamie and I were pretty inspired, and after some talk we decided to go a head and try this juicing 10 day detox. My mom used to juice regularly when my siblings and I were younger but it was simple carrot and apple juice, nothing too crazy. I am excited to try some different combinations. Now as we are a young married couple scrimping and saving money for a house of our own we want to do this as a cheaply as possible so 

                              We borrowed a juicer from my parents : $0

                               We bought a small citrus juicer             :$04

                         Cost of produce for an estimated 5 days    :$69

                        ........................................Total cost so far.........

                                                                               

                                                                                             $73

Eating healthy ain't cheap y'all! I know this from starting to switch over to organic foods, our juice won't be completely organic but about 50% is. So its a start. 

I am really curious to see what health benefits we'll see from this. Jamie hopes to lose a little weight, I'd like to as well. I'm most interested to see if it clears up my skin and how much energy we have. Its going to be really hard to cut out my daily caffienated diet coke and 2-3x week latte habit. But in the interest of health and science I'll submit to the experiment. I might be super cranky though for a few days. 

Tomorrow starts the big day, I stayed up late prepping for our juices tomorrow. Unfortunately, we won't be able to juice fresh for every meal, instead we'll have to bring our juice to work with us, but we're going to through with it anyways. It will be really hard for me because I cook for a living and am around delicious smelling food all day long. Yikes.

Hopefully I'll post some amazing before and after photos when this is all done with!

The glad game

It really bothers me sometimes the things people complain about,
College exams or having to go to class when so many people can't afford to go to college or have the time to go because they're working so hard because they can't afford to go.

Their children and the time it takes doing things to raise them when so many people want a child so bad they would do almost anything to be a parent.

Their spouse working late (I am very  guilty of this one sometimes) when they should be thankful they have a job and they get to come home still at the end of their shift while military spouses don't get to sleep beside their loved one for months at a time.

It really bothers me sometimes the things I complain about,

Lines being too long at the coffee place.
Wow, I have extra money to be able to buy coffee, when others barely have enough to eat. I am blessed.

Laundry, dishes, and cleaning.
That means I have a home, food and more than enough clothing to cover me. I am blessed.

Working more hours than I was scheduled for .

I have a job, I have the opportunity to make extra money to use for things we need. Yes, I may be tired but I am young, healthy and strong. I am blessed.

This morning I was very upset about something and I felt God lay this on my heart, I felt like He was saying to me " turn your complaining into rejoicing."  I feel like sometimes, I have a tendency to start naming all the bad things going on in my life instead of realizing the blessings that can accompany them.  A "silver lining".  When I was a girl Pollyanna was one of my favorite books and for those of you who don't know here is a brief synopsis Pollyanna and the Glad game.

Here is a quote from the book and article that really stood out to me:


"What men and women need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened.... Instead of always harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his REAL self that can dare and do and win out!... The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town.... People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes—his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest!... When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that..."

This holds true not only in the testimony of your own life to others but I believe also to yourself. I find that when I really stop grumbling long enough to look around myself and see good things or find things to raise praises for I am much happier and my "sorrows" are forgotten even but temporarily. Its human sinful nature to complain and be miserable. But we serve a great and powerful God who has redeemed us and offers us grace that is renewed everyday. When I am very very upset, I go on a prayer walk, I just stop what I am doing if I can and just walk while praying until I feel at peace again, I look around at the beautiful seasons of life around me and just offer up praises and thanksgiving and offer up to the Lord my problems. Even if they aren't solved immediately  or in the way I want,  I know they are being heard.

I am not perfect, we all are sinners who have fallen short but I do want the testimony of my life to reflect the joy I have been given, I don't want my light to be dim unto others because I was too busy moaning over the mountain of laundry and the way others treat me, I want them to see the joy and peace I have because of Christ.

2013

This is going to be a bit of a sappy post, full of my "hopes and dreams" for 2013. My New Year's resolutions.

I once read some where that instead of envying someone, try to be what you like about them. Or be that person. That thought CHANGED  my life, my whole way of thinking. Instead of comparing myself to someone, I started to want to be what I saw in them that I liked. If someone I knew was fit or trim I asked them what their secrets were and tried to emulate them, by eating better...(which is a whole other post!!) or a better friend, or kinder, or if they dressed nicely, I asked for help instead of wallowing in my self loathing or pity that I wasn't as stylish etc. I know that might sound silly but I am a learner of reading, watching, absorbing ideas/inspiration then DOING. I think thats why I love Pinterest so much, its the perfect way to get great DIY, cleaning, fitness,home decor tips and hints. I get soooo much inspiration learning from others. 
 So 2013 is my year. I know most people post these in January not March but I really wanted to get my feet on the ground with a head start before I posted all the things I said I am going to do and actually just do them first. 

Goal one:

Quit saying I'll really really start my photography business this year, quit dabbling in it and just do it.

Step one: Make an official facebook page. You can visit it HERE...It is still a working progress.
I have many things left to do to make this dream a total reality but I'm doing it this year.
I've had quite an increase in potential business, including WEDDINGS! since I've made the site.
God is certainly blessing me. And for that praise for all the blessings that flow.





Goal two:

Become fit and healthy for me.
No one else.

I don't care if I lose weight or if anyone else likes it. I'm doing it for me. I just want to be strong and healthy again.
Last year I started running. I was getting pretty used to it, then my brother died and I kind of lost my way for a while, but I'm back at working out harder  than ever. After just about 6 weeks of lazy gym workouts I'm starting to see a small difference but this week I really started pushing myself. I can't wait to see what the next 6 weeks will bring!

Goal three:

Eat more organically.

That pretty much says it all right?



Especially organic  milk. Dairy is full of all kinds of not good for you added hormones. I've only been buying organic milk and yogurt for about 2 weeks now. I also bought a cheese kit to start making my own cheeses so I'll keep you updated on our progress.



Goal four:

Keep up my diy home decorating.

Nothing is more satisfying than looking around our home and seeing all the touches that make it truly ours.

We recently redid our living room due to a mini flood from broken pipes and I have to say that for under $500 we made it look amazing. Its so much bigger now! Thats another post though.
I've been working on a few small projects as well. I'm trying my hand at embroidery again, I'm halfway done a set of adorable pillowcases for our bedroom to match our Ikea pillows. I'm excited to show you the finished project.



I can't wait to see what 2013 brings us this year.

We have a few great trips in mind and the goal of buying a house soon so I am going to try to keep up with my very most important goal for US. Saving money for our own home.

I really really am going to focus on saving in groceries and household products because they take up so much money. I need to tighten that up, plan meals better than I have been. Coupon and shop primarily at BB'S when I can. And stop random little expenditures. I want a house.

I want a home to raise our babies in. Our dream home.


C'mon 2013 lets go!

Be Still

 107 days have passed since my entire world changed forever. 108 days ago if you had asked me what I would do if someone I loved died, I would have told you that I didn't know, that I would fall apart, and that I would probably never get out of bed again. It has taken me 107 days to be able to write this.

On September 19th,2012 my  seventeen year old brother Benjamin was riding his motorcycle on his way to work when he was struck and killed by a car. I will probably always remember everything about that day. What I was wearing when I got the call, how I sunk to my knees by my bedroom closet door not believing. How I couldn't believe just minutes ago I was laughing and the biggest problem that day was what to make for dinner. How I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach and how very very numb I felt. But the worst part of it all was that we didn't know if he was still alive or not.

The hours of waiting, of not telling our little sisters until we knew for sure. Sitting in my parents house full of strangers, numb. Holding my husband's hand. Praying more than I had ever prayed in my life. Waiting for my father's phone call to tell us what to do. That drive to Baltimore, to the hospital was so long.  I knew. I knew it wasn't going to be good. Sometimes, you just know but until you hear it come out of someone else's mouth you don't believe it. You just want to hold on to the hope that everything will go back to normal. Yet the whole entire way there, I felt God saying in my heart " Be Still. Be still and know I am God". Funny how the Word you have hidden in your heart when you are a child rises up to comfort and calm you. It doesn't prepare you for your grim gray faced parents, your father's weak choking voice telling you impossible unbelievable news. The grief that overtakes you, the meaningless screams and the pain that wracks your whole body. Watching your brother breathe shallowly through a machine while death waits on the sidelines. Yet God is good. Verses, hymns and Psalms come out of nowhere and you sing praises holding your brother's hand with your family. Songs we used to play and sing side by side on the piano laughing, horribly out of tune. You know you'll never hear his perfect harmonies on this earth again.

Walking out of that hospital after the doctor's pronounced him legally dead. Still holding my husband's hand, the world seemed different. Cold and awful. Yet, somewhere in that world, other sick and dying people were being given a second chance because of my brother. He was an organ donor. You can see his story HERE in a video made by our sister. How like Ben, to still be giving and loving even in the wake of his death.                                    Of all the pulpits from which human voices is ever sent forth..there is none from which it reaches so far as from the grave.

It is my family's prayer that Benny's death will not go in vain. That others would hear his story and come to find salvation.

I have found so much comfort in prayer and reading the Bible. Just reading. God truly can comfort and heal. I don't really know how I would have gotten through the last 107 days alone. But by God's grace I have gotten up every day, gone to work, came home, made dinner, held my husband's hand. My God is mighty to save. To heal. To help me. I'm not saying there aren't days when the loss of my favorite, my Ben aren't some of the worse days I've ever had, there are days when I'm bitter and angry at everything around me. But when I go to bed at night, when I'm praying, asking for forgiveness and help God gives me such a peace, joy even knowing that SOME DAY  I WILL see my brother again. Someday we will stand with a whole host and sings praises together again.

I can't wait until that day.