WhewDay3

Today was tough!

Breakfast

I made an omelet with 2 egg whites and one egg, mushrooms, red onion, and a small amount of fat free cheddar, and some grapes.  Really good.

Lunch

Leftover "taco salad" from dinner last night, and berries and yogurt

Dinner

This was the tough one.  My sister and I were meeting some friends for dinner at their house, and then we all went to see the movie "Mom's Night Out" (wonderful movie by the way) Anyway, we ran through the drive through to grab dinner and take it over to a friend's place to eat together. It was really difficult to find something that was OK to eat.  I ended up getting a salad with grilled chicken, but I had to pick out the tortilla chips, corn, and black beans - all no no's on cycle 1.

It was very hard not to order a burger and fries.  It was even harder not to buy popcorn and a fountain pop at the theater.  But, I survived and I made it through!

3 days down, 14 to go

#17daydiet

#mysarcarsticallycharminglife

Day2of17

I am going to try to post a quick blog each day just to update you on what I ate and how I was feeling about it.  I will still intersperse my normal blog posts here and there as well.  While I am thinking about it, you should check out my BFF's blog, she will be blogging her experience with Bob Harpers new book!  Here is the link:

http://sarauebbing.wordpress.com

So, today was day 2 of the 17 days. Feeling pretty great (surprisingly) I have not been hungry.  However, as I write this, I really want some ice cream, or a candy bar, or a bowl of golden grahams.  This is the hard part of the day for me.  The kids are in bed and Jeremy and I are sitting down to catch up on DVR shows.  This is the time when I would normally snack!
The only thing I could really snack on would be veggies, and I would rather just sip my water at this point.  Go away sugar cravings!!!

Here is my day in pics -

Breakfast - strawberries and blueberries, and a yogurt.  I was going to have a hard boiled egg as well, but it didn't get done in time. 

Lunch - today I went to lunch with my Mom and Sister.  We went to TGI Fridays and I had the "Sizzling Chicken and Spinach" Everything was cycle 1 approved with the exception of the mozzarella in the tomato salad, so I just picked it out.  Technically you are not supposed to eat summer squash until cycle 2, but I figured it would be ok. 

Afternoon snack - red grapes, yogurt.

Dinner - "Taco Salad" (ground turkey seasoned with taco seasoning, lettuce, fat free sour cream, a small amount of fat free cheddar cheese, and salsa) and a side of roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

And that's it.

No, I am not hungry

Yes, I really want chocolate

15 days to go...

#17daydiet

#dietblog

#diet

#healthy

#mysarcasticallycharminglife

17daysoftorture

This is NOT a diet...this is a life change -

That is my motto for the next 17 days.  I decided to try out the 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno.  I am not doing this to lose weight, I am doing this to be healthier and to conquer my intense sugar and carb cravings.

The diet is made up of 3 phases.  The first phase (cycle 1) is essentially a cleanse.  I am on cycle one for 17 days.  I can eat as much lean protein as I want (chicken, fish, etc) 2 eggs, 2 servings of a probiotic food (yogurt, kefir, etc), 2 servings of low sugar fruit (berries, apples, oranges, etc), and as many cleansing vegetables as I want (broccoli, celery, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, etc).  I can also use a few condiments sparingly (fat free sour cream, fat free dressings, Parmesan cheese, etc)

Here we go -

Prep work

Confession: I do not eat many veggies (hence the reason for this journey) I do not think I have ever had so many items from the produce department in my cart at one time.

I cooked a LOT of chicken breast -

Day One (May7th)

You are supposed to start out with a glass of warm water with half a lemon squeezed in.  This is pretty much one of the nastiest things I have ever drank (aside from that lovely concoction that you have to drink before your glucose test during pregnancy) It tastes how I imagine warm urine, or maybe stomach bile would taste.  Try it!!! I will not be doing it again.  I am going to stick with adding Young Living Lemon Oil to my water. Probably better anyway, and I LOVE the taste.

Breakfast- Berry, carrot, Kefir smoothie.  My thoughts are that 1) I am certainly used to smoothies with a lot of added sugar because this one was quite bland, and 2) I need a better blender because it turned out quite gritty.  If you have a suggestion, please comment.  The Rehemogen is a supplement from Young Living- it is a tincture that supports digestion but also has cleansing properties.  This is going to aid in the detoxing of my body - getting rid of all of the toxins from unhealthy foods that I have been eating for so long.

Lunch - I made lettuce wraps with grilled chicken, fat free sour cream, salsa, and some fresh cilantro.  I also had blueberries and a yogurt.

My afternoon snack was fresh veggies - peppers, celery, and tomatoes.

Another confession - I never ate dinner! So, so, bad.  My goal is not really to lose weight.  My goal is to learn to eat more healthfully. This means learning to eat breakfast, along with lunch and dinner and couple of snacks - every day. I just got too busy and by the time I got home from my cake decorating class, I was just too tired to make myself something.

#17daydiet

#younglivingesslentialoils

#youngliving

#mysarcasticallycharminglife

#weightloss

#healthy

13.Freaking.One

Well, we did it.  Not the time we wanted, but we crossed the finish line holding hands, it doesn't get much better than that.
I have to say, we were NOT prepared for the hills.  The heat that hit later in the race didn't help much either.  That said, I am proud of us for accomplishing this goal and I look forward to crushing our time next time around.

I tried to document this experience as much as possible.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

On Friday we drove to Nashville to pick up our gear.

The night before I laid out all of my gear.  We had to leave the house at 4:00 am in order to be guaranteed free parking near the finish line.

This is the line we waited in so that we could use the "bathroom" one last time before the race.  I am pretty sure that I am scarred for life.  Nobody should see the things I had to see.

Walking to the start area at Broad and 8th street.  Pretty fun to be immersed in such a huge group of runners (over 30,000)

So, the official start of the race was at 7:00 am, however, due to the wave start, our coral wasn't released until just before 8:00 am!

Mile 2 - "I am rocking this, watch out elite runners, I am totally going to catch up to you."

"Well, it is Nashville"

Mile 4 - "Oh my word, I am totally going to die."

Band playing along the way.  There were several throughout the course.  

When ya gotta, go, ya gotta go.  I think someone had to go...

I think this was somewhere around mile 5

More live music

One of my favorite signs along the way.  If only I could run that fast. 

There were so many people along the course, holding signs, cheering, handing out water bottles and food (not just the race volunteers, but people who were just out in front of their house!)

One of several medical tents along the course.

Mile 6 - "I hate everything, everyone, shoes, feet, legs, sun, and running."

Shortly after the mile 6 marker I saw this banner.  I really needed it at this point.

This church was playing Christian music and had members cheering and encouraging the runners.  

This older gentleman totally passed me 

ugh

Mile 10 - "I think I might actually finish this"

Mile 11 - "Really, its only been a mile? Yup, definitely going to die on this course"

Decisions, decisions. 

 Mile 13 - "Thank you, Jesus" Literally, I was praying at this point.

Suckers on the other side of the fence!

(otherwise known as the full marathon participants)

First view of the finish line!

 They must have seen me coming...

Finishing with my best friend and the love of my life :)

So, when is my next half? June 7th....oh my...

#mysarcasticallycharminglife

#runcmm

NothingIsAGoodThing

 It is Sunday night, I haven't had a new post in several days and so I felt I needed to blog.  The problem was that I couldn't really think of anything to write about. Then I started to think that perhaps that is a good thing. Sometimes having nothing going on means that everything is perfectly normal and good.  I am fine with that.

Saturday was quite gloomy.  It was putting me in a gloomy mood.  I decided that a good way to overcome gloominess would be to think about all of the things that make me happy.

Sleeping kids - and not just because that means there is quiet, but because they look so stinking cute.

Little things I find - like my business card in Gabby's jewelry box 

Or her first party invitation carefully placed on her nightstand

Lots of cupcakes -not just because cupcakes are so yummy, but because it means friends are coming over.  Who said homeschoolers don't get enough socialization?

School on Saturday - ok, maybe this didn't make Gabby happy, but it makes me happy because it means we make our own schedule.

Bed head - maybe doesn't make me happy, but does make me laugh

My oils - this is a drawer of pure health and happiness.  I love that I can treat my family with all natural and safe products and not worry.

Thats all

#mysarcasticallycharminglife

#younglivingeessentialoils

#homeschooling

PerfectlyImperfect

This past week I have been in the "organization" mode.  My first goal was the kids' closet.  I pulled out things that are too small, and added in their summer clothes.  After all, it has been in the 70's! (MI friends, don't be too jealous) With that task complete, I moved on to the attic (scary).

Somewhere behind all of the boxes of Jeremy's crap....I mean, priceless childhood memories, I have 2 measly bins of keepsakes.  I came across my binder of college papers. Ahhhhhh.  I really have to say that I enjoy looking over my old work and reading the comments left by my professors.  I don't want to brag, but I pretty much rocked every paper. (ok, perhaps this is the definition of bragging but give a housewife a break)

I may have "rocked" my college papers, but I certainly don't  "rock" in all other areas of life.  I thought it might be fun to share some of my #fails from over this past week.

Picture taking while running (much harder than you may think when stopping is NOT an option) #fail

French braid #fail

Table manners #fail

Diet #fail

Ok, put your floaties on, its gonna get deep...

Reading over these comments made me realize that I am always striving for outward perfection, when I really need to be aiming for inward perfection.  How many days do I forgo my quiet time with the Lord by worrying about other things, like laundry, cleaning, going for a run, etc.  I'm trying to get into the habit again.  My women's Bible study is helping. I certainly do not want to be the only one who didn't get the "homework" done :) I spent my college years basking in glowing comments from professors, and striving for that perfect report card.  These things do not matter anymore. I may not be working for good grades now, but I am far too focused on other material and trivial goals.  I have a new prayer this week and moving forward - My prayer is that I can be focused on hearing the ultimate praise -
 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master'" Matthew 25:23

My reward is in Heaven, not in the things of this temporary life. I hope I can focus on pleasing the Lord, not on pleasing those around me, or myself.


#mysarcasticallycharminglife
#fail
#kids