180 Degrees

Let me first blow the dust off my blog....

I am not good at this whole blogging thing. Honestly it is because I have very little energy. I have 4 kiddos and a wonderful husband and the energy level of an 80 year old. No wait my Grandmother is 87 and she has way more energy than me. So energy to sit down at the computer and try to put together cohesive thoughts is kinda like a "normal" person climbing Mount Everest. Well not anymore baby! I am ready to do a 180 on my health. I am ready to shed the extra 30 pounds I put on last year and maybe my hair will stop shedding too. So what am I doing differently? I am eating!!! Whattttttt??????

You heard me right I am eating. Last month I was sitting around a table with an absolute amazing group of women. These ladies are beautiful. I am talking model beautiful. And my heart broke as the talked about how they were taking shots to curb their appetite and all the other miserable things they were doing to loose weight and improve health. Well I decided to let the know about my "diet" too. (I hate being left out.) So I told them about how I was eating more to loose weight. They all started laughing so hard. (It was kinda funny.) Then one lady said "Oh wait, you are serious." At the time I was actually only partially serious. I had been reading about this method for years and had given it a half hearted go a few years back. I had lost weight then and felt great but I failed to actually deal with the emotional side of my life and stress and other stuff got the better of me and I went back to my old ways. Plus I was too cheap to spend $$$$ to buy a simple e-book. Well this time it was buy the e-book or a new wardrobe. Guess which one I bought?!?!?! Hint (several e-books and I am getting ready to upgrade to the package deal!)

Okay before I go much farther/further (not sure which one is grammatically correct) I should share what I am talking about. I refer to a brilliant man named Matt Stone at 180DegreeHealth.com  He is a genius. Or maybe he just happens to have an abundance of common sense and since that is so rare these days, it seems like he is a genius. Nope he is really really smart. Opps sorry my mind wandered. So Sunday night of this week I got totally fed up (actually I wasn't full at all and that was part of the problem) and while everyone else was trying to figure out why the lights were out at the superdome in New Orleans, I was frantically trying to figure out paypal so that I could get my hands on Matt's e-book 180DegreeMetabolism asap. I ordered the package through his website then converted the PDF so that I could read it on my kindle. (I threw that in there to feel better about my ineptitude with electronics.)

 So bright and early Monday morning I started the first step which is refeeding. At least I think it is. Seriously I have been calorie deprived for so long I really do not comprehend things as I should. The first few days I started really eating. I was so so so so so hungry. I have never in my life felt this kind of hunger. I can skip meals for days and not feel a pang but to get up first thing in the morning and start eating to my little hearts content and BAM I am hit with the most powerful hunger pains of my life. I am happy to say that this morning was different. I planned my meal before I went to bed last night and at 6:30 in the morning I was out in the garden picking fresh kale to have for breakfast. For breakfast I had 3 pieces of bacon fried in butter. :-) Then I fried the kale in the leftover yummy fat. I had a nice piece of cornbread. Made from blue cornmeal that we get from a local mill. It has an amazing flavor and is organic to boot. Then I had a nice bowl of brown beans that had little bits of ham. The pork came from a local farmer. We are so very blessed to have a dear friend who happens to be a farmer that gets us some farm fresh stuff like pork, beef and raw milk. I do want to say that I am not one of those organic Nazi types. I love to garden and I love farmers. I want to support the local farmer and I garden because I am too lazy to go shopping. (Who wants to have to actually get dressed to go to the store and play bumper carts trying to get down the isles????) And my garden is organic because I am too lazy to go to the store and buy chemicals to spray the bugs with. I just tell my two boys to go out there and gets some insects for a insect collection. That reminds me, tomato horn worms do not make a good addition to insect collections. I suggest stomping on them and just seeing how far their insides will squirt.

So the basic point of the refeeding is to jump start your metabolism. (If you want the nitty gritty of all this, do purchase Matt's books. He is smart and can explain all of it. I squish bugs for fun. Nuf said.) To measure this you do not jump on a scale and get your weight and then proceed to beat yourself up for having no will power. What you do is you lay in bed and take your temperature first thing in the morning. Wooo I am tired already. Before I started eating, my normal temperature was a whopping 96 degrees. Might explain my inability to stay warm. I actually thought my thermometer was broke so I went and got a new one. It was right. 3 days in and my temp is up to 96.8. I am starting to feel some energy starting to build too. Oh and already my hair has stopped molting. I must say I am so blessed that I have a ton of hair. I was loosing it by the handfuls and it is truly a miracle that I am not bald. I started wearing my hair in braids to keep the falling out to a minimum. Not sure if it worked but it made sense to me.

Anyway this is all just the beginning and I am just learning how to listen to my body and what true eating is for the first time in my life. And now it is nine pm and time to go to bed cause part of this new way of thinking is to get plenty of sleep. Crazy thought is it not. Who would think with 4 kids I would need a good nights sleep to have lots of energy. So in closing I am letting go of my attempts at being supermom for a while and I am going to focus on nourishing and being the person God created me to be. Night Night all.

Getting Organized

I have been spending time on Pinterest pinning different organizers and printables to my pin boards. The first week I did really well. What was I thinking trying to get all planned out and organized right in the middle of the holidays? I should have been shooting for something a bit more attainable like brushing my teeth at least four times in one week or maybe eating one meal this week while sitting down. Luckily the holidays are coming to an end and I can get things back on track. Well, except for the fact that I am sick and so are all four of my kiddos. You know what I am going to try anyway! Right now I am finding this planner really helpful. It is found at Finding Home. I love the way it is layed out and so far works really well for me. I really like the font she used. I do not know why that would be important but for some reason it is to me. In the meantime here is a real glimpse into my life :

This is from my son's birthday last year. I am not organized enough to have more recent photos. That is not stopping me from moving forward and trying to be more organized!!!

Room for One More?

At one point, it was taught that we should always have room at our tables for one more. I know that during the depression era there were lots of misplaced folks that benefited from the kindness of those who had extra to share. Is this something that is taught anymore? Do we instill in our children that there is plenty and we should share with those in need? I know I have fallen short on this many times in my adult life. I see that there is always room for one more in our life of plenty. In fact, there is room for several more to sit around our table and break bread with us. I would love an opportunity to welcome Sophia to my table. She is a sweet 5 year old that has no family. What a joy it would be to know that she had a permanent place where she is part of a family. Are you that family? Is there room for one more at your table?

Isn't she a sweetheart! If you would like to help Miss Sophia please visit Reece's Rainbow. She is one of the children that is on the Angel Tree. Please share and donate so that we can meet here $1,000 goal!!!

The Right Words

I search today for the right words to use to introduce you to Miss Zoey but I am truly unable to find them. Zoey is 6 years old and weighs about 10 lbs. I have a 6 year old and he weighs about 50 lbs. My mind simply cannot comprehend this difference. My heart is broken for this little one. She is in desperate need of a family. To learn more about Zoey you can visit Reece's Rainbow. Please pray that this little one's family finds her soon!

Russell!!!!

This is a picture of my sweet Angel Russell. It was the picture on his profile last year when he was on the Angel Tree. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this were his last year on the Angel Tree!!! Could you please help us get Russell home with his family next year? You can share his picture. You can donate to his Angel Tree fund. You can also pray with me that his family finds him soon!!!

Abbott!!!

Let me tell you what, I am excited about featuring this sweet boy today. He has such a sweet sweet face. Look at the kindness in his eyes. Look at all the wonderful things they say about him too!!!

"Abbott is a child with whom everyone falls in love immediately! He is a very kind and very cheerful child! He easily finds common language with adults and children. Abbott understands how to properly play with the different kind of toys and loves to play. He is not speaking yet but he is easily understood. Abbott is an active child. He likes to run, walk and see new places."

But wait what is this in bold that I see..... URGENT NEED – TRANSFERRED


My heart is now breaking. Do you know what this means? "Recently he has been transferred to an institution and nobody knows how he is now." This sweet boy with the kindness in his eyes is in an institution. Is he able to run? Is he able to play? Doubtful? Will someone help him to speak? Not likely.

 So what can we do? Share his picture every chance you get! Donate to his adoption grant! Go visit Hooked on Hope and purchase an amazing crocheted item because 25% of  each purchase goes to this sweet child. Above all else please pray. No child should ever be in an institution. They should be in a family.


If you want to know more about Abbott just click on his picture.

 

 

 

Angel Tree 2012

Hey folks!! Or should I say my one reader. I am stepping out big this year and I am going to be cheering and praying and fundraising for a sweet little boy named Russell! My goal is to raise $1,000 but more importantly to find this little one a family! If you have the heart to donate please click on his picture and it will take you to Reece's Rainbow. You can click on his picture over to the right! For every $35 donated you also get an ornament with his picture! Let's make a big difference in this little one's life this holiday and as always prayers are truly appreciated.