Mighty Motivation

13 weeks ago I joined a great group of ladies that are working on getting slim by summer. I've enjoyed reading all the posts and joining in on the journeys of others. They are all amazing women and I am honored to be a part of this group.

This week the assignment is: Motivation



Why do I do what I do? What keeps me going?

I love waking up to this...my back? Not so much.

Well lately all my time has been absorbed by spring activities-  we've been camping for a week in Big Bend, my hubbilicious man turned 35, we had a MAJOR water leak and had to replace the 40 year old main line, went camping at Enchanted Rock, are preparing for a garage sale and today our business moved out of the home, primarily, and into an office! Oh and weddings( and lots of them) Yeah, so where do I find time for me in all that? Well, it gets tricky. Walks with the dog have been my biggest regular exercise along with jamming to some tunes while cleaning and working in the garden. 

Oh, I know. Glamorous life, isn't it? 

Our View of the sunset in the basin of Big Bend. Delightful.

My motivation is to be healthy, and to love myself more. Since graduation I no longer walk the hills on a daily basis and I am no longer am a server or bartender those hours on my feet each week melting the calories and fat off my bod.

So to trigger a bit of that motivation, I agreed to let the hubs have his office away from home (for part of the week-I like doing my writing with him here some of the time) and along with the office comes a gym membership! So in addition to having my living room back, and having space to do yoga and my Jillian Fitness Ultimatum I get a gym to get my sweat on!

I'm excited to do this last push of getting in a routine of working out and see a change before summer gets here.

What is your motivation? Is it love? health? your kids? Happiness?
I'd love to hear it!

Thanks for visiting my lil bloggie thingy!

A blessing for the wedding couple!

busy little bees are we

I said 2013 was going to be a great year. Phew-didn't realize in saying that we would be so busy!

This is not a complaint, I am so thankful for this year so far! We've started juicing (which has been giving me much more energy), we have a dog and a cat, are Den Leaders for the fourth year running, I'm gardening (I just put in another bed, and it's ready for baby plants!), and writing, helping the darling husband with the business, and are about to spend a week in Big Bend!

Life is good. So while I make some homemade instant oatmeal, kolaches and bread for our camping trip. I will try and do a few blog posts, and take pictures.

Here is a quick photo dump of the past week:

We have been experiencing strong winds...and between this limb and
another hanging precariously from our power line, we got lucky!

We went antiquing and celebrated my parent's 39th year of marriage!
I found this little gem I wish I could have.

Jon found this for a few good reads, and it has me writing more. ^_^

My Mom found this gem, and it is now in a place of honor!
It reminds me of her. <3 

Well, that's a bit of what's been going on here. Hope you've been having as much fun as we have!

Whoa-where'd I go!?

Oh my. I can't believe the directions this month has been taking me! Between getting ready for a week long cub scout campout (oh yeah, we're crazy) our juicy journey, and spring being here (gardening time!) I have neglected this bloggie thingie a bit.

So how about a bit of an update before I get to business? 

We finished our juice, and are feeling good! We've decided to do our own version of the reboot, and have been working in healthy recipes while juicing. We've loved the juicing so much so that we are going to try and make it a part of our everyday routine. 

It was hard to think that this jar would make us feel full, but it was bizarre. We weren't hungry....I sure missed my coffee, but I learned that the coffee was actually making it hard for our bodies to absorb nutrients we were eating.

The green juice was one of our favorites for the morning. It energized us, and really kept us going till our lunch juice.

As seen by the in-progress photo here...I began to enjoy the juices in a different way. As I would wash all the veggies and fruits to juice it was as if I could feel my body absorbing the smells better and the colors became more vivid. I would toss in a beet, and giggle in excitement as the aroma filled my nose. The joy came when I was finished juicing and cleaning the machine, and could take that first sip of juicy goodness.

The combinations are endless and experimenting with flavors can be fun-especially if you can tolerate a few not so tasty blends. Oh yeah, I had those too. The ones that Jon would say, in his ever so encouraging way; "just chug it babe, you gotta drink it"

If you are thinking of juicing I would highly recommend it. If you need to lose a bit of belly, then a proper cleanse can really help. My next post I'll let in on just how much I lost in the 5 day cleanse!

Juicy Journey: Day 3 Update

It is day three of our Juicy Journey, and I am feeling a lot better than yesterday. Still don't have that wonderful splurge of purported energy to happen any day now...but I'm ready for it!

Yesterday was rough. Silly me thought it would be wise to do a little workout in the morning. It was yoga, and it made me woozy! The afternoon was the hardest part of the day-a headache like nobody's business, and a few food cravings. Nothing too bad, but I did start to wonder how long we could actually go.

The most surprising part-I haven't been hungry. Bizarre, I know! We drink hot water with lemon in the morning, while I get the fruits and veggies ready to go. Take the pup on a walk, and then juice. A couple large glasses of water and some coconut water to get us to lunch...and then a juice at lunch. Followed by more water and coconut water. Then we make a dinner juice, I make food for our Shi guy and after even more water we have tea before bed with lemon and ginger. Other than missing crunching into food, and popcorn for family movie night, and the feel of a grilled burrito...I don't feel like I'm missing out too much.

I do know this: We are super excited to plan our meals for when we get off this cleanse! Once I get that energy back-it'll be time to finish up my Menu Board!

This was our first juice! Just look at that greenage! 

I'd love some recipes if you've done a juice or know of anybody who has!

Good Habits?

I can't believe it is already Week 5 of the Slim by the Summer challenge I joined! I have been able to meet some great ladies and have enjoyed all the encouragement and new blogs to read!

This week's theme is.....

I have to say, lately we have gotten better. I am not big on fast food, but I sure love fried chicken, and my husband knows he can usually just say the words "why not take a break tonight" and we go to our favorite spot for a Taco salad or fried chicken, or my absolute guilty pleasure- chicken fried steak.

Ok. I have to stop talking about all that bad food! So, lately when he says those words I have learned to love... I suggest a restaurant that has something I know I won't blow my workout/goal for the day. We are learning to plan our guilty pleasures for more rare occasions, and when we are both feeling stressed and would rather grab something quick, I try to stick to Thai soups and stir frys, Mexican Tortilla Soup, or talk the hubs into salad at home followed by some Frozen Bananas!  And my little reward system has been a great motivator for myself. My jar is looking nice!

Of course, right now we are doing a juice cleanse...so eating out is just not an option.

On another note...vacations. I know it can be so hard to eat well when on vacation. What I've tried doing there is planning as much as possible before we go. I look for healthy restaurants in the area we will be in, and plan as many meals as possible to cook in our living arrangements. If it is camping, we take a dutch oven and lots of veggies and foil...in hotels I've been known to bring my sandwich press and our water kettle to blanch veggies-but if it is a long term stay we usually get a place with at least a kitchenette.

What are your tricks? And what treats do you allow? Are you a no-drive-thru type, or a sometimes? We've said no to drive-thrus since the new year and I hope to keep it that way!

It is about to get juicy!

I talked my husband into watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead...and before we were half way through he declared "Oh we can definitely do this."

So thank goodness, I don't have to try and do this by myself!

We bought a juicer yesterday, and I can't wait to wake up and drink our first glass of micro-nutrient rich juice!

The funny, and sad thing is...we had been planning on a wine and cheese night together, but while watching the film, we both decided we no longer wanted the wine and cheese!

The plan was to start the 15 day reboot from Joe Cross, but after he watched the film the hubs said he would be fine just juicing, and not starting with a vegetarian spread of foods mixed with juicing the first 5 days.

I recently won Sprouts Defy it with Your Diet, and a gift card to sprouts-so I was lucky enough to be able to use that to start our cleanse with!

I couldn't believe how much it would take for the first few days. I am expecting this amount to last us through Wednesday.

The trunk was full! But since it was full of great things for us, it felt good...I usually feel bad after checking out at the grocery store, but I was actually happy this time.

If you have ever cleansed, or detoxed you know the first few days are the hardest...so I will do my darndest to keep up with the whole ordeal-and if I am cranky, I am sorry. I am a caffeine addict, and that is hard stuff to give up.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you join me for our Juicy Journey! Will you join me?

Some Juicy News

A quick post, today. We bought a juicer! I am so excited! I am currently mapping out our quest for better health and will be back later tonight to share with you the details!

I will be documenting our Juicy Journey, and can't wait to see what happens!

I watched Hungry For Change on Netflix, and then Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, also on Netflix. Talked to my Husband about the desire for us to change our lifestyle, and now he is on board!

We're going to the store now....so I'll be back later with some eye candy for you!

Stay tuned!