It's Fall, Y'all

Life has been busy and fun lately.

We have already gotten into the fall spirit quite a bit. I changed to fall scents in my Scentsy warmers and have been enjoying candy corn and anything pumpkin flavored.

Two of our friends moved a couple hours away. We are sad they won't be here all the time anymore, but we are so excited for this new chapter in their lives.

We went to Disneyland and had a blast.

We celebrated our niece's 2nd birthday with two parties. She is so adorable and it was so much fun watching her reaction to blowing out candles and opening presents, now that she's older.

She loves Minnie Mouse!

The big two year old

I went out to dinner and dancing to celebrate two of my friends's birthdays. We had such a fun night.

The birthday boy and girl

We celebrated a friend's daughter's birthday and got caught in a downpour when we left. It was the first and only big rain we've had so far this season.

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law both got baptized at church. It was incredible to witness and I am so proud of both of them.

The lighting is pretty harsh on the stage so it's hard to see them

We said goodbye to a pastor at our church. Some of our friends from out of state were able to come out for the weekend. We had a worship night with some of the people we used to be in Bible study with. It was bittersweet but I'm so glad we were able to be there. We also had a special service at church and all of our out of state friends were able to participate in the service, whether by leading worship or teaching. It was a great night.

With some of my lovely friends at the worship night

The hubby and I before church

Our friend from CO leading worship

So glad to see this beautiful friend again!

I went out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. We went to an Asian fusion restaurant, which was really yummy, and a really cute coffee shop. I had a blast talking and laughing with some of my sweet friends.

I love these ladies

We went to a corn maze with our marrieds group. It was a lot of fun to see people's personalities come out when it came to working together and trying to get out of the maze.

The boys goofing off

We also went to a friend's Halloween party and had a blast. We haven't really been to a Halloween party since before we got married, so we had a hard time coming up with costumes. Thankfully, we were able to find some things that worked. It was fun to see the costumes our friends came up with, too!

My costume was a ruby goddess, the hubby's was Indiana Jones

With two of my girls: one a witch, the other Poison Ivy

Dot 35 wives! The one on the end was Janis Joplin

It's been a fun start to fall and we are looking forward to all of the other fun things we have planned for the rest of the year.

Before and After

I am taking a very bold step today.

Two years ago, when I decided I needed to start exercising on a regular basis to try to be a healthier person, I took pictures in front of my bathroom mirror so I could see my progress. That exercising on a regular basis thing didn't stick for very long. In fact, I only exercised once or twice in the first two months and it's been very intermittent since then.

I have never shown anyone these pictures, because I was purposefully wearing tighter clothes so my curves showed up more. I am pretty sure I was at my heaviest point when I took these pictures, but it's hard to know for sure because I don't own a scale and I don't weigh myself on a regular basis.

Fast forward two years...it's been almost 8 months since I decided I needed to change my diet and eat healthier foods. I can proudly say that I rarely ever have soda anymore. I had one last night and I think it had been at least three weeks before that. I still get cravings for ice cream and pumpkin pie (dang Costco and their cheap pumpkin pies!), so I do occasionally indulge in those sweet treats (maybe once or twice a week, depending on the week and what we have going on. It's usually more on the once side). I no longer eat fast food...unless it's In n Out. I do have that on occasion as well (maybe once or twice a month). I had Jack in the Box for the first time last week and I felt like I was cheating on someone while eating it! It was the weirdest feeling...especially since I probably had Jack in the Box tacos and egg rolls at least twice a week in the past. I have resisted McDonald's French fries, and I think I've had Taco Bell and Carl's Jr. maybe once in the past 7 months. I eat Chipotle occasionally and usually just get a burrito bowl so as to avoid the calories in the tortilla.

I do eat out at other restaurants on the occasion. Josh and I get sushi once a month. It's our standing "he got paid" date. We probably go to another restaurant once or twice a month, depending on what's going on. Usually with friends or family to celebrate a birthday or just for a fun hang out. I try to eat off the lower calorie part of the menu the majority of the time, but there are definitely days when I feel like splurging...and I do.

I feel like some people in my life are waiting for me to fall and decide I'm over this now. And while I will say that I don't enter my meals into My Fitness Pal every single day anymore, I also have a pretty good idea of when I've hit my calorie goal for the day and when I've gone over. I just kind of know what foods I should be eating and which ones I should avoid. I snack on fruits and veggies as much as I can, especially when I'm feeling like I need a snack. There are a few staples we usually keep in our house: broccoli, clementines/cuties/citrines (basically all the same thing), edamame, avocados, some kind of berry, spinach, and bananas. We also always have Greek yogurt (as we both usually take them with our lunches for work), some kind of fish, ground turkey meat, and green tea (I usually make myself tea every time I work and sometimes on the days that I am home. It's the only thing I drink anymore to get a caffeine fix).

But, I'm not tired of this. I enjoy eating better. I like knowing that the things I'm putting in my body (most of the time) are actually good for me. And not just for the results I've had in my body (though they are definitely a plus). I just like knowing that I am taking better care of my temple and trying to keep myself healthy so I can do the things God pulls me toward.

So...here are the pics:

My apologies for the grainy iPhone pics. I shouldn't have used the front camera

I wasn't quite considered overweight for my height...but I was definitely getting there. And I know extra weight makes your body and your muscles work harder...and with the pain and stiffness I have, anything I can do to elevate that is a good thing.

So this is where I'm at...taking better care of myself and hoping to be able to get into a regular exercise routine soon so I can take care of myself in other ways. 

For the Good

I honestly wish I knew what to say.

I have mentioned many times in past blog posts that this year has been a very hard one.

I wrote out a long blog post last week about why...and then decided against posting it.

I have a hard time sharing someone else's story, even if it's not in very many details.

The one thing I can say is, I have changed, grown, and hurt deeper this year than I ever have before. My love for my family and for my amazing friends has morphed into something I didn't think possible before. My heart has been broken and shattered into a million pieces, and yet God is picking it back up and helping to mend it with each passing day.

I cling to Josh more dearly than I ever have in my life. I long to just be at home with him and to soak in every moment we can be together.

Someday, when the time is right, I will share the story (or maybe ask someone very dear to me if they would like the honor). It's a beautiful story...full of pain, yes...but covered in God's love and grace and mercy and compassion.

I've had a hard time coming to terms with why things happened the way they did, but I've been clinging to the fact that God's plan is always best, even when we don't understand it or can't see it fully. And even though I can't understand the whys, I've seen the evidence of some beautiful outcomes...and for that, I am so incredibly grateful.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28 (NIV)

This I know to be true.

And I'm choosing to hold onto His promises today.

Health

It's been about 7 months since I decided to start eating healthier. 

My initial intention wasn't to lose weight (of course that was an added bonus). I really just wanted to take better care of myself. 

I have been in chronic pain for the last two and a half years of my life. It has continually gotten worse and spread to other areas of my body. I have seen specialists, had all sorts of tests run, gone through two cycles of physical therapy, and I get regular massages, all to try and manage it. While some things have helped, nothing has been able to cure my pain. So, I started doing research online. 

One of the things I found out is that certain foods aggravate inflammation in the body. One of the major causes of inflammation is salt. And if you know me at all, I am a sucker for salty stuff. I would rather have salty foods than sugary ones any day. 

After reading all of this, I decided it was time for a change and time to try some new things. Changing the way I eat definitely wasn't going to hurt things or make me worse (unless of course I went on an all bad for you foods diet), so I figured I would give it a try. 

I stopped eating fast food all the time (I probably ate it at least twice a week on average). I stopped drinking soda (I was addicted to Coca-Cola and felt like I had to have one every day to survive). I started eating more fruits and veggies on a daily basis and started incorporating things like Greek yogurt and hummus into my diet. I also started eating fish and ground turkey on a regular basis instead of fattier meat choices. I replaced Coke with unsweetened green tea to get that little kick of caffeine and I pretty much drink nothing but that and water now. We hardly ever buy a carton of ice cream and keep it in the house because I will be too tempted to eat some every day. Instead, my freezer houses frozen berries to put in smoothies. 

Do I have days when I eat bad? Absolutely. We have gone on quite a few trips these past few months and I choose a lot of times to splurge a bit when we are gone from home (partly for fun and partly because sometimes I just don't have as many heathly options in front of me). But even then, I try to choose meals that have a lot of veggies or leaner meats and I will either drink water or iced tea. I have only had a Coke maybe four times in the past month (and that's actually a lot for me these days). I have yet to eat at McDonald's (except for an occasional caramel sundae) or Jack in the Box since I started this journey. And for a girl who was addicted to McDonald's fries and Jack in the Box tacos, that's a huge deal. The only fast food we ever really eat on occasion is In n Out and I never order fries anymore (I just eat two or three of Josh's if I want some). I often choose food off the lower calorie menus in restaurants. I also like to get Chipotle every now and again and order a burrito bowl with chicken instead of my previous steak burritos.

 

Most importantly, I feel so much better. I am a lot less lethargic and I even survive on less sleep (and feel like I get much more restful sleep now that I'm not drinking Coke all the time). I have a lot more energy throughout the day and I have noticed an improvement in my pain (it could be a combination of a lot of different things but anything that is helping to lessen my pain is a win in my book). I have lost at least 15 lbs (I don't have a scale at home on purpose, so that's as of over a month ago when I got weighed at the doctor's office) and I am down at least one pant size (I feel like I'm kind of in-between sizes right now). Some of my clothes fit better than they ever did before, some are way too big now, and I have been able to fit into others that I've had in my closet for over three years that I could no longer fit into. It's exciting and frustrating because I need to buy things that fit better now and I have so many clothes that I can no longer wear (being in Disneyland two weeks ago was frustrating because none of the pants/shorts I brought to wear actually fit, so I had to try and put my belt on tighter and I was constantly pulling them up). It's a blessing and I'm definitely not trying to be a complainer, but it's just a different problem to have when you're used to going up a pant size every year or so instead of going down one or two. 

But overall, I know I'm taking better care of my body. When you truly view yourself as God's temple and understand that He wants you to take care of yourself, it becomes less about what sounds good and more about what actually is good for you. Candy and chips and Coke aren't necessarily horrible things, but they're not the best things either. And when it comes to the way I eat, having these things on occasion isn't horrible. And my cravings for those kinds of things has decreased dramatically. I never thought I would no longer crave this stuff but I don't. 

Disclaimer: I don't share this to make anyone feel bad or to question the way they eat or take care of themselves. This is just something I felt like I needed to do for my personal health, and it was a great choice for me. 

Two

Two years ago, we got a very scary phone call.

(The day she was born)

(The first time I got to hold her!)

My sister-in-law had an emergency c-section six weeks early to deliver her daughter. Both of them had extended hospital stays and there were some really scary things that happened before and after the birth. Thankfully, God protected and took care of both of them, and my niece is one of the happiest, smartest, most adorable little girls in the world.

I still can't believe she is 2! She has grown up so fast.

(Her first birthday last year)

I am excited to celebrate her life today and to thank God again for the beautiful blessing it is that she and my sister-in-law are both here and healthy.