I haven't been consistent about blogging like I have wanted to be, had hoped to be. This blog is for me, an outlet. In the beginning I wanted to share about my health and wellness journey but now I think I just want to share. 
  
Seasons...
As we have entered into spring and will soon transition into summer, Seasons have been on my mind alot. I think seasons is a good way to describe points in time in our life. I think of my nursing career. For a season I was an oncology nurse then transitioned into Care Management. For a season I worked for a local hospital 7 minutes from home. Now I am in a new season and beginning my career with a new community hospital 45 minutes from home. Professionally this is a really great season.  

I think in terms of my marriage. We had our dating season, then our early marriage - pre-kids season, now we are in our child rearing season. Within this season, though we are embarking on the beginning of what I fear is going to be a very, very long sub season (is that even a word? Can I just make it up?)! We are the proud parents of 4 energetic, individual, crazy boys. Our 2 oldest are developing their interests in sports and activities. Of course my husband and I have our own activities too (I mean, we need our sanity!). So many many times the family has multiple places to be at once. This has developed into a divide and concur mentality. Depending on the event, location, amount of time etc, we divvy up the kids between us and go our separate ways. In general, it works pretty well. 

However....
  I am struggling feeling connected. There is maybe one night, two if we are lucky, that we can all be home, share a meal and spend some time together. Yet, there is always homework or something that needs discussed, handled or dealt with. Its not just about me and the hubs tho. Its feeling connected to myself, to each of my kids and my family as a whole.. and even my friends! As each of the boys get older, I know this will continue to be a bigger and bigger thing.  We don't over schedule the kids or ourselves. Maybe its selfish but I don't want my husband or I to give up those things that we love that keep us sane! So how do we handle it? What strategies have worked for those of you with more than 2 kids? How do I push down my need for quiet time at home with everyone and embrace this season? I know, I know, I know... I need to enjoy it...it goes so quick.... ! Yes, i agree, but in the moment, the here and now, it FEELS SO SLOW! Like this is how it will always be. I wanted to be a mom. I prayed for these kids. I want to embrace them, connect with them, love them and do my best to be sure they become great men of God. 

I guess no one ever said it would be easy... and I wouldn't want it to be easy....well maybe a little easier! I guess for now I will look for the small moments. The quick points in time to have a moment to connect and maybe I will slowly gain momentum in embracing this (sub) Season (And perhaps start a countdown to empty nest season? I mean we all need goals Right?) 

Thanks for listening...or reading...well you know.. Thanks!

Insights over the past few months and other random ramblings....

I do so many things out of habit. I don't even know why I do some of them because if I really stop and think about it for just a minute it really makes no sense! This journey to health and wellness has ups and downs. Some days I work really really hard, make good choices, and go to the gym. Other days I am doing good to stick to the few new habits I have made.

SODA!
Soda! This has been a crutch for me since High School. Sometimes I wish I had never even been introduced to the stuff. It full of chemical compounds that taste yummy in the moment but don't satisfy your thirst so you drink more....and more... and more. When I first started with Plexus, I cut down my soda intake but didn't stop it all together. I certainly didn't crave it like I had before plexus but I still CHOSE to have one a day, grab a 20oz on a round trip or have one with dinner out. I recently shared on facebook about how my cousin challenged me about my soda drinking. We had been at the beach all day. I had taken waters and soda. We had done some sight seeing and were headed back to our cabin when we stopped for dinner. My cousin and his sweet girlfriend both ordered water. I ordered water for the kids. I CHOSE to order a soda for myself. That's how the conversation came up. He shared that drinking water helps you enjoy the various flavors of your meal that are other wise missed due to being covered up by soda.  This gave me food for thought, it has obviously stuck with me. Why was I drinking soda? Even more silly is that I generally saved my soda drinking for when were out. I rarely had it home unless we were having a get together. One Sunday out to lunch, my husband and I reviewed our bill. We realized that our lunch bill would have been under $30 had he and I both just ordered water. As I thought more and more about it, it occurred to me that I was paying 2 or 3 dollars for soda at a restaurant but wouldn't pay 99 cents to buy the bottle at the store! What was I thinking?? I am proud to say that it was in that moment I realized I no longer need my crutch. Water is good and refreshing. Tea is alternative when I want something different. I  made the mistake of taking a big swing of soda at home one night eating pizza. It felt like corn syrup running down my throat....well... that's really what it is anyway. YUCK! Not for me any more! 4 weeks, One Month...NO SODA, not going back either. I am officially free from my soda addiction. 

Easy, Boxed Baking
OK! Here is another "habit". I would spend the 4 or 5 dollars at the store for the boxed pancake and biscuit mixes. Have you read those labels? I have really gotten more and more into reading the labels. We have a really tight grocery budget and when you need enough food for 2 weeks for 6 people sometimes things have to be left. I like biscuits with some meals and I love making pancakes for my kids on lazy mornings. I started really looking for recipes. I started experimenting with different ingredients. Flour, Baking soda, Baking Power, salt, maybe sugar, Water or milk, and sometimes eggs, with varying amounts are the main essentials to waffles, pancakes muffins and biscuits (and many other yummy things). Hmmm. I can say all those ingredients. I always have all those ingredients. Why was I spending 4 or 5 dollars for something extra that I already had on hand. I know flour isn't the greatest for you, but i have switched to unbleached flour. Gross anyway--why would we bleach our food?? I barely bleach my clothes! So a little extra effort, a little more planning for me is totally worth it. Baking from scratch makes me feel good about what I am putting on the table. 

Unwillingness to Try
I am stubborn. If you know me, you know I am stubborn. My husband has teased me over our nearly 14 years of marriage that I make up my mind about things before I really give it chance. Especially when it comes to food. When he and I first met, I always ate plain, boring things. Didn't even really add condiments to sandwiches or experiment in anyway with food. If you ask me, I have come along way. I have found several things, probably more, that I always thought I hated and it turns out I really don't.  Hummus is the first thing I discovered. I really didn't think I liked it. Its color is kinda yucky and some of the labels don't sound so appetizing to me. However, I tried it one day because a friend was raving about it. I really liked it. I find that I prefer garlic flavored. I have even been attempting to make my own. Why not? 80 cents for a can of chick peas makes a portion big enough to span several lunches and gets my kids (and me too) eating raw veggies as snacks!  The other thing is in the category of raw veggies. Tomatoes, Cabbage, and Green peppers, things I always tolerated but never thought I liked. This summer, growing my own tomatoes has changed my mind about tomatoes. YUM, Fresh from the vine for salsa, soup and just to eat! Good Stuff! Cabbage is something I started 'tolerating' because my husband wanted to make it for his Irish side of the family family reunion one year. Then he started making it at St Patrick's day. Every once and a while we would eat it with dinner. The other night i was making said dinner and had bought a HUGE head of cabbage. So I sliced it up and found a recipe for oven roasted Cabbage! OH MY HEAVENS, Straight from the oven it was like candy only healthy! Soo good and now on my grocery list each time!  At work, I have watched a few of my coworkers (okay, friends) eat RAW GREEN PEPPERS!  UGH! They always offered them to me and I would turn up my nose. They would roll their eyes at me and keep on eating. Peppers to me indicate spicy and I don't care for overly spicy things (probably all that bland eating!). Well.... last night I was making homemade pizza. I cut up the green peppers small cause that's how i like them on pizza, but ended up with more than half the pepper left. I thought for a moment, and took a leap. I took a small bite. Next thing I know, I have eaten the entire leftover half and I LIKED IT! WOW! If only I would try things more often!! What else have I been missing?!?!


Thanks to my new found taste buds, I am getting excited about re working my garden this summer. I went with safe things last summer. This summer I am going to open up my world a little more. I am so grateful for plexus slim and the way it has helped me over come addictions to foods and re-worked my body and taste buds so that I actually CRAVE good for me food. I am not perfect. I still enjoy a treat now and then. That's the point right? Health but not deprivation. Food for fuel, not for managing stress and emotions. Living life to LIVE, LAUGH and LOVE.  Loving myself more and more each day along this journey! Finding my joy and happiness in relationships with God, Friends and Family and sharing it with others. 

Welcome February, you are going to be a great month, I just know it! 

A New Year, A New Determination... A New Me!

If you follow me on facebook, you know that yesterday I spent the day surrounded by my plexus friends at Super Saturday. It is a training event sponsored by the company. It was great to meet in person so many people I 'talk to' and 'follow' through facebook. One person in particular stood out. Towards the end of the day they had everyone who had lost 50 lbs or more using plexus stand up. There were many that stood. Then 75+... a few sat. Then 100+...only 2 people in a room of 800 remained standing. They were standing together, friends on this journey together. Knowing each other's success the one lady side hugged her friend and said "Get it Girl". The other stood with emotion in her voice saying she has lost a grand total of 238 pounds using plexus products!!!! 238 pounds. The entire room broke out into applause and stood in admiration of this lady's ENORMOUS Achievement. I mean 238 pounds.. Let that sink in. Think about what that must feel like to carry around nearly 2 additional people with you all day everyday. I don't know her full story, but I know that she had to have set backs, barriers, trials just like the rest of us while on the journey..but she didn't give up. She continued and now can proudly say she has accomplished this goal. It has given me hope, that even though my progress has slowed, I shouldn't lose sight of my goal.

Mountains to Molehills
As I keep reflecting back on yesterday and the woman who I mentioned above I have come to some conclusions. In May I made the decision to start plexus, to give it a year and to do my best and see how it works for me. I was ready to be healthy, not just thinner, HEALTHIER. I think we all, whether we need to or not, want to be thinner. If I am honest about where I need to get to, I have about 90 more pounds to lose. 90 pounds doesn't seem as daunting now if face of knowing someone, a real person.. I saw her, has lost 238 pounds using plexus as her tool. I am inspired. I am determined. I am giving myself grace. Instead of turning Molehills into Mountains, I am looking at my Mountains as if they are only Molehills.

Sharing Not Selling
Plexus has so much to offer in the area of health and wellness. It took me 6 months with the company to realize how much benefit everyone, regardless of height, weight, gender or age, can benefit from these products. There are many out there who can't afford to NOT hear about and try these products. That is why I am in the "Plexus Business". I want to SHARE the products, the health improvements, the financial opportunities. I want everyone to know how good it feels to get healthy. When I first started I thought it was all about the weight loss, because that was the primary reason I even looked at the products. However, it so much more. People are getting away from antidepressants, pain medications, blood pressure medications, diabetes medications (Under their doctors supervision of course!) everyday because of how their bodies have healed on the inside using these products. Let me be clear...There are NO quick fixes to weight loss, none, zero. The weight came on slowly over time and if we lose it in a healthy sustainable manner, it comes off slowly over time. The weight loss is a by product of getting your insides healthy. If your not ready for total health and wellness, and looking for  a quick fix, you may not be ready for plexus. If your goal is to lose weight and get healthy and your willing to give it the time it needs, then you are ready for plexus. I have lost more inches than pounds.. but I am down 2 full sizes, almost 3. I am not trying to sell you on plexus, plexus works..try it, you will see, I am merely sharing with you the opportunity to try it out and get healthy and see what plexus can do for you.

I am so grateful for my friend who SHARED plexus with me. She followed God's lead into this company and I prayerfully did the same thing. I have 4 boys who need a healthy, full of energy, happy mom, they deserve that. Plexus Products have gotten their mom started towards that healthy, energetic, happy mom. I want to live the life God intended for me. My body is a temple, made in his image. It is one of the many resources he has entrusted into my care. I am working on repairing my temple with a renewed determination to emerge as a new, healthier version of ME in 2015.  Who is ready to join me?