Gearing Up For Gluten Free

howdy ho good neighbor,
I am gearing up, planning, listing and will be shopping and cooking in preparation for the end of Jillian's 30 day shred and the beginning of my Going Gluten Free Challenge that I will be starting next week.

 I genuinely didn't see any changes in my body from the shred but I did feel myself getting stronger. I am working on the exercise plan I will be doing in correlation with the new diet plan. It definitely contains the bootylicious squat workout and weights. And some isometrics and my beloved treadmill. (gotta remember my mile in 10 minute goal for 2014) And I have a 10k coming up on the 16th. I want to focus on increasing strength and BUSTING OUT SOME ABS!!! I want a bikini body for this summer!!!

I listed my meal plan and got some great feedback from some ladies in my No Excuse Mom's workout group on Facebook. I love those ladies! So helpful and inspiring. So I am making changes to the plan and reading labels on my normal go to products to make sure I am ready to detox my body from wheat and gluten. I am a little concerned at some of the withdrawal symptoms I have been reading about. I am a self proclaimed carb lover so this is intimidating to me but I really hate looking like a slim healthy hot mama at 8 am and by 2 pm looking like I am expecting a baby elephant to pop outta my belly!!!

Just Say No To Bloat!

That is my motto for this challenge. Also one lovely lady suggested instead of 21 days I really need to go 30 because the biggest results will show between week 3 and 4. I think I can live with that extension. I picked up a copy of The Wheat Belly at the library yesterday and I am devouring the rather stale information as quickly as you can choke down pancakes without syrup. I admit to enjoying the research phases of these little adventures. HA! More then the first week of the change, that's for sure.

My biggest issue is making sure I have plenty of foods in the house that I can eat and never feel hungry or go off plan. The key to success!!

I would love to hear from any of you who have done this lifestyle change and what your experience during the shift was and how successful it was for you.

I AM FEELING INSPIRED BY BODACIOUS BOOTY-NESS!!!!

Hey y'all,
I know I have been discussin' ass A LOT lately, my ass, other people's asses and fabulous asses. But I WANT an ass that makes jaws drop! I want an ass that looks like it belongs on a 16 yr old cheerleader not a quickly approaching 40,  3 time mama.

I wish I could share the inspiring photo I saw today. It was in a private workout discussion group and I can't share it here but all I can say is it was a before and after of what squats can do to a glutimus maximus and it was a beautiful thing!!! It went from flat and plain to round and firm and high!!! (I am aware I am over using exclamation points again but believe me this butt deserved some exclamation points)

 I am doing my pee squats every other day but to get a "did you see that ass?!"kind of ass I am going to have to add some serious weights to the routine. This girl is squatting 110 lbs doing squats 3 x a week. So clearly to get a bootylicious booty I gotta step it up...more then a notch!

I found this image on the internet and this is the kind of change I am talking about! What a difference!

Gluten Free And Vegan Too!

I am gearing up for a 21 day gluten free challenge and of course continuing my normal vegan life style. This is the menu plan I am working on. But since this is all new to me I am open to advice or help with my plan. So please, please share in the comments below!





GLUTEN FREE AND VEGAN DINNER SUGGESTIONS
1)http://www.theglutenfreevegan.com/2012/01/creamy-sundried-tomato-artichoke-and-baby-spinach-penne/ spinach and cranberry salad
2)
http://www.theglutenfreevegan.com/2011/12/mac-cheese-vegan-and-gluten-free/ serve with roasted carrots and broccoli

3)veg, lentil soup, fruit salad with apple, celery, grapes
4)black bean burger patties with tomatilla salsa and mexican rice
5)maple garlic sauce tofu with wild rice and roasted vegies
6)ginger tofu and vegie(zucchini,broccoli,carrot and green onion stirfry over rice noodles
7)fried rice with tofu, mushroom, carrot,pea and cabbage soup topped with green onion
8)loaded baked potatoes, cooked apples,green bean fries
9)potato/leek soup and greens salad, dried apricots dipped in dark chocolate
10)spinach/artichoke stuffed mushrooms and lemon garlic pasta, black bean brownies
11)falafel and tahini sauce/hummus and fresh veggie dippers
12)cucumber sandwiches stuffed with chickpea salad and red pepper slices, apples with peanut butter
13)zuccini boats stuffed with mushroom, green pepper, sun dried tomatoes and cheese, green salad with kale and spinach, stuffed jalapenos
14)black bean sloppy jo served on top of corn bread
roasted broccoli,pear crisp
15)spinach enchiladas and crockpot beans,mexicorn salad
16)pimento cheese on celery,tomato, cucumber, onion ranch salad,frozen bananas with pb and chocolate
17)chili fries, green salad heavy with veggies, strawberries with coconut milk cream

WWE And Other Frustrations

  I LOVE having boys BUT my youngest is totally into the WWE right now and I am SO OVER IT !!!!! I am tired of hearing about the wrestlers, watching him play it on the WII, watching the Sunday Smack down, having him borrow my laptop or tablet to look up specific wrestlers so he can recreate them on his game, practicing the moves on his brother, picking up trash talk and using it in conversation! Ugh!
   I am kind of wishing he was really into bugs at the moment.Nice quiet bugs. Crickets, lady bugs, even ants! Just not spiders. My oldest child is phobia afraid of spiders!!! I am not their biggest fan but I can stand to suck them up with the vacuum hose and not run screaming out of the room.
  Today WWE is making me want to run screaming out of the room!!

Say No To Squishy Squash!

Take 2:Butternut squash pasta

A while back I attempted a won ton wrapper filled pasta with moderate success. It tasted great but the filling spilled out. So today I am going to try again. I am going to try heating them in the oven for a few minutes first to harden the shells a bit and then I am going to toss them in a brown butter suace and let them get all deliciously melty in the middle and crisp on the outside.

Later:
It worked! OMG! they were absolutely delicious! So much so I ate way more of them then I should have! And there are only 5 or 6 of them left in the fridge and I keep thinking about them!!! I wish I had taken a picture of them for you but they literally disappeared so FAST a camera shot was out of the question!

Only drawback I kinda blew the whole low-cal, healthy pasta option thing by soaking them in vegan butter substitute. Ah well, I served it with roasted broccoli!

Speechless!

Sometimes as a parent we go thru our day struggling with the day to day drudge work. The ever growing-never-shrinking pile of laundry, the car pool, the dinner prep and clean-up. Helping with homework and arranging appointments....it can feel overwhelming.
Then you get a run of snow days that you LOVE .......
                                                                         at first.
Then they go on and on! The boys eat like locusts during a biblical plague! The food prep/cook/clean-up  never seems to end. Neither does the bickering. And you forget the first day or two of fun with movies and couch cuddling and board games, cocoa and time for long chats. Shoveling snow and snowball fights fade away replaced with the sound of grumbling, bored, frustrated kids who want to be entertained, who are tired of each others company. And still school is out, and you are snowed in.

That has been this week at the little house on Clover Ridge. The giggling and teasing is gone and now it is just a contest to see who gets to the WII controller first. I have hit the mommy exhaustion point where I am willing to let them try to kill each other as long as they don't ask me to make another sandwich! Hey, don't judge me until you have been in my boot style, sweater slippers for a few snow days!

And in the midst of my self preservation beer and chips break my sweet boy with autism, the one I have spent a large portion of my day on the phone or in messages with therapists, pharmacists and teachers for, looks me in the eye(an accomplishment on it's own) and says, "you are a great mom, not all moms would do all the stuff you do for me" And my heart melts. Mama guilt for feeling so frustrated settles in the pit of my tummy but none of that matters because my boy, my sweet special boy who can't even tell me when his throat hurts just verbalized a feeling of love and appreciation! He noticed me! And all the extra work I do for him, above and beyond just being a normal mama. I am so floored I just stared at him for a moment! I realized he was uncomfortable and stopped it but I was so filled with joy! He has been working so hard on stepping out of his comfort zone. Trying hard to become more aware of ways he is "different" or responds differently then others to things and find ways to handle those situations. I am so very proud of him.

All moms, all parents want to hear praise from their kids, validation we are doing something right. And while I heard that from him, it was the bigger picture that I was overcome with emotion for. Him being aware that the extra meetings, phone calls, emails and a million other things that a parent of a child with autism does in a day were even occurring, let alone different from what a parent of a neuro-typical child does is enormous! But add in gratitude for it and verbalization of that gratitude and it elevates to phenomenal progress. This is the child who won't allow me, his mama, to hug him because it is literally physically painful for him to be that close to another person. That rarely responds to my consistent I love you's. That must always be reminded to say please or thank you or even notice other people are in the room.

So you see that I am overwhelmed, speechless, in my genuine joy of his progress. I am one proud mama!

Save me Tom Cruise!

some days simple things just seem harder.

Not even new hard things, just normal every day things....like finding the energy to make dinner when you make dinner every single day, all the time. Folding another load of laundry when you have already done 5. Not wringing your children's necks for arguing the same argument for the thousandth time in 3 snow days. Not running naked down the street weaving back and forth and screaming about invisible fire burning you. Some days just present the same set of challenges as other days but overcoming them seems to take herculean effort. Today is that day.

So.....
cheers!
to finding ways to make it through!

Brrrrrrrr!! A 20 Year Record Deep Freeze

 The view from my window this chilly cold winter here in KY

The kids have run thru all their built in snow days and are now adding on to their school year. While they love snow days I have to admit I was excited about having them out of school on May 23rd! Summer gets shorter every extra day now.

HGTV Dream Home

I just want to publicly announce that if HGTV picks me to win the HGTV dream home and Denali and a quarter of a million dollars I WOULD accept. No concern for them that I might decide to sell it or not accept the prize. I would make the sacrifice to move my faily clear across the country to a whole new life to please HGTV. No Problem!

  I am sitting here watching the documenting of the build and interviews with the townies. And I have to admit that it would be a culture shock, I have never even traveled that far west. To be honest, even though my husband travels all over the Northern Hemisphere for his job I rarely ever leave our neighborhood. And we haven't had a real vacation in years. I can count the states I have been to in a couple seconds. And I have never been out of our country. Well once but it was just a Canada border town so I don't think it counts, and I was just a child.

  And I have never been skiing but I like hiking. I do worry...what does a gardener do out there? Isn't it pretty dry?

  I'd still do it though!! What about you, would you  uproot your family and move thousands of miles away to start a new life?

Plato's Theory of Love and Time

  I am over the moon in love with my husband. Maybe it is cheesy, maybe it is unpopular or uncool but I believe we were meant to be together from the very beginning of time. I also believe this is not the first time we have known each other, bonded and committed to each other in some fashion. Let me explain. I believe in Plato's theory of split-aparts. I believe that my husband and I, at the beginning of time, were a whole being and were split down the middle into two and scattered to the winds. For lifetimes we searched for each other until we found one another. Maybe we were lovers or friends. Maybe we were born as sisters or parent/child. But I know we have been connected throughout all of time, lifetime upon lifetime, my heart and his. This is Plato's theory....

  Lots of people believe in soul mates, love at first sight, fate. I believe that sometimes your soul just knows someone upon first meeting.

 I also believe that previous lives can leave imprints upon your soul that will cause initial reactions to people instantaneously. Some good, some bad and not always true to our hearts. For example, what if in the last life we found each other in we were lovers but in some manner, star-crossed. That for whatever reason or circumstance we were unable to be together or betrayed our love in some way. It seems to me that the hurt of that would leave a marker on my soul and when my heart first sees my split apart in the next life I may have an initial anger or frustration with him that belies our destiny of togetherness.

 I have absolutely no idea if anyone or possibly lots of people believe in this theory or some version of it. I honestly don't care. It is not my intention to argue religion or beliefs in any way. I will delete any rude comments so don't bother posting them. Here are some statistics to support the possibility that Plato is right.

I won't quote sources because this is not a news article or a school paper. It's a blog expressing my views and thoughts. Don't agree? Go read someone else's blog, simple solution.


Back to the subject at hand, I am in love with my husband. I am well aware that makes me a very lucky wife. Know what makes me even more lucky? I think he is in love with me too.

 Together we complete a circle, a cirle(or heart, if you will) that my very lucky children get to grow up within. I believe it is a priveledge for them to be witness to a true and enduring love. Just as I was to my grandparents marriage. Together 63 years before she passed away a little over a year ago.  I think our example will follow them into their own romantic life journey. They WILL search for their split-apart. The one who completes them. And they will believe that person exists and not settle for less.
  That is not to say I believe you can not have a happy marriage with anyone BUT your split apart. I do believe you can find companionship and contentment with other people.


   You can muddle along if you don't look to hard at your relationship or maybe you have had your great love with your split apart and he or she has passed away or made an unforgiveable mistake and you will have to try again in another life for your bliss together.

Please don't think I am suggesting my husband and I are a perfect fit, that we never disagree or hurt each other. We work hard on our relationship and put great thought into it. Because even a great love requires effort, care, nurturing. The idea is that he fills the gaps I have and hopefully I fill his. So together we are a whole picture. 

We are the lucky ones. Many go their whole lives yearning for their other half, knowing they are not complete but unable to find the one who fills their gaps. I believe in......

 I try hard to let him know that he is my split apart and that I love him with my heart and soul. I think he does the same. I feel loved and cared for and what more can a wife ask for?

 So cheers to split aparts, the intelligent insight of Plato and happy marriages!!

Scavenging today

This is the challenge I am working on this weekend. Anyone want to join me?

Complete 1 mile

(Walk, run, bike)

Strange Produce

(Snap a picture of the strangest produce you can find)

10 push-ups on a park bench

(if inside do some creative push-ups)

Share a Healthy Recipe

Favorite Exercise Gear (Take a picture)

Dance it Out!

(Pick a song and JUST dance..record if you’re brave)

Eating Healthy

(Picture of your favorite healthy go to snack)

Motivate the group!

(Find and share something motivating)

30 Minutes

(Workout for 30 or more minutes, share what you did)

Include the Family

(Get the family to do something active)

Let's Talk Ass

280
"My legs, abs and ass want to leave me. They are filling for legal separation first thing in the morning. "

This was the text I sent my husband tonite.

 That is the number of squats I have done today in what my workout group is flatteringly calling The Pee Challenge. Every time you go pee you do squats. I chose 20 squats. Because I have an over inflated idea of my own ass's strength evidently.
Now I am trying to decide if I want to drink one more glass of water and pee/squat one more time or if I surrender to the muscle exhaustion now and go to bed. But as my husband says, there is something wrong with me. And going to bed without hitting the nice round number of 300 just feels like quitting. And as my husband would LOVE to detail for you, I am stubborn as a mule. It really is one of my best qualities. So even though I am well aware of the fact that I may not be able to walk tomorrow I am determined to hit 300 today. Tomorrow is my workout rest day and then back to it on Friday.
If you are wondering why do so many squats..............take a look at this inspiring picture!

given the choice between a flat ass or a "holy hell, did you see that ass?!" kind of ass.....uuuuuh  2 please!
If a little old sore legs and ass is what it takes....well ask me tomorrow!

I DID IT!!! I CUT MY HAIR!!!

OMG!
 I cut my hair.
I have been wanting a change lately but have been a big fat  chicken. The last time I cut my hair I was pregnant with my youngest child and oh about 70 lbs heavier then now. And Husband, Darling absolutely hated it!! I mean HATED it!!!
But my insane chemical allergies have me using an organic baby wash to wash my hair and skipping conditioner completely. AND I bleach my hair (I have to take Benadryl for 2 days every time and I break out in hives. Beauty is pain right?). Add to that the harshest winter temperatures in 20 years here in KY and  my hair's natural wave and you have a recipe for MAJOR FRIZZ!!! Considering I can't use any products to control it, it has been ...well...not so bad.
Or so I thought. Until I saw the Christmas photos and realized I was WRONG!!    (Do NOT tell my husband I admitted to being wrong...I will never hear the end of it.)

FRIZZ CITY!

 And that was just the impetus I needed to buck up my courage and make the BIG CHANGE!!! A month or so ago I saw this made for tv movie with this adorable little blond with the cutest haircut so I looked her up on the handy dandy internet. This is what I found. Chelsea Kane and her chic little asymetrical bob

Isn't she cute?????

I waited till husband was out of town because I knew he would panic and talk me out of it at the last minute. Instead I took the "baby" with me. You know my baby is 10 yrs old and a boy. But for some reason I thought he would be the brave one and encourage me if I had a mini panic attack or freak out. So off we went, and when it was my turn I warned the poor girl that I hadn't had a big  hair cut in over 10 years and that I was nervous. She did NOT look happy about that. Then I told her that she couldn't wash my hair, add any conditioner or any kind of product at all. And she needed to wash her hands before she touched me because my allergies can be severe and unpredictable. I was armed with my Epipen as always. I showed her the photos of Chelsea Kane on my tablet and she was ready to go .......I, not quite so much so but I was trying to be brave and the baby gave me an encouraging smile from the waiting room. 
 So  my intrepid stylist called the baby over next to my chair as she got my, halfway down my back, hair all sectioned and combed and ready to cut. I think she too was hoping he would help buck up my failing courage. But he promptly slouched down in the ugly red stylist chair next to me and pulled his baseball cap down and focused on his DS game.  All ready to cut she combed thru the bottom section at the nape of my neck, pulled it out away from my body and placed her scissors in cutting position. I glanced over to the boy and he seemed oblivious, she paused as if waiting for me to stop her. I took a deep breathe and just as her sciccors started to close the baby snaps to attention like a helicopter mama who's child took a step towards the street. "No Mama, DON'T DO IT!!!" he yells!!!"Daddy's gonna hate it!"  The stylist gasped and stepped back!
ummmmm.......yeah......WTF!! I about messed my pretty little panties he scared me so bad!  I looked at his look of apprehension and couldn't help but laugh! I think that was just the nudge I needed to go thru with it. I nodded my head to the stylist to let her know to cut but she still hesitated, poor girl. I reassured her that I was ready and she cut the first section. As it hit the floor that naughty baby shook his head and said, "Dad's gonna be mad, Mama!"
The nervous stylist finally finished cutting and began to dry my hair and handed me the little mirror. I admit to a tummy flutter when she turned the chair around and I saw it for the first time. But I liked it!!  Of course the way she dried it was fabulous! And then I paid, collecting my still grumbling child who was still muttering dire pridections under his breath about "when Dad gets home" and had that all girl moment upon realizing it was freezing cold, snowing and blistering wind outside. With a tiny sigh I pulled my winter hat down around my ears, smooshing my freshly shorn and beautifully dried and smoothed hair flat against my head.
We ran to the market next door and picked up 2 or 3 things for dinner and as we were walking out I asked Little Mr. Helper what he really thought of my hair and with a look of seriousness he says, "It's to short, you shouldn't have let her do it!" Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit! What the heck am I supposed to say to that? I guess I deserved it since I asked but I definitely gotta work on that boys charm and finesse with the ladies!
By the time we got home I was disheveled and there was just no perking up my spunky little coif. So this picture is of my first attempt to style it on my own, which was not as successful as the previous evening but a new style is a learning curve right?

The funny faces are what happens when I stand in front of a mirror taking pictures of myself feeling like a dork! Well, it's just hair but I think I kinda like it.

Budget Constraints Won't Stop My Creativity!

I don't know about y'all but come January our budget is TIGHT!!!!!!! We love our kids and always get swept up in the excitement of Christmas and blow our budget out of the water. Every year in January we eat a lot of beans and rice and cut back any and everywhere we can. This January is no different. I have pulled all 4 big Christmas trees down and only have the mini trees in the bedrooms to go but I am fighting the urge to go shopping for Christmas clearance items!!! I know it's not in the budget but I keep thinking of all the sparkly reindeer, chubby cheeked little santas and perky little elves I am missing out on!! So I think I will use the gift card I got for my birthday to buy some supplies to make a few Christmas projects for next year :)

Paint????

Very very soon the Christmas decorations are coming down. I am a little sad to see them go. I love the cheerfulness they add to our little home. But every year in January after they come down our little home seems to breathe a sigh of relief. Cleaning is simpler, the colors are quieter and plainer. And it seems like the world moves a little slower. And I have time to make a few little projects. I have been cruising thru my pinterest boards picking out the ones I want to make. I am feeling like painting!!!! I want to paint trees! Not really sure why, just feel compelled to paint trees. And maybe some more watercolor portraits. Anyone want to send me photos of their kids to paint???? These creative juices must be expressed, I tell you! I foresee a trip to Lowe's for wood and a trip to the craft store for canvases!!!!

these are the kind of images I am feeling inspired by!

Fitness Goals 2014

Hey y'all,
I haven't really talked about the fact that I am vegan very much here but .....I am. I also excercise almost every single day. I know...annoying, right?

I don't necessarily do this out of a great  love for animals, though I like them. I do it because I have fybromyalgia and I don't like the medications they prescribed for me. The drugs were, for me, worse then the symptoms of my illness! I asked for a change of meds but my dr told me they had nothing else to offer me. He said my only other option was diet and exercise. And because I am a stubborn mule, as my husband would happily detail for you, I decided to try it. I researched the best options and kept track of foods to eat and not eat. I committed to 21 days of a completely new way of eating. The plan was if it worked I would keep trying if not, well, I just knew  didn't want to be on those meds anymore. So it just had to work. In the 6 months I was on Cymbalta I gained just over 40 lbs. And had my first ever full blown panic attack. In 21 days of eating vegetarian I lost 10 lbs and started to have more energy. I felt like going for a walk, I added in daily excercise. At first it was a 10 minute walk ending in tears. Slowly I built up to a mile, then 2 and on and on. This was all in July of 2011.

This is in the late spring 2011. I was walking with a cane and in constant pain. I had spent the day being pushed around in a wheelchair by my husband at the mall. It was one of my lowest days.

About a year later I realized I wasn't lactose intolerant, I was actually allergic to all dairy and eggs. Probably have been all my life and it was never diagnosed and my lifelong struggle with acne began to end. 6 months later I had a sever reaction to pistachios and thought I was going to die. Happy to report I didn't. So I avoid nuts now too. In the last 6 months I have been pushing my workouts harder and harder. And have not had any ill effects. It feels like magic. 2 days ago I started the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and I think it may kill me. But in a good way.

This is Dec 28, 2013. I am getting ready to run my second 10k virtual race with women from all over the world in my online workout group. I ran my fastest mile so far!

My purpose in sharing this is to just to explain how long I have been working towards a "healthy me" goal. My 2014 goals are simple.
fflatten the mama belly
stronger arms
and raise my bottom line(the line where my butt stops)
and I would like to run a 10 minute mile.
I did my first and second 10k this past fall and really enjoyed the challenge.
I want to feel as confident naked as I do in clothes!
I LOVE  my facebook mom's workout group and all the inspiring stories the ladies there post. But the fact I find myself most reminded of is this. We all begin our journey somewhere. Judging myself based on where some one else is in there journey doesn't benefit either of us. I have to walk my path and push myself at my pace to be my very best and that has nothing to do with anyone else!

Here's to 2014 and a healthy viewpoint on our bodies, our health and our own personal journey!