An update on my RAW life...

My RAW life has been going pretty well with the exception of a few bumps in the road.  I am taking a slight break from my every day postings as this week has been very difficult for me.  As some of you may know I have six children which are the light of my life and aside from God my every things.  Over the course of this last week every single one of them has been sick at some point.  Earlier in the week I too was sick and found it difficult to reach for a smoothie when I really wanted something hot to soothe my throat.  


Out of 6 kids, I have 3 well and 3 still sick at this time.  I'm taking the rest of this week off to continue getting them well.  This doesn't mean I will be eating whatever I want...it just means that I won't be focusing on my RAW blog or logging what I'm eating.  I'm still finding that naturally I am eating around 85% of my daily intake as RAW foods only and I'm very happy with that.  I'm hoping that by Sunday or Monday every child is well and I can get to the grocery store to stock back up on what I need for me.
 
I look very forward to getting back to my blogs and yes, I have been taking pictures of my food, haha, but I just haven't had a chance to get them on the computer.


Okay, I've gotta go.  The dishwasher broke today in this house we are renting and I've got a stack of dirty dishes in the sink and a whole dishwasher full to take out and wash too. NOT what I call relaxing, but I'll just pretend I'm a wonderful, patient mother, washing dishes looking out the window at my beautiful garden while my children play and my husband tends to the farm chores.  I love that dream...maybe one day it will be my reality....until then, I'll stare out the window at the house only 8 feet away and thank God for my home, my family and my precious friends that surround me with love and lots of laughter.  I have so much to be thankful for...God is so very good.

Gone RAW - Day 11

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 11

Drinking my Green Smoothie while reading about this CRAZY girl gone RAW!

MY FOOD

Breakfast –  Slept through this….

Morning Snack – Slept through this….

Lunch – Green Smoothie (2 Bananas,10 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Grape Juice, 2 oz Spinach & 1 oz Swiss Chard )

Afternoon Snack – Homemade Dried fruit, no additives

Dinner – 3 Oranges & Green Smoothie (2 Bananas,10 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Grape Juice, 2 oz Spinach)

Evening Snack – Not sure yet…I’m not very hungry…but I’m going to try to eat more as I know my calories are down…

Water – 35 ounces

MY EXERCISE:

No formal exercise today

MY RESULTS:

I will not weigh again until Thursday, January 12^th.  For my WEEK ONE RESULTS go HERE.

SUMMARY:

Thank you to my husband for taking care of the kid’s breakfast this morning.  I slept great all night but with this cold I just needed to keep sleeping…..I was so tired.  I finally got out of bed around noon.  He had come back to bed once the kids and babies were taken care of.  Have I EVER mentioned that I have two of the most responsible 10 & 8 year old sons on the planet???  My older boys do such a great job with the babies!  They fed them and kept them happy until I got up around noon to lay them down with their bottles.  Then my husband continued to sleep until 1:30 since he had started feeling stuffy last night before bed.  We never missed church prior to having 6 kids…we did great with 4, but since the babies have been here…we have missed multiple Sundays in this cooler weather.  Even though the babies are very healthy and have never been to the doctor for sickness, when they do get a cold we almost all get it.  Oh well, we are getting some much needed rest and the LORD knows we adore HIM and can worship HIM no matter where we are!  If you want to read about an amazing conversation with my 3 year old daughter tonight as I tucked her in before bed...go HERE.

Gone RAW - Day 10

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 10

MY FOOD

Breakfast –  Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Apple/Carrot Juice, 3 oz Swiss Chard) & Hot Herbal Throat Coat Tea

Morning Snack – Date and Apricots

Lunch – Homemade RAW bar

Afternoon Snack – Oranges and Hot Herbal Throat Coat Tea

Dinner – A boxed Jason’s Deli sandwich, chips & cookie (YES, yes…I did.)

Evening Snack – Pineapple and Oranges

Water – 45ounces

MY EXERCISE:

No formal exercise today

MY RESULTS:

I will not weigh again until Thursday, January 12^th.  For my WEEK ONE RESULTS go HERE.

SUMMARY:

I went to bed feeling yucky last night and woke up feeling worse.  My ears are totally stopped up and I have a lot of nasal congestion.  I didn’t wake up during the night and managed to sleep for at least 10 hours.  My husband and I were supposed to go to a marriage class today at our church and because me and 3 of our 6 kids woke up with coughs, sneezing, runny noses etc…we decided to stay home because we didn’t want to get anyone else kids sick.  I didn’t have the energy to cook for everyone else and myself.  My hubby helped me out a lot but today was a “whatever was easy” day.  I did great until close to dinner when a friend brought us boxed meals from Jason’s Deli.  I didn’t have the energy to make something healthy for myself and had used my last smoothie ingredients this morning.  I went with the boxed lunch and avoided the bread and pickle but did not avoid the chips, meat or cookie.  I was soooo thankful to him for bringing my family food…it was so nice and completely appreciated!  I have a cold and I was hungry…  We had a whole box leftover so we took it to the elderly lady next door.  She’s so sweet.  She asked if we were the ones who had chickens in our backyard or was it one of her other neighbors?  We told her that it was in fact us and we hoped they didn’t bother her.  She said not at all, that she had grown up on a farm and likes them.  My husband went back with a dozen beautiful white, brown, tan, blue and green eggs and she was very pleased.  Here’s a pic of my beautiful girls!

 Today was not a total loss as I did really good all day…my energy is back tonight and I have already planned my meals tomorrow (smoothies pretty much all day).  It’s what was easy to prepare ahead of time in jars and it will take little or no effort (and my husband can blend them for me if necessary) in the event I wake up even more depleted than I did this morning.  He offered to make all the meals today, but I don’t give up that pleasure very easy.  I’m really stubborn and I enjoy cooking…I love to make food for my family…it’s my job and I feel like a slacker when I don’t.  I’m prepared for slackerness…is that a word?  I cooked them a casserole for tomorrow and there’s a couple leftover sandwiches.  For me…hot tea and smoothies. Here’s to feeling better tomorrow!   

How do you handle colds?  Do you get the munchies like me???

Gone RAW - Day 9

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 9

MY FOOD

Breakfast –  Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Apple/Carrot Juice, 3 oz Swiss Chard)

Morning Snack – Fig and Banana

Lunch – I munched all day long and had a plate of fruit for this meal!

Afternoon Snack – Apples & Oranges

Dinner – Dried Apricots, 1 really large apple, 1 oz Cashews, 1 RAW Revolution Bar

Evening Snack – 3 Dried Apricots, 1 oz Cashew pieces, 1 Apple, 1 Date

Water – 30 ounces (WAY low today…I was away from home and didn’t plan well)

MY EXERCISE:

No formal exercise today

MY RESULTS:

I will not weigh again until Thursday, January 12^th.  For my WEEK ONE RESULTS go HERE.

SUMMARY:

Today was another crazy day around here.  I got up this morning and made omelets for my family.  YUM!  All the kids loved them but my older boys and husband tore them up!  I love getting praises over the food I make...it really feeds my heart better than ANY food ever could.  Then I got a call that my younger sister would be delivering her baby via c-section this afternoon.  I ran around like crazy to get everything in order so I could be at the hospital and not worry about my hubby and kids while I was gone.  She had her baby around 16:23 and she is absolutely beautiful!  Mommy and baby are doing great!  Here’s my sweet niece who as far as I know…hasn’t been named yet. 

I think in the picture on the right she had just opened her eyes and seen my hair...it really is something to cry over! If you want to see pictures of the 'no poo' go HERE IF YOU DARE!

Gone RAW - Day 8

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 8

 MY FOOD

Breakfast –  Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2 oz Spinach)

Morning Snack – Apples & Oranges  & Homemade dry cantaloupe (YUM!  Taste kind of like chewy sweet candy!)

Lunch – Homemade RAW bar x 2 Pictured on top of the afghan I have been working on since November.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  (You can find the recipe HERE.)

Afternoon Snack – Apples & Oranges

Dinner – Leftover RAW Spanish Rice found HERE.

Evening Snack – 3 Dried Apricots, 1 oz Cashew pieces, 1 Apple, 1 Date

Water – 48 ounces

MY EXERCISE:

No formal exercise today

MY RESULTS:

I weighed but forgot to measure this morning!  Dangit!  I don’t want to measure now…but I guess I could see what the numbers are anyway.  You can find my results HERE.

SUMMARY:

Today I have felt pretty good.  It’s been a CRAZY day as once a week I do my coffee enemas and this was the day meaning less time for me to get my house and mom stuff done…meaning I feel even further behind than I usually do.  Then on top of that my son threw up this morning…in my bed…yeah, not fun.  THANKFULLY, we listened to the mattress salesman who talked us into buying a DRI-FIT mattress cover!!! PRAISE THE LORD!  So…my mattress is still beautiful and the sheets are washed!  Yay!

I have to admit that I failed yesterday.  Not royally, but I did slip.  Everyone was playing outside after dinner and I came in to start dishes.  My son got a roping dummy for Christmas and some nights my husband goes outside and tries to rope all the kids while they run around and then we all take turns working on our roping skills with the dummy.  Well after I came in my daughter comes inside crying.  She’s three years old and she had gotten hurt on her sweet little finger.  Here’s my doll baby, Libby today eating a banana muffin her Daddy made!  He makes the BEST muffins and I will post that recipe even though it isn't RAW HERE.

Anyway, I consoled her and then started racking my brain for what kind of little sweetness I had anywhere in the house to give her since I hadn’t made anything sweet for after dinner.  My mind went back to the candy corn in the WAY back of the pantry and I offered her a few.  She gladly took them and then went to tell her brothers.  While she was outside I popped a few in my mouth without thinking.  Then I remembered my challenge.  I was sad because I had broken my challenge, but then I decided I’d have a couple more.  To be honest, I don’t think there is anything wrong with sweets in moderation.  I know I will allow myself some indulgences after this challenge, but I really did want to try and make it 30 days.   Even still, I am very, very proud of myself.  I have never gone this long without manufactured sugar and I’m very happy with my results this past week.

I’ve also been sleeping really well.  Even having a couple kids with colds (which I treated without meds, thank you "Mommy Diagnostics" by Shonda Parker LINK), I’ve felt great!  My husband says he likes how much more positive I am about myself while eating RAW.  I have to admit that I can be hard on my physical self.  I can put myself down if I feel bloated, fat or whatever.  It’s been a problem my whole life.  I never had horrible issues with my weight, but I was never scrawny like other 12-15 year old girls back in that time of my life.  During those years I had a very negative self image of myself.  If it wasn’t my hair, then it was my weight that got picked apart my others my age.  Not their fault at all that I’ve struggled with my self-confidence…but I know it did play a part.  Now, at 35 years old (ZOINKS, did I just admit to that???) I think it's just a bad habit.  I don’t think I’m ugly by any means, but I’m just critical of myself.  I see all the flaws…that no one else notices I guess and I am learning to look through different lenses and see the way God see’s me.  The way I want my kids to see themselves.

Gone RAW - Day SIX

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 6

MY FOOD

Breakfast –  Overslept and this meal had PASSED…

Morning Snack – Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2 oz Spinach)

Lunch – was still…..drinking the green smoothie

Afternoon Snack – 1 oz cashews

Dinner – A plate full of a RAW recipe that resembles Spanish Rice made of cauliflower, onion, pepper, cilantro, tomatoes and this delicious paste.  You can find the recipe HERE.

Evening Snack – so far not so hungry…but I may make myself eat a banana before bed?

Water – 40 ounces

Calories –  To be honest…this part is consuming WAY too much time.  I had originally thought if I could keep eating the same things then that would make it easier…but well, I like cooking and eating different flavors, PLUS I want to feed my family what I am eating too therefore I can’t keep up with the calories anymore.  I know one thing…I’m eating a lot more on this challenge than I ever have before and I’m a bit nervous for my weigh in on Thursday.  I’m hoping I haven’t gained! hahaha

MY EXERCISE:

No formal exercise today

MY RESULTS:

I won’t weigh or measure myself until Thursday, January 5, 2012

EFFECTS I’VE NOTICED:

I have done GREAT!  I couldn’t post yesterday because we weren’t home until very late last night and I was too tired to get on the computer.  My 10 month old daughter has been sick since yesterday too and so taking care of her has consumed a lot of my time.  She just wants to be held and I’m not going to argue with that…no way, no how. 

She woke me up at 6:30 this morning and I really could have stayed up because I didn’t feel sleepy at all.  So yes…I could have stayed up….I SHOULD have stayed up…but I didn’t.  My kids started back school today and I’ve been scrambling trying to keep up with their studies after this winter break.  Makes me long for the summers….

I haven’t felt swollen today, but I definitely need to be drinking more water.  I’m thinking that might have been my problem. 

Gone RAW - Day FOUR

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 4

MY FOOD

Breakfast – Green Smoothie (1 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 1/2 C Coconut Water, 1/2 C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2 oz Spinach)

Morning Snack – In church

Lunch – Salad containing 2 oz Spinach, 1 Banana, 3 Orange Slices (no, not the candy!), 4 Strawberries

Afternoon Snack – 2 Homemade Raw Bars

Dinner – A plate full of the absolute best Mexican taco salad containing Spinach, Cilantro, Jalapeno, Onion, Tomatoes, Corn, Celery, Avocado, Orange Juice & Cilantro Lime Dressing Recipe can be found HERE.

Evening Snack – RAW Revolution Bar

Water – 40 ounces

Calories –  Prior to my dinner, which I am not sure what the calorie count was as I just made ONE huge portion for everyone in my family to enjoy my calories were right at 1,000

Fiber -  Before my HUGE Taco Salad my fiber count was 40 grams!

MY EXERCISE:

No formal exercise today

MY RESULTS:

I won’t weigh or measure myself until Thursday, January 5, 2012

EFFECTS I’VE NOTICED:

I am actually doing GREAT today!  I have a lot of energy and my cravings are going away.  I do WANT certain types of foods, but I’m not wanting to shove it down my throat like I have felt in the past.  Instead I am wondering how I am actually very satisfied.  I am pretty sure that the RAW lifestyle is not for me…not completely anyway.  However, I will say that I have realized there are some really great RAW recipes out there that I could enjoy just as much as I have cooked foods. 

My fingers felt swollen today…my rings fit a little snugger than normal.  Not sure what to think about that.  Overall I felt heavy, but I won’t know exactly if or how much my body has changed until this Thursday when I weigh.  I’m really feeling pretty good.  I definitely like feeling so energized and happy.

I loved making something for dinner that my ENTIRE family ate!  It was a total success...finally SIX out of SIX kids actually liked my dinner and it was something other than PIZZA! hahaha  Clean up...was a breeze! You can find this delicious recipe HERE.

Gone RAW - Day 3

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 3
MY FOOD
Breakfast – Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, ¾ C Coconut Water, ¾ C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2 oz Spinach, 2 oz Kale)
Morning Snack – 6 oz Snow Peas
Lunch – Smoothie ( 1/2 C Apple/Carrot Juice, ½ Cup Coconut Water, 6 oz berries, 2 oz Spinach, 1 Banana)
Afternoon Snack – 2 Dried Apricots, 2 Dates, 1 Orange
Dinner – 1 oz Raw Cashews, 1 Banana, 3 Pineapple Slices, 1 Clementine, 1 homemade RAW bar
Evening Snack – 3 oz Watermelon, 6 oz Snow peas and 1 dried Fig (NASTY!)
Water – 40 ounces
Calories – 1,918.6 (Carbs 74.6%/ Fat 7.6% / Protein 6.4%)
Fiber - 70.75 grams! (14.8%)
MY EXERCISE:
Husband was gone all day, no formal exercise EXCEPT LOTS OF CLEANING!
MY RESULTS:
I won’t weigh or measure myself until Thursday, January 5, 2012
EFFECTS I’VE NOTICED:
Okay, not so bad today. I woke up and had plenty of energy, but my day started with some bumps (hence the flowers I received at the end of the day).  Husband flew out the door to go help my dad build his shed, kids needed to be fed and it was after 10a.m. before I got to start anything for myself. I had no problems staying calm while feeling so hungry. Usually, in the past, I would get nauseated and irritable. Not this morning…
I’m pleased with the way I did today. I had some big obstacles being here. I needed RAW groceries, spent lots of time in the kitchen making meals/snacks for the kids and never caved and ate something I shouldn’t. The kids even watched several episodes of Cake Boss and I didn’t have any crazy cravings! Felt good.

I made it to the store when my husband came home.  It was after dark and I was very hungry.  I grabbed what I needed and came back home.  REALLY wanted to walk back in to the kids being bathed and in bed, but that just wasn't the case.  My sweet honey worked hard bathing them but the babies wanted to be fed and therefore he was doing that rather than cleaning up after their dinner I had just finished when he walked in the door and I left for the store.  It was just a really long day and with it being New Years Eve...well, I just felt a little more munchy than normal.  I decided on some watermelon for my late snack and someone (a very cruel person) had put a piece of cake in with the fruit...hahaha.  I looked at it and decided to take a pic...I thought it was so funny.  Obviously, I chose the watermelon...

I’m hungry going to bed…and I’ve been battling a slight headache (tired I think) but overall…it’s been a decent day that I’m ready to put to bed.  Happy New Year!!!  I gladly welcome 2012!!!

Gone RAW - Day TWO

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 2

MY FOOD

Breakfast – Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, ¾ C Coconut Water, ¾ C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2.5 oz Spinach, 2 oz Kale)
Morning Snack – 1 Banana, 1 Orange
Lunch – 1 RAW Revolution Bar
Afternoon Snack – 1 Banana, 1 Orange, 1 Date
Dinner – 1 Banana, 2 oz Strawberries, 1 Orange, 1 homemade raw almond bar, 1 dried apricot
Evening Snack – 2 Dates, 2 Dried Apricots, 1 Pear
Water – 40 ounces
Calories – 2,114.10 (Carbs 67.4%/ Protein 4.5% / Fat 9.4%)
Fiber - 61.75 grams! (11.7%)

MY EXERCISE:
30 minutes walking

MY RESULTS:
I won’t weigh or measure myself until Thursday, January 5, 2012

EFFECTS I’VE NOTICED:

• I noticed I was SO hungry again today, especially at night. Had a chiropractor appt today and dropped by my sisters to pick up her boys on the way home to surprise my kids with a “cousin” play day. They had a great time. My sister is about to pop, due next week with their fourth child. She came by later today and we went shopping and then walked around the block several times. Felt great.
• Pizza-Pizza-Pizza was everywhere tonight, but I withstood the temptations (although out of habit I almost grabbed a piece of pepperoni off a slice as I walked through the kitchen).
• I cannot believe I consumed over 2,100 calories today! And even more so…I can’t believe I am getting ready for bed and still hungry! I really hope I am still losing weight eating so much. I don’t think I ever ate this many calories before…or maybe I did and didn’t know it.
• I slept great last night! Didn’t wake up clenching my jaw at all and slept without my mouth guard. Also, I went to bed late (working on uploading yesterday’s pic to my blog!) and still had to get up after only 7 hrs of sleep and I didn’t feel tired at all. Crazy.
• Overall, I feel good. I hope this continues to get easier though…because the pretzels at Target were calling my name and for heaven’s sake THAT PIZZA was torturous, hahaha. I have to admit I DIDN’T touch it because I didn’t want to admit to failing after only 2 days…so my strategy to ‘use’ you whom I have no idea are reading my blog or not…well, IT WORKED!  Night!!!

Gone RAW - Day ONE

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 1
Okay! This is my first day on my raw food challenge. Results are below!
MY FOOD
Breakfast – Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, ¾ C Coconut Water, ¾ C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2.5 oz Spinach, 2 oz Kale)
Morning Snack – HA! I slept so late this morning that my breakfast was my morning snack.
Lunch – 1 medium Apple, 1 Banana, 1 Kiwi, 1 Persimmon, 2 oz Grapes, 8 oz carrot/apple juice (with RAW PROBIOTIC Powder added to offset the bacteria leaving my system due to the coffee enemas).
Afternoon Snack – 2 dried Apricots, 1 RAW Almond, Date, Apple Bar
Dinner – 1oz Spinach, 5oz Tomatoes, 1 Pear, 2oz Blueberries, 1 Banana
Evening Snack – leftover fruit from dinner & 2 Mejool Date (YUM)
Water – 60 ounces

Calories – 1,769.35 (Carbs 75.06%/ Protein 3.84% / Fat 2.09%)

Fiber - 60.45 grams! (13.7%)

MY EXERCISE:
None
MY RESULTS:
I won’t weigh or measure myself until Thursday, January 5, 2012
EFFECTS I’VE NOTICED:
Um, well…I would love to say that I TOTALLY had a great day…but this just isn’t the case. I felt hungry on and off and a bit weak at times. Part of my mind was very distracted with the other meals I was cooking for the fam. Let’s see, they toad in a holes (eggs inside a hole cut from homemade bread) with jelly on the side. I kept them eating about what I ate during lunch except they got peanut butter on whole wheat crackers too. Then dinner was yummy spaghetti, aguave nectar glazed carrots & a slice of pound cake. None of which I ate (except once when I forgot and licked the peanut butter off my finger while making their crackers). The kids were exceptionally well behaved today and praise the LORD for that…J. I also began my coffee enemas today…I’ve gotten through 2 at this point and will have one more before bed. Yep, upside down coffee does has its benefits. If you want to read about those benefits you can go HERE.

My dinner was extremely filling and I couldn’t finish the plate of fruit so I will munch on it for my after dinner snack. I’ve done okay on water…looks like I’ll only get it about 48 ounces for today…just can’t seem to drink more than that while drinking smoothies & fruit juices also…kind of makes me want to puke with so much liquid in my tummy.
It’s almost 10pm and I feel so hungry. That’s hard to believe considering all the food I’ve consumed today sometimes feeling like I would explode if ingested one more bite!
Its day one and I haven’t noticed anything else really, but will note that my mind has drifted numerous times to the chocolate cake I threw out yesterday. YES it was not very good and I didn’t enjoy the piece I ate but I STILL keep thinking about it. This could be a very long 30 days.
If you are interested in my adventures with my going “no poo”, then go HERE.

Tomorrow is THE day!

Well, I have enjoyed a couple of slices of pizza today, a piece of chocolate cake and a little glass of coke...it was my farewell "party" to all bad foods for the next 30 days!  I've successfully finished preparing my morning smoothies, dehydrating pineapples & apple slices along with dehydrating some almond, date, apple raw bars for snacks.  I'm finally going to do this thing...I'm going raw for 30 days...yup, I am.  I NEED to do this...I WANT to do this...I PRAY I can do this....  I'm going to be posting my daily's as often as I can.  I have measured/weighed etc and will look at any differences in 1 week.  Also, this is day 3 of going 'no poo' (no shampoo) for those of you who have no clue what that means...  THANK the LORD that my hair is curly, so any oiliness that I am "feeling" can't be seen by anyone else!  Check out this blog to see what another ladies results were... and the benefits of going "no poo".  http://www.fulfilledhomemaking.com/no-poo-shampoo.html  I am determined to be healthy from the inside out.  I'm done (at least that is MY plan) having babies and I want my body back, not to mention I want to be healthier for my kids as there are quite a few of them to keep up with.  Okay, so all that being said... I'm off to sleep.  I've been dealing with a bad hip since Christmas.  Went to the chiropractor today and both sides of my pelvis were rotated out of place causing me the pain in my front left groin.  Halleluiah, I'm not in tears today like I was on Christmas. :)  I'm really EXCITED TO DO THIS!  On that note...I need to finish up this coke!

Here I am...

So...I'm stepping out of my comfort zone here and gonna use you all for my personal gain.  In return you will get to read about the peaks and valleys in my life as they come.  I will gain your unspoken accountability as I will tell myself that you will be reading my blog and rooting for me daily.  Whether this is really happening doesn't really matter to me, however, the thought of a single person reading it will hopefully spur me on to my goals day by day.  In this new year I will be starting a few challenges for myself...not huge ones, but challenges none the less.  With all my other daily duties any size challenge I give myself warrants a plan...so alas this is mine.  Over the course of the next month I will work on my daily moments with God being more meaningful and consistent, begin a raw food challenge hopefully resulting in better sleep, weight loss and more energy.  I will incorporate some form of weekly exercise, more consistent family nights and brace yourself...I will start my own journey in going "no poo"...lol, yes...that actually means to stop using shampoo!  I have naturally curly hair and I believe this will be the answer to all my crazy frizzy days and am excited as to where this is going to take me.  We are also journeying through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and you'll be along for that ride too. :)  Okay...so I have more research to do, but I wanted to prepare you for our journey.  Looking forward to it!!!