Breathe

Before I do anything else, I want to say thank you to EVERYONE! I can't even begin to put into words how much I appreciate the sweet words, encouragement, prayers, time, effort, and the list goes on! I say it all the time but just can't say it enough. I am blessed to have each and every one of you in my life!

SO a little life update....

I think I may have said earlier in the summer that I needed a hobby... I don't think that will be necessary anymore. I have picked up 2 hobbies: maintaining my sanity and remembering. I have NEVER been so busy and had so many things to remember. I have always been pretty good about remembering things. There's just a lot of "new" going on all at once, so hopefully I will turn back into the responsible, reliable me I am used to. SOON:)

So let me just sum up life in a nutshell...

- I kind of like the crazy...I chose the right profession

- I have slept on top of my covers all week. 1. Because I love that my bed is made. I know if I undo it to get under the covers it won't get made again until the weekend. 2. It's the only neat and tidy in my life right now...wwweeelll.. now that I look at it, it's filled with laundry that needs to be put away and random objects. It's still technically made though. Stop judging me.

- I sleep in my workout clothes to make sure I get up and workout.

- I am slowly learning how to use a coffee pot. Day 1. complete fail...stopped at Starbucks. Day 2. I made a lovely cup in my new coffee pot...apparently did it wrong and there were grounds in places they shouldn't have been. I am an expert mess maker!

- My poor parents get to see the "on edge me".Thank the Lord they love me and forgive easy.

- Technology has waged a war against me. I am LOSING!


AH needless to say...it has been CRAZY! (These are just a few things I am willing to share;)) But in the midst of it all God steps in and reminds me to breathe! I was reading my study and the title was Breathe. Life gets tough, crazy, and down right depressing at times, and it gets completely overwhelming. I am so amazed at how perfect His timing is because I needed that reminder to just stop and take a breath. To breathe in the aroma of Christ. Of His peace and sovereignty. The only place to find rest...real rest...is in the arms of the Father. He is my Creator. He knows my limits and my needs!

"Had the Lord Jesus been far away from us, with many a stormy sea between, we should have longed to send a messenger to Him to carry Him our loves, and bring us tidings from his Father’s house; but see His kindness, He has built His house next door to ours, nay, more He takes lodging with us, and tabernacles in poor humble hearts, that so He may have perpetual communion with us.” -CH Spurgeon

Escape

Some days I feel like I am constantly on the brink of a break down...

This week has been filled with such days...
We will just highlight a few of these moments for mine and your sake;).

- locking myself out of a family friend's home while feeding their cat (yes, I have a gift; no, I have no idea how I manage to lock myself out of places all the time!)

- walking into my new classroom filled with things and I have no idea where to even begin. I walk in circles 90% of the time. I am struggling to imagine it all coming together although I know it will...well it must, so yeah. I am thankful for this crazy in my life because I know that many sweet memories will be had in there this year.

- coming home from working in the classroom that is about to swallow me whole to find that I have to fill out loads of paperwork that I have already filled out.

- bills....can I get an amen...praise the Lord for insurance.

- restless nights from all of the excitement

When I have these weeks, all I can think about when I stop are the places I want to escape to. Today I stop to plan my great escape....

My perfect escape involves mountains, a beautiful lake, perfect weather (shorts and long sleeves), a gentle breeze, a hammock, new and beautiful tunes playing softly somewhere, delicious fresh foods, and a book that inspires. Campfire at night with s'mores, live campfire music praising God for his beautiful handiwork, and wrap it all up with some fun story time. All in the company of someone special...no not like that... any and all who are pleasant and fun to be with:).

While this won't be happening anytime soon, I look forward to those more brief escapes that I hope will offer a bit of refreshing.
Morning runs; music, coffee, and Jesus; driving...maybe a nice little jam sesh;); and a nice weekend with my fun niece and pregger big sis and the rest of the fam.

(Get ready for all the pictures to flood your instagrams;) Who knows what mischief we will get into).

For now it's back to work. Feel free to kidnap me anytime for that perfect escape;).

Passionate pursuit

Singleness. I get all kinds of responses when asked if I am dating or married. As I muster my strength to prepare for yet another conversation on my lack of a significant other, I nervously say no, waiting to see how this one will respond. Some say I am young and have plenty of time. In other words...good for you, enjoy your singleness, no need to rush. Others say, "Well why not?"  Which in my mind is interpreted a little something like this: What's wrong with you?  As if they are saying if you are still single, then you must have problems. Neither of these are conversations I enjoy having. I have no words for them except that I am simply waiting on the Lord. Some understand, many don't.

Most days I can wake up and see that God has my life in His hands, and that He is working all things out for His glory and my good.
Most days!

Some days (more than I care to admit if I am honest) it only starts out that way, and my heart quickly takes a downward spiral. On these days, the most well intentioned comments such as: "God has someone special out there for you." or "I can't believe someone hasn't snatched you up yet." hit the tender parts of my heart all wrong. I truly appreciate these words because I know it means that I have a great many people that care for me and want to see me experience the happiness that they have in their marriages and families.

Our society is filled with ways to meet your mate. Internet dating, speed dating, social media, and reality shows. I have nothing against any of these methods! I know some lovely couples...some of my favorites in fact that met in some of these ways, and I love their stories. The newest show "It Takes a Church" (which I walked in on my dad watching...), is a show where a church sets up single ladies and gentlemen in the church. I have only seen the commercials for it. I don't know how I feel about this.

I guess I am just very convicted in my waiting. I believe (I speak only for my journey. I truly believe it is different for each of us) that it is a matter of faith. If I begin to try to make it happen for myself, I find that I lose sight of my first love (Rev.2:4) and my walk with the Lord severely suffers. And if I am losing sight of the Lord, then something is terribly wrong with that approach. For me, I believe that the Lord is asking me to trust Him to bring it all together in His perfect way and His perfect timing.

So as I see people chasing so hard after love. As I see the longings of my own heart, I am convicted. If we as singles would pursue the Lord with as much energy as we do a relationship, how much different would our relationships with Christ look. If we longed to love and be loved by the One who is love as much as we long for an earthly love, how would that change the way we live our lives. I want to meet my special someone on a run. Not my morning runs;) I would like to run up alongside someone who is pursuing a life in Christ. My heart's desire has always been that someone will fall in love with me for the way that I am in love with the Lord, and I pray I will love someone for the same reasons.

I believe that if I pursue Christ, run hard after Him, and remember my first love, that He will bless me in ways I never imagined. I trust that He knows the desires of my heart and that He only has the very best in store for me!

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Excuses and Distractions

How I ever get anything done is a miracle. I feel like I am so easily distracted. I guess the Lord blessed me with just enough adult ADD (self-diagnosed and hopefully a bit exaggerated) so that I can relate more to my little daydreaming students. Side note: There are so many things that I have to correct my students on and then turn around and find myself doing the exact same thing. Examples: 1. watching where you are going 2. reading directions carefully. And now I find I have more and more empathy for those students who struggle to stay on task. I always say if I ever decide to go back to school for my masters, it will definitely be a challenge!

SO to help with my struggle to keep my attention on any one thing for longer than five 5 minutes, I am going to do my very best to have unplugged time. I have goals I would like to accomplish this summer. I do not want to waste this time off! And it would be sssoo easy to get caught up in facebook and pinterest and watching all the morning talk shows and then look up and my day is gone. It's so easy to put off for tomorrow what needs to be done today. And that can become such a vicious cycle. I am going to do my absolute very best to not check anything on my social media, until after 7 pm each evening.

I have a few opportunities already lined up to hang out with some sweet people I love. I hope that the summer is filled with many more. I want to fully enjoy these moments!

To start the summer off right, I have 2 weeks with this wild child and my preggy sister!

I also pray that this summer is a season of intimate time with my Savior. Confession time... I feel that in the craziness of life, I have seen my focus in my relationship with the Lord struggle. My heart longs for something deeper. I am hungry to know the depths of God's love for me and to have a passion for sharing that love with others. I could go on and on about why I have allowed distractions to slowly take my focus but I will just end with this. I am thankful that I serve a God of grace. Oh how I have learned of my wretchedness and my need for His grace! He is waiting patiently to spend intimate mornings with me, to remind me of all that He is and all that I am in Him. He is eager to reveal Himself to us all in new ways everyday.

Another big goal for the summer, is to meet some health and fitness goals. I am learning that everyday I need to be on guard...looking out for places I am about to make a lame excuse. An excuse I am sure to regret!  Laziness isn't an option and my next treat day will be my birthday (Aug.6 if anyone would like to join me...I already know what it shall be;). I also want to really train hard, I have plenty of time on my hands!  So no excuses! Plus,  I can do a lot more for the Lord working with children if I am healthy and strong.

Pretty much my summer goal in all areas is to find the self-discipline that is hiding somewhere deep down inside me! Not to eliminate things completely, but to learn how to live with them and not allow them to be consuming.

So this will be my last blog post for a while. One less distraction. One less excuse (pinterest makes me hungry). I will still be on Facebook (I imagine I will not miss an evening of checking it),  but if you need to get me fast, text is the best way. I'll have that ringer up loud since my summer job is to find a job.

Sweet Summertime

Never tell a teacher, "It must be nice to have summers off" Unless you have taught, you probably won't  understand the need for the break. Plus, I am constantly thinking and planning for the next year during my summer. The break to recover from the year completed and to prepare for the year ahead is a must! And please know that I am not saying I have the toughest job by any means! I love what I do and enjoy the chaos of it all.  I am sure many other professions could benefit from a similar break as well and deserve more recognition and appreciation for what they do.

So I like to set some concrete goals for my summer, since I am not working camp this summer, I don't want my summer to slip past me and look back and feel like I got nothing done. So in no particular order...

- Clean OUT! Like major cleaning out! I am sure I have said this many times before, but I am planning to do some serious organizing and cleaning out of my room and bathroom. If it hasn't been touched or used in a while or have some serious sentimental value...it's gone. A friend said it best...clutter can be exhausting...I'm exhausted;)

- Try new clean eating/healthy recipes. At least one a week. I started yesterday with homemade lara bars. Success.

- Yoga and pilates. These are great core workouts that I enjoy in addition to my runs.

- Spend less! Save some money.

-Job search! This really should be at the top of my list! And spend lots of time in prayer over where the Lord will lead me.

- Study/read: books, get into the Word, and study up on this Common Core fun:/

- Less social media...more face time. Spend time investing in relationships...friends and family.

- Try something new. Learn something new. Just do something exciting...it's been far too long:)

Most teachers love what they do, and we adore our students. But like I said, summers are needed and well deserved. Not to mention, it doesn't take long before I am eagerly anticipating the beginning of school:).

Dr. Oz's 3 Day Detox

I blame the polar vortex!
This was quite the challenge! Quite! Texture has been the biggest struggle. I am sure you are supposed to have a high end super power juicer so that it doesn't come out like mine:/ The taste wasn't the problem. And I am not one of those people who is weird about textures, but if someone tells you this drink is good or even OK, go ahead and take them off the people you can trust list.

Motivations that got me through it:
- I posted it on facebook. I was hesitant, but I am glad I did. Otherwise I would have gracefully bowed out if no one knew I was trying it.
- It was a challenge. I try  not to back down from a challenge I have accepted, especially if everyone knows about it;).
- This will definitely help motivate me to eliminate caffeine, refined sugar, and processed foods. I will eat right, so I feel right, and so I never have to do this again. It really wasn't terrible if I could find a better alternative to lunch. But like I said the lack of enjoyment of actually drinking them will keep me on track!
- 3 Days...that's definitely dooable.
- The investment- purchasing all of the ingredients for the drinks. I hate being wasteful.
- The hope that my clothes will fit comfortably again like they did pre-polar vortex.
- Summer is upon us.

Modifications I made to the Dr. Oz plan:
- I did not want the snack smoothie, but I am pretty sure that's optional
- I did not take the multi-vitamin...I have had bad experiences with those if I don't eat a substantial meal.
-I did not take the omega-3 or do the detox bath to cut costs. I already take pro-biotics, so I just continued.

I wrote a quick bit after each meal. If you have any questions, I am happy to answer! And I am an open book, so feel free to ask whatever. Overall I would recommend it!
Day 1:
Breakfast Drink:
- The green tea made me queezy. I drink it all the time but usually with breakfast. So I think it was because I may have drank it too quickly and on an empty stomach.
- The only substitute I did today was the almond butter. The only kind I could find at our local stores had added sugar. So I had natural pb already and used it. I will get almond butter today while we are in town.
- The drink is pretty good. Of course my parents didn't enjoy the taste that they had but overall I enjoyed it. I like that it tastes healthy...my dad's dramatic reaction was "that's gotta be healthy"...he didn't like it;).
It's raspberry so it's very seedy, and I think I will try tearing the spinach to help it break down more.

Lunch Drink:
- Um... one word....bleh!
- I left out the celery because I don't like it and many reviews said it was very overpowering and that they also left it out. I also exchanged spinach for the kale. I can only imagine how bad it would have been with those 2 in it!
- The cup I drink out of all the time, never seemed so big!
- Mom looked over and noticed the little progress I had made in the 20-30 minutes since I had begun. She implied that maybe it was growing...
-I can do it 2 more times but let's be clear: I will not enjoy it and I better notice some kind of results;).

Dinner Drink:
I did it exactly to recipe except for the Kale. I will always substitute for spinach because I have heard Kale is bitter and spinach is a good replacement nutrient wise. The taste is fine but at this point I am already tired of drinking and the blueberries didn't blend well so it's still not a nice smooth drink.

Concluding day 1:
- I was fine energy wise. I did take a long nap, but I was up late and woke up early. Not to mention, I'm usually a fan of Saturday afternoon naps anyways.
-  I was able to workout. I ran 5 and walked 1. I usually run 6 with no problem,  but I did it in the afternoon which is quite warm so  I was just really thirsty. (If you haven't noticed, the weather and I have a love-hate relationship...I blame it for all my troubles).
-Overall I feel fine...not hungry, not weak.
I have also come to the conclusion that Tuesday maybe my new favorite day;)'

Day 2:

I literally dreamed about these drinks all night. It was trickery though because in my dreams I had already drunk them, so I thought I was closer to the end than I actually was.:/ I was disappointed when I woke up.
Breakfast Drink:
-I definitely like the breakfast drink best. Texture wise it is the easiest to handle.
-I can taste and smell a bit of the banana (which I cannot stand) but it's mostly covered by the raspberries. If I could replace the other 2 with this one, this would be a breeze!
- I have had great energy. Came home from church and knocked out several chores that have needed to be done all week.

Lunch Drink:
- I drank it early...not because I was hungry...but because I wanted to get that awfulness over and done with! One more time...just one more time...that's how I got through it...Yucka Mucka!

DInner Drink:
- Amazing! Maybe it's just because it follows the hideous lunch drink... how many adjectives can you find to describe how bad that lunch drink is;)
- Went to my cousin's graduation party where there was a delicious looking chantily cake (one of the ones like you get at Whole Foods...can't spell it). We brought some home and both my mom and dad asked if Tuesday I would eat any. To which, I quickly reply that I didn't go through all of this to eat cake! Now for super special occasions, I will indulge, but not day to day.

Day 3:

Breakfast:
- I decided to go ahead and get that nasty lunch drink over and done with, so I had it for breakfast. Staying busy while drinking on it helped. Plus the time restraint of getting out the door on time got it down faster. Plus I didn't want my students to have to watch me drink that mess, and I didn't want to dread it all morning;). The worst is officially over!
- Knowing it was the last time I had to drink it made it much better;)
- Drinking on the green tea now. I found that it made me feel nassau if I drank it first thing, so I think drinking it with something on my stomach will help.

Lunch:
- I had the breakfast drink
- I was so hungry because I had my breakfast drink so early. It was amazing, and I was satisfied after drinking it.

Dinner:
- I went for a bike ride and a short walk with good old Dodger.
- I was hungry, so it was delicious. Really anything tastes great after the green monster of the lunch drink;).

I weighed before I drank the dinner drink tonight, and based on my weight a couple weeks ago, I only lost a couple of pounds...likely water weight. I usually weigh in the morning, so that could have been a factor. But I wouldn't advise it for weight loss. It's a great jump start if you are looking to make a change. For example, I am working really hard to eliminate as much refined sugar as possible (I will enjoy family dinners and things, but just watching portions and 98% of my eating I would like to say is processed sugar free). Some do it for caffeine, or whatever healthy living goal you are working towards. If you do it for weight loss and just return to eating as you were before, you will likely gain it back.

I came to appreciate a few things. Mostly that eating properly definitely affects how you feel. 1. It's a mental thing. Knowing I was eating well was a mood booster in itself! 2. Bloat was gone. 3. Energy was good! 4. Appetite was satisfied.

There is so much I could say but the biggest thing is that it showed me that even in the midst of the craziness of life...being out and about and needing to grab a bite to eat, parties, work (cupcakes, deserts, candy, take out, etc.), satisfying a need to have a snack...there are easy healthy options. All you need to do is plan ahead and commit to making a healthy choice or the healthiest choice available (I need to invest in a larger purse to carry around snacks options when out and about;)).

And it taught me that I like to bite my food! I would do it again...not anytime soon. But only if I could replace that lunch drink. I will probably do the other 2 every now and then when I need to fit in some fruits or veggies fast.

Heading in the right direction

Well sweet friends, I am clearly the picture perfect example of what it means to take baby steps and of celebrating my successes no matter how small they maybe...as I put down my empty bowl of ice cream...ugh...I know I know...please don't judge me, it was a rough day and a treat felt warranted.

Anyways, I am not, and I repeat not perfect in this healthy, clean eating business. Kudos to those who are awesome enough to change your life over night, but that just isn't me! Trust me I wish it were. My hopes are that one day I will be an organic hipster...well at least very close to it;). I am getting there but like I said I am baby steppin' it and somedays it's more of a shuffle but at least I am moving in the right direction.

One thing I have done great at (if I may give myself a pat on the back) is drinking loads of water. I love the benefits of drinking all the water. I see the results of it most in my skin. It just seems healthier. Drinking loads of water does have a minor downfall, but I am sure you can guess what problem drinking too much water will cause. Which is good but annoying...alright moving on...

Sugar is in just about everything. When you start reading labels it's amazing that most things have sugar as one of the first 5 ingredients, if not the first 3. I am just going to assume you all know what that means when reading labels because I tried to explain it and wasn't doing so hot! So starting today I am going to do my best to only eat things with natural sugars. Even things that appear healthy have added sugar as one of the first few ingredients... granola bars, granola cereal, yogurt, wheat bread, fruit bars, some fruit and veggie drinks. This is so disappointing:( Why can't they be honest and make actually healthy treats.

As for coffee and caffeine, I have cut back. That's progress. I am pretty sure coffee is the equivalent of aderol (however that is spelled) for me... I am amazingly productive when I have a nice cup of joe. And I can't sit still and sometimes I get a little shaky and I get chatty....OK so I am a different person lol. Since school is winding down, I am going to only drink coffee when there are things that must get done! I don't know that caffeine is all that bad for you,  but I don't like that if I don't have any I get a headache, especially since headaches are not normal for me at all. I don't like being dependent on it to function daily. Plus it's nice that my body isn't used to it, so it does have an effect on me when I need it to ;).

I would love to share a pretty little motivational quote I found somewhere that often comes to mind...but I can't find it anywhere so I will do my best to quote it for you:
"You can't work-off bad choices" Ok that's not it at all...hmmm... the basis is that eating right is more important than working out. They are both important, but what you eat greatly affects how effective working out is. Something like this...