Wednesday, October 26, 2011

No coffee for 30 days!!


11/15/2011
**I just thought I'd update my progress from the 28 day detox I've been doing.  Tomorrow will be 3 weeks I've gone without gluten, dairy and sugar and so far I've lost 7 lbs., 1 1/2 inches around my waist, and an inch in my hips!!  I really wasn't doing it for weight loss as much as the detox, but I do know that people who stick very closely to this program have lost a lot of weight!!  Amazingly, I can't believe how easy it's been!!  I even went to OKC last week and found that almost every restaurant has gluten free menus so I never felt deprived...it was great!!  I have honestly never felt better...I have more energy and feel great!!  I have 3 friends who have been doing this with me and they have had amazing results as well!!  This program really works!!  I only have one week until I'm finished....just in time for Thanksgiving:)  

10/26/2011
Today I start a 30 days to fit program...I'm cutting all gluten, dairy and, maybe hardest of all for me, COFFEE!!!!  As I type this right now, I'm having a detox tea with stevia in it....it is yummy I have to say! I'm excited to feel and see the results, but know it's going to be a challenge for me.  I love sweets, coffee, chips, cheese....all things I will not be having for 30 whole days!!  You may think I'm crazy really, but the results people have had by doing this have been amazing!!  I'm not doing it as much for weight loss, but more to detoxify my body and see how I feel, think, etc. once I do it...although losing a few pounds and inches won't be so bad either:)

I spent part of the afternoon yesterday at Trader Joes in Columbus with a friend of mine who is also doing the program.  We brought with us our meal plans and shopping lists.  It was a little overwhelming trying to figure out everything we needed to help us get started, but the people there were so helpful and nice!  I left the store feeling excited and empowered with all the ingredients and whole foods I needed to get started!!  I came home and put all my berries in freezer bags for my protein shakes, and organized everything else so I would be ready....then I had chicken fingers and pizza for dinner, followed by double chocolate pumpkin cake for dessert:)

As I was researching and preparing to start this program, I kept thinking about everything I was going to have to give up in order to do it, which made me want to keep putting it off or not even do it at all!  But then I changed my mindset and started to think of everything I would gain by doing it and that helped prepare me to jump in and get started.  I know that so much of what I'm going to do over the next 30 days starts with the way I choose to think and look at what I'm going to get out of this program, not what I'm giving up in order to get the desired results.

So I have everything I need to do it....the meal plan, the vitamins, the detox tea, the protein powder, the fizzy tabs, etc.....now I just need to set my sight on my goal, which is better health.  I take care of my skin and I exercise, which are great things, but I also realize that I need to think more about what I'm putting into my body, which can also make a difference in how I look and feel.  I know I'm 39 now and some days I feel it and look it more than others, I'm sure, but I want to age as gracefully and feeling as good as I can....why not?  I only get to live once right?? :)

So, here it continues....my countdown to 40 (I almost typed 30....see I'm already feeling younger:)....focusing more on being healthy from the inside out.  Now don't get me wrong...I'm not saying I'm never going to have coffee again....or a Krispy Kreme donut....or chips....but I am saying that after this 30 days, I'm sure it's going to make me think more about it when I do....and who knows, maybe I won't feel like I need all that junk anymore at all (which I know I don't:)  So as the old saying goes....nothing in life is promised to be easy....but it will be worth it....right?!?!  Here goes nothing....cheers!!
Strawberry/Banana smoothie:)



For more info about the program I'm doing, go to katiepeterson.myarbonne.com and click on the 30 days to fit tab....let me know if you have any questions or want to get started yourself:)
 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

From doctor's daughter....to pastor's wife: Coupon girl:)

From doctor's daughter....to pastor's wife: Coupon girl:): My coupon binder:) Yes, it's true....I'm now couponing!! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the extreme couponing type and never will ...

Coupon girl:)

My coupon binder:)


   Yes, it's true....I'm now couponing!!  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the extreme couponing type and never will be....but it is fun saving money!!  My boys are actually loving it because I buy things I normally wouldn't:)  It does take time, both cutting coupons and shopping, but it's so worth it when I get to the checkout and my bill is cut in half!!  I wish I would have started doing this a long time ago.  


The Kroger I shop at doubles coupons up to $1.00, which is great!!  For instance, today when I was shopping, they had Ragu pizza sauce on sale for $1.29 and I had a coupon for 50 cents off of 1 jar....and since it doubled, I got it for just 29 cents!!  I love that!!  Also, I had a 55 cent off coupon for a 2 liter Pepsi...it was on sale for $1.09 so after my coupon doubled, I got it for free and made a penny...I love that even more!!  We don't even drink Pepsi, but I figure why not get it since it's free and give it to the youth group at church or something:)


Obviously, I have to watch because sometimes the better deal is the store brand or something else, but it is really fun to find the best deals and cut my grocery bill way down....especially feeding teenage boys who eat a lot!!  Also, there are things I get that I don't have coupons for just because we like them and aren't willing to change to another brand...these are the non-negotiables...JIF peanut butter being one of them:)


So couponing is something I'm going to continue to do as I close in on 40 and beyond...I figure if the money is out there to save, I'd rather spend it on something else:)  I know this may seem like a small thing to some, but for me it's a big deal!!  I tend to be a spender....not a saver:)  Needless to say, Scott is impressed by my new venture in couponing:)  The reality is that I really do want to be a good steward with what God has given me....and, in doing so, I'm finding it to be so rewarding!!       


  

Monday, October 10, 2011

The pain of loss...

Mount Vernon Nazarene University - News, Accident

As the MVNU community struggles to deal with the tragic loss of one of the nursing students, I'm all too keenly aware of the pain associated with the loss of a loved one. My heart is broken for the family of Justina, even though I didn't personally know her or her family. When things like this happen, it takes me back 26 years ago to the loss of my mom and the heart wrenching pain I felt. I remember waking up in tears for months after my mom's death with the realization that it wasn't just a bad dream I was having, but the miserable reality in which I was living. I know this must be what Justina's family is going through and will for months, even years, to come. Although the loss of a parent at a young age was hard, I can't even begin to imagine the pain of losing a child. We have such hopes and dreams for our children....and to have them go before us is not how it's supposed to happen.

Some things I am praying during this difficult time....
* for Justina's family...that somehow in the midst of their incredible pain, they will find a sense of peace knowing that Justina is not suffering, but is resting in the arms of Jesus
*for the other 4 girls in the accident....for healing, both physically and emotionally
*for the MVNU campus staff and faculty as they wade through some tough waters this week and in the weeks to come
*for the MVNU students as they struggle to deal with such a tragedy...there is no understanding a tragedy such as this

One of my favorite scriptures that I've gone back to time and time again in times of great hopelessness in my life is Isaiah 40:31...."but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." I pray that the Williams family as well as the MVNU community can find and put their hope in the Lord in the midst of this tragedy knowing that He will be with them and give them the strength to carry on.

Thanks for your prayers during this time...I know God hears each and every one of them!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Dream big....and then dream BIGGER!!


I have so many dreams of things I want to do in this lifetime!!  My mind is constantly thinking of new things I want to accomplish.  The saying holds true for me that I have so many things that I want to do, that I don't even know where to begin.  Do you ever feel that way???  I do....ALOT!!!  I'm one of those people who is never satisfied with just being...if you know what I mean.  The problem is that because I want to do so many things, I have a hard time focusing on any one thing.  I don't necessarily think it's because I get bored (although I'm sure sometimes that is the case:), but more likely that I'm easily distracted by something that seems more appealing at the time or, maybe even more, by a fear of failure.  Although I've always dreamed big dreams, I know I've allowed what I thought others would say or think of me keep me from acting on them.  I, for many years, squelched the dreams I had because I felt they could never happen for me....and if I tried, I could possibly fail.       

It's fun to listen to my son, Cody, talk and dream about his future.  Sometimes when he talks about things he wants to do, I think he's crazy!  He thinks very outside the box, which is great, but can be uncomfortable for me at times.  I think about how I was raised...my dad knew he wanted to be a doctor before he graduated high school and both of my brothers knew they were going into premed to be a dentist and doctor before graduating high school as well.  Cody is not real sure what he wants to do with his life yet and sometimes I let that worry me.  I know that God has great plans for him and I know I should just rest in that, but it's hard, especially when he changes his mind, what seems like, every other week!!

The other night, Cody came into the living room where Scott and I were watching football and plopped down in the chair next to his dad.  He told us that he needed to talk to us about something.  He proceeded to tell us that he thought that we should consider buying him another car that he could drive during the winter since his Firebird doesn't do well in the snow.  He said that it would be great because then we wouldn't have to take he and Zach to school (he did admit that, in reality, he didn't want us to take him to school:) when the weather was bad and that since Zach will turn 16 this summer and start driving, that when he takes the Firebird and goes off to college next year then Zach would have a car to drive.  He then proceeded to tell us about the cars he'd been looking at online that he thought were good prices and would be good to go look at.  The kid is funny...and actually very convincing...sometimes I think he should be a lawyer because he's great at putting up an argument, even when the odds are stacked against him!!   I know whatever he chooses to do, he'll be successful at it.   He always has some new idea or dream up his sleeve and is not scared to voice it and then try it....he doesn't worry about what others think or about the possibility that it might not happen.  


Steven Paul Jobs, co-founder, chairman and former chief executive of Apple Inc., passed away Wednesday, Oct. 5.   We are huge Apple fans and have been Mac users for about 8 years!  I couldn't have been more excited when Verizon came out with the Iphone...I love it!!   
It is amazing to think of all that Steve Jobs accomplished in his short lifetime!  
At a 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, Jobs shared the philosophy that drove him.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” Jobs said. “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
I love this!!   When I read it, I thought about how we so often just sit back and let our inner voice be squelched by the voices of others....or sometimes maybe we're the ones who can be the dream stealers.  So that's it....the seventh thing on my countdown to 40 that I'm going to focus on...Dreaming big, which I already do, and then dreaming bigger....and encouraging others in their dreams as well!!  I'll never know if my dreams can or will come true unless I go after them!!  If it doesn't work out the way I plan, then something else will...and I'll be stronger because I went for it.  Dream it, plan it, and go after it!!