Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas from our family! We tried to have all of the cousins on the stairs for our annual photo. It never works out how we'd like..but after a bit of photo shoping..here they all are: Nicole 17, Liam 16, Carson 15, Kaden 14, Rachel 13, Riley 12, Ethan 11, Kale 11, Kennedy 10, Evan 7, Sidney 2, Miisa 1. We have a big crazy family. My Mom and Dad have 12 grandkids and we all celebrate Christmas with a delicious dinner and open presents on Christmas day. December has been really exciting and busy for us. Both of our kids had band concerts, marched in the parade. Liam plays the trombone in the high school jazz band and sousaphone in the marching band. Riley is in the beginning 6th grade band and plays the trumpet. My girl scout troop had a special Holiday party. We asked all of our girls to bring something to share that was a tradition from their family. One of our girls talked about Hanukah and taught us how to play Dreidel. Another of our girls brought Latkes for us to try, and another brought Tamales!!!mmm It was fun to hear the kids talk about the special things their family do. We lit candles and sang and decorated cookies. We traveled to visit friends and then stayed a night with Williams parents. We had "Christmas" with them a few days before Christmas. We had so many events and thing to do that we weren't able get a tree until a week before Christmas. Once it was up and decorated we had our first batch of cookies. More about the cookies later. It has definitely been a busy end to the year. We are blessed to be able to have such a nice Christmas. I had some of my good friend over to do some baking.

Run or Dye 8/23/2014

I Ran 5k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We signed up for this as a group a few months ago. Our group was: my husband, William, My friend Judy and her husband, Charles, My friend Sophia and her sister, Heidi and her daughter Marissa. We also saw a handful of people I work with and some of my Girl Scout Leader friends. William stayed with me the whole time even though he could have run it faster. I think we ended in 33 minutes..? The start was exciting! There were so many people. There was loud music playing, we all threw our powdered dye up into the air. Everyone was sprinkled in color. Then we ran. And I ran the entire way without stopping! We were in the third wave and once we started running I was determined to go as far as I could before walking. The longest I'd run (since age 21) was a half mile. People in front of us were walking from the beginning so for the first 5 minutes we were having to dodge around people. We were mostly in the sun, but it was still early(the first group started at 9am). Once we finished it was starting to feel warm. I am so proud that I ran the entire way without walking. I totally surprised myself. I did it at my pace, but I was able to stay steady the whole way! There were 5 color stations along the way. Volunteers would scoop up handfuls of color and throw it at the runners. I didn't get too much in the beginning but by the end I was coated in color powder! Two of my little girl scouts were the ones throwing the colors at the finish line. I hear my name and turned my head to look and say hi as I was running across the finish and got a face full of orange. I had to go over to the grass to spit..it was in my mouth and nose and eye. I looked like a Cheetos!

Girl Scout Journey Day Camp

Mother Daughter Tea

Happy Easter

my WLC plate

This is a sampling of the foods I have been eating on the Whole Life Challenge. Some call this NSNG or Paleo. It's basically no-sugar, no-dairy, no-grain. I feel great eating this way! I'm so happy with the variety of food I'm able to eat. My tastebuds are changing, everything tastes so good. I started the 8 week WLC January 11, 2014. The challenge ended in March but I kept eating the same clean diet. May 2 started my second WLC. I'm hoping this will give me a boost and keep me going.

A Happy (Healthy) Birthday!!!

Pinterest Inspired me to make a birthday cake out of fruit. I made mine out of: Watermelon, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries. I'm on the Whole Life Challenge and didn't want to feel deprived of a treat so I made a healthy cake to go along with my hubbys chocolate cake.

WLC

January 11 I started the WLC. Whole Life Challenge is an online challenge for diet and exercise. It's 8 weeks of no sugar, grain(bread/pasta), dairy(except for butter), preserved food, fastfood. I have 2 weeks to go and I feel like I'm just getting into a good routine. I've lost 17 lbs already! Everyday I have to exercise for a minimum of 10 minutes and stretch for 10 minutes. I take a daily supplement, log in every day to record my score and add a brief comment on 'how it's going'. So how is it going? I feel better than I have in a long time. My clothes are loose. Since starting I have better balance, stamina, and strength. For the first 2 weeks I was doing the basics. I had the 'low-carb flu' feeling(headaches and fatigue) for a few days. I was sore...actually I have been sore everyday since I started. I've steadily upped my workouts. Last fall I joined the gym (again). My Manager started getting fit and invited the gym to come recruit from my work. Alot of us signed up..I usually see a co-worker every time I'm at the gym. I have been going 3-5 days per week. My husband and 15 year old son just signed up and have been going with me(and without me if I'm working). I have a few friends from work, my gym buddies, that I try to go with...anything that will keep me from cancelling or cutting my workout short(and friends and family make the gym fun). I've also been to a Zumba class with my friend who is also a Girl Scout leader like me. After the first week I had to do some recipe research..I got tired of eating chicken and broccoli everyday. I found a few food blogs that are paleo(almost WLC compliant) or gluten free:nomnompaleo.comandglutenfreeanna.com . I've also found a few new podcasts: Vinnie Tortorich is a fitness trainer that started someting called NSNG No sugar No Grain. His podcast is informative and funny and also inappropriate. Robb Wold Paleo Solution. I've listened to Zen and the Art of Triathlon for years..he talks alot about healthy eating. A couple things I've learned in these 6 weeks so far... -I like cashews. They are my favorite nut this week. -I don't need dairy. I thought I would have a hard time giving up cheese but I didnt. The thing I probably miss the most is bread, and only if I smell it..but I'm ok without it too. -Natural food tastes sweeter when you give up sugar. My taste buds have completely changed. Last week I was snacking on a bag of carrot sticks. I ate a few and went back to the refrigerater to look at the package. I was convinced that there must have been suger added or atleast they were packaged in sugarwater..nope, the only ingredient on the package was carrots. I never thought sweet potatoes were sweet..I do now. And sometimes apples are too sweet. I eat them with nuts. -The only carbs you need are the ones that come from fruit and vegetables. It's true..Because I'm getting healthy food and meat and eggs..I have enough energy now to get through the day. Also,because of the challenge, I have some fun new gadgets! At the beginning pf the challenge I found a veggie and meat slicer on clearance. AND.. My Valentines present from my husband is a Vitamix!!! I've been making breakfast smoothies and green smoothies with spinach and (more recently) bullet proof coffee. Oatmeal, almonds, strawberry, blueberry, banana, coconut milk, ice