Thursday, January 28, 2010
Day 20 - I can't believe it
Monday, January 25, 2010
Day 17
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Day 13
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Day 11 is finally here!
I could tell a few days a go that my clothes were fitting a lot looser and that was a good feeling. I could also tell that my stomach had shrunk. After eating 2 eggs I felt so stuffed, but ate them all anyway. And today I was so excited to have my chicken and rice that I ate the whole piece of chicken and now I am so stuffed! I guess I need to start listening to my stomach when it says it's full, but I am overjoyed to be able to expand my menu now! Also, this past weekend I finally started running again. I'm not going as great as I once was, but I finally have the energy to do it! Thanks for all your prayers! I'm exciting to see this thing through to the end, but will rejoice again on January 30 when I can indulge in some cheese!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 7
I guess I've hopefully disproven the statement - "7 days without meat makes one weak". I guess you could say "7 days without meat sucks, but it can be done1"...put that on a bumpersticker!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Day 6
I feel like I'm on a role now and I am no longer craving meats and bread and dessert...ok, so maybe I'm still craving them, just not as much! I am, however, fresh out of any fruit I bought last week. On this cleanse, I've realized that I go through fruit and veggies super fast! I'm still waiting for Aaron to eat all the junk out of the fridge so I am not tempted to eat that cold pizza! Four more days until I get lean meats and eggs...can't wait!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Day 5
I think I've mentioned it before, but if not, here goes - I have to have simple recipes. I just do. I never have the time or ingredients or creativity, so I need simple, so needless to say, it has been difficult to make veggie dishes interesting, BUT...Aaron made me some lentils and they are great. He simmered them with a can of rotel tomatoes and italian spices. They are spicy and oh so good. I've had them with veggies and brown rice and I love them. In fact, I've had them for four meal...thanks, Aaron!
Anyway, wish me luck on my first venture into a restaurant since this whole thing started!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Day 2,3, and 4
Hey Folks,
I wanted to let you all know that I haven't fallen off the bandwagon yet! Let me tell you something - day 2 was horrible. I wanted to die. I wanted Jesus to take me home so we could feast....ok so maybe it wasn't that bad, but all I wanted was some cheese. I saw a Wendy's commercial and begged Aaron for some chicken nuggets, but after he calmed be down I was ok. In all seriousness though - Day 2 was rough: Fruit for breakfast, cucumbers for lunch and green beans for dinner. I wasn't feeling great and basically had no appetite! I had no energy to work out...shoot! But better days will come and they did.
Day 3 was yesterday. Work was busy so I couldn't dwell on food too much! I had fruit and green tea for breakfast, then a salad for lunch. I snacked on fruit again, but discovered something amazing for dinner - lentils. My husband was an angel and cooked them for me. He added tons of spices and rotel tomatoes and they were the best thing I've ever eaten - in the last three days that is. I had tons of energy yesterday and slept great - let's hope this is a new trend!
Day 4 is today - so far I've started out with strawberries and green tea and I'm going strong. I think my downfall in all of this is that I want quick and easy recipes and you have to be super creative to make this cleanse work and to not get bored. But for now, I'll stick with rice/lentil leftovers and hope that Day 10 comes soon! All I want is a piece of chicken...that's all I've ever wanted!
The only thing keeping me from quitting is that I don't want to be a quitter and I want to be faithful in what I say I'm going to do! Also, I know it's good for me, it's just not tons of fun right now. But no pain, no gain, right? Your prayers are coveted!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Cleanse Day 1
Breakfast - I woke up not feeling great and went back to sleep until 10:30! Wow! So I had a banana. No big deal.
Lunch(ish) so lunch I had carrots and avocados...pretty good! Also had an orange and some grapes. I know you are supposed to try to have twice as many veggies as fruit, but I needed sweets!
In the afternoon I wasn't feeling great so I took a nap. After I woke up I headed strait to the pringles and then realized that wasn't ok...oops. Good thing I snapped out of it in time!
So tonight I'll be making brown rice with avocados and tomatoes...and I already can't wait until day 11 where I can have chicken!
Note to self - need to drink more water! Hope I can make it, but so far it's not as fun as I had hoped, but I'm determined to finish strong!
Wish me luck! 1 day down, 20 to go!
The Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat
This brings me to the big game. Not just any big game, the 2009 BCS Championship with our team playing - the Texas Longhorns. Although there are lots of haters our there, you've gotta love Colt McCoy. A great quarterback who plays to win, but he plays to win in life, too. He loves Jesus. He doesn't just say he loves Jesus - he proves it with every game he plays. Colt's not just another college quarterback-he's good. Real good. Last year the Longhorns were one game short of a BCS title and he didn't want it to happen this year again. So what did he to - he led his team to an undefeated season and to the "big game". He's worked four years for this moment. UT dominates the first few minutes of the game. But then the work possible thing happened - our leader McCoy gets hurt and sees his dream of leading his team to a National title dissapear. As a UT fan I can't tell you what a shock this was. UT eventually lost the game, a game they had worked for all year. Losing wasn't the hardest part for Colt, I can guarantee that - it was most likely not getting to play. It was always wondering what if, and why? Why did he get hurt? Believe me, all UT fans everywhere were asking that on Thursday night. I'm sure Mac Brown and the McCoy family were thinking this too. I have no idea how I would have reacted to this situation. I'd never been in this situation. His whole team was counting on him and the Nation was watching.
What Colt did at the end of the heart-breaking thing was one of the most shocking and inspiring things I'd ever heard/seen an athlete do. He is interviewed after the most dissapointing game of his carreer and as he chokes back tears he states, "I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life. And I know that if nothing else, I'm standing on the Rock." Holy Cow. Wow. This guy get's it. He knows what life is about. Colt just experienced the agony of defeat and he didn't even get to say he did his best - he didn't get to play. He'll always wonder. But you know what - he get's it. He sees the big picture. He knows there is more to life. He knows that God is in control. Wow. And one of the best things about Colt's statement is that he didn't pretend not to be upset about the loss. He was upset, he wanted to play and he wanted to win, but he knew that God's in control and he takes confort in that. Wow.
So maybe UT did feel the agony of defeat, I know it felt that way to me. Probably to my brother too who made a 23 hour road trip to see the game in person. But Colt McCoy experienced the thrill of victory afterall - the Victory that comes from knowing Christ. What an example he was to me!
So even though I wanted Texas to win that game I learned a little lesson instead. No matter how many agonizing "defeats" we have in life - and there will be many, we can take confort knowing that we have victory in Christ Jesus - and oh how sweet that is!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Journey Begins
2010 is a time for new beginnings and I have great expectations for this year. I just have to say I feel blessed to have been given 24 years of life! I have learned so many valuable lessons...quite a few the hard way. I used to think I knew everything. Now, I know that I know very little - and that is OK with me! The name Learning, Living, and Loving Life comes from what I want to do - Learn to live and love my Creator God who makes this life worth living and do whatever it takes to make him known! I know I'll stumble a little along the way, but that's ok!
Before I go any further I have to confess something - I'm not a great writer. Eloquence is not my middle name. I cannot guarantee that this blog will be typo-free. I will say, however, that I once took a "blogging" class in college. I don't really remember anything I learned, except that it was great for the GPA if you know what I mean.
Learning - This year, I want to learn to create good habits and self control so I'm starting off with January cleanse that will start this Saturday. I'm also attempting to work out 5 days a week - yikes! More details to come:)
Living - Another goal I set this year was read the Bible through in one year. I did this a few times years back, but I feel like I'm at the point in my life where I desire to know His Word so much more. It's January 7, so I'm just getting started in Genesis, but I'll let you in on a secret - I LOVE the Book of Genesis! The Bible stories that we learn as children teach you so much about God's promises and plan! And to tell you the truth, it's a comfort to know that the people in Genesis were not perfect! That's right folks Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, they all had their problems! What a relief! Also, a Genesis 18:16-33, the passage where Abraham pleads for Sodom is a very powerful passage...what a merciful God we have and how cool is Abraham! Anyway, I'm excited about this new adventure and hope and pray I can keep it up!
Loving - I just have to say that my husband Aaron has been the biggest blessing I could ever have. I can honestly say that I do not deserve him and my life would be incomplete without him. These past 2 years have been a blessing. He is my best friend and he makes me want to be a better person. We aren't perfect but I desire to be the wife that puts him first - something that I am working on this year!
Finally, I promise to be real with those who read this, to tell you when I mess up, not try to be who I'm not. I also will do my best to keep Learning, Living, and Loving Life.