Our homeschool journey: October 5th

Our homeschool journey: October 5th: Another gorgeous day.   Today was not only sunny, but it was also HOT.   The girls changed 3 times, finally ending up in their swimsuits.   ...

Day two of Paleo

Day one went pretty well. I started the day off with 2 hard boiled egg whites, fruit and almonds, not much different from my normal daily breakfast. I had to make a big change with my daily cup of coffee though, coconut milk added to it with no sugar. Not quite as tasty as my french vanilla creamer but I'm sure I will adjust. I put a beef stew in the crock pot that was really easy and let it simmer on low for 8 hrs. I had that for dinner and for lunch today. Lunch yesterday was a hamburger with sauteed onions and tomato slices between 2 pieces of lettuce en-lieu of a bun. I had fresh fruit again and probably snacked on some almonds at some point. I wasn't able weigh myself in the morning because I was busy with two sick kids, but weighed myself after lunch and the scale said 149.4. I'm not sure the weight loss is due to the food I was eating but rather the foods I wasn't sitting and mindlessly eating.
This morning I made myself an omelet/quiche/fritata type meal. Here is the recipe:
Recipe found in "The Paleo Recipe Book"
Omelet with sausage crust

Ingredients for the crust:
•¾ lb ground beef;
•¾ lb breakfast sausage;
•2 eggs, lightly beaten;
•½ cup onion, minced;
•¼ cup chopped basil;
•¾ tsp oregano;
•Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
to taste;

Omelet
•6 eggs;
•2 tbsp coconut milk;
•¼ tsp onion powder;
•1/8 cup red bell pepper, chopped;
2 tbsp chives, chopped;

PREPARATION
1 Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2 Combine the eggs, sausage, basil,oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the meat mixture and set aside.
3 Line the rest of the mixture in a round 10-inch
pie plate as you would a normal crust by pressing
everything together firmly.
4 Bake the crust for 15 minutes in the preheated
oven.
5 Meanwhile, sauté the reserved meat mixture in a
bit of cooking fat until well cooked. Let cool.
6 Remove the pre-baked crust from the oven and
set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
7 Combine the eggs, coconut milk, onion powder
and red bell peppers in a bowl with a whisk.
Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper.
8 Pour the egg mixture over the cooled sausage
crust and then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup basil
and sausage mixture as well as the chopped
chives and bake in the preheated oven for 30
minutes.

The New Paleo

Ok, so today I woke up weighing more than I have weighed in 2 years! Pardon the pun, but this is weighing heavy on me. I work out daily. Not just 30 minutes at the gym, I am talkin' 1-2 hrs of intense cardio spin class, weight training, 9miles of trail running at the San Tan Mountain preserve. My diet hasn't been perfect for a while now, but it isn't awful. I don't typically do fried foods, candy or soda, but I do have a weakness for pizza and really any cheese or carbs. This has prompted me to do the unthinkable... I am about to post my weight so that you can hold me accountable.
Today I will be starting a new way of eating and a new focus and determination in my overall health and well being. I'm sure that there are not many who are aware of the Paleo diet. I was introduced to the concept through my friends Kim and Amber. Here is the description I found on http://paleodietlifestyle.com/
"A Paleo diet, also known as paleolithic diet or caveman diet, is all about natural foods to help achieve great health and a perfect physique. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. The human race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods to our bodies."
Doesn't that make since? Weren't we created in His image? Perfect. I believe that the Lord provided us with everything we need to maintain healthy active bodies from the very beginning. This diet is also a great way to help determine any allergies or sensitivities by omitting them for a while and slowly reintroducing them into the diet and being aware of any changes like bloating, gas, fatigue etc.
Here goes: starting weight on 6/20: 152.2!! (gasp*)
breakfast: 2 hard boiled egg whites and watermelon (not sure we are supposed to include melon, I'll just have to look into that)
Lunch: Not sure yet
Dinner: Beef Stew from "The Paleo Recipe Book"

The Lessons We Learn

A few weeks ago I had a dream and it went something like this: I was ravenous with thirst, continually filling my cup and gulping it all down with no relief for my parched throat. I heard the Lord say to me, "Go and drink from the Bible." So I went to the refrigerator and filled my cup from the Bible until it was overflowing with cold, clear water. It was delicious and satisfying, offering relief and comfort. The Lord said, "Anyone who comes to me will thirst no more and my Word will be an eternal spring within them." Then I looked outside and there was an enormous dust storm and the world was blowing away. I closed the two large doors on the barn to shelter myself and my family. We were safe and secure in the building where the Lord had provided the water the building.
When I woke up I felt that God had given me this dream and I felt renewed. I got up and started looking in the Bible for verses that spoke of thirst. Here are two of my favorite:
John 4:13-14 "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again but who ever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Each day I set my alarm clock to get up early and have a daily quiet time with God. Lately, Ean has also been waking up early to see what I am doing. Occasionally, I have to remind him that I am up to spend some time with God, Ean's stories of the school day will have to wait until I leave my office. He is invited to stay and read his Bible as long as he doesn't disturb me in my studies. This weekend I bought a new family Bible study book called "Choose Your Own Ending Devotions" and the boys and I have been reading the daily devotions and discussing them over breakfast each morning. This morning I was really tired and made a conscious decision to turn my alarm clock off and skip my daily quiet time with the Lord to stay in bed an extra 40 minutes. About 10 minutes later I am still laying in bed awake when I hear a soft knock on the door. "Yes?" I say. "Mommy? Will you get up and study the Bible with me?" It was Ean. What a wonderful reminder and opportunity that the Lord gave me this morning. Look at the change this is making in my family. My boys look forward to hearing God's word in the morning. They watch when I set an example and want to follow it. I answered Ean, "Of course. I'll be out in just a moment."
Interestingly enough, today's topic was about how God wants grown-ups to tell children stories about what God has done. It's one way of passing on God's truth so children will follow God too.

Good ol' Elbow Grease

About two years ago Ean and a friend decided to grab a chunk of charred wood out of the fire pit and tag the wall in the backyard. I wasn't happy about it because it seemed to be permanent. About a month ago Raven and Ronin decided to add their name to the graffiti. I was upset and explained to them that Ean had gotten in trouble when he decided to do that a couple of years ago and that it wouldn't come off of the wall. I relayed the story to Shannon and she said she was all about giving the kids scrub brushes and making them scrub the wall. We laughed about it and then I didn't think about it again...until...Luke and Ronin and Adam decided to write on the patio slab! ARGH!! Friday morning Luke and I trotted off to the dollar store to purchase buckets and brushes. When the kids got home from school I handed them the buckets and brushes and pointed to the graffiti. Lesson was learned before the cheese pizzas even made it out of the oven ;o)

.."and I was runnnnning!"

So about 3 years ago Amber Woods and Ashley Matson talked me into doing the 10k London's Run at Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, AZ. To say I was hesitant is an understatement. I had really been buckling down at the gym and was in good shape, but hadn't really noticed too much of a difference on the scale or my physique. I HATED running with a passion. Ever since middle school track I had been very self conscious of the way I look when I run, and the fact that I seemed to only make it a tenth of a mile before needing to walk. I could do an hour straight in a fitness class, stair stepper, spin class or elliptical, but couldn't run on the treadmill. It was infuriating to me. Oh, and everyone would ask me if I was alright when I did try to run because my face would get so red it almost looked purple! I blamed it on being Irish or my Dad's, Dad whose nickname was Red.
Alright, I gave in and said I would do the run and began training. Shortly after, I got really sick and it was weeks before I could get back to the gym. I was not prepared for the 6mile run in January and tried to back out. The girls didn't let me back out and I finished the run in awful time and not at all feeling accomplished. It was months before I ran again.
Fast forward to January 2009. There were a lot of changes going on in our family and I thought I was going to drown in my stress and emotions. Time to find an intense work out to..well..work it out. Back to the treadmill I went. This time with the resolve to beat it! I never missed a day at the gym. I did my weights and my treadmill and really started seeing results. Dan left for Basic Training for the AZ National Guard and I really jumped into my diet and fitness. I lost 35 pounds and was weighing what I weighed when we got married! I upped my distance and speed and signed up for another run. This time when I finished I felt great and accomplished and excited to do more!
November 2010 I completed my first half marathon! Finishing in 2hrs and 44min was a little disappointing, but I had plans to beat that time at the London's run in January 2011. Unfortunately, the run didn't go as I had hoped. With a hip injury I pushed through from mile 5 to mile 10 where I finally decided to quit the race. I was disappointed and a little embarrassed, especially since I had wonderful support in the form of church friends, Cindy, Rob, Mary, Dan and my nephews waiting for me with homemade signs at the finish line. They were understanding and supportive, but still, it made my resolve to finish my third and final half marathon of the season even stronger.
February 2011 was the Lost Dutchman half marathon in Apache Junction. The setting was gorgeous at the base of the San Tan Mountains after a fresh desert rain. I ran with first time runner Megan Musson and experienced marathoner, Becky Kleen who at the time was 31 weeks pregnant with her third girl! Becky had a game plan and we stuck to it, walking at different mile markers for set amounts of time. I felt amazing! Sticking together through the whole 13 miles we finished in 2 hours 31 minutes. I beat my time by 13 minutes! What a great finish for Megan's first and Becky's 31 weeks of pregnancy.
And so I close with these quotes:
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well. ~ Steve Brown
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done. ~ Louis D. Brandeis
Nothing is worth making that does not make the man. ~ Author Unknown
To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and shrinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can. ~ Sydney Smith

To serve Him and each other

I've noticed, over the years of marriage, that there is one subject that continues to come up and that is the subject of household chores. Once upon a time I remember telling Dan in an argument about chores that marriage should be a 50/50 thing. HA! I was so naive:D With experience I have come to find that marriage is, in fact, a 20/80, a 60/40, a 25/75, and occasionally, a 50/50. He or I will pick up the slack and do what needs to be done. Most of the time this works for us. Occasionally, I have a melt down. I'm never really sure what triggers it. My selfish nature shows its ugly head and I begin to make a list of all of my chores and responsibilities. Well, I had one of these moments yesterday and today I am ashamed of myself. My wonderful husband listened.. This morning I slept until 8 while he got the kids ready for school and received the kids I babysit. I feel rested and a bit out of sink due to the fact that my normal duties were done when I woke up. Husbands and wives, I challenge you to do something for each other today. Do 1 thing that your spouse normally does. Ladies, mow the lawn or take out the trash, check the air pressure in your tires. Gentlemen, scrub a toilet or bathtub and you will be greatly rewarded ;) I will leave you with God's word on the topic of being a servant:
Mark 10:45
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
1 Peter 4:11
11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Luke 22:26-27
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.