I made it!!!

Yesterday was Day45.  I made it.  But it was very difficult, especially this last week.  I almost gave up several times this last week.

I received a text message on the morning of March 10 that my Opa, my very best friend in the world, was in the hospital and wasn't doing well.  See, Opa was diagnosed with cancer Dec 16, 2016, and it had spread.  But he had been fighting it fiercely.  

But the message I got had me getting my children situated and hopping in my vehicle and on my way to the hospital in less than an hour.

I spent the entire day there with much of my family.  My Opa was on pain medications much of the time.  I was grateful to have a little bit of time alone with him while he was lucid to tell him things that he already knew but I felt I just had to say.  And to hear him tell me he loved me too one last time.

I lost my Opa on Saturday evening.  I was with him when he went to heaven.  I had prayed with him just a short time earlier.  First I had prayed God would give us a miracle.  Then I prayed God would take my Opa's pain away.  I miss him terribly, but it was worse to see him suffering so.

It was a very rough week between his passing and his funeral.  I battle with depression on a regular basis as it is, but losing him sent me into a deeper than normal depression and I had difficulty with functioning as normal.  He was my person, my one to call, the one who I could talk to about anything in the world.

I stuck with my Whole45 plan because I knew Opa would want me to.  My health was important to him.  It was something we often discussed.  We would compete when he was gone for the winter to see who would lose the most weight, or who would have the most bragging rights for exercising, or who had been to the gym the most often.

So...

I kept with the plan and pushed through.  I made it all 45 days.  Since Jan 1, when I started pushing my weight loss efforts, I've lost a total of 15 pounds. 

I've had some great NSVs (non-scale victories) too! 

• I don't have heartburn all the time. 
• My hemoglobin is usually around 12.5, the minimum for donating blood.  At my last blood donation it was over 14!
• I tried on a dress for the funeral on Saturday that I've never worn - it fit.  It was a size SMALLER than I normally wear!!
• My blood pressure, which is usually normal, is even lower.
• My black yoga pants are falling down :)
• I sleep better at night.
• I have less cravings.

As of today I can add back in my grains, dairy, and beans.  Scrappy has been talking about pizza all week so he's had me craving it, so we ordered Papa Murphy's.  Unfortunately I overdid it :(   I should know with pizza.  I don't eat it very often because it's one of my foods-without-brakes.  Fortunately it doesn't happen with frozen pizza - I'm not much of a fan of frozen pizza.  And I have a plan to get back on track tomorrow morning.

My plan now is to try to stay on Whole30-plus-dairy-grains-and-beans-with-an-occasional-treat until after my surgery.  I think it would be hard to be on plan while I'm recovering from my surgery because cooking would be difficult.  I'm also hoping to get my bicycle out soon because I want to start riding it more.  Monkey likes his bike helmet now, so hopefully I can get him to ride in the bike trailer this year!

R1D30!!!

Oh wow!! OMG I made it to Day 30!!  I still have 15 days to go since I decided my first bout is going to be a 45 day test, but I'm still super excited that I made it this far!!  I can't wait to see what my weigh in results are. 

I've been thinking about it, and decided I want to do a post on all my favorite Whole30 recipes and meals.  I'm sure it will turn in to more than one post.  I'm going to be sure to post the ones that were not so good too.  I think I found a favorite recently too!!!  Who would have thought chicken and cucumbers would have been such a great combination??

I did a little bit of running around today after taking Monkey to preschool.  It was just misting until I went to pick him up.  Then it started raining.  After we got home it started sleeting.  Princess got home from school 2 hours early because the weather was supposed to get bad... well... it started snowing.  Thunder-snowing.  And lightning.  She's been home for 2 hours and we probably have at least 2 inches of snow.

Everything is cancelled or postponed for the day.  Princess was supposed to have a concert tonight.  Scraps was supposed to have archery.  I can't see half a block away.  I think I'll just camp out right here with some crochet.  I'm actually COLD right now...  I did go to the meat market and get a couple soup bones... maybe I'll make some soup tomorrow...

Fountains Upon Fountains

I had every intention of writing last week.  I really did!!

I was on a roll!!

I was cooking.
I was cleaning.
I was getting my workouts in.

And then it happened....

Princess got a stomach ache...  and it's been slowly taking the rest of us out...

I kept her home from school for 3 days.  Hoping and praying it was just her and she wasn't going to share.

I mean, I try to teach my kids to share.  Every good parent does.  But for the love of all that is good - not germs.  Please don't share your germs.

Friday Princess was back at school....

.... and I was down for the count.

No please! No please! Nopleasenopleaseno!!  If you're a parent, especially a stay home, homeschool parent, or heaven forbid, a special needs parent, you know what I mean!!  We don't have time to be sick!!

I did the only thing I could think of... bribed Scrappy... no homework and some babysitting money to help out with his brother.  Thankfully Monkey was good, save for wanting to snuggle with Mommy.  I told Daddy he HAD to come home and there was NO working for him over the weekend because I couldn't manage running Princess to the extra dance practice AND wrangling the boys while being sick. 

I did feel well enough for a little outing to the craft store to get some stuff for work on Sunday (plus I needed the fresh air and to get away from my little angels who I love so much!)

Monday morning, right on cue, hubby was taken down by it, and yesterday it struck my Monkey.

I'm finally feeling well enough to get back into my routine.  I knew I was bad off when I couldn't even keep up with my bujo!!  At least I managed to stay on plan with my Whole45!!

Sharks and Dragons

Day 12 of my Whole45 and I am doing well!!

OK, I am struggling a little bit.  In the bujo world (this is a little TMI) this is called Shark Week, so my Sugar Dragon is coming out and wanting to attack.  I'm a little tired and battling with a mild headache.  It started yesterday, so I went to bed early in spite of it being Valentine's Day.  I got close to 10 hours of sleep last night!! 

I was too broke to buy anything for my sweetheart, but I cooked him a good meal and gave him my first drawing that I've done. 

I can't draw to save my life, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to learn!  He was impressed :)  He didn't believe me at first that, besides using a compass to draw the circles themselves, everything else was done freehand!!  I'm happy that he liked it!  For supper I had made Whole30 beef and broccoli except I didn't have any coconut aminos so I told everyone else to just add soy sauce to their meat.  The kids didn't like the sunshine sauce, but he and I really did!

For lunch the boys and I had made zoodles with my Veggetti.  We had gotten it at Walmart a while ago for only $7 on clearance.  I wish I would have opened it earlier - it's so easy to use!!  I cooked some chicken with garlic powder, salt and onion, then tossed to zoodles in the pan with some fat and cooked those for a few minutes, and topped them with the chicken and some tomatoes.  Soooo gooood!!

Veggetti

Zoodles with chicken and tomatoes

I know it's against the rules to weigh during Whole30, but I had an appointment with the dietitian earlier this week.  She wanted to see how I was doing with my weight loss because that was the reason I was seeing her, and we discussed W30 a lot.  I'm down 5 pounds since my last appointment with her!!!!  I told her about my plans to do Whole45 and she was fine with that.  I asked for input on doing it long term.  So we have a plan.

Long term is fine, as long as I take some breaks in between... 30-45 days on, 2-4 weeks off, reintroducing beans, grains, and dairy, then 30-45 (60/90) days on.  If I decide I want to do more than the 45 I should let her know.  Sometimes people do 60-90 days, but I'm not sure if I want to do that long.  I think doing 30-45 is a good amount of time to keep me on track and compliant.  My journal and blogging should help me keep on track too.

Emily, the dietitian, also said it's OK to break one of the rules - which isn't a food rule.  I should continue with my weekly weigh ins because I'm doing the Whole45 and because I need to get myself into a healthy weight range.  Weight actually IS an important part of this for me. 

We set a goal of another 5 pounds for my next appointment in a month.  I wasn't getting all the water I need to in each day, so that's another one of my goals, and to get my 30 minutes in 4x a week, since I'd been slacking on that.  If I can get my exercise back on track I will really be doing amazing!!

Here is my tracker from my bujo.  I really love the quote on the top:  Do not reward yourself with food.  You are NOT a dog!!

Eat ALL the things

Today is Day 5 of my Whole45.  (It's still Whole30, but I'm planning on going for 45 days instead.)  I know we're not supposed to weigh during it, but I had a doctor's appointment today and they HAD to weigh me.  SO I can say I KNOW I'm making progress in that department even though weight isn't the point of the program. Yay me!!

Last night I made shepherd's pie using this recipe as a guide.  I never would have thought of pureed mushrooms and onions working as a gravy!!!  I did adapt the gravy a bit because I didn't have all the stuff... I had canned mushrooms on hand, and no bone broth, so I pureed the mushrooms and onions with a little bit of water BEFORE cooking them and added a little bit of nutritional yeast to it for a little bit extra flavor.  I added cauliflower, broccoli, and spinach for veggies, and used white potatoes since I didn't have any sweet potatoes.  It must have been good if my husband and both boys ate it!!  (Princess was at youth group so she didn't eat supper at home.

I know the timeline predicts Days 4-5 as Kill ALL The Things, but I don't think I've been in an unpleasant mood at all.  At least, not without justification.  Of course, every mom is going to get out of sorts at the teen or boys when they're being naughty or mouthy or whatever.  But around here, it's just been... life.

New Challenges

It's always fun to take on new challenges and to try out new things.  Shortly before the new year, I was looking at planner ideas - again - since I can never find a planner I like and that works for me. I don't remember exactly how I found it but somehow I stumbled across Bullet Journaling on this awesome website. I'm not going to lie - I'm not nearly as creative as 98% of the people I see posting on Instagram or in the Facebook groups, and I can't letter worth a dang, but I still have fun doing it, and I really enjoy being semi-organized.  I love having all my lists in one place!

One day while navigating around her website, I got to reading about Kara's routine and read her review about The Miracle Morning.  I am not, and never have been, a morning person.  Not by a long shot.  So I read up a little more on what it was about.

THIS
BOOK
IS
LIFE
CHANGING

SERIOUSLY!

I never thought I would say that about a book!  I hear all the hype about this or that being so amazing, but this is the first time I have ever experienced it myself!!  I am currently on Miracle Morning #40.  I admit, I have slacked a little the last few days with Scrappy being sick and all, but still.  You can tell it's working when even you teenage Princess notices a difference in you!

I also just started my first round of Whole30.  I am currently on Day 3.  It actually isn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I gave up Coke on Christmas Eve, so I don't have that demon to fight.  I do go through caffeine withdrawals, so I have a coffee a day.  I tried "bullet proof coffee" - that is definitely NOT for me!!  I must say, I do miss my creamer!  I went to Wintergreen Co-op today and bought Nutpods nondairy creamer and it actually wasn't too bad.  I wish they had a flavored one instead of just the original, but it'll work for now.  I did put my request in, so we'll see if Patti orders it. 

I bought a bunch of nuts there yesterday, including almonds to make almond butter and sunflower seeds to make sunbutter.  I also got some nutritional yeast to try.  I wasn't too sure about that at first, so I only got a small amount, then came home and read more about it.  After reading up on its savory qualities, I decided to add some to my bowl of soup at suppertime.  It took my yummy soup to OMG!! soup.  WOW!!  Going to have to get some more of that!