Thank goodness for WordFUL Wednesday

Looking through some pictures on Marc’s phone a few weeks ago and stumbled on these. I hadn’t seen them before.

8 months ago today I gave birth to my baby at home.

It was glorious.

More wonderful Wordful Wednesday posts can be found at SevenClownCircus

Let me rephrase that - I love ME time, but I don’t really see the need for it often or in big chunks. Instead I prefer little snips of time. A quick trip to the store by myself usually does wonders!

Well, last Saturday, I was feeling a little crazy and wanted some of that ME time.

Marc had been to McDonalds a little earlier and had ordered an extra chicken sandwich.

The kids were all occupied, playing and watching a movie… I saw an opportunity!

I escaped to the bathroom with the sandwich and the laptop. I jumped into a bubblebath, ate my chicken sandwich and watched a little Netflix.

Ahhhhhh - bliss. Weird, but wonderful bliss.

That’s how I do “ME” time. What about you? What’s your ME time look like? What’s the weirdest way you’ve relaxed?

Want to know why? Don’t laugh.

I don’t like my blog layout.

That is it… the only reason. I’ve got some time. Some desire, even some fodder for some good (in my opinion of course) blog posts. But every time I come here… I get a feeling of blah. “Blah - I’m sick of looking at this layout.”

I am trying to get over this. Trying to find happiness and comfort in what I’ve got.

That’s hard sometimes, isn’t it? Contentment.

We live in that crazy world where every little aspect of our life could be: Bigger. Smaller. Faster. Slower. Better.

Better? Can it always be better. Should it always be better?

Two very different questions in my opinion.

Can it be better? Probably.

Should it be better? Hmmm - maybe… maybe not.

My prayer life - Could it? YES. Should it? Big time YES.

My eating habits - Could it? Yes. Should it? Yes.

My blog being better and nicer to look at- Could it? Definitely. Should it? Not right now. Soon, hopefully… but not right now.

And for now, I am ok with that.

And just because not liking my layout is a stupid reason for not blogging - I give you cute baby:

Friday and Saturday were hard. I was struggling with cravings, but not physical cravings, mental. For example; Saturday I didn’t get much sleep. A certain 6 month old was extra fussy and has now decided that sleeping “next” to Mommy is not enough - he want’s to sleep ON me. I was so groggy and grouchy Saturday morning which, on any other day, would warrant a trip to my crack dealer local Starbucks. I didn’t go, thankfully, but I will tell you I sat on my couch a good 30 minutes trying to justify the trip.  “I’ll just start Monday” “I’ll just have something and continue the diet”

Man, it was hard… but I pushed through and was greatly rewarded Sunday.

I woke up with a little energy! The cloud or “brain fog” had dissipated a bit. I made breakfast for the family. Got a bunch of stuff done and at the end of the day felt good about what was accomplished.

Still not 100% yet. I’m dealing with a little bit of detox headache - need to up my water to help deal with that, I think. Still have a little “brain fog” and a little short on my temper - but nowhere near where I was just Friday.

What have I been eating?

Lets see - I’ll run down my menu for yesterday:

Breakfast: 3 eggs and 2 small zucchini sauteed in coconut oil

Lunch: 2 turkey burger patties with a big ole glop of guacamole

Dinner: roasted chicken, mashed cauliflower and roasted green beans

I snacked on an apple and a handful of cherries.

I need a little more veggies in my day, usually I like to have a big salad for lunch, but I was in the middle of blanching and freezing 13lbs of cauliflower.

So… there you have it! I’m pushing through and loving the results so far. I will update again in a few days - weigh in is on Friday.

Funny how the last post I made was about the Paleo diet and its been almost 2 months… man, that’s sad.

I had great success after my last post, but this past month life got in the way, in a major way, and sadly I got back into eating anything and everything and I am really feeling the effects.

So, I am starting the 30 day Paleo challenge again and this time I wanted to encourage anyone one who was looking to make a change to follow along and join me!

This “diet” to me is not just about losing weight, its about staying sane and being a good wife and mother.

When I am eating the “standard American diet” or SAD I am just miserable… and so are those around me. High servings of grains and carbs coupled with low fat and protein servings as recommended by the USDA make me zombie-like. Serious. I walk around with no motivation or drive. I am tired. I am cranky. I have no patience, and for a mother to 5 - that ain’t a good thing, you know?

This past week I have been so grouchy and depressed. I am so tired and have no energy to really do much of anything - life is a chore. That may sound so extreme to most people, but if you struggle with food/carb addictions like I do - I know you can relate.

So without further delay - I am starting TODAY!

I plan on posting often and telling you how its going, what I am eating and the changes I am experiencing. I hope you enjoy this as much as I am looking forward to it.

Here is a post I found that really goes into the 30 day challenge and thsi chick minces no words - she tells it like it is. Take a sec and read it. What do you think?

My favorite part:
“It’s not that effing hard. (Yes, I wanted to throw an f-bomb in there.) Don’t you dare tell me this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is. Not. Hard. Substituting Sunday morning French toast in favor of a giant omelet and side of crispy bacon is not hard. Eating fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables every day is not hard. So I don’t want to hear one single complaint. You won’t get any coddling from me on this one, you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”, and you won’t get any second chances. Not in my house. It’s thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. So shut up and do it.”

There you have it - “Shut Up and Do It”

Sometimes the thought creeps into my head: “Why bother? It’s not like you are going to stick with it… you always quit”

I hate that voice.

The “voice” of defeat.

SHUT UP!

Cliche as it sounds… I’ll never know unless I try.

So….. here I am again. Not really trying anything new on the workout front, Jillian is still kicking my butt.

The nutrition front will be a RADICAL change.

The last month or so, my diet has been so bad. Just nutritionally void and icky.

I stumbled across the Paleo diet and it looked PERFECT for me.

I have some major , major issues with starches and sugar and I’ve realized in the last 2 months or so, that I also am having some issues with milk - major cravings

So… I did some digging and some research and Marc and I have decided to jump right on in.

The Paleo diet, also called the Caveman diet is supposed to take you back to the way our “caveman” ancestors ate. Well, let’s start off by changing the name…. considering I’m not really in the evolution group - Marc and I have decided to call it the “Post-Flood” diet

Here are the basics. First off the No’s - No bread, grains, sugar, dairy, legums and tubers

Thats a lot of no foods. Bread, rice, pasta, sugar, corn, potatoes, beans, peanuts, milk, yogurt and cheese.

Yikes.

But - plenty of protein, veggies, fruits and nuts!

Breaking it down… its eating as clean and natural as you can.

There are a few reasons for going to what some may consider, extreme.

First, of course…. is weight loss. I want to lose weight. Plain and simple.

Secondly and more importantly, is health. Following this diet will allow my body to detox and heal its self. Let’s face it… I’m 37 and as much as I want to say “I don’t fell 37″ the truth is… I kind of do. I’m tired. I’m achy. I’m bloated. I’m sore.

My body is just not working optimally. That is pretty darn pathetic.

Marc and I have committed to doing this for 3 months. We will be traveling in October and want to be at our best.

It will be interesting and challenging.

I will keep updating here and let you know how it’s going and what, if any changes I am experiencing.

Please feel free to ask any questions!

Of course, both of the posts are about I Heart Faces! Sorry - but I’m having fun!

Fridays on I Heart Faces are Fix-It-Fridays. They post a picture that could use a little tweaking and leave it up to the reader to edit the photo as they see fit. This is great photo editing practice!

I use Aperture, which is the Mac photo editing software. I do have Photoshop also, but I find that Aperture takes so little time to get great results! I almost feel like I’m “cheating!” Plus, in all honesty… I haven’t figured out Photoshop all that much. I’m a busy girl and I can pop down for just a few minutes and edit a ton of photos with Aperture. One day, I’m sure, Photoshop and I will become good friends. But, until then… Aperture does EVERYTHING I need!

So, without further ado….

Here is this weeks original photo:

Twinkies! I love babies… I REALLY love twin babies. That could have something to do with having a pair of them myself… but I digress.

Cute photo, but could use some tweaking. Here’s what I had in mind:

I was really happy with the way it turned out! What do you think?

Here is my “recipe”

**First I cropped the photo to place more focus on the babies faces.

**Changed the “White Balance” to “Daylight” which slightly warmed their skin tones

**Used “Skin Softening” at a “Softness” of .17 and a “Strength” of 1

**Used “Retouch” on the baby girl’s chest to remove the red blotchy area

**Applied “Vignette - Gamma” with an “Intensity” of .5 and a “Radius” of 1.75

**Applied “Polarize” on the black background area at a “Softness” of .5 and “Strength” of .6

**Used “Dodge” at a “Softness” of 1 and “Strength” of 1 on both of the babies faces

Thankfully I have a wonderful and supportive hubby that likes to feed me ego and push me out of my comfort zone!

I have been experimenting a bit and with inspiration from both Haley and Andrea I’m going out on a limb!

Have you ever checked out I Heart Faces? If not… get your booty on over there! It is a wonderful site full of awesomeness!

I have been visiting the site for probably 18 months now and am constantly amazed at the wonderful photos!

So… I now present:

My first I Heart faces photo entry!

My sassy little Emma showing off her new shades.

Check out more awesome yellow themed photos here: I Heart faces

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and a daily snack are included.

Monday:
(B)Baked Oatmeal
(L)Pasta w/ Sauce, Veggie sticks
(D)Baked Chicken, sauteed Rutabaga, Broccoli
(S) Grapes, Cheddar Cheese and Crackers

Tuesday:
(B)Bacon and Eggs, Toast
(L)Panini’s with Lunchmeat and Cheese, salad, Crackers
(D)Italian Lentils, Salad
(S)Hummus and Carrot Sticks

Wednesday:
(B)Chocolate Waffles and Strawberries
(L)Italian Lentil Leftovers and Salad
(D)Pot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions and Celery
(S)Tortilla Chips, Salsa and Guacamole

Thursday:
(B)Pumpkin Pie, Toast
(L)Hot Dogs, Veggie Sticks,
(D)Maple Glazed Salmon, Rice and Broccoli
(S)Cheese Tortillas

Friday:
(B) Hashbrowns and Eggs
(L)Panini’s with Lunchmeat and Cheese, Veggie Sticks
(D)Mexican Night
(S)Apples and Peanut Butter

Saturday:
(B)Zucchini Bread and Protein Shakes
(L)Grilled Cheese, Veggie Sticks (Girls and I: Out with Friends)
(D)Homemade Pizza
(S)Hummus and Carrots

Sunday:
(B)Baked French Toast
(L)Panini’s with Lunchmeat and Cheese, Salad
(D)Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Green Beans
(S)Tortilla Chips, Salsa and Guacamole

One addendum, I will be having eggs and grapefruit every morning and big salad with beans or salmon for my daily lunch. As much as I love baked oatmeal and pancakes and stuff like that I just can not have that many carbs in the morning and still function.

Make sure to stop by I’m an Organizing Junkie for more Meal Plan Monday posts and inspiration!