Today is the last day of the Indian Summer we have been having. I will be spending it outside with my children. I love the Fall with the changing leaves and crisp cool air. It is always such a welcome relief from the heat of the summer. The next three months are filled with the best holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

There will be no worrying about diets and body issues today. Just having a great day with my family is all that's important.

I hope you have a great day with your family too!

Blessings,

Christy

Day 1-Success

Well, Day 1 went better than expected. I weighed in at 133.5 (I'm 5'5"). I started the day with two big glasses of water. I had about 24 oz green juice at 11:00 then worked out at the gym. I did have a salad this evening, so no juice fast for me this time. :( I do feel lighter and will have some herbal tea soon. I will probably make the tea with nettles and dandelion and maybe some chamomile. Yum!

As far as organizing goes, well, not so much today. I did stay up late last night getting my kitchen organized and super clean so I will work on something else tonight.

This isn't easy, especially when you have other responsibilities. Being a mom can be demanding but we need to love ourselves and take care of ourselves so that we have something to give to our family. Our children want parents that are happy and healthy. That's always my goal.

Blessings,
Christy

Getting With The Program........

Okay. I"m not happy. Don't get me wrong. I 'm grateful for all that I have. A great husband, amazing children, a nice home with a fantastic view............What I'm talking about is my ass. I don't like it. It's Too big or better yet it's not in the shape I would like it to be. Why? I ask myself.

I'm realistic about this butt thing. I mean, I'm 38, have FIVE kids, and have limited time to myself.  I eat 80% raw, sometimes more. It's what I eat the other percentage of time that's getting me. Lots of sugar, too many calories, and not enough cardio lately.

I would like to lose about 7 pounds and get the backside a little tighter  (okay, a lot tighter). I also want to feel lighter and more energetic. I need some accountability though. So that's where you Mr. blog comes in. I am officially (starting tomorrow) gettin with the program! I need to detoxify, clean up my food choices and move my  bee-hind a whole lot more. Maybe even start running again (definitely some kick-your-ass spin classes). I have to do this. I will do this. I'M DOING IT!!!

I am going to weigh in at the gym tomorrow and post it here along with my food intake. I may start with a 3 day juice fast to get me going strong. I'm considering a picture too, although the idea kind of freaks me out. That probably means I should really do it. Face your fears, right?

Another thing that I wanted to mention was the ElixirCraft Mastery Course by Daniel Vitalis that I recently completed. I learned so much from the course. It was fantastic and highly recommended! But the thing that has really stuck in my mind is what he said about having a clean organized area for food prep, only having things that you like ( that mean somthing to you) and how making food and elixirs is his art. I want it to be my art. I need so bad to get rid of stuff. My home is making me a nervous wreck right now. We just downsized homes and I see that we have too much. Too much of everything. I know this is holding me back in my healthiness also. I used to be a neat freak, close to obssessive but lately with our move and homeschool and the stuff, well, I'm almost paralyzed. It's totally over-whelming. Does anyone know what I'm saying?

This all ties together with my wanting to get back on track. I'm waayyyy off track. I'm an emotional eater, so all this stress lately has led me to make poor food choices and it just snowballs, ya know? Well, the snowball has hit a wall. I'm truly ready to make some much needed changes. While I'm detoxing my body, I'm detoxing my home too. I really believe your environment is crucial to your success for being on a path to health.  This isn't going to be easy, but I'm going to do it.

I'll be back tomorrow for my first day report.

Blessings,
Christy

Have a Hug and a Smile!

We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth. -Virginia Satir


I was submitting a couple of articles today for rawmom.com and therawdivas.com. I send them to an awesome lady named Aran. I've never met her in person but we correspond through cyberspace. Aran is in charge of getting all the articles sorted out for Tera. She is the kind of person that always seems kind, caring and positive. All of her emails include her signature *hug*.

Today, after she received my articles she asked how I was doing. Well, you know how sometimes you say "I'm  fine" even when your not?  We don't like to burden people with our problems do we? I felt compelled to email  her back and tell her about my week of sick kids and no sleep. She emailed me right back with some warm words and many *hugs*. I know it's only in an email, but I really felt it. I needed it. Thank you Aran!

I thought about how important it is to give and receive hugs. We are definitely a hug deficient world, aren't we? There is a video on youtube that came out a few years ago about a guy named Juan Mann who made a sign that said FREE HUGS. He stood out on a busy street and was ready to give FREE HUGS to all that consented. It is painful to watch at first because so many people just pass him by. Finally, a little old lady stops and he gets down on his knees and they hug. It makes you smile. It's what the world needs, Less fighting and more hugging.


Now go hug someone!

*HUGS*
Christy

Enjoy the FREE HUG video!

There are hundreds of paths up a mountain,

all leading in the same direction,

so it doesn't matter which path you take.

The only one wasting time is the one

who runs around and around the mountain,

telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.

-Hindu Teaching