First Blog Entry of My Life!

Here we are!  It is an interesting place in which I find myself this evening.  You know that feeling where one chapter is coming to an end and you are not at all certain of what lies just ahead?  This current time in my everyday life reminds me of an afternoon spent exploring unknown roads this past September.  My 1st grade daughter and I had attended an apple farm field trip with my son's preschool class.  As we finished our lunch there, I could hardly wait to set off and explore a bit of that fragrant and scenic northwest corner of PA.  We came down this hill and paused for a moment to take it all in with a moment of reflection.  Then it was time to turn either right or left!  The road on which we had been traveling had come to an end.  


 

We turned right and eventually wound up coming across this beach that was brand new to us!  Although the swimming season had passed we were still savoring these last magical bits of my ideal weather.  Now that we find ourselves in the midst of a frigid February here in Erie, we all long for seasons past and yet to come!  Some days my little guy becomes rather distraught because we simply can not go swimming at the beach today!

 
As a mom and wife, I feel as though I spend quite a bit of time in my kitchen.  And I really do not mind.  Most days!  Anyways, the backyard view from my kitchen window is a pleasant one.  We moved into our home nearly four years ago and the large window above the sink/counter-top instantly caught my eye.  This cheerful nook is where I do some of my best thinking.  Usually with some favorite music turned up in the background!  So when I decided this evening that I would try my hand at blogging I was momentarily stumped when I needed to give this thing a title.  But given that so many of my ponderings take place while working near my kitchen window, that was the first thing that came to mind.  This blog is not unlike the photo of the unknown road above!  We'll see where this next chapter takes me!

 
Many who know me have been enthusiastically supporting me during the changes that I have made these past months!  Next week I will reach the 150 day mark.  Time for a new photo and charting of my progress with loss of inches and pounds!  In the meantime, here is a "before and after" that my coach (and sister!) Rachel had put together for me back in December.  I have always enjoyed cooking and taking care of my family.  We ate very few things from the "prepared foods" category.  Unfortunately, I had been maintaining an unhealthy weight that was about 35 pounds above where I had been in my pre-baby days.  Despite the fact that my kids were now ages six and four!  And in addition to the fact that I have been on the plump side for all of my adult life!!  Last summer I watched as my youngest sister Rachel began to make some excellent changes to her own lifestyle!  Soon Rachel had our entire family sampling some of her new "clean eating" recipes.  Some were great and others were like the sketchy black bean brownies that we were just not yet ready for last July!  Maybe they would taste better now, given that all of our palates have had several months of cleansing from the artificial foods that marked our former way of life?!?!  We'll see!  Anyways, Rachel was using a Beachbody workout called "Chalean Extreme" and had replaced one meal a day with Shakeology.  Clean eating had become her new normal.  The rest of our family was intrigued!  Rachel became a Beachbody coach and began putting together Facebook-based challenge groups.  I joined one that began September 16, 2013 and there is no going back to the way things used to be!  I still have a long ways to go but am definitely enjoying the journey!  Each new milestone feels like I have overcome something that I had doubted would ever change?  Who knows where this will lead?  I am thinking about becoming a Beachbody coach myself!  I will keep you posted on that possibility!

As I conclude my first ever blog entry, I wanted to include two scripture verses that I had read earlier this morning.  These thoughts have been the guardrails of my day today... 

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less.  That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.  You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right.  Then you can see God in the outside world." ~ Matthew 5:5,8 from "The Message" Bible