life is worth living

Confession... I haven't thought about A Beautiful Mess at all in the last week. Not beyond the passing thought of "I should probably sit down for an update." It's not  for a lack of post ideas- I've got those coming out my ears. These past couple weeks, instead of being glued to my computer screen for hours a day, I've been out living life. And it's been wonderful. In fact, I wouldn't change it for the world.

So instead of blogging I've been spending lots of time out here:

Doing lots of this:

Gettin my tan on (with suncscreen!)

Playing with this adorable duo

Eating lots and lots (and lots!) of these:

Those are fresh from our garden I might add :O) The mass amounts of strawberries, pineapple, apples, watermelon and veggies I've been consuming are not, however, they are deeelicious :O)

I've been helping out my momma with her garden and flowers

Spending lots of time with the momma

Isn't she perrrty? Plus she's my official gym buddy now :O) Workouts are so much more fun with someone else there, even if we don't usually do our workouts side by side.

I've spent lots of time sweatin it out on this:

  Source

And lifting lots of these:

Source

And spending incredibly large amounts of time goofing off with this little monkey (aka my sister)

There have also been copious amounts of hiking, running, sweatin it out with the trainer, eating, guzzling water & ice tea like there's no tomorrow, laughing, and drinking vino. To me, this is what summer is supposed to be like: living, laughing, and having fun. So while this means irregular blog posts, it's all worth it. The blog will still be here when I have time to update. My Google Reader will still be full when I get around to it. I'm finally in a place where I am happy and confident enough to enjoy my life, and I'm not going to take this time for granted. Right now, I'm off to hang out with my siblings and spend some time out in the garden before likely ending up doing the same thing in the last picture :O) I hope that you are off enjoying your summer as well! Happy Friday :O)

New Loves

So I'm having one of those days where I just need a reminder of all the good things that I have in my life. I've been feeling kind of "off" today and like my cold that rendered me voiceless two weeks ago is coming back, blech. As I was thinking about what to blog about today while simultaneously trying to come up with something for dinner (barbecued chicken and bean salad it was!), I was thinking about how there are many things that I absolutely ADORE now, that I didn't pre-healthy. So here, in completely random (ie: however they pop into my brain) order, are things that I absolutely love right now.

My puppies.... oh wait, I've always loved them

so I suppose that doesn't count :O)

But really, who couldn't use a little more adorable puppy???

And yes, I did buy them Snuggies for Christmas :O)

1. Protein Powder (This is the brand I'm using right now)

Before, I haaaated protein shakes and would never eat them 

Now... I drink at least one a day, and use the powder in

everything imaginable.

 source

2. Fish- Gotta love Costco's jumbo pack!

Before- I said I hated all seafood

Now- I adore fish and try to eat it 1-2 times a week. I enjoy a 

variety of seafood (that I've tried) except...

Shrimp... bleck!! It's a texture thing

source

3. Trying new recipes- even interesting ones like "sweet potato

pancake with strawberries" (pictured) from Healthy Tipping Point

Before- I stuck to the same old boring recipes out of fear

of trying something new in case it wasn't healthy enough

Now- I love trying new recipes! They are all from amazing

blogs on healthy eating, or from cookbooks I love.

I know so much more about what's good for me now, that I'm

more confident in cooking with those yummy nutritious foods

3. Hiking

Before- I wasn't in good enough shape to go on long hikes,

especially not in the heat.

Now- I do it almost every weekend, and it's a breeze.

In fact, I've decided to take up trail running and will hit up

these same hiking trails this summer for running instead

of walking :O)

4. Water- This is my adorable pink waterbottle that I am never without.

Before- I rarely drank water, preferred beverage of choice

was Diet Pepsi

Now- I drink at least 16- 8 oz. glasses a day and haven't had Diet Pepsi 

in months... in fact I think it tastes yucky now.

5. Bread- I am in loooove with Ezekiel bread these days!

Before- Years of low-carbing it had ingrained in my brain

that bread was the devil and to be avoided at all costs

Now- I eat Ezekiel bread as part of my daily amounts of healthy

whole grains. I also eat cream of wheat, oats, and some crackers.

I'm not scared of bread anymore! Welcome back toast :O) I've missed you!

6. My Protein Shaker (From GNC in case you're wondering)

This thing has become a staple in my life now that I workout at 5:30 a.m.

I would be lost without it, perfect for toting protein shakes anywhere.

The blendy-ball (really scientific name!) makes sure there are no nasty

protein chunks (ew) and it's not a HUGE shaker either which I love.

7. Clif Bars- Especially in the carrot cake flavor... YUM!!

Before- I never would have eaten anything with this many calories in it

Now- I use it for a quick snack when I need something to get me through

between meals. I adore them!

8. Super cute workout clothes (sorry no pics... it's laundry day)

Before- I worked out in baggy men's t-shirts and black cap

Now- I love wearing cute t-shirts and tank tops and more form

fitting things. Plus I've found it helps me move better during a workout.

And great motivation too :O)

9. Exercising- It sounds simple, but it's taken me a long time to enjoy

working out. 

Before- I worked out so I could eat more and because I hated my body

Now- I work out because it keeps me sane, and helps me feel at peace with myself.

Plus, I love doing something that's good for me, and I'm addicted

to the endorphins :O)

10. Vegetables- cauliflower and bell peppers are my faves :O)

Before- I didn't mind veggies, but rarely ate them, usually doused in ranch

Now- My favorite way to eat them is raw, sometimes with hummus. 

I eat at least 4 servings a day and really enjoy it. In fact, when

I don't eat enough, I start to crave them!

11. Running- I NEVER EVER thought I would say that I loved to run.

As a child, I haaaated it and avoided it at all costs. About 3 months, I decided to

give it a shot and I can't get enough of it now. It's my favorite way to do 

cardio.

It makes me feel strong, and confident, like I can do anything if I just keep running.

There are many more things that I love now but my stuffy nose is getting the best of me, and I'm just about relaxed enough to fall asleep. This was the perfect way to end a very busy day. Night bloggies :O)

Celebrations

Today was one of those days where ideal met reality. It wasn't a pleasant meeting for either party. It was one of those long, stress-filled, never ending, just kinda cruddy days. Nothing really bad or major happened but I was just stressed, tired, and off all day; the kind of day that affects my eating. I'm coming off of a really good streak of healthy, organic eating so I should have been on the look out for this. It happens all the time, I eat perfect for a few days and then I self-sabotage with a day of junk. It drives me crazy because I feel like I can't stop the cycle even though I know I'm doing it, even while I'm eating what I shouldn't be. I've made major progress in that area, I hardly ever self- sabotage anymore or I do it in really tiny ways which is nice to see, but it still severely irritates me when I screw up my diet. Today it was red licorice and tootsie rolls. It wasn't a huge "binge" but it was enough to stress me out even more and make me feel like I failed my eating for the day, ugh.

In the midst of it though, there is a small victory... I didn't let that bad event earlier in the day derail my eating for the remainder of the day. Usually, once I've had one bad thing, I throw in the towel and eat crap for the rest of the day because I feel like my diet is already ruined. Not today! I had eaten perfectly healthy until mid-afternoon and once I got off work, I went right back to it. Part of getting healthy and fit for me is getting mentally and psychologically healthy and fit. For me that means not being so negative and hard on myself and this was a great learning experience in that area. All afternoon , I beat myself up over those 280 calories and how I would be over my daily limit but as soon as I stopped and really thought about it, 280 calories really isn't that much and so I'm trying to let it go and not stress about it. Now at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a huge deal whereas usually I would be beating myself up for it clear until tomorrow.

Today was also my baby brother's 16th birthday :O) It was just the fam which was nice. The brother requested breakfast for dinner: biscuits, corned beef hash, bacon, fried eggs, & juice (he can eat all of this because he's 16 with the metabolism of a freight train, lucky kid!). Since none of that is within any sort of reachable range of my healthy eating goals, I used the time instead to make up a big double batch of protein loaded cottage cheese oatmeal pancakes (sounds gross but they are amazing!). I'll have to post the recipe sometime soon. I made up one large one for me and just had the one (usually its two) with almond butter and sugar free syrup plus some of the fruit salad my mom made to go with the fam's dinner. Afterwards they had angel food cake, strawberries (fresh but soaked in sugar) and spray whip cream. I am proud to say that I had just a bite of angel food cake and a spoon fool of strawberries and whip cream and I was fine. Beyond that, it didn't really taste that good and I realized I wasn't missing anything by eating it. I was really proud of myself for making positive choices throughout the remainder of the day and not feeling deprived by it.

But my question is, what should I do at family celebration events? Is it easier to just skip desert altogether, try (and usually fail) to have just one bite, or deem it a special event and go all out? I'm really not sure. Right now for me, it's better to just skip it, because there's no having just one bite no matter what  I tell myself. What are some alternate ways to celebrate or partake in the activities? My hardest time is at large extended family gatherings (which we have frequently) where nobody brings anything healthy. It's another struggle in the battle to find the middle, somewhere between going all out and refusing it all. I'm still feeling out what that looks like but please let me know if you've got it figured out :O)