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Saturday, February 15, 2014

Family Day


So Ryan instituted this thing called Family Day, where I have NO commitments and we get out of the house and do fun things.

Today we drive around Bainbridge Island and looked at all the huge, gorgeous houses. 

Then we went for a rain soaked walk at Fort Warden.


Finally, Blackbird Cafe for hot chocolate, lattes and elk cookies. (Thanks, Arbonne for letting me treat my family!)





Then we went to Churchyard teas & yarn (where we ignored all the yarn), to look at their loose-leaf teas. The clerk gave us a generous sample of the rooibos mango, and we bought a small thing of ginger rooibos. 

Since Ryan and I are seriously cutting back on coffee, tea's become our thing. 

Little miss decided to take a turn driving. Backseat driving just wasn't good enough.




We'll go home and have some delicious quateel (Thai chicken noodle soup.) And you should be jealous! It's one of my fave meals ever. 



Yep. I make my kids eat weird things.

After folding tons of laundry, and putting the girls to bed, Ryan and I will play games. 

Last night, we watched Monuments Men, and I highly recommend! The house was packed. We got free readmittance tickets because one of the employees was super rude to us on the phone when we were asking about showtimes. So now we can see another movie! :)



Last night, we attempted to get a good shot of the girls togerther for Valentine's day. I'll let you be the judge of how well that went:


We got a few OK ones ....




This weekend has been a welcome relief from, well, from this ...



Just keepin' it real, y'all. 

What fun things do you do with your families?

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ever wonder what a detox bootcamp is?



"So, let me get this straight. You're thin . . . and you want to go on a diet?"

"If you don't eat dairy, wheat, gluten, alcohol, coffee, different fruits, processed foods, white anything . . . um . . . what DO you eat?"

"Why is it called a detox?"

"So, are you not eating any REAL food? Are you filling your body with artificial supplements?"

"Are you  supposed to eat this way forever? And if not, what's the difference between this and a diet?"

All perfectly valid questions. And I'm happy you asked. (Aren't you?)

I like to call this detox a BOOTCAMP. Here's why:

When you go to bootcamp, it's meant to be for a season. You take away distractions from your focus. You surround yourself with people who are like-minded. Every day, discipline and regulations are pounded into you until they become second nature. You are out of your comfort zone, and only then, can you change. You break free from relying on others for your emotional health, and learn to rely more on yourself. You forego some rights, but for the greater good. You take the good habits, the discipline, you learned at camp and you begin to apply them to help you achieve your goals.

In short, it's a season of intense training to help you develop HABITS that will help you become successful in the future.

And that's exactly what this detox bootcamp does.

It is meant to be for a season (1-2 months). You take away the food that could be potentially allergenic, cause inflammation, cause blood-sugar spikes, or overall is simply not healthy to your body.

By joining our Facebook group, you are surrounded by 50+ people who are working toward the same health goals you are. You encourage each other, and admit to them when you are having a hard time.

Every day of the detox, you learn discipline. Every time you say "no" to an unhealthy snack, or a craving that you really don't need, you learn how often you used to say "yes" to those things. Constant repetition in a short amount of time really settles in the discipline. Toward the end, you become more addicted to how you FEEL when you are eating clean, than you are to all those unhealthy cravings.

You are out of your comfort zone. Only when we challenge what we believe to be true about our food -- only when we do our due diligence -- do we find that we really can change and WANT to change.

You break free from relying on coffee (ME! ME! ME!) for your emotional health. (or soda. or sugar. or cake. or bread. or wine.) You realize that instead of buying a Starbucks to feel better, you can buy yourself a $5 bouquet of flowers. You can write someone you love a letter. You can give yourself 15 minutes extra time to read a book you enjoy. You learn that,



You forego some food. Yep, it's hard. When I go to someone's house for a party, it's hard to turn down a cup of coffee or glass of wine. It's hard to forego the cake and ice cream. Like I said in my previous post, this isn't a namby-pamby detox. But -- it IS worth it. And that my friends, is what really takes the cake.

You take the good habits, all the know-how you've learned, the clean-eating recipes and tips, and you start applying them to your real life. We recommend the 80/20 principle. 80% of the time, eat whole clean foods, just like you did on the detox. 20% of the time, splurge a little and enjoy life.

In short, it's a season of intense training to help you develop HABITS that will help you become healthy now and in the future.

So now to address a few of your questions:

- Yep, I'm thin. Thin doesn't always mean HEALTHY. And I still have toxins and extra fat to lose. Eating clean will not be detrimental to my health in anyway. And I'm thankful to lose a little bit of weight, because well, I had it to lose. ;)

- It's called a detox because you are working on two things: limiting the amount of toxins you are bringing INTO your body. And using Arbonne's detox tea, probiotics, and 7-day-cleanse to help flush out the toxins currently stored in your fat and gut.

- As for the real food, I think my previous post explains what I'm eating. But yes, there are these yummy delicious protein shakes that are FABULOUS and really help cut cravings. It uses pea protein, rice protein, and cranberry protein. And it's chalk-full of essential vitamins and minerals. A few other supplements we have are helpful as well. But that is what they are -- supplements. The focus is still on eating whole, healthy, clean foods.

If you still need a few more examples, here you go! (Try not get too hungry!)







-As I explained earlier in this post -- or maybe, that's what this whole post is about to begin with -- NO, you do not eat this way forever. Just MOSTLY forever. ;) We recommend slowly introducing all of the items you did not eat back into your diet, ONE AT A TIME, to see how you respond. Then you can be educated about what you choose to eat. For instance, last time I did this, I realized all processed meats give me reflux. Because I know that, I can choose to eat something knowing it would make me not feel well. Or I can just forego it, and my tummy will thank me.

If you are interested in joining me for the February detox bootcamp, I'd love to have you. Email me at renyeart@gmail.com, and I'll send you all the info.

And wherever you are on your journey, I hope you find some wisdom in one VERY important last piece of advice:

Saturday, January 18, 2014

28-day detox -- so, what DO you eat?

I wish I could give you the laundry list of everything I'm cutting out of my diet, and make it not look so hard.

I wish I could sugar-coat it.

(NO really. I want to cover it in sugar. And then add on some delicious bread, and maybe some cheese. And finish it off with chocolate cake with a vanilla breve to boot.)

Except I can't.

Not literally. Not figuratively.

If you are looking for namby-pamby, easy-breeze, no sacrifice required, shed pounds without even blinking kind of diet -- this is NOT the detox for you.


So. Let's just get it out there. What I'm not eating.

-Sugar or honey
-Dairy
-Wheat, or gluten of any kind
-Coffee or other caffeinated beverages besides green tea/fizz sticks
-All fruits EXCEPT green apples and berries
-Alcohol
-Soy
-Anything refined or "white"
-Artificial anything -- dyes, flavorings, etc.

It doesn't take long to go down this list and realize that what is  typical in American diet does NOT make the cut.

So . . . what the heck have I been eating anyway???

Roasted cauliflower and brussell sprouts, with garlicky green beans,
and cilantro-lime brown rice.


Avocado lime chicken salad. Yumm!
A breakfast shake alternative. Brown rice farina (think "cream of wheat")
with mixed berries and coconut cream.
Easy and delicious vegetable soup, seasoned with fresh sage.
Baked green apples with pecans, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia and a sprinkle of vanilla.


And has all this been delicious?

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year's Resolution... And it's not what you think

I'm a business woman. I'm a mom going through an adoption. I'm a baby-obsessed, ttc woman. I'm committed to leading a healthy life.

As I thought of my new years resolution, some of the desires of my heart came to mind:

-promote to RVP and earn my Mercedes
-earn a trip to Los Cabos for my family
-complete the adoption for little miss
-have a healthy live baby from a healthy pregnancy
-cook more whole foods and begin exercising regularly
-write a book about our losses (or at least start it)
-spend more time reading the Bible and praying
-become a more patient, balanced mom

Except these are not my resolutions.

Goals? Of course. Desires? Absolutely.

But none of these are the one resolution that I can look back on when it's December 2014 and say... "I did exactly what I set out to do."

So what is that one thing?

Progress.

I resolve to make progress in 2014. To give up perfection. To refuse to hang my hat on a certain title, health status, bank statement, number in our family, or any other arbitrary circumstance I do not have full control over.

Instead, I am choosing to judge whether I have had a successful year on the the one thing I can control...

My dedication to growth.

I will not meet each goal perfectly this year. Perhaps I will promote. Perhaps not.

But what is NOT questionable is that I commit to the mindset, the activity and the personal growth that is required of me for my business to thrive.

I am going to choose to grow in my attitude and activity.

I may not perfectly balance Arbonne, family, MEND, blogging, church and friendships. But I will focus on making progress in the way that I book my schedule. Learning to say no, learning to give myself retreat.

Every desire has a few areas that I can work on.

I know that progression sometimes necessitates regression.

For example, as I have gone through grief, there were times I felt lost in emotion, as though the loss just happened. And at different times, it make take a few hours, days, weeks or months to realize I HAVE made progress overall... Even if there were plenty of times I had regressed.

My journey through 2014 might be also fraught with regression. It might also be fraught with new losses, frustrations, or sickness. It may be full of blessings and victories. Or a solid handful of each.

I do not have absolute control over any of those things. But there is one thing I can control.

Progress.

No matter what this year brings, I choose to grow

P.S. The adoption is pretty much a done deal at this point. We are so close to the end, that making progress in this area is simply following through on the last few steps left to make little miss officially a Lewis. :)