Chapter 35

Yep, this is my birthday week, and birthday weeks usually get me to thinking about where I have been, where I am at, and where I am going.

I have had some pretty awesome birthdays in my life. As a kid my mom always made sure our "day" was super special and celebrated all the things we loved. I was pretty spoiled on birthdays because even on Angela's and Jessica's birthday, I usually got my own cake! This, however, was not my mothers doing, but the lady who baked our cakes that we affectionately called Aunt Faye.

You probably remember my surprise 30th birthday celebration. That is one that will definitely go down in history as one of the most fun weekends ever! You can read about it here.
http://brookemorehead.blogspot.com/2011/03/im-gonna-be-mister.html

So where am I now with only 6 days left until I turn 35? This week at school we had a guest speaker, and he talked about how all of his life his father emphasized the importance of "being a man" and his progression of understanding what that meant in his life. He broke it down into three points calling, commitment, and contentment. His words really resonated with me.

We are all "called" to do something great! Great varies in size and shape and action from person to person, but we are still called to do something great. I know for myself that a lot ,if not most, of the time, I sit in park with my ignition on idle just accepting what comes my way and going with the flow. This is not all bad, but to do something great, I've got to get moving.

I have set BIG financial freedom goals for my family this year. I am taking as many small steps a day as possible to get there.  A commitment is an agreement that your heart and mind make to dedicate time and energy to doing something great! I am committed to being better today than I was yesterday in all aspects of my life. It is easier said than done because sometimes, today, kicks my ass!

I am content in know that even the things that seem small to me can make a great big difference to someone else like Wes or Harper. A smile, a hug, a simple encouragement can change someone's day.

So here's to being content in my commitment to doing great things in chapter 35 of my life. Cheers!

Until next time...

XOXOXOX

Clean Eating

You have probably heard of clean eating but might be wondering what exactly those two words mean or how to go about cleaning up your pantry and frig. Eating clean is about focusing more on the nutritious foods that come from the earth and less on the not so nutritious. This means embracing foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, plus healthy proteins and fats. You don't have to count calories or give up entire food groups. You simply cut back on unrefined grains, added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats. You fill your shopping cart with more foods from the outer isles of the grocery store than the inner isles.

I know what you saying, "that is great and all, but how do I do it?"

When you make your shopping list each week, select one or two items to switch with clean items. For example, if you need bread this week, make it a point to find "clean" bread (100% whole grain, no added sugar and identifiable ingredients such as whole wheat flour, salt and yeast). If you ran out of white rice, pick up a package of brown rice this week. It doesn’t have to be difficult to make the transition to clean foods—nor does it have to happen 100% overnight!  With this slow and steady approach, you don’t have to spend hours at the store reading labels either. Start small: You are also more likely to stick with it if you don’t shock yourself with a sudden change. (SparkPeople, Clean Eating 101)

So now that you have your refrigerator stocked, what are you going to eat? This used to happen to me all the time. I would go shopping and buy all of this food, but then go and grab something to eat at McDonalds. The most important thing you can do is create a meal plan BEFORE you go shopping. 

And then enjoy delicious foods like these that are clean and easy to make! 

Now you are thinking WONDERFUL, but how can I afford all of this? If you think about, you spend more money dining out than you do shopping and eating at home. Last week, Wes, Harper, and I ate out 2 times. The total was $110.00 for 2..TWO meals. Sunday we spent $112.00 at the grocery store for 6 meals a day for three people for 6 days. In my opinion, we can't afford not to eat like this. Here are some tips from sparkpeople.com (Clean Eating 101) to help keep your budget in check. 

• Look for in-store coupons. Coupons and sales flyers for your grocery store are more likely to highlight discounts on real food (like fruits, vegetables and unprocessed meats) rather than the coupons provided by food manufacturers, which only discount processed foods.

• Shop in bulk. Bulk items are often far more affordable than the packaged varieties. If your store offers bulk food bins, you also have the option to buy as little or as much as you want at a given time.

• Stock up on sales. When your store does have a sale on clean food staples such as meats or frozen vegetables, take advantage of that by stocking your freezer. It will save you money in the long run.

• Manage your food well. This is a big one. We throw away a ton of food in this country every day and it contributes to our food bills in a big way. Freeze cooked foods you know you won’t get to right away and don’t cook so much that you can’t eat it before it goes bad.

• Buy whole chickens. These go on sale regularly. Be sure you use the entire bird by making broth for soups with the portions you don't eat (bones, necks, backs, etc.). You can always freeze it if you can’t use it right away. Try these suggestions to get the most for your money out of a whole chicken.

Remember these simple rules and you will win at clean eating!

Until next time..

XOXOXOXO

The Knee

I remember it like it was yesterday. The sun was shining bright in the cloudless blue sky, the birds were chirping a lovely morning song, the air was filled with Harper's laughter. We were running after each other in a game of toddler chase, and then I felt it. A pull, a twist, a something completely uncomfortable. Ewww.. mommy hurt her knee, let's go inside!

The rest is history as they say! My knee did hurt on and off after that morning, but honestly, I didn't think that much about it. I thought it was just a pulled muscle or possibly just me being a baby. I am like, sometimes.

Until....

This past Saturday night, when I couldn't get up off the couch because my leg would not move. I could not straighten it out without feeling liking I was going to faint. I couldn't roll over in the bed. I couldn't walk to the bathroom. All of which led to me reluctantly visiting the ER Sunday morning.
Which led to an appointment with an orthopedic doctor, Thursday morning.

Everyone in the building was sure I had torn my meniscus. They were already signing me up for surgery and explaining how it was all going to go, but luckily that is not the case.  The MRI showed that I didn't tear anything. I just bruised my bone really badly. This caused fluid to build up around my knee. Because I was sitting with my knee bent on the couch, a pocket of fluid gathered there in a cyst formation, which bound the tendons and ligaments in the back of my knee causing the immobility until the fluid was able to move out.

According to MD-Health, Like most types of trauma, a bone bruise is characterized by pain and swelling. However, the pain involved in a bone bruise tends to be more severe and lasts longer than a soft tissue trauma. The swelling may be seen around the soft tissue surrounding the bone, such as the skin and muscles, and may be accompanied by discoloration. When a bone bruise is adjacent to a joint, blood and fluids can spread to the joint, causing it to swell.

A bone bruise may cause minimal damage to a bone which may be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but not by plain x-rays.

A knee brace and some anti inflammatory medication should have me back in business in two to six weeks. It is already a lot better and at least I can get around now because crutches are NOT for me!

Hopefully, this blog will not turn into a journal of my medical history, but rather it will be a fun and informational fitness and nutrition blog. I digress.

Until next time..

XOXOXOXO

The "C" word

Cancer is never a word anyone wants to hear no matter how common or curable. A few months ago, I noticed a certain place on my back was itching and burning more often than not. It was right above my pant line so for a while, I thought it was my pants rubbing a sore or something like that. 

It was in a spot I couldn't see by twisting in the mirror, so I had Wes take a picture of it with his cell phone one night in November or December. My first thought was hmmmmm.. itching, burning, pink spot, I better have this checked out. Especially, since just a few months prior, I had some moles removed that came back ok but showing signs of sun damage.

January 18, I went in and had a biopsy of the place, and sure enough the report was basal cell carcinoma, skin cancer. 

According to the American Cancer Society, basal cell carcinomas are the most common type of skin cancer, and approximately eight out of every 10 non-melanoma skin cancers will be basal cell carcinoma. These cancers develop within the basal cell layer of the skin - the lowest part of the epidermis.

This type of skin cancer tends to occur in areas of the skin that receive the most exposure to the sun, like the head and neck. Basal cell cancers usually grow slowly, and it is rare for them to spread, or metastasize, to nearby lymph nodes or even more distant parts of the body. However, this can occur if the cancer is left untreated, so early detection and treatment is important.

Basal cell cancers can also recur in the same place that the original cancer was found. Patients who have had basal cell carcinoma once have an increased risk of developing a new basal cell cancer elsewhere. Potentially as many as 50 percent of these patients will develop a new basal cell carcinoma within five years of the first diagnosis.

I am heading back to the doctor, Monday, February 8, to have another outpatient surgery to make sure that they remove everything that is there. I write all of this to say, pay attention to your skin. If you think something is "funny" or out of place, please get it checked. I did not wear sunscreen as a teenager, and I visited the tanning bed way to often as a young adult. Cancer is cancer, and it is ugly. 

Don't put off seeing your doctor. Early detection is SO important. 

Until next time..

XOXOXOXOXO