a new discovery.

Here we are, on day 4 of clean eating. I miss chocolate. I have been trying to come up with some way to get it while still obeying the "foods to include list" Unsweetened cocoa powder is acceptable, and so is raw chocolate (no dairy, no sugar). We discovered a fun little natural foods store in Neenah called The Red Radish. But they were sold out of raw chocolate. I don't even know what it tastes like, but I know I want it.
I managed to come up with a delicious shake, but it involves one cheat... Bananas. (I figured if I'm going to eat something I'm not supposed to, a banana is probably not the worst choice. Right??)
So here you have it:
1/2 cup of organic rice milk
4-5 ice cubes
1 banana
3 spoons of almond butter
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
Stevia, to taste

i have a feeling that almond butter and I are going to be spending a lot more time together. I had never had it before! I mean, its no peanut butter, but it works! Unfortunately, I could only find one kind and its about 3 times more expensive than a jar of peanut butter and half the size...
Good thing this is only for 3 weeks, right Brenton? ;)

Unfortunately I have no before, during, or after pictures. I drank it pretty fast I guess.

In other news, this is what a really good daddy looks like:

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clean eating.

Does anyone else feel like it's hard to figure out what to eat these days? One article says, it's good for you, another one says it's not, blah blah blah. Back in February, I came across a blog post done by a mama of three, who tried a 3 week detox program. After much reading and recipe hunting (and doubting), I finally decided to try clean eating. It seems the most logical to me so I bought the book Clean by Dr. Alejandro Junger. I have read most of it, and I must say, even though he has some great pointers, I can't say I recommend the whole book (Organic clothes? Really? I'm sorry, not in this house...) But, he focuses primarily on what we eat, and here's the basic principal of the program: We need to get our bodies out of our current toxic state. Because of the way food is made now, we have built up toxins in our bodies that are linked to the poor health conditions in our country. If we give our bodies time to recover but omitting these things from our diet for 21 days, we can have a fresh start and will, apparently, feel younger, more energetic, and overall "clean". One thing he has said, that has stuck with me, is that A person who is in a toxic state craves toxic things, and vice versa...
Now, for me, this is mostly just an experiment. Something to work towards, another way to practice discipline, a challenge, etc... And hopefully I can swap some of my eating habits for better ones. But for some people, this program could seemingly be life changing! There were many shocking testimonials throughout the book!

I'm on day three. And I have already considered quitting. What was I thinking. Why am I doing this.
No dairy, no caffeine, no chocolate, no refined sugar or flour, no bread, no gluten, no eggs, no red meat, no potatoes, no tap water, no soy, no peanut butter/peanuts. Ouch.
So that leaves.... fruits and vegetables, herb tea, purified/distilled water, nuts and flax seed, chicken, fish, quinoa, brown rice, olive oil and spices, etc...
At first, I thought, so that leaves stir fry, salad without dressing, and fruits and vegetables. Hmph.
However, I have been quite impressed with Pinterest and some of you bloggers out there! This concept of clean eating has become so big, and it's not hard at all to find a variety of creative recipes using just a few ingredients! Again, I'm only on day three, so there's much more experimenting to be done, but I'll continue to document and am happy to share what I'm learn along the way. 
{forgive me if i quit and leave you hangin'}

This morning's breakfast: Quinoa, cinnamon, stevia (a natural sugar substitute), slivered almonds, and blueberries.

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what kind of couple will you be?

Lately, I have been spending some extra time making sure I have my priorities in order. I started noticing that I became, naturally, drawn to baby everything. And it's great to love your babies, but God has used many other lovelies in my life to encourage me as I sought to find balance again. By God's grace I am finally feeling settled. There is nothing better than being intentional with your time, realizing that the only reason you woke up this morning is because GOD gave you another day. At least for now, I have learned to set aside specific times for Brenton and for Madeline, for friends and family, and for my own hobbies, interests, exercise, etc...  I am certain there are ups and downs from here on out, but right now, I can only see ups and for that, I am thankful.

A conversation Brenton and I have been having a lot lately is as follows, "What kind of couple will we be?" I share this with you, because it has been really neat for our marriage to dream up all kinds of things we want for our future. We've talked about dream jobs, possibly going into the missions field for a short time, having more kids, vacations, hobbies that we can't afford now but hopefully some day, short term and long term goals, etc.. Some things serious, some things lighthearted. We've also talked about coming up with a family mission statement. Something we as a family are working towards or striving to be. And when we decide on what that will be, I will find some sort of Pinterest craft to make it into and it will be hung/painted/written somewhere in our home.

So couples, this one's for you. Take your best friend, go out for coffee/tea/hot chocolate or whatever, and talk about what kind of couple you will be!

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family dates.

People often ask if we even remember what we used to do before we had Madeline. To be honest, I often have to think about it at first (she is 8 months old already!! What the heck!?). But before long I remember going out for half off apps at Applebees after 10pm, hanging out with our college friends, late night shopping trips, discing, bike rides, staying up late to watch every single episode of The Office, going on our cruise and to Disney World etc... Even though we weren't married for very long before baby C decided to come along for the ride, we have so many great memories as newlyweds.
So today, I'm here to say that it doesn't have to end just because a new member joins the family! Brenton and I both love people and more often than not, would rather be out doing something, so we have learned how to enjoy life WITH a baby, car seat, diaper bag, pack n play, etc... Haha - It sounds way worse than it is. The worst part, for me, is the planning ahead part. But it CAN be done! I call these family dates. Just yesterday for example, after getting all packed up, we went out for frozen yogurt at Cherry Berry and stopped at Kohls (where I found myself  drowning in a bazillion racks labeled 80%. off..... not a good place to be....)
 **I am quite positive that things will change as our family grows, but for now, we love our family dates. :)

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book review: the new eve.

I'm going to expose a little of my nerdy side today. In other words, I'm going to ramble and share a light overview of this fantastic book that I recently/finally finished!

Robert Lewis (yes a man!) writes a fantastic book about how God calls women to live in a culture that has changed so much over the past century. He begins by talking about how we have freedom to do just about anything we want now - we can be stay at home moms, stay single or get married, move up in our careers, etc... but we have to be wise about what we choose based on God's calling for each of our lives.
The path we choose in life depends on our worldview which is the "packaged past". He says "your worldview colors everything around you, including the way you experience life and perceive the reality around you." It also influences your plans and goals. We carry the lifestyle we grew up in, even though it might not be right or the best, but it's what we're most comfortable with. In this book, he challenges women to think beyond what's comfortable in order to start thinking about what lines up with God's plan for us.

The concept the of New Eve is that women can 5 make bold moves (that may not line up with what society suggests) in order to live out God's calling...  

1. Live from the inside out - which means be careful about how we allow the world to influence us

2. Adopt a biblical definition of womanhood - "A real woman embraces God's core callings, chooses wisely, lives courageously, and expects God's greater reward"

3. Embrace a big-picture perspective on life

4. Live with the end in mind - keep an eternal perspective

5. Use wisdom with a man

 The book goes into detail on each of these "bold moves" and includes lots of supporting Scripture. 

I was very impressed! Check it out!

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