PARENTHOOD & FRIENDSHIP

First off, in case your wondering, I'm not pregnant nor am I close to getting pregnant.  This is just a blog about my take on parenthood and how that effects frienships.  There is a connection. 

Last night, I was talking to a good friend of mine about bad and good parents.  As a single person with no kids, I know some of you parents out there are probably thinking, "Well, you don't know what it's like and you shouldn't have any say in this."  True.  I don't know what it is like to be a parent, but I do know what it's like to watch your child being out of control, rude and disobedient.  It is quite miserable to watch actually. 

I've been thinking about this topic since my trip to Colorado last week.  I went to visit a dear college friend and she has the cutest and most adorable son EVER.  I watched this barely one year old boy be so happy about the little things and obey when his mommy tells him not to touch certain things.  When the T.V. is on, he doesn't just stare at it, but rather he has absolutely no interest in it and continues to play with his toys.  Overall, he's a happy baby and barely cries.  I've experienced this with a lot of my college friends children.  I've watched my friends parent with authority and love and have watched how their kids are growing up with respect and obedience.  Of course, there are those days, but that's just the nature of being human and being a kid!  :) 

On the other hand, I've known friends who spoil their child rotten because their mentality is "they are still learning and does not know better."  They buy them things when they don't deserve it, they are at their beckon call when they throw a tantrum.  They don't discpline them with authority when they misbehave. Children knows and no matter how young they are, they need to be taught right and wrong.   As an outsider, it has been hard to watch.  I don't feel like I have a voice to say anything because I don't have any kids.  But to be quite honest, as an observer, I do have a lot to say.  It doesn't take only a parent to understand that your child is misbehaving.  EVERYONE SEES IT!  Sadly enough, this has drew me away from hanging out with my friends. 

So, to all my college friends who are parents, I've watched your kids grow up these last few years and I want to applause you for standing strong and for teaching your kids well.  Believe it or not, I've learned a lot from listening to your stories and struggles with parenting.  I truly appreciate your dedication to raising your children to be respectful, loving and obedient toward others and most of all, toward God.  I love each of your kiddos very much and now I know who to turn to when it's my turn.  Thanks for being such great examples! 

I have so much that I want to share, but this is my best attempt to keep it at a level before I start a war.  :)  What are your thoughts on this? 

DETOX DAY 16-19

Well, the last couple of days has been very uneventful when it comes to my detox.  I'm eating basically the same things and doing the same exercise with the exception of water aerobics that I'm taking Saturday mornings.  I'm the youngest one there.  :)  I cannot believe that I'm almost done.  Just 2 more days and I'm done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been researching healthy recipes for my post-detox days.  I'm going to stretch this out as long as I can.  There are so many websites out there which is good and bad all at the same time.  Once I settle one on, I will let you know!  

Yesterday, I made my own chicken broth from a chicken carcass.  After draining out all the bones, I cut up carrots, zucchinis, tomatoes, onions, and kale and threw it all in.  It was delicious!  I really love homemade chicken broth.  It taste so much better than store bought, even if it says "organic." All you have to do is:

• Put the carcass in a pot and cover it with water.  
• Add a bit of thyme and a couple of bay leaves.  
• Cut up a whole onion and add a couple cups of carrots.
• Let it cook/simmer for as long as you can (I let it simmer for about 5 hours).  
• Drain out everything (bones, veggies).  Let it cool and refrigerate overnight.  
• Next day, take brother out of fridge and scrap off the fat that's floating at the top.  
• Add veggies and bring broth to a boil.  Then it's ready for you to enjoy!  Season with salt and pepper to your preference.

In case you're wondering where I got the carcass, I bought three rotisserie chicken, cut off the meat and saved them to use for my salad or you can also add it back to your soup.  For $6 per chicken, you get a few days or even a week's worth of meat for sandwiches or salads, plus several cups of homemade broth.  Not too shabby.  

DETOX DAY 14 + 15

Weight:  I've decided not to weigh myself anymore.  I feel disappointed when I don't see a change in weight.  I get upset when it goes up.  So, for my sanity, I'm not going to weigh myself for a few days. 

Day 14:

Food intake:  

• Breakfast: Berries, banana, and 1/2 cup of pure tangerine juice shake
• Lunch: Wild salmon and 1/2 of a sweet potato
• Snack: None
• Dinner:  Spaghetti squash with roasted tomatoes and zucchini (for recipe, click here) 1.5 plate of salad with a chicken

Exercise:  Lots of laughter with Christina.  

Day 15:

Food intake:

• Breakfast: Berries, banana, and 1/2 cup of pure watermelon juice shake (this is the best shake recipe yet!)
• Lunch: HUGE plate of salad w/chicken
• Snack: Breakfast: Berries, banana, and 1/2 cup of pure watermelon juice shake
• Dinner:  Plate of salad w/chicken and small portion of leftover Spaghetti squash with roasted tomatoes and zucchini (click here for recipe)
• Snack:  A bowl of salad with carrots, a bite of chicken (I was so hungry at 10pm)

Exercise:  Speed walking and jog for 40 minutes

DETOX DAY 13

Weight loss/gain:   BIG FAT ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm kind of getting really frustrated.

Food intake: 

• Breakfast: Berries w/banana shake
• Lunch: Salad w/wild salmon and 1/2 of a Fuji apple
• Snack: Berries w/banana shake
• Dinner:  Wild salmon, steamed asparagus, 1/2 of a sweet potato

Exercise:  none.  :(

To spice up my eating routine, tomorrow night I will be making some yummy spaghetti squash with roasted tomatoes and zucchinis.  I AM SO EXCITED!!!!  I also have some Thai food and sweet potato chips with eggplant hummus on the list.  I will let you know how it taste!!!

DETOX DAY 12 + GOD + CHURCH

Weight loss/gain:  ZERO (Guess it's better than gaining!)

Food intake:  

• Breakfast: Berries w/banana shake
• Lunch: Salad w/wild salmon and 1/2 of a Fuji apple
• Snack: Berries w/banana shake
• Dinner:  Salad w/wild salmon, steamed asparagus, 1/2 of a sweet potato

Exercise: 35 minutes fast paced walk, cheering for Spain, and using my brain on tedious homework problems (does that count?)

I can do this.  I can do this.  I can do this.  I can do this.  I can do this.  

God + Church:  Well...I'm so overwhelmed with feelings, thoughts and questions. Not sure what do to with it all.  Just when I think I'm doing quite well, something happens and makes me confused.  Any good reads to recommend on this? Perhaps a podcast?  I think I need therapy.  So, any good therapist out there?!  Help!!!!

DETOX DAY 9, 10 + 11

Day 9:  When I stepped onto the scale that morning, the number that popped up baffled me.  I've eaten every possible vegetables and fruit that I could ever have imagined and followed the instructions carefully, yet, I gained 2-3 pounds?  Let me just say that I was quite disappointed.  It was so hard to bare this fact that I lost my appetite during the day.  I was quite depressed. This got me thinking how much I admire the people who are on "THE BIGGEST LOSER."  I'm here trying to just get healthier and eating right, but I am not in danger of having heart surgery or dying.  If I have this bit of an issue to deal with, I know that it must be so much harder for them. To all those who are dieting and trying to live a healthy lifestyle, KUDOS TO YOU!!!!

Day 10:  Well, lost 1.4 pounds from the weight that I've gained in the previous day.  I'm just glad that I'm losing weight instead of gaining.  

Day 11:  Lost about 0.4 pounds.  Another good day.  Who knew subtraction can be so much fun and rewarding?!  

This morning I went to  take a water aerobics class at the gym. Ummmmmm...yeah...IT KICKED MY BUTT!!!!  I was surrounded by the whole retirement community of Brea and they kicked my butt.  I love water aerobics because you get quite the workout but you don't feel hot or sweaty.  If you've never tried it, you should.  It's so fun!!!

Also, I've reached the half-way point of this detox and to celebrate, I can to add PROTEIN!!!!!  So, tonight I will be having wild baked salmon accompanied by a huge plate of salad with asparagus, green beans and 1/2 of a sweet potato.  I AM SO EXCITED!  

A MUST WATCH.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

DETOX DAY 7 & 8

One week down, two more to go!!!!!  AND two more days until I can have protein!!!  Woo hoo!!!!!

It's pretty amazing what a simple, yet hard, change in your diet can do to your energy level.  Within a week, I've noticed an incredible difference in my energy during the afternoon hours.  I'm actually NOT sleepy.  I feel quite awake.  Usually for lunch I'll have a sandwich, which consist of bread and meat, two things that I am currently not intaking.  I'm pretty amazed.  

DETOX DAY 6

It was a much better day today.  I forced myself to eat a lot of veggies yesterday and split my one shake into two.  I even went to the gym and was on the elliptical for 45 minutes!  

I've been thinking a lot lately how I'm going to change the way I eat after this detox.  I have to start eating better and more affordable.  I don't want it to be just a fad, but a total lifestyle change.  One day at a time....

DETOX DAY 4 + 5

First of all, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!!  Hope you're having a great day celebrating!

Yesterday marks the 4th day of my detox (www.standprocess.com).  I would have to say that it was the hardest day yet.  The shakes weren't enough and I lost my appetite to eat any more veggies.  I really wish we could have watermelon, but it's not on the list.  So I got mad at the list.  See what not eating what I want does to me?  I become cranky!  C-R-A-N-K-Y!!!!  I had some raw cucumbers and carrots for dinner and it was really hard for me to swallow down.  I wanted meat so badly.  By 11pm, I was starving, so I made some broccoli, which at this point in hunger I could pretty much consume anything and it would taste good.  Needless to say, I went to bed happy.

Today, is the 5th day of the detox.  I got out of bed and was totally dizzy.  So, I've made a decision that I would cheat a bit to help nourish my body.  If you know me, cheating is not an option, so even with this, I had to contemplate long and hard the consequences.  I even ended up telling myself that I can endure dizziness every time I stood up for the next 17 more days.  Then my senses would kick in and tell me, "Grace, you are dizzy because you are lacking the nutrients."  Senses wins.  :)  Well...who knew that adding a cup of soy milk to my shake would liven things up in my body!  In an instant I felt so much better.  It's weird how when you avoid things that your body needs for awhile, how quickly it absorbs it at the same time.

I know the detox is what I need to do.  I need to clean out my body of all its toxins.  I've already felt the pros of it...weight loss and more energy.  Boy, oh boy, it's hard to be disciplined when it comes to food.

I will get pass this.  Thanks for journeying with me.

DETOX DAY 3 + BEAUTY

For the whole day yesterday I thought about meat.  I started to plan out what I am going to eat once I'm off of this detox and the sad part is I still have 18 days left of this detox.  :(  I CAN DO THIS!!!!

I've discovered a delicious snack:  Kale Chips.  This is through the program that I'm doing the detox through, Standard Process.  I would never have thought that Kale would be so delicious!  It usually shows up on my plate as a garnishment, but with this recipe, I've been eating it like crazy. Not only is it delicious, it's also healthy and cheap!!!! Here's the recipe if you would like to try it:  

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Line a non-insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite-size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with Celtic Sea Salt^®. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

*If you like garlic, add that too!*

Beauty:  Just want to say that I'm very thankful for God's beautiful creation, especially with all the soccer players playing in the World Cup.  I'm just sayin'.  :)  

IT IS SO TRUE!!!!!

I love this blog called INDEXED.  The woman is brilliant!  This morning I had a good laugh over this postcard: 

I love the postcards she makes!  They are hilarious.  Check it out if you have a chance!  The website is:  http://thisisindexed.com/  Enjoy!

DETOX DAY 2

Today, I'm craving meat.  Lots and lots of meat.  Everything that I cannot eat has become more prominent in my head.  But it's going to get better. Right?!  

I have seen my moods change when I can't eat what I want.  I get a bit cranky.  I no longer can cover up my bad days with chocolates.  I can't just drive down the street to get my favorite burger.  I tend to let myself get to the point where I'm about to faint from hunger and then go make my smoothie.  This is a trick I do to myself to make the smoothie and all the yummy veggies look appetizing.  

I know I have to do this detox because I do not want all the toxins in my body. I also need to learn to eat better and this program totally teaches you to do so.  I hope this time I will keep it up and make it into a lifestyle.  I have a life to live and I don't want my unhealthy eating habits to get in the way. Plus I get to lose weight in the process!  I've lost 3 pounds between yesterday morning and this morning.  That in itself is worth going through the torture.  

Just two more days till I can add protein to my diet.  Oh protein...I love you!!!!!!