So...

So... if taking care of three kids and a Grandma, playing with the dog, cooking three meals, taking the kids to the park, cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, and making the bathroom squeaky clean is considered exercise-then I had a great workout today!

These Feet Were Made For Walking

This morning I sacrificed a few extra, precious moments of sleep to go for a walk.  This was a big deal because sleep usually wins out.  Hopefully, this small step will make the next step easier.  

Food: The Heart of the Matter

Food and I have an unhealthy relationship.  The desire for certain culinary delights often wins the battle over my acknowledgement that said delights come with unwanted side effects.  Sugar is like an abusive boyfriend I just can't seem to say goodbye to.  A romantic rendezvous with a bowl of butter pecan ice cream is likely to win out over the fear of extra pounds, lethargy and a racing heart.  

This is slowly changing though, as I have been purposeful in bringing food to my consciousness.  I have started reading "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford and have trouble putting it down.  It is helping me to define and organize the messages I have been hearing about nutrition and health the past few years.  I'm using this book as a tool to help me deal with some of my most pressing health concerns, e.g. weight, anxiety, hormonal imbalance, psoriasis, depression and fatigue.

After reading the first chapter, my first goal is to add foods to my diet that are rich in magnesium.  This is an important mineral for the proper absorption of calcium, which is vital for the prevention and treatment of many ailments.  Vitamins and minerals are best absorbed through food, as opposed to supplements, so my goal is to slowly add more nutrient dense foods to my shopping cart each week.  This week, I am going to focus on eating sprouted whole wheat bread and brown rice in place of regular whole wheat bread and white rice.

One step at a time.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."  Lao Tzu

Beginnings

I am on a journey, and this is my travel log.  My adventure started seven years ago when I suffered a severe electrical shock while working as a teacher in Guam.  My body, mind and heart have not been the same since.  My health and my heart had issues before this event, but this was a definite turning point in my life.  I've taken detours, made pit stops, taken steps both forward and back and find myself here today.  Where is here?  A junction in the road, two paths to choose from.  I can go left, a familiar path lined with old habits good and bad.  Or, I can choose to go right, into unfamiliar territory where the path is rugged and untamed.  It is a path that will require more work, more determination and more faith than the other, but it is the path I choose. God has slowly been leading me here, and I acknowledge His leading today and voice my desire to see where this path will ultimately lead.  So, here I go!