One Year Later

A lot can happen in one year! I can't believe i've neglected my little blog for that long! My last post was in the Fall (my favorite season!) of 2012 posting a delicious pumpkin bread recipe and now i'm back in the Fall of 2013 posting about one of our favorite soups.

But before I get to that I just want to say that I have missed this outlet! I have written here since 2008 and love to have a place to share things about my family, recipes, what we're up too and really anything that comes to mind. Which is a lot lately! ha!

I joined a health a fitness challenge this past Summer and made some new life long habits! I finally overcame something that has been SO hard for me for years! Dieting and calorie counting! I've done it for as long as I can remember. I am a busy mom and I would skip breakfast and just drink coffee, maybe a little lunch and then eat way too big of a dinner because I was so hungry and then probably a snack later in the evening. I have always exercised pretty regularly and ate pretty healthy but I always felt like I had that last 10 lbs to lose! No bueno.

So even though I am so busy I decided to get rid of all of my excuses and just commit to this 90 day challenge! Just wanted to see where it would take me! Through it I learned what clean/healthy eating really looks like! I committed to work out 5-6 days a week/ replaced one meal a day with Shakeology which is a Superfood drink that gives me tons of extra energy and helps curb cravings for sweets! Sweet!! I lost 17 lbs and a total of 17 in off my body but gained SO much more! I feel like I am supposed to feel! Strong, empowered and FREE! That really is an ultimate goal of mine, to be free to be who God made me to be and to help others feel the same way! I got so inspired by this process that I signed on to be a coach only 30 days in to lead others through the same exact challenge and I love it! I feel like I found my calling! I absolutely love helping people. Sometimes in the past it has come back to bite me but I am learning about how to help people in a healthy way through daily personal development.

It has been such an awesome journey so far and the sky is truly the limit!! If you would like to join me on my mission and in my team ~ Team FREE and Fit ~ leave me a comment and i'll be happy to get back to you! And stay tuned, i'll be sharing my before and after pics, healthy recipes, healthy eating tips and so much more for anyone who is on a journey to health and freedom!

Jen



Ingredients: 1c chopped onion, 1c chopped carrots, 2 cloves garlic - minced, 6c reduced sodium chicken broth, 4c chopped fresh kale, 2-3 boiled and shredded chicken breast, 1 small tomato - seeded and chopped, 1/2c dry lentils, salt and pepper to taste, 1 Tbl Evoo.

Put a little Evoo in a large saucepan and heat over med. Add onions, garlic and carrots. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 7-9 min. Next, add chicken broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then cover and simmer about 10 min. Stir in the kale, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to a simmer another 10 min. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer an additional 5-10 min until the lentils are done and the kale is tender.

Happy New Year {but we gotta go back}

Happy New Year! We are 3 days into the new year and you can feel the excitement of the potential of what is to come! I left my little blog back in November :( so I have much to catch up on. I can't just skip right to where we are now!!

Last year (had to do it :) Jared and Andon were training to run their first race. They worked hard and were ready to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. It really is such a fun way to start Thanksgiving Day! Well, the day before the race, Jared was unloading the dishwasher and literally fell to the floor! I was just standing there asking if there was something I should or could do!?! He threw out his back!! He laid there until he could manage to move to the couch and that is where he pretty much stayed all day. He kept saying I still might be able to run but by evening time it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to. He called Andon in and said he wasn't gonna be able to run so Mommy would have to run it with him. Andon's reply... "ok." Not the brokenhearted answer we were both looking for. :) No big, he's 8 and was just ready to run baby. With or without either one of us!



These pics are from before the race. We were very serious about stretching out and thankfully Jared was able to come and watch along with Adelyn and Papa.



These are all iphone pics - insert New Year's resolution - use my darn camera's more! I have two great Nikon cameras and this year I am gonna learn all that I can about them and start using them. It's just been so easy to whip out my phone and take pics (especially since Instragram, i LOVE it) but I am really gonna start to take more and better photos this year! :)

After we stretched out and said goodbye, Andon and I headed to the start line. It was such a precious time standing there with my son waiting to run a race together. He seemed a little nervous but i'm pretty sure he was just ready to get this whole thing done because all of his cousins were coming to the house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Once the gun shot we slowly started to move. After about 3-4 minutes we got going on our pace. We talked the whole time about breathing, staying focused, some of the crazy people wearing turkey costumes (among other things) where Daddy and Adelyn were going to be when we were done and lots more. I was beaming with joy running with my boy. He is the most precious little guy. He has changed our lives in so many ways and we are continually thankful for the gift God has given us in Andon.

Just after we passed the 2 and 1/2 mile mark we were both pumped. Ready to see the finish line! Once it was in site I was looking everywhere for Jared and sure enough right before we crossed at 36 minutes and 4 seconds there they were. Screaming "GO ANDON, GOOOOO!!" As we crossed the finish line Andon screams out "I was born this way!" Trust me it was all very exciting and kind of emotional at the same time. Andon then looked and me and said "Daddy is so proud of me" and he was. When we got to him the tears were running down his face. Jared was beyond proud of the accomplishment for Andon and Andon had a permanent smile the whole way home.





Once we got home and showered all of our guests started arriving. Thankfully my father in law and I did most of the prep work the night before because there was still much to be done. This was only my 3rd time holding a dinner for that many people (we had 17 this year!) Whew!!



And that's it for Thanksgiving pics because Mama was in the kitchen ALL day! But loving every minute of it. :)

Next up - Christmas 2010!!

We Ran With It

It was 7:00 and I was driving home from a (6 mile run!!!!) yesterday morning and the thought to head over to my parent's house crossed my mind.

So, two things....

I love running and have done it for years but haven't been doing it as consistently lately. I really love running in the mornings and I really love running with someone. So when a friend of mine recently asked if i'd like to join her for a run I happily obliged! I told her I haven't been on a long run in a while so she'd have to take it easy on me!! As we're running she says "do you want to do 5 or 7?!?!" When I took more than 20 seconds to answer she went ahead and said "7 it is!" But really it wasn't bad at all. That's why I love running with someone because you talk to whole time and you lose track of everything else. I had to throw all that in here because I am so excited to be lacing the shoes up again!!!

The other thing is, my parent's live a couple of hours away from me. I usually plan ahead of time when I go and have my stuff all packed up the night before. But something just came over me this particular morning. I knew the weather was going to be beautiful. And when we go to my parent's we spend the day doing things like this...

Relaxing in the hammock under a shade tree while the wind blows.

And Andon LOVES doing things like this!! :)


Of course he had to get off while U. Rogie did this.

We get to hang with cousins... Here's my sweet niece Kylie.

And my nephew Cayden.

And get lots of loves from Papa and Nana. :)

It was such a fun day relaxing, playing, hanging outside and bar-b-cueing. So glad the idea crossed my mind and I actually just ran with it!!