This is why I steer clear of grains! ;)

Mark Sisson is the man behind the book "The Primal Blueprint" and the blog "Marksdailyapple.com" He is very passionate about health and his story is really inspiring!;)

Being a person that tries to eat gluten-free as much as possible it's really great to see that with the excitement of the OLYMPICS, OLYMPIANS are talking about the benefits they see and feel when eating gluten-free!:) The link below is the story I am referring to

Olympians Ditching Gluten

This is the link I hope you take time to read to understand what you are really doing to your body when you choose to eat grains;)

Why GRAINS are unhealthy...

I would love to hear the thoughts of anyone that reads my blog and these articles!!

HAPPY READING!!

Hope you are having a happy and healthy summer!

Do you know how to THRIVE???

The above video is about what is really going on in our world. I had heard things here and there about different subject topics that this video touches on, but I did not take the time to actually research them and find out more until now. This video is kind of heavy at points, but keep on watching, because it really does get better in the end. It gives me hope in realizing what I can do to make a difference in my world today in a way that will leave this world better for the generations to come.

I specifically chose to share the movie with the "Closed Captions" options so that the hearing impaired could know of this great message as well. So, please share it with anyone and everyone that you know that wants to help shift the world in a more positive direction.

Like my Mom always says, "Many hands make light work."

PLEASE WATCH...and PLEASE SHARE!!

What do you REALLY know about GLUTEN???

The above video really helped me understand why eating grains affects my mentality, emotions, and physical health so negatively. Since, starting my Paleo/Primal eating habits last May I have seen a huge difference in the way I feel about myself, my life, and my relationship with others. It has not always been easy, but it has definitely been worth it!

I am a geeky scientist type that LOVES learning and understanding the way things work through experiments, TED talks, videos/books/papers of research, etc. What better test subject than myself to see how my body reacts to the different foods I put into my body to nourish it.

I realize that I have a gluten sensitivity and am grateful that I was able to learn about the symptoms and adjust my diet early on before it manifested itself in a major illness. I don't suffer with headaches, migraines, mood swings, irritability, anemia, fatigue, etc, anymore like I used to. I have more energy and am kinder to myself and gentler with how I conduct my life because I my body is not at war with the gluten anymore! What a difference the power of knowledge has in my life.

Intuitive eating is a wonderful thing. Your body is an amazing machine, designed to take care of itself to house the incredible spirit that resides in it. What is ironic is that people use their minds to nourish their bodies instead of listening to the body needs. The mind knows how to trick you into believing that unhealthy foods are good because they comfort you or give a satisfaction that the mind says is necessary. The body cannot lie. It tells us quite clearly what it needs for optimal performance. Most of us don't even realize that we are giving our bodies the wrong fuel/foods because we eat what we  learned from our childhood.

We all have the freedom to choose how to take care of our bodies however we feel necessary, but don't be too surprised that your body is breaking down on you when you haven't taken the time to give your body the proper attention and respect it deserves. Our bodies are doing a lot of work on our behalf, every minute of every day, to maintain a healthy vessel for our spirits to reside in. Don't you think it is time to treat your body properly, pamper it even, to show your respect and appreciation for the daily gifts our bodies provide us? It's Spring time. So, a good Spring cleaning for your organs and body would be a lovely way to show your body that you care!

Good luck!

Introverts ROCK!!

I  really like this TED talk!!  I find that I am embracing my introverted ways, and not feeling bad about it! ;) I LOVE reading my books, and crocheting, and just being chill so much lately! I don't have enough time in the day to do those things every day. But when I can, I LOVE IT!!;)

If you haven't already, go ahead and embrace your introverted tendencies! I believe that they are what help keep us sane and centered! :)

Dancing!! :) Ballroom Latin!

Tonight and last Thursday, Joseph and I have been able to go to Ballroom dancing lessons! It is always so fun to go, but this was the first time that we have been there 2 weeks in a row. HUGE SHOUT OUT to my IN-LAWS!! They wonderfully take care of our girls so that I can live out a childhood dream!:)  Last week we were the only ones that showed up, so we had the instructor to ourselves. It was really COOL! We are learning the Cha-Cha and man, my body feels so stiff and old every time we start class. Lets not even get me started about the mirrors. Tonight they were not my friend;) I choose to rely on my imagination about how I look rather than the harsh honesty of the mirrors.  I love how its such a good work out. 

I really appreciate Joseph dancing with me, because it is my passion to dance and I was messing up a LOT tonight. When he messes up, I remind myself that he is doing these dance lessons for me. So, it helps with my patience immensely:) He is a good sport.  I told him, last year, that I was going to learn how to ballroom dance with or without him. Luckily, for me, he is the slightly jealous type. The idea of me learning to dance with another guy, didn't set well with him.  So, he decided to be my dance partner. Now, that he's been taking me he realizes that it is mainly single women that come and never any single guys. Hahaha...too late for him now! He bought himself a pair of dance shoes, so he's dancing until those shoes wear out:)

It's the only way, I get a work out in these days. The winter hasn't been that bad for me, since I have dancing to look forward to every week. Now, if I can just find a pick-up game or two of Volleyball, this winter would be awesome!;) I wouldn't mind teaching the volleyball basics to anyone who wants to learn. I'd just have to find a place and time to do so. Hmmm....we'll see how that works out!

VOLLEYBALL???

Does anyone know anywhere I can just play a pick-up game of Volleyball??  I have already looked into the Orem City Rec Center, and they only have team stuff. I cannot commit to that because I travel too much :/ If anyone knows anything, or would even like to get together some nights for a volleyball game or two, please let me know! :)

"...you've got to go through it, to get to the end of it." -Greasy Sae

YES...that quote above was taken from CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins. The second book of her Trilogy the HUNGER GAMES. It's a really entertaining read. Although, the last book was really for a mature audience more so than the first 2 because of the war violence.

While reading this quote by a character in the book called Greasy Sae I was moved by the simplicity and undeniable truth behind such a powerful little tidbit from this book. So many times people just want to find a shortcut, dodge, ignore, avoid certain lessons life brings us so that we can spare ourselves the growing pains these challenges give us. In all reality when we try to dodge the bullet all we are really doing is tricking ourselves into thinking that we are at the end when in fact we are still smack dab right in the middle of it! Then, how does one know when one is at the end of a certain trial or hardship in life? Everyone has their own very personal way of knowing. As for me, I know that I am at the end when I no longer have bad/negative thoughts about that particular life lesson anymore. When I feel my inner peace, glowing bright, strong, steady, blessing me with feelings of safety and calm, again, that's when I know I have made it through to the end. Now, that I know that I can return to that peace, I look at old challenges in my life and see them from a different perspective than I have ever seen them before. This new perspective really helps me through some really mucky moments in life. For this comfort and knowledge, I am extremely grateful.

I am also very happy and thankful for books that are so good that they become MOVIES!! YAY!!!

I am really excited for the movie! It's going to be so fun to see how they translate the books to the BIG screen!!:) It's definitely a book that you can't put down until the very end. If you haven't read it make sure someone's watching your kids for you as you get lost in the world of Panem.

Enjoy the video...

May the odds be ever in your favor...

I tried this recipe with a bit of applesauce...

I make banana chocolate chip mini muffins every time my bananas say that I need to. So, I baked some more again today, but cut the oil measurements in half with applesauce. My family couldn't even tell!  I LOVED it! Organic applesauce is cheaper than coconut or olive oil, so I am one very happy baker. They are still moist and a tad bit fluffier. And I nix the nuts, because they are EXPENSIVE and not really missed. Not like the chocolate chips. (Btw the choco. chips make this recipe not very paleo...*sigh* baby steps) I am really getting the hang of this Paleo baking, and I LIKE IT!

 Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 3 bananas
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil) (or half the oil with applesauce)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnut pieces

On another note, we are starting to phase out the dairy in our home. Not only because it has been tampered with, or because consuming 20% or more dairy in your diet increases your chances for  heart disease, but simply because we don't really eat it that much anymore. The string cheese has been lingering longer than usual. Same story with the milk. It's not as difficult as the wheat phase out was, which is interesting to observe. But we will see for sure when we don't have dairy in the fridge. And NO...EGGS ARE NOT DAIRY!!!

My husband made one of our family's new favorite dinners! It was inspired by my sister's Square Foot Garden harvest of organic tomatoes, zucchini, green onion, squash, and basil. My mother-in-law made it for us the night we brought everything home and we have been in love with this amazing creation ever since.  It's like a lazy cousin kind of dish of ratatouille. You just throw all those ingredients in and add garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and presto...you have a delicious soup like dish, with yummy hunks of veggies that your body just thanks you for! It seriously like a hug for the inside of your body!! Since we don't have our Sq Ft garden set up yet, we have been able to buy organic tomatoes from Costco.  Those work out beautifully!  It's a super easy, fast, and healthy meal that's perfect for this time of year. Try it out and let me know how your creations turn out;) If you need measurements for the ingredients let me know, and I will ask the chefs.  Good luck!

What a difference grains make...

This has how I have felt for sometime. now. Like this smiley face, barely keeping it together. Having to bite my lip so that a flood of emotions and tears don't come pouring out. at any given moment. I have been dealing with a LOT of new changes in my life. For the most part I am LOVING my changes. But no matter how good the change is...change is HARD!

So, I was having a chocolate craving day, and thought I would make some no-bake cookies! Oatmeal is NOT as bad as wheat, but come to find out its the number 2 worst grain to eat. I didn't want to accept this fact to be true for myself, so I made a batch of those delicious cookies, anyway. Now,  I see that when I eat oats/grains I get very weepy!! I have NOT been eating grains for a long while now and I have been able to keep it together through some pretty trying times lately. But then, throw in the grains, just a little, back into my diet and BOOM...I am BACK on the emotional roller coaster of my before-paleo-life! That roller coaster ride of fluctuating extreme emotions, although taxing and annoying after a while, was what used to consider to be my norm. Of course,  I NEVER would let anyone else know about it, because I have NEVER heard of anyone else (besides my family) having that constant battle with extreme emotions. I truly understand and know how people can actually be peaceful and patient. And NOT be faking those emotions ALL of the time! I struggled for SO LONG trying to gain that inner peace and patience for myself. I am still on my journey with it, but I can see the many blessings that have been put in my path this past year to help me sincerely feel the peace and patience towards myself that I have been longing to have since I can remember. The best part is that after feeling it truly, I have been learning how to maintain it. Everyone's way in achieving those 2 simple qualities in life is so very unique and very personal. For me, it is all about what I take in. Physically (eating, breathing, seeing, etc), emotionally (people's positive or negative energy, music, etc) and spiritually (inspiration, promptings, meditating, etc). I have to come to appreciate and love the fact that I am a sensitive being. My body has food sensitivities that I never realized/understood that I had, until I started eating the Paleo way. My emotions have become increasingly sensitive with every passing year. My spirituality is ever growing. To maintain my sanity, I have come to realize that it's as simple as what I eat that determines a LOT on how sane and grounded I feel.

I loved grains (breads, pastas, oatmeal, cereal, casseroles, etc) and beans and dairy, so very, very much. But now I see THAT love was pretty much a one-way street.

*sigh*

Well, at least I know, now;)

For C & C!! & I'm not talkin' 'bout the Music Factory!

I LOVE eating PALEO!!

It has TOTALLY ROCKED my WORLD (to a MUCH BETTER place:) I can't help but share with people why I love it so. In fact, at my little nephews preschool open house I was sharing my testimony of it to one of my nephews sweet preschool teachers!! She was so kind to listen to my facts and food experiments:)

So, I was having a really different day on Monday. I had a lovely day with my sister, my girls and my Mother-In-Law, but still had a bit of a tough day with other things. I decided I would let the girls and I cheat and eat WHEAT! I have been craving pizza for a LONG time now and was really excited to finally enjoy my slice or 3 of Papa Murphy's Mediterranean pizza. Well, after I scarfed down like 7 chocolate covered macadamia nut clusters I went for the pizza. I KNOW that wheat affects me in a negative way, so I was eating the pizza slices as fast as I could before the negative physical reminders reared their ugly heads;) I only got through 1 1/2 slices before my body said, "We're done!" But my mind convinced me to just keep going and eat the rest of the second slice. So, I did. I was drinking water to try and dilute the wheat that I'd just eaten. It didn't really work. About 10-15min. After my first bite of pizza I felt this stabbing pain in my back part of the left side of my head. And then, the white noise in my brain was blaring full force, followed with a fogginess and heavy eyes and head kind of feeling. I am blogging about this today, so that I don't forget how wheat affects me. Wheat is a toxic thing for me to eat. And I have only realized this recently. Crazy that it has taken me this long to figure it out! But at least I know:) Now I have to wait 2 weeks before the wheat is completely out of my system again. UGh...

Anyway, like usual, tonight we ate a lovely Paleo dinner with my sister's family. We followed that up quickly with Paleo German Chocolate Cake and Paleo Berry Ice Cream!! IT WAS DIVINE!! My sister was worried that the cake didn't turn out as well as she'd hoped. (Oh those Type A personalities...) I KNEW, with every fiber in my being, that it was going to be DELICIOUS!! So, when I saw her creation on the cake stand, I found myself salivating in anticipation to try this deliciousness:D ELANA's PANTRY is a WONDERFUL, almost magical place for all of us transitioning into the Paleo/Primal lifestyle that still need a baked good every now and again! My sister followed Elana's German Chocolate Cake recipe and it was RIDICULOUS!! FIRST of all, you couldn't even TELL that it was Paleo!! :) And SECONDLY, it was WAY BETTER than any other cake that I EVER had in the USA before. I love Paleo baking because it calls or 2 times or 3 times more eggs than traditional recipes. So, when you are eating a dessert you get a good amount of protein with every delicious bite! As well as, a tummy that says, "Thank you for not filling me up with sponge/foam-like-wanna-be-yummy-kind-of-cake." My stomach is super picky!;)

I hope my sister will post a photo of her Cake Creation and Ice Cream on her blog The Woman Who Did Everything and Nothing All At Once, eventually. She's a busy lady! So, be patient.

Life has afforded me time to blog again. YAY!! But that's all for today. Til next time...

Chores, Chores, and MORE CHORES!!

It was all about the chores today. I was painting while the kids did yard work and the husband cleaned up one of the 2 catch-all rooms our house! Wow...what a day. I took a nap and am STILL tired! Luckily, we are all gathering in the TV room to enjoy watching the movie, "Soul Surfer". YAY!! What a nice relaxing way to end such a busy day!

*sigh* Tomorrow I get to tackle the other catch all room in the house as well as MORE painting.

Old Bananas mean Smoothies and Banana Nut Muffins!!

I was woken up today with a lovely smoothie!! It was banana/milo mix...YUMMY!! We loved them so much we had another round of them this afternoon! I am not strictly Paleo, yet. So, you'll notice that some of the food we consume is still in transition mode:) After the second round of banana/milo smoothies, the other 3 bananas were sitting there. Staring at me with their shriveled old banana-selves. Waiting for me to use them in a delicious recipe. So, I DID!!

Here's the site of the recipe I used...

http://www.p3crossfit.com/2010/12/paleo-banana-nut-muffins/

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 3 bananas
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda.
3. In a blender, puree the 3 bananas
4. In a large bowl mix the eggs, honey, bananas, coconut oil and vanilla until well blended. Mix dry ingredients into the wet, blending with a hand mixer or by hand. Gently fold in walnut pieces.
5. Place batter in non-stick muffin tins OR oil small individual glass bowls and pour batter in about 1/2 – 3/4 full.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. I used the smaller muffins trays, so if you are using the standard muffin size you will definitely need to bake them for a longer period of time.

Thanks to Liz for the recipe.

Here are the Dry Ingredients I used...
And here are the Wet Ingredients I used...

Here's what they looked like before I baked them...
The Final RESULT!!
THESE were DELICIOUS!! They were definitely a hit with the kids and husband!! I added chocolate chips, I know, not so Paleo. My kids and husband insist that I use them. I have to say I liked the regular Banana Nut Muffin, but I LOVED the ones with the chocolate chips! My kid said that it didn't taste any different than the wheat ones I used to make before. YAY!! This recipe delivered a WONDERFUL result!! It's a definite keeper!

I was SOOO happy that everyone loved it! Especially, after last nights disappointment. Now, my old bananas can be used once again in an old family treat!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe, Liz from Crossfit!!

Craving PIZZA!! So we are trying this Paleo Pizza crust!

BEFORE I MADE THE PIZZA :

I have been craving pizza on and off for a week now. Today is the day I eat my pizza!! I am going to try this recipe that I got from this site

http://cavemanstrong.com/2011/01/paleo-pizza-crust .

I'll let you know how it turns out. I am super excited to try it tonight with the kids. Off to the store I go, to get some organic coconut milk, mozzarella, parchment paper and pepperoni.

Oh MY GOODNESS!! I have FRESH SWEET BASIL picked fresh today from my Sisters garden to add to my version of Papa Murphy's "Mediterranean" !! YAY!! I am EVEN MORE excited for dinner now!!





AFTER I MADE THE PIZZA:

The house smelled divine!! Everyone was excited and anticipating home-made PIZZA. Who cares if it was Paleo we were excited to eat it! I gave us fresh carrots as a quick side dish. Well, we each took a bite of our pizza and "YUCK!" The kids opted to have more carrots instead of the pizza! It was Paleo alright. The pizza looks delicious enough, but the coconut crust was still a little on the sweet side, and was crumbly and cake like. I am going to use this dough recipe again, but for cobbler, or pies, or something else dessert like. I really like the recipe!! Just NOT for pizza. The person who put this recipe us also suggested a "nut cracker" recipe for people who like the crunchier pizza. I will definitely be trying this nut cracker recipe

http://thelabelsayspaleo.com/2010/04/18/all-purpose-primal-crackers/

next time I crave and attempt a PALEO pizza.

Do not worry, we did not waste the delicious toppings. We picked them off and ate them:)

Love to LAUGH!

After my post last night I still had chores to do...Laundry. :( To my surprise, I had a lovely night watching "Just Go With It" all by myself while everyone slept. I switched and sorted the loads of laundry and laughed out loud all by myself. It was just what the attitude Dr. ordered! One might think, "Oh. How sad. She was all by herself." To be honest, I LOVED having some alone downtime! I love my family, but sometimes, it's nice to just be alone for while. It was hard for me to get to sleep after that because 1) I really wanted to go to Hawaii and had to check out flights and 2) The movie made me laugh so much more than I had anticipated that my body thought it was time to hang out or play games. I LOVE to LAUGH!! It's one of my MOST favorite things to do! Sometimes as a grown-up/parent I find that I haven't laughed as much as I need to in the day. I hear my children laughing all of the time and that makes me smile. But filling my responsibility driven heart with laughter/lightness to help it function better is something that has been lacking, for a bit, until I watched that movie.

This morning I was able to take my girls to the pools. WOW...what a difference it made in my day! To be able to relax in the sun was wonderful!! And the added bonus of feeling so light and free in the water made me feel even better. As an adult I don't really notice when my grinchy little heart is shrinking. It isn't until I let go and have the sunlight fill my heart that I realize how my daily responsibilities have been affecting my heart and its ability to grow. (I hope that makes sense.) The sunlight literally helped my little heart feel lighter, bigger (like more expandable), and more relaxed, than it had felt in a very long time. With that being said, I noticed a huge increase in my energy levels yesterday. As well as a big spike in my chill/positivity levels.

Laughter, sunLight, and reLaxing are key for making a happier me!:)

Wanting more energy...

Ok...I think/hope getting at least 15 minutes in the sun will help my energy levels?? I am dragging SO MUCH lately. It's craziness!! Either I lack a TON of energy or I am just expecting too much of myself, lately. It's probably a little of both. oh yeah...I also need to get "physical...physical!" with work-outs that is. Eating healthy isn't the only thing necessary for amazing energy levels, unfortunately for me. Boo! More sun time, and More exercise. OK.

So, I was moving slowly around today as I did my chores. Cleaning 2 bathrooms, the incredibly STINKY trash can, the kitchen, cooking at least 2 meals, bathing the dog, and cleaning my room. Luckily, my husband came home and made dinner. I was still brushing the dog out when he came home. No lovely aromas when he came through the door. No meat thawing. There was absolutely NO indication of me even thinking of making dinner tonight. Thanks, Man-I-call-husband! Dinner was delish!

Time to get the kids to bed. I always battle with myself with bedtimes this time of year. Do I try to get them into a schedule weeks before school starts and put them to bed early? Or...Do I let them live the rest of the summer days up, by staying up as late as they want until a couple days before school starts?

Well...I gotta get my tired bones to bed as well. Night!

ughh...

Thought I would get to bed early tonight, but my heartburn has other plans for me! I haven't had heartburn since I don't know when?? Taco Time nachos are NOT very primal at all. Even if you take out the beans. UGhhhh...won't be making that mistake again!

DENTIST DAY!!

I read on Whitney's website http://www.thepaleochild.com/ about how her dentist agreed with the Primal/Paleo lifestyle being a wonderful way of eating for the health of the mouth and teeth! So, I was excited to take my kids to our dentist today to see how their teeth were doing. I haven't been uber strict on the Primal eating, but we have eating Predominantly Primal, since Spring. This month I laid down the law with "ABSOLUTELY NO GLUTEN" rule. Anyway...back to the dental appointments!

Me and my kids went to the dentist for a semi-annual cleaning, today. Finally. I was supposed to schedule our appointments in May or June. Oops! Life happens. It's summer. We have been enjoying summer by traveling, pool time, and just chilling out!! 2 months overdue not so bad. Right?

All of our appointments went wonderfully!! Not a single cavity for any of us. The dentist was really surprised by the lack of plaque and other fuzzy stuff that is usually found on clients' teeth. I was soooo excited to hear that! I wanted to let him and his staff know of the NEW way I was choosing to eat for me and my family, and how I read Whitney's blog about her babies dentist appointment, and all of the wonderful side effects living Primal has, etc, etc. But, alas, my mouth was preoccupied with being cleaned, so I will have to tell them next visit.

I must let you all know that my Dad has really strong and healthy teeth and I, luckily, inherited that gene for strong teeth. After today's visit I know that my prayers for my kids inheriting my strong teeth gene were not in vain!! That mixed with a Primal lifestyle, I won't feel obligated to go back to the dentist for another year! Forget the 6 months routine. Then, again, I really do like the feel and look of freshly polished teeth:) So...we'll see!?

Real quick before I sign off for the day...I really enjoyed taking photos with my sister because I noticed that I liked the way I looked! I felt good about myself feeling healthy, being a bit slimmer (I have only lost inches not so much weight being Primal), and definitely having a bit of color on my skin was a definite added bonus. My mind was the thing that surprised me the most. Usually, even if I am looking great, my mind will pick apart each and every photo in disgust of how I don't look. I know it was a terrible thing, but for some reason I had this unreal idea of what I was supposed to look like for so long stored somewhere deep inside myself, that I was never able to live up to that crazy idea and expectation. Since, I turned 30 I have been really trying hard to be more patient with myself, more genuine, and definitely more real about what I want from myself and life. The 4 Agreements and The Mastery of Love really helped me with a lot of my mind games and issues with myself worth/appearance. I love being me and being free of silly, unnecessary, and unreal expectations from myself or anyone else. Good Night!

Look what my Sister did for US!!

She took this photo of us!! She is EXTREMELY talented. She's a Jane-of-All-Trades kinda lady!! Very crafty, great Mom, photographer, singer, a great cook, etc. I LOVE IT!! Here's her blog if you are interested in any of her projects...

thewomanwhodideverythingandnothing.blogspot.com

I will be posting more photos in time. Just have a bunch of other projects that need my attention!

On the Primal Eating subject...Today, I learned about the "Carb Flu". It's what happens to some people whilst the body is going through wheat detox. It's very interesting. Some people have it happen to them and some people don't. I'll have to keep a close eye on my family to see what happens with them. (I really need to order that Primal Blueprint and the Paleo cookbook. Luckily, my sister referred me to a blog that helps me with ideas or the family dinners and treats!:)

I hope to do better with the family meals this week! I need to keep the fridge and cupboards stocked with things that I can make for my family to keep them happy and excited about being on this new eating regimen. I hope I can get my stuff together, and soon.

Goodnight!

Winger's is Whack! (At least the Lehi one is!)

Tried to eat there and have a nice Primal meal. No buns and the server was just shocked that I'd ask for a bed of Romaine lettuce to be used instead of a bun. The Manager Julie wasn't very good at her job at all. I am glad we had terrible service, though. Now, I won't be tempted to eat out at any other Winger's anytime soon! Another eatery bites the dust.

Had 2 interviews! I'll know how they went on Tues. YAY!!

Exhausted and so ready for sweet sleep!

WHEAT is difficult to NOT eat!

At least for my family! :( I really appreciate how they are supporting me in this decision. I am trying to show them by staying away from it how much BETTER their bodies will feel without it. The only difficult part about that is that feeling good isn't as noticeable (because it happens gradually) than feeling gross and achy. I can feel the affects of wheat within an hour or so of eating it! It's the craziest feeling. I start to get a pins and needles kind of sensation but in the left part of my head. Sugar highs are no fun either! Ok...well kind of fun when eating frozen yogurt:) *sigh* This is going to be a huge change for our family!

On a totally different note...I have 2 job interviews tomorrow!! I am excited!! As I was getting ready to run errands today, I thought to myself about the many things I learned while in Hair School. It was then it dawned on me, if you don't use it...you lose it! I was starting to lose knowledge of different hair techniques and such!! This freaked me out, so I decided to just print out 4 copies of my resume and drop them by 4 Salons in the areas that I'd want to work. To my surprise 2 of the 4 places I left my resume scheduled an interview with me for tomorrow!! WHAT LUCK!!

The TO DO LIST...

1) Contact References on Resume to let them know I might be giving out their number at above interviews.
1a. Reference 1 verified via Phone Call - CHECK.
1b. Reference 2 verified via Cell Phone Texting - CHECK.
1c. Reference 3 verified via Facebook - CHECK.

I LOVE MODERN TECHNOLOGY!

2) Put together Portfolio!! CRAP!!

At hair school they told us to put together our resume and portfolio for job interviews...well guess who slacked on that one. YEP! ME!! I have a BUNCH of photos!! I just have NOT printed them out and organized them, yet. Yeah, I know, I should have but I didn't. I had resolved to let my potential employers know that I don't have my portfolio prepared when I remembered the whole reason my husband gave me my iPAD in the first place.

It was my graduation/birthday gift from him to hold my photos for my PORTFOLIO. I remembered how EXCITED he was to give it to me!! He was SUPER EXCITED about how new age and tech savvy I would look using the iPad at my interviews and even with my clients. Well, I didn't see myself that way. I was still shell shocked from the whole schooling experience so I didn't appreciate his foresight. To be honest, I was a bit of brat when he gave me iPad. I told him that he shouldn't have spent so much money. All I wanted was an iPod Touch. He should have waited for the iPad 2...etc. I was still as sweet as I could be in receiving this gift, but I am not that great of an actress. So...my iPad lay in its case for almost 2 months before I took it out to start using it and understanding it. I am not the best with technology and I know that I don't use my devices nearly to their capacity. My iPad was just another device that I felt overwhelmed by.

Anyway, here I am, at present day SUPER EXCITED that I can put my portfolio together in an hour and take it with me on my iPad!! I am SOOO HAPPY that I don't have to wait for a store to open to print out my photos. I am ELATED that I don't have to worry about being artsy and making my portfolio "COOL" looking. (If I had the time, I would like that challenge, but I don't have the time. So yeah.) I am RELIEVED that I can show at least SOME of my past work!!

With that, I need to go and get my portfolio done!

I am grateful to my HUSBAND for knowing me enough to know that the iPad was the ONLY way I was going to be able to present my work! I LOVE HIM SOOO MUCH!! I am a very lucky girl!