Juice is the Word!

*Alternately titled, "Get a Grip, Stephanie!"

So this whole summer I basically have been eating everything in sight. I actually made myself sick on Friday because of all the JUNK I had put into my body. DISGUSTING. I really feel like I'm addicted to food and have issues with rewarding myself with it. Anyone else out there like that?

Common phrases that run through my brain:

1. "Oh, but I'm having lunch with 'so and so'... Lunch will be better if I eat a huge hamburger with salty fries!"

2. "It's Friday night, let's go get ice - cream!"

3. "McDonalds started selling chocolate dipped cones? Let's go get one today" - No lie, I had three in a WEEK.

Now, I know moderation is KEY but for me, there was NO moderation. Moderation for me was having 1 dessert and eating crap for two out of the three meals a day.

So while laying on my bed Friday afternoon sick to my stomach, I knew I needed to make a change. I just want to be healthy and I was NOT going to get there with what I was currently doing. I was on facebook and saw that a Mom of a former student of mine had lost TONS of weight from juicing and becoming a vegetarian. I messaged her about what she has been doing and she gave me LOTS of helpful information.

She told me about a website (rebootyourlife.com) that had a movie you could watch called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." I watched it, knew this was the way to go, and then talked to Tim about buying a juicer. They are pretty expensive but we have a large store credit at Bed Bath and Beyond due to some doubles/triples of things we got from our wedding. Tim gave me the go-ahead and I got a Breville Juicer! It is awesome! I went to the grocery store AND Earth Fare and got lots of Veggies. I juiced yesterday for breakfast and lunch and it was pretty good! Tim and I had already committed to going over to some friends' house for dinner last night so we had sort of a "Last Meal" there. Today we have only juiced and had water. So far I feel pretty good. We committed to juicing for 10 days and we'll see how that goes. After that, I am going to stick with a diet loaded with fruits and vegetables and little meat. Tim is more hesitant to give meat up completely which is hard for men I'm sure! We are going to try to stick to lean meats and fish when we complete the 10 Day Cleanse.

Hopefully I'll be able to document our journey on our 10 day cleanse. I am pretty nervous about the week starting tomorrow. A lot of our life revolves around food - dinner with family/friends, eating on the run, etc. So we're going to have to do lots of pre-planning and make LOTS of sacrifices but I think it will be worth it!

Food for Thought

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Heb. 12:11 NIV)

Getting everything ready!

Starting to mix our first juice!

Mean Green!

(LOTS of Kale, 1 cucumber, 2 granny smith apples, 4 stalks of celery and a chunk of ginger root)

Today we tried a mix of watermelon, beets, a pear, and some carrots!

The finished product!

It has been my favorite juice so far!! SOOOO GOOD!!

Lately I've Been....

- helping Kristen and Rusty pack up their house

- trying to spend as much time with them as possible

- trying not to think about them leaving

Hmmm... wonder how far I'll get with that? Rusty leaves on Friday with his dad and the U-Haul headed for Eielson Air Force Base in ALASKA! Kristen and the kids will be staying with my parents until Wednesday August 8th. Then they'll be leaving on a jet plane - or three! We had dinner with them tonight at Rio Grande and Kyleigh went crazy with Tim's i-Phone!

I'm going to miss this face...

Road Trip!

Tim found out Friday afternoon that he was able to snag 4 free tickets to an Atlanta Braves game on Saturday! So we quickly made plans with Kristen and Rusty and headed out early Saturday morning. The trip down there was an adventure in itself but I'll let the pictures do the talking!!

Kristen and I hanging in the back!



My tire had a bubble in it and was about to explode so we had to pull over and put the spare on. And by "we" I mean Tim. :) And that's Kristen up there in that picture! (A lot of people on Facebook thought it was me!)

While Tim put the spare on, Kristen and I were enthralled with the peacocks at the gas station!! WHO KNEW!?!?!

The Braves won!! It was a GREAT game!

Kristen and Rusty - gosh I'm going to miss them!

It was HOT. Like REALLY HOT. Thankfully we were in the shade most of the time but STILL.

What a FUN game!! LOVE HIM!

Kristen and I celebrating the win!

We didn't get home until almost 3:00 a.m. so SOMEONE was a little sleepy :)

WHAT A GREAT TIME!



Just a few sentences... or maybe more than a few.

Man, this has been one busy summer!  I was just telling a friend that I made the mistake of saying out loud one day, "Gosh... I'm so BORED!" As soon as I said that, things got crazy! I have had a blast catching up with old friends, making new friends and spending lots of time with my family!

One of the things that has made my summer one to remember is starting the Bible Study, "Nehemiah - A Heart that Can Break." I asked a few friends to join and it has been SO good getting into the Word again. I'm not sure if you're like me, but when school starts and life gets even more crazy, it gets even harder to make time for a Bible Study. I can't afford to get up any earlier (4:45 is as early as I can stand to see the alarm clock!) but things get stressful and sometimes I get home, eat dinner, and just want to collapse on the couch! So this summer I really wanted to get in the habit of doing a Bible study so that when school starts, I'll already be in the habit!

This Bible study has really changed me already! We have only been doing it about 2 weeks but I have found that I can't wait to open up my Bible and discover the truths and promises found in God's word. Here are some verses that have stuck out to me:

Psalm 119:129-135

"Your statues are wonderful, therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light.
It gives understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.
Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your Name.
Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.
Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts.
Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees."

AMEN!!!

And now since I can't figure out an appropriate segue from a Bible verse to my random pictures of the summer, I leave you with....My Random Pictures From the Summer:

I bought a magnetic weekly planner  from Target to hang on the Refrigerator at the apartment and I didn't want to erase this! I think I finally did about 2 weeks after our wedding.

I babysat Kyleigh one afternoon. She loves Bess! Bess looks a little scared in this picture! HA!

Mom, Kristen, and I took the kids to the water park last week. Miles grabbed Kyleigh's hand while we waited in the line. It was so cute!

Miles at the Water Park!

Kyleigh watching Dora on the way home...

This is my favorite recipe I have made this summer! It's Chicken Taco Chili and it is AMAZING!

Tim and Kyleigh playing at S&S after church! Look at that smile!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Fun on the Fourth, the Castle, and my TWIN!

This year we spent most of the fourth with my parents and the Grows!! We headed over to my parents Wednesday afternoon and cooked out with them. Tim was the grill master and we all enjoyed just being with each other. Kristen started the afternoon off with her annual patriotic trivia and then we feasted on BBQ chicken, baked beans, roasted corn, deviled eggs and potato salad. Unfortunately, the only pictures I have of the afternoon at my parent's house is of Dad and Kyleigh playing ball before dinner.



After dinner we visited with my Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Stepan and my cousins Victoria, Alex and Ethan! (We missed you Megan!) They are renting the Castle on Sullivan's House for the next few weeks and we went over to check the place out and hang out with them for a little while!

The outside

Inside the Great Room

Kristen and I

Rusty makes the best faces

 Amazing!

Coming down the stairs

 Need I say more?



The View from the top!

 Hanging with the fam!

View from the roof: Fort Moultrie and the Atlantic Ocean!

Cousins!!

Victoria, Alex, and I

And, did you know I have a twin? Kristen went back to her natural hair color and when she stopped by today to show me, I opened the door and thought I was staring at myself! What do you think? Could we pass for twins?

Kristen's new hair!

Twins?

Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July!!!