Commitment

Hey there. I know you've stopped by for a reason and I thank you! I've received so many emails, facebook messages, and posts about how I am encouraging you to eat better, get back into a healthy state for your body... and your mind will follow. I appreciate all that have reached out. Because honestly... it's not an easy change. (although easier than you would expect.)

But the good thing is this... If you want it bad enough, you will do it. It takes commitment to yourself to heal your body from the inside out. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was inspired by a "Defender of the United States" and that she had recommended several tools that have helped us along these past three weeks. I've done a lot of reading on my own, scouring websites, reading forum posts, and taking in what I am experiencing as my body changes with what I eat. I'm committed to making me... better.

Things I know...
1. I do not need creamer with my coffee. I love it, but I don't need it. And I've failed miserably this past week, and have had it every. single. day. Today I found a recipe that I am going to try out. You can find it HERE. I'm not too sure about the eggs, but since I use them in the homemade mayo I make... it's probably okay.
2. I love cucumbers. But not every meal. every day. Yes, I got burned out eating them with every meal and snack. I like them with vinegar, and I like them plain. Once a day is plenty.
3. I don't NEED to have chocolate. I've made several smoothies for the boys, and even a chocolate dessert, and didn't have one lick. Not. One. That goes for even those times that I had Nutella on my finger. J bought dark chocolate Dove candies for me yesterday, for a "just in case I want a sweet treat". They went out of sight, out of mind.
4. I don't NEED cheese. In fact, my stomach thanks me. I'm not bound up because of it. Do I miss it? Sure. I was a cheese eating fool. Especially Mozzarella sticks from Frigo. Love. Them. Will I eat cheese again? Maybe. I love Feta/Blue. I'm not looking at gnawing on a block of cheddar any time soon, though.
5. Squats won't kill me. And if you do them correctly, then your @$$ might eventually look good. Here, Dan John tells of the proper way to squat. I use a kettlebell for added core workout, and weight stability. I use a kettlebell for all of my workouts. You can find FREE workouts on FITNESSBLENDER. Did I mention It's FREE?? And this isn't just for squats. They are FULL workouts that train HIIT. (High-intensity Interval Training)  View the squat challenge HERE.
6. You don't need to do abs every. single. day. You CAN NOT spot reduce. Fat loss doesn't work that way. Just like other muscles in your body, they need a day or two or three off from the strenuous workout that I'm sure you are putting them through. The core exercises I am doing right now include deadlift, weighted oblique bends, and body extensions seated on a ball. (sit on ball, lean back so your back is arched conforming to ball, and come forward as you are doing a sit-up. This ensures you are using your lower abs. I'm sure there is a technical name for it, but as you know I am an nontechnical name kind of girl.) Women need this kind of exercise, especially after having children. I'm more than a little poochy, so I work hard at these. There are variations you can do different days. I wanted to start ab ripper this week, but my core is just not strong enough yet. (Mind you, I'm starting to do HIIT 3 days a week so I am not trying to spot reduce. I'm doing this instead of C25K, for right now.)

And last but not least...
7. Three weeks ago I couldn't put my arms behind my back. I would have died trying to scratch the middle of my back you know where you get that one itch underneath your bra clasp. I can reach that spot, and it feels good. Three weeks ago I couldn't get up off the toilet seat without my knees hurting. YES... It was THAT bad! Three weeks ago I was going to the bathroom after every meal. And while that may not seem so odd to you, it wasn't like I was having solid BMs. If it's too much for you to handle, stop reading. It's my blog. I had acquired what is known as Dumping Syndrome. And for the last FOUR years I've lived like that. But no more. I've taken control. Regained a commitment that I needed to. For myself. My husband. Our kids. My life.

Commitment.

Where's yours?

Yours Truly,

Miss T

It Takes 4 Weeks

I remember last fall when my weight crept up to 205. TWO HUNDRED FIVE pounds!! I felt so defeated. I was going to class 3 days a week and had 6 hours of homework a night. I was eating and sleeping taxes. UGH! I remember that feeling.

But I also remember the feeling this morning... I am at 205!! TWO HUNDRED FIVE pounds!! That is a ten pound weight loss in under 3 weeks. And the feeling is SO SO SO good! The best part about it... I can feel my muscles coming alive again! It's amazing.

As I've stated before... I am not doing anything CRAZY.... Well, maybe some of you think it's a little bizarre... I have simply cut out processed foods, grains, dairy, and sugar (for the most part of the sugar). So what do I eat? Tons of protein in the form of beef, chicken, crab, and pork. I do not trim off the fat like James does of anything I eat. FAT is great for you, if you are consuming the right kind. I drink a lot of coconut milk in my coffee. I make home made dressings. I eat tons and tons of vegetables. AND... I drink a lot of water.

What kinds of veggies do I eat? Cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, lettuce- romaine or musclun, cherry tomatoes, spinach, avocado, onions, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and some peppers. ICK, you say? Vegetables? How can you eat that every. single. day. ? The answer is simple. Because I am fueling my body with the nutrients it needs. I love salad. I love home made dressing that I know what I've combined together to get a great taste. Do I eat salad every day? No. Some days I snack on baby carrots and sliced cucumbers. These are the two things I LOVE. They do it for me.

I realize that I was so excited about losing that big amount of weight in the first week. My body is detoxing. Ridding all of the processed crap that's been in my body for years and years. Now that it is pretty stable, I am looking at increased muscle, and fat loss from here on out.

But you know what else is helping? Sleep. I can tell a difference in the weight dropping when I get enough sleep, than when I get interrupted sleep. My weight goes down on the weekends because I am not getting up to let the girls outside. During the week I get up so J can sleep because he has to leave by 530-6 am. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep is optimal for me. Some of you may not need that much. I'm more on the 9ish hour side. I feel more rested and have a ton more energy.

Speaking of energy... Do you know what else is helping? Getting off my keester and doing an ab/squat challenge. I feel SO good. I know you've heard of the squat challenge. But if not, here it is.

I am on day 11. Yes. That is 110 squats I did today. Wide legged and plie. Each day gets a little tougher, especially after a rest day. I use a 15 lb kettlebell to help with core stability.

The ab challenge is something I'm kind of doing on my own. Between plank, deadlift with kettlebell, and weighted standing oblique bends. After I finish up this month of detox, I'm going to break my ab disc from P90X out from under the dust and pop it in 4 days a week. I will tell you, I started at 20/side, and have worked my way up to 40/side as of this morning, with that 15 pound kettlebell.

Tuesday, I am gearing up to start another C25K. I can finally fit back into my yoga pants even though they are stretched to the max so I can tough through those chilly mornings we are still having.

Changes I've seen so far? The biggest change I can tell you is that I no longer have to rush to the bathroom after I eat. For those of you that have had your gall bladder removed, (if you have dumping syndrome- usually acquired after surgery), I would highly suggest changing your diet. And by "diet", I am talking about the way you eat. It really has been life changing!

I can't wait for day 90.

What are you waiting for?

Thank you for your support!!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Miss T

What Is This Paleo Thing That You Are Talking About?

Hey you guys! It's great that you came to read what this paleo thing that I've been talking about for the last week is. So let's get to it.

Learn more about the Paleo Diet.

One week ago today, I changed my life. I had gained 60 lbs in just four years. I went from being 158, running/walking 11 miles a day in 2009, to 218 the beginning of 2013. What changed in four years? I was sick from basically the moment I got back from Hawaii in 2009 until they removed my gallbladder that May. In my heart, I believe, my body couldn't process all the processed foods I'd been eating anymore.
When you remove your gallbladder, it's much harder to properly digest your foods. There is no bile to emulsify the fat. So instead of nutrient absorption, I now gained the ailment known as dumping syndrome.
For four years, every time I ate, I dumped. Literally. Like clockwork. Ask my husband... he cracks jokes about it.

This is how it happened... My friend, Defender of the United States, made a few comments on facebook about what she was doing, and how good she felt. So I asked her what she was doing. She told me about a book she read, called The Paleo-Solution by Robb Wolf, and how she changed her lifestyle. We had heard of the Paleo lifestyle a while ago, but we wanted to keep breads and pastas in our diet. We just ate a little healthier, cutting out a lot of processed foods. --You know... the ones we "thought" were healthy, we kept. So I got the book the last week of tax season and we decided to make the change for our family the day after I was done with work for the season. ( I should also mention my other friend, Zeus and Athena's Mom, had made continuous posts about getting fit and being healthy and what she was doing.)

Basically, it's eating food that would have been around 10,000 years ago for the cavemen/women. Now you don't believe in cavemen. Ok... I give that to you. BUT they didn't have processed foods or refined sugar back then, right? They were lean, mean, fighting machines. Just watch the VIKINGS if you don't believe me. And those that weren't, died. Isn't that what we see today? A lot of sickness and ailments? Could it be because of all of these processed foods we've pumped into our bodies over the decades? I mean, I had clients this year that were in their 80s-90s ticking with no ailments. AND... I had clients in their 30s-40s going through cancer, spouses passing away, kids with autism, ADHD, ODD come into my office with no sign of hope in their face.

Are you still with me?

One week is officially over, and I nearly cried this morning when I saw the scale. I went from 215.4 last Tuesday 2/16 to 208.8 today 2/23. (I have not been below 210 for nearly 6 months.) NOW.... YES I know that healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. However, I am doing a sugar/processed foods detox. I have cut out all sugar, including fruit. I cut out all processed foods. I have not had one glass of wine. (nor have I had more than one glass of wine.) I did not take weight loss pills. Did you do the math? That is SIX.SIX pounds!

What we HAVE had are meals like this...

Flank steak with peppers, spinach, and a few bread crumbs. The pin is here if you want the recipe. Yes... it has bread crumbs in it. Next time I will substitute with cauliflower that I have "crumbed" in the oven.

This is a pork loin, seasoned and grilled along with "mashed" cauliflower. Why I didn't use the vitamix to puree it is beyond me. Live and learn.

And this... This was probably my favorite so far. Roasted chicken breast/ chopped into pieces, mushrooms, avacado, cucumbers, romaine, uncured bacon and a dressing I made from here. It will be my substitute for ranch dressing. I think it tastes nothing like it, but it is so. so. so. yummy!

Our other meals include omelets with meat/veggies. I love carrots (It's where I get my sugar fix) and cucumbers so I will snack on them all day. Also, Thai chicken curry, chicken stirfry, and chicken with a carrot/pecan/peppers/bacon stuffing. (Perdue has the best chicken that we've found so far.) Also, J made a beef stew. Not chili because that has beans.

See.... I'm not starving myself. Most importantly, I am keeping hydrated. 6-8 12 ounces throughout the day. It's flushing out the fat. Can you believe that? It's awesome!

So that's what this whole "Paleo" thing is. There are a ton of resources on that chart. I, like the Defender of the United States was for me, will help you any way I can. Pinky-promise. So ask any questions you'd like.

Wishing you the best!

Miss T

A Sweet Surprise!

Hello! Hello!!

I know it's been forever since I have made a blog post, but today I couldn't pass up this opportunity to tell you what a find these are! 

amazon stock photo

Aren't they beautiful? These are the 100th Anniversary edition of the perfect Mason jar. I have been collecting OLD blue Mason Ball jars for a couple years, so I am excited to share this with you, in case you are too! I checked here and they are only listed at $12.77 today! Normally they are $13.99. We have a Prime membership, so shipping is free, and it's TWO days! I will have these in no time! I don't get paid for this. I just wanted to share what another had shared with me. Cool, huh? Tell me if you are buying some too, won't you? (I may even give a set away to one of my lucky readers! Just leave a comment and let me know that you are interested, become a follower of PIGTAILS & SASSYFRAS, and follow me on Pinterest. *Sigh... it's that easy)

That's it until after the 15th. I will resume my regularly schedule of boring you at that time. Can't wait!

xo

Miss T

Chicken Egg Rolls

Happy Weekend!! It's almost over, but luckily my mind got a little reprieve yesterday. I never expected that filing taxes for other people would be so stressful. Really. It makes me be all that more grateful for the cards that I've been dealt. But enough with this... Let's get to the good stuff!

Do you remember this post from emmons-blessings that I did the beginning of the year? I should have added "GRIND" to the vinyl lettering that I made to decorate the kitchenaid mixer, because we ground up chicken to make homemade EGGROLLS last night!!

Unfortunately I don't have a photo, but I do want to share the recipe.

CHICKEN EGG ROLLS

1 pkg of your choice of meat {we used chicken since we already had it on hand and we ground it.}
1 pkg of Premium Coleslaw mix. {comes with red and greed cabbage and carrots}
1 TBS of minced garlic {you can use 3 cloves of fresh, minced}
2 TBS of Coconut Oil {EVOO will work too, or whatever oil you have on hand}
1 1/2 TBS of Simply Asia Sweet Ginger Garlic seasoning. {found at BJs, but may be found at Sams' or Costco? I also found on Amazon, for those of you who internet shop.}
1/2 tsp of ground ginger. {you can use fresh, too.}
1/4 cup of Soy Sauce
2 TBS of brown sugar
2-3 inches of oil in a Wok or LARGE nonstick fry pan. {we used veggie, but you can use whatever kind you want. I didn't have peanut.}
1 pkg of Nasoya All Natural egg roll wraps {These babies are the BEST!}
1 beaten egg

Heat your coconut oil in a large fry pan. Throw in your garlic and saute it until you can smell the garlic aroma. Take the ground meat of your choice and it to the fry pan, mixing the garlic and the meat. Give it a couple turns in the pan and add the Soy Sauce and brown sugar. {I crumble the brown sugar over the meat.} Next add in the ginger and the Simply Asia seasoning to the meat and brown. {The chicken had some liquid in it, which was great when we added the coleslaw. If your meat does not, add 1/4 cup of water BEFORE you add the coleslaw.} Add the package of coleslaw and mix it thoroughly with the seasoned meat. {I stirred it until I could see the cabbage wasn't so crisp}Then put a lid on it to simmer for 5 minutes or so. Take the lid off and stir in the rice vinegar and resume simmering for 60 seconds. Remove from the heat and drain any remaining liquid that may be present. {I put it into a big metal mixing bowl and let the liquid drain down to bottom as the mixer was pressed to the side of the bowl.}

Open your egg roll wraps, taking a few out at a time. Using only 1 wrap at a time, face it towards you so it looks like a diamond. Add 1/4 cup of mix to the middle of the wrap.  Take the corner closest to you and fold over mixture, gently pulling back so the mixture is tight in the wrap. {Some may spill over, just use your fingers and tuck back inside.} Roll a half turn, then take the left corner and fold to the center. Do the same with the right corner. Brush beaten egg across the top {where the corners overlap} and roll until all the wrap is rolled up. Brush egg, again, across the top of the last corner. This seals the mixer in so it doesn't come apart when you fry them.

Turn on your Wok or fry pan. {Clean out your fry pan if you are using the same one. You don't want any residue from mixer lingering in with the oil that you will add.} Add your oil and heat. {I heat on medium high and we have a gas stove. I, also, use a water test, by taking my a drop of water on my finger and flicking it into the oil to see if it pops to see if it's hot enough. Probably not how you are supposed to see if the oil is ready, but I'm adventurous.} When the oil is hot, add 3-6 egg rolls, depending on the size of your pan. {When the wrappers are getting fried, they will turn a golden brown. if they are staying a bubbly white, your oil is not hot enough.} Using a pair of tongs, turn the eggrolls so they brown on each side. Remove and let drain on paper towels. Proceed making the rest of the eggrolls, repeating the filling process.

CAUTION!!! These babies are HOT even when they have been sitting for a few minutes, so proceed with caution when diving in to this deliciousness!

Do you use any sauce with your egg rolls? We used a jalapeno jelly that I bought last summer in Colorado. It was YUM! You can also make a hot mustard {you know the kind that burns your nose if you get too much of it} by taking ground mustard and adding a little water to it to make a paste. Add a dash of milk if it's too thick. 

If you try this recipe out, let me know how you like it.

We received about 3 inches of snow and a tad bit of rain making the roads snow packed and icy.  Work was called off on Saturday morning. I did take a few photos with my phone just to document that we did actually get some snow this winter.

 Do you see that we have some grass poking through the snow??!

On Thursday there was a trampoline that had blown into the brush across the street it was so windy.

 And the girls wanted to go outside and play in the snow. In and Out, just like little kids.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Much Love~
Miss T  

Crop Dusting

And I'm not talking about when your son silently lets one off and runs out of the room, leaving you in the smog of awful stench.  Although that, too, is crop dusting.

Yesterday while we were hanging out waiting for friends to come over for the UFC fights that were free, we heard what sounded like a plane landing right on our house. And even though it didn't land, it was very, VERY close! He was coming straight through our back yard.

Do you see that?? It was INSANE, but totally cool, how close he came to our house.

BUT, ICK!! Look at the trail of pesticide he had left behind. There is a soybean crop field that is on the other side of the houses.

 This is right above our house.

He looped out around the neighborhood and I caught a picture of him and the moon. We thought he was done, so we went back inside. Only to hear him, once again, roaring over our neighborhood. I stepped out around the corner of the house and this is what I found.

No, he is NOT in the trees, but it kind of looks like it, though, right? He zoomed up and away, missing them by a hair. O loved it as the show went on for about 30 minutes with approximately 2 refills on the chemicals he was spraying. It was neat to watch because I've seen him around the area and have wanted to capture a few shots.

I'm going to leave you with this shake recipe that I found today, thumbing through some comments on a blog. Someone suggested to use sugarfree butterscotch pudding to thicken your shake in place of a banana. I thought, what a GREAT idea! James doubted, but later recanted his opinion.

Here it is:

Butterfinger Smoothie
2 handfuls of ice
1 tbs peanut butter
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I used EAS)
1 cup of milk ( your choice. I used 2%)
1 tbs sugar-free butterscotch pudding

Add in that order to your blender, ninja, magic bullet, or vitamix (whichever you may have). Blend and drink slowly. You don't want to get a brain freeze! You will NOT be disappointed if you like butterfingers.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try it out!

Have a great week! It's bound to be a busy one for me!

Much Love,

Miss T

Be The Good...

Over the weekend I had a conversation with my girl, Kelly. She shed some light on how I've been living just getting ready to move again. How true, I thought. Nothing went up on the walls in Maryland and Virginia. When I told her that I wasn't going to do anything to our new house because we were going to be moving to GERMANY next August, she gave me the face. You know the one.... the disappointed friend look; sad eyes and furrowed brow.

And before I fell asleep, I prayed for strength and wisdom. And you know what?? She was right! I have been living out of boxes with bare walls for the last four years. And you know what else? I hung something up. And it happens to be something that I made today... on my unexpected day off.

I have seen the pin on Pinterest over the last couple years, and have wanted to make it. I picked up some canvases over the weekend when I was with Kelly. I painted it the same satin Mystic from Valspar, that I used for this project a couple weeks ago. Next I used the Cricut to cut out the letters in the different fonts. Then I sprayed some adhesive on the back of the letters and stuck it to the wall using Command Velcro hanging strips. (Those are the coolest things ever!)

What do you think?

I will be working on my photo wall around the art piece as the months go on. I just wanted to show you that our house's walls are no longer bare.

Thanks, Kel, for giving me that push. I really needed it. Love ya!

We are supposed to get some snow here tonight. Pray for those drivers that never drive in it to have the wisdom to stay home.

Stay warm, and much love!

Miss T

PS~ Big Happy Birthday shout outs to my other friend Kellie~ YOU are the GOOD.  miss u