Where is the Magic Fairy Dust?

              I wish I could tell everyone that there is Magic Fairy Dust that will make life 100% perfect by eating healthy, working out and making good choices when it comes to your lifestyle but... It would be a total lie.  


             Brandon and I have made drastic changes in our lives in the past 2 years. We started working out, started competing in triathlons and races, we completely changed our eating habits and we are making healthier choices for us. Along with the healthy eating and exercise, we have also been learning to live life with "margin". Getting rid of things in our lives that bring us down or clutter up our home or time. We've de-junked our home and put ourselves on a debt free budget plan by Dave Ramsey and Mint. My parents started doing Dave Ramsey a few years ago and shared it with all of the kids. I saw how tough it was for my parents but knowing the benefits that it will provide them when they do finally get debt free, it was worth it! Dave has really helped us to ask ourselves "Do you need it? Do you want it? Will this make your quality of life better?" Usually the answer is NO! I transferred from my job in Falls Church because it was taking hours away from quality time with my husband and quality time for myself. We weren't able to cook together, train together or even hang out with our friends as often as we would like. My quality of life was poor- couldn't sleep, I couldn't keep a consistent diet or exercise plan. We knew that had to change and I was lucky enough to switch to a fabulous school 15 minutes from home. Our quality time has increased, my health has increased, energy has increased and I feel great. Life is really good for us right now and I know that we are living life with "margin". A friend of mine has a quote on her g-chat status that reads: "Have nothing in your home that you don't use" - you can take that to literally mean your home but I took it to mean my life in general! :) 


            With all of these positives in our lives right now, you would think that I would be floating on a cloud all day every day! But it just isn't true- I still have fat days (yup, a size 6 and I still cry sometimes about my image) I have always had to deal with my self-image issues and just because I have dropped some pants sizes- it doesn't mean that will just poof go away. I might have lost weight but I still feel like the same size 12 girl that I've always been. 
If this is you:
                   1.) Don't get discouraged, just remember it's all in how you feel, not in how you look. 
                    2.) Don't eat a bowl of ice cream and cry- go to the gym and take a kickboxing class and beat the snot out of your crying!! *this worked for me tonight*
                    3.) It is okay to feel this way especially if your weight loss was quick and drastic. 


I still get sad- most of it is because my sister lives in Australia and some days I just miss her so much that it ruins my whole day. Love you Christina!! :(


Today was one of these days, I can say this though, since the changes- these days are very rare and they can usually be fixed with a phone call to my sister, a workout at the gym or making myself some comfort food from my childhood. (This always reminds me of my mom and my awesome family growing up.)


So tonight I- talked to my sister through Facebook, went to kickboxing and made a salad that my mom always made for us. 

Mommy's Summer salad

Ingredients:

1 Cucumber

1 tomato (or 3 tomatoes on the vine)

1/4 Red onion

Process:

Cut the cucumber into fourths and then into bite size pieces. 

Cut the tomato into bite-able pieces 

Slice the onion into thin long slices. Then cut the long slices in half. 

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Arugula (optional)

Place all of the vegetables in a bowl and toss. Pour balsamic on top of the vegetables (about 1/4 cup) depending on how much dressing you like.  

Top with arugula for texture and color.