Dear Past Week, You have been fun and stressful all at the same time. Thank you for the perfect weather.

Dear Next Week, Please prove to be not as stressful and let Michael and I get back to our typical routine. Let Michael start sleeping through the night (in his own room, if possible), and help me be in a better mood during the day (even if I'm still lacking sleep).

Dear Michael, I have had SO MUCH FUN with you these past few days outside.



With the weather improving, I know we're going to have a wonderful spring/summer spending most of the days outside. I promise I will try to stay in a good mood and not worry about the house being 100% 50% 25% clean. Playing and enjoying these wonderful moments with you is what's most important, after all.

Dear Readers, Thank you for all your encouragement and feedback this week. This next week I'm intending on sharing our Easter pictures (finally), as well as some from our family trip to the zoo. And, of course, new recipes.

Have a happy weekend! Do you have any awesome plans?


The idea for this post came from Ashley over at The Sweet Season.

I know I have several posts on my body-after-baby and getting in shape and clean eating and so on and so forth and so on....

Yeah. I know.

Part of it is because body care is so important to me. Sometimes you wouldn't know it. I mean, it's not like I'm some built muscular female, or a super thin model, but I do try to pay attention to what goes into my body. What's good for you. What's not. This is not to say I don't enjoy my pizza or ice cream like any other person. I just... I try.

But the key word in all of that is try.

I am not the person for anyone to look to when it comes to clean eating. My 100 Days of Real Food journey ended at about 30. I was so tired and got sick of trying to make everything myself and keep up with it all, that I gave up. I hate hearing the excuse that, "eating organic is too expensive"... but I was making that excuse. It didn't matter that the site has a budget-friendly plan... I was tired. Trying to get Michael to eat all these new foods (that are clearly better for him than his Gerber puffs) and fighting him on all of it was sucking all my energy, so I gave up.

You may remember when I did the one post on Made to Crave. I was so into it and realizing this journey that I felt God was putting before me, which inspired my 100 Days of Real Food kick. Well, exhaustion and taking part in multiple Bible studies and getting involved and making friends lead me away from the book. I stopped looking at it like a spiritual journey and thought, "I will accept my body, and in time it will return to where I want it to be."

Well, as we all know our bodies don't magically change. It does take work. Being active and healthy is a lifestyle choice, not just something that happens overnight.

Then I found this verse:
Photo taken from the Proverbs 31 Ministries Facebook Page.

Now, I'm sure that this verse has multiple meanings on so many different levels, but it spoke to me about my eating and exercise habits. If I don't take care of my body, what does that mean with my relationship with God?

This is where I was headed with my Made to Crave. Food is a struggle with me. It always has been. Since I was little I have battled over-eating and emotionally-eating and more. When I am in a hard situation, or have had a bad day, I honestly don't turn to God most of the all the time. I turn to food. Cookies, chips, chocolate chips, bread, juice... it doesn't even have to be something I really, truly want or like. If it's in the house, it's fair game.

What does this mean about my relationship with God?

It means I'm cheating on Him with food.

Maybe you disagree, and maybe you're rolling your eyes. All I can say, is that lately I've really been fighting this battle again. I have yet to figure out if I'm winning or losing.

The pint of strawberries and 1/4 bag of chocolate chips that's missing from last night to me says I'm losing. But that could be me being too hard on myself...maybe?

This is not a post about promising a new diet fad, or saying I'm picking up the "real food" challenge again. It's simply me confessing one of the hardest things I'm always facing: food.

Food. I love food. I love cooking, baking, photographing, and eating it. It is an indulgence that I always give into.

For my #TBT I'm sharing three pictures of me at my "best". Times where I was exercising daily, eating healthy foods, and paying attention to my body in general. While these pictures (and others) offer motivation sometimes, it isn't enough. I think keeping in mind that I want to keep my body healthy and available for God's use is, but it is something I must remind myself daily. This isn't just about food. For me, it's a spiritual battle. Choosing God over the deceptively delicious packaged foods that offer "comfort" when I'm struggling.


What do you struggle with the most?

Monday was picture day for us! I kept putting off blogging about my power-push because I wanted to share pictures, well here are some that turned out BEAUTIFULLY!

If you're in Western North Carolina or Eastern Tennessee, seriously look up Courtney Valentine. So gifted!

I tried to cut back on how many I was going to include in the post, but I just couldn't help sharing quite a few...

Happy July!

I've started off every month since Michael was born saying, "This is the month!" (If not to others than to myself.)

By that I meant, this is the month I'm going to really start losing weight. This is the month I'm going to get my body back. This is the month I'm going to return to who I was (physically) before Michael was born.

Well, the truth of it is: none of those months were "the month".

Some women are blessed and get their body back in a number of a few short months. Many people say, "9 months to gain, 9 months to lose". Neither of those have been true for me.

Here Michael is just about 10 months old and I'm carrying probably ten to fifteen pounds still that don't belong.

So I thought what better way to keep myself accountable than to blog about it.

I'm not sure where I came up with the idea of a "Power-Push". For whatever reason it sounds catchy and makes complete sense to me. If it doesn't to you... well... just bear with me.

This month I'm cutting some things out and adding more of the good stuff. I kept saying before that I was going to do this, and for whatever reason it just didn't stick. Not even for lent. I kept saying I'd do this, even have a friend who has been keeping me in check, but still I have my moments and just keep them to myself.

When I say moments, I mean a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's or way too many chips or fast food or what have you. It's so easy to give into things that are easy when you have a child. The women that kept saying, "Take it from someone who knows." Well... perhaps I should have listened to them a little more.

Here's what I'm giving up for the month of July:

1. Alcohol
Don't take this the wrong way. We definitely don't drink like fish at our house. I mean more or less that when Clark and I go out on our dates, or want to "celebrate" something, it's not going to be done with alcohol. Besides, that's money wasted, too.

2. Fast Food (except when traveling)
It's so easy to go out and run errands and decide we'll get McDonald's rather than go home for the planned salad or healthy sandwich. Clark grew up in a family that gave in so easily to the temptation of the golden arches or the purple bell... so I'm stopping that here and now when it comes to just being out and about around town. Traveling is a little different... but we can at least get Subway or something when we travel.

3. Excuses
I make excuse after excuse about not exercising or giving in to some junk food. "I'm not in the mood," or "There's too much to do," or "I can't cook when there's this big of a mess." I blame everything and everyone for my inability to get off my butt and turn on an exercise video, or go outside for a walk, or get up and go to the gym. This month, that's not going to cut it.

4. Ridiculous Serving Sizes
Clark and I tend to overeat. We sit there and say how hungry we are, so we eat four servings between the two of us. This month I'm really sticking to proper portions. Six small meals a day to fill me up (three meals, three snacks if you want to put it that way). I'm going to stop overeating on the pasta, rice, or even ground turkey and start eating the correct portions of all the good stuff that I need.

5. Fattening, Sugary Sweet, and Over-the-top Recipes
Don't worry. I'll still be blogging about yummy deliciousness that you may want, but that doesn't mean I need to indulge. I'm going to avoid eating what I cook (or at least only trying one so I know they taste good). The rest will be given to neighbors, friends, coworkers, and so forth. I'll let them enjoy it, and I'll keep working towards my weight loss/ muscle gain goals.

Here's what I'm focusing on/ aiming for during the month of July:

1. More Exercise
I used to be so good at making myself exercise at least five times a week. When I was in high school, my mom and I would walk pretty much every day after school or every day during the summer. I'd also come up with a strict weight work out for myself. As time passed, I seemed to "relax" more and more. When I was pregnant, I pretty much gave up hope because of my swelling. Now I seem to slip into the mindset of "it will come off eventually", but the weight won't come off unless I work it off. So, I'm definitely coming up with an exercise schedule and sticking to it.

2. More Veggies
It seems I've stopped snacking on things like carrots and celery and grown more accustomed to anything from trail mix to muffins. Carbs. I eat WAY too many carbs. This isn't saying I'm cutting them out, I'm just making it a goal to replace one to two of my typical carb binges to something that's green... or at least in the vegetable family.

3. More Activity
This is not to be confused with #1 (More Exercise). More activity means doing more. I mean reading more, crafting more, being outside more, playing with Michael more... more activity. I tend to get in this mindset that I have nothing to do and I lounge around, even when Michael is giving me a break (by napping or eating happily in his high chair). I need to DO more. This also isn't to say that taking a break sometimes isn't necessary, but I tend to take more breaks than I really need to.

4. Positive Attitude
It's true I've become a Negative Nelly. I come up with all the possible "what-ifs" and then get depressed and become an emotional eater. I'll eat anything I want, because I'm in a bad mood. Well, what if I wasn't? I'm devoting more time to devotionals and less time to dwelling on the infinite "what ifs". Trusting God is a big one. While I may say I trust Him, I feel like if I was trusting him whole heartedly I wouldn't be so dang stressed and negative all the time.

5. Healthier Recipes
Since I'm giving up lots of the sugar, I plan on replacing it with more creative ideas that are healthy but still meet my sweet cravings. After all, I'm only human. I should say, I'm only female. Craving chocolate or any sort of sweet once in a while is the way I am, and therefore I need to find ways to meet that (once again) without indulging in things like Cooke Brownie Cupcakes.

To wrap this blog up, I'm going all out and posting my "Day 1" pictures. As these were taken before I had a shower, please forgive the fact that my head is cropped out...