It's Official!

I am a stay-at-home wife! At least I will be for the next six months!

I know many of you have questions on why I left teaching, but please know that it was the best decision for myself and for my marriage.

Yes, I am ok with our decision. In fact, I am thrilled to be able to take this time and focus on myself, my husband, my business, and our apartment. I love being at home and taking care of everything and having the energy to do so. I am considering this to be a blessing from God!

I do have a job lined up for late summer/early fall that I am really looking forward to. In the meantime, we will be making a lot of changes financially to be able to afford me being home so if we can't go out as much right now, that's ok. I hope you all understand.

Phil and I are really excited about this new opportunity and are looking forward to this change.

Moderation is the Key

Everything in moderation. That's what I'm aiming for this year. I've tried eating gluten-free and reducing my dairy, but when they told me to also avoid all things containing corn...that's where I realized that it had to stop.

The reality is that the only thing I would be "allowed" to eat would be meat, fruit, and veggies. Most other things wouldn't work except for rice. Knowing how my body works, I've realized that this is not something that I could do.

Moderation is still allowing myself to eat some of the foods that I like with adding more foods that are anti-inflammatory.

Basically it makes me feel better to not have so many restrictions. The chiropractor was always telling me to eat bread if I wanted, but just not to do it all the time. I need to make sure to make better choices overall, but a sandwich won't kill me. I'm not allergic to gluten, corn, or dairy...they just are more inflammatory.

Moderation is what I'm striving for. I hope to be able to make it work and make better choices overall.

Progress

It's the second day of the new year an with the new batch of medicine I got for my bronchitis I'm feeling much better!

So far this year, I have rearranged the kitchen and living room! I love staying home and having the energy to get things done...and it gives Phil a lot more time to do other things which makes him so happy.

I've also been doing a lot more cooking and worked on our budget. We decided to try a couple of different things to help control our spending and I'm really excited about that.

Hopefully this new year continues to be good to us!

Welcolme 2012!

2011 was good to me. I finished my first year of teaching, got MARRIED, went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, and began my second year of teaching. I also started my own business sewing purses and learned that through dietary changes and exercises, I don't have to be in pain all the time.

I am looking forward to this new year. I don't have any specific resolutions, per say, but one overall...

I want to make better choices.

This doesn't just pertain to any one thing, but to many things. Diet, exercise, overall health, and budgeting are just some of the things that I am looking forward to working on.

What are you working on this year?

Giving up Control?

I have to be honest here, I'm a little bit of a control freak. I like things to go my way and know what is going to happen at all times. I like to have my expectations met and know that things are going to run the way that I have envisioned them.

Unfortunately, life is not that way. I can't be in control all of the time and there are many situations that there is nothing that I can do to change them. The thought of having chaos in my classroom makes me anxious and I have a hard time letting go of the control.

The truth is that middle schoolers need some time to be themselves and to express themselves in a way that I may not be thrilled with. Sometimes they talk too much or too loudly and don't follow rules....and you know what, that's ok. I need to learn to modify my expectations and work with them instead of against them. Middle school is a difficult time for so many kids and it's my job to educate and nurture them, not be a drill sergeant!

This is something that I will be working on. I need a lot of prayer and support to be able to look outside of myself and give the students what they need. I know that I can do this especially with God's help.

Pain

It's incredible that I seriously thought that all of the pain that I experience on a regular basis was "normal". It's not uncommon for me to hurt if someone pokes me in the arm or for my back to hurt, but I just recently found out that this is not ok. It turns out that my body is incredibly inflammed and that is why I hurt so much all over. I seriously was beginning to think that I was just lazy and the weight that I have gained was the culprit itself. Fortunately, that's not true! Sure, the weight gain hasn't helped, but when I'm feeling good physically I actually enjoy doing things...go figure!

I am working with a chiropractor to get better. I see them three times a week and have changed my diet to eating gluten free and reducing my dairy intake to help the inflammation go down. I am hoping that soon enough I will feel up to working out again and be able to enjoy it. For now, I am taking it one day at a time.

I never thought that I would have to change my diet to manage my pain. Believe it or not, I thought that I was just sensitive to pain and that it was normal for my body to feel the way it does. It wasn't until recently that I even considered going gluten free. I read a blog about it and it sparked my interest, but even that want enough to make me try it full-time. It really wasn't until my chiropractor suggested it that I really wanted to give it a go.

The goal is to be gluten free for two weeks to see how my body reacts. Hopefully it will take down the inflammation and will help me heal completely. I have a positive attitude about it and am prepared with meal options for the next couple of days. If the inflammation does not go down very much, the next step is to remove dairy also. I am mentally prepared for that as a hopeful temporary solution, but you never know. Either way, I am going to give it my best and see how it turns out.