Rhythms of Rest

Source: shellymiller.com

Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World, by Shelly Miller
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication date: October 4, 2016
Category: nonfiction, Christian, motivational, How-to/self-help
Source: I received this galley from NetGalley for consideration of a review.

Rest. Seems it's not easy to come by these days if you have any semblance of a life. Church, family, friends, work, school, fun, hobbies, domestic chores (from major repairs to laundry)...the list just doesn't end. Rest is like an elusive fairy tale, something from a long gone era. Who has time for that, as much as we want to?

Yet, it's a commandment - to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). This tells me two things: it is possible and it is needed. So how does Sabbath look in the lives of 21st century Christians?

Alongside biblical commandments, that "to-do" list above probably makes it obvious why I took interest in Rhythms of Rest - I know I need it and can't quite figure how to find it. In the past year of readjusting my schedule for schooling, I have come across a few moments where I chose rest over work and it proved beneficial, but I would like to make this a consistent way of life.

Among the first things Miller makes clear is that rest looks differently among individuals. And even for one individual, "rhythms shift while remaining focused on what is most important." As much as most of us love routine for its ease and predictability, your rest is a rhythm that will not necessarily stay the same from one week to the next. Perhaps this is why we find rest so hard to do - it lacks routine. But good news, rest is scientifically proven: "A plethora of studies show that the brain requires alternating periods of structured work followed by unstructured rest in order to maximize function." So right way, we need to forget the guilt factor - there aren't rules, just the need for rest.

Another point Miller touches on is that the idea of Sunday as the one rest day doesn't apply as it did before. Rest is any time of any day in which we take time to relax from our work, at times to spend it in solitude, or with family, friends, or God. Sabbath gives us a break to stop, clear our minds, and relinquish control:

"When the mind is focused entirely a problem, we lose sight of God’s place within it. We pit ourselves against all the details as if the problem is ours to conquer immediately. Anxious and tense, we can wrongly assume that unless we achieve total victory, we will lose the battle and defeat will be our legacy. Sabbath provides space between you and your problems, enabling you to see from God’s perspective, often with surprising results, like a word breaking through your questions about life and awakening you to something more important. God is always near, but we often dismiss his powerful presence in the midst of pain and hardship."

Rest is not just for the purpose of regaining energy to hop back into the busyness - it's for the purpose of recollecting ourselves and going back into our schedules truly refreshed and perhaps even with new Godly perspective. And let's face it - none of us can go nonstop and make it through at our best.

Hopefully, you are convinced that rest is a need at this point - it should be top of your "to-do" list! If so, pick up Miller's book for further discussion on how our rest is met with resistance and even sabotage, but how we can stop trying so hard and maximize our rest.

Called to Speak

Source: New Hope Publishers

Called to Speak: Practical Tips for Women's Ministry Speakers and Teachers, by Edna Ellison and Linda Gilden
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Publication date: January 2, 2016
Category: nonfiction, Christian, motivational, How-to/self-help
Source: I received this galley from NetGalley for consideration of a review.

Much like the last book I reviewed, Successful Women Speak Differently, Edna Ellison and Linda Gilden's book Called to Speak drew my attention because of life circumstances. As a teacher, I speak to groups of high school students daily, on an academic and personal level. Even though I've been teaching for twelve years, there are always ways to improve. Yea, yea, I know the subtitle talks about women's ministry, but I've often found that similar principles apply across the nuances of an overarching topic. At a basic level, speaking is speaking and teaching is teaching. So, if I had the chance to read a book on the topic, why not take it? And if it is as Gail Godwin said - "Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre" - then consider this part of my one-fourth preparation. Ha!

Written from a perspective of Christian principals, Called to Speak of course speaks to the need to cover all speaking preparation and activities in prayer and discusses how your relationship with God affects the what, where, when, and how. Each chapter speaks on a broader level as well. One of my favorite topics Ellison and Gilden discuss is purpose and passion. Your purpose is a specific topic, but it is also the fact that you speak for the benefit of your audience, not yourself. You need to have great passion for your topic and the people to whom you speak, or else your message will fall flat. I've heard adults say things like, "I didn't like English in high school, but my teacher made it a lot of fun." I guarantee that teacher was enthusiastic about his/her subject and loved working with teenagers. Passion/enthusiasm makes a difference. Ralph Waldo Emerson speaks to this point well:

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Besides passion and purpose as my favorite part of the book, other topics of interest discussed are: partnering with people, personality and the public, paths and possibilities, practice and perseverance, and more. I definitely highlighted more than I typically do while reading Called to Speak - great resource for those who have already started down the public speaking path as well as for those headed in that direction.

Successful Women Speak Differently

Source: Amazon.com

Successful Women Speak Differently: 9 Habits That Build Confidence, Courage, and Influence, by Valerie Burton
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Publication date: November 1, 2016
Category: Christian, nonfiction, motivational, self-help
Source: I received this galley from NetGalley for consideration of a review.

Moving around in a familiar world made new, aka grad school, I found myself drawn to different topics. I watch my professors, how they choose their words and tone of voice, the level of professionalism they choose to maintain among each other and students, etc., and wonder if I would know how to speak, act, or sound if I found myself in a new place, job, school, social setting, or otherwise.

That's what drew me to Successful Women Speak Differently: 9 Habits That Build Confidence, Courage, and Influence, by Valerie Burton. I'm a talker, both verbally and written...I could text all day, write all night, and hang out with people in between. Unfortunately, I also have foot in mouth disease: Thought comes to mind, mouth opens, sound comes out, foot goes in, silence and regret reign. And I've always wondered what I can do on my part to improve the way I speak - whether it be to sound more professional or just to be more considerate.

Successful Women Speak Differently, shows how clear communication makes the difference in influence you have and favor you gain. A few tips given in the Amazon.com summary accurately state the main purpose of this book:
  * recognize the nuances in speech that can mean the difference between success and failure
  * increase your influence by changing what you think and say in critical moments
  * speak accurately about yourself so you don't sabotage your most meaningful goals
  * boost your confidence by making simple tweaks to your everyday speech

Based on Christian principles, Burton's book gives great explanation and examples of how words, tone of voice, and body language play more into how others read you than you know. For example, when I am personally invested in a topic, my voice tends to become passionately elevated - aka unnecessarily loud. My family points this out to me in various ways, funny and serious, but being my family, I ignore their comments. However, Burton has a section about volume of speech presenting a person in different ways in different situations, loud not being good most of the time. Open mouth, insert foot. Lesson learned. And hopefully less tasting of feet in my future.

Play with Fire

Source:Family Christian Book Store

Play with Fire: Discovering Fierce Faith, Unquenchable Passion, and a Life-Giving God, by Bianca Olthoff
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication date: August 30,2016
Category: Motivational, Christian
Source: I received this galley from NetGalley for consideration of a review.


As I've worked my way through a series of motivational titles this summer, I feel lucky that so many wonderful authors decided to share their experiences and wisdom through publication in the past so many months. Among these titles I found Play with Fire, which I requested mostly because of the author, Bianca Olthoff. I was not familiar with Ms. Olthoff at all up to this point, but she is one of a few big names in the field of female Christian authorship scheduled to appear at the Propel Women event I am attending in September. Hearing authors speak is always a good time, but how much better when I'm familiar with their thoughts and words? It's akin to rereading the book, which is always good, but I have little time for typically.

Wanting to be familiar with Ms. Olthoff, I went in search of any books to her name and came across Play with Fire on Amazon. Seeing it wasn't yet published, I headed over to NetGalley. What a good idea that was! What makes me especially like Olthoff's book is the fact that although I couldn't identify with much of her life experience growing up, her ability to state her thoughts, emotions, and spiritual situation hit me, and those I could relate to. That's talent.

Play with Fire takes readers through a set of years where Olthoff found her life falling apart. Her mother's worsening fight with cancer, her father and siblings at wit's end, making bad choices for herself financially, emotionally, and relationally, she likens the experience to the Israelites wandering the desert for 40 years. She spent years looking every which way for anything that would ease the pain of wandering lonely and afraid, only to find nothing helped, and in fact she felt worse. As Olthoff's story unfolds, so does the evidence of God's grace. With hindsight, Olthoff is able to trace the places where God had been by her side in her personal desert all along, waiting for her to reach the point of crying out and truly longing to be set free from her turmoil. Although pushing through was not easy, and she found herself stalled at times, Olthoff's story is heartfelt and encouraging to anyone finding themselves stuck in a hard place.

I always assume that part of what makes a book good is the timing in which it is read. Olthoff's book came in amazing timing for me. I am floored. I am speechless and inspired and ready to take on the place I find myself most fearful to enter. I know the current path was set before me for a purpose, so to walk through it, my faith bigger than my fear, is the only way through. Sounds simple, but we all know it isn't. I thank God for the wonderful men and women of God publishing their lives and God's message for all to read this past year. Their words do not fall on deaf ears.

Lift: The History of Fitness Culture

Source: Amazon.com

Lift: Fitness Culture, from Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors, by Daniel Kunitz
Publisher: Harper Wave
Publication date: July 5. 2016
Category: Nonfiction
Source: I received a free copy of this galley from TLC Book Tours for consideration of a review.

With my new interest in exercise this year (I'm up to 20 lbs lost since January), I jumped at the chance to review a book on the history of exercise! In his new book Lift, out July 5, 2016, author Daniel Kunitz first seeks to answer the question why? Why do we exercise? Most of us are not athletes, we are not competing in events, we do not need to take exercise to the levels of dedication that we do. So why the push for exercise in our culture currently? While Kunitz admits there are those who use exercise in unhealthy ways (an addiction to the sense of euphoria or as control over one's body), he makes a couple points that most anyone who exercises regularly would give a standing ovation for.

First the obvious: "We are always either getting stronger or weaker; improving or decaying; learning or forgetting - and the athlete tries to right the ship daily."

The second is longer, but it's the one I like and think other fitness minded people would cheer: "It is this marshaling of habits that I call the practicing of life, of which athletic training is only one form. Practice regimes have evolved in many forms, from the ascetic life of religion to that of the military to artistic practice, acting, medicine, philosophy, and scholarship - all aim at some type of self-enhancement through training. But athletic practice holds special interest for us because it forms the basis for all other types that followed...While [other] regimes are all voluntary, we are born into the regime of the body...we are always practicing some sort of fitness regime, be it sitting or gymnastics...For once we progress beyond the limited goal of merely shaping our bodies, we stop acting as if we were machines with a single purpose and instead begin aspiring to expansive ideals. We begin practicing the artistry of the self."

"Born into the regime of the body..." indeed. It's interesting to note that this has always been the case for everyone and yet, over time, views and types of exercise have evolved. But like all advancement, we must stop to ask ourselves if bigger is necessarily better? And this is where Kunitz begins to explore the essentials of exercise and its place in humanity. From the ancient Greeks to the feminist movement of the past century, stopping everywhere in between, Kunitz explores and asks, What are the basics of exercise and why should we get back to them?

Well, you'll have to read Lift to find out. With Kunitz's humor and the topic of exercise this close to the Olympics, it's a book many people can appreciate and enjoy right now.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Daniel Kunitz

Daniel Kunitz has served as editor in chief of Modern Painters, as well as an editor at the Paris Review and Details, and has been a contributor to Vanity Fair, Harper’s Magazine, and New York. He is also an avid CrossFitter and weightlifter. He lives in New York City.

Motivational Book Reviews

I'm not sure what you expected to find with the title of this post, but basically, I've spent a whole lot of time reading motivational books from Christian authors over the past couple months. (I don't call them self help because the belief is we can't help ourselves without turning to God.) There are so many of them I've recently read and still more waiting on my Kindle app, each one refreshing me and building me up, each one a treasure I want to share because the messages have truly helped me. Yet, interestingly, many of them overlap each other and my journey through their lessons has just begun, so what to use to fill a review? I figured what better way to put them out there than to give you a post of mini reviews, exemplifying the best of each one?

The first two I read I actually reviewed in the past two months. The first book that started the whole process was A Confident Heart, by Renee Swope. The second was Anything, by Jennie Allen. It would belabor the point to rehash them here, so please see the links for the reviews already written on these books. They are the titles that started the inkling of real change for me.

The third title, Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa TerKeurst, hit home hard. I had a consistent feeling of "this is me." The strange thing is, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I bought it more because of the author, who I already know I love. Plus, Proverbs 31 (a women's ministry of which TerKeurst is President) was running a read-a-long. I don't really have anyone to read books alongside so I always jump at the chance of a good read-a-long through Proverbs 31. I assumed the book would be about how to do more than just rote Bible reading and do-gooding. And it was that, but it went much deeper. TerKeurst probes at the core of who we are. What do you expect from life, what are doing in life, and is it going to really give you what you need? (Spoiler alert: it isn't). Among her discussion points she discusses allowing people and things to fulfill you and be the source of your happiness, which will fail you because no one and nothing is perfect. She talks about trying to measure up, do, do, do, go, go, go...and again this will fail because you are only human, you will tire going nonstop in your own strength. Plus, you don't have to measure up, you are accepted as you are by God...and true friends will see you the same way. There are many more points like these and all of them spoke to me of reevaluating my decisions and actions.

The fifth title, Undaunted, comes from another author I adore, Christine Caine. (Yes, fifth title because the fourth book I read is by far the best, so I'm saving it for last.) Undaunted discusses ways in which we find life getting us down and out and possibly giving up on what we've been called to do. I will admit some of what I read here was repeat as I've read other Caine books and the material from this book is referenced in them; however, Undaunted gave her story in more detail. She talks about ways in which we become easily discouraged or let the facts dictate what we can do when we are called by a God much bigger than any facts. And then her story of starting her A21 Campaign, an organization that fights human trafficking, absolutely backs up every point she makes. This book encouraged me in my next step forward and the life changes it will bring for me this Fall as I start my PhD program. It's daunting, but I can go forward undaunted if I choose to activate my faith.

And the fourth title? Christine Caine again, this time her newest title, Unashamed. This book can be highly personal to those for whom it applies and that's what makes it so valuable. Unashamed is about the ways in which shame has taken over our lives. Sometimes it's from something done to you and sometimes it's from things you've chosen to do. Everyone is affected by it in some way, at some point in their lives, and that's the value of this book. However, for some shame has played a much larger, tragic role, their lives encumbered by avoidance of and coping mechanisms for shame reactions. The best way to give a look into what shame does is to give a description Caine wrote (from experience) about how the mind reacts even in the smallest hurtful situation, intentional or not:

"So much emotion came with this hurt. Especially the emotion of shame—and it was loud just like a shame-producing giant always is. I was so tempted to interpret that I was being negatively judged. I was sensitive to and fearful of rejection and criticism—and wanted to withdraw. I began to feel I was the problem. I started to slide into my black-and-white perspectives of whether I was either loved or unloved, accepted or rejected, wanted or unwanted—with no rational zone in between these extremes. I began to be tempted to make adjustments to make others feel more comfortable, to people-please. So many of my shame buttons were being pushed all at once!"

Can you imagine living that way with each and every hurt and disappointment magnified ten fold? If you can or you do, you need to read Unashamed by Christine Caine. I've so enjoyed these books so far. It's all hard stuff, but when it comes down to making a life change, following a calling or becoming the you that you are intended to be, you can only change the things you are willing to confront. 

March Fitness Update

Here we are, the end of March, time for another fitness update. About mid-month I noticed that I had to keep pulling up my pants (the ones that were really tight when I started in January) and that my Fitbit strapped onto my wrist easily beyond the usual hole I used. I weigh myself once weekly, but have just now noticed the loss besides the scale reading. Between January and mid-March I've lost 12 pounds. 

In January a workout friend had said that within a couple months the difference would be noticeable to me and a few months past that, it would be noticeable to others. Figuring my pants and Fitbit were making it obvious to me at least, I took a picture to compare to my January picture. You don't necessarily see the changes in something when you look at it every day, so I was pretty impressed with what I saw reflected between the two pictures (January and March respectively).

Then life struck and I missed half a month of workouts. We are finishing off the process of closing on our new house renovation loan and I've spent evenings gathering paperwork and running it to the needed destinations or meeting contractors and consultants at the house for inspections. Which means it had to work around usual activities, some things were pushed to other nights/days, plus the kids' activities...and the workouts ended up sacrificed.

It sucks, but it showed me something worth realizing. Over Easter weekend, within two weeks of missing workouts, I found myself highly uncomfortable and in some pain...definitely in need of my chiropractor. Since I started in January, I've barely had to see my chiropractor and when I did, it wasn't because I was highly uncomfortable or in a whole lot of pain. The workouts were keeping my chiropractic needs in check.

Also, I discovered that because I wasn't working out, I struggled more with eating healthy. Knowing I sacrificed and sweated to workout kept me eating healthy because I didn't want it to all be a waste of time. Without the workouts I didn't feel I had as much of a reason to stick to the better eating choices. As of now, I gained back the two pounds I'd lost since the beginning of March.

Needless to say, my part of the legwork for the new house is done and the workouts are coming back full force. I'm ready to feel good again!

February Fitness Update

My Essentially Fit Living group - aka #EFL

(I'm tall one in the back center)

This post is going to be short, but I didn't want to discount what I've done for the month of February, just because some it is the same as January. So, the same parts first. I am still on board my exercise routine I started at the New Year. I enjoy it so much, that I kinda get mad when life gets in the way and I have to miss a workout. The group is supportive and the RIPPED program great! 

I'm still drinking way more water than I ever have and healthier snacks all around. I've found a balance between splurging and not. It must be working because I lost three more pounds in February, for a total of nine this year! Also, I've gained some Twitter and Instagram followers from the healthy living and workout world. Then I was asked to collaborate on a post about workplace health hacks with nuts.com, which was pretty cool. 

I'm still using my Fitbit, my highest step count being over 14,500 on each of the two days we moved from our house. On the other side, I've stopped counting calories and tracking my water. I figure if I'm mostly drinking water when I'm thirsty, then I'm good to stop tracking the amounts. Also, I was correct about my original need for counting calories. I learned pretty quickly what will have high and low calories and to look for sugar measurements. That, plus boosting my healthy snack intake, has allowed me to stop counting calories and continue to lose weight. Balance!

So, that's all I've got this month people! Not terribly exciting I guess, but nice to know I hung in there another month and this healthy living thing is going to stick this time. Not just another failed New Year's resolution. Bring it on March.

Workplace Health Hacks

As I've discussed on the blog previously, I've made an effort to better my health through better eating and exercise. The use of my Fitbit Charge HD deserves a tremendous amount of credit for my success in this because it actually shows me the results as they happen, hooking me immediately on my new routine.

However, one thing I've realized in using my Fitbit is that I do not move a whole lot during the school day. I walk into and out of the building obviously, but once in my classroom I walk the hallway and around my room very little. I tend to teach sitting on the top of a desk facing my class or standing. Knowing that movement of any kind helps in the achievement of health, I've been looking for ways to work my new healthy living into my workplace.

So when Nuts.com asked me if I'd like to spark a conversation on the blog about staying healthy at work, I was all for it. Nuts.com has a list of healthy snacks for different times, places, and needs. There's even a link there for Healthy Snacks for Work! After discussing some ideas about what I could do within the allowances of my workplace, they created this nifty graphic for me:

Some of these I already started doing last year and some I added this year. Last year was the first year in ten years I did not eat a single lunch from the cafeteria, packing lunch in hopes of somewhat healthier eating and saving money.This year I've improved upon that by not only packing my lunch, but consciously searching out truly healthy foods to pack, which ties into healthy snacking. Instead of boxes of snack cakes sitting in my desk drawer, I bring apples and peanut butter, mixed nuts, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, Greek yogurt, fruit, hummus wraps, and the list goes on. Because of vocal chord issues, my doctor told me to always have a non-carbonated drink at work (I'm a teacher - lots of talking and very little hydration have not been kind to me). so I switched out my PowerAde for water. The drop in my sugar in take and wallet out take made a huge difference!

Eating healthy is only half the battle though. I still needed that movement piece in my day. The only way to solve this was to purposely get up and move. Instead of saving errands for the end of the day or beginning of the next, I don't hesitate to run down the hall or downstairs at that moment since it means another flight of stairs and more steps. I try to walk around while teaching within my classroom a little more. Also instead of using the phone to call someone with a question, I walk to their room or office.

The eating is big and the movement may be minimal right now, but it's all improvement. Any improvement means I'm on the right track.

Any workplace health hacks you'd like to share readers? Thank you Nuts.com for sparking this conversation as I take my health journey!

January Fitness Update

The most fun thing about fitness for me so far is seeing my stats on my Fitbit. I get weekly reports in my email and the app keeps weekly tallies available to look back on. Since some have asked for updates, I figured I'd do just that. Here's my total progress for the month of January according to Fitbit:

Steps: 170,644

It is so strange how many steps/movements we make in a day. I never realized that by 8am, I've walked hundreds of, almost a thousand, steps.

 
Miles: 76.75

Whenever I think of counting mileage, it's been within one walking/running trip. But Fitbit counts all movement and puts it into a total mileage each day, adding those days into weeks, and the weeks into a month. Makes sense - I feel like I'm actually doing something now and it pushes me to walk whole miles at a time as well.

Calories Burned: 62,379

I'm still learning the whole calorie thing. I've been counting calories the entire month and really have a better grasp on which foods are better because of less calories, as well as which foods are better because of nutrients, some even despite the calories. I mean, I could eat a sleeve of crackers in one morning at work! But paying attention now, I see there are actually seven servings in one sleeve, which equals 560 calories! Not only is that as much as a regular meal should be, but they're not healthy calories either. I've also seen how exercise and general movement (or lack of) affect the calorie count. Again, my goal here is to make this a habit, changing my eating so much that I can stop counting calories because my main diet is healthy to begin with.

Flights of stairs: 134

Not a fan, winds me fast, but definitely good exercise. This is always the item that hits its target least. In the whole month, only twice have I reached the set goal of ten sets of stairs in one day. Second best was nine in a day.

Active Minutes: 789

These are minutes where your heart rate was at a fat burning level. It includes your exercise time, but only the minutes where your heart rate was up. For example, I walked across the local college campus one day and it registered as 12 active minutes. I would've loved to have this Fitbit when I was a full time student! I'd be rocking the steps and active minutes.

Days Exercised: 15 

The Fitbit automatically records exercise after a set number of minutes of continuous movement/heart rate. (I have mine set at ten, the lowest, but I never exercise for less than half an hour anyway). I like the automatic record because it gives a true look at where your heart rate was, length of actual active time, and actual calories burned. You can also enter your exercise manually, if you weren't wearing the Fitbit for example. I've found when I do PiYo (Pilates/Yoga), it doesn't always register the exercise because there's a lot of stretching, so I will enter those nights manually. Through my exercise routine, I've learned a little when I can afford to splurge on my eating! I try to save my splurges for outside my house, when I may have less control of the food available or want to eat out with friends. I'm proud to say I never dropped below three days of exercise the entire month. One week I worked out six nights and another four nights. At home I do T25 and at EFL (Essentially Fit Living, my exercise group) I do RIPPED (cardio and hand weights) and PiYo. I have my EFL group to thank for this goal being met. They make exercise an enjoyable, social event.

Weight Lost: 6 lbs.

Fitbit allows you to set a weight goal. It adjusts your allowance of calories per day based on the weight you want to lose and the length of time you want to lose it in. I kinda randomly set the weight I wanted to lose and gave myself six months. I really just want to fit back into my new jeans better, but figure that if I set the goal a little higher, it would make me work within a smaller set of calories, forcing me to learn healthy eating. (Yes, I need to manipulate myself. Yes, it works. I'm pretty stubborn once I commit to something.)

Water drank: 25,575 ml

Now this one is a real miracle. I don't know how my total compares to any of you, but this is amazing for me. I only met the goal of 1893 ml in a day once, but even if I drank one water bottle (500ml) a day I was doing well. I used to drink ZERO ml of water per day. Let's put it this way, I'm sure I drank water sometime, but I couldn't tell you when. There are two reasons for this. I'm addicted to carbonation and sugar (pop and sweet tea, people) and water tends to upset my empty stomach. So I've worked with it, figuring out that very cold water bothers my stomach more. Cool water isn't so bad, and with food is no problem at all. Also, I wasn't exercising previously and wow, do I drink water when I exercise. (I do eat a little before exercising to keep my stomach from getting funky from both the exercise and the water.) I've had almost nothing but water since January 2nd! Other than water, all I've had this month are two 12 oz servings of Pepsi, half a mug of hot black tea (no cream and sugar), and 6 oz of Almond Milk.

So, that's my January update! I'm so excited I've not given up once the whole month. And that I'm actually enjoying it. Funny thing is, the attitude may be contagious. In the past month my kids willingly ate broccoli, pesto, and Brussel sprouts and drank Almond Milk! I mean they ate them without whining or making faces and cleaned the plates. I have also been eating spinach, kale, hummus, and Greek yogurt. What healthiness can I get them to eat in February?