Weekend Meditation: Abundance

During a period of intense transition in my life, I found myself seeking God's wisdom and direction (always a good thing to do - not just during "transition").  I adopted this passage as my mantra in considering what the next phase of my life might look like:

The thief comes to steal and destroy; [Jesus] came that [I] might have life and have it abundantly. ~John 10:10 (emphasis mine)

This morning, I was reading through some inspiration (Twenty Four Hours a Day) and came upon this:

Love the busy life. It is a joy-filled life. Take your fill of joy in the Spring. Live outdoors whenever possible. Sun and air are nature's great healing forces.  That inward joy changes poisoned blood into pure, healthy, life-giving flow. But never forget that the real healing of the spirit comes from within, from the close, loving contact of your spirit with God's spirit. Keep in close communion with God's spirit day by day.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may learn to live the abundant life.  I pray that I may enjoy a close contact with God this day and be glad in it.

Source

What a timely reminder that sometimes an abundant life is a busy life!  There is joy in busyness as long as there remains time to keep connected with the Spirit - as long as I take time to fix my eyes on the giver of this busy, abundant life.  Today, take a moment during your busyness to stop, breathe, and celebrate the abundance in your life.  It may not look like you expected.  It may not be all that you want.  Abundance can show itself in the most unlikely places - bulbs sprouting up from the cold earth after an especially long winter; the laughter of a child you love (yes, even while you are longing for your own); the warm nuzzle of a faithful furry companion; the filtered sunlight in the room where you find yourself contemplating this now; the knowledge that you have everything you need because Jesus is the lover of your soul.  My life is busy and it is abundant.  Gratitude helps turn the stress of a busy life into abundance.  Thank you, Lord for my busy life.  Help me make the most of every moment.  Praying this for you too.  Practice self-care for your spirit today.  Be healthy!

Busy Week! TGIF

Was it a busy week for you?  Man, this week flew by for me.  I had so much going on with work, construction, and some personal things that I was up late and early every day - and still didin't get it all done!  Balance is still a struggle for me.  Does it get better?  Lord, I hope so.

Here's a quick peek at what we were up to...

Baby G tried avocado and quinoa - we'll try again later.

I made a version of this recipe for breakfast.

I multi-tasked...a lot.

Baby G practiced feeding himself watermelon - messy success!

The dog napped.  I did not.

We had new tile installed in the bathroom.

I baked these banana oat teething biscuits for Baby G.

I enjoyed a yummy berry & kale protein smoothie.  Here's the recipe...

 Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
handful of mixed greens (I use Supergreens from Organic Girl)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp honey
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
a few ice cubes

Blend and enjoy!

TGIF!  Let's reconnect this weekend, k?  I missed you. Be healthy!

Do you eat for any other reason?

I was reviewing a client history form recently and came across this question of her - do you eat for any other reason [than to nourish your body]?  I think we all do.  I do. My guess is that you do too. 

The truth is that food and drink are part of our lives in many different ways.  Coffee as a morning ritual; birthday and wedding cakes; champagne to toast the new year; lamb at Easter; and potato latkes for Hanukkah. These are just some of the well-recognized ways that food is part of our lives.

You may have your own food rituals or habits.  Usually the center around other people and social events. As we approach the holiday season, there'll be lots of these.

There's nothing wrong with having these rituals or using food for more than just fuel.  One reason dieting can be stressful and one reason they fail is that a dieter may feel a sense of loss or over-restriction.  If an (non-medically necessary) eating plan makes it hard to participate in celebrations with your friends and family, it's unlikely to last. 

Source

The truth is that you can enjoy your favorite foods AND adopt a healthy lifestyle (see my Thanksgiving tips. The secret is moderation - a small serving will do - and balance - 80% super nutritious foods and up to 20% indulgence. A registered dietitian can help you create a plan and provide the support and (gasp!) accountability that you may need to learn to successfully navigate these food-filled events. 

Celebrate the season.  Enjoy a small cup of eggnog, slice of pecan pie, or gravy on your turkey.  Don't go overboard.  And don't feel guilty.  Be healthy!

On Balance

I'm feeling completely out of balance.  There, I said it.  With my little guy just having turned 3 months old (actually 14 weeks already - how did that happen?!), I feel like I should have it all together by now.  Shouldn't I be able to spread my time out equally to cover maintaining a beautiful and clean home, prepare beautiful and delicious (not to mention perfectly nutritionally balanced) meals, and an successful career, all the while regaining my pre-pregnancy (or better) body and looking beautifully rested?  Come on!  When I'm thinking like this, I have to ask myself, is it about me or everyone else?  Am I worried about the image or the reality of my life?  Who cares anyway?
 

Source: I have no idea. Found on FB and saved weeks and weeks ago. I'll do better, I promise. 
If it's yours, please let me know and I'll credit you or remove it - your choice.

Last Friday, I missed a meeting. Granted, I didn't get a meeting reminder on my not-so-smart phone (which is my brain some days), but I knew I had a meeting.  I returned home from some time at the office and planned to join the meeting by phone, but the wheels fell off and my son needed all of my attention.  He got it.  The meeting went on without me.

Tuesday, I missed another meeting.  My childcare (which is totally reliable and seriously wonderful) fell through - I didn't want a vomiting nanny anyway.  I see you shaking your head in agreement.

I'm at least a month behind on reading for some volunteer work that I do.  I may never catch up.

I double booked myself this week on at least two occasions. 

The laundry is about to swallow me.  I don't think I have another clean bib in the house and my little guy's cloth diapers are almost all dirty.  We're about to be down to the ragged ones - you know, momma, the ones that you never use and often think about cutting into cleaning cloths?  Yeah, those.

And yet...the days go on with a familiar and comfortable rhythm. I wake up to find my sweet little guy smiling in his crib, ready to start the day.  Nurse, change diaper, change clothes (sometimes multiple times for both of us), play, nap - repeat.  In between, write, email, call, let the dog out - let the dog in 42 times.

Source: As above.

Balance is an illusion - much like control.  We can't control everything, but we can control some things.  I can't control anything beyond what's sitting in this seat.  Sometimes I don't feel like I can control that.  What I can control is my attitude, my self-talk.  My reactions.  My choices.  I choose to breathe.  I choose to relax.  I choose to receive love and joy and peace from my Heavenly Father through His Word and the gifts of my sweetheart, my precious little boy, and my loyal pup.  For me, that's what real balance is - everything else is...everything else. Have a healthy day!

Beginning...Again

My friend Karen used to say, Sherry, you can start your day over anytime you like.  It's advice I've taken time and again in my life.  Whether to restart a day, a week, month, career...whatever.  Now I'm applying it to my blogging.  I'm beginning again.  New address (URL), same me.  My friend also used to say, no matter where you go there you are.  Ha!  Translation: you can move, but not away from yourself. More than anything, my friend helped me learn that everything we do is done one step, one decision, one day at a time.

I would like to source this, but I have no idea where I got it.  Sorry!

As I begin (this blog) again, my life is different and I have so much to share!  In August, my Sweetheart and I welcomed a new little one into our lives with the birth of our first child, baby G.  He's the joy of my days and a happy, healthy, bouncing baby boy.  Growing like crazy and we're learning as we go.  Some of my posts will be about him.

They say a baby changes everything and boy is it true!  My life is very different than it ever has been before.  My schedule is...well, unpredictable. I'm in new territory, learning to care for every need of another person.  My body is different after growing a little human being and then birthing him into the world.  I'm emotionally more raw and sensitive than I can ever remember. (New mommas, can I get an Amen?!)  Even my thoughts and feelings on nutrition have changed a lot.  From the time I found out I was pregnant, I began to be even more careful and thoughtful about what I eat.  Some things that never bothered me before suddenly became unacceptable foods to eat.  I'll be sharing bunches of that here, I'm sure.

About 1/2 way, full term, and about 6 weeks post-baby!

Finally, I've got a new job.  Or rather...and old job.  Mommying is now my #1 job!  Now, I know my friends who work outside the home mommy their children as their most important job too, so don't get me wrong.  What I mean is that it's the job that takes my days and nights nearly 24/7.  I decided not to return to my (wonderful) job in marketing for a commodity board, but instead to cut back my hours and work contract so that I could work from home most of the time, devoting myself more fully to daily being a hands-on mom.  After all, at nearly 40, I waited a long time to get this job - I want to enjoy every moment.  Balancing being Mommy with being Dietitian Sherry will be an important topic.

Serious multitasking happening here.

Let's review...what can you expect from this blog?

• Posts about all things baby - breastfeeding, sleeping (or not), scheduling, introducing solids (coming soon!), cloth diapering, skincare, getting your body back, etc. etc.  Want to know a secret?  Sometimes I feel clueless too, but I'll share what I'm learning.
• What to eat - and NOT eat - and how to select, prepare, and get your family to eat nutritious and delicious foods.  This is no tease, I'm serious.  My green-vegetable-averse husband eats nearly everything I prepare for him.  I'll share my secrets!
• Balance - how the heck do I do it all?  I don't, but together we'll talk about how to do what we can and do it well.  This includes faith, basic husband care, balancing baby, home and career.  Confession? I don't have this all figured out either, but I'm learning to give myself grace, pray for guidance and lean into the supports God has placed around me.
• Random nutrition stuff - I love nutrition (and food).  My areas of special interest include food allergies, digestive health, vegetarianism (or flexitarianism), the microbiome/probiotics, and really delicious, healthy cooking. Tune in for regular doses of nutrition randomness.

So that's it. My weekly, semi-daily, regular dietary confessions.  Hope you will make this blog a regular part of your day as I regularly share my heart and whatever wisdom I've been given.  Be healthy!