Blog Worthy Moments

Where to find me in 2015 . . .

2015-03-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

So, as you can see, I haven't made any new posts in 2015. I'm taking a break for a while from blogging here. It may be permanently, it may not. Knowing me, I'll probably change my mind again at some point. But I'm on a quest to simplify my life some, and keeping up with this blog, as much as I like looking back over the years, is keeping my life more complicated (in my mind's expecations) than it should. I am choosing to focus on some other areas of my life right now, so for the time being, I will be keeping up with friends and family on Facebook. Connect with me there and friend me (Jill Bailey Brisken), if you'd like to keep up with me! Thanks for anyone who has kept up with this blog over the years. Right now, it is just double work updating my happenings here and on Facebook. I will also probably continue to update our family site once a year, at least with pictures from the year at www.briskenbunch.shutterfly.com Please keep in touch!

New Christmas Puppy Rusty

2014-12-31T00:56:00.000-05:00

Our family decided to get an indoor dog this Christmas, and we decided on a Yorkie-Poo (part Yorkie/part Toy Poodle). We are so happy with our choice! He doesn't shed, will only get about 7-9 lbs full grown, and has the sweetest disposition ever! We named him Rusty. Enjoy the cuteness!!! Pictures from his first night home with us at 9 weeks old, about 3 lbs probably . . .

More pictures from the first few days with him . . .

And a few since . . . at about 12 weeks old, 4 lbs 6 oz at last vet appointment

Can you tell he's our new baby? Sooooo sweet!

New babies! Nephew & Niece!

2014-12-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

We added 2 new babies to the family this Fall/Winter! My sister, Megan and her husband, Mike, and big brother Cooper welcomed baby Brooks Thomas in September. Alaina and I were lucky enough to get to go visit them for a weekend and meet him. I even got to take his newborn photographs!

Then in December, my sister Stacy, her husband Zach, and big sisters, Wendy, Serena, and big brother, Daniel welcomed Cecily Rose. We haven't gotten to meet her yet in person, but my sister and I did a collaborative newborn photo session. She took the pictures, sent them to me, and I did a little photo editing on them. Here are a few of pretty Cecily . . .

Isn't God's handiwork amazing?

Thanksgiving 2014

2014-11-29T00:41:00.000-05:00

So, apparently I'm in the mood to quickly catch up our family happenings on the blog tonight from the end of 2014. Our family had a great Thanksgiving visiting my parents house in Williamsburg again this year. Both my sisters and their families were able to come too, as well as my mother and father in law. We had a wonderful, but too fast time as usual!

Fall Family Photos 2014

2014-11-17T23:50:00.000-05:00

I always love having our family photos taken in the Fall. This year we had one of Alaina's dance friends' mom, who is a photographer, take our photos. I love how they turned out and how she captured our family at this moment in time. Thank you Saving Grace Photography!

Fall Flew By!

2014-11-14T17:28:00.000-05:00

Fall flew by and I never got a post in. That's just the stage of life we are in right now. It never slows down, and I know some day I will miss this. So I will do my best to recap what we did in the Fall before winter starts.
Soccer - this was the 7th year that soccer has been a part of our busy Fall schedule, and we wouldn't want it any other way. We've come to look forward to the busy, cold mornings of getting out to the soccer fields to cheer our boys and their teams on in their soccer games. (Next year Alaina will be old enough to play and has already told us she wants to!) Both boys had another great season. Caleb and the Blue Dragons played well and learned and grew so much during the season. Starting out the season getting beat most every game, to ending the season winning a lot and being a real contender in the end of season tournaments. They tied one tournament and lost one tournament, but we were so proud of them all. Caleb was a defensive force to be reckoned with, never backing off the ball or giving it up, so much so that he often was seen flying through the air himself after going so hard after the ball and running straight into his opponents!

Ethan and the Green Lightning team had an awesome season. They won every game except one, and ended up being 1st in the season for our region, 2nd in the Regional Tournament, and 2nd in the Area Tournament. Ethan also grew in his soccer skills and played Mid Fielder most of the season. Very proud of him too!

And now that's all I have time to post about! Until my next moment to blog!

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Free Print Out - Chalkboard Promises of Encouragement for Kids with Scripture

2014-11-13T17:50:00.001-05:00

Here is a free print out I made. Some things we are hearing a lot lately from our kids. Good reminders for all of us!

Chalkboard Promises Print Out - Can print out on an 8x10 photo and frame.

Enjoy!

Caleb's 8th Birthday Party

2014-08-30T13:58:00.000-04:00

Sweet Summertime . . . Gone too fast

2014-08-17T19:09:00.001-04:00

I don't have long, as school starts here tomorrow, but I just HAD to get back on here and blog about our sweet summer that we've had. I am so sad to see it over. I think everyone goes through a bit of a depression around our house when summer is over and the busy fall season begins. We've so enjoyed the downtime we've had this summer, without such hectic schedules. But even so, we've been pretty busy! I will attempt to catch up a little at least on all we've been up to. As I already blogged a little before, our family went to the Outer Banks the last week of May for our vacation this year. We had around 22 people from our family and extended family, and it was so great! We had such a good time, it really started the summer off right! Sharing some more pictures . . .

Then after our vacation, the summer really just FLEW BY! I'm sitting here looking at my calendar and wondering, what did we DO EXACTLY??? I know we were busy, but my mind can't remember it all without looking.

June really was spent doing things mostly around the house . . . playing with friends, going to the pool, and attending Vacation Bible School at our church for one of the weeks. It really was great having time to schedule times for our kids to get together with friends and just play with friends that live in our neighborhood too. I love less busy schedules! Here are some pics . . .

July actually was a pretty busy month. We had our annual 4th of July party with our two neighbor friend families that we've been doing this with since our oldest kids were little. We have food, fun, and games and fireworks. So fun!

In July Alaina went to a 4 day dance camp and the boys went to Kid Fuge, a Christian day camp at a local church, the same one they went to last year and enjoyed a lot. There was minecraft playing, hide and seek playing, and going to a jumpy/bounce house for fun with friends! The boys also got to participate in some of the 2 Cool Fun Days at our church with messy and water games, movie watching, skating, and rock climbing. (Don't have pics from the 2 Cool Fun Days, as they were gone away from me. :-)

The last week of July the boys participated in AYSO UK Soccer Camp again for the 2nd year in a row. This year we decided to host a UK Coach in our home for the whole week of camp. We had Joe, from Manchester, stay with us and he was a very nice young man, and the boys said they want to host another coach again next summer too!

The boys and Alaina and I also got to go to a water park with friends, we got to go to a Greenville Drive game with Mama & Papa Brisken, and got to go to the zoo with Mama & Papa Brisken and Mama & Grandpa Bailey too.

Then we took one last quick road trip (me and the kids and my Mom, Scott had to stay at home and work:-( to my sisters' houses in VA and MD to visit my sisters and their families. The kids had a great time hanging out with their cousins!

While we were visiting Megan in Baltimore, we also got to go to the Maryland Zoo!

And I'm sure I've left out something! But I still have school supplies to go label before tomorrow. Usually, the weekend before school starts I'm really ready to get back to schedule and routine and the past two years I've done organization posts . . . but I don't think I'm doing that this year. Another thing I've done this summer is get serious about my health and nutrition and I started another blog called healthyandfitat36.blogspot.com that details my journey there. Now that school is starting though, my focus is changing to my kids schedules, school, and routine, and I probably won't have as much time to devote to that, at least not as much time to devote to blogging about it. I may not blog at that blog until next summer again, and that's ok. Sometimes I spread myself in too many different directions. I'm really trying to just take things one thing at a time this week, not over-stress or over-worry (which I can easily do the first week of school), and just BE! Taking one day at a time, praying for God's strength and protection over our household and our children as they start back to school. Here we go into a FULL FALL!! Just found out we have soccer practice between the two boys every night Monday - Thursday . . . it may be the end of Fall before I have another moment to blog. Until then . . . !

Caleb's Baptism

2014-08-03T21:24:00.001-04:00

So excited that Caleb became a brother in Christ to us today with his decision to follow in believer's baptism, at almost 8 years old. I am happy for him and look forward to seeing all that God does in his life, as he continues to grow. He told us a few weeks ago after a communion service that he wanted to go down front and tell people that he had asked Jesus into his heart and that he wanted to get baptized. This is such an answered prayer for our family, just as it was when Ethan was baptized, and as we continue to pray for Alaina to make that decision someday also. This is something Caleb had been nervous about doing for so long, so we are so proud of him for being brave and making his decision public. Back when Caleb was 4 years old, he asked Jesus in his heart and prayed with us at home (Caleb's Special Decision), and we are glad to see he has now followed in sharing his decision with others. Thank you to all our friends and family who shared in this special day!

New Fun, Fashionable, & Functional Fitness Find!

2014-08-01T13:01:00.001-04:00

Are you a lucky exerciser like me who starts sweating almost the minute you start exercising? Supposedly it's supposed to be a sign of health to sweat? . . . or so I've heard. If so, then I've been really healthy for most of my life! I would rather not sweat so much, but since I do, I always am searching for a good way to keep sweat off my face when I'm working out. I've tried cloth headbands before, but I must have an odd shaped head because they always pop off or slide up or down, and just end up being more of a bother than what they're worth!

I was thinking to myself the other day, I wish I could make a sweat rag I could carry in my hand that would somehow be attached to my hand or arm that I could just wipe my sweat off with when I'm running and keep going! For a moment I thought I might have a brilliant idea for a new invention and might be on my way to becoming a millionaire . . . but then I searched online and found it has already been invented.

Introducing the handana! I ordered 2 of these to try at http://www.myhandana.com and I've really been happy with the results! I just use it to wipe the sweat when I'm running and it does absorb it and I keep going.

Of course you have to wash it each time before using it again, so I may recommend getting more than 2 if you work out more than twice a week like me. But so far these have been a great new fitness find for me . . . functional and fashionable! I got this purple stripe designed one as well as a pink one of course! Check out their website if you want to order one for yourself! Use coupon code healthfit2014 to get 10% off!

Make sure to measure your hand to know what size to order. I measured mine per the instructions on the site and ordered a small and it seems to fit well. What fitness finds do you like as part of your workout wear??

My other workout wear, besides my handana, in the above picture was:

* light blue light weight sheer workout shirt with hole in back (see pic below) - Old Navy (bought Spring 2014) . .. hole is a little different, but I actually love wearing this because it keeps you so cool for running or working out in! :-)

* Nike black shorts with white trim - Academy Sports (bought Summer 2013)

* Saucony Running Shoes - Academy Sports (bought Summer 2013)

Introducing my new health and fitness blog and websites!

2014-07-19T15:04:00.002-04:00

Introducing my new health and fitness blog: http://healthyandfitat36.blogspot.com My new health and fitness page on facebook: http://facebook.com/healthyandfitat36 . . . head on over to this facebook page and "Like" the page and "Share" the page's link on your wall for a chance to win something free! (drawing will be held Monday night, 7/21/14) I was enjoying blogging so much about my new health and fitness journey that I decided to try to help others in their own health and fitness journeys.
Contact me at healthyandfitat36@gmail.com with any other questions or for more info. I'll be back to blogging here at blog worthy moments about all that my family has been up to this summer very soon!

The Most Important Thing I Want My Kids to Know About My Health Journey

2014-07-13T00:51:00.003-04:00

Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog lately and read my posts about my recent sugar detox! I posted before and after pics of myself on my last post and I just wanted to follow up a little about that. For one thing, that took a lot of bravery on my part to post those. I didn't post them to say, hey look at me and how great I look! Although I do appreciate all the nice comments and encouragement I did get from people saying I looked great, it really did encourage me. But I posted them to show just that change can happen in even a short amount of time, if you give your body good things and real things to eat. That's basically what this sugar detox was for me . . . a cleansing of all the sugar and processed foods my body had been used to, and a start at a healthier lifestyle eating real food! Not only did change happen on the outside of my body, but change happened on the inside too. I really do FEEL so much better in so many ways! I cannot say that enough. I don't feel as sluggish and weighed down all over like I did before. Now granted, I have been working on being a fairly healthy person for a long time . . . I almost always exercise in some way, shape or form each week. But my eating wasn't what it should be. I really, really, REALLY loved sweets and things that were bad for me. I guess I never realized how much harm it really was doing to my body. I kept an extra 10-15 lbs on me most of the time that I really wanted off, but just hadn't committed to deciding about eating the right way, until the detox. Now, that the detox is over everyone is asking me what am I going to do now? Well, the truth is, not a whole lot of different things than what I was doing during the detox. I've learned that I can continue eating this way as a lifestyle. It's not a diet that I just did for a little while and then am going to go back to my old ways. I worked too hard to throw that all away! I feel that this new way of eating clean is something that is so do-able and there are so many good options of things to eat. Not having my own sugar addiction (and that's really what it was, an addiction) hanging over me is so freeing! Instead of searching for sweet things to eat at night, I have a lot more energy to do other things . . . like blog more :-), work on my photography, read, do fun things with my kids and husband, and just enjoy life more! One of my favorite things my husband said to me during the detox time is that he told me how great I was looking on the outside and how proud he was of me for sticking with it, but the best change he had seen is how happy and positive I have been on the inside. And that is really true! I have felt so much better mentally too! I'm not saying I haven't had stressful or sad days, because I have, but I didn't feel the need to drown my sorrows and stress into a bowl of ice cream . . . that happened a lot before. I'm not perfect and I'm sure I will allow myself to indulge and enjoy a sweet treat every once in a while, but I really don't want to go back to my old way of eating, so it will just be every once in a while. Now, finally to the title of this post . . . the most important thing I want my kids (and husband and other family and friends) to know about my health journey is that it is a journey . . . and it is a HEALTH JOURNEY. Even though I posted before and after pics, I don't want the focus to be on that. I've always been very careful when talking to my kids about not saying "I'm fat, or I'm overweight, etc" And during this detox and health journey, I've focused on talking to them about the fact that I'm trying to eat more healthy so I can feel good and have more energy, which is really my main motivation. I've also told them that we are trying as a family to be more healthy overall. Do I think that all the processed snacks in my home will all go away? Most likely not, realistically. But I can steer our kids in the right direction of making healthy choices. We've already made a few around our house that have gone over better than I thought . . . we limit their juice intake. We have always limited sodas to mostly just once a week when we eat out, and most of the time make them choose non caffeinated ones. But at home they were used to drinking juice most of the time, it was always half water/half juice, which we still do, but now we've limited them to just having one glass full of juice at meal times (so 3 times a day). Any other time they want something to drink they have to get water. We've always had them drink water after and during their sports games, but didn't drink it a lot while at home. They've adjusted, although not without a little complaining, but they did adjust. That's just one simple thing we've done. I'm also trying to make it a rule that they at least try the healthy meal I've made with some of the new recipes I'm making. And they do! So, I don't have it all figured out yet about how to change my whole family over to my new way of eating, and not sure if I ever will. But even small changes make a difference. And through it all, I hope they will see that this is a health journey and I hope they will be inspired to live a healthy life too from following my example. And lastly, there are many things to a person, including myself . . . right now I'm choosing to focus a lot on this health journey, because it is taking a lot of my focus and energy. But I haven't stopped having other goals that I need to work on, just because I'm mostly blogging about this right now. I am still going through the "Wife After God" devotional (although I am not as consistent as I should be), and I am still trying to follow along with the parenting study we are doing in our adult life group at church called "Parenting with Love and Logic," from the book by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. Oh, and still working outside the home at my accounting job 22-24 hrs/week too, being a wife, being a mom, and everything else! We all have tons of hats to juggle and roles to play in our every days lives, and most of the time if you're like me, you don't ever feel like you have enough time or energy to get to everything you want to . . . but we have to just keep doing the best we can, a little at a time. And I hope my kids also see that you can be healthy and make changes for the better, even amidst all this chaos we call LIFE! Oh and not to forget to have some fun too!

Here we are all enjoying a Greenville Drive baseball game last night! I love my family! :-)

14 Day Sugar Detox COMPLETED! Before and After Pics & Meals too . . .

2014-07-11T01:08:00.001-04:00

Wow, I can't believe the 14 day sugar detox is over and I did it! When I first started I thought there was no way I was going to make it without sugar or gluten or dairy for one day, let alone 14! I am so glad I did this. If you missed my other posts about the start of this journey, please check them out here first:
Sugar Detox for 14 Days Changes I Made In Week Before 14 Day Sugar Detox 4 Days Down on Sugar Detox with Sweet Snacks & A Few DIY Home Makeover Projects Included
Now, that the 14 days are over, I am happy to report that I really do feel great and think that I am planning on continuing to eat gluten free and dairy free and MOSTLY sugar free! I wouldn't say I have tons of extra energy, but it's just different, level energy throughout the day. I'm not having the sugar crashes and highs and lows I was having before. Definitely a lot less bloating and puffy feeling as well. I have added back in a few natural sweeteners like maple syrup (to make some gluten free cookies), but that's about it so far. And I really don't feel too deprived! During the 14 days, I lost another 5 lbs (in addition to the 4.4 I had lost previously when I started cutting carbs about a week earlier), plus I lost over 10 inches overall too! My clothes fit better, I have gone down a shirt size, dress size, & pants size and I feel great! I don't know if these before and after pictures really show that much difference, but I'm going to share them anyway . . . Here goes me being brave:

I post these only to show that if I can do it in the midst of my crazy and busy life, anyone can! And if I can do it, a former addicted to sugar person (REALLY), than anyone can! It really, really feels good to even have 9 lbs off of me . . . I feel lighter and like the simplest things that were sometimes tiresome before, are not as much anymore. It really makes a difference overall. I am still not totally to my goal, but I think that if I continue to eat clean and eat real foods like this, without all the processed stuff, that I will get there sooner rather than later!
In my last post, I shared a lot of sweet alternative treats I was trying, but here are also some pics of the actual meals that I've had for dinner. Most all have at least been "tried" by the kids and my hubby has eaten them all with me too.
Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Meatloaf Muffins

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry, made with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, with Cauliflower Rice

Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Pesto Zucchini Noodles made with a Veggetti (found at Walgreens in the "as seen on tv section) - forgot to take a pic of our actual meal for this, but it was so yummy!

Almost 5 ingredient pizza spaghetti pie . . . one of my favorites so far!

And now that my 14 days is over, I can finally have some of my long awaited gluten free paleo snicker doodle cookies! These are soooooo good and tasty!

I also tried these chocolate chip cookies that were so delicious! (Ate them too fast to get a pic! :-) I also tried this paleo chocolate mug cake that is easy and fast and hits the spot! I even found a way to make healthy whipped cream! Coconut whipped cream on my berries is great too!

So, as you can see, healthy, gluten free & no-sugar-added sweet treats are out there, and very good! As long as I can keep up with having ingredients on hand to make some of these treats, I think it makes this diet very do-able.
I have started using pinterest more to collect the recipes I find. I am putting them on a board called Paleo Recipes. You can see the board over in my sidebar on this blog too. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest to see more of what I find worthy of pinning! (I'm a new pinner, so be patient . . . ) Thanks for coming along with me on my sugar detox journey. I hope you've learned something you didn't know before, or maybe been inspired to try something similar yourself! Please let me know if you have any questions, and I'd be happy to help you on your health journey as well!

Some Things I've Learned in 14 Years of Marriage

2014-07-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

Scott and I celebrate 14 years of marriage today . . . wow, how has it really already been 14 years? And 18 years since I met him? I am now exactly double the age that I met him too, as I was 18 when we met, and now 36. I really can't believe it's been that long! About 5 years ago, I wrote a blog entry when we were celebrating Nine Years of Marriage. I just went back and read that, and I still feel the same way about all that I said. Since that time, a lot more has happened . . . we had another child! We have experienced more joy, but also more struggles too, along the way. There are so many more things I have learned, and I know there are still so many more things left to learn! But I thought about it tonight, and wanted to come up with some things I've learned so far in my 14 years of marriage. Some may be a little of the same that I mentioned in my nine year anniversary post, but some may be new. Let's see what I come up with?! 1. For a God centered marriage, both husband and wife must be growing closer to God. Without individual, spiritual growth, it is not possible to grow closer to each other in the way that God wants you to, and you will miss out on the blessings He has for you and your husband in your marriage. This is a daily goal for me . . . to spend my own time in my Bible, and in prayer, growing closer to the One who loves me and knows me best, who put me specifically with Scott, my husband, for a reason. I desire to know and learn more about Him each day. 2. Remember that you are on the same team. I know I mentioned this in my other post, but it really has become an on-going motto in our marriage. We will have disagreements, that is only natural, but the way in which we discuss our different view points always goes back to remembering we are on the same team. We will get to the same goal, but we may have different ideas of how to get there, and we can respect and listen to each other's ideas and come up with the solution that is best for our marriage and family. It may require some compromise on your part and your husband's part, but it is so worth it to get the problem solved, while remembering you are on the same team. Don't fight against each other! 3. Don't embarrass or put down the other person in public. This is something we learned early on, and were open and honest with each other about. Early on, sometimes one of us would say something about the other in front of others, not meaning to hurt or embarrass the other, but that is what it did. By being open and honest with each other about how it made us feel, we knew better how to act the next time. We make it a point to try our best to build each other up in front of others. Does it mean that we are both perfect? No, but does it mean that we respect each other and notice the good things that each other are doing? Yes. And we say it in front of others too. Build each other up! If you haven't tried this before in your marriage, I encourage you to do so. Positivity and encouragement goes a long, long way. 4. Change will happen! In both yourself and your spouse. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It can be a good thing. I have moved more from being a very organized and uptight-ish type person to a more un-organized and relaxed person that can let things go more that I never could before. Scott has gone from un-organized to "more organized" and we are both the better for it! We are also both constantly learning new things about ourselves. Sometimes we find a new hobby that we like that we didn't know we would. Try to support each other in your endeavors, even if you don't have a specific interest in that thing. You can support each other in their new interest, and appreciate the other person for who they are growing and becoming along the way. Change is natural and it happens. It doesn't mean that you are growing apart from each other. Include each other in your changes, and you will be the better for it! 5. Don't let your kids become your sole focus in your marriage. Before we even had our first son, who is now 10 years old, we took a class at our church which encouraged you to always have "couch time" when your spouse got home from work. Time where just you and your spouse sit and catch up on your day and your children see that you each are important to each other, and that they are not the center of your universe. I don't know about you, but when our children are grown and gone, I don't want to look at my husband and see him for the first time and wonder now what do we do? I want to just continue my life with my best friend and quite frankly, as much as I love our children and all the fun things this stage of busy child-rearing brings to our life, I am really looking forward to the time when it will just be me and my hubby again! :-) Now, I confess we have not always been perfect at always doing "couch time" every day, but we do try to make it a point to always acknowledge each other when the other gets home, and we regularly make time for "date nights." Our children see us making our marriage a priority, and I know they find security in that, as do we. Your time together with each other is important, and worth the sacrifice and extra planning it takes to make time together happen. I encourage all couples to make time together a priority. Well, I know there are many, many more things I could share about what I've learned over the past 14 years of marriage . . . and maybe I will continue this post at a future time (probably not though, as life still moves too busy for me to get all my ideas and plans out that I want to!) But for now, I hope that this has encouraged someone else in some small way in your own marriage. Scott is still the perfect one for me that God blessed me with, the one who can make me smile like no one else, and the one who I want to spend the rest of my life with! "My beloved is mine, and I am his; . . . " - Song of Solomon 2:16

It is interesting that we celebrated 14 years today, and I also am looking forward to growing more in my role as wife to Scott in a new devotion book I will be reading, called "Wife after God - Drawing Closer to God & Your Husband" by Unveiled Wife, Jennifer Smith. This is a blog/website I've been following for a little while now, and she asked for people who would be willing to read her 30-day devotional book and write a book review about it. I was selected to do so, and I'm so excited! I've never done something like this before, but I am honored to do it. Check back in with me in 30-ish days from now for my review of the devotional book. I can already tell I'm going to learn a lot more and have more to share about what I learn from this book. Check out her website in the meantime, Unveiled Wife, for a lot of great daily encouragement for you as a wife in your marriage.

Sharing More Beach Photos - May 2014

2014-07-01T21:42:00.001-04:00

Before I started my sugar detox, I said I was going to share more pics from our beach vacation at the end of May. Now it's already July 1st and time keeps flyin' by as usual. So, for now I'm just sharing a link to my beach picture albums on facebook. We had such a great time with our family and extended family! Beach Family Photos Outerbanks Vacation Photos

4 Days Down on Sugar Detox with Sweet Snacks & A Few DIY Home Makeover Projects Included!

2014-06-29T11:25:00.000-04:00

I now have 4 days down on my 14 day sugar detox and I'm finally starting to feel more energy again. (Click here if you missed my first post and second post about my sugar detox journey :-) I thought since I had started un-officially a week before that I wouldn't experience the drop in energy the first few days, but apparently I had more hidden sugars in my diet than I knew! The first 3 days I had really, really, low energy. I even went to bed on a Thursday and Friday night at 10:30 pm! That is so early for me, and unusual. I normally would've stayed up catching up on shows from the week, since Thursday and Friday nights are what I consider my weekend because I don't work on Fridays. I also would've stayed up snacking on junk too while watching the shows. I was too tired to even really want to snack . . . much. However, I did get a pretty good craving for sweets on the second day in. I found some things I was allowed to have on the detox that satisfied my sweet tooth and were pretty tasty. Here are some of the sweet snacks I tried: Almond Butter Nut Crunch (I made this one up)

1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp coconut oil, 1 tsp coconut sugar, & handful of almonds all mixed together - I ate this with a spoon! Yum! Egg White "IceCream" (this was a recipe suggested by a member in my detox facebook group)

For this one, I mixed 2 egg whites, 1 tsp coconut sugar, 1 tsp almond butter, 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa - mix together and freeze for an hour, then eat! The first pic is what it looked like when I took out of freezer, second pic is after I stirred it up. It tasted pretty good, and it was nice to have a "frozen" treat. I think I should've used more like 3-4 egg whites . . . will do that next time. Almond Butter Chocolate Dip with Almond Thin Crackers

I ordered the Almond Thins online from Julian Bakery . . . They are INTERESTING - not as crunchy as a cracker, but more soft - probably wouldn't eat them without a dip or spread. But if you're looking for something to eat to dip in something that is not a vegetable, than this may be a good option!

For the almond butter chocolate dip, I mixed 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp coconut sugar, 1 tsp unsweetened coca powder & heated in microwave for about 30-35 seconds. This was very good too! I may have enjoyed it better just eaten with a spoon, haha! Sweet Iced Chocolate Coffee

I know this one doesn't look that great in the cup, but it did taste good! (I since learned that if I mix all in a blender first, it mixes everything together better and tastes better). I was enjoying my hot coffee with the mixture I talked about in my last post using the coconut oil, however I wanted a way to make iced coffee that I liked too and coconut oil freezes up into crystals if you get it cold without mixing it up good ( I learned this the hard way! :-) For this tasty sweet iced chocolate coffee I mixed coffee (4 oz) that was cooled in the refrigerator, almond milk (8 oz), 2 tsp coconut oil, 2 tsp coconut sugar, 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, blend in the blender, then pour over ice to drink. Very good! Another variation is to add 1 tbsp of almond butter if you want it a little thicker. So, you may see a theme here in these snacks - anything with coconuts and almonds are my friends! :-) These really did help me satisfy my sweet cravings over the past few days when they hit me. Since I was feeling so tired, I only really have done formal exercise the first day so far, some yoga, which I have been enjoying more and more! I found the first upper left pic in a magazine and asked my kids if they thought I could do that pose, and they laughed for some reason! I guess the other pics depict more of my ability level in yoga so far. Maybe some day!

The only other exercise I've done other than yoga is help Scott work on a couple home improvement DIY projects we're doing around our home this weekend. We decided to put a different floor down in the kitchen (just putting new vinyl tile over the old vinyl flooring for now - what our budget could afford), and taking down wallpaper border, and will repaint . . . Then I also found a cool futon on craigslist for the boys' bedroom, so I rearranged that corner with the new futon. I finally moved the old train table and boxes of trains out to make room. I may eventually sell them all, but for now they're headed to my mom's house for storage. Alaina has some wooden track and trains that she has in her closet to pull out and play with when she wants, but it doesn't take up the massive amount of space that all of our train stuff did. It's kind of the passing of an era to get rid of the train table. The boys are growing up on me. :-( So, helping with these projects has taken any extra energy I've had so far. Here are a few pics of the projects. I'll have to update again when we are all done with the kitchen update.

One more new thing I've tried while on this detox, besides sweet snacks, is spaghetti squash! I liked it a lot! I just poked holes in the spaghetti squash like a baked potato, put in the oven on 350 for 1 hour, then took out, cut in half, and scraped out the spaghetti. Then I added all natural marinara sauce (with no sugar added) and beef for the sauce.

So far, so good! I'm down about 6 lbs overall now. I'm trying to focus more on how I feel and how my clothes fit (hopefully will get a little bigger) more than the scale during this detox time, but it is nice to know I'm making progress! Thanks for reading!

Changes I Made In Week Before 14 Day Sugar Detox

2014-06-24T21:59:00.002-04:00

OK, so here is my next post I promised about the changes I've made in the week before beginning the 14 day sugar detox I am starting TOMORROW! (If you missed reading my first post about this sugar detox, read this post first.) So, if you know me, you know that I LOVE SWEETS! My husband and I often joke that I have a separate "dessert stomach" because even if I'm full from my regular meal, there's always room for sweets and desserts! Most of the time on a regular day, I am pretty controlled in my eating habits for breakfast and lunch . . . it's dinner and evening snacks I've made changes to so far, and will have to continue doing so if I want to see results. So far I have just limited my carbs, sugar, dairy, & gluten consumption. So basically, I've cut a lot of carbs out of my dinners and a lot of sugar and dairy out of my snacks. I will admit I had a chocolate chip cookie (or two or three) over the past week, but hey, I had to get rid of them before this detox OFFICIALLY started, right?! I normally have 2 scrambled eggs in a croissant with cheese for breakfast, so the past week, I just had the 2 scrambled eggs, along with 1 or 2 pieces of bacon on a couple days. For lunch, I normally would've had a greek yogurt and crackers with peanut butter for instance. So for the past week, I've had tuna salad (made with almonds and plain greek yogurt). Since I'm cutting out dairy for the next 14 days too, I am going to try to make the tuna salad with avocado to make it more creamy, starting tomorrow. I also have had some strawberries and blueberries at lunch or for a snack. Sometimes I'll have a handful of almonds for a snack, or celery with almond butter. Then for dinner, I really haven't been creative yet. I basically have just had whatever meat we were having along with vegetables. If my family was having rice or macaroni or corn, or anything starchy that I couldn't have, then I just wouldn't eat it and would eat more veggies instead. Hopefully eventually, I can get my family into this new healthier way of eating too, but for now I have to learn first and just make small changes with them . . . more on this later on another post probably. Then here are the BIGGEST CHANGES I've made so far . . . my COFFEE and my NIGHT-TIME SNACKING. I really, really love my coffee . . . ask my co-workers. I often come into work, set down my coffee I brought from home that I made (with plenty of creamer and milk), along with a starbucks iced white chocolate peppermint mocha . . . oh, it pains me to even say it! My favorite starbucks drink! I even learned how to make a pretty similar version at home, by ordering the peppermint and white chocolate syrup from amazon.com. As we speak, I even have half a bottle full of each, and I'm sending them to my mom's house to store in her fridge since I won't be using them for a while. :-( But I can't stand for them to spoil or throw them out! So, my NEW COFFEE ROUTINE is . . . black coffee with 1 tsp of coconut oil and 1 tsp of coconut sugar. I am so happy I don't have to just drink it black. The coconut oil and sugar is on the approved list for me to have, and I also like pouring about 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk in to make it more like a latte. It's actually pretty good, and much better than what I could imagine black coffee would be - I haven't even tried it completely black out of fear! :) Ha ha! Then for my NIGHT-TIME SNACKING . . . usually I would grab easy, carb and sugar loaded stuff . . . like ice cream, chips and salsa, chips and dip, about the worst thing for you. I think I often just snack out of boredom or stress, but sometimes I actually am hungry, because I usually exercise after dinner and by the time we get the kids to bed, then I'm hungry again. My NEW NIGHT-TIME SNACKING routine has been lots of veggies (different colored peppers or celery) dipped in either almond butter or guacamole. Sometimes I even grab a hard boiled egg. This does fill me up! And that is the goal . . . eat to be full. I already do not normally drink soda, usually just water or sweet tea. But in the past week, I have also cut out the sweet tea. Tonight I tried unsweet tea with coconut sugar mixed in and lime. Delicious! I've also had the unsweet with just lemons squeezed in, and that is good too. I took my "before" measurements and pictures tonight . . . maybe one day I'll be brave enough to share. But I thought it was too cute that Alaina, my 3 year old daughter, wanted me to take her pic too, with her pool floatie around her of course!

I think this is the way I've been feeling even without a pool floatie, bloated and yucky in my mid-section. So, here's to feeling better overall after this detox is up, and hopefully making some good changes that I stick to even afterwards! I'm hoping in the next week to try some new dinner recipes. Eating this way takes a lot of prep and shopping for the right foods. The main thing I have to focus on is that overall I'm feeling better and that is the most important. I'll try to update with new posts through the next 14 days on how everything is going and with some new recipes that I try. Thanks for following along with me on this journey to better health! Click Here to read Part 3 of my journey.

Sugar Detox for 14 days

2014-06-22T20:19:00.001-04:00

So, if you're friends with me on facebook then you've probably seen a couple of my posts about going on a sugar free, carb free, gluten free, dairy free detox for 14 days. I decided to blog about my journey, because it always helps me to process things when I write/type them. Plus, maybe it will help someone else. Disclaimer - I am not a health expert, just someone trying to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle in a busy world! Please consult a health professional for your specific health situation.
First, a little background as to why and how I'm doing this. I started following a mom's facebook page called https://www.facebook.com/HausOfGirlsFitFamily probably about 9 months to a year ago, after one of my running friends told me about one of the challenges she was doing for a certain amount of miles in a certain month. I enjoyed seeing her fitness tips and she was inspiring to me . . . a busy mom just like me with 3 children, staying fit and healthy. Just recently, I began to see all of her posts about eating more clean and all the benefits it was providing her and her family. I then began to check out her and her 3 other sisters' website that they have together called http://www.fourfitsisters.com It turns out all 4 sisters are moms and are inspiring and have some great ideas! They each are coaches for beachbody.com and run challenges in which you focus on a specific thing, whether it be a nutrional goal, a fitness goal, or both and if you sign up and join the challenge (most cost a fee), then you are placed in a secret facebook group where you receive the sisters' coaching and instruction and given information on how to go about making the healthy lifestyle change. I decided to join the 14 day sugar detox challenge that Marta is having for a few reasons.
My reasons for doing this 14 day sugar detox:
1. If I pay for it, I usually will stick to it. This particular challenge cost me just $25, but so far, it's more than worth it!
2. I know that I have always loved sweets and bread - sugar and carbs - and I know I need to cut back on them. They have always been my "comfort" food to go to when I am emotionally eating (which I sometimes do when worried or stressed, and not feeling so in control of myself).
3. I always feel tired and run down. For as long as I can remember, probably starting in late high school/early college, I am just ALWAYS tired. Not just a little tired. But exhausted tired. Despite eating what I think is fairly healthy and proper portion control and exercising regularly, I still feel tired. I wake up tired. I stay tired all day. I go to sleep tired.
4. I have gained a lot more weight than I would like over the past year or two. Two years ago, when my daughter was only 1, I went on "The Game" diet which was a challenge with friends that was based on a book called "The Game" I think where you basically played a game with others and kept points for doing certain things. I never read the book, but just got all the requirements from the people running the challenge. Sometimes we contributed $5-$10 to play, sometimes we contributed $20 to play. Whoever won the challenge with the most points got the cash pool that everyone had contributed to in order to play. The basis of this game was good in a way. It taught portion control - there was so much of a carb, protein, & fat that you were to have each meal, and you were supposed to have 5 small meals a day, with a 100 calorie snack optional. Also there were other requirements to better yourself, such as drinking 3 liters of water a day, and doing some sort of exercise daily for 20 minutes to get your points. You also had to choose good habits to start and bad habits to break. So, overall this game was good for me and my husband, who played too, and we both lost 10-15 lbs at the time. He may have lost close to 20. I think we both played about 3 times over the past year and a half, but the only time we really significantly saw change was the first time we played. And slowly but surely the weight crept back on both of us. So . . . long description to say, I know I can change my eating, but have to get back to it. There are some things from the game diet that I still usually do, like drink almost 3 liters most days of water, and exercise most every day for at least 20 minutes. But even throughout the game I was still feeling tired. So, I am interested to see if cutting carbs, dairy, & gluten will help me to feel better overall and lose the weight I need to and want to lose.
5. I had gestational diabetes with my 3rd pregnancy, and I'm supposed to be more at risk to develop diabetes because of it. I actually have a physical coming up the beginning of July, and will have my blood/glucose levels tested, and quite frankly I was beginning to be concerned that I might test positive for being diabetic or pre-diabetic with all the sugar and carbs in my diet. So, I am also making this change for my overall health and future health.
So, that is the background and reasons why and how I'm doing this sugar detox. After the 14 days, I am hoping that I will have learned some new ways to eat, and that hopefully I will feel and be healthier. I have been digesting all the information that my coach, Marta, is giving us in the group for the past week, and have made some small changes in my diet and already lost about 4 lbs this first week, just with making SOME of the changes. I will talk about some of the changes I've made so far in my next post, even before officially starting the detox (we start this Wednesday, in 3 more days). I also have already felt a little more energy, honestly even in the past few days. I hope some of my readers will follow along with me on this journey!

Our 3 Cuties at the Beach - Outer Banks Vacation May 2014

2014-06-20T23:55:00.004-04:00

Many, many more photos to share from our vacation to the Outer Banks at the end of May. Too many to share and upload tonight. But here is a sneak peek at our 3 cuties on the beach on family picture night at the beach. :-) Love them!

New Photography Website Design & New Session Pictures!

2014-06-20T20:54:00.002-04:00

So much to catch up on . . . along with redesigning this blog design, I also recently redesigned my photography website. Check it out at http://www.laineybugphotography.wix.com/jillbrisken I have new session pictures up on the site from two family sessions and one prom session, all three of which I really enjoyed and was happy with how they turned out. Still don't have the time to make this photography thing a full time gig, but I do enjoy it when I can! Tell me what you think of the new site!

When I am tempted to complain . . .

2014-06-20T19:39:00.001-04:00

(Originally posted on another blog of mine in June 2014)
When I am tempted to complain about how hard it is to come back after a week long vacation (how ironic is that?!), I am reminded:

"Do everything without complaining or arguing. Then you will be innocent and without any wrong." Philippians 2:14-15.

We just got back yesterday from a week long vacation to the Outer Banks of NC with 24 people in my family. We had done something similar 2 years ago, and decided to do it again. This time I thought was even better than before. We stayed in a nicer house, my kids were older so I could enjoy myself a little more, and it was really just a wonderful time! But you know how vacations go, you spend time the week before vacation working yourself crazy to prepare to go (at both my out of the home job and in home wife and mom things), then you get back and have a week's worth of things to catch up on (at both my out of the home job and in home job as wife and mom.) It's exhausting and I've only been trying to get back to the swing of things for 1 day! Plus when we left for our vacation we were in school schedule mode, and now school is out so summer mode is upon us immediately! I'm not ready, not prepared! I tried to get a new family summer schedule/routine/system set up tonight for my family and everyone cried and had break downs when I tried to explain it to them. Probably not the best time for me to explain it to them when we're all still tired emotionally and physically from our 10 hour drive back home. I feel behind in everything . . . our finances, my calendar of summer events for the kids, work tasks and responsibilities, home tasks and responsibilities, EVERYTHING! So, you see my temptation to complain?

But then I read that verse in my devotional book sitting on my night stand. Oh how God can get our attention right at the right time, huh? So, I am choosing to focus my thoughts on my blessings, my gifts, and my opportunities instead. Thank you, Lord, for this reminder! And please help me to take ONE THING at a time to catch back up at work and home, and to depend on you each step at a time.

I'm Tired . . . Anyone else?

2014-06-20T19:29:00.001-04:00

(Originally posted on another blog of mine - January 9, 2014)

I'm really tired . . . not necessarily physically tired, although that too, but mentally tired. We've gotten through Christmas time around here, New Year's, and now it's back to regular routines, school schedules, starting basketball practice for the boys, planning birthday parties for my oldest and youngest children, celebrating my husband's birthday, and on and on an on. Oh, and that's just my job as mom. My job as an accounting assistant warrants even more busyness . . . end of year closings of records, quarterly tax filing, end of year tax filing, closing out everything from one year and starting books and charts for the next year. When do I have a chance to recover from one thing to get ready for the next? It feels like never. I know part of my dreary outlook is because I haven't been exercising regularly. I always feel better when I take the time to stay physically fit. But when do I have time or energy for that? We don't even have our Christmas tree, ornaments, or all the decorations put away yet! Too tired. Too busy. They may be up until February, maybe March at this rate. I hope I can start to cling to these promises below.

"God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling." - Psalm 46:1-3 NKJV

God, please be my refuge and strength during this time. Please allow me to let You be my very present help.

The Phone Call

2014-06-20T19:25:00.001-04:00

(Originally posted on another blog of mine on May 21, 2013)
Today I got the phone call no parent wants to get . . . from my son's teacher . . . then another from the assistant principal. Apparently my son did something during reading time that is against the rules, thinking he was being funny, but it was not. I believe it was harmless and just a 6 year old boy being a boy, however two other boys saw him do it, so the school must react with a punishment. I understand the school has to cover their bases, but it is just so hard. This particular son has been struggling with a few anger issues anyway, and maybe this is why this happened, I don't know. But the punishment for him will be that tomorrow he has to spend the whole day in the office with the assistant principal doing his work. My heart breaks for him. He already struggles with feeling anxious about going to school on a good day, so this will be even harder. I cried almost all afternoon. No parent wants their child to be the one who got in trouble at school, let alone has to spend a day in the principal's office. And this is a child who is never a behavior problem at school. Part of me thinks that all day in the office is a little too much, but I know they have to make their point. I am trying to be supportive. So, tonight we told our son right before bedtime what his consequence for breaking the rule at school would be, and of course he is upset about it. He said he never wanted to go to school again. But we tried to encourage him that we knew he could be strong and face the consequence of his bad choice tomorrow, and depend on Jesus to help him through when he feels scared or overwhelmed. I shared with him the verse that had encouraged me today, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 It seemed that he was receptive to what we said, and actually said a prayer tonight himself asking God to forgive him, and asking God to help him face his consequence tomorrow. Learning lessons in our lives through mistakes are so hard, but seeing your children learn lessons in their lives through mistakes seems even harder. You want so much for them not to have to go through the hurt. Earlier when I just felt so hopeless and helpless, this verse encouraged me too. "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word." - Psalm 119:28 I was encouraged with God's word. The whole chapter 119 of Psalms is very good. Read it if you have not! My prayer is that C would learn through the time of his punishment at school tomorrow. My prayer for myself is that I wouldn't be so discouraged from this that I lose hope in him. I know he is just a child, but as a parent I often find myself looking too far into the future and worrying that if he is in trouble now for this, what will he be like when he's older? I can't think like that though. I must believe in him and I do. I do believe that God has a plan for his life. "For I know the plans I have for you,"declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 Praying that God will help my boy be strong tomorrow, and help his Mommy to not worry about him. Part of letting go and teaching your children to depend on God to help them too, when they make mistakes.

What do you think? New blog design . . .

2014-06-20T01:22:00.000-04:00

What do you think of my new blog design? Bear with me as I continue to update links to websites and blogs that I had up before . . . silly me didn't save my sidebar info before adding the new template, SO it will take me a while to add back all my likeable links and friends' blogs. Hope to make a REAL post soon about all that we've been up to so far this summer! (My new template is by AlwaysInBluhm on etsy . . . check her store out!)