This is our final week of giving thanks on Fridays.  With the BlogHer program finishing up this week, Thursdays will now be free for Thankful Thursdays.  I hope you will join in and link up!

I’m going to be honest, I’m not so good at the chronic health problem thing.  Since August, I’ve had more bad health days than good health days.  It’s really wearing on my physically and emotionally.  Some days I just feel depressed about the whole thing and wonder if I will ever feel like myself again.

How did I, nutrition professional, lover of lunges, get here?  I feel way too young to be feeling so bad!

The temptation is to lay low until I start to feel better.  Just wait for all of the pain to pass.

But is that any way to live?

I was sitting in church last Saturday struggling with all of this, when a woman came up on stage and shared a little of her story.  She is new on staff so the lead pastor asked some questions about her life as kind of an introduction.  Have you ever heard someone speak and feel like a sentence or two was meant just for you?  That’s how this felt.  She had been dealing with chronic illness and pain since the age of 28.  One of the things that stuck out for me was when she said that she had learned to find good in the middle of the pain, not waiting for the pain to end.

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that looks like in my life, but for now I am thankful for this project.  Giving thanks each day, no matter what, reminds me that I can always find something good, even in the hardest days.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”  Hebrews 10:23

Don’t forget to link up your thankful posts or leave a comment with your favorite thankful moment of the week!  

Want to know more about Project 365 Thanks?  Click here!

This is the final post in BlogHer’s Inspiration to Fitness series. To start from week one, click here.

Congratulations!  This is your final week of Inspiration to Fitness.  You’ve made it!  If you’ve gone through this 8-week program with us, your heart is now healthier, your muscles are stronger, and your lungs are more conditioned.

We might be at the end of this challenge, but hopefully (and it sounds like this is true for most of you), you have found your groove and are figuring out what works best for you when it comes to exercising.

So how do we keep this up and extend what we’ve learned into a life of healthy living?

Don’t look at this as the end, look at it as the beginning.  The past 8 weeks have not been getting you close to the finish line, they have been preparing you to start running your race.  Take the successes that you’ve had in the past two months, and let them propel you forward into a new perspective on life.  Don’t stop.  Don’t go backwards.  Keep moving forwards.

Keep switching it up.  Whether you’ve found your groove in running, yoga, or exercise DVDs, make sure you don’t get bored.  Remember to challenge your body by switching it up sometimes.  If you have found your running stride, keep adding in those intervals every once in a while.  If you enjoy working out at home with Jillian Michaels screaming at you, buy or rent a new DVD every few months.  Keep your workouts fresh and invigorating.

Set new goals.  In the beginning, you set goals for this 8-week program.  As this program finishes up, it’s time to reevaluate and set new goals.  From here on out, I encourage you to take some time every few months to evaluate where you are and dream about where you want to be going.  Don’t get too comfortable, keep challenging yourself.

Use your resources.  There are so many helpful resources out there when it comes to fitness.  If you aren’t actively using Twitter to communicate with health professionals, I encourage you to do so.  Twitter is amazing in that you can have one-on-one conversations with some of the top professionals in the world.  You can also get helpful tips, links to current research, and stay up to date on fitness trends.  Fitness blogs are also a good place to look for inspiration.  Many have full workouts including photos and videos.  Check out my workout page, and also visit Healthy Living Blogs for a huge list of health bloggers.  ACE Fitness also has an incredible exercise library.

Now onto your final workouts!

On your 3 cardio days this week, I want you to challenge yourself to go a full 30 minutes at an RPE of 5-6.  Challenge yourself to get there!

Your strength workout is the hardest one yet.  Challenge yourself to do 3 circuits of the strength portion with a 2-minute rest period between sets.  Remember, warmup and core exercises are 15 repetitions and strength exercises are 8-12 repetitions.  Don’t forget to stretch!

Dynamic Warmup

Core Exercises

Lie on your left side with feet extended, right foot stacked on top of the left.  Bend your left elbow and place it directly beneath your left shoulder.  Engaging abdominal muscles, lift your hips and knees off the mat.  Hold as long as possible, then gently lower.  Switch and repeat on opposite side.  Modified version: bend lower knee.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.  Slowly bend into a crouching position and jump forward, landing softly on the balls of your feet.  Take a moment to stabilize, then jump again.  Repeat 15 times.

***Please refer to the previous post about checking for diastasis before doing these or any other abdominal exercise***

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.  Raise your legs up with feet flexed.  Reach your hands up and touch your toes.  Slowly lower your shoulders back to the floor, keeping your legs raised.  Repeat.

Strength Exercises

Start in a push up position, lower into a push up.  As you come up, jump your feet forward, keeping hands on the ground.  Spring up into a standing position.  Finish with a jump with hands overhead.  Repeat by dropping back down into a crouching position and kicking your legs out to the rear into a push up position.

Lie facedown on a mat with legs extended straight and arms overhead.  Keeping limbs straight and neck neutral, tighten your core muscles and slowly lift your arms and legs off the ground.  Hold for 2 seconds then slowly release back to the floor.  Repeat.  (Tips: don’t hold your breath and don’t lift your legs so high that you strain your back)

Standing with feet hip-width apart and bellybutton pulled towards your spine, place your arms by your side and look straight ahead.  Exhale and pull the shoulder blades down and back, squeezing them together.  Without letting your lower back arch OR allowing your head to go forward, hold the shoulder blades together for 5 seconds.  Release and repeat.

Stretching

Foam Roller (optional)

Sit on the floor with your legs stretched in front of you. Place the foam roller under your right calf. Cross your left leg over your right ankle. Use your hands behind you for support and raise your body off the ground. Roll forward and back on your calf muscle. Repeat on opposite leg.

It has been a pleasure working with you, I have enjoyed being your fitness expert for the Heart Health Track!  Come chat with me on Facebook or Twitter, and keep checking back on my blog for new workouts and healthy recipes.

* Don’t forget to leave a comment on my Buyer’s Guide telling me which products you would love to own for a chance to win!

Remember my vintage ornament display from Christmas?

Well, after taking the ornaments and nativity scene down, I was left with this.

Beautiful, right?  Not really.  I let it sit until last week because I just couldn’t decide what to do on this wall.  I finally decided to use a combination of upcycled thrift store finds, vintage treasures, and an embroidery hoop.  Here’s what I came up with.

That’s better!  Let me take you on a little tour of what we have here.

This is a frame that I found at Goodwill for $9.99.  It had a painting of a little girl inside that I punched out and plan to use it on a project like this one.  Jeff cut out a piece of cork from an old corkboard to fit (those are easy to find at thrift stores too if you don’t already have one), and I wrapped it in fabric.  This will be a fun way to display the kids’ art work on a rotating basis.  Right now we have some swirl paint projects, and Joe’s first self-portrait tacked up.

This vintage fire alarm has been sitting in our garage for a year.  I thought it would be fun with our new color scheme.  I think it fits perfectly!

Brightening up the arrangement are some Valentine flowers from Jeff.  Mine are the large bouqet, and Leila’s are in the small jar.  Apparently the flowers are not naturally this bright as you can tell from the red dye in the water.  Still pretty though!

You will recognize the chalkboard from my tutorial on how to turn an ugly mirror into a chalkboard.  Underneath sits a vintage Hall pitcher and a handmade bowl full of chalk and an eraser.  I picked up the bowl from Goodwill for 99 cents,  definitely a steal.  The pitcher was a gift from my parents.

Finishing the wall off is a simple fabric hoop made with some leftover fabric and a large embroidery hoop.

And there you have it, an updated look for our bare wall.

Have you done any crafty projects lately?  How often do you change your home decor?  Are you athrift-store fan like me?

I invited my pal Lexie to share her thoughts on happiness today as part of Project 365 Thanks. 

Hi Everyone! My name is Lexie and I blog over at This Aussie Eats, a blog that follows my journey as I study to become a Registered Dietitian while living abroad. I am a huge fan of Alysa’s work and am loving being involved in Project 365 Thanks.

As I close in on the last 5 weeks of my internship I am frequently asked what my future plans entail. My reply is simple: find a job and start a career in a field that I love. About 90% of the time they ask another question: But where are you going to live? Australia? The U.S? This often then leads into a conversation about my plans and the way I look at my future. To me, it’s pretty simple. I am happy in America right now, so why change things? Don’t get me wrong, I was happy living in Australia my whole life but right now I am happy with where I am at and don’t see the need to suddenly make another international move when I am currently content.

I believe that only we are in control of our happiness, we have the choices to change our attitudes and make the best of any circumstance. Sure, sometimes life can be pretty crappy but that doesn’t mean we have to stay submerged in that negativity. Some days I hate being so far away from my family. But if I let my attitude dwell on these things and constantly gave off a debbie-downer vibe who would want to be around me? I wouldn’t even want to be around myself! We have the choice to take control of the situation and make something better for ourselves. We have the power to know happiness or to simply ignore it because we are too submerged in our own pity party.

Happiness can’t be bought, it has to be experienced so we can know it’s true value.

I am thankful that I know happiness.

What are your thoughts on happiness?

P.S after reading the ABC’s of Genuine Happiness, if you haven’t done the letter X, do it. Its worth it!

Thanks to Alysa for inviting me to guest post today. Here’s to many more days of giving thanks!!

Thanks Lexie!

Don’t forget to leave a comment or link up with your favorite moment of thanks for this week.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  First of all, I wanted to say a giant THANK YOU to everyone who commented on or shared my post yesterday.  I loved reading your stories and finding out that I’m not alone in what I’m feeling.  I’m sure I will be doing more posts on this topic as my journey continues.  I hope you’ll stick around and continue to share your joys, fears, frustrations and tears that are a part of the celiac life.

Now onto a special edition of Etsy Favorites.  I hope you enjoy this selection of handmade hearts!

Nesting Heart Bowls by JDWolfePottery

Personalized Rubber Heart Stamp by GreenGardenStamps

Mint Green Heart Post Earrings by Dariami

Yellow Heart, Paris Graffiti Photo by littlebrownpen

My Heart's in Oklahoma 8x10 Print by sweetlyframed (they have every state to choose from!)

Twin or Sibling Valentines Love Onesie from mandy516

Retro Valentine's Day Patchwork Embroidery Hoop, 8 inches. One of A Kind by merriweathercouncil

Love Story Print 8x10 by pumpkinandbutterfly

Wishing you love and happiness today!

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And here’s a special shout-out to my sweetie who fights to protect me from gluten on a daily basis, and keeps me laughing through it all.

I love you Jeff!

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I had a dream last night.  I was at a party and there was nothing for me to eat.  It was a sit down dinner, so I couldn’t hide the fact that I wasn’t eating.  As much as I tried to find something, I knew all the food was contaminated with gluten.  I wondered out loud if this place had a gluten-free menu.  Someone checked, they didn’t have one.  Everyone around me was treating me like my condition was an annoyance.  I ran out the front door feeling like an outsider.

Yes, this was a dream, but I think it was just an exaggeration of how I feel in social situations now.  Remember, I was diagnosed with celiac disease in August so I have only been dealing with it for six months.

At first, I was relieved and even celebrated my diagnosis.  It was so nice to finally have an answer for my illness.  I asked you to celebrate with me and you did.  Then in October, The Gluten Dude left a comment cautioning me about the long road ahead.  Instead of congratulations, he wished me best of luck.  His comment was in perfect timing actually, because it was about a month or so after my diagnosis that I realized just how hard this would be.

I’m not sure what I was expecting.  Maybe I thought that eliminating bread and crackers and pasta wouldn’t be so bad.  Many of my recipes were already gluten-free.  Avoiding the foods that made me sick was easy, and it still is.  I am never tempted to sneak a bit of a donut or a sip of a regular beer.  There really is no temptation because I know what it would do to me.  Maybe that’s why I thought it would be easy.  After cleaning out our kitchen and making it a gluten-free zone, I have no problem cooking at home.  Except for the occasional failed baking attempt (gluten-free baking is challenging!), eating at home has proven to be no problem.

What I didn’t anticipate was the difficulty in eating away from home.  Whether it’s at a restaurant or a friend’s house, the risk for cross contamination is great.  Ordering off the gluten-free menu does not guarantee safety.  Taking a gluten-free cooking class made me sick for a week.  Going to a baby shower and realizing that I could only eat the fruit made me feel uncomfortable.  As much as I enjoy socializing, I don’t like to be the center of attention.  It feels like celiac disease sometimes forces me into the spotlight as I have to explain my dietary restrictions to the waiter or explain why my plate is empty at a party.  Add to that the fact that I am not avoiding gluten, but also dairy and all forms of oats while I heal.

And then there’s the fear.  What if my food isn’t gluten-free?  What if they didn’t prepare it in a separate pan?  What if my friend used a wooden cutting board for this fruit?  Do I risk it?

I really started to worry after getting sick from food at my parents house.  Since my diagnosis, they have done everything to learn about celiac disease and make their kitchen safe for me.  If I can’t eat safely at their house, where can I eat?  Thankfully, they reevaluated their kitchen situation and the last time I ate there, I was perfectly fine.  I am so grateful for everything they do to make sure we can still eat together, but it does point out that eating away from home is tricky.  And if a friend or family member goes through the trouble to make me gluten-free food, I feel so guilty turning it down or telling them that it made me sick.

So this is my journey so far.  I don’t have any pearls of wisdom just yet, except that it’s important to advocate for yourself and be vigilant about the food that you eat.  As my friend Ashley pointed out, my celiac disease will in time help me to help others.  I am thankful for that.  But for now, it’s a difficult road.  The Gluten Dude was right.

If you have celiac disease, would you leave a comment?  How long have you been living with it?  Do you have any advice?  Do you relate to my fears?  What do you find the most challenging?  I would love to hear from you!

I sit here today with a pounding head and no voice, but I’m ok with that.  We had planned a trip to Disneyland that we did not intend to miss.  Leila had been sick on and off for two weeks but recovered enough to enjoy yesterday.  I caught the latest bug, but with some help from Extra Strength Tylenol and a lot of adrenaline, I was able to have fun too.  I know I’m paying for it today, but it’s so worth it.  I am thankful for the memories made yesterday, giant smiles, moments of bravery (Joe went on Space Mountain!), and the fact that my camera battery didn’t run out until the final photo at the end of the night.

Today I am sick, but very very thankful.

What are you thankful for this week?  Share in the comments or link up below!