What? You don't have enough money?? A Mom's frustration

We've all have certain things in our lives that we need or want that will either sustain or improve our quality of life. Pretty much all of those things cost money, of course. Anything ranging from a new house, on down to groceries.
How many times a day do you catch yourself either wishing or wanting for something you don't have?? And then how often do you dismiss that thought?? Really take a few minutes to think about that. You know you do think about that, but are you aware of how many times you dismiss things that you actually want??  "I could really use a new car, but can't afford to have a car payment."

I'm willing to bet that you've heard the phrase, "Thoughts become things". Did you know that if you think about things you DON'T want, you'll keep attracting things you don't want??

What prompted me to write today, is that I am tired of feeling frustrated about money! I have spent the last several weeks trying to come up with a way to get back into the corporate world. I've investigated, and learned what it would take for me to get back into the field I was in before I had my children. GUESS WHAT??? It would take a year of full-time work, course work, and then re-sitting for the certification exam. I was a CTRS - Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and I consulted to Activity Departments in long-term care facilities.

 

But we all know, that sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right? Even if it takes more money, coursework, and a certification exam -- it would be worth it years down the road right??

Maybe. Maybe not............

Like many Moms that jump back into the workforce when their kids are school-aged, I am not alone in these considerations that I need to make. I've been out of the work force for 17 years. I have been a stay-at-home Mom to my 3 children. And yes, as the kids get older, they get involved in after-school activities, or they get involved sports, the arts, and ALL THOSE THINGS COST MONEY.

But what if I found a way to work from home (that wasn't a scam), that allowed me to help people with their health goals , and I could help them earn extra money for their families, would you want to know how you could do that? Remember what I said at the beginning of this?

What do you REALLY want for you and your family?? Could you benefit from financial freedom?

 I decided to re-visit something that has worked for me in the past. All it takes is anyone who is willing to invest $150 a month in their health. With all the health challenges humanity is facing nowadays, how could you afford NOT to invest just that little into your health??  What do they say about an ounce of prevention?

Let yourself think about the things that you want and DON'T squelch your desires. Try it for one day and see what happens. Most of us don't give ourselves permission to dream anymore. Is it really that simple?

I'm looking for like-minded people who would like to enjoy life without worrying about money!  But I want to WARN YOU. You may suffer the following side-benefits: happiness, increased energy, better quality of sleep, weight-loss, increased residual income with no ceiling cap, time freedom, increased quality of life.

 

Thanks for reading, happy pondering! :)

 

 

Fantastic Finish! Here are my results:

Well, despite my desire to blog everyday........sometimes things happen like no Internet service for several days. Despite my challenges to write, I've finished my 11 day cleanse and I'm down 9 lbs. and 8.75 inches!!! BUT........who's kidding who, you've already glanced down at my before and after, haven't you?? Lol.  Pictures speak louder than words. Just so you know, I don't have my true before picture. The first picture here is from my half-way point. I don't have access to that picture right now. But who cares, you're may not even be reading this! (hehe)
SO........here is my picture from the morning of day 5 down 5 lbs. and 3 inches:

And then here is my after picture, taken today, at the end of my 11 day. Down 9 lbs., 8.75 inches:

Okay, so remember I said I had challenges? Well, I can't put pictures side by side for you right now, you'll just have to imagine them side by side!

This 11 day was probably the second best result I've ever gotten. It was challenging on cleanse days, but I was and still am determined! Life throws curve balls at all of us, and we all have challenges and we all have excuses. Believe me, I could've thrown in the towel a few times, especially when I got not so good news about my Dad's health the last 3 days of my cleanse. I did not give in to myself, no matter how bad I wanted to comfort myself with things I knew would skew my result. Was I completely perfect on the program? No. I had a few bites of chili on a shake day. I had a few bites of bread on another shake day. But I kept going.

So, how do I feel? I feel GREAT!!! I went to bet last night at 9:30 and woke up feeling refreshed after 7 hours!! That's right, I was up at 4:30 this morning, raring to go!! And if you know anything about me, you know I am NOT a morning person, so that is saying a lot!!

I am grateful I found these products and this company 7 years ago. I am forever grateful to my sister-in-law for introducing me, to the many people I've gotten to know in the company who embrace everyone with open arms, and to all those that I have coached and will continue to coach. It is an amazing feeling to give back and help others achieve their health goals.

Cheers!!

AND yes...........I'm aware that I'm typing all this in the caption of the photo. Can't fix that either!!!

Down 5 in 4 days! :)

This is what my scale said this morning!! Yep, 5 lbs. and 3 inches (overall) in 4 days. That my friends, is pretty impressive.
I am starting day 5 today, and have already had my shake for breakfast and my shake for lunch. This time I'm mixing up my shake day again by doing shake-shake-meal instead of shake-meal-shake. My biggest reason for doing this, is to hopefully shake up my metabolism a little bit. I have always done shake-meal-shake days on the program (and it is true, the digestive enzymes in the shakes help with that mid-day meal), but my body is used to that now, so we'll see what happens :)

I woke up this morning with great energy! That is saying a lot because I get up at 5:15 on Thursday mornings. After 7 hours of sleep, I actually woke up 15 minutes before my alarm and felt like I was totally rested!
This was all the motivation I needed to propel me through these next several days!!

SO.....on to dinner with my family tonight! I will stay in keeping with my 400-600 calories, and I may even decide to break that down into two smaller meals for myself. I just find it hard to eat 600 calories in one meal. Especially after just completing 2 cleanse days!
Today through Monday are all shake days for me. Then at the end.......I may be brave enough to post a before and after pic!

Until Tomorrow, cheers to great health!

Cleansing to Success :)

Cleanse day #2 today, and so far so good!!  I am SO happy to be past my sugar-burning day, and on to FAT burning day!!!
Usually the first day of the cleanse is the harder one for me. I do just fine all day long, keeping myself busy and enjoying the snacks and IsaDelights (chocolates).
It becomes a bit more of a challenge that day when I have to make dinner for my family. I coach a lot of moms on this program, and my advice is to never make your favorite meals for your family when you're cleansing.
I do follow this, and I also recommend that if it is really difficult, leave the house and take a walk or use that time to run to the gym. This is temporary - and the benefits FAR out-weigh a few sacrifices for long-term health benefits :)
SO..........another tip is to go to bed early on cleanse days. My body is working so hard on the inside, I start to feel really tired around 9 pm. The other advantage to this is I am less tempted to snack if I were to stay awake.
Well, tomorrow is my half-way point and I get to weigh and measure! Usually I notice my energy increase on that day -- but I already feel better today!
I noticed how easily I woke up, felt really good, and was ready to start my day getting the kids off to school!

Day 2 :)

Another shake-meal-shake day for me!

Wow, yesterday kind of flew by for me!
It was day 1, and I had my protein shake for breakfast, kept up with my water (half my weight in ounces per day), and took my accelerator capsule.
BUT.........before all that, I weighed and measured. Some people I coach don't really like to measure, but it is really important and makes for a nice wow factor starting on day 4 :) I look forward to that!
So far, so good and I'm following the schedule mapped out in a blog entry so nicely put together by a team-mate http://11daycleanse.blogspot.com/2012/04/day-3-cleanse-day.html

So the rest of my day consisted of a 400-600 calorie lunch like this:

 

Chicken breast, green beans, and a salad that I dressed with olive oil and lemon :)

 

Today I'm ready to go, and have already had my shake and accelerator! I will be at my part-time job today, so I'm going to do my shake for lunch and have my meal later.

I CAN'T WAIT for Thursday morning. I'm SO ready to get my energy back and shed unwanted pounds!!!!

New Year, New Me, New Cleanse! :) Ready, set........GO!

Happy New Year!!
This year I am welcoming 2014 with a new sense of serenity.
Hmm.....that sounds a little cliché, doesn't it?
Just look at this picture. What do you notice? Is it the colors? Is it the scenery?
For me, I love it because it is "going somewhere". I LOVE when I look at a scenic picture, and I can picture my own physical MOVEMENT in the photo. THAT is what I want to focus on for the first part of this New Year.
We all know that it is one thing to have a goal, but how many of us know exactly the steps that it takes to get us there? And hey....sometimes? Sometimes it is that VERY thing that we get tripped up on and then we DON'T accomplish our goals. To repeat a status I recently posted on Facebook about goals/dreams: "All it takes is ONE excuse to kill your dream." Think about that for a second. Has this happened to you? It is the "Yes, but...." syndrome.
So, give yourself permission to dream for a second. Can you think of just ONE thing that you would love to do or have, that you - for some reason, have just not been able to have it or accomplish it yet?
Let's make this a mantra for the New Year -- "What you think about, you bring about." Yes, you've heard it before, and no, it is not my own. But they say if you focus on something for more than 2 minutes, you can change your mood. In fact, WebMD has something to say about that. "Thought stopping" helps you change how you think so you feel better." http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/positive-thinking-stopping-unwanted-thoughts

SO.......my serenity starts with my health. We all know that when we feel better, we do better, and are open to more forward momentum. I am taking a stand in my health, and am using it as a platform or momentum, to bring about more serenity in 2014.

Okay, so how does that relate to the title of this blog entry?
 Most people know that I have been doing nutritional cleanses for over 7 years. I have been more than impressed by these products, hence why I continue to use them. Periodically, I do a deep cleanse to rid my body of toxins and impurities that build up in my body (and everyone's) and over time, make me feel sluggish, zap my energy, and put the pounds on me.
This Sunday, I am hosting a deep cleanse with several of my team members. It is TIME and the New Year is a GREAT time to get together with my cleansing team-mates and we support each other to great health, and we shed unwanted pounds and inches along the way.

This time, I will be blogging about my daily journey.

Until then.......think about what your resolutions are for the New Year. Are they health related? Have your already gone astray? I can help you if you'd like to join us.

See you back here for my starting entry of my progress on Sunday!

Bike Helmet Safety: Paying it Forward

2 days after surgery

July 10th, 2010 our 12 year old son Mathew fell off his bike. He ended up with a major head injury that was very serious. It happened as he was riding down-hill, lost his balance, and tried to get his tire back onto the sidewalk. He was slammed to the ground and knocked unconsious. His head hit the sidewalk, no time to brace himself.
Some good samaritans saw his fall, woke him, and escorted him 2 blocks to his friend's house.
We got the call that he fell off his bike, but had no idea how serious his injury was.

blood clot causing pressure on his brain

He had a 4 inch fracture that cut an artery inside his skull. That bleed caused a clot which put pressure on his brain. He needed emergency surgery. Mathew's neurosurgeon, Dr. Bovis told us he was just a few hours away from slipping into a coma and dying.
You can imagine how over-whelming this all was, and how long that two hour surgery was not knowing his condition. Larry and I learned a few things about his doctor that really helped us cope.

Larry's good friend Tracy is a nurse anestethist. Tracy told us during our wait that he knew Dr. Bovis in two ways. First, through personal experience he knew Dr. Bovis was top in his field. Second, Tracy went to high school with Dr. Bovis. Third, Tracy is Mathew's Godfather. Just learning about those connections when we did, as I said, really helped us cope with the trauma.

Our conversation with Dr. Bovis was limited up to that moment, right before Mathew was taken in to surgery. I was impressed and touched as a mother by just one small gesture and statement he made. It was about Mathew's favorite stuffed animal at his side, delivered by me and sent from his sister. Larry picked up the stuffed dog Scooter and remarked, "Guess he shouldn't have this in surgery." Dr. Bovis stepped in and put Scooter back at Mathews side. "Abosolutely not, this stays with Mathew." A seemingly small touch carried deep meaning to me as a mother, and of him, as a doctor.

Mathew's surgery went smoothly and we were able to see him in ICU and stay the night with him. His head completely bandaged, the doctor showed us his x-ray showing that he had two small titanium plates holding the fracture together. Dr. Bovis added that the brain sac was completely in tact, there was no injury to his brain at all.

external staples visible, titanium plates hold the fracture in place

He spent 4 days in the hospital, and a few weeks re-couping here at home. Shadowing him those first few days was a challenge, and exhausting, but I was grateful. Grateful for many things, but mainly that he was okay and would not have any long-term physical damage.
Thankfully, Mathew is completely healed and all that remains of the accident is his scar and the titanium plates.

Dr. Bovis, Mathew's neurosurgeon

Mathew made a 1 minute PSA video on his youtube account and was also interviewed by WGN August 21, 2010.

http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/50239a42-2d62-4797-bdd4-716e3089c10a/Health/Bike-Safety

Please think of Mathew the next time you go for a bike ride. It is our hope that you will wear a helmet, ride safely, and even share his story with others.

Back on his bike with his Dr.'s permission - November 2010

8th grade graduation, May 2012