You Can't Out Exercise a Bad Diet

The term "clean eating" has always been pretty obscure to me. It's actually quite intimidating. But on my weight loss, get healthy, cry-fat-cry journey, I've realized that I can't do it with exercise alone.

Because, believe me, I've tried. I've been working out more than moderately (3-4 intense times per week) for over a year now. While I've lost weight, or should I say FAT, and I see the results in my legs and arms, I have failed to see the results in my mid-section. Ugh. The infamous mommy mid-section. NO matter how hard I work out, how often I work out, how heavy the weights are, how far I run, my mommy mid-section wasn't changing. 

That's when I realized that I needed to be in the kitchen, whippin' me up some abs.   

Thus, my clean eating journey has begun. I don't claim to know everything about clean eating. I don't claim to eat clean every meal. And I don't proclaim that I am on another stupid diet. But I do proclaim that I am going to give it my valiant effort... especially because I'll be on this beach for a week in less than 30 days:

Maybe, just maybe, I'll post before and after pictures; or maybe I'll keep those to myself. But I do need something to hold me accountable. And since this is MY blog, this is now my accountability partner.

I'm going to post what has worked for me, what meals my family will actually eat (because, again, I am a mommy and they eat whatever I cook!). Oh and because I am on my teacher summer break and need something to do besides shop.

Clean Eating Day #1

Clean Eating Day #2

Clean Eating Day #3

Clean Eating Day #4

Clean Eating Day #5

Clean Eating Day #6

Clean Eating Day #7

Easy Mexican Casserole

Ok, so I am over the recipes posted on Facebook. I don't go on Facebook for recipes, I go there for gossip. GAH. I go to Pinterest for recipes. I don't like to mix my social media worlds. Uber frustrating. So guess what I'm gonna do?!? I'm gonna post recipes I see on Facebook on my blog. Then pin it. DUH.

Easy Mexican Casserole

1 pound lean ground beef

1 can Ranch Style beans

10-12 ounce bag tortilla chips, crushed

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 package taco seasoning

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup water

sour cream and salsa for serving

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large skillet, brown meat and drain off fat. Stir in beans, tomatoes, onion, taco seasoning, soup and water. Simmer over medium-low heat until everything is well combined and heated through.

Grease 9 X 13 casserole dish. Put down a layer of crushed tortilla chips, followed by a layer of the meat/bean mixture, then half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with sour cream and salsa. 

Watch Out! We have a yellow belt in the family!

Last November, we signed Grayson up for Tae Kwon do at a local church. Yes, a church. The pastor's wife is a something-degree black belt and uses the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays to teach kids Tae Kwondo. I think she's probably a saint.

If you know Grayson, you know that he has a very unique personality. To say the least. He has tried soccer. He has tried baseball. We've dragged him to all of his brother's sporting hoorahs.

We tried baseball. 

We tried soccer. 

We even tried ice skating. 

Nothing has really interested him. Until Tae Kwon do. After the first class, he was hooked. He found his niche. And he's good. I mean really good. And he loves it. 

The day he received his white belt. 

With each class, he just gets better. He works really hard. And just last week, he advanced to yellow belt.

I made the celebratory video using iMovie on my phone! He showed his class the next day! 

Is Zeal the Real Deal?

If you know me, and know me well, you know that I don't sell anything. Everyone tells me that I should sell stuff because I can talk people into doing things. But really, it's just the things I am passionate about. I speak passionate about them and that just makes others want to do those things. Naturally.  So, with that said, I have never jumped on the Mary Kay selling train, nor the Silpada jewelry selling train, nor the Advocare selling train. I didn't buy into those products either. I mean, I'll try anything once. And I did. Try those things once. But I never committed to sell because I knew that if I didn't believe in it, then I couldn't sell it.

Enter Zeal.

About 5 months ago, a dear friend, Natalie, was out with a group of us and was basically in a state of shock. She had just come from a Zeal meeting, or had seen testimonials, or something, but she just kept shaking her head and saying, "Y'all this is the real deal."

I personally had never heard of it and was weary. After all, so were all of those other things that I had tried in the past. But what struck me about her and her opinion of this product was the humility in her convictions of Zeal. She believed in the product. She believed in the results. Real results. People were CHANGING. THEIR. LIVES. However, there was no way that she was going to try and sell me, her friend, something that I didn't want to buy. And honestly, in hindsight, she did just enough to keep me intrigued.

About a month later, I sent her this text:

I was at a point (in the wintertime I might add) where I was feeling drab and gloomy ALL. THE. TIME. I could not function in the morning without coffee. I'm a teacher and my students even knew when I had and when I hadn't had my coffee in the morning. I had gained an uncomfortable amount of weight and I am not a big girl by nature. I was 25 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight (pre-pregnancy weight has always been my baseline) and I was not fitting into any of my winter clothes. Winter clothes! Who doesn't fit into their winter clothes?!? The summer/fall were hard on me as I was dealing with a thyroid issue (an issue that is genetic and has affected quite a few people in my immediate family) and I just couldn't get to a point where I felt good. You know, like I'm-in-good-mood-let's-conquer-the-day type of feel good. My doctor told me that I had a Vitamin D deficiency and needed to take daily supplements until I got that under control. I had joined a local gym but just couldn't get myself off of the couch to go. I had developed a muffin top. I was literally spilling over my every single pair of pants I owned-- if I could even get them buttoned. I was in denial about my weight gain and I had honestly become complacent with my weight. But, inside, I was ashamed.

BEFORE Zeal. 
This was the most I had ever weighed.
I justified it.
I became complacent.
I made excuses.

So that day, the day before I was to return to school after Winter Break, I had had enough. I was done feeling bad. I was done gaining weight. I was going to give Zeal my valiant effort.

And I did.

I committed to one month at a time. In my head, I was going to give it 30 days, then cancel my "membership". I wasn't going to sell the stuff. I wasn't even going to tell anyone I was trying it. This was a private struggle and I wanted my solution to be private, too.

Until now.

It's four months later and I have been drinking Zeal Wellness once a day (sometimes twice a day) for three months straight. I am on my 4th canister of the Wellness formula and I have never felt better in my entire life. I am a thirty something who refuses to get old, and the effects of Zeal are allowing me to do that. Or not do that I should say.

I have lost over 20 pounds just by drinking the Wellness formula. I have not consciously changed my diet. Actually my diet changed as a by-product of Zeal. My chocolate cravings have completely vanished. I do NOT drink coffee every morning-- something my students have even noticed. Instead, I drink my "healthy drink" {as they call it}. I don't drink sodas. I mean, I still LOVE Root Beer, I just don't want to drink it everyday anymore. I no longer have a muffin top. I can wear whatever shirt I want without worrying that I'm going to be bulging over the top of my pants.

There are a TON of amazing testimonials out there that are convincing in and of themselves, but I wanted my own story. I wanted MY body to change. I wanted people to notice, and I wanted people to ask me what I have been doing.

So this is my testimonial. My story. If you want to try Zeal, if you're curious about it, give it one month. It will change your life. You will feel it. I still do everyday. You don't have to buy from me, because this is not a business thing for me. This is a feel-good-change-my-life-sort-of-thing. I'm really not even that good at selling it. I can't tell you its ingredients off-hand. I can't tell you all the great effects of what it's supposed to do. I can only tell you what it has done for me.

See for yourself.

(Left) December 2012         (Right) April 2013  
3 months of daily Zeal Wellness formula
22 pounds lighter

www.mvandagriff.zealforlife.com

It's BASEBALL time in Texas!

'Tis no secret how much I love the Texas Rangers... I start to plan my Opening Day outfits somewhere in February when the pitchers and catchers leave for Spring Training. My entire household comes out of hibernation for baseball season. It's greatness.

Because of my ridiculously crafty nature, and how much I love rhinestones and glitter, I wanted to try my hand at painting these canvas shoes that everyone is doing. Of course Toms are the preferred shoe because they are durable canvas, come in a plethora of colors... oh, and Tom donates shoes to a needy child every time you buy a pair. 

{Side note: Have you heard about the campaign One Day without Shoes on April 16, 2013??? I'm doing it! You should, too!}

My sister bought a "clearance" pair of Texas Rangers painted Toms at Canton Trade Days for like five-hundred dollars (really like eighty, but still... eighty dollars?). When she showed me them, I thought, "I can do that!"

So I did.

Aren't they just adorable? Since this was my very first pair, I decided to go with a cheap pair of red canvas shoes from Wal-mart rather than a $50 pair of Toms for my first try. I was planning on messing up on this pair, but they turned out great! So I gave them to my awesome momma! :)

Colorful bird costume = More Feathers on my Living Room Floor

I love feathers as much as the next girl. Who doesn't? Especially on a boa. Who is the genius who thought up that idea.... feathers on a string? That I can drape around just about anything? Stop it.

So my son came home this week with the perfect project for his momma. He had to make a colorful bird costume for his music program on Friday. Yesssss. I hit the jackpot of costume making. I've been known to make a pirate costume or two, even a Santa Claus. Neither of which involved feathers. This was going to be great.

My son decided early on that he wanted to be an Angry Bird, which was unacceptable by terms of the costume assignment. So he settled for black and red. Feathers, of course.

I love that my kid loves feathers as much as I do.

I basically started with a red shirt and started just wrapping the feather boa in a zig zag pattern on the front and back. For the wings, I safety pinned some left over DecoMesh to the shirt and then added feathers on the front and back (under his arms). And voila! We have us a colorful bird costume. For his beak/hair, I used an old ball cap. I glued the feather boa to the hat and added a yellow foam beak. It was perfect! 

He was ecstatic. Yes, this is his ecstatic face, not to be confused with his mad face.
He actually loved it!

The day of the program, he was so proud of his feathery bird costume. 

One proud bird momma!

Feathers!!!!! All of the costumes turned out wonderful!

Wreaths galore! Oh, dear heavens I made more...

So I graduated last February with my Master's degree in Educational Media Design and Technology and my living room is currently covered in glitter and feathers.

I know. That has nothing to do with technology. And if you know me, you know I am a tech geek. Big time.

Maybe it's that I spent all that time, an intense (understatement of a lifetime) 12 months, working towards that advanced degree, with my Macbook GLUED to my lap daily, and I am looking for a different kind of release? I don't know. Maybe it's just that I'm crafty. What can I say... I love crafting. Nevertheless, my living room floor is still covered in ribbon, and pins, and hot glue. And glitter. Lots of glitter.

I have found a new obsession. Deco Mesh Wreaths. They are just darling and I want to make one for every occasion that we celebrate in our household. Luckily, in our household, it's either baseball season, or it's not. So in honor of baseball season and the best baseball team on the face of the earth, I made a Texas Rangers Deco Mesh Wreath. And it shall hang on our front door from March until October. Period.

You might also see some of these hanging somewhere in my house or even in my classroom at some point during the year!

I have also been known to do a favor or two for friends...

I've always said that coloring is ridiculously therapeutic, however, I would like to revise that statement to include crafting in general.