7 Quick Takes - Healthy Living

Hi Everyone!!

Here are this week's quick takes with an overall theme of healthy living. Please check out Jen @ Conversion Diary where 7 Quick Takes is hosted!!

~1~

NFP/NaproTechnology. Back in October, I started learning more about the Creighton Model System of Natural Family Planning. What? I'm not married, I'm not even engaged, right? The earlier the better, especially if you are unsure of your body and have some issues you are concerned about. The Creighton Model focuses on observing signs given by your body throughout a woman's cycle to detect any issues, plan/avoid pregnancy and when followed strictly as directed, is 99% effective for pregnancy planning. My teacher recommended that I see a NaproTechnology doctor. I said, "well I just have a bunch of PMS, it's not a big deal". And she said, "There is treatment for that".

I went in and had no fears because I knew this doctor was not only Catholic, but pro-life and would never tell me to go on "the pill". That made me feel immediately at ease. So, I'm taking vitamins and once I get some bloodwork done, will start taking some hormones to balance out what I'm lacking in to help my body function normally. I'm so excited to get this figured out way before I need to worry about it within marriage. Trust me ladies, if you can learn this now, get a handle on it! Once the engagement/marriage happens, it will be a lot to learn on top of everything else!

~2~

Seeing this new doctor led me to see that it is time to change my eating habits. The main reason is that I need to lose weight. I've never been okay to admit that before, but I know it is solely because my body needs to be in better shape. I am confident now more than ever in my own skin as far as self esteem goes. Now it is time to treat my body for what it is: a temple of the Holy Spirit made in God's image and likeness to do His will. I can't do that if I'm constantly stuffing it with fast food/take out. In my search, through an old high school teacher, I have found this awesome website called Local Harvest which will help you find local farms to purchase fresh produce, meats, etc. My favorite part is I found 2 farms in my state that sell grass fed beef. One that offers online ordering/shipping! I haven't had time yet to search for good produce places yet, but I'll keep on searching! What an exciting journey!

~3~

Since I've started taking my vitamins (Vit D3 and Magnesium), and only slightly changed things about sleep, I've noticed I've felt more refreshed than I have in a long time once I'm awake for the day. The best part about that is having the energy to work out. Gasp! Did Kristina just say WORK OUT? Yes, yes I did. I'm only 2 days into it and day one was a hot mess. I am on this train. I dug out my Turbo Jam DVDs by Chalene Johnson that I had gotten from Beach Body 2 years ago and won't put them away!

You can find something just for you on that site, I promise! They also have a "live gym" where you can log/schedule workouts, invite work out buddies, find groups for people using Beach Body programs in your area. I've got a friend who is a beach body coach, and she's always offering free samples of Shakeology which is a yummy meal replacement shake. I'm going to try it out when their new Tropical Strawberry flavor comes out soon. Best part is, I believe they are gluten and soy free! (That's hard to find in meal replacement shakes, trust me!)

~4~

I've also considered going Gluten Free over the past 6 months, but never am in a place where I feel like I could tackle it. Just today, on facebook, a friend mentioned she was considering it too. One of her friends suggested Jerusalem Artichoke Pasta (found here) and another friend suggested a Cook Book! for inexpensive gluten free recipes! Can't wait to check these out!

~5~

If you are on the healthy train, and someone brings up homeopathic remedies, how can you even try to refuse? A store very near my house sells the remedies so I'm currently taking one for acne to see how it works. I'm day 2 of 3 of taking it and will definitely try to remember to post results! I also got one for lower back pain to try during PMS. The great part is I'm not adding any unnatural drugs into my system and even if the remedies don't work, it's not hurting my body!

~6~

I'm also trying to stay happy. It helps that I'm about to  leave for the 2nd weekend in a row to see my niece and nephews! They always make me happy! A happy Auntie and is a healthy Auntie. 

~7~

I leave you with a video of my favorite song:

Have a great weekend everybody!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

This new year, I've decided to continue on the journey I've been on since late October. I posted about how I went on a retreat and it changed pretty much everything in my  life. Well, I gladly report that things have only gotten better.

There is such joy and freedom in knowing the only one who can love my unconditionally is God, my father. You may think, "wouldn't it be better to have more people love you?" and sure, I may be tempted to say yes. I am going to have to say "NO" to that. The fact of the matter is that only God is perfect and therefore only God can love me perfectly, completely, and unconditionally. To expect that from another human being is like expecting them to lift me up off the floor by staring at me. Impossible!

This experience of God's loving me for me has led me to really strive to make things better for my body. The ultimate part that I struggle with is a diet. No, not a "I really want to be super skinny and lose weight fast" sort of diet, but a healthy eating lifestyle. I eat more fast food than I am willing to admit. Lately, when it's not fast food, it's some other restaurant on "the hill" behind my house.

I'm looking forward to all that this year has to bring, especially getting healthier overall and trying to help my body function as it should. It won't always be easy (mostly because a couple new vitamins I started taking are very large), but I know it is worth it. God has called me to be on this earth for a purpose, and I must do what I have to in order to do the best I can to give back to Him.

Music is definitely helping. I was finally able to find this cd I wanted. Amanda Stott. If you are in the US, you can only buy the cd on Amazon or something,  not from iTunes because it's only released in the Canada iTunes store. The album is called Chasing the Sky. I wanted it because I had heard her sing Paper Rain on Pandora radio. I'm overwhelmed at how each song describes a different aspect of my life. Here's a part of "My Real Life":

I wait in the water as the stream rushes by

I go deeper and deeper and I wish I could fly

Far from this moment and away from my past

How do I discover all I see through this glass?

How will I know when I have finally broken through?

There's a world out there and it's all brand-new

This is my dream life,

When will my real life begin,

When will I find myself,

When will this dreaming end?

I've waited so long...

This is my time

When will my real life begin?

I pray you all have an amazing year filled with growth and blessings! Amen!

Torn to Shreds

I am so torn in this very moment.

The only thing that springs to mind is the song "If I had a million dollars"!

Out of nowhere, I got this irky feeling in my heart tonight. I miss Haiti!

There is a trip in January, but I have major projects going on at work. (I also want to go back to school for Photography, whether that means a traditional semester/college thing or a year long seminar type thing, I don't know yet)

All things are prohibited by one thing. My job. Which is not truly the blocker. The things that are paid for by the job really are. The biggest of that being my rent. I've actually always struggled with the desire to leave my "9-5" job. Maybe because when I left college at 19, I immediately started working a Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm job and haven't stopped since. I missed the years of monthly winter breaks, spring breaks, summer breaks from May to August. Now, I support myself completely.

I am not complaining, just pondering. There are things in life I know God is calling me to do. The two things that are specifically clear are to be a part of Mission Haiti and to dive into Photography. How can I do that while working full time?

I know I can be a stationary mission as far as Haiti goes, through prayer and monetary support, but how does one be a stationary photographer?

"If I had a million dollars..."

Christ the King...

Last night, I was able to attend Catholic Underground CT's November Event last night. I had only been to one Catholic Underground before and it was years ago and in NY.

I had no idea that today was the Feast of Christ the King. There was a brief homily after the reading. We heard that in Latin, the words actually translate "Christ the King of". I could not stop smiling the entire time in the chapel after he made that statement. Christ is King of...everything. The person who was speaking (I apologize for not remembering his name) said, "of the created world and anything uncreated".

Christ will reign as King over any thing to come into creation until the end of created things. The vastness of our God is unimaginable. The small things I constantly stumble over pale in comparison to the greatness of His reign, but He is King of those small things too. He is King of the universe. He is the King of my heart.

Most importantly, I have to allow Christ to reign as King of my mind. The parts of my mind that are so prone to my human nature, and to sin. The weakness in me that leads me to give into the temptations that fill into my mind need to be reigned by His Kingship. Then, and only then, can I triump in the victory that He won for me on the cross.

Thank you for your sacrifice, my shepard and my King!

7 Quick Takes-Friday!

7 Quick Take Friday- Hosted by Jennifer at Conversion Diary! Be sure to check out her 7 Quick Takes!

I haven't done this in a while, but getting back to the blog scene. Here we go!

1~ The sun is out today and although I'm still feeling sick, I will try to go out locally with my camera! I haven't shot any pictures in over a week and feel like I'm going to lose my touch!

2~ I have cooked a ridiculous amount of food this week. I went grocery shopping and in my efforts to eat better and stop wasting money on cut-rate food at the restaurant at work, I bought tons of groceries. I got fall veggies, chicken/beef broth, turkey sausage, eggs, beans, ground turkey, healthy pasta. I spend a lot of money and have been cooking like a hound to avoid wasting a single thing. So far the only thing I lost was one red pepper.

3~ First, I made a big Turkey Chili. Froze about half in a large container (to take out if friends come over), the rest in small containers and left one in the fridge for dinner). That same day, I cleaned one bunch of escarole and made sauteed Escarole and Beans. Then I roasted a Spaghetti Squash. I made a small sauce to go over that to bring for lunch!

4~ On Monday, I made a small sauce to go over the spaghetti squash to bring for lunch!

5~ Wednesday, I washed all the dishes from cooking so far and blanched Cauliflower/Brussell Sprouts to freeze them. I think I might do this from now on with veggies that are only really fresh certain times of the year.

6~ Last night, I made Escarole and Bean soup with the other bunch of escarole, and made Sweet Potato soup also. I froze the Sweet Potato soup. I now have soup for the rest of the week to eat, and a stocked freezer full of homemade food! I also made hard boiled Eggs and a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chips!

7~ Thank you to the internet for recipes and how-to videos. This week would have been a major fail without the following helps: (Check them out for great cooking tips/ideas/guides)
Google
You Tube
The Food Network
Article (PDF Form) on Blanching

God Speaks when We Listen!

I knew. I knew God needed to talk directly to my heart. (Not in the crazy, "God told me to do it" sort of way either) I am not sure I would have ever given in to the prompting had I not gone to confession on my birthday. 


After an amazing confession (the kind where you just know it's Jesus present in the Sacrament because such a truth is spoken, it washes away any doubt), I knew. I knew He wanted to speak straight to my heart. I knew I needed Him to to tell me something huge. Was I ready to hear it? I wasn't sure. 


The priest told me that if I didn't know the source of my struggle, then I didn't know myself. Quite the shocker, right? How could I not know myself? I'm 27 years old, I have a job, my own place...I know who I am...I know...right? Then I realized that none of these things define me. I realized how right this priest was. I needed to find myself buried under this struggle that has been plaguing my life. I struggled to face the facts. 


Then it dawned on me. 


I had spent years telling teenagers that God speaks in the silence. I am sure I can speak for many when I say, that just isn't something I find anywhere in my day to day life. I found a place to make a retreat...in Trenton, NJ (about 3 hours away). I was glad though because on that route, I know 2 Christian radio stations so I could leave my iPod distraction at home! I was about 40 minutes away from the place when I heard the following lines of a song called "Love Me" by JJ Heller (video at the bottom of post!)

 "...Then he heard a voice somewhere deep inside and it said..."I have watched you suffer all of your life and now that you'll listen I'll, I'll tell you that I...I will love you for you not for what you have done...I will love you for you, I will give you the love, the love that you never knew..."

I began to cry. Then I thought, "Wait, no...not here in the car...I can't have this major revelation in the car! It needs to be in a chapel, quiet...or something more holy!" Of course that is not true. As soon as we are willing to listen, God is ready to speak. Those words broke through to the core of my heart. 

I now I knew the source, I was ready to see it, sit with it, and begin to invite God's healing love into the wounds. I left that weekend of silence knowing more than ever that my God loves me for me! He created me so of course He loves me. It has been amazing! I hope the song can help you too...

Photo Clarity - Meditation on Scripture

In the Gospel of Matthew, is one of my favorite stories (parables). The Parable of the Sower. In it, Jesus explains what happens when people hear about the Kingdom of Heaven. Depending on where their hearts are depends on what they hear and take away from it. You can check out the full parable over at Bible Gateway, feel free to check out just about any edition of the Bible there!

If you are familiar with  it, when you see the image, it will most likely make sense to you, but if not, I will highlight the parable piece and it's explanation, then share a short meditation.

"...Behold, the sower went out to sow; ...Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out..." -Matthew 13:3,7    

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom...the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful..."  -Matthew 13: 19,22

While I am certain that one tree was growing around the broken one and the broken one was probably broken by a storm, not due to the "choking" of the winding one, I thought this displayed this concept so beautifully in nature.

How many times do we feel "choked" by the constant stress of this life? Are we able to do anything fruitful during these times? I bet mostly not. St. Theresa of Avila asserts in her book, Interior Castles, that a soul in mortal sin can not bare fruit, even in doing good acts. When we let the "deceitfulness of wealth" get in the way of our lives, we often get caught up in our pride, our wants, and focus only on ourselves. A life focused on selfish desires and needs leads very little room for fruit. How can we lay our lives down for others, lend a helping hand, be involved with our families, if we can't get beyond our own needs and wants? I would love to meet someone who can manage to be selfish and selfless at the same time.

Interestingly enough, when we hear God's word, the invitation to give our lives as a means of love for others, it is no surprise that it makes no sense to us. Society surely does not support this calling. Yet Jesus tells us, that seed that falls on good ground, those who hear the word of God and cultivate it in their hearts, "this is the man who hears the word and understands it...indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty." (Matthew 13:23)