Two week sugar hiatus continues

My friend, Mel, and I have been working together to push refined sugar out of our diets. We started this two weeks ago yesterday and are still going strong. I've noticed some interesting things throughout the process.

1. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. Going sugar-free in the summer is definitely the way to do it since there are so many yummo fruits available this time of the year.

2. Once I got past the first couple of days, any cravings I was having were gone. G.O.N.E. I am an ice cream lover, and though I am sure I still love, love, love it...(it's only been 2 weeks after all) I have passed it up and haven't really been craving it like I usually do.

3. In addition to the sugar cravings, the salt cravings are also gone.

4. There are so many sugar-free options for yummy stuff. SF pudding is probably my fav. I know that people will argue that sugar is better for you than the fake stuff, but seriously? Right now (for me) I needed to detox...so it's working for me!

5. You can go to restaurants (including Golden Corral) and not hog down. That's right - you can order good for you food at restaurants...who knew? (certainly not me judging by previous eating out adventures)

So - those are some of the things I've noticed right off the top. I'm not saying I'll never eat sugar again, but it certainly has made a difference in the way I see food right now.

BONKO

Last night, John and I were invited to join 5 other couples in playing Bonko, we had a great time. It's a dice game that's totally chance (no skill involved) and it moves quickly. You move partners, so that's fun too - it keeps the game fresh which is especially important since you're just rolling dice over and over again.

Except for the couple that invited us, we were the only people under 40 - that's a great way to feel young again! The older couples were hilarious, and it was fun to watch how they interacted with each other. We were invited to join their little group that meets once a month to play - they rotate homes so that everyone gets a chance to host. I think we'll join them - it would be a great way to get to know some new people.

Anchorage is SO small. We got there not expecting to know anyone except for the people who invited us, and we ended up knowing another couple there. They had gone through the adoption seminar with us and had a lot of the same feelings/experiences we've had since going through it. It was great talking with them and feeling not quite so alone.

Jessica and Nick

Dear Jessica and Nick,

Get back together. Now's the time. You're both free, and you know that you guys belong together. Don't let the mistake you made a coule of years ago get worse by remaining apart.

Love,
Stephanie

Hazy Daze

Whew - there's a LOT of smoke in the air these days. I guess there are over 50 fires burning in Alaska right now - and we're certainly seeing our share of smoke here. It makes me not want to go outside, something about not being able to see the mountains that are so close, and smelling the smokey air makes me want to protect my lungs.

I have to admit that the 64 degree weather is much welcomed after our "hot" week. We made it up to 85 at our house and hotter in some areas of town - trust me it feels different in AK compared to 85 in other places. People don't have AC - in their homes or in their businesses. So at work, one of the offices was 87 degrees with fans on and windows open. Not that fun to work in! And with the pregnant women milling around in here too - they must be miserable!

ChaLEAN has been going well. I was pretty sore Tuesday, but not so much today or yesterday. SO far so good - it is pretty hard work and I'm tired after, but it feels good.

What else...not much! We're pretty boring though it seems like we've always got something going on!

ChaLEAN Extreme

Today was my first workout with ChaLean Extreme. She's the lady that does the Turbo Jam videos (they're so much fun) - and since a friend was trying the 90 day commitment to ChaLean Extreme, I thought I would too. It took me 2 weeks to get excited enough about it to be committed to do it for the 90 days. This is less cardio and more weights...actually, mostly weights. I'm usually not into weights and prefer doing something more "fun" but I know that muscle burns fat and since there's plenty of fat to go around...here I go!

So far...so good. Of course it's only the first day...and it did hurt. A lot. But again, it's only the first day! Tomorrow is a rest day so I'll find something else to do (or maybe just take it easy) and then off to more Extreme!

It's the little things...

I must be bored lately. This morning I made pancakes for breakfast. John was late getting home so by the time he got here I had already eaten. He sat down with his plate and started to butter his pancakes and one rolled off his plate like a coin and rolled onto the table and bounced off my purse and landed butter side down.

Apparently this is funny...because I couldn't stop laughing. After he picked it up the pancake left a perfect butter imprint - including the streaks his knife had made - on the glass table.

It's these little things in life that really crack me up! What a cute way to start the morning.