The Concert!

I can't believe I forgot to post about the concert before I posted about the Christmas Party! LOL! We went to the greatest concert I've ever attended last Thursday night. It was awesome!!! And it felt SO great to jump around without being 50 pounds heavier! And my feet never did start hurting. Wow. So we got to see Storyside B, who's local, but now they're big famous stars in the Cristian music scene. We also got to see Sanctus Real, Aaron Shust (LOVE him), and Toby Mac. Seriously, we had the most incredible time!!! It was Toby Mac's Winter Wonder-Slam tour. Greg likes Aarron Shust as well and he's a huge Toby Mac fan. So he was having so much fun! Delaney went with us and knew over half the songs! :o) She had a blast too! They even sang a few Christmas songs!! Here's some pics, although fuzzy since they were taken with the camera phone. ;o)


Here's my lovely little sister and I

Here's Aaron Shust signing an autograph. We were next, so Delaney now has an autographed framed picture of him in the playroom!
And here we are with him!!! He's amazing!
So, bottom line, we got to see 4 wonderful musicians/groups in one night & we were right up front jamming and worshiping God for about 3 hours! It was so awesome!!! I wish we could do something like that every week!

A Christmas party

Greg had his company Christmas party last night & it was such fun! We got to buy new clothes to get dressy & even posed for pictures when we dropped the girls off at my sister's house! What a blast!! The company Greg works for is just phenomenal! He couldn't ask for a better job, boss, or group of people to work with. It was so amazing to be able to see that first hand last night!

We were able to get a bit of salad from the buffet line & some fresh fruit from the dessert area. When we returned to our seats we saw that they had a special plate of fresh raw vegetables just for the two of us. A huge plate of red, yellow, and green bell pepper spears, yellow squash spears, and zucchini spears, along with carrot sticks, the freshest broccoli I've ever seen and grape tomatoes! It was laid out on an oval plate like fireworks! One plate for each of us! It was gorgeous! And we were so full we couldn't finish it all! The cooked food buffet was very nice, and we could tell it was gourmet, but we didn't feel deprived at all. They were so thoughtful and kind to do that for us! I usually don't like being singled out for anything, but I just put a positive mental spin on it & looked at it the way they intended it. Which of course was as a nice gesture to make sure we felt included. It really was appreciated, let me tell you!!

What else was wonderful is that no one seemed to feel that food was the point of the evening. So many times the celebrations in our society are all about the food. This was really about celebrating and getting to know the spouses of the co-workers and all that. The food was like an afterthought. And I could tell it wasn't just Greg & I that felt that way. Everyone was having a great time & oh yeah, there's food as well. I loved that!!

Did I mention that I wasn't nervous about my size and appearance walking into that group of strangers? Did I mention that I was not the biggest girl there? Did I mention that my shyness was kept reasonably in check and I was more friendly than quiet? Did I mention that I glanced at a mirror at one point and saw myself at a side view and I didn't feel anything? I just glanced at myself and got back to listening to whoever was talking. I didn't dwell on anything bulging out, or start sucking anything in. I didn't think some terrible negative thought about myself. Now, I didn't feel any great thought either (like- oh look at me, aren't I getting cute) I'm not sure I'll ever be like that! Actually, I hope I never get like that. ;o) But I was content to just not have a thought! To concentrate on everything else but myself, positive or negative. I think this paragraph describes a breakthrough ladies & gentlemen!!!!!! Yes indeed! YAY!

Oh, on another note- Greg has a new work wardrobe! He finally had to get new pants. He was wearing a 40 waist all this time & when we went to see what size to buy and he began trying them on, we were shocked to find out he's now a 34 waist! No wonder those pants were looking so baggy! I think he knew he needed new ones, but with money always being tight, he just overlooked it. Whereas I had hand-me-downs around from generous friends & family and I could just try on a new size any time I felt the need. So next, we have to find Greg some new casual pants, like jeans! We did get him a sweater, a long sleeved shirt, and 2 polo shirts. All those can be work or casual. And of course he has one dress up outfit now! ;o)

4 months raw!!!!

WooHoo! We've been 100% raw 4 months! I'm so excited!

There's not a drastic change this month, but there are differences. It's like our bodies slowed down a little on the weight loss, but changes are still happening. For instance, my clothes fit looser enough to need a smaller size, even though the weight didn't drop dramatically in the last 30 days. And of course we're feeling very healthy! I've been tired lately, which I attribute to not eating nearly enough. I've already begun correcting that!

Greg now weighs 178 pounds, he released 7 pounds this past month for a grand total of 62 pounds so far in 4 months!! :o)
I now weigh 215 pounds and I released 7 pounds this month for a grand total of 54 pounds down so far!! :o) I'm down 5.25 inches during last month for a total of 51 inches!!

We're both filled with gratitude that God brought us to this path and has blessed this journey so abundantly. It's truly amazing, and we're really enjoying this transformation, inside & out. It feels wonderful to be lined up in obedience with what He wants us to be doing!








I also wanted to say that we've had to stop all junk food for the kids. We were letting them eat cheese pizza during parties, and goldfish crackers at church, cake at parties, etc. But, it's gotten very hard to help them understand our conviction while at the same time continually compromising. So, they are allowed to have cooked vegan foods once, sometimes twice a week. So far that's been like a wrap at our health food store each Saturday, and maybe some plain brown rice while there. When we go out on our date night every other Friday night, they have cooked veggies with sea salt. Other than these exceptions, they're all raw. Amazingly, it's been easier to handle it this way, than when they were eating raw mostly and then eating junk here and there. Even our 3 year old hands out any candy they give her in her Sunday School class to other kids. It seems like having the clear guidelines made it simpler for them to get used to! It's been so harmonious, I'm glad we tried it the more relaxed way, but I'm very thankful we've progressed to this instead, as it works much better for our kids!

Another birthday!

Here's the pics of my oldest daughter's birthday cakes! The first is a raw chocolate torte, which I bought from the closest raw restaurant. It was $60!!! It has some chili powder in it for a very yummy flavor combination. Good thing I made another "cake" though as some folks didn't care for the chili powder. She decorated the torte herself!!
This one is a double recipe of Raw Priestess's brownies shaped into a circle with Erin's store bought frosting times 5, since the recipe is for a tiny amount.
So all the guests said they liked my younger daughter's cake better last month!!!!! What? That torte cost $60! The brownies were quick and easy and not nearly as expensive. But wow. I never expected them to like the strawberry almond one better. I guess I really was the only one who didn't enjoy it! Greg LOVED this birthday much more because he is a chocolate freak!

But my precious 6 year old was happy though & she enjoyed her 2 cakes. ;o) As well as leftovers for 2 more days! So she was NOT disappointed and that was SO important to me. I didn't want to let her down.

And how in the world did she get to be 6 anyway? My heart hurts if I think too long about it. Incredible.

Our first raw Thanksgiving!

Our breakfast fruit salad. :o) We ate this during the Macy's parade. The ingredients were my oldest daughter's idea, except the pomegranate, that was my addition.
Marinated portabello mushrooms! YUM!
The cranberry salad from Alissa's book p298
Marinated crimini mushrooms for the kids.
Alissa's mock turkey loaf with the sauce on the side. p 393 YUM!
Maraw's southern corn nut dressing. This was everyone's favorite!!
Maraw's pumpkin pie. This was yummier than any cooked pumpkin pie, seriously!

It was a success! Our first holiday without the traditional dead food! Freedom!!!!!

King Vita-Mix!

I forgot to update about what my surprise was! A Vita-Mix! The king of all blenders, with a motor as powerful as a lawnmower!! I've wanted one for so long. And it was a surprise!

I was going to have to do the 3 payment plan on their website (although I really wanted to order from Alissa's store). So I was going to place that order today for the 5000 model, and was crossing my fingers that it would get here before Thanksgiving.

So Wednesday night my mom called me from Sam's club (where I don't have a membership) and asked if this price for a Vita Mix sounded the same, I said yep, same as Costco (where I do have a membership) and same as the Vita Mix website. Then a light bulb went off- I asked, it's the 4500 model right? She said no, it's the 5000!!!! With the extra dry container at a lower cost as well!!

God bless them, they bought it for me & are letting me make the monthly payments to them instead!! Woo Hoo! By getting it at a lower price and saving the shipping costs they literally saved me over $80 easily. So I won't even have to take 3 months to pay them back, maybe 6 weeks at the longest. The demonstration was only going on till Sunday here- I'm so glad they stopped by Sam's!

I was/am SO excited, I woke up Wednesday & didn't have a Vita Mix & I went to sleep that night having one! WOW! And yes, just the little I've done so far shows me it's well worth the money! I got to put a whole entire peeled orange in my smoothie at lunch yesterday! Incredible! And my almost 6 yr old finally enjoyed a green smoothie! That alone is worth it.

We can let it run for a few minutes and the darn thing is so powerful it will warm up soup without cooking it! Raw warm soup!! I'll be able to get so many of our recipes really smooth finally! And raw ice cream too! I just about killed my food processor making ice cream from frozen bananas. Now it'll be a cinch! So far I've made 5 of the smoothest green smoothies ever, and sesame chocolate mylk! It sounds silly to say that a blender can change your life, so I won't go that far. LOL! But really, this does change a lot for us! We're all excited about it!!

Here are the girls having the sesame chocolate mylk!

3 Months Raw!!

So it's been 3 months! I'm so excited!! WOW!!!

Let me get right to it: Greg is now 185 pounds. That means he's released 55 pounds!!! :o)

I now weigh 222, which means I've released a total of 47 pounds. In the past month, I'm down 10 more pounds and 13.25 more inches! On with the photos--





I'll have to post more later, it's so late right now it's already tomorrow! My parents brought over a lovely surprise tonight & that's what kept me from posting earlier. I can't wait to tell everyone about it, but it'll have to wait till sunrise!!! :o)

12 weeks!

We started this journey 12 weeks ago today! It won't be officially 3 months until next Tuesday, but I wanted to check in and give an update! :o) As of Sat I've released 47 pounds. I won't lie, I wish it was melting off faster than that, but how can I complain? I know those are good results for 12 weeks. I just want it gone so badly! Greg's released 52 so far.

I did a 4 day water fast last week. My first time ever! It was amazing- I did it for spiritual reasons, and felt very blessed! However, by the end of it, I was craving cooked food like crazy, for the first time since starting this. I gained perspective though. It's been very easy for me so far, and now I'm reminded of what Greg's experiencing every day. I'm even more impressed with his commitment, and his resolve. My cravings are passing now, and I'm so glad!! It didn't feel fair to do something good for my spirit but have my flesh cry out like that! I guess that's the way it works though.

My youngest daughter's birthday was Thursday! She turned 3. Where does the time go?! We had her little family party Friday evening and I made a strawberry almond cake. I think I liked it the least of everyone. Hopefully they were being honest. I tried to make chocolate "ice cream" as well but forgot to process the cashews first, just threw it all together and processed. So it was chunky. Most folks didn't like that at all. Oh well! Many a baker messed up their first baked cakes right? I can't be too hard on myself! But I really didn't want to let my daughters down. The oldest one turns 6 in 3 weeks, so she's next! Here's pic of the cake...



She & her sister seemed to enjoy it, but I know it could've been better. It also cost about $30 or so in ingredients and I spent 4 hours in the kitchen. I know I need more practice at this! My results are not typical! LOL!

Oh, Halloween! I bet you're wondering how that went. Our girls are used to full blown trick or treating (with 3/4 of the candy disappearing mysteriously during the night, never to be seen again). Well, we decided to go to a church festival, who said they would hand out candy at the end of the night so kids wouldn't be eating it all evening. Sounds good! They did give them a tiny bit of candy early in the night, which my girls gave to their cousins. They knew that at the end of the festival they could choose 2 pieces of candy apiece. They were fine with it. One of the pieces that my oldest chose was a full size Baby Ruth candy bar. I told her that wasn't Halloween sized, and to please just eat about 2 bites. She did, and I've been lazy and haven't thrown the rest away yet, it's up on a shelf. But she hasn't asked for more. I'm so proud of them! They did eat popcorn during the festival, but no hot dogs, or snow cones, etc. We concentrated on it being a fun night, not a candy night. Oh, by the way, that night was day 4 of my water fast. UGH! Those hot dogs smelled divine. YUCK! I knew what was in them, but still!!! I just drank water.... It feels good to know I'm in control though and NOT the food. Freedom!!!

2 Months RAW!!!

Yesterday was 2 months raw, 9 weeks tomorrow! I'm excited to post the stats, so I'll get right to it!! Greg now weighs 200 pounds! That's 16 pounds released this month, and 40 pounds total in 2 months! I weigh 232 now, 14 pounds released in the last month, and 37 pounds total in 2 months!!

I'm down 16.5 inches in this past month alone! Including a whole inch just from my neck, which is crazy! Not so much that it's gone, but that it was there - yuck! So that's 32.5 inches so far. :o)

Here are the photos! I couldn't wear the same outfit again (oh darn) because the pants were falling down! So, on to new, smaller clothes- woo hoo!




It feels good, let me tell you! To know that weight is being released, and health is being gained! I just know all sorts of things are healing inside our bodies!

Thank you for reading! And thank you for the support!! :o)

Week 8 & feeling great!

You know, I just have to praise the Lord for bringing this way of life to us! And He's given us the strength and zeal to stick with it! He has blessed this process & I'm so thankful to Him for that!

I still haven't had any major cravings at all! Greg is having less. That truly feels like a gift to me! If you're not raw, please imagine for a moment giving up all cooked food. Not just junk food, but all meat, all pasta, all bread and even cheese!! It really is a huge thing to do! So many of our celebrations revolve around food, our holidays, childhood memories, good old comfort food. It's amazing how ingrained it is into our lives. To give that up and step away from the norm, is something I never wanted to do! And I know I couldn't be doing it now without God's help. That reassures me that we are on the right path! He's given us such a peace about it all.

Saturday the 13th will be 2 months officially, so I'll check weight and measurements then. But we've still been releasing weight, and feeling better each day!

Friday night we finally got an Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator! Woo hoo! That's THE dehydrator that the experts recommend. Then we spent some time Saturday and Sunday, in between all of our errands and 2 church services, making a cover for the stove. If we didn't do that, we'd have no place to put this huge new appliance! Our small inexpensive dehydrator sits right next to it. I'm so happy with how that turned out! We used MDF cut to fit, rounded the corners facing out, then put a 1x1 on each side of the stove underneath the board to anchor it in place. That way it won't slide around. It's really sturdy, and fits perfectly. I painted it with high gloss paint so it'll be easy to clean. I'll take a picture so you can all see:

I can't wait to make some raw pizza crusts, crackers, and breads! If you use live ingredients, and dehydrate lower than 118 degrees, it's raw! Yum, I can't wait! I'll even be able to make raw cakes or brownies for my daughter's upcoming birthdays! We have many more possibilities available to us now!

The girls have been raw except at church, where they have cheese pizza. This past Saturday they had cake for the first time in 8 weeks, at a friend's birthday party. Wow, it took 2 more days for them to get that out of their system. I knew they were acting better since going raw, but having all of that processed stuff and sugar in them showed me just how much better they had been! And they were never bad, but suddenly they had meltdowns, and behavior issues Saturday afternoon, Sunday & finally starting getting back to themselves Monday afternoon! Amazing! Thank goodness they didn't have soda!!! They stuck with water, since I asked them to. Weekends like that are just going to be part of life though. I don't want them to feel like outsiders at their friend's parties. It doesn't happen all the time, anyway. During other events, they've been super about making healthy choices. Delaney apologized to me about the cake during the party while eating her cupcake. I told her not be sorry at all, to enjoy her food. It was her choice to eat that, and I was proud of her for all the great healthy choices she makes the rest of the time. I mean, if she's going to eat something else, at least enjoy it. The LAST thing I want to do is have them associating food with any feelings other than health & un-health. Like guilt, or deprivation. I've dealt with so many issues with food. I want to avoid that with my daughter's - not create it. I pray that never happens.

I'm feeling chatty, so I'll tackle another issue we've been discussing as well! Greg feels like there should be more balance with this. He thinks he should be able to eat cooked food and meat sometimes. I don't know how that fits into his conviction that God wants us to eat all raw. I do know how it fits in with mine. It doesn't! I know that God has put it on my heart to be 100% raw vegan, and to disobey that, would lead to problems for my health, and peace of mind. I'm so much more spiritual when the toxins from processed food and cooked food is not coming into my body! Everything is clearer. No mental fog! I also know for a fact that if I started to eat those foods again, even healthy ones, it would turn into a landslide, right back into junk food and no self control. I was addicted, but Greg wasn't. So he's thinking perhaps that's my truth. He's not sure about that for him. I do know that if you're putting those foods into your body, even in small quantities, your body can't cleanse and heal like it is at 100% raw. It also, from what I've read, makes cravings go through the roof. That would be hard for him to handle, since he's battled cravings since week 2. For now he's committed to 100%, and he continues to pray about this question. I know God will lead us in the right direction!

Our results of 1 month raw!

Monday was 6 weeks raw for Greg and I!! We're both thrilled, proud of ourselves & thanking God for blessing this journey!

We weighed in at the one month mark, I took my measurements & we took photos. But we didn't have internet at the time! So I guess I'll post those stats now. :o)

Greg released 24 pounds, I released 23 pounds, and 16 inches. Not bad for one month! Here are the photos, the left photo in each is taken 8/12/07 (the day before we went 100% raw) and then the new ones are on the right & were taken 9/13/07:


It's slightly embarrassing to post such specific details and pictures too. But I guess we are what we are, and we must own it. Besides, it won't be too long before we won't be this. Every day brings more progress! When Greg weighed on Saturday, he was down another 5 pounds! I had released 3!

We got a small dehydrator on Sunday, and we're excited about the possibilities that will bring! Like raw pizza, burgers, crackers, vegetable chips, etc. It was hard when we made yummy salsa for raw tacos, but then had no corn chips to dip in the leftover salsa! We were both missing the crunch of chips!

We had searched everywhere for the cheap style WITH a temperature control and couldn't find one anywhere but online. Then, after not being in WalMart for weeks, I saw one there while looking for a large tumbler to drink my smoothies out of! I never found a tumbler, but was thrilled to find the dehydrator! It wasn't there just a few weeks ago! And I got the only one without a damaged box. When I checked out, it rang up as marked down! What a blessing! I did NOT want to go to WalMart at all, and then this was waiting for me there! Yay! We made banana chips & apple chips, which were devoured by the kids in one sitting!

Greg's still struggling a lot more than I am though with cravings and negative thoughts. The irritability seems to have passed! But he misses his cooked food & wishes there was a balance between raw and cooked. I've done so much research and I know that for me, that balance doesn't exist. Maybe it does for some people, and that's really wonderful, and very healthy! But for me, it would be such a slippery slope. But then, I was truly addicted to the SAD foods, and Greg wouldn't really qualify as addicted. I could go weeks without a salad, and live off of fast foods. Greg always enjoyed fruit & would buy it all the time. He almost always ate a more balanced diet & didn't binge like me. He still got pretty overweight though because of eating out all the time & fast foods. Not to mention desserts! I was never balanced- I was either all about health, or all about junk. So, it's 100% raw for me from now on. Greg says he's convicted about it and committed to it. He just wishes it wasn't so difficult. So he's not giving up, and I'm so proud of him, really!

I haven't had much appetite lately and I haven't been eating much at all. Yesterday I didn't eat anything all day and never even had a drink of water! I know this isn't good. I must get some calories, even when I don't feel like it. At least, I think so. Part of me wants to follow my body's cues, but I also want to get my calories and have more energy! But I must drink! What was I thinking? I didn't even realize it until around 7:30 pm or so!

I've been so tired and I'm ready to get that energy I need! I could sleep all day if I could find a way to! I keep waiting for that to pass, but no improvement yet. Perhaps it's detox? Greg has more energy than me, but he eats a lot more fruit. I suppose I should too, although it's not appetizing to me. I don't know why! I typically stick to having green smoothies, vegetables like celery, and a few nuts/seeds.

We're both feeling good though & I'm happy to not have any cravings yet. Now I need to get started on a raw pizza to make Greg happy! He thinks the dehydrator is the missing link in our raw food adventure! So, I need to master this new appliance!

Not feeling well

I realized I hadn't posted in a bit when a friend mentioned it. I suppose that's because I haven't been feeling well. Word to the wise- chew your raw almonds very carefully! I didn't, and a jagged piece got stuck in my throat Friday night. I never thought such a small thing could wreak such havoc on a body! My throat was swollen and raw for days! The glands in my throat were swollen. Everything I tried to eat, like cantaloupe or green smoothies felt like acid to my throat. I ate watermelon Sunday, and that's all. It was only thing I could eat without severe pain. Monday I was out of watermelon so I didn't eat at all, same thing Tuesday until dinner. I had to chew 3 times as much as normal to get down my celery, carrots & raw humus. Yesterday was fine, still swollen glands, but I could drink my green smoothie. Today, it hurts all over again. I just realized I haven't eaten today because of it. Man, it hurts!!!!

Greg's been feeling irritable for last week or so. He misses cooked foods. He also has lots of cravings, which I seem to have been spared (at least for now). Neither of us has wavered from our 100% raw commitment during the tough times though. I'm so proud of Greg. He's really sticking to it even though he doesn't feel very positively about it right now. I'm praying he can get a more positive perspective, only because your thoughts play such an important role in your success. It could be some detox as well though, and either way, I'm praying it passes soon for him.

I forgot to mention how we cleaned out our pantry, fridge & freezer the first week of going raw. We carried two brown paper grocery bags and one or two plastic ones to my sister's house. I don't even know how much money it all cost! I felt bad about getting rid of it all, but the money wasn't why. It's cause I'm so aware that it's not going to do them any good either, you know?

I love having a clean pantry. I also reorganized my cabinets, and that felt so good!

So, I'm going to grab some more water. Oh my throat! I don't want to see an almond again for a while! ;o)

Life is good!

So it's 2 weeks today! Neither of us has slipped up, even once! Greg did choose to have regular olives. It wasn't cheating, he thought about it & really felt like it wasn't that bad. He said as soon as we can find raw olives, he'll have those instead. And he really didn't eat many at all. He has a lot of temptation in his day to day life. Even more than I do. I'm SO proud of him for staying committed.

The kids aren't 100% when they leave our home. But they are here at home, and they've handled the transition really well. No one would know such major changes have been made! they really took it in stride! The only time they haven't been 100% was at church!

Greg & I made salsa this weekend and I attempted to make guacamole. The salsa turned out great! ;o) We had it with dehydrated flax crackers! I did eat the guacamole, but it wasn't so good. We'll be trying to make corn chips ourselves by dehydrating them in the oven on warm. It'll take a very long time! But I think a dehydrator would as well. Buying dehydrated crackers is very expensive! Hopefully, our attempt will be successful!

We both have had cravings during the last week, Greg more than I. But, we've pushed through.

Friday night was date night and we went to the "local" raw restaurant! Yummy! We were so happy! The food was yummy, the atmosphere was delightful, and we just really enjoyed the entire experience! It was worth the 45 min drive to get there! We hope to again next month as well! This was the first time we've gone to a restaurant since going raw. We have no plans to go to any other ones either. We always ate out before. We spent way too much money on it actually. We're saving money there and spending it on all this produce, raw nuts, and seeds! Once you go raw, and realize that at a normal restaurant you would usually get a salad (and have to bring your own dressing)- you realize how much your really paying for that salad, when you have those ingredients, or better, in the fridge! It's pointless! We'll go for social reasons, if we need to hang out with friends, but that rarely happens. This once a month date night to the raw restaurant will be all we need, I think! But back to the point, the food was incredible there, and it really inspired me!

Oh, we weighed in Saturday morning and Greg lost 6 more pounds! I lost 3 more! Hmm, a month ago I thought that would've been at the top of a post! It just seems like a really awesome side effect though- not the point of this! We're feeling terrific! God has really been blessing this process. Obedience to Him feels wonderful, and peaceful. I wish we hadn't waited so long to do it.

Rejoice!

So this is day 8 on the raw journey, and we're feeling really great! We've noticed positive health changes, subtle, but undeniable. We have more energy too! We've both lost 9 pounds, and we've seen great behavior changes in our 5 year old. I thought she was a terrific kid to begin with, but without all the SAD foods in her diet, she's even more amazing! Who knew?!

Greg's excited about the entire process and can't believe how simple it's been! I am too, but it's so neat to know he feels this way, when he's been a meat & potatoes guy since toddler-hood!. I think God has really blessed us for finally being obedient to the conviction he put on my heart. This week has gone so smoothly for such a sudden and extreme transition!

I don't have a raw un-cook book yet, so I'm limited to some recipes on the internet. We've mainly been eating fruits, salads & green smoothies. The most adventurous I've been is in making my own salad dressings, since those have to be raw as well. That's gone pretty good! But I cannot wait to get a great book, so we can have some variety! A Vita-Mix would be superb, we need to save our pennies!!

Greg really wants something crisp, like a cracker or tortilla chip! I know we can do that, I just have to get all the ingredients together. Doesn't seem like one store has all we need! We don't have a dehydrator, but I'm hoping we can make the oven work on the warm setting even with the door cracked? We bought so many tomatoes, and we'd love to make salsa, but I want to dip something other than celery in it! LOL!

This weekend was adventurous! We went to 2 new stores we'd never gone too before, and a farmers market we'd never explored. It was really neat, and we all enjoyed it! And we never needed to go out to eat! We packed celery and carrots for lunch, and also had a couple Lara bars to share between the 4 of us. With that and plenty of water, we were set! And it was lovely!!!

I'm looking forward to this week!

Please allow me to introduce myself...

I'm Resa, and I'm so glad to be here. I'm not a great writer, and I'm a newbie to blogging, but I hope this blog at least helps me too see the progression my family makes on this journey, and it'll give me space to put my thoughts! After all, I'm much more than just raw! I want to have a place to express everything I am, and all that I'm going through!

I wanted to start by sort of putting it all out there. The thoughts I'm having right now as we start this journey. About what's led me here & what I've gone through. I know I'll have more stuff to deal with as time goes by, but for now, if it's on my mind, I want it to be put out here. That way it's not only in my head! And it doesn't trickle out over the next few weeks! So, I hope I don't spill my guts too much for an initial blog entry. But perhaps if I get it all out there, I can move forward easier. This is where I'm coming from after all.

So, I'm 32 years old, and on Monday I weighed in at 269 pounds. My hubby is Greg, he's 35 and weighed in at 240. We have 2 daughters, ages 5 and 2. Greg and I went 100% raw overnight, we started on Monday, 8/13/07. So this is day 5! Our girls went about 98% raw starting Monday. As far as cooked, they've only had a slice of cheese each day. And they know that we're not buying anymore of that. We don't want to be too strict with them, they're kids. I know they'll have snacks with friends and stuff. I don't want them to feel weird at play dates. But we home school, so most of the food they eat is right here, and that's raw now! I do want them to know what true health feels like, so they can make the right choices for themselves! So, we're a raw family in a cooked world! It's not going to be easy, but we're not looking back!

I've been researching and learning about raw since May of last year. That's over 14 months! I knew right away that it was right for me. God immediately put in on my heart that this was the way I was supposed to live. I actually remember a specific moment about 2 months after learning what raw was, when He made it very clear to me. I was driving home from Dairy Queen, and I was waiting at red light half way home. Suddenly I felt, very strongly, not like a voice speaking to me, but almost- a very clear statement. That eating this way was a sin. Maybe not for anyone else, but it was for me. That I was either doing it God's way, or the other guy's way. Period. But, I struggled to be obedient to that. I was addicted to junk foods, and to SAD (Standard American Diet) foods in general. I would've denied it before, but realizing the changes I needed to make, made me realize just how addicted I was. I did several "fasts" (not true 'water' fasts) during the last year, but never raw. Just veggies, fruits, seeds and nuts, but sometimes cooked. I'm much better at fasting than normal eating. That's why we went 100% raw overnight. If I have any SAD food at all, I go off the deep end.

On January first of this year, I decided to go 100% raw, starting with a green smoothie cleanse. I went 4 days into the cleanse, and then found out I was pregnant. We were overjoyed! I ended the cleanse, but stayed about 90% raw, having 1 or 2 green smoothies a day. On January 19th, 6 weeks along, I had a miscarriage. It's the first one I ever experienced and it just knocked the wind out of me. I was so heartbroken. We never saw a baby, no one knows how far along that pregnancy developed. But that didn't matter to us. I literally ate my emotions, practically binging, just having no regard for my health. The knowledge of that revelation I had the summer before, that eating this way was a sin for me, made matters even worse. I felt guilty on top of all the sadness.

Over the next 6 months, I tried to eat healthier, but never attempted go raw. I had some "female issues" with periods lasting 30 days! In June I went to an OB to try and figure out what was going on with the extra long periods. And I found out I was newly pregnant!!! Because of the last miscarriage, they sent me for blood work and ultrasounds. All the labs looked great! We saw a heartbeat a week or two later! Then, on July 8th, 7 weeks along, it happened again, another miscarriage. This time was even harder because we had seen that heartbeat. We knew there was a baby.

So, for the past month, I've been struggling. Emotionally and spiritually. I refuse to eat badly in response to it though. That path just led to more misery. You know, I ate so healthy when pregnant. It's like knowing that there's life inside me gave me this incentive to put aside my SAD addiction and eat rationally! It confuses me that just my own health isn't worth that much to me! And I have two daughters who need me to be healthy. I haven't figured out why it doesn't seem the same to me, I just decided not to do it anymore. I'm done with that lifestyle.

I know this is my first day blogging, and I don't want to turn anyone off because of my spirituality, but I have to be true to who I am. I believe in God, and I'm a Christian. I'm a very spiritual person. My relationship with Him is the center of my existence! So, going through all of this really made me question a lot of things, and a lot of it, I just don't have answers for. I know I trust Him though.

I also know that back in May of last year, when I first realized there was a raw vegan lifestyle, He put it in my heart that I should be raw. He presented it to me again and again after that. Seriously- I would pray for solutions to these issues I was having, and I would have the raw vegan lifestyle put in my face each time! All the while, I disobeyed Him and chose to keep living the way I had been. I didn't want to sacrifice all the foods I loved, I didn't want to be different. I'm already known as the odd one for all the natural living type choices we make, and the opinions I have. I didn't want to be this extreme! I wanted to be able to just blend in on this one! It was put on my heart over and over that we should make this change. I just acted like a little child, kicking and insisting "But, I don't WANNA!"

Now, I'm not saying at all that God punished me with these miscarriages. But I do wonder if maybe I had listened to Him, they wouldn't have happened. The OB's think I might have a polyp in my uterus. And it certainly wasn't there before. When I had my 2 yr old I had a bazillion ultrasounds because of her position. We had the most high tech machines available. They would've seen a polyp. The doctors say they just show up, and no one's sure why. I can guess though, that if it wasn't there last summer, and I had gone raw when I was prompted too, that it probably never would've developed. Polyps have sometimes caused an increased risk of miscarriage.

I kind of feel like Bruce, in Bruce Almighty. Remember when he's driving toward the bridge and he's praying saying something about please God just give me a sign? Then a construction type of truck pulls out in front of him with all the road signs in the back that say stop, turn back, danger ahead, etc. But Bruce doesn't get it. I wonder if that was me. And then here I am, so heartbroken about my loss, and He might have been trying to show me how to avoid this back then.

Don't get me wrong, I have way too much faith to be depressed. I'm not beating myself up, etc. I'm not blaming myself, so to speak, and I'm not blaming God either. I'm just saying that I think I've learned, maybe, how to listen to Him a little more closely. Perhaps how to recognize His voice, as opposed to thinking it's a crazy idea of mine. And also, that obedience to Him is usually in my best interest. So, I'm listening. I'm obeying. I'm a little late, with a little more heartache inside, but a little more wisdom as well. I'm here. And I'm 100% raw!!!