Let's Hit the Trail

I used to spend hours at the gym on treadmills, stationary bikes, stair climbers, I did it all! It was so hard to motivate myself to "run in place" on treadmill for even 20 minutes. No passing scenery, no breeze in my face, just a screen in front of me telling me how long I had been running. It was torture!

I cancelled my gym membership and decided to get my exercise in a more natural way. I thought I could do some resistance training at home, and go for runs around the neighborhood for cardio. So, I bought a jogging stroller/bike trailer so my girls could come along with me. It worked. I had figured out how to stay in decent shape without going to the gym.

The girls in our bike trailer.

Then, I discovered my trail, and it has made a world of difference for me! It's a 13 mile walking trail/bike path near my home. It is covered by trees, and absolutely surrounded by nature. It is breathtaking! My favorite moments in my day are usually spent on the trail. I can easily spend two hours out there and not even realize it! My torturous 20 minute runs have turned into 8 miles and I actually enjoy it! My girlies and I go for long walks, runs, and bike rides almost every morning. It is where I find peace, time to reflect, and get away from the hustle of daily life. It seems as though we are miles away from it all and on our own little adventure. I get to be free, run at my own pace, and take in some fresh air!

My amazing view while I run.

Being surrounded by nature has also deepened my appreciation for the earth and how important it is that we care for what God created for us. Everyday when I am out there, I am blown away by the beauty and detail that He put into it all for us. It absolutely inspires me!

The girls love it too (with the exception of a little arguing over who had what toy first, of course)! We see countless butterflies, birds, and squirrels (even some turtles and a possum once)! I think that it is so important for them to be able to enjoy creation too. To help them appreciate how wonderful the earth is in its natural state, so that they can understand why we need to care for it and preserve it.

I let Emma take some pictures while we were out one morning, and I loved what she captured. So interesting to see the world through her eyes.

Emma's view looking up into the trees

Her view from the trailer.

I love that I have found another way to live a bit more simply and naturally. I encourage you to try to find what you love doing in nature, whether it may be gardening, swimming, hiking, biking, or taking your dog for a walk. Find anything that gets you out of your daily grind and helps to bring you back to a simpler time, if only for a moment. Then, maybe we will appreciate the earth a little more and want to take better care of God's beautiful creation.   

Off the Juice!

I have always had a problem with giving my kids juice to drink. I am not a big fan of it myself, its too sugary for my taste.  Most people feel that it is a necessity; a dietary staple for our children to receive the vitamins they need. To me, this is ridiculous! Juice is simply not the equivalent to an actual piece of fruit. Fruit (and veggies, of course!) is a vital part of our daily diets. It contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants that keep our bodies healthy, growing, and going.


Let's consider apple juice for a moment, every kids favorite. Apples are an amazing fruit that naturally contains fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and even a little calcium.  But, it is 100% juice, so is it just like eating an apple? Not really, most juice, even though it says "contains 100% juice" on the label, is still from concentrate. Now take that same apple and strip away the peel and the flesh, along with all of the nutrients, leaving nothing but the sugary juice that was inside. Concentrate it (filter and remove all water from it), then reconstitute it, and "fortify" it with man-made "vitamins". How healthy does that sound? Yet, we are pumping it into our kids nonstop. Even going as far as making convenient individual juice containers that a bottle nipple can screw right on the top of!

Sometimes, I think it can be a great beverage to have with their breakfast; their version of a cup of coffee in the morning (which I cannot live without!). However, guzzling cup after cup all day; I just don't think that is very good for them. I delayed giving both of my girls juice until they had progressed to drinking from sippy cups, but even then, I always diluted it to half water-half juice. I still didn't feel right about it. They wanted it all of the time, and would simply refuse water. I had to have juice at the house at all times, or have to face a melt down. (Plus, my plastics recycling bin was filling up way too quickly!)


As a child that had a long hard struggle with obesity, I am a firm believer that instead of trying to fool our kids into eating healthy, we need to begin to teach them from an early age what kinds of foods they need to eat to keep their little bodies healthy. We should instill healthy eating habits that will continue on into their adulthood. I think the best way to do this, is to lead by example. Eat healthy meals and snacks with your kids, and maybe trade in that soda for a glass of water. How about instead of animal cookies and apple juice, we offer apple slices for a snack, maybe with a little peanut butter to dip (a favorite for me and my girlies). Or orange slices with breakfast instead of a cup of orange juice. It's easier than you may think!


So last week, I made a promise to myself. A promise to just fight the battle head on and not buy anymore juice (or soda for me)! It has been so much easier than I thought it would be. I began making home-made fruit infused water for the girls to drink instead, and they love it! (I also love it when I am craving a soda. The hint of flavor totally satisfies my craving.) It's super easy to make, simply add a fruit of your choice to a pitcher of water and chill. The natural flavors of the fruit give your water a hint of sweetness and yummy flavor to enjoy!
Some favorites of mine...

Mixed berry water I made at home

• Strawberry
• Blueberry
• Mango
• Peach
• Lemon
• Lime
• and even Cucumber

Since I made the switch, I have noticed that my girls aren't as whiny and are more willing to try new foods. Now, I can feel good that my girlies are drinking WATER all day! How wonderful! Give it a try and see if you can feel a difference too! Remember, small changes over time can revolutionize your health and your life!

Say No to TV!

It is amazing to me just how much of the American culture is influenced by the media, especially television. For most it is a way of life, it's what you do when you are at home. It has become a main conversation topic at dinner and amongst co-workers, it is how we relate to others.

When I was moving out on my own in May 2010, I did not personally own a TV, and I chose to keep it that way. I barely watched TV anymore, and I was finding much more interesting things to do other than staring at this glowing box in my living room for hours on end. I had become tired of the ridiculous drama of reality TV and bored with the predictable comedies. Plus, I was finding myself feeling completely irritated and guilty over the fact that my oldest daughter, Emma, would sit and watch TV all day. She would be absolutely devastated when I told her she had to turn it off or that she couldn't watch it for a while. I didn't want my daughter to be so influenced by the media. I wanted her to actually be a kid! You know run and play, go on adventures in the backyard, play dress up, ride a bike, draw, just be creative!

When others find out that I do not own a TV, their reactions make me laugh. It is usually a response of true concern. To them, I am obviously a struggling single mother that cannot afford a TV. There is generally a long pause followed by an offer of an extra they have somewhere. It's hilarious! It's only when they find out that it is by choice that they think I am insane. I always get asked what we do all day without it. My response is, "everything". We go for walks, bike rides, go to the park, read books, draw pictures, play dress up...we live. I refuse to go on the rest of my life simply coming home to watch other peoples lives; I choose to live my own. I choose to raise my children without the constant pressure of the media telling them that they are not good enough and that what we have is not good enough.

I can honestly say that I have felt a release of the pressures I felt before. I am no longer concerned about the latest styles and trends, or which celebrity is the hottest, or which is the trendy decorating style. Consequently, I have saved so much money without feeling that I need go get the latest, hottest things. It is a freedom of sorts. It allows me to simply be me. My girls are also calmer, more creative, and even more sociable.

Maybe it seems to be a bit much for you to throw out your TV; however, I do encourage you to try to live without it a little more. Find new hobbies. Get out and be active. I am sure you will find that you are better off living your life without it.

Go Veggie!: for health

One of the things I am passionate about, is being a vegetarian. Its always frustrating when people find out I am a vegetarian and they ask me why, expecting a simple answer. However, my reasons are countless and complex, so I am going to cover this in a  three part series of sorts: health, environment, and ethics. They are all so closely tied together though.

First, we will start for health. At my heaviest, I weighed about 230 lbs. I was constantly starting fad diets, then failing them because they were impossible, then feeling more like a failure, and gaining more weight. What a wonderful cycle we are creating for young girls in America to follow! I remember trying the Adkins Diet and it worked for a while. I lost 30 pounds eating a pound of bacon for breakfast every morning! That's when I began viewing meat a little differently. The whole cooking process always grossed me out: blood, bones, skin, and the random feather in my chicken wing...ugh! Now granted, I was the kid that put a dozen eggs in the oven trying to incubate them. I've always had a heart for animals.

The yo-yo dieting continued for many years. Then while in college, I finally wanted to be healthier instead of skinnier. I began looking into the foods we eat and how our bodies process them, and I realized that it is called junk food for a reason! The foods that many Americans eat are completely void of any nutritional value, therefore, we are obese yet still malnourished. How sad is that?!  

God created us. He made these bodies just for us. A complex system of bones, muscles, neurons, cells all working perfectly together. Now say someone bought you a brand new Mercedes (I'd personally trade it in for a van that runs on veggie oil, but that's another topic) and you took it to the gas station and filled the tank up with water? The tank is full, but how well do you think that Mercedes is going to run? Just like the human body and junk food! We are destroying ourselves! So that got me thinking about how did God create us to eat? Well, Adam and Eve were vegetarians until they were kicked out of the garden. So I started doing some research about our bodies and meat. There is tons of research that proves the fact that humans are not designed to be carnivores. Just look at our teeth, our nails, even the acidity in our stomachs and the length of our intestines (GoVeg.com has a great article about this). Also, our bodies are designed to break down fruits and vegetables and use every bit of them as fuel, and yet those are the very staples that are completely missing from some Americans diets. Once again, our bodies just weren't designed to break down all of those saturated fats. Medical studies prove that a vegetarian diet greatly reduces the risk for cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney stones, gallstones, and even osteoporosis. A meat free diet has also been shown to reverse diabetes and asthma. Read this article for details about each one of these. There is also the issue of growth hormones and other chemical agents involved with eating meet, but I'll go into detail about that when I discuss how it effects our environment.

Once I began eating vegetarian, I was hooked! I feel so much better. It's hard to explain, but my insides really feel cleaner! It's so much easier than most people may think. There are a ton of yummy and interesting recipes out there! One of my personal favorites, Ultimate Veggie Lasagna, I shared on naturallychicmama. Check it out here!

My girlies are not exactly vegetarian. Our house is vegetarian. When we are out or when they are at their dad's I let them choose what they want to eat. It is one of my goals to have them on a completely vegetarian diet by the end of the year. And yes, it is perfectly safe for them. This is a great article explaining why.

There are so many interesting reasons to become a vegetarian, I'll discuss environment and ethics later. But remember, one of my main goals is to love everyone no matter what! I am not trying to convince anyone that they have to stop eating meat. I am not offended by the rack of ribs you are eating. I just want to open up to some what they might not know much about...and maybe help the planet, your health, and those baby chickens along the way! :)

The Butterfly Effect

"The idea that one butterfly could eventually have a far-reaching ripple effect on subsequent historic events" - Wikipedia.

That pretty much sums up my theory on life, but let me explain...

I grew up thinking that my life was going to end up a certain way. No matter what I did to try to make things different, things weren't going to change for me. This is just how life is. But deep down I knew there had to be a different way, a better way. I just had no clue as to what it was.

Then, I had an awakening of sorts. I was in college taking sociology, western civilization, and speech in one semester, and the combination was perfect! My western civ and sociology classes were unveiling myths about American culture (I'll go into more detail about them another time, trust me!) that I had never thought about before, and my speech class forced me (a very shy and quiet young girl) to form opinions, back them up, and tell them to a room full of people. And I began forming strong opinions about the American culture and the way we the American people just blindly followed along. Only now I had some facts and research to back them up. It was liberating to finally start being the person I wanted to be. I began studying art more intensively. I became a vegetarian. I dyed my hair black (I was always a blonde and from a family of blondes). I pierced my nose. As silly as all that may sound, I finally felt free!

However, my life was turned upside-down. I met a guy, fell "in love", and got married and pregnant way too young. I won't go into any details, but I definitely lost the person I discovered I was, and my new found freedom slowly slipped away. I stopped going to church. I felt completely void of all the passion for life I once had.

So here I am now five years, two kids, one divorce, and plenty of life lessons and experience later and I am finding more joy in life than ever! I have definitely learned through my experiences that no matter what happens in life, you have to find joy in what you have and make the absolute most out of it! I know that if you do not like the way your life is going, you can definitely change it! In the beginning, it was hard though. Here I was a 25 year old single mother of two with no degree. I could never obtain the "American Dream". According to society, I had screwed up my life. I would just have to go on struggling, working three jobs, going to school, and letting someone else raise my kids. Then, maybe someday I'd meet a nice man that would take care of us...I don't think so! I knew I could make my life awesome by doing what I felt was right:

• simple, natural living
• loving my children and investing in them as individuals
• taking care of this amazing planet that God put us on
• taking care of the bodies He created for us
• loving everyone, no matter what they look like or what race, religion, or social class they might be

I think the world as we know it now is so sad. People working away their entire lives for stuff, (for more on this please watch The Story of Stuff) all the while losing the most important substance and joy in their lives.

I want to make the world a better place, and I really feel that it can be done if we all can come together, working towards something better. I know no matter how little the changes I make for myself and my family might be, it is creating a butterfly effect. These small changes, in time, may revolutionize things. At least I know it has for me.