In a nutshell

Hello world!

It’s been awhile… okay- it’s been more than awhile, about a month and a half to be more precise. BUT! I just dropped off my last return to my incharge this morning, and *knock on wood* there shouldn’t be any new assignments coming my way for 10/15 so close to the deadline. It has been a busy non-busy season, busy season… Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense you say? Welcome to public accounting :)

For the last month or so I have pretty much been a stressed, exhausted, emotional hot mess, and that’s saying a lot coming from a girl who generally is not very emotional.  And yet here I was sitting in front of my computer for hours on end staring at excel spreadsheets and tax software from sun up to well after sundown, and the very idea of coming home and trying to write or read or use my computer or think or move or do anything at all really, made me want to cry. In fact, let be honest, I probably did. Okay I did :P

But I am starting to regain some of my stamina and feel like it’s safe to attempt re-entry among the land of the living once again, ironcally, just in time for Holloween? With that said, first-things-first, quick briefing on a what’s been up (aside from work) since my last entry:

1) I wrapped up my 8 weeks of “I Quit Sugar” experiment.

BEST.EXPERIMENT.EVER.

To be honest, it was kind of a rocky landing. Once I got to the chapter for “Adding a little sweetness back in,” I kind of stopped keeping track. That’s not to say I tossed in the towel, life just got super busy and I just stopped worrying about it so much. But since then, one thing I’ve been really pleased with is that I haven’t had the desire to slip back into old patterns. Most sugary things truly and genuinely aren’t that appealing anymore, and when I do have a little something sweet, it stays at something little. And the best part? I kid you not people, no more cravings. I finally feel free. It’s pretty awesome.

So, sorry I kinda fell off the planet in terms of following up at the end of each week, but just know it was a well-worth it experiment-turned life-style, and if you’re ever feeling super ambitious… check it out here: I Quit Sugar. Could be a good post-holiday detox ;)

2) Witnessed my beautiful younger sister’s homecoming festivities. She is a senior this year (which is absolutely insane) at the high school I graduated from, and was on homecoming court this year, appropriately following suit after her two older sisters ;) I don’t think I have been back to the school since our next oldest sister was on court 4 years ago, so it was kind of fun to be back. And what’s more, we actually won the game! I couldn’t believe it, I don’t think we EVER won a game while I attended there, except for when we played Stayton of course… but that’s just a given ;)

Anyway- here is a picture of my lovely sister, Amanda and her adorable boyfriend.

I know, it’s kind of ridiculous how gorgeous she is. It was absolutely insane at work last week, and I left in a panic to make it to her game. I made it just about 15 minutes prior to the half time show, and was so thankful I got to see her roll out onto the field on the back of some shiny porsche convertible, escorted by our handsome father in the same suit he has worn to escort each of us girls… his only suit for that matter. You know it’s a special occasion when farmer-dad busts that sucker out :)

3) Started the planning for another great seasonal celebration: 2nd annual Fall Festive will be a week from tomorrow actually. I’m kind of freaking out about it already… way too much to be done in 1 weeks time. But I have some pretty cool plans up my sleeve, and c’mon- who doesn’t want to celebrate FALL!!? And the rain this morning, just sealed the deal. It’s officially Fall… even if I’m not very happy about the rain bit.

And alas, now that busy season is more or less over for awhile, I’ll be back to check in soon.

Grace & Peace

I Quit Sugar – Week 4 – Face the demons

So basically, I’m about ready for this 8 week experiment to be OVER, done-zo, el-fin! Amazingly, this has far less to do with a desire to abandon ship and stuff my face with sugar again, and far more to do with the intense amount of anxiety I feel every weekend when I realize I have to update the world on the last week of my life. Really- there is so little time for these things in my life right now. However, I have committed, and I WILL push through, no matter that my posts keep coming later and later with each passing week…

So week 4 is pretty much exactly what it sounds like… Face the Demons… because by now, you can bet you’re probably sick of side-stepping every sweet thing that comes into your frame of reference. For me, week four was really just more of the same. I tried a couple great recipes, and for the large majority, stayed away from all fruit and all blatant fructose-containing “demons.”

Here’s is what I notice already half way through week 5:

-Clear skin. Thank you Lord. I have long since been sick of feeling like a hormonal teenager who is in constant, all out warfare against her face. I always thought we ought to be working more as a team… but not until now has my face really agreed with me. I am LOVING it.

-A more sensitive palate. I have found over the course of the last month that my palate has increasingly grown more sensitive to natural flavors. I tend to opt for oatmeal in the morning, because it’s easier and faster than whipping up an omelet (which I love to default to when I have a bit more time in the mornings). And when I first started this experiment, I was cooking it with a bit of almond butter and a tad bit of rice syrup for sweetness (which is a life-savor for the beginning steps of quitting sugar by the way… more on that in a bit). However, as of late, I have been completely forgoing the rice syrup all together and just eating it with the almond butter instead, and I find I am completely satisfied with it and actually really enjoy it that way. I would have never done this previously. There are a million different ways this has manifested itself throughout this past month, but you’ll just have to do the challenge yourself to find out!

-More satisfaction when I eat. The cravings are really starting to subside. I actually think this might just be a miracle, because while I was hopeful of this, I don’t know if I really believed it would happen. In fact, last night, I had an itch to bake for some reason, but obviously, my options here are limited. So I decided to make a batch of sugar free, gluten free, no-bake cookies. I altered the recipe pretty-significantly and used some unsweetened cocoa powder, and a bit of rice syrup once again to add a little sweetness. They turned out SO good. But for the first time, I didn’t have the urge to devour the whole batch. This is not like me people… I was impressed :)

-Bottom line- my tummy is far happier with me. Far, far happier.

In Sarah’s book, chapter 4, she outlines an expectation that by now, you’re either facing a lot of opposition from the outside world, or you’re starting to lose focus and/or momentum. I don’t think this has been as much the issue for me simply because I really don’t eat that much flat out junk food to begin with. Did sugar have a hold on me? Absolutely, yes. But the sugars I ate prior to this challenge tended to be the healthier forms of sugar (in most cases), which i think has made the transition a bit easier. I haven’t felt significant  symptoms of withdrawal, though I do look forward to the day when I can take a bite out of a nice crisp apple again. Which really isn’t that far away now that I think about it. Really, the worst is over. And I’m very, very thankful for that!

Real quick- here is a nice go-to if you’re thinking about giving up sugar in the near future, or a needing some inspiration to stick with it!:

I haven’t used it excessively, but there are times when it really helps to curb the craving. It kind of tastes like caramel, but good news, NO FRUCTOSE! Seriously, pick it up at your health food store, use sparingly, and enjoy guilt-free sweetness :)