Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A little experiment...on myself

A few months ago I wrote a blog post extolling the virtues of green smoothies.  I am a big believer in getting the nutrition your body needs from the foods you consume rather than from supplements you buy in a bottle.  While I recognize that there are times when supplementation is important and necessary, it is not a substitute for good, whole foods. This is why I drink smoothies. In July I decided to forgo my morning smoothies and see if I noticed any difference in how I felt. I went without for about 5 weeks.

The biggest change I noticed after a while was a serious decrease in energy.  Every afternoon I would get sooooo tired and unmotivated.  Added to the lack of energy was a craving for sugar and other "bad for me" foods.  I found myself opening the fridge to find something to eat, even when I wasn't hungry.  This brought on another rather obvious problem...5 extra pounds.  Yep, I gained 5 pounds in those 5 weeks!  Let me tell you, when you are 5'2" tall (or short :), 5 added pounds is glaringly obvious!!!  Not good.

There were a few other changes I noticed as well, including a skin break out, flagging moods, and just general grumpiness. Workouts and runs were a drudgery.  I didn't seem to handle stress well at all, which was not a good thing with everything that was going on in the Pierson world.  All in all, quite interesting.

I am back to my usual routine now.  The extra 5 pounds are gone (thank goodness!!!) and I can actually run without feeling like I want to stop and lie down in the middle of the road.  I don't have the dip in energy in the afternoons and my cravings are gone. My skin has cleared up and seems less dry.

My conclusion?  Nothing is a substitute for good nutrition and smoothies are a great way to get it.  My plan is to keep on drinking the green stuff.  It is worth every penny.

Friday, September 23, 2011

In our neck of the woods

For those of you who may be wondering what is up with the Pierson Family, here are a few various and sundry updates.

Our move to Texas has been postponed, indefinitely I suppose.  Unpacking has been nearly completed with only one emotional meltdown, which in my opinion ain't too shabby.  I am sorely disappointed in how things have turned out, but am hopeful for the future.  We are all very thankful to not be in the middle of the disaster that is now Bastrop County, TX.

Having originally planned to begin our school year once we had moved to Texas, I was unprepared mentally and literally to start the girl's school.  We have managed, however, to get things rolling along and they are doing well.  I have such amazing girls and have come to realize that this time with them is a blessing.  They are fun, bright and seem to be adjusting to the whole home school thing. Kids grow up so quickly and then they are gone. I can't believe I have 3 teenagers!!!!

Shelby is working at New Gate Technologies and seems to be doing fine.  He is saving his money for a truck, which he does need.  He spends his time hanging with his buddies, going to rodeos and trying to find ways to get in some dirt biking time.  What a great young man he has grown up to be--hard working, fun and loving.  His latest "thing"  is a frog that he decided to bring home one day.  It is a tree frog called Dumpy. Apparently it will grow to be 5-6 inches long.  Yikes!  Anyway, if you know Shelby, you won't be surprised to know he now is the keeper of what promises to be a rather large amphibian. Here is a pic of a blue dumpy frog.



Jay has recently purchased a new pickup.  Our little Saturn is on it's last leg and is Shelby's current mode of transportation.  Jay rode his street bike all summer and had hoped to be able to use it for a while longer due to the move to Texas.  Since that didn't happen and winter is rapidly approaching, we decided another vehicle is needed.  It's a great truck and I think Jay feels a bit more manly driving it as opposed to the Saturn. :-)


As for me, I am getting used to the idea of being cold for the next 10 months {sigh} and have decided to focus on the good things.  Jay and I went hiking yesterday and took a few minutes at the top to just sit and take in the amazing view.  The mountains truly can be breathtakingly lovely.  Now if they just weren't so darn cold...:)



Thursday, September 8, 2011

Ain't Nothin' Certain but Change

My how quickly life can change.  Just a few days ago we were packing up our house and getting prepared for the 1600 mile move to Texas.  Now we are sitting in our house looking at all of the boxes and wondering what in the world we are to do. Do we leave things packed and wait and see what happens?  Do we unpack so that nobody (that would be me) goes insane living in a mess? We truly have been in shock with this latest turn of events.

So just in case you haven't seen or heard...Texas is on fire.  The biggest fire down there right now is in Bastrop County. As of this morning, the fire has burned around 40,000 acres and the confirmed count of burned homes is up to 1,386.  It is absolutely horrifying and completely devastating to thousands of people. There are many other fires burning in the area, basically all around Austin.  The house we rented is directly in the line of the Union Chapel fire, but we did hear this morning that fire is at 90% containment this morning. The Bastrop fire is only at 30%.   Here are a few pics...



View of a smoke-filled Austin

Near Bastrop

Bastrop County



When Jay and I first went to Bastrop, we fell in love with the quaint little town and decided it was where we would choose to live.  The area is so beautiful and tree covered, the people friendly and open-hearted.  It breaks our hearts to see the devastation caused by these fires. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone down there. Lord, please send rain.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

From Hot to Not

Jay and I returned home a couple of days ago from a visit to Austin. Wow!  It is beyond hot down there.  The Central Texas area is just burning up.  Green grass is nowhere to be seen.  Lake Travis is alarmingly low. Such a terrible drought.  We are praying that fall brings healing rain to the poor, sun-scorched state.

This is a sight we saw often on a drive from Austin to Edna to see my folks. The poor cattle all gather under any available tree. The area around where my parents live is usually green and lush. You can tell by this pic how brown everything is right now. So sad.



So now we are back in Montana where the high today is 67 degrees and it feels a lot like fall.  From one extreme to the other.  While it is nice to be cooler after melting in the Texas heat, I will be glad to be heading out of here before the long, cold winter sets in.  No more will I have to deal with 9 months of gray skies, freezing temperatures and snow covered ground. My freezing feet will be so thankful to finally thaw out after 17 years in Bozeman.  :-)