Almost Ruined by a Noodle

"What are you doing? You can't eat that!" yelled my son incredulously as I stuck a spaghetti noodle in my mouth to check doneness. There wasn't anything wrong with the noodle.  I don't have any allergies to foods that I know of, but I am doing a #Whole30 for the remainder of this month...so no grain. 

I don't usually cook two meals at one sitting.  As in, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit when it comes to dinner around here.  But during a Whole30 might be the one exception. Tonight we had spaghetti squash with meat sauce. I made a package of noodles for the kids simply for time sake and to be an understanding mom. (It happens on occasion!) 

I simply put the silly noodle in my mouth to see if it was done.  While it wouldn't have been the end of the world, it would have technically ruined my Whole30.  I didn't even want to eat the noodle. The irony is that an hour earlier, I was at a meeting...with a tummy actively engaging in hungry rumbling and a pan full of delicious smelling, ooey gooey, chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallow goodness that I politely declined and walked away from. I didn't need it.  And THAT, friends, is the beauty of the Whole30.

The mindless eating is so often what throws us off kilter. We stuff food in our mouths because we're in a hurry, bored, craving _______ when we really need the opposite of that.  My encouragement for you is to simply pay attention to what you put in your mouth. If you want the brownie, eat it, enjoy it. But if you really don't need it, leave it.

What other mindless activities are sabotaging your efforts?

Make it a beautiful day, friends.

When your done spitting out your noodle, hit the subscribe button so you can have each blog post delivered to your inbox. 

Easier the Second Time

It's January.  Almost everyone has new year resolutions to get healthier.  Sometimes that includes weight loss.  Sometimes it just means to cut out soda.  At our house it means doing a #whole30. 

A Whole 30 is not for everyone.  It's a reset on your body in relation to food.  It's not so much a cleanse as it is a re-establishing of healthy tastes, cravings, and mindset when it comes to the substance we put in our faces everyday (that should be nourishing, not harming).  Here's the rules in a nutshell: no dairy, no grains, no alcohol, no sugar (in any form), no legumes.  At first glance, you might think that doesn't leave much to eat, when in reality it leaves an abundance of food in their natural form.  It forces us to try new foods and flavors.  It's more a food adventure than a self imposed torture session...and at the end, I know I will feel AMAZING.  I know this, because I've done it before.

Get this lovely reminder for your kitchen here

It's been a couple years ago, but I still feel some of the positive effects of having done a Whole 30 before.  As with any discipline habit we are just beginning, it is helpful to look to past victories to know that I can reach the win this time.  We're a week into this food reset, and I feel really good already.  Knowing how super amazing I'll feel at the end motivates me to keep going and making one good food choice after another.  It's easier the second time around because I know the victory will be real, so it's worth it.

Is your current struggle worth the end result?  Have you pictured in detail how that end result will feel?  If it doesn't feel worth it right now, then make your goal more detailed and maybe bigger.

Make it a beautiful day, friends.

You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  And at www.JensWallsTalk.com.  See you there!

P.S. If you want more info on the Whole 30 program, you can get the original book here. If you want more recipes to go with your current or upcoming Whole 30, click here.

P.P.S. A couple of support things I've been doing this time around are my emeals account (they have a paleo option that is very simple to tweak any questionable ingredients to Whole30 approved ingredients).  And I've been using this supplement system for the past 3 weeks...and have NOT had any coffee (except 1 cup and that was a mistake) to drink.  I'm not even kidding.

Your Application

A while back , I alluded to a relationship challenge.  It would be arrogant and ridiculous to imply that I never have any challenges, but it doesn't seem to happen too often, fortunately.  It would be inappropriate for me to divulge names and details of the rift, but suffice it to say, it's an ongoing issue to a certain extent, as sometimes we are unable to walk completely away from some relationships. The only other option is reconciliation.  As I pondered what it means to reconcile and heal, there came realization of what exactly is so hard: application.

Application is the self-discipline portion of the relationship.  Application is where we simultaneously acknowledge the wrong done and look you in the eye and say, "I still like you." It's the part where we act on the base of love that the relationship was built on, rather than the more recent hurt that we see every time we look at that person...and that is difficult.  There is no arguing that sometimes we want to be mad.  We want to live in our hurt place because we're justified.  We are righteous in our anger or hurt.  So what does it look like to apply healing in a wounded relationship?

I'm sure it looks like a lot of different things to heal a rift.  It could look like a hug and "I love you" when you see that person.  It could look like a smile and a bit of joking like old times.  It's sampling the waters and it has to come back slowly.  There is no quick fix for a deep wound.  Here's the part of application that takes the most tenacity: it's a choice. I must choose to act in forgiveness rather than in the hurt I still feel.  Let me say that again: I must choose to act in forgiveness rather than in the hurt I still feel.

That is your (and my!) assignment today.  Go.

Make it a beautiful day, friends.

After your realization that you've been hanging on to your anger sinks in, run over to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for some fun.  Thank you for sharing and subscribing.  You're a rock star. Now go act like it.

It's My 10th Birthday Party--30 Years Later

When I was 10 I had planned the birthday party to end all birthday parties.  I had games, beauty stations, food, and sleeping arrangements carefully planned for each of my 15 guests.  Yes.  I had 15 10-year-old girls at my house.  I'm sure my mom tried to talk me out of it, but in my 10-year-old mind, I thought that was a good idea.  What happened in reality was that 15 different people have 15 different ideas about what it looks like to hang out at a sleepover.  Surprise!  So halfway through my party, I ended up in my mom's room crying because I thought the party was going horribly.

I learned from that obviously traumatic experience that people have their own ideas, and especially in a social gathering, will tend to wander in all different directions.  Fast forward 30 years to New Year's Eve.  I did it again.  In my effort to make sure everyone was included and going to have a blast, I did it again...and it was an epic fail.  How could a gathering of great friends and food and kids become an epic fail?  Because I didn't go.

I allowed guilty, liar voice to convince me that I would feel really bad if not everyone was able to go...and that I was responsible for that.  Ugh.  This totally sounds like something from middle school, but you'll recall I turned 40 just a few weeks ago.  The lesson I am reminded of and that I hope you hear as well is this:

I am 100% responsible for my own responses and actions...but I don't have any control over others' responses. 

It is kind to include others.  It is friendly to invite all--but I can't please everyone all the time.  It's impossible.  So continue to invite, include, and have fun in 2017, but for pete's sake, quit trying to please everyone all the time.  You'll both end up unhappy, or not.  It might just make only you miserable.

Make it a beautiful year, friends.

When you are done including everyone in your sharing of this post, click on over to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for some fun color feeds.  You can also find me on www.JensWallsTalk.com .

What I've Learned About Resolutions

Today is a day just like any other.  Tomorrow will be a new day.  The day after is a brand new day. The day after that is a brand new day, too.  Are you sensing a pattern?  

It is almost a new year.  It feels like we should be starting over, setting resolutions and writing down goals.  And you should...if you do that in April or July, or another part of the year.  You should write new goals...if you've already learned that your goals are only as good as the habits already developed.  The daily habits that you set in motion way before January 1st are what will make resolutions stick.  

So enjoy this new day.  Enjoy tomorrow, too. Have a beautiful 2017.  Admit that a new day will not automatically get you to your goal...your established, productive habits will get you to your new goal.

Make it a beautiful day, friends.

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Who is Rooting for Your Marriage?

Alone together.  That's how I heard one person describe our culture of social media.  We sit alone on our couch looking at other peoples' posts on social media.  The posts are the highlight reel.  It's not that they are bad things we post...it's just not all the things.

I don't believe we should air our "dirty laundry" on social media.  We've all seen the posts that are vague and specifically angry. Um.  Be a grown up and go talk to that person.  Don't post it on facebook.  But that's not where I'm going today. I found out last weekend that a couple I thought I knew is getting divorced.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one surprised by this announcement. Someone else commented that they had no idea the couple was having trouble.  

"They didn't want to air their dirty laundry," was the reply.

While I don't think it's everyone's business if someone is having trouble in their marriage, it's my hope and prayer that you have someone in your life that you can talk to and have that real conversation:

"I'm having a really hard time in my marriage right now with ___." Fill in the blank.  Anything, on any given day can be really hard when you are married.

I have a wonderful husband, but there are still times that I want to choke him with my bare hands.  At that point, I need a real friend to tell me that they are rooting for my marriage...not what a jerk my husband is and that I should leave him.  Divorce is not easier, friends.  That is the lie the world tries to tell you.  That is the lie Satan whispers in your ear.  Marriage is not always sunshine and roses.  It's work...and it's a choice.

If you are the one struggling, please reach out to someone.  There are so many resources available. You are not alone.  If you don't know anyone you think will be on the side of your marriage, please message me.  I will pray for you. (Here is one resource you can look into.) If you are in a real physically or emotionally abusive relationship, that is another matter entirely.  You need help, too, and know that is not okay.  Please, get outside help.

We all want our happily ever after.  Sometimes we need to roll up our sleeves and work for it.

Make it a beautiful day, friends.

I'm sad for the heavy topic today.  This has been weighing on my heart.  After you get done pondering the current state of your relationship, visit me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for some light hearted decorating fun.  If you are looking for some color change up in your home or business, stop by www.JensWallsTalk.com for ideas and consult information.  Thanks for sharing.  You don't know who might need to read this today.

Mountain Lions and Ninjas

I hang around funny people.  Life is more fun that way.  Two of these maybe-a-bit-competitive gentlemen may have an ongoing competition/hypothetical discussion about whether or not they could kill a mountain lion before it kills them.  Fortunately, this is only a hypothetical discussion and not a retelling of a real life, horrific situation.  This discussion has been going on for years, apparently, but now it's shifted...

A couple weeks ago, one of these pranksters approached me at the gym and told me that even with my black belt, he felt he could take me.  He could take me down before I could kill him.  I'll be honest, at first my feelings were a little offended.  Sure he may have 50 pounds on me, but I have some skills and some knowledge that should give me the advantage.  (I hope that studying karate for 8 years has taught me a little more than just how to punch or kick!) While I wouldn't say I'm super aggressive, I do feel like I could hold my own if there were to be a random "mountain lion" situation.

The funny thing is that I didn't know about this particular discussion before the throw down was issued at the gym.  I thought my friend was being the sarcastic, sometimes filter-less, often outspoken, albeit hilarious person that he is.  But the more I got to thinking about this weird challenge to my hard earned skill set, I realized they were comparing me to a mountain lion.  (If you live in Colorado, you know that if you encounter a mountain lion in the wild, it's probably too late for you.  Sorry.)  What I'm saying is this: it's kind of an honor to have grown men wondering if they can kill me before I kill them...an honor in a weird, twisted kind of way, I know, but I'll take it.

What strange compliments have you received today?

Make it a beautiful day, friends.

When you're done contemplating what kind of strange people would come up with such a discussion in the first place, pop over to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for some inspiration that's a little more tame.  You can also subscribe to this blog simply by entering your email in the box below.