21 Day Sugar Detox week 2

"Cheat Days"

This term is frustrating. I prefer to call it "give into convenience & temptation and suffer from headaches and stomach aches all day while complaining and swearing to never do it again" day, because that's what they end up to be for me.

It started with a quarter of a sandwich mid afternoon on Day 10 and went to Taco Tuesday dinner, morning snack of doughnuts Day 11, uncle Julio's lunch and cheesecake and cookies snack.

Minus the doughnuts and cheesecake, that 24 hours easily resembles my normal food choices and sweets. 

This time though, it hurt.

My brain: mind became foggy by 2pm. I found it really hard to focus on anything let alone have the ability to think all the way through. I started spacing out and felt a sugar crash.

Sinus pressure: I get the worst sinus pressure from allergies on my cheek bones. From there it goes to the temples then eventually at the base of the head/back of neck. Not fun.

Stomach: bloated, loud (I swear they put a microphone in there when they did surgery and adjusted things), & hurt. The worst I've been in awhile.

Energy level: slim to none

Saving redemption: starting the crock pot of a 21dsd recipe at the beginning of Day 11 so I knew I will have a good end of the day.

So basically, my relapse really set me back. I was feeling really well for the most part, enjoying the foods I was making and feeling awesome the days I ate properly. I wasn't really craving the sugar, until I saw the table of doughnuts. Being at work is the worst time for me to want to cheat because I'm not limited to my own foods in the pantry or fridge.

So now that I've finished describing why a "cheat day" isn't as easy as it sounds & straight up not worth it, let me touch-base on the exciting things of the week.

New foods:
-Butternut squash mash: tasted similar to a carrot souffle my mother-in-law makes for Christmas, except it was sugar, egg and dairy free! I really liked it, but I don't think James went back for more.

-Caulirice (grated cauliflower to a rice texture): Once again, I liked, unsure about James. We don't eat a bunch of cauliflower so it was a nice veggie rotation at the very least. Didn't cause discomfort for me the next morning.

Is it rice or is it caulirice? Chicken Abado with Caulirice.

-Zucchini noodles, aka "zoodles" using my new Spiralizing machine: nomz

A pretty nifty machine.

Zoodles! Turned out to be like a Lo Mein

Nomz

-Sunflower seed butter, aka sunbutter (like peanut butter): Cheaper than buying a jar but I'm not patient enough to make it as creamy as the recipe showed or of that we buy. Perhaps it was my food processor? Yeah we'll go with that. But still equivalent taste!!

-Coconut butter: honestly, fail. My food processor isn't powerful enough to make this. When in doubt, blame the food processor. Ended up buying for week 3. Coconut butter was used to create sunbutter, so that might be another reason that wasn't as creamy as recipe showed.

-Tuna steak: though I used it differently than the original recipe for which it was purchased, it turned out well and was a pleasant surprise. A bit expensive to purchase, I will add this meat to my list of "only buy when on sale or super special occasion"

-Brussel sprouts: I have never cooked or even eaten brussel sprouts before but they were exceptionally tastey! A winner in James's book, and I have added them to my mental "frozen veggies to have on hand" list (including spinach and green beans), though I bet fresh tastes better. Sometimes I just prefer having frozen veggies to throw into a meal last minute instead of fresh produce that is normally planned!

-Parsnips: as mentioned in my first blog, I had to google what these even were in order to find them in the produce section. Upon cooking, they had an interesting taste. Unlike carrots which tend to have a sweeter taste, the parsnips tasted...bitter? Different, though I haven't given up on them. Purchased more for week 3. Once again, first time I cooked with and eaten this vegetable.

Recipe flops: 

For the first time I made a recipe that we weren't fond of. In part I blame me not reading it all the way through when I chose to make it. If I make it in the future, Cottage Pie will only have a quarter of the spices for which the recipe called. Just a bit too hot, even for me! (Says a lot, really. I prefer salsa that makes you sweat and buffalo wings that make your mouth burn the remainder of the day.)

Looks similar to shepherd's pie

Used leftover pork shoulder from last week as the meat instead of ground hamburger.

IN LOVE WITH

-The avo-ziki sauce. We used it as a substitute for dip with veggies. Along the lines of guacamole except no cilantro or pico to give it a spicy kick. Who doesn't loved mashed avocados? Best part, it didn't turn brown in the fridge by the next morning. Most likely the lemon juice played here but hey, cool!

The perfect dip for veggies or chips!

-Perfectly grilled chicken. When reading the recipe once through James thought I was crazy for picking it, because it was exactly how we prepare chicken anyways! Marinade in balsamic vinegar (okay we used balsamic vinaigrette before-an easier cheat we discovered last summer) and a few herbs. HOWEVER butterfly cutting the chicken made all the difference when it came to grilling. So yay for learning new techniques more than exciting recipes (though still a good recipe for someone who hasn't tried this way before!)

Perfectly grilled chicken breast with butternut squash mash and brussel sprouts

-Pumpkin spice smoothies made with coconut milk (from a can not beverage from a carton), canned pumpkin, frozen banana and pumpkin pie spices (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, allspice).

Breakfast Meals:

Root Hash made with parsnips and carrots. I got inpatient so the parsnips just got chopped.

Brought back the homemade sausage in form of balls. Plus spinach and some apples with sunbutter was a lovely breakfast.

As always I am enjoying trying new recipes, these recipes are awesome in that I really don't have to modify them! Always a nice change of pace to not be googling substitutes and hoping for the best. I still highly recommend this 21dsd!

Week 3 is in the works, sorry I got a bit behind! 

~RR

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing.
That's why we recommend it daily." -Zig Ziglar

What if you woke up 10 years younger...?

I had a thought the other morning: what if you woke up & it was 10 years ago (year 2004 for clarification), BUT knowing everything you had learned and experienced in those 10 years? Would you do things differently? How differently? Besides saving the world, how would you change just your life?

My first few thoughts were health related: start paleo earlier, get allergy blood tested earlier, begin yoga earlier (esp during stressful high school tests I let get to me way too much). Of course this matters to me, because I truly believe a change of diet could have prevented me from losing 3 feet of my intestines.

Next: Focus less on stress & drama and more time with friends.

Also: learn skills and hobbies. College would have been so much better had I been a master chef or gardener or tailor! :p

All of these given where I currently stand in my relationship with the Lord and continuing to trust more in faith.

After I was done fantasizing about sewing pillowcases on weeknights at the age of 15, I realized it's never too late to "start over". What changes can I make now to make for a better me 10 years down the road? I sure could name a few. While I am glad to say some of the things I would change I am in fact changing now, I asked myself why stop there?

The Lord gave me that thought to fantasize my "could be better" life now, though knowing all past events led me to where I am now. If it weren't for my emotional breakdown at Fish Camp over my surgery/diagnosis that led me to want to become a fish camp counselor, how could I have ever met James? Has anyone else wondered how to have met your spouse if one pivotal moment never occurred, and for the sake of the game, you knew he/she was your soulmate? I concluded I would have had to stalk James at the REC in order to meet him.

So the question is, where do I want to go from here? What does 35 year old Rachel want to know how to do? Where does she want to volunteer her time? Who are her friends?

I love the perspective that comes from trying to envision life differently. I also love waking up every day to a clean slate and opportunity to grow! New Year's resolutions come once a year, and most people don't  keep them. Why not change your life...today? It is NEVER too late!

Philosophically yours,

RR

Meal Planning 101

Meal planning isn't something new; for some people what I have to say in this blog is a no-brainer. But for many people living on their own for the first time, whether that's college or thereafter, this is a skill that should be quickly learned and utilized. Your mother is not cooking for you anymore; it is now time for you to create your dinner plan!

For many of us who may lean more Type A, meal planning offers us a small bit of relaxation by planning our lives, even if it just revolves about the week's or month's dinner line up. HOWEVER, this relaxation technique has other benefits that just so happen to fit into our areas of expertise:

1. Dinner is planned, so no stress that night wondering what to cook. (Our FOOD Pillar)
2. As discussed in my crock pot blog, planning=financial saving as well. (Our FINANCES Pillar)
3. You can plan to rotate foods through your diet and aim for proper nutrition. Though a one up from ordering pizza, chicken and rice every night for a month just won't cut it nutritionally. Don't forget about the variety of vitamins and minerals from consuming varying meats, fruits and veggies! (Our FITNESS Pillar)

I personally like to plan a week or two at a time, unless I know I'm in for a crazy month, in which case I do more. Planning in this manner allows me to put like foods semi close together for grocery shopping ease and food optimization. However if I plan a month-long dinner plan, I create a second grocery list for the produce for the latter half of the month so they won't go bad! Essentially, plan asparagus meals within a certain time-frame that balances you not getting tired of asparagus and not letting said asparagus go bad. This being said, I do analyze the produce in the fridge and blanch/quick freeze anything on the verge of going bad.

Questions to ask prior to meal planning:
1. What is your grocery budget for the month?
2. What produce do you have in the fridge you need to use?
3. What meat/veggies do you currently have in the freezer that should or could get eaten?

Things to consider:
1. Travel plans: who will be home that night?
2. Work schedule: should you prepare meals at the beginning of the week?
3. Visitors: do you need to plan to serve more than just the usual one or two people?
4. Weather: what foods pair best with the weather?

Things to research:
1. Foods in season: veggies and fruits not in season are more expensive!!
2. Store specials: advertised online or in those circulars in newspapers you can pick up on your driveway or at the store!
3. Coupons: having a loyalty card with Kroger, they send me coupons every month, plus offer more online via an online card account. These loyalty programs will sometimes offer more personalized coupons in accordance to your actual purchases. Yay for proper marketing & purchase tracking-my college diploma applauds you. Also, coupons are usually in the weekend newspaper! I'm not an extreme couponer but multiple times I have saved about a quarter of my grocery bill by optimizing coupons and store sales. Still working on being better but no shame there!
4. Recipes: time to actually look through that Pinterest recipe board. Dust off those cookbooks and post it mark any & all recipes that look appetizing. This could be a joint effort, often I hand James a stack of recipes, my phone open to Pinterest or a cookbook and tell him to mark which ones appeal to him!

Time to ACTUALLY USE those pretty cookbooks!

Those lists might be intimidating but when sitting down and looking at our January, I knew:
-We would be traveling A LOT (can plan smaller grocery budget or use buy high priced meats or stock up for the future-icemageddon could happen again!)
-I would be home by myself a few evenings, so one meal could probably last 2ish dinners plus lunches, depending on dish. As many individuals agree, it's hard to cook for JUST yourself everynight. So I cook larger meals I can eat for multiple days. If I weren't married, I would still do this then freeze half to pull out later that month to not eat the same thing all week all of the time.
-There was frozen meat we should use from prior Sam's purchases.
-It would be cold; hello roast and hearty meals!
-Any coupons I had on hand would be looked over to help plan dinners.

So this is what our January looked liked:

The plan:
Since we are primarily paleo, we don't do a lot of sandwiches for lunch. This means leftovers from one night's dinner becomes the next day's lunch. If you like having different lunches, this could be one way to spread out how long a meal lasts. Just remember to plan your lunches out too! Same with breakfast!

We cook practically every night. Yes, it gets exhausting. Yes, we have cleaned every cooking dish and utensil multiple times in one week before. Yes, I wear supportive shoes in the kitchen when I'm in for a long haul ;)

I love gathering meal recipes, and planning actually allows me to be creative with dinners and not resort to my comfort food of chicken & veggies EVERY night.

This is literally a whole counter full of clean dishes, and the dishwasher had just ran as well.

HELPFUL HINTS

The List:

Include quantity of items (ex: 3 medium carrots, one 4lb spaghetti squash) as you go through recipes. It'll help when you hit the supermarket and debate prices and quantity! And it stinks to not buy the right amount for your recipe!

Coupons:

Get these organized so you don't forget them when you reach the cashier! Pay attention to brands, but also use them to debate whether that coupon will actually save you money or if you could buy a generic at a cheaper price!

Item ingredients:

This is a HUGE point when dealing with allergies. I read every single ingredient in anything I buy that has a label. Some brands are cleaner or don't contain our allergens so unfortunately some items can throw a wrench in the plan when it comes to shopping by coupons or meals. Start paying attention to which brands you use, when they go on sale and which supermarkets carry them! I stock up when I see a great sale on these approved items!

Sales/organic items:

I know manager special items get added on certain days at my store, so that's the first place I go. Blanch the veggies and use them later or move around your meal plans if there are items there you can use!

As I am starting to learn, there are certain foods that should have a higher priority to be bought organic. Lots of lists out there help you prioritize which produce to buy organically, so keep an eye out for sales!

DON'T GO GROCERY SHOPPING WHEN HUNGRY & ALWAYS BRING A LIST. 

Your budget and checking account will thank you.

Any other helpful meal planning advice to add? Any questions I didn't answer?

Now if you excuse me, I need to finish planning for the month of March!

Financial Peace, Food Love & Joy

RR

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
― Benjamin Franklin

21 Day Sugar Detox: Week 1 Recap

I have been posting all over Facebook and Instagram about this Paleo 21dsd I'm doing.

Boy has it been an adventure. Here's the recap:

I'm doing Level 3 with the Autoimmune modification. I chose this level since I already was on paleo, can't handle dairy anyways, and my autoimmune modifications worked best with this level. Specifically I'm staying away from nightshade vegetables & nuts compared to the usual paleo, plus eggs (allergen), all grains (oats included), soy (allergen and non paleo), dairy (allergen/intolerant and nonpaleo). And the list actually DOES go on to limit all fruits except minimal green apples and green tipped bananas, specific to the sugar detox.

The point for my specific level and modifications is to, while I am trying to curb sugar cravings, I am also attempting to try a diet and lifestyle of consuming foods that will not irritate my stomach/intestines and cause inflammation, since this is a HUGE deal for me and Crohn's and my lack of 3 feet of intestines.

So instead of focusing on the bad (this really got me down at one point last week), I'm focusing on what I CAN eat. And that's a whole lot of different meats and veggies!! For example, ground turkey meatballs were something my mother made me pre-surgery and making them again for a different reason has been extremely wonderful. And I like them, a lot.

I bought weird things. Ground bison and ground lamb meats? Kroger actually had those; I was impressed. Parsnips? I legitimately googled from the middle of the produce section what those were so I would even know where to look!! And here I thought I was fairly knowledgeable when it came to plants due to my cooking, gardening and college classes that led to a horticulture minor. Canned coconut milk, as compared to the carton coconut milk beverage, who knew!? Fish sauce?!

Produce

Just the MEAT

These will be fun to cook with!

I have made weird things! Herbal tea gelatin? Check.

It's like jell-o, but not sweet or sugary

Everything has tasted AWESOME though. I love new recipes; they get me outta my groove and I LOVE IT. 

Green Apple Breakfast Sausage
Who knew you actually can make your own sausage using ground pork and spices? blew.my.mind. (Yes, I realize this is how breakfast sausage is made; I have never tried it though.)

Sausage with spinach-best breakfast yet

Carrot-apple skillet breakfast hash

Meatza with a salad

Greek style Turkey Meatballs

Cinnamon & fennel braised pork, prepped

I apparently did not get a close-up of that nice pork dinner. So enjoy this Valentine's day dinner view where you might be able to make out food on a plate.

Lamb Burgers

Artichocke & lemon chicken with capers

 Also not pictured is the spaghetti squash bolognese that I made and substituted canned pumpkin for the tomato paste; it was pretty good, except for me over-cooking the spaghetti squash.

See? Not super hard recipes, and all are paleo!

I have so much energy and stay full longer. No 2 o'clock drowsies (though that went away when I began a paleo diet-goodbye gluten comas and sugar crashes). I WANT more food but I don't feel hungry. Snacks are easy to make though so that helps for times like this! 

I have cheated. I would say failed but I'm not done yet and I haven't given up yet. This being said, I ate more gf/vegan cupcakes and chocolate covered bacon in 3 days this past Valentine's weekend than I normally would have than I wish to admit. I ate hummus with bread and chips for dinner one girl's night. I liberally "taste-tested" the nut mixes I made for James's Valentine's Day gift.

But it's...kinda Paleo right?

Those were painful. Not the kind of pain that's mental of "why do I have no self-control?" Side note: perhaps this is the reason it is the last listed fruit of the Spirit-because it's definitely hardest for me to attain and strengthen. The fruit of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and....I'm coming for ya self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

But we're talking straight up physical pain the next morning from cheating. Perhaps not everyone will experience the same results after cheating when it comes to food. I didn't eat my bloating or sinus pressure causing foods (soy, eggs, gluten), just sugars and grains really. My intestines screamed at me. I'm not sure how to explain it other than being frank, so skip ahead if you just don't want to know. When they sewed my intestines together after removing 3 feet 5 years ago, a pocket occurred at the crime scene. Meaning solids/gases get stuck and occasionally I apply pressure to that region to keep things moving. (Tmi?) Sometimes there are a few moments of pain as things move through this region. It's something I keep an eye out for. Doesn't happen too often lately though.

BUT! It was because of my first successful 5 days of this detox that I realized the latter pain DID NOT occur. At all. For real, honestly, legitimately and seriously, et. al. For me, that has made this detox successful and those cheat days worth it. And that wasn't even the point of this whole detox!

I miss chocolate and sweets but I have found some good alternatives for snacking that are healthier, more nutritious and tastier. So yay for opening horizons!? I also ordered 8lbs of almond flour so I'm definitely looking forward to some serious paleo baking once I get off this detox!

Dipping vegetables into a homemade avocado dip (like guac but without pico really)

So simple. So delicious.

I haven't noticed much change with facial skin, so I'm continuing to lookout for that. That one day will be its own blog post. Maybe even two or three at this rate. However, the bumps on the back of my arms have reduced in numbers. Did some googling and seems as those can be caused by food allergies. Sweet. 

For me, I don't desire a weight change but have noticed a few pounds decrease. Some would find this change beneficial and could see a larger difference depending on the diet pre-detox. Then again, many people say they see weight loss when switching to a paleo diet, so that's not really ground-breaking news.

The hardest times are when I'm at work and someone brings in food (make myself stay busy and not walk past that table full of doughnuts and cookies and candy and sandwiches!) And in the evenings when I'm bored (once again, stay busy. Who knew the study and garage could be so organized and clean? Next up, steam mopping the floors).

I bought way too much food/meal planned for the first 7 days so I still have dinners to make to probably last until day 12, especially now that my vegetable zoodle maker has arrived! :)) But I'm off to plan the remainder of the meals and organize my grocery list! First thing on the list? Bacon. Lots and lots of bacon.

Current kitchen wants:

-Fancy crock pot that has a timer I can set; overcooked spaghetti squash mash is just not the same thing as faux spaghetti noodles.

-Juicer. Oh no, I'm becoming that fanatic! Better just pack the bags and move to Austin!

-Better zester. Or maybe I should just google how to zest without getting most of the zest stuck in the zester itself. Any suggestions?

-Mandolin slicer: after discussing with a friend what this is, it would make things SO much easier.

-Kitchen Food scale: because, I'm not a good judge of how many chicken thighs make up 3lbs after I have already removed said thighs from the package for freezing.

Peace, love & paleo

Cavewoman in the making

Double F: Food and Finances

I have a secret: I love my crock pot! (okay, maybe it's not a secret) Not because it's top of the line or can on its own land a perfect 10 back flip like other fancy slow cookers. 

 See? Only 1 knob with 4 settings including OFF. So simple.

Rather, deep down at the root of my being (well maybe one of the root shoots) I love to multitask. Besides prepping the food (you know super hard cutting meat and veggies or opening cans), the crock pot allows me to cook and do everything else I need to do in a day! AND minimal cleanup time if you use these fancy bags!

 (I buy these in bulk.)

So this 5 year love affair has been blissful, and I can't imagine where I would be without my crock pot.

Seriously.

I'd like to say I'm joking but almost everyone knows that James fell in love with me AFTER I fed him crook pot roast in college. (Single Ladies out there, take note: there are 3 ways into a man's heart, accomplishing 2 will solidify a date. One of those ways is through his stomach, so learn to cook and quench his appetite.

So I write this post to explain how my crock pot fits into 2 pillars of our household (as previously mentioned in this post: finances and food. 

 

Finances: One of the main PROs of a crock pot is the financial efficiency of most meals. I say most because I'm sure there's someone out there making organic, farm raised meat meals who would beg to differ. (Future Rachel we are talking about you!) But point is: Lots of food at a small cost. This food can be eaten all week, frozen for later, or shared. I have done all three and still find it cheaper than a meal out at times (even if I feed 12 other people). So for those days you know you would come home from work and NOT want to cook and cave in to ordering pizza at 8pm or later because your husband sits on the couch the whole time and whines about being hungry but doesn't want to cook anything either, a crock pot would have been a better solution financially and health-wise, too. So think ahead, plan your meals, and don't give in to the "let's just go somewhere and spend money" temptation anymore! When you come home to the smell of dinner, you won't think ONCE about going out to eat. Unless you are thinking about how much money you saved by using your trusty friend the crock pot!

The other pillar: Food. My favorite things to cook in the CP: Roast (True life: I have never not cooked a roast in a crock pot) and taco chicken. I'm starting to crave both of these meals now. The truth is, I wasn't a chef prior to or even during college. In fact, my skills are still minimal compared to many women who have more experience than me (and less for you gifted ladies out there). I began "cooking" in college by using the crock pot. It was my gateway kitchen appliance if you will. There are recipes upon recipes for slow cookers out there, and I rarely find one that's bad. I'll eventually post my winners.

If you don't have a crock pot, buy one. It'll be an investment that will positively change your health and bank account if you find it hard to cook healthy meals and are wanting to save more money this year.

Peace, love, and crock pot meals.

~RR

The F's: Finances- Meet a Budget

James and I have realized, in the last year or so, there are 4 main topics we advise people on: Faith, Finances, Food & Fitness. We normally can share our Faith while discussing the other three, as it is the Core of our life and reasoning behind our lifestyle. This being said, I'm excited to post my first F blog! 

 (The 4 pillars of our life, or something along these lines.)

Ever since we took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, we've been learning and sharing our financial insight, mainly with friends who are in the same "Family Lifecycle" (to use some marketing terms) as us, meaning, they're out of college & employed fulltime but don't have children. We've determined we both are financial "nerds" (okay, not a surprise here), so we took finances to the nerdy extreme. What does that mean? We find delight in making a budget, recording our expenses and analyzing our finances. 

So maybe everyone isn't as gung-ho as we are, but that doesn't mean the average person/family should avoid any sort of financial planning. The average American household income is about $50,000, yet the average American individual has $47,000 in debt and $23,000 student loan debt upon graduation from college. What do all of these numbers mean? It means we need financial planning in our lives.

Now before I continue, I need to say: We are not perfect! Phew, glad I got that off my chest! ;) My husband and I are still trying to perfect our budget and our spending, but we definitely are not perfect right now. I want to share our budgeting techniques though, because in our discussions with friends, we've learned our record-keeping techniques are rare. 

We "graduated" from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, so of course most of our financial planning is based off of his teachings. His teachings are clear and simple for us to understand and implement, and they make logical sense to us.  (Side note: we highly recommend this financial class or ANY financial class to newlyweds. It is important to establish a financial plan and behavior as a married couple from the beginning. One that a married couple adapts together rather than someone's parent's or single life's budget.)

We organize our finances in an Excel Document we've created online in Google Drive. This allows us to access and edit it anywhere! This is great because we don't have an excuse to leave off ANYTHING! You can share these files with other people simply by allowing them access to the doc. 

So here's our budget form, taken from Dave and adjusted to fit our family needs, though I left many areas even we don't use.

 

 (Sorry I had to do 3 screen shots to get it all)

 A few notes:

1. There are some rows/topics that aren't applicable to everyone, just delete those lines. Or start saving for them if they will be in your future. ;)
2. Everything is budgeted. No more impromptu shopping trips, no more reckless spending. If we know James needs new running shoes for his half marathon, we budget for it. When we agree none of my pants fit, we allot money to purchase fitting pants. If I want a new pair of shoes or purse or jewelry or curling iron or makeup...that comes out of my personal fun fund. And I can save up for it or indulge carefully every month. My point is, my husband doesn't have to put me on a certain clothing budget, and I don't question him for spending too much money at BWW, because that money comes from our predetermined fun funds. It works for us right now, when we have many other financial goals to focus money on.
3. Some of these categories are either strictly saving or if we do not spend the entire amount, we put the remainder into savings. So, if we budget $80 for Rocky but only spend $50, at the end of the month we put $30 into Rocky savings (tune in next time for our savings spreadsheet).
4. Every dollar is accounted for. Sure, it makes us analyze every dollar spent-that's the point. Instead of asking where our money went, we tell it where it goes. If by the second day of the month we've used all $75 of our restaurant fund, then we better get creative with cooking at home.

If you want this template mailed to you, leave me a comment or send me a message and I will share. We love helping people become organized financially, because living free of financial stress through efficient and detailed planning has allowed us to enjoy life. When you aren't worrying about whether or not you can pay a bill, life is great. The financial peace in our lives has overflown to every other part of our lives.

I have 2 comparisons to how we feel about our budgeting: when you are out shopping and you just found an incredibly awesome sale and you know your friends or family would benefit from it, you call them up, text them or send a picture of your snag. You cannot contain your joy. 

Likewise, when you are filled with such joy of the Lord, you want to yell it from the mountain tops. When He heals the sick and provides for the poor, or you simply become overwhelmed with the blessing of mercy and grace, you cannot help but share your story to every person who would listen. This was me 5 years ago after my surgery; the Lord renewed my spirit through a miraculous healing and I could not help but tell my story to every single person. I show my scar to those with open ears. 

Well, it is with similar vigor we share our financial budgeting success. We have won over financial stress through God's guidance and the wisdom He has endowed upon us, and we want to share this blessing with anyone who is seeking the light!

~RR

This is my Story, this is my Song

I originally wrote this note on Facebook on July 11, 2008, just a few days after leaving the hospital. I like to re-read it, often to remind myself of the smallest details that occurred that normally slip my mind. It is 5 years to the day of being admitted to the hospital, and I cannot even imagine the road I'd be on if it weren't for this experience. Prior to my hospital stay, I was a teenage girl, attempting to fit in with my peers, unsure where my future was, and stressed out because I couldn't do everything. I have since learned to trust fully in He that holds my life and have faith in His plan. My prayer for you, the reader, is to read my story with an open heart. 

This is a post explaining everything that went down in my 10 day hospital stay, read it if you want or were curious about why I was there. Enjoyyy

June 27th started out as a normal day, until I had my mother pick me up from hanging with Erin and Alicia and drive me home, where I stayed in bed all afternoon until about 9.40 when I had a 103 degree fever and stomach cramps like no other. I ended up in the emergency room and after getting a catscan, we learned I had Crohn's disease. To break it down: a portion of my intestines was inflamed and infected and my over active immune system was basically trying to kill myself. I then was 'admitted' to the hospital and began what became my 10-day hospital stay in room 314 in the H.E.B. Harris Methodist Hospital [[side note, there was no room 313, apparently the hospital didn’t have any room 13’s or floor 13]].

Originally, a colonoscopy was scheduled for Sunday morning, which was freakin’ sweet let me tell ya. But their plans changed after an episode of acute pain and high fever Saturday afternoon, and they moved the surgery to Sunday morning. The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent in agonizing pain, where I had to get help from my parents to get in and out of bed, anything involving ab work was not possible and I just couldn't do.

So surgery was scheduled Sunday, June 29th at 7:30 a.m. and I don’t really remember much about that day...until that evening after most the drugs wore off...and the next few days were filled with fun recovery and morphine. Every day was a fun adventure, seeing which nurse I had every day. Since their 12-hour shifts ran from 7am to 7 pm, I got this thrill twice a day! I was woken up many times each night by the pcts to check my temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. Surprisingly, my heart rate was 'too low' when they would wake me up from my sleep to take it, go figure... I had an IV every day I was there, but the hand/arm switched about every 2 days because they were giving me so much by IV, it would overwhelm my veins. In fact, once it began seeping into my arm not my vein, which was fun and painful experience. I actually named my IV stand Edward, I figured since he went everywhere with me, he deserved a name.  Edward got moody though and beeped whenever the antibiotics or other liquids going into my IV were close to out. So if I wasn't waking up from the pcts taking blood pressure or someone from the lab taking blood, it was Edward beeping rather loudly, not to mention if I had to use the restroom...Going into the hospital I had a huge fear of needles, crazy how that went away after a shot in the stomach every morning and drawing blood at 4:30a.m. and switching IV's about every other day changes things... 

After surgery, getting out of my bed began as a hard enough experience, let alone walking.  But one of the most rewarding times was being able to get out and into bed by myself. I couldn't move or do anything that consists of much ab work, so I had to re-teach myself how to move and get up or down using my arms and legs more than my abs. This movement, along with walking, was something I took for granted before the surgery. The joy of being able to walk my circular hall at a speed my grandmother could beat really can't be put into words.

On about Wednesday [[I think, all of the days run together really]], I had to get two blood transfusions. Apparently my hemoglobin count was down to a 7...where a normal person's was around 14. Basically, I was anemic.

I couldn't eat anything before the surgery, so my last meal was noon on Friday until a popsicle on either Wednesday or Thursday. Until then I survived on ice chips. [[3 days after leaving the hospital, after being able to eat normally for 3 days, I weighed in at about 15 pounds lighter than I was pre-surgery]] Luckily I surpassed hunger and didn't feel my body starving. But don’t worry, they were pumping me full of good nutrients to keep me alive via my IV. On Thursday or Friday, I began my 'liquid diet' which basically consisted of all the jello, cranberry or apple juice and chicken broth I wanted! Whoohoo!

I watched TV & movies, colored, thought, texted, prayed and slept to pass time. But let me tell ya, those 10 days were the lamest days I’ve ever experienced; just sitting in my hospital bed, losing weight and muscle tone, and probably brain cells.  The highlight of my days was when I had visitors. People from the outside, bringing cheer and laughter into my room; definitely sunshine on a rainy day... I owe a lot to my Aunt Karen, who spent so much time pampering me with pedicures, hair washings, and laughter; spending time with me; time away from her husband who is recovering from stomach and lung cancer. A full healing we will continue to believe in.

At this time I would like to thank everyone who came up to see me, texted, messaged, called, prayed and kept me in your thoughts. Thanks for everyone who visited with me after I returned home and showed concern. It meant and means so much to me to have everyone there for me. I love y'all so much!! I would like to report that I have been able to eat. I can eat beef, sweets, milk products, and things I haven't been able to eat in months without any pain. I’ve been healed and fixed! 

And I would now like to talk about how God works in mysterious ways. If this experience has done anything, it has surely strengthened my faith in my Lord and Savior. Everything about this condition has worked in perfect timing for his plan for my life.

My excruciating pain didn't start until a Friday, in which my doctor's office was closed, so my parents took me to the E.R. instead [[which just happened to be empty so I was seen to immediately]]. Otherwise a doctor would have diagnosed my condition incorrectly as he would not have the same ability as the hospital. The doctor at the E.R. was able to diagnose my condition quickly as his two children also had Crohn’s disease, which was really just a working of God for me to have had that doctor. Furthermore, this surgery couldn't have happened at a better time. If it happened during the school year I would have missed school; my classes, my GPA, Marquettes, senior year activities, anything and everything would have been affected. Instead, I was able to graduate after having an amazing senior year. I was able to celebrate 2 of my grandparents' 80th birthdays just days before going into the E.R., and getting out I was able to celebrate my Aunt Karen’s birthday and will be able to celebrate my little brother’s birthday. If this episode would have happened later, I would have fallen behind in my semester studies at A&M and I can't even imagine having this surgery 4 hours away from home in a hospital with doctors nobody knows [[the thing about staying in the hospital in Bedford is that my Aunt Karen works there and has for a long time and knew the best doctors and nurses and I was treated very nicely and efficiently]].

The largest healing miracle came in form of the catscan and the day that followed actually. Originally the catscan revealed a very large section to be removed in surgery. The Saturday before surgery, when we met with the surgeon, I was told he was going to have to remove a combined ten feet plus of my intestines, that which appeared inflamed and infected in the scan. The night before the surgery I went without a pain for twelve hours. Specifically, from late afternoon when Pastor Kyle and Jordan visited and we all prayed, laid hands and I accepted God's healing in my life, maybe around 5 p.m., to the actual surgery, I experienced no pain. Additionally, I didn't have a single pain killer in that time. The night before surgery I slept without pain, something which hadn’t happened in a year and 2 and a half months. I was jumping in and out of bed, something unusual for the amount of pain I was in the night before and that morning; seeing how all day Saturday people had to literally pull me and push me to move me out of bed. It was then that I knew I was healed.  That whole night I felt Jesus's presence in my hospital room, specifically holding my hand through the night.  This night was the most frightening night for me to ever experience. The night before I, Rachel Faith Armentrout, went into surgery.  I have never experienced surgery, and in fact, the only time I remember going to the doctor’s office was when I had strep sophomore year.  But I knew God had healed me of any further infection and I couldn't and can't thank everyone enough for praying as hard as they did. There was once in the night when I awoke in a sweat, but with no fever or pain. Later that week, we heard from some people that God woke them in the night to pray for me, all at 1 a.m., which was when I awoke. I thank God for everything he has done for me in this experience, for when I went to surgery, the surgeons removed the bare minimum of only 3 feet of my intestines, and that all the other problems the catscan had shown in my intestines were gone. Additionally, they removed my appendix, which was reported near hardened and two cists on my ovary. I had 11 external staples and have stitches, and according to the doctor, a whole lot more on the inside. But that’s a whole lot less than the surgeon anticipated the day before.

My mother stayed the night in the hospital room for the two nights prior and after the surgery. However, Tuesday night after my surgery, she decided to sleep at home. I don't blame her; the pullout couch couldn't possibly be comfortable. Waking up in the middle of the night in a dark hospital room had to be one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced. In the middle of the night, all alone, the room was so empty, lonely, and frightening. I don’t know if it was my fear amplifying the sound of the air conditioning, or if it was the devil himself storming outside my window, but I could have sworn there was a horrible rain storm that night [[which the next day my parents assured me there was definitely no storm that night]]. But at that time, I called out to my Lord and in the shadows of the room I saw Jesus. Maybe you think the pain killers went to my head, but the peace and tranquility that encompassed my body and soothed me back to sleep convinced me otherwise. For the rest of my stay, I did not find that room scary, because I knew Jesus was by my side, the entire time.

If you do not believe in miracles or in God's healings, I wish I could fully share everything I have felt with you to prove to you otherwise. To me, this experience was a strengthening of faith, as Jesus has further proved his love and power to me. I’ve never felt so carefree or pain free than how I felt going into this major surgery, knowing that God had his hand over me the whole time. If you are questioning God right now in your life, to really see if he's there, I wish my experience could be enough proof of an omnipotent and merciful God. 

If I could, I believe I would relive this experience. I really did see God and it fully solidified my beliefs in him. I wish it didn't have to take a $5k surgery and 10 day hospital stay to do so, but am so grateful it did. The most important thing I learned was that sometimes God works in ways we just don’t and can’t understand.  You can be in a situation where you've been questioning God for a long time, maybe longer than a year and two and half months. In that time you can be upset, mad, depressed, looking anywhere for answers, but maybe it’s not time yet for an obvious answer. Whatever your case, trust fully in the Lord and he will direct your ways to align to his perfect plan in your life. He will protect you, and if you stay with him, everything will turn out exactly how it should. I was always the child wanting to see God, wanting proof of his existence by being able to walk on water, or seeing a bruise instantly disappear. I have no doubt that this whole experience of God healing me of Crohn’s disease and guiding me through a minimal pain free healing was part of his plan to reveal himself to me. Sometimes our human knowledge can't understand the way God works, but that’s ok, because it's not for us to worry about.

If you have read my memoirs this far, I hope you get something out of it. Maybe you think I’m just crazy. Maybe you just think I’m a Jesus freak. If that’s the case, then bring on the label because I’m not denying it.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008, the day after being discharged from the hospital, I received a call from my grandfather, who just returned home as well [[he broke his hip just last month and was in rehab until this day]].  He shared this verse with me, and said he was praying it over me the entire time I was in the hospital. [[Funny how we were praying for each other, while we both were in a hospital/rehab center.]]  I wanted to share this with everyone else:

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not; I will help thee." -Isaiah 41:13

And finally, the verses that have gotten me through life since the 7th grade:

"Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?...take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." -Matthew 6:25-26, 34

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1

And with that, I’d like to close my memoir with a deserving: Thank you Jesus. Amen.