Hungry For Change

Hello, my friends!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! 

We had a wonderful Christmas at the McCorkle House :)  Santa was good to all of us so we must have all been good this year. 

Are you ready for the New Year?  Man, this year went by FAST!  I can't hardly keep up anymore.  Are you making any New Year's Resolutions? 

I don't really do resolutions.  If I did, I'm sure (like most everyone else) that my New Year's Resolution would be to get healthy, lose weight.....same old yada yada as every year. 

Since Halloween (or a little earlier, actually), I have severely let myself go.  I probably gained 10 lbs or more and it feels like it all went to my FACE!!  Christmas is always the hardest holiday (food wise) for me.  I like to make candies and drink lots of hot cocoa and seasonal lattes from Starbucks.  It's all part of the holiday season, right?  Well, it doesn't have to be.  Maybe one of these days I'll conquer that hurdle. 

Now that Christmas is over, I have started back eating healthier and smarter.  I don't wait until New Years to start back....never do.  I also don't have a "plan".  No diets or gimmicks.  They don't work.  I've tried them all, so I should know. 

I've been trying to do some research and educate myself as much as possible about food.  Not any diet in particular, just food.  I watched a documentary yesterday called "Hungry For Change".  It was very informative and gave lots of great information about food and how food has become more about convenience than health.  We all know that, right?  It's obvious that overly processed foods have become the staple diet for most Americans.  We know that.  Then why don't we do something about it? 

Well, it's because all these major food companies are putting all kinds of addictive chemicals in our foods....and we just keep going back for more.  Why do we keep going back for more?  Not only because it's addictive, but also because all this cheaply made food is....well, cheap.  It costs a lot more money to eat the right foods.  Food is no different than anything else.  If you want good quality, you have to pay for it.

I am learning that everything I "thought" I knew about food is wrong.  Dead wrong!

I have decided to try and focus more on REAL food.  Food fresh from the Earth.  More fresh raw veggies, fresh fruit, organic beans, healthy fats- like avocados, nuts and seeds.  I'm not going to eat meat for a while and I'm going to cut back on dairy products.  I can't completely cut dairy out right now (I like cheese too much!), but I hope to eventually fade it out.  I'm cutting back on sugar, too. I'm not going to be counting calories, fats, carbs or anything else.  Just focusing on eating good, healthy foods and cutting back on portions.  That's what it's all about. 

It's not going to be easy, because where I'm from....casseroles and barbecue are the norm.  Vegetables are just something we throw in a casserole that's filled with sour cream, mayo, butter, cream of "whatever" soup, and cheese.  Vegetables are cooked in animal fat, everything is deep fried, and bacon is everything around here.  When we gather for holidays, church events, or parties....we don't do "healthy".  I don't really know anyone here that eats the way I am attempting to, not personally anyway.  It will be tough.   

I'll be continuing to juice and do smoothies for my son and I.  He doesn't eat veggies, but he will drink them in combination with fresh fruit juice. 

So, if you can call it a plan...that's my plan.  Focus on good foods.  Easy enough, right? 

I want to leave you with this thought....

Why not you?  Think about it.

Happy New Year, y'all!  Please be safe and I wish you all the best for the coming new year :)

Until next time...

Merry Christmas, Y'all :)

Merry Christmas, y'all!  I appreciate you guys taking the time to read my blog and I love you all.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friends :)

Until next time...



Me....Flaws and All

Hello, everyone :)

I mentioned in one my posts a while back that I am a HUGE music lover.  One of my favorite singers is Rachel Taylor from the band He is We.  She is a huge inspiration to me.  She has overcome a lot in her life and she is a prime example of perseverance to the fullest.  Anyway, a couple of weeks ago she blogged about learning to love your skin.  She posted a picture of herself with no make-up, no hair products.....nothing.  Just herself in raw form.

She is encouraging women and girls to post pictures of themselves that way, too.  Now, for me....that is beyond scary.  We live in a world that makes it easy for us to cover up the things we don't like.  Make-up, photo editing, plastic surgery, etc...it's all a "normal" part of life now.  Society screams and obsesses over perfection.  Though we all would love to be perfect, it's just not real.  Perfect doesn't exist.  Some may come close, but true perfection is unattainable.  So why don't we learn to love ourselves, flaws and all?  I am the world's worst about putting myself down.  I'm very hard on myself and it's hard for me to accept compliments without saying something that counteracts it.  I don't why I do that!  I think a lot of women are the same though.

Beauty that comes from within is so much more attractive than outer beauty.  I know that sounds very cliche`, but I really do believe that.  Some of the most beautiful ladies I know are ones that have the most loving and caring hearts. 

So, I am going to accept her challenge and post my own "raw" picture.  This is a picture of me with no make-up, no cover up....nothing.  I dried my hair, but that's all.  No products, straight ironing, or anything.  So, here it goes....

Eeeeek....that was terrifying!!  No going back now!  Well, I guess I could but mama didn't raise no sissy, so there it is.....flaws and all.  A big part of me wants to verbally pick this picture apart, but I am going to refrain and just let it go.

I work at home and don't go out as much as a lot of women, so this is what my husband and son see almost everyday that I don't have to go out.  They love me this way, so why is it so hard for me?  Maybe this can be MY first step at learning to love my skin....just the way it is. 

Although this was super scary, it was also very freeing.  My hope is that all women (myself included) will learn to love their skin and themselves, just the way they are.    

Until next time...

Christmas Memories on a Budget

Hello, all you beautiful people ;)

Well, it's December.  And man, did it get here fast?!

I love Christmas time.  I love everything about it.  Well, there might be one thing I'm not that fond of.  I'm not crazy about all the money that we spend at Christmas time.  Buying gifts alone is a struggle here at our house.  Let's face it....holiday fun can be expensive, especially when you have kids. 

Last year, we went on a "Polar Express" train ride.  While it was fun, it cost $30 per adult and $20 per child....not to mention the extra cost if you wanted the "hot chocolate" package and the gift shop (filled with toys and such) that was conveniently located where the hot chocolate and snacks were.  That's really expensive for a few hours of fun. 

If we let it, commercialism can take over the holidays.  I thought I'd share a couple of ideas and traditions for holiday fun that won't break the bank.

1.  Drive around your town and look for Christmas lights.  Or better yet, walk around your community if possible.  We do this all the time!  We make a game out of it......who can spot the lights first.  We also bought some holiday specks a couple of years ago that we love using when doing this.  They look like 3-D glasses and it makes all the lights look like snowflakes, Santa heads, reindeer heads, and snowmen.  They are very cool :)

2.  Turn on the Christmas tunes and color with your kids.  My son and I do this a lot.  You can buy Christmas coloring books very cheap at the dollar store and you can't beat the quality time that you are spending together.  I have some very fond memories of doing this with my mom as a child.  Funny how, as a child, I begged for toys at Christmas and now....I don't hardly remember a single toy I got for Christmas.  I remember the memories.  Material things will come and go, memories last a life time. 

3.  Bake cookies or build a Gingerbread House.  Kids LOVE helping bake and decorate cookies!  We bought a Gingerbread train kit this year and I can't wait for us to do it.  My son is going to love it!

4.  Have a pajama movie night.  This doesn't have to cost a thing.  So many Christmas movies come on TV this time of year.  All you have to do is record them to your DVR and there you have it.....a free movie!   Christmas movies + popcorn + pajamas = my kind of night!

5.  Elf on the Shelf.  If you have kids and do not have an Elf on the Shelf, you don't know what you're missing.  This is so dang fun!  I believe they cost around $30, but it will last a LONG time.  Use it again, year after year.  I wish we had gotten one sooner.  It's so fun to see the excitement in my son's eyes when he wakes up everyday and tries to find his elf. 

6.  Make Christmas ornaments and decorations.  You can make them out of paper, old cookie cutters, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Popcorn garland is another fun and thrifty Christmas decoration.  You could do this with the leftover popcorn on Movie Night- if there is any left :)  Go crazy!  Your kids will LOVE making them and seeing them displayed around your house.

7.  Make a Christmas gift for someone, instead of buying one.  There are TONS of great homemade gift ideas out there, just google it.  It's usually much less expensive and, to me, it's fun. 

8.  Do something nice for a friend or neighbor.  There's always a lot of sickness going around this time of year, so make a big pot of soup for a sick neighbor or friend and take it to them.  Rake an elderly neighbor's yard or pick up pine cones for them.  It doesn't matter what you choose.  Showing your children to think of others is really important.  These are lessons that they will remember when they grow up and have a family of their own. 

9.  Go to a Christmas concert or play.  There are usually lots of community events this time of year.  Go out and hear a choir concert, watch a Christmas parade or a play. 

10. Have a craft day.  Kids love doing crafts!  Search pinterest.com for ideas.....there's a ton of them!

The last thing I want to say is, it's okay to say NO sometimes.  Our December calendar tends to fill up pretty fast.  Many events have costs involved.....like Christmas parties with gift exchange, etc.  It's okay to say NO.  I'm not saying you should be anti-social, but don't schedule so many things that you will be too busy to remember the season and too broke to enjoy it.  Making memories is what counts!

So, go out (or stay in) and make some memories! 

Until next time...