A Winter's Evening Ramble on Love

As a young child I spent at least two thirds of my free time wiggling around on a church pew. I was the perfect picture of a pastor's granddaughter in my multi-layered poofy dresses with satin sashes, lace trimmed socks, gloves, hats and paten leather shoes. I didn't care ONE bit how I looked in those get ups...I was concerned with two things - the horrid discomfort of my stockings and how long I was gonna have to quietly sit still. Fastforward 30 years and I am still pretty much the same with the exception that I now CHOOSE to wear dresses. I often wondered then as I wonder now when I am logging hours of my day tackling daily tasks...why in the heck are we here and why do we do the silly things we do? Why is one shirt 50 dollars more than another because it has one small picture of a seagull or an eagle on it? Who decides the master value of 'things' and why in the world is so much value placed upon articles of clothing, vehicles, jewelry and other material objects? Why is the most highest of high and precious commodities NOT our health and well being? I learned quite young the value of health when my foot was crushed in an accident. It took all of about an hour for me to see that the simple act of walking FAR out weighed any other possession I had as soon as I lost my ability to mindlessly get up and make my way across a room. Even at that young age of 10 I questioned why I was put here on this beautiful place. I knew one thing for certain then and now - there is more to this experience than 'things' acquired. So far my question is being answered with one four letter word...LOVE. Love manifested through the self, through friendships, through romantic and platonic relationships and by caring for the body that houses my Soul- THAT is why I am here. I am here to be LOVE, to experience it and to give it freely as much as I can. I am here to soak up as much knowledge about being a human as my years are going to allow me and hope that those I meet along the path are better off for knowing me and I for knowing them. Yes....I still act like a child sometimes and twirl around in my dress all happy n' junk that for a few precious moments I don't have to sit still and be quite. Yes, I get caught up with the awe of bedazzled things. Alas, I take a deep breath...feel the Sun shine down on my face, give thanks for the clothes on my back, the shoes on my feet and continue to look for ways to spread more of the good stuff around that makes me shiny. Love will carry us through the thickets and the silver linings of life and bring us out on the other side. Love is the medicine for the Soul. May you always have enough of it to Sustain you...XOXO - The GFG

2013 in mah' Rearview

WOW! What a rollercoaster of a year! I mean...really y'all...it's been BUSY. I won't bore you to pieces with the details of wedding planning. Just please know that I've had my hands in more glitter THIS year than in all the previous years of my life and it has been positively fabulous. On the 5th of October my PC(Prince Charming)and I were married BY one of our best friends, surrounded with a wedding party of our best friends and family on the historic square of Covington, Ga where we live. I had a fairytale dress and my Gamerboy gave me away. We were blessed beyond all measure of space and time that day to have so many people we love show up for us and help make our day happen. #TWUWUV We spent our wedding night at the Evergreen Resort at Stone Mountain thanks to my PC's new friend helping us out. She landed us the nicest suite in the place! A BIG thanks to Paulette for that one :) IF you have not ever had the luxury of staying there....it is seriously like the resort from the movie 'Dirty Dancing'. We were treated like ROYALS for sho'. We left out the next day(with a short stop off to sign our marriage certificate because we were having so much fun in the photo booth at the reception that we FORGOT all about it)for our honeymoon in Savannah, Ga. THANKS to the generosity of our family(blood and chosen)and friends - we had a fully stocked honeymoon fund to spend the week in style...and BOY did we do JUST that! #lifestylesofthetemoporarilyrichandfamous The rest of the year has been spent full of 'firsts'. We've had our first Thanksgiving and now Christmas as 'The Coopers'. I am excitedly studying to become part of the natural health field and anxiously looking forward to doing some writing soon with my Good Health Fairy Lori. She is an angel sent here to me and all who cross her path. So...yeah...2014 is looking really bright as I sit here with my hot pink laptop typing away. I am, of course, still rocking right along on my gluten-free lifestyle. The holidays found a rogue cookie here and there and a few bites of other offenders but I escaped no worse for the wear. The next phase - successfully eliminating processed sugar- is going well. I sure am gonna miss that Agave in mah' coffee cup! Yet...my body will thank me for it by shining a little brighter each day. May 2014 SHINE for all of you loverlies...XOXO- The GFG

Breaking Old Thoughts

Yesterday morning I crossed my first EVAH finish line. It was a 5K held here in our little Southern town to benefit school children in need of food. Up until that moment I believed that fitness activities were only for those people you see scurrying through life in spandex with REI bumper stickers who seem to have an endless well of energy that never runs out and SHOUlD it dwindle even a fraction.. have a Power Bar ready and in a backpack to shoot them back into happy perfect fit people Wonderland. #tiredjustdescribingit

Well y'all- I. Was. WRONG. There were as many different body types, ages and personalities in that group as I have pairs of flip flops and that ain't a small number to say the least. My beloved Cason walked along side me - even though I KNOW he was dying to take off running. He is a special brand of Man :) What surprised me even MORE was that my body did not balk at this action I was forcing upon it pre-coffee at 9am in the morning. It did exactly as I requested with minimal difficulty and maximum efficiency.
My inni-me(which is my inner cheerleader dressed in a pink tee, polka dot shorts, pink ribbon in my hair and barefoot) was rocking out to Billie Jean and cheering me on as I walked. I broke a pre-conceived thought!
I can do this activity stuff! And I got grabbed up and kissed by my Prince Charming after we passed under the finish line arch. It was an awesome moment y'all! Here's to changing my mind one experience at a time. xoxo- The GFG

Learning New Things

This weekend I had the great luck to have a 'sit down' with my good friend David. He is a DEEP well of knowledge and shares it freely and lovingly with all who are fortunate enough to bide a while in his company. He shared his motto on nutrition and nourishing on an elementary level and I am grateful for the wisdom.You see y'all- I have reached a bit of an impass(or Grand Canyon to be real honest) with the world of commercial dieting. I no longer place my faith in the plans that simply use a scientific formula of calories in vs. calories out, or a daily 'points' limit.

It just doesn't make sense to me to go through life constantly looking up the value of food when I know good and well this simple truth- eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much. #simpleginger

It seems to me the way these mega-diet corporations make their money is by leading the good folk(like me) to believe they can lose weight FAST for some life event(oh...say marrying your Prince Charming on October 5th of THIS year) and feel fabulous, look amazing and do it all while eating the overly processed 'Frankenfood' they peddle. #unCOOL

What about nutrients? Nourishment? Energy from the Earth? What about sleeping well, dental health and let's not forget something majorly important here- how do these foods effect my hair?!?

I am a sponge when it comes to nutrition. I soak up TOO much information at times. It gives me a haystack of choices when all I need is a needle. I have come to see that learning new things can serve as well as hinder given the circumstance in which they become applied. So for now- I am backing away from my Google Bar in the realm of food and kickin' it into simple mode. No counting. No tracking. No crazy! Keep processed food where it belongs- on a store shelf :) Now this makes sense. Night y'all! - The GFG

That Moment When....

I just want to stomp, scream and pull a total 'Office Space Ball Bat' fit on my scale. I've done everything I was supposed to(give or take a few extra calories) this week and this horrible, awful and NOT at all cute machine doesn't reward me for my efforts this week. WTH?
#notahappyginger

It just STAYED exactly at the number it was last week for cryin' out loud! Ugh. I am not one to whine about my genetics. I realized quite some time ago that The Universe could not make me red headed, grammatically awesome, fairytale minded, bedazzled AND naturally thin too. That would've been making life just a little bit too easy for me. All of us need a Hero's Journey of some persuasion...after all, even Dorothy had to work for those fabulous shoes of hers, right?

So here I sit, all flustered and freckling up in the Sunlight on my front porch *slightly* whining, but devising my plan of action for total scale VICTORY next Saturday morning. I will continue my master minding...right after I walk over to the park and play on the swings :) xoxo- The GFG

So What's Next?

My entire lil' family has been ill this week(but not Cason if you ask him because MEN don't get sick). It appears that we are finally turning the corner towards the Sunshine of health despite the fact that it is determined to rain ALL weekend here in our dreamy little town.

I am parked in my pink chair covered up in my father's favorite native american blanket and sipping on some hot coffee from the freaking AWESOME custom mug my friend Tres had made for me. #myfriendsareROCKSTARS
My mind is on the next page of my story. I am no longer a waitress. I've spent almost half my life waitressing and I tell you I've met amazing people, heard the best stories AND the love of my life found me while I was waitressin' away a Sunday afternoon. I built my life doing so. Now I find myself smack dab in the middle of my dreams coming true(happy dance) and searching for the next step on my journey.

What will I become now? An artist? A gluten/sugar free at home chef? A fitness and yoga practitioner? Well y'all- for now I can say for sure that my house is clean, Cason and Gamer Boy are taken care of quite well and I am open to rocking ALL of the ABOVE :) xoxo- The GFG

Starting Over

It's been a transitional nine weeks for our household to say the LEAST. Cason changed jobs and thanks to that and his support I will be a one job woman at the end of February. I allowed the stress of all this change to shift my focus off my plan and managed to gain a few pounds and weathered a few trips to food induced Spaztazia. #whenwillilearn?

Being allergic/intolerant to food is a full time JOB with NO vacations or free passes. One slip and it's misery and a struggle to get back to sanity. My motto is 'be persistent, NOT perfect'. However, perfect is what it feels like I have to be most days. Today I am back in the land of the living and planning my full transition back into functional. #hooray!

So for a full update on this winding, pot hole, lightning sand trap filled journey- I am 13 pounds down with 27 more to go and I am still hopeful to land my goal by June 1st. As for now..I will just get through TODAY. xoxo- The GFG

The Benefits Of Checking OUT

Stressful times come to everyone...even those that can afford a TRUCK load of glitter. As much as I support keeping an active mind - there are times when it's just necessary to put on polka dot pajamas, fluffy socks and allow my brain some down time -a.k.a. watching total TV trash like Gossip Girl. (I love Blair) #truestory

It's been a rough week for me. I am shining right through it! But I am quite happy to be sitting in my big comfy pink chair that Cason so lovingly moves into our retro kitchen once a week so I can admire him while he creates a breakfast masterpiece. I am even more thrilled that after I go take care of a couple hours of paperwork that my schedule is free as a bird for the remainder of this weekend. It's gonna take an act of congress to get me out of this house we have made a home to do anything other than buy groceries or go across street to the park and play on the swings. #iwillnevergrowUP

So today is all about allowing myself the chance to mentally check out from the rat race. I will pick up my cheese(dairy free, of course)and get back in it Monday morning :) Happy Saturday Y'all! -The GFG

Juicing Ginger!

Cason and I watched a Documentary by Joe Cross called 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'. (it's on Netflix y'all..check it out) In this film we learned just how starved a person can be on a nutrient level EVEN if you are consuming large quantities of food daily. A simple way of saying it is- put the good stuff in that your cells can thrive on and your body is a lean, mean healthy machine that is nourished and all happy! If you don't give those cells the basic nutrients they need to function they become Unhappily filled with toxins in an effort to keep your organs safe from them and things get ugly real quick. The results can be weight gain, sickness, fatigue, depression,etc. #yuck #nothanks

Sooo....we bought a Juicer! We chose a Breville and took a field trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond to use my shiny 20% off coupon for it :) #economizingGinger
To be honest I was a little hesitant to get started because I thought it would be a big ole mess to clean and it would taste like some hippie concoction of grass and lemon juice.....I. WAS. WRONG!!! There is some basic inner child instinct that went off like a bell as I fired up the juicer and watched as it magically transformed boring fruits and veggies into a terrific tasting potion that makes us feel freaking awesome. After just a few days of starting my morning with fresh juiced cucumber, lemon, apple, spinach and carrots I can't imagine NOT having it. It's an all natural and perfectly legal HIGH! #dude #sweet

-The GFG