The Path Of Healing..

For most of my adult life I have managed(or mis-managed) my body with only one concern- how much I weigh. If the scale went down in the morning it was gonna be a good day! If not...well you get the picture. #crazytrain

I can honestly say I kept that mentality until December 3rd of this year. Even though for quite some time I've eaten gluten free(and now dairy free) I never SAW it as a means to heal my body from the train wreck my intolerances had put it through. I merely looked at it as another restrictive diet set in place to punish me for not being born with the glorious DNA of Sandra Bullock. #poutingginger

I'd like to say that some miracle happened and the night sky lit up with pink glitter to illuminate this moment of reckoning that I had on the evening of December 2nd. Alas, it just isn't so. I was lying on the big comfy couch in our living room chatting with Cason when all of a sudden a wave of understanding washed over me. I had to change. A complete overhaul of perspective was in order. Instead of counting every calorie and whining about my situation....it was time to embrace who I am and learn to eat what heals me and makes me the best possible me I can be.(which is a bubbly happy red head that loves to bedazzle everything and soaks up every moment that life has to offer)

I woke up on the morning of Dec 3rd a brand new girl. I've asked myself before each meal if what I am about to partake of will nourish and heal my body. I've felt positively AMAZING ever since! My mind is clear, my Spirit is charged and I am excited about where this path will lead me. All this time Lori has been lovingly telling me this - 'you cannot diet your way to the joy I want for you'. Her words finally permeated. And ya know what? I've actually lost MORE weight. Go figure, right? - The GFG

Into The Darkness.....

It seems to me at the very moment I turn my clock back an hour(who am I kidding here..my iphone did it for me)that some kind of internal shift occurs and I'm immediately thrown into a three month long drive through the doldrums. #carefulMilo #crankyginger

It's not a bad mood really....it's more of a heaviness on my thoughts. Everything seems to take just a tad more effort in the dark cold months of old man Winter's rule. I feel like I'm operating on the last 9% of battery life and at any moment I might just lay my head down and hibernate until Spring arrives and showers me in light and glitter again.

This evening as I sit in my beautiful home and contemplate all the tasks on my 'to do' list...I am aware of the wind licking at my window and the rain slowly saturating the fallen leaves outside. Tomorrow morning the air will be weighted in moisture and the scent of freshly showered earth. It will be beautiful and slowing to me. My pace will gradually lessen as we get deeper into the season. I will find ways to streamline my time spent out of doors and spend as much time as possible indoors where my Summer born soul can stay dry, warm and content.

Bless Cason's heart :) I darn near sweat that man outta the house when it drops below 50 degrees outside. Good thing he loves me, eh? - The GFG

Dreams Do Come True....

On a lazy fall Sunday afternoon while sitting on our 'Hey Arnold!' Stoop and watching the ninja squirrels chase each other from branch to branch my PC and I were doing what we normally do- sippin' on some coffee and just enjoying each other. He got up and walked around to the back yard. I figured he was just stretching his legs a bit. A few moments later while the sun warmed up and began to take the chill off the cement stoop he came back and knelt down in front of me. He looked up at me with his mesmerizing green eyes and asked me to be his wife!

First I cried, second I said YES, and then I threw my arms around him and squeeled with excitement. I get to spend all of my days with Cason! I get to be his forever date! This was really happening to me! I dang near floated off in a bubble y'all :) He tied a blade of grass around my ring finger which I wore all day and then laminated to keep forEVER. (I later learned that he is having a one of a kind ring made for me in Ireland and I should have it on my finger by Thanksgiving).

I have dreamed of a love like he and I have since I was 11 years old and first read 'Wuthering Heights'. Cathy and Heathcliff had a tragic story but their love for one another knew no boundaries and they shared a connection that other people just didn't comprehend. It was amazing! I knew then that I wanted to love a man that fiercely someday without restraint, fear or boundaries. I love my Cason this way....my fiancé :) I really LOVE the sound of that. We've set a date for October 5th, 2013 and will be wed in an Irish ceremony under the magnolia trees of Covington Square. And ya know what? It's going to be perfect :)- The GFG

Acceptance Does Not Equal Defeat

I like to consider myself a decent friend(with moments of awesomeness)and a fairly adequate listener(unless a Chris Robinson song is on and then I will just zone out for a few minutes). I find lately as I listen to good friends or just sit in a room with others in conversation that I may be more aware of my actions and the actions of others than I ever realized. I tend to question why people do what they do and what the driving force behind it is before passing judgment. I am far from perfect so I don't expect perfection from others. I do think I tend to give more understanding to people since at any given moment I can spaz out if I ingest bread. #sigh

I also find it hard to see something as black or white...for me...no one is inherently good or evil. We are all paprika to me :) So, as I find myself listening to or reading about the actions of others I find myself breaking down why folks just tend to(what we call in the South) 'act a fool' in the most precarious of environments like work, church, restaurants and most of all on Facebook. I accept that all people have their own standards of decorum(after all...not everyone could have a grandmother like mine to mold them) yet that doesn't stop me from hoping for better behavior/treatment from my fellow humans. I wake up every morning in full acceptance that the world and people in it can and will disappoint me.....yet my heart always hopes that through a smile, a kind word or just a listening ear that I can somehow change that fate...if even for just today. Tomorrow can hold dissapointment...but today I will hope for sunshine. - The GFG

Looking Up The Mountain

Here I sit after a hot bath all cozy n' junk and thinking about the path I have chosen and where to place the mile markers along the way. The thought pattern that led me to deciding on a nine month time frame(Oct-June)for my 'total Ginger transformation' is simple.It takes nine months for a woman to create a life-so I can change my life in the same time frame :)

I started today monitoring the quantity of my food with an app on my iPhone called 'itrackbites' and eating harmonious foods that fit into my lifestyle. Now don't get me wrong y'all- I eat and I eat well :) Breakfast was pumpkin coffee, eggs, bacon and a banana. (Well, to be honest after sleeping so late that was actually lunch) Dinner was a chicken Caesar salad with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Yum! Tomorrow will be fruit and coffee for breakfast and my friend David's amazing 'egg bake' paired with cottage cheese for lunch. Dinner will be some lovely veggies and shrimp. (Notice the trend of no sugar and no wheat) #gingerfriendly

I look forward to the next few days and logging how the new lifestyle is working for me. Wishing y'all a wonderful week! - The GFG

Operation: Ginger....OH SNAP!

Today I am excited y'all! I've probably experimented with every health path out there and avoided what works for FAR too long because I didn't want to face the facts- gluten and its kissing cousins(gluten alternatives like corn, rice and potato flour derivatives) hate this body I live in. Having tried OVER and OVER again to find a way to still include these foods just make me unhealthy and unhappy. Stuff just got real...real fast. I'm tired of being tired.

After gathering lots of information, picking myself up and learning from the failures- I've tweaked a plan that fits my own flavor of uniqueness :) I will move my body with Jazzercise and Yoga. I will nourish it with good foods purchased from the perimeter of the grocery store and utilize Weight Watchers as a tool for managing the quantity of what I take in. I will NOT be eating the processed foods that the Weight Watcher plan endorses. That is simply NOT harmonious for me. (See Lori- I do listen)

My goal date for shopping to aquire new clothes AND a bikini is June 1st 2013. June is the month I first met Lori and when my life began to grow and evolve. It's perfect for a landmark on this path. I look forward to it! It's gonna be a fun, scary and educational nine months :) Check In with me from time to time. I will update my progress. The total weight loss will be 40 pounds when I am at my healthy Ginger goal. See ya at the finish line y'all. Failure is NOT an option. - The GFG

The In Between Moments....

Hello loverlies! I've been a very busy girl as of late. Cason, Gamer Boy and I moved!
We now call a 1938 Spanish style hacienda our home. It's absolutely 110% ME. It's all hard
Wood floors, French doors, crystal door knobs and even has a secret passage way. #awesome

I've paid for a shiny new header(complete with a cartoon me) to be added to my home page
and was waiting for it to go live to begin posting again but something happened yesterday that
just stirred up the 'word nerd' in me and I had to get it out or explode. Seriously. It really feels
that way when a thought/realization/epiphany hits me.
It's write it out or live with all the words banging around in my head like that little cubby in your
driver's side door that's entirely USELESS except for holding change and you overly fill it and it spills when you shut the door and irritates you. #tangent #focusginger

So.....yeah....back to yesterday. I got in my car after work and before I got off the
street my job is located on my iPhone rings and up pops a pic of Cason with the
words 'Prince Charming' is calling lighting up the screen. I answer and he asks
with his OH Sooo silky Southern drawl for me to join him on the patio at a local Mexican
restaurant for dinner.( did I mention we live in TOWN now and everything, including
work is only FIVE minutes from our house?) #sheerepicness

I agreed- OF.COURSE :) We then said a quick good bye and I continued my drive there.
A feeling washed over me y'all- one of complete and utter gratefulness. I have KNOWN what loneliness feels like. I don't mean the kind where you are bored and can't think of anything to do...I mean The kind that runs BONE DEEP. The loneliness of no phone ringing, no plans made, no one to call and ask how your day was or sit across from you at dinner AND the mornings where no one leaves the lid off the toothpaste :(

That five minute drive was a lifetime of reflection condensed into the summation which equals
and keeps me aware of how precious those 'in between moments' are. Those moments actually happen daily for me. I have an amazing partner who 99% of the time calls to talk to me on the
way home(even if its just a five minute drive). I am blessed to be a girl that sits my phone face
up and anxiously awaits it to light up with his name. I get to be one of those girls you see driving
down the road in cute sunglasses with a smile on my face because I have someone(s)..Cason and
Gamer Boy....waiting to spend time with me. Those little moments make me rich. Those little moments enrich the lives of us ALL if we only stop and acknowledge them. I hope I never EVER have to live without them again. - The GFG