Why Do These Things Get Me So Giddy?

Christmas is coming!!!

With An Open Heart

Philippians 3:10

"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!"

I'm having a breakthrough - And this only (and always) happens through suffering and challenge. My broken heart will lead me to bent knees. My emptiness will guide me to the only thing that can satisfy. Lord, thank you for hard times. Thank you for struggle. Thank you for silence and desperation. I need that. I am growing. You have a plan. You have my attention and heart. I can't live without you.

Forgive me please for my selfishness, my resistance to change, my "victim" attitude, my hopeless heart, my paralysis, my temper tantrums, my need to feel loved and approved by everyone, my addiction to worry, my paradoxical lifestyle, my half-assed effort, my lack of faith, my judgmental heart, my lack of compassion, my gluttony, my pride...

You must refine me with fire. I want to come forth as gold. Your love is better than life.

Off to Strawberry

Strawberry, Arizona that is...

I'm off this weekend for a Global Trip Leaders Training Retreat. I'll be going through an intense training to prepare me to take a group of teens to Africa this next summer. Crazy, I know. Our church has focussed mainly on helping North East Africa and the Muslim people. We have many Muslim refugees we help here in AZ, and so that has become our focussed mission as a church, to bring these people hope and love. We also have a ministry to children suffering from AIDs. I do not know which focus will be my trip, but I'm excited for this opportunity. There has been talk about flying into Cairo so we can see the Egyptian pyramids - so fun! I'll be sure to be blogging more as things come together.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

We have a house! The owner accepted our addendum and as far as I know (you never know, right?) we are homeowners!!! Yay!!! I still can't believe it! We are set to close on or before September 17th. :)

House Update

Oh how naive I was going into this house buying experience! I really thought that you looked at houses, picked the one you liked, made an offer, the seller accepts, and you move in! Not so much, but this has been an incredible learning experience. I mean, where else would I learn about the terms "PMI" or "Seasoning" or "FHA loan" or "Comps". A month ago that wouldn't have meant anything to me.

Here's where we're at... (I feel bad that all of my blogs are only about the house right now)

Basically the owner did not do his own 2nd appraisal. Our loan guy has been working with the owner and they went back to the appraisal company (most reputable appraisal company in AZ supposedly) to have them do a more in-depth and extensive look at the house. Our realtor said that we're now getting the most accurate appraisal of any of his clients. I guess in the first appraisal some comps were missing which brought that price down pretty low. It's really hard to get an accurate amount since some are selling as short sales and foreclosures.

Jake and I decided to do one last offer with the seller paying the closing costs since we have to put down 10% for our conventional loan (couldn't get an FHA).

The seller came back with a counter. He bought a house across the street that was in foreclosure that he wants to flip and wants another good comp in the neighborhood, so he's asking for $3K more than the appraisal but he's offering us a $3500 incentive to go towards things like a new fridge and paying for a year's worth of HOA fees and stuff. This is probably pretty good for us because if he sells that other house for about the same or more, the value of our house goes up. We had to find out if this was even legal, as he's trying to up the value of the house and give us a kick back. What our realtor is doing is drawing up a page for the house where the seller agrees to buy us certain things for the house or pay for certain fees that we would have to pay that all end up totaling $3500, which makes it legal. So we've been looking at fridges online and stuff.

With all of that house mumbo jumbo said. We're taking the offer and signing an addendum today. We're hoping to close by Sept. 17th.

I can't believe we could actually own this house! It's amazing! I love it love it love it. And it's so much better to put money toward equity (like a savings account for the future) than to throw it away on rent for someone else's mortgage. We're hoping that one day we can sell it so that we can be back in SoCal with our kids (woops, did I say kids?). :) But if we end up "stuck in AZ", at least we're in our dream house there. We wouldn't mind being stuck there at all. And... you would love visiting - I promise. It's really a charming community.

Anyway, that's it I guess. Thank you so much family and friends for your love and support.

I Got A Promotion!

Starting today you're looking at the new Student Ministries Campus Pastor on the Gilbert Campus at Central - in charge of all of the youth pastors on my campus. I feel so blessed to get to lead in this way. This is what makes my heart sing. When God brought us here, I had no idea how much He would bless us.

No Good Words (only Bad ones) :)

Another unsurprising update... the sellers are TICKED at the results of the appraisal and are having us sign another 5 day (delay) addendum so that they can get their own appraisal. Supposedly our appraiser missed some comps that were in a higher range of sales. Can I just say, this is not fun. Dream house has a whole new meaning. We're trying to be patient and pretty ready to chek out other options.

Just When We Thought It Was All Over...

Just an update on the house... The sellers accepted our offer. We've been stoked. On Monday we had the home and termite inspections and signed the preliminary loan documents, and the last thing we've been waiting for is to be approved for PMI (loan insurance). Once we get that we're ready to move in! Our loan guy said it could take a while because of how quickly the seller is trying to flip this house. Companies aren't as quick to insure with house flips. So... we've just been waiting. The inspections came out great. Not much to fix.

But then all of a sudden.... bum, bum, bum....

(insert dramatic pit-in-your-stomach surprise music here)

The realtor called us tonight with the results from the appraisal. The appraisal came back $24K less than our offer. Eeeks! No wonder the sellers jumped on our offer! We are back to square one. I'm not sure where we go from here. I'm back to worrying (as usual). I don't want to buy a home that's not worth what we're paying for it and be stuck trying to sell it later for an impossible amount. But at the same time, I'm scared to lose the house to another buyer. Ugh. No fun. And I've totally been plastering pictures of this place all over Facebook telling people it's mine. I'm such a loser. I've been fantasizing about living there ever since we saw it. Yes, I'm being a drama queen.

Tomorrow morning we meet with our realtor at the house to sign an addendum to give us a 5 day extension to figure things out. Now that we're out of the inspection period, we run the risk of losing our $3,000 earnest deposit. So, that's where we're at. I guess we'll be working through what our next move is. Pray family and friends Pray! :) I've surrendered myself to the mantra: If it's meant to be it's meant to be. But I really hope it is!

House buying is such an emotional roller coaster!

OMG...

I haven't been able to sleep. I haven't been eating well. I've been so stressed out and praying that God would not let this be a heart-break and then I got a call today from Jake...

"Guess what babe?"
"What?"
"We got the house."
"What?!? Please don't be lying."

WE GOT THE HOUSE!

I am beyond excited!

Still Waiting...

Just an update: The sellers came back with a counter offer. We are in negotiations but there are also 3 others putting offers on this house. Gosh this is so stressful! It's hard when you start to imagine living in a house when it might not be yours!

Waiting...

We put an offer on that house in Agritopia today and they are supposed to get back to us no later than tomorrow at 3pm. Pray pray pray! Jake and I really love this house and don't have a back-up house just yet. This could be a place where we could find refuge, and it also has a ton of opportunities for ministry. We'll see if this ends up in God's plan...

We're In Love...

With house number 5 on the listing. Click here to see. We're looking at possibly buying it. Please pray for us. It is absolutely everything we want. I wish I could have you come and see it!

We've Been Sucked In

So on a whim, Jake and I have decided to look at houses for sale just to see what our options are. Hey, Obama's giving away $8,000 to new homebuyers right now and the rates couldn't get any lower. So, why not? Mortgages here are cheaper than renting. We know we're definitely committing to be here for another 2 years while Jake goes to school, so maybe this could be a good option. See below.

There's this exclusive neighborhood in Gilbert that families are flocking to and are downsizing just to be a part of called "Agritopia". It's popularity comes from being extremely close to a popular private school (K-12) and it's also it's own exclusive community where they grow their own crops for an organic famer's market and restaurant called "Joe's Farm Grill" (as seen on the Food Network), ride bikes everywhere, have their own hometown Coffee Shop and are eco-friendly. There are only 9 houses left and a leader of mine who lives in this community says that these houses are high in demand and that we should jump on this opportunity because it will be an easy sell in the future. She works at the private school and knows the families that are trying to get into this community in the next year or so but are waiting to sell their own homes. Jake and I believe her and that's what sparked our interest in buying - we'd only buy in this community if we were to buy. Plus, we'd love to live there too. We know a ton of families and staff from the church who are already a part of this community that go to our church - many of the kids attend that private school. So... we're checking it out tonight. Why not, right? Click here for the listings of the houses in Agritopia. We'll be looking at the first 6 tonight. We're already IN LOVE with #6 for $285,000, but that seems like a ton of money for a house in AZ.

Just wanted to share with you the news on us as we search for a new home. Oh, I forgot to mention... we did apply for that house for rent that we wanted on Stampede Dr. and the owners have agreed to lower the rent for us to $1050 instead of $1095 if we signed for 18 months. We're just waiting to hear if our application is approved and if it is, we're in that house! So... looks like we've got alot of exciting choices. We're excited about all of these new possibilities.

After a Day of House Hunting...

We're back from the house search. I think we saw about 10 houses in about 4 hours (some more than once) all over town. Some of these were deceiving with urine stained (and smelly) carpets and the most horrific backyards - yuck! It was so great to have a realtor (parent of a student in the youth group) take us around town. He was SO helpful when it came to what we should be looking for. If we ever buy, we'd definitely buy with him after all of his help free of charge. He really doesn't make anything but a relationship in taking us out all Saturday - he hopes that the gesture would mean we'd refer people to him. Great strategy!

So after today Jake and I have narrowed it down to 2 favorites. If you click on the link "here" below on my last post, you'll be able to see them. Our two faves are 1.) Stampede Dr. and 2.) Joseph Way. Pray that we get one of these 2 that we've selected. We're actually in negotiations with Stampede to get them to lower their rent if we sign for 18 months. (18 months is our strategy to never ever ever have to move in August again.) :) It's really really nice. So... we'll see what happens!

House Hunt

We're off to look at houses today so wish us luck. Click here to see the ones we'll be looking at.

The Bachelorette Finale - Party At The Johns'!

Who will she pick? Ed or Kiptyn? Or maybe Reid??? So excited!

Jake and I are having friends over to watch the finale.

We've been hooked this season.

If you're around, you should come!

Sorry Cali peeps... feel free to fly over. :)

See you around 7pm! Be there or be square!

We've Gotta Move :(

Update on our living situation:

So just as Jake and I were debating renting again or buying, the owners of our house notified us this week that they want to sell their house, increase our rent by 5%, and have us go month to month as they make money off of us and show the home to buyers - No way Jose! Our lease is up August 31 so we'll be gone by then. I'm sad because I really like this house and I REALLY don't want to pack and move - I HATE the idea of it.

What to do? Well, Jake and I have decided to keep renting. We've spoken with alot of people and realtors and it doesn't seem like Arizona is a place where we can make any type of money off something here anytime soon. It would just be too much of a gamble. Plus, we don't want to be nailed down. We'd rather save our money and buy a house where we'd love to live for a very long time.

So... here's to rental hunting! Wish us luck as we pack up our stuff in this 115 degree heat - Ick! At least we have a ton of friends and families to help us out.

Highlights From Our Vegas Trip

Here are the highlights from our trip to Vegas a couple of weeks ago. We LOVE it there and could stay forever.

BTW, To see more pics, just look on my facebook (www.facebook.com/brianne.johns).

1. Getting out of town.

2. Our trip mascot. A scary looking happy meal toy from McDonalds - our first stop. Not many food choices on the way there, lots of desert.

3. Seeing the Hoover Dam for the first time. (Bri)

4. The view from our room at the Venetian.

5. Eating at lots of fabulous restaurants.

6. Being in Vegas on the 4th of July. Party in the streets!

7. Tasting all different types of sodas from around the world at the Coca-Cola factory.

8. Walking the strip.

9. This Game! Jake saw it and said we had to play it just because of the name. No luck with wins though.

10. Big Balls Drink! This is the "Wipeout" drink at ESPN Zone. It comes with a light up cube and was supposed to have 4 cherries lined up on the top representing "big balls" from the show, but our bartender was lazy. I actually don't recommend this drink.

11. KA - We didn't plan on seeing this show because we wanted to see the Beatles show "Love" but it was closed. Ryan recommended KA and we were blown away. You've GOT TO see it!

12. We stumbled across this as we were walking in and out of casinos on our last day with no plans. When we saw the sign we thought, why not? It was fun seeing all of the animals. I love big kitties!

Yep, Arizona is Beautiful

The sunsets are amazing. It's freakin' hot. But we're having a blast in AZ.

This is a pic of us on July 3rd at Jason's (former roommate) wedding at a mansion in Mesa. Jake tried to strike up a deal with the owner of the mansion and have them rent it to us for $900 a month, but they said they'd only give us the East Wing and access to the Salt Water Pool a couple of days a week for that. LOL The owners have daughters in my youth group and are new adult leaders for me.

Meet My Summer Interns

These 8 crazy teens have made my summer a blast. We work together almost everyday and they do an incredible job reaching out to their peers. Love them!

When Summer Interns Attack

So I took on 8 student interns for the summer. They have basically signed their life away this summer to work with me. It's been really fun so far. Today was probably the best. We spent the entire day together.

We started off with a long meeting to plan for our Tuesday night program starting tomorrow, and then they all started complaining about being hungry. We loaded up and went to In N Out. Funny thing, when we got there, no one had money... except for me! Yes, I bought everyone In N Out. It was pretty funny.

Afterwards, I went back to the office while they got to work shopping for stuff for tomorrow night. When they got back all of them were acting weird. I could tell something was up. I didn't find out until I left for work and I found this....

I love it. I think it was really sweet. They don't have to pay me back for lunch now. :)

My first cell phone blog post!

Dreams and the Unknown

Jake and I would love your prayers - mostly prayers for just wisdom about our future here in Arizona. So, it's always been our dream to be back in SoCal with family, but we know that the timing is not right and we don't want to just uproot and make a hasty decision with no jobs and no money. We're actually really liking it here. I feel more and more purpose leading this youth group at Central and I'm making some great relationships. Jake is feeling the same about his job. He's actually applying for nursing school (is that right? it sound likes breastfeeding school) to further his career and possibly try a different field. I asked him if I could call him "Gaylord Focker" if he becomes an RN. LOL

So all of this means we're probably committing to another year here as Jake tries out night school. I always told Jake that he would have to get us back to CA if we're going to get back there. And so far, there aren't any jobs for him there. If I was to try, I'd have to start all over with a new church and a new group of teens, and that just wouldn't give us any leeway for being pregnant and having kids (yes, I just said that). :)

So... We're thinking about taking our time here in AZ and building up towards our future back with family. Of course, it is all in God's hands and He could have different desires for us. Could we possibly become permanent Zonis???

As our lease is up at the end of August we're thinking about what our next move is. Do we buy a home here and possibly make an investment toward our future? Do we rent this same house again? We have friends who just bought a house that's bigger than ours and their mortgage is $200 less a month than our rent! It's very enticing and we've gotta make a decision here pretty soon. But if we buy, does that make us stuck here? It seems like such a scary gamble. Obviously you can tell I'm a commitment phobe.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this, I'd love to hear. I'm just putting this out there so you know what's going on with us and what we're thinking about. I guess this post is just more me thinking outloud. We feel like God brought us here to bless us. I feel like He's given us so much more than we ever could have imagined. And I'm so glad that we are even closer to family and make enough money that we can travel and visit anytime. It was definitely a good move for us.

Thanks for all of your love and support. We are blessed to have such great friends and family.

Summer Indulgences

I'm sure you're all thinking, "It's only May, it's not summer yet!" Yes, but you forget I 'chose' to move to the sunny (h-o-t) state of Arizona, and it's been over 100 degrees here a couple of times a week for the past month or so. Plus, all of my kids are out for summer break already!

So it's summer to me - probably "summer" for a very LONG time. Pray for me! I feel like an unsuspecting lobster in a heating up pot of water getting ready to boil. Below are a couple of things I've found that have been so much fun to help me enjoy this sunny weather and keep me entertained...

#1 - Jake and I bought patio furniture. I'd like to call our backyard "Fiesta Manor Oasis". :) I imagine myself sipping a cool drink and reading a book (see last pic) while working on my tan. When we got to the Target counter to purchase these, the lady just laughed and asked if we were from out of state. She had to "inform us" that no one hangs outside in the summer in Arizona. Oh well, we've used it once and it was fun!





See that green snake thing below? It's a stand up mister that sprays water in 2 different directions. So cool to have when laying out.




I cannot be more jazzed about the product below. I can no longer hide hairy legs under pants, it's too hot! This has been a life saver for all of the shaving I have to do to wear shorts, skirts, and dresses. It's a razor with the shaving cream built into it! It makes shaving like half the time, and is way easier to pack for all of the traveling I do back and forth to SoCal and for youth camps.

I don't read books that are stories or biographies (just cuz I can't get into them), but this book has totally kept my attention! My friend Mandy recommended it to me and I am hooked! Probably because it is a mindless read and Tori Spelling's humor is so much like my friend Ali who always makes me laugh with her witty comments (Ali, this one's for you!). It takes me back to my "Bev Night" days... (I used to have friends over every Wed night in High School to watch 90210 & Melrose Place).

Summer Pics

It's been heating up in AZ, but we've found ways to cool off and have fun. Here are some recent pics I've taken with my phone...


Jake has a thing for "Shave Ice". It started on our honeymoon in Maui. Him and his dad have this thing about it being better than the average snow cone. We found this little shack around town and boy was it awesome when it got up to 107 here.

Doesn't Jake look like he's wearing a giant sombrero? This pic cracks me up.

Some friends of ours are Cubs fans and invited us to a Dbacks vs. Cubs game. We were in left field in the rowdy Cubs section. It was a blast! Like Jake's Angels hat? He had to represent. :)

New Roomie

Meet our new roommate - Jason Grindle.

With as many times as Jake and I have free loaded and stayed at people's places over the years, it's time for us to give back - especially now that we have 2 extra bedrooms. Jason's getting married early July and had to move out of his host home because a family member there needed care with cancer. Jason will be staying with us until he buys a house. BTW, they're SO cheap out here! It looks like his mortgage (for a 4 bedroom, huge backyard house) will be like $200 less than what we pay a month in rent!

Jason works with me at the church doing Worship and Jr. High Ministry. He's been in AZ about a year - moved here from Kansas, originally from New Orleans. He met a girl at the church while doing his Residency, they got engaged a couple of months ago, and now he plans on staying a permanent Zoni. Jake and him are like the same person, so it'll be an interesting home atmosphere - nights of Lost, the Office, and guitar talk I'm sure. :)

Paging Richard Cranium

"Richard Cranium, there is a message waiting for you at the Paging Center..." This is what Jake and I heard at the airport waiting for our flight to Sac. I turned to Jake and said, "Did you hear that?" We both cracked up. No one else around us flinched. It was a highlight of our travels...

.... until I got on a plane last weekend for a couple of family get togethers and there was "Paging Jenna Talia." It made it less funny when I found out that anyone can go up to a paging machine and write obscene names for a laugh. Oh well. :)

I Love My Brother

What do siblings do the night before their brother's wedding???

Princess Uno!!! You had to be there.

This game is classic. If you see it at the store you have to buy it. The best part is when someone has a dragon card and everyone has to play a Prince Charming to kill it! lol

Chris & Carly

Oh my gosh my little brother is getting married! I'm off to NorCal tomorrow for this amazing event.

Health Challenge Tips Part II - Exercise

Ok, so I promised I'd share with you what I'm learning from my Health Challenge classes. By the way, I'm not doing too well after last week. I spent the entire week on a camp with my teens with nothing but tempting junk food and fatty camp food. I think I gained back a couple of pounds. I'm starting to wonder if even doing this challenge fits with my everyday lifestyle... especially in the teen world of pizza and sour patch kids. Yes, this is totally me trying to wiggle my way out of this commitment. Ugh, did you miss from the genesis of this blog that I am just not a disciplined person (marathon memories)?

Hope you have fun with these...

• Alcohol slows the metabolism and takes almost 3 days for it to return to normal. I guess I've gotta kiss those martinis goodbye - sad day.
• 1 glass of wine a night actually increases your risk for breast cancer (if you're a woman) :)
• If you're going to snack, never snack less than 2 hours before bedtime.
• Always opt for sucralose, not aspertame if you need some sweet. Try and ween yourself off of sweet. (Yeah right). I actually have loved using Propel packets for my water.
• The best way to tone muscles is to tighten them... so squeeze whenever, wherever.
• Follow the example of our ancestors. It's not necessary to run fast the entire time. The ancients walked everywhere, sped up to catch someone, and carried heavy loads. Interval train by walking and then taking off for 30 seconds, then back to walking.
• Always do weight training before cardio - you'll have longer afterburn. If you need to warm up, do about 2 min on the treadmill then head to the weights. Then finish up with cardio.
• Do more weight training than cardio. When your muscles are healthy and strong, you burn more fat.
• For the first 25 min you are working out, you hit a peak where your body no longer burns your carbs but goes straight into fat burning. The longer you work after the first 25 min, the more fat you burn. He suggests a 45 min minimum workout.
• Eating right alone will help your muscles be healthier, which equals more calories burned. So yeah, give up all of that delicious, sinful food. lol
• The healthier your muscles are, the less your joints will take a beating. Joints take all of your impact when your muscles aren't strong.
• Always work your largest muscles first, like legs. You'll burn more calories.
• There is a growth hormone your body produces in your sleep that helps repair your muscles from the day before. You can do 20 min of cardio in the morning on an empty stomach and burn pure fat without needing to eat breakfast because of this growth hormone. He does not recommend doing more than 20 min. Be careful not to get light headed trying this out. And... you need to replenish with protein or a banana right when you get back so your body doesn't go into store mode.
• Always think about squeezing your muscles as you are working. Squeeze and tighten muscles as much as possible during your workout.
• Eat right after you workout and get hydrated.
• Incorporate a core muscle everyday. This is for injury prevention and proprioception.
• There is no need to stretch before working out. There is no clinical evidence that this will help lessen the risk of injury. The best way to warm up your muscles is to do a light warm up of the same motion (a few reps with little to no weight) to get keep from injury.
• Stretch after you are done working out.
• The best time to exercise is the morning. Your afterburn goes all day long. At night you're robbing yourself of more time for afterburn. (I hate mornings... especially when it's dark.)
• There are micro-tears in your muscles after working out. You need to eat to start repairing that protein. Again, healthy muscles = burning fat. Do not go over a 1/2 hour after working out without eating. He recommends a protein shake because it is already broken down protein that will go straight to repair. You'll also want to get a little sugar - add a banana or honey for natural sugar.
• The key to workout success is... consistency!
• He recommends doing a full body workout 3 times a week with a rest/cardio day inbetween. A full body workout is... 3 legs, 2 chest (pushing, triceps, shoulders, chest), 2 back (pulling), 1 shoulders, 1 biceps (curls), 1 triceps (pushdowns). For beginners, just start with the first week of 2 full body workouts (1 monday, 1 thursday). For the second week, Monday work on all lower body, Wednesday work on all upper body, Friday work on a full body workout (stated above). On Tuesday and Thursday run for 20 min. For the following weeks do 3 full bodies (MWF) and cardio the rest of the days.
• Upper body workout = 2 chest, 2 back, 2 shoulders, 1 bicep, 1 tricep.
• Lower body workout = Do as many exercises as you can standing up. Squats, step ups (up and down on a bench), lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises.
• Try and make your full body workout at least 45 minutes of movement - 1 hour is best. Always skip a day of weight training so your body can repair.
• He does not believe there needs to be a specific set of reps... it doesn't have to be 15 times. Focus on feeling a burn and working until your muscles get exhausted. FUN!
• Do different ab workouts each day so you don't affect your lower back. Do an exercise at least once a week on a balance ball. It tightens your transverse abdominals (1st layer of abs).
• Body Fat Target Areas - 1. Bra Fat (chest), 2. Under Arm, 3. Tricep, 4. Back Fat (make sure to push your shoulder blades back on these exercises, 5. Belly, 6. Obliques, 7. Thighs.
• Drink lots and lots of water! Especially in AZ. :) If you drink with a straw you'll drink more. The more hydrated you are, the less you'll retain water because your body won't store it, which means a lighter read on the scale.
• The BEST way to get rid of love handles --- Get a broomstick. Have your feet even length as your shoulders. Hold broom parallel to the ground with both hands. Raise above head and push as far as you can bend to the side (stretch as far as you can/lengthen your body). Don't bend your arms. Do 10x on each side for 3 weeks everyday and you'll lose those love handles. He promised!
• Losing weight is 75% nutrition (what you put in your body).

Ok friends, well, that's it! Fun times, right? :) Hope you feel informed. Remember, knowing is half the battle. JK

Spreading Joy...

Now if only life could be like this everywhere there's a crowd. Ryan and Ali, this one's for you...

Healthy tips

Some of you have been asking via email what types of tips I learned from my first Health Challenge class, so I'm putting my notes here to share with you free of charge! :)

Metabolism - is the highest in the AM. So if you skip breakfast, it will slow down and store the food you later eat. It's also better to work out in the AM because of this.

A good day of healthy eating is about - eating 5 small meals a day (about every 3 hours), the size of your fist.

NEVER eat until you are full (this takes full consciousness while you're eating). If you eat until you are full it will stretch your stomach lining and make for a bigger appetite next time.

#1 Thing to take out of your diet is... sugar. If you need sweet, splenda is better but not the best since it's chemicals. Try to avoid foods with added sugar.

Carbonation is bad because... it stretches your stomach lining so you eat more, slows down the digestion of protein, and (his theory) possibly increases cellulite.

You need to take care of your digestive system because... it leads to immune system problems. You need to poop at least once a day. If you're not eating well (or sleeping enough) you will get sick. Fiber is a must!

Your brain... if you starve yourself it will tell your body to store fat because it's trying to protect the fat lining around your heart. They used to starve injured soldiers in Vietnam for 2 days so that they could put on weight and recover faster.

Water... if you drink 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon a day you will easily lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks because our bodies retain water when we don't drink enough.

Fat... eat good fat (like avocados, olive oil, etc.) or it will automatically store in your body.

Potassium... regulates sodium. Eat bananas!

Carbohydrates... make fat cells expand if you don't eat enough, so you will gain weight faster if you do no carbs.

Set Point Theory - if you can keep your weight for 6 months, your body will fight to keep it there afterwards because you have reset your homeostasis.

What a good day of eating healthy looks like...

AM - high fiber
Oatmeal, not sugary kind. Instead have plain and add honey, cinnamon, or natural peanut butter. He says don't eat too much bran/wheat but stick to oats. Kashi cereal with blueberries or bananas is another good idea for breakfast.

AM snack - probiotic yogurt (watch the sugar content) and almonds/sunflower seeds

Lunch - Loaded up salad (full of veggies with an olive oil based vinagrette dressing)
There is not benefit to fat free dressings.

Mid-Day snack – anything healthy just a smaller size (size of your palm); protein and carb

Dinner – lean protein, dark green veggie, and multi grain something (small size)

Power Foods:
Protein – fish
Fruit – blueberries
Fat – nuts (almonds, sunflower seeds)
Veg – broccoli
Carb – oatmeal

Bread that is good for you… Ezekiel (100% whole wheat)

Sweet potato = good

Anything white = starch = sugar = not good

You can have a cheat day, just make it the same cheat day every week.

Health "Challenge"

So I feel like I'm on an episode of The Office - remember that one where they all run a marathon together? Well, that's my work right now. We have a guy on staff that runs all of our sports ministries and he's also a nutritionist and personal trainer. At our last all staff meeting he talked to us about getting healthier. He talked about how God could use us more to help others if we weren't always tired, run down, or on the verge of getting sick because we were not taking care of our bodies. He posed a challenge to all of us to sign up for a 3 month Health Challenge where he would provide us with tools and accountability to get healthier. Crazy me, I signed up.

The first meeting was last Monday and I had to have 5 goals, a food journal, and an accountability partner ready to go. We started today, so I spent the entire weekend consuming all of the junk I could possibly find because I will miss it so much for the next 3 months. JK We get a cheat day every week. So now if I can only hold on until Friday...

And someone evil left chunky chocolate chip cookies in the staff kitchen! Errr! Sabotage.

My Godson - Declan James Gill

Another surprise while I was down in Orange. One of my bestest friends Becky and her husband Trevor asked me to be godmother to their son Declan. I feel beyond honored and am committed to all of the responsibilties that come along with that relationship in his life. Here's my little googer below!

My Birthday Party

Jake took me on a secret trip to SoCal for my big birthday. When I say secret, I mean, I knew I was going to SoCal but I had no idea what was going to happen. Well, a couple of slips and I knew there was going to be some kind of a party. My super sweet husband planned me a surprise party with family and friends - he pulled the entire thing off. I am so blessed. Here are some pics...

When I first got there...
Ryan (my bro) and Josh...

Wendy, her fiancee Mike, Josh, and I...

Jake and his mom...

Me and Chris (my bro)..

Ryan (my bro), Becky (my matron of honor), Declan (MY NEW GODSON!!!), and Trevor...

Me, Ken (Jake's stepdad), Susan (Jake's mom), and Ry (my bro)...

Jason (my cousin), my Auntie Weez (Louise), and Ry (my bro)...

My Uncle Ken and Dad...

My Stepmom Debbie and Aunt Elaine...