Maybe the Plexus is warping my brain.

Maybe the Plexus is warping my brain. Because I literally forgot about soda yesterday. As in, I forgot that it existed. Bahaha! This might sound dumb to you, but I can't stop grinning about it. Not everyone is into soda, but most people have some kind of unhealthy habit. What's yours? What if you could just forget about it?

Last night I was telling a friend about how my sugar and carb cravings have changed. Not only have I not HAD a Mountain Dew in over a month... I haven't WANTED one. I used to drink all the soda. If we had it in the house, I had it in my glass. If we didn't have any, I would come up with an excuse for an outing so I could stop somewhere and get some. Ridiculous, guys. I had so much caffeine in my system, I would have to medicate myself just to get to sleep at night. Even then, it wasn't a very solid sleep and I woke up still tired every morning. What I needed was to quit soda, but I could never seem to get rid of the cravings. I've tried before, but the feeling of deprivation was constant. And if I was having a difficult day, my willpower just crumbled.

Every afternoon, right around the time my kids got out of school, I would feel so tired and suddenly hungry for carbs: crackers, chips, sweets... All of it. Even when I'd been drinking soda all day! I would make healthy snacks for my kids (Because their health is important!) and then just eat whatever garbage I was craving. How backward! If I'm going to take care of my family, I have to take care of myself.

I started using Plexus products at the beginning of December, and I am never going to stop! I knew that soda was bad. Hey - We ALL know that soda is bad. So I committed to quit it. But I had no idea how easy it was going to be! I have no plans to quit sugar completely. My name is Carissa, and I like sweets, okay? All I wanted to do was break my soda habit. The change in my carb and sugar cravings really took me by surprise. I still want something sweet everyday... The difference is how much it takes to satisfy. I'm content with one or two small pieces of candy, where before I would've gobbled it all up and then felt terrible! Why did I do this to myself?

I LAUGH when I think about how good I feel and how great it is to be FREE of that addiction! For real. Like a lunatic, alone in my home (or in the car, or the grocery, or wherever I am when it hits me) I laugh.

Sometimes I wonder what took me so long, but it doesn't matter. I know that I'm never going back.

"... She laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25

Reading Books

Today, I’m at the library, utilizing their fabulous bank of computers. Our home computer has been down for a while, so I haven’t had much opportunity to blog. Worse, I haven’t had much opportunity to read other people’s blogs.

Since I haven’t been reading a lot of blogs, I’ve had my nose buried in books. If you don’t care what I’ve been reading, I don’t blame you. I promise I’ll write something more interesting or post pictures of my new garden or something even better next time. For now, you get books.

The kids and I just finished A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket, on Friday. We celebrated by watching the movie which only covers the first three books, presented out of sequence for the sake of Hollywood. But whatever. I think the boys liked it. I’m not sure what we’re going to read next… I have a few random novels that I’ve checked out from the library, but I’ve also picked up this:

The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices, by Edmund M. Kern. I’m not sure about reading Harry Potter to the kids, so I’m reading this book to investigate the possibility. Who doesn’t love a teachable moment?

While we were wrapping up Unfortunate Events as a group, the kids were individually devouring Magic Tree House books, by Mary Pope Osborne. Their obsession continues but, at a rate of about one book per day, I have a feeling that they will be done with that series in a blink!

Speaking of kids, I’m reading Taking Back Childhood: Helping Your Kids Thrive in a Fast-Paced, Media-Saturated, Violence-Filled World, by Nancy Carlsson-Paige. Long title, long book. Reading this, I feel like some of my concerns are being validated. I’m not being overprotective… I’m being a responsible parent.

And while we’re on the topic of responsibility, let’s talk about Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet, by Tracey Bianchi. I’m barely into the first chapter, but I fell in love with her concept in just the introduction! Allow me to quote, “…when it comes to saving the planet, I cannot separate the cause from the Creator of the world.” I love it when authors unashamedly point to God. I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the book has in store!

Finally, at the bottom of the pile, I have Spring Cleaning: The Spirit of Keeping Home, by Monica Nassif. I’ve thumbed through it. It looks informative. And useful. And it means that I have a lot of work to do! Now that the garage sale is done (Praise the Lord!), I can get to it. Oh. Happy. Day.

So that’s it! I have others around the house that I think I’ll read. Soonish. And I have a growing list of books I want to read after these. Imagine if I had started liking to read when I was younger!

I’m so thankful that my children love to read. There are so many things to be read… things to learn and imaginative places to be unlocked. The possibilities are endless!

So… Do you have any recommendations to share?

No Impact? Man!

Around the beginning of our year without buying, I learned of No Impact Man. His name is Colin Beavan, and he lived a year in New York City with no net impact on the environment. No net impact. Since we all have an environmental impact, simply by existing, Mr. Beavan set out to do good for the environment to balance it out.

The No Impact Project offers us all the opportunity to form groups and try this experiment for just one week. While I don’t plan to sign-up for my own No Impact Week, I am inspired by the daily concepts. Last week, The Green Paige participated in a group in New York City and chronicled her adventure en vlog.

Her posts are thought provoking, at least for me – a garbage nerd. Even without participating in a No Impact Week myself, Paige’s posts have heightened my awareness of my own wastefulness. But even better than that, I feel capable of change, of breaking out of the cycle.

As Colin Beavan says, it’s about doing more good… Not just less bad.

I’m not saying that everyone should follow the No Impact Blog, or become a fan of The Green Paige on facebook, although it’s what all the cool kids are doing. I’m just saying that, if you are even the least bit interested in the environment, you might want to.

February 9, 2004

I had been working my new job in the Spiritual Development department at Fellowship Church for exactly one week. During that week, I was alone in my office, awaiting the girl who would fill the empty desk in the room with me. I was pretty nervous about spending so much time in a confined space together. I’ve never been very good at making girlfriends, and there are few women that I trust, or even like, instantly. Very few.

I had no idea what God had in store. I had no idea what type of relationship would be formed within those four walls. How could I have known that this sassy little thing would become one of my very best friends?

Over these six years, we have been through many things. Buying houses, having babies, changing jobs. We’ve endured deep sadness and enjoyed loads of laughter. But through all the changes, the fundamentals of our individual lives - God, our Church, and our priorities - remain constant. This common ground is what keeps our relationship centered and strong.

It has been quite some time since we shared an office. We’ve been in different life stages and had long stretches of time without seeing each other, but our friendship doesn’t miss a beat.

I pray that everyone can have a friendship like this. I love you, Andrea!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Garbage in? Garbage OUT.

Garbage is out, people. These days, there are so many recyclable products and packages… why would you throw them away? And the reusable products? Wow. Now, I’m all for using disposable diapers, because PLEASE. But Swiffer Sweeper? Don’t get me started.

So, in addition to using a Rubbermaid Dust'N Mop, here’s what I’ve been doing to minimize my family’s garbage output.

This spring, our city newsletter included a long list of acceptable items to include in our weekly recycling. I was floored! I had previously operated under the assumption that only plain paper, glass, and plastics labeled with a 1 or 2 would be recycled. Not so in the North Richland Hills community! I was thrilled (because I’m a huge nerd) to read about all the things that I could recycle that I had previously just thrown away. Junk mail. Phone books. Those glossy strips of coupons that are rubber-banded to our door every other weekend. And the best: Plastic types 1 through 7.

Around the same time, I started a backyard compost can. A friend warned me that compost bins stink but I have found that, if you are careful about what you put in, there isn’t a smell at all! I’m a fan of fresh flowers which I always buy at Kroger from the half-price clearance floral section. Sure, sometimes the selection is really sad, but it also raises the bar with my creativity. This week I have a vase of red peppers! How different is that?! But these peppers are looking pretty spent. Instead of throwing them in the trash, I’ll toss them in the compost. Along with all of our banana peels and the dead leaves from the houseplants that I’ve neglected.

I love the idea of producing less waste. And because we are putting less into our trash can, we are putting less out on the curb. I just feel good knowing that I am doing something to lessen my family’s contribution to local landfills. Our garbage is collected twice a week, but we only put trash out on one day. So the trash collectors only have to stop outside our house once a week. What if everyone could do this? How much would that help the environment?

As I type this, I am thinking of a really dear friend who lives out in the boonies and doesn’t have a recycling service. It pains me that you have to throw all your stuff in the trash. That would make me crazy! But I understand that, when you don’t have curbside recycling service, there isn’t much choice. I’m a realist. If I didn’t have a nice big truck to come to my curb and take away my cardboard and glass, I would throw it away too. Hopefully you’ll have the luxury (did I just say luxury?) of having recycling service someday! And if you are person who has recycling service, I’d like to encourage you to maximize this benefit. Find out exactly what items your service will accept, and do your best to recycle everything that you can. Rinse your containers and discard the non-recyclable lids.

I feel like a giant dork, on a crusade to save the planet. But seriously, I guess I kind of am!