A Better Tomorrow: October 2011

Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Bojangles.....These are some of our most favorite places to grab a quick bite and satisfy that greasy craving! I have to admit, every once in a while I stop to grab a #1 at Chick-Fil-A and LOVE those waffle fries. I watched a YouTube video today that took two healthy individuals, one man and the other a woman. They ate a three course meal that included fired mac and cheese as the appetizer, a burger in a soft taco with fries, and a dessert with ice cream. The total caloric intake was 3X more than what is recommended for an entire day and the saturated fat was 10X more than what is recommended for an entire day.

Prior to eating the meal, an ultrasound was used to hear blood flow in their veins. It sounded great, steady and strong. Following the consumption of the meal, the same ultrasound was performed and the blood flow was moving at a rapid weight, they both felt tired, short of breath and sluggish. The lasting negative affects of just one meal isn't too bad - it only lasted 6 hours, but eating a meal like this every week, or every day, or multiple times a day is what eventually takes a toll on the body.

The daily recommended caloric intake is right around 2,000 calories. The number of calories consumed by someone changing their lifestyle in an effort to lose weight would consume even less.

Here is a popular list of fast food items that you might be consuming. Will you think twice now before biting into that big mac?

1. Hardee's Double Bacon Cheese Thickburger= 1,300 calories
2. Taco Bell Chicken Burrito Supreme, Pepsi, Nachos BellGrande = 1,300
3. Hardee's Double ThickBurger = 1,250 calories
4. KFC ChickenBreast 380, Mac & Cheese 280, Potatoes w/ Gravy 120, Biscuit 190, Pepsi 180= 1,250 calories
5. Burger King TRIPLE WHOPPER Sandwich With Cheese= 1,230 calories
6. McDonald's Deluxe Breakfast (Large Size Biscuit) w/o Syrup & Margarine= 1,140
7. McDonad's McValue French Fry & a Double Quarter Pounder w/cheese = 1,090 calories
8. Burger King DOUBLE WHOPPER Sandwich with Cheese = 990
9. Hardee's Big Country Breakfast Platter - Bacon= 980
10. Subway 6" Steak and Cheese, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Pepsi = 932 Calories

LEADS TO....

I get this question a lot, especially from family and friends: What Do You Do All Day? Well, I must say, that it actually depends on the day. Brighton is a GREAT sleeper and usually goes down around 7:30 pm and wakes up anywhere from 7:30 am - 9:00 am. She gets the sleep gene from me:) I could sleep until noon and not think twice about it. We eat breakfast in the morning as soon as she wakes up and that usually consists of eggs from one of our six backyard chickens, strawberries, blueberries, and a banana. Yep, our little 18 pounder LOVES to eat! Some of her other favorite foods are avocados, squash, zucchini, english muffins, pears, mango, apples, green beans, chicken with BBQ sauce, ground turkey, pasta noodles, and yogurt. When she is given it she likes anything sweet and hotdogs, but these are ONLY special occasions like holidays or birthdays. She also likes to drink from a straw out of a big girl cup.

Three days a week we take a Stroller Strides class together in SV with about ten other moms and their babies or young kids. This is a great opportunity for Brighton to be around other kids and for me to have some adult talk with the other Moms. Two days a week Brighton is with Tracey, her amazing baby sitter. Sometimes I think Brighton believes Tracey is one of her grandmothers! After Stroller Strides, Brighton goes down for about a 2 hour nap, followed by lunch, playtime, another 1 - 2 hour nap, a snack, more playtime, bath time, dinner time, low key Mommy and baby time, then to bed she goes. And in between a few dirty and wet diapers here and there.

Brighton started walking at 11 months and is now on the verge of running, needless to say, she keeps me busy and we keep each other entertained. She has five teeth and a moler is coming in on the right bottom side of her mouth. We think this is causing her just a bit of pain, especially at night time. She is a trooper though and has gone without any type of pain meds! Just good ole fashioned bourbon.....just kidding! She is so much fun and is becoming such a little girl. Sometimes I wonder if we have a little diva on our hands! She LOVES to listen to music and shake her little bootie at the coffee table. Sometimes her form of dancing is bouncing in my or Shawn's lap. Brighton has made a trip to the zoo and to the Museum of Life and Science lately and really soaked it all in. She loves the butterflies at the museum! We let her do most of her own walking at the museum and for the first time she didn't need a stroller. She has so much energy!! We'll be taking her to her first NC State Fair in a couple of weeks. This was one of my most favorite trips every year! Last year was the first year in probably 25 years that I had not been. I can't wait to go back and take her with me this year.

This is what I do all day, I get to spend my entire day with my daughter. I am so blessed to have seen her first tooth come in, watch her take her first step, hear her first word, witness the first time she learned how to roll over, fed her organic homemade food, and read her books in the middle of the day every day. I never thought I wanted to have children until I married Shawn. The strange twist to wanting a child was that Shawn was unable to have children, or so we thought! That's a whole other story for another blog on another day.

How do Shawn and I afford to have a stay at home parent you may wonder? It's simple, I still have an income coming in! After we had Brighton I took a semester leave of absence from teaching high school and was slated to return to my classroom mid January 2011. In November, I decided that missing Brighton's firsts was not going to be an option for me so I set out to figure out how to extend my leave AND make an additional income. I was already teaching online from home but we had been living on both of my teaching incomes for three years now, so I still needed to replace my other teaching income. We started talking about the possibilities of working from home, but what could I do? What would allow me to still help others, teach and educate others, allow me to have Brighton with me while doing so, and make enough money to do it? We found our answer in Shaklee. I don't even know how many hours and nights I spent researching this company, their value system, their products, and their amazingly incredible compensation plan. I watched countless real life video stories of other couples just like Shawn and me who had made the decision to change their lives and the lives of others forever through the use of Shaklee products and the Shaklee opportunity.

Without Shaklee, I would not be staying home with my beautiful daughter. Without Shaklee, I would miss all of her firsts and would find out from a piece of paper that a daycare worker would hand me at 5:00 pm everyday. Without Shaklee I wouldn't get to hang out in my pajamas half the day on some days. Without Shaklee, I wouldn't get to meet the people I have met. And, WITH Shaklee, I am able to earn a very significant part time income, I am able to share the amazing products with other people and witness their lives become pain free and full of energy, I am able to help other Moms stay at home with their babies, and I am able to help others reach their own DREAMS.

That's what I do all day - raise a child, help others get healthier, and coach others to run their own business and earn an income that will help them reach their goals in life!

Take a look at my inspiration!