Do it Afraid

Over and over again I have come to realize that confident people are people of courage. They go ahead and do things even when they’re afraid. Courage is not the absence of fear but it’s doing it regardless.

Going back to school has been that for me. Leap of Faith. Going against my fears. Things have changed on campus. I’m not a teenager anymore. In a classroom setting there is only one or two other moms other than me. It’s a been intimidating but also empowering.

I’ll I can think about is “I can do whatever I need to do through Christ who strengthens me.”

I’ve been here as a single student, engaged student, married and now a mom. There is an inside joke on campus that I will graduate one day with my kid and it might just become a reality. I’d love for my daughter to attend my graduation. When that day comes, I hope to be able to take her on stage with me.

I’ve never felt this urgency to finish college before.

 

 

 

 

Week 1: Eat to Live Program

ok so I started this week with the Six week Eat to Live Program. I did really well for the most part!! I’m actually impressed that I didn’t start emotional eating due to stress and new changes in my schedule. I did however eat some salsa and chips for lunch today so I’m going to make up for it by eating really light for the rest of the day.

Since we have a 3 day weekend, I must plan my eating the next 3 days carefully so I don’t blow it. I can’t make excuses because there just is NEVER the perfect time. It’s always someone’s event, birthday or labor day. So I have to stay focused. Keep my eyes on what’s head and the goal.

 

1st Week of Back to College

Wow! Things have changed. It’s been two years since I’ve been in a class room sitting and this week I went back to college as a senior, as a married woman and a mom with 36,000 students on campus and during a time of major budget cuts, decrease in classes and professors and almost no advisors on campus.

I pretty much had to do my planning for the next two semesters.

I walked around campus more this week as a student than I did as an employee here for the last year. I had forgotten how much paper work is required and how much I gotta HUSTLE.

So far I’m enrolled in 2 classes. One of which is ONLINE. I love online classes. I do really well independelty.

I got my chair advisor to sign my graduation form and now I need the Grad evaluator to sign off on it before garduation date becomes offical.

Eat to Live: 6 Week Program

I’ve been struggling with dropping down the last 20-30lbs pounds of post baby weight, for a year already! I hate the way I feel and look. I know I don’t look my best and it bothers me so much and I know the only person responsible to change that is me.

I’ve made up my mind to commit to 6 week program of salad being my main dish as mentioned in Eat to Live book by Dr Fuhrman.

Eat to Live 6-Week Plan

From the book Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want):

• all raw vegetables, including raw carrots (goal: 1 lb. daily)
• cooked green vegetables (goal 1 lb. daily)
• beans, legumes, bean sprouts, or *tofu (minimum 1 cup daily in total of these)
• fresh fruit (at least 4 daily).
• eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomato and other non-starchy vegetables, cooked and raw (unlimited)

*Beans should be eaten daily; tofu should be eaten less frequently.

LIMITED (not more than one serving):

• cooked starchy vegetables OR whole grains–Maximum 1 cup per day (butternut or acorn squash, corn, sweet potato, brown rice, cooked carrots, whole grain breads*, whole grain cereals*)
• raw nuts and seeds (1 oz. or 28.5 grams a day) or 2 ounces avocado
• ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon a day)
• soymilk, low-sugar preferred–Maximum 1 cup a day

*avoid breads and cereals as much as possible

OFF-LIMITS:

• dairy products
• animal products
• between meal snacks
• fruit juice, dried fruits
• salt, sugar

NUTS and RAW SEEDS, but not ground flax, are optional for obese or overweight persons while they follow this weight loss plan.  People who have difficulty losing weight may also eliminate the starchy vegetable/grain.

This has worked wonders for me in the past. After my wedding, my hubby and I stuck witht his program and lost 30lbs in one year.

My goal is to lose the excess weight by the end of December.

I will be blogging about my journey!

My 6 week ends: SUNDAY OCTOBER 7TH. I’ll share how much weight i’ve lost.

Wish me luck!

 

xoxo El

 

 

 

Back to School

Oops, I did it again! I’ve lost count how many times I’ve taken a semester off here and there and returned back to school one more time! I did it again. I officially took a break during pregnancy, almost two years ago. Today was my first time in class since then!

When I started college at 18, I was the newly freshman looking around and noticing a few moms here and there & wondering how they managed school with full-time jobs and family responsibility. Well, I’m about to find out.

I’ve pretty much done my life the other way around, and complete opposite of what our society considers the “norm.” It’s worked out pretty good for me. Now that I have my MRS and MOM degree, just maybe, I can FINALLY get my BA.

Say a little prayer for me to stay focused and on course to reach the prize!

xoxo

El

 

Since last August

A few blogs ago, when I was making my birthday wish list, I said we will come back to relfect on my last year since my birthday.

Well last year in August, I was determined to lose all the baby weight by Dec 2011 but I haven’t. I still have 40lbs to go. So my goal is to lose it by this Dec 2012.

Last year for my birthday hubby and i went to vegas for 3 days and this year we plan on going to san diego for one night. Emma was only 3 months old when we left her with mom, so I was having panic attacks being away from her that long.

I’ve grown a lot since last year. I’ve transitioned into motherhood. It took me awhile.

It’s been almost a year since I’ve been back to work since my maternity leave.

I’ve enrolled in 2 classes for the fall.

I signed up at the gym and have being going 3 x a week.

I’ve rekindled some old friendships.

I’m in a better place, mentally, emotionally.

I’ve learned I can be tough when I need to be

I have experienced some biblical truths that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I was having really bad self-image cuz of my weight gain, but I’ve learned to accept it at any size and work on toward my goal.

I’ve been getting a lot more sleep since Emma is older.

I’m enjoying play time with my baby more than anything.

i love family time.

We started going to church as a family once Emma turned 6 months – we enrolled her in our Church’s nursery.

My goals for my next birthday would be:

Have lost all the weight, and look/feel better than ever.

Finished/or close to finish my degree.

Go out-of-town with the entire family

🙂

El

Early Birthday Gifts

I’ve been getting gifts and it’s not even my birthday yet! Love it how every year a week in advance my birthday extravaganza starts. A dear friend of mine surprised purchased tix for me to go see Angry Conversations with God by Susan Isaacs in September and when I got home from work yesterday, hubby couldn’t wait to give one of my gifts. He bought me Nike shoes. Pink on Black. So cute!

Now, I really need to lose the extra weight 🙂

 

 

Dad’s Birthday Dinner

Yesterday we celebrated dad’s birthday at Karl’s Strauss Brewing Restaurant at CityWalk. I love family outings. It was our first time at the restaurant and we had a really good experience. It was nice that we went on  Monday night, there wasn’t any wait so we were seated right away. Loved how as soon as you enter there is a sign that says  “Make beer Not War.”

 

 

 

 

Little Brother

Seven years ago today, my mommy gave birth to my little brother. My birthday is on August 26th, so 5 days before my 22nd birthday, I got a little brother to love. Our lives changed. My mom was 43, and dad 47 years  old at the time, I was almost 22 and my sister was almost 20. The gap was obious. The pregnancy was a surprise. Mom thought her menstrual cycle had stopped becasue she was going through menopause. Prior to her taking the pregnancy test, a few days before, I had a dream that she had a son but I thought that would be impossible at this age and also the doctor’s had told her 7 years before all of this, that she probably would never be able to get pregnant again.

For my parents, my brother was like living a 2nd lifetime, all over again. My dad was the only one from his 3 siblings to have two girls, the rest had one girl and one boy. He was also proud of us but deep inside he probably wished he also had a son but he had given up on that dream because of their age. Well, God had other plans. Gregie’s surprise reminds me of the verse “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart,” and Nothing is impossible with God.

I must agree, it was a tough transition for all of us. It was exciting to see my mom going through pregnancy. I was only 1 and a few months when she was pregnant with my sister so I could never remember that, but now I had been given a chance to see it all and have a deeper appreciation and respect for my mom. She gave a natural, no epideral birth with three pushes.

When the 4 of us came home from the hospital it was like, Ok, now what?

Our lives changed. We had to be there for mom.

We had some hard times but 7 years later, today, Gregie has brought so much joy into our lives. My daddy is a proud papa of a son, not that he wasn’t before 😉 He treated us all like royalties.

A year ago, I gave birth to my daughter, and Gregie became a young uncle at the age of 6. Today, he insists that Emma calls him Uncle Greg and it’s the cutest thing to see them playing together.

Such are the miracles of God,

My baby girl Emma and my brother Gregie

El

Adventure Day

I’m slowly starting to understand God’s love and grace. Not with mere head knowledge but I’m getting it in my heart in my spirit. Saturday night we visited my second cousins and I couldn’t believe how happy she seemed and free. No rules, laws to follow just the freedom in Christ.

We talked about our culture and how not only as an Armenian we have many traditions forced down our throat, some with no meaning and some out of obligation, and talked about our churches and the motions of Christianity. Jesus has gone missing in our lives because we are too busy trying to keep traditions, and please everyone.

It isn’t until we get the concept of grace and the amazing love of God, that then we are truly free and are able to enjoy life just as God intended for us. Free of guilt and condemnation.

I remember growing up, i was raised in a way that if you weren’t working, you were wasting time. Fun was not an option nor was it encouraged. My husband comes from a different background. He was encouraged to have fun, play, hang out with friends and do things he enjoyed.

I am purposely trying to let my “work” down a little, to make room for fun.

I am purposely trying to get off my performance treadmill and just be.

We went to bed late Saturday night, and woke up late Sunday morning around 11:30am. We missed church but we had the best family day. My hubby played a song or two on his guitar, my sister came by for a short visit, we took Emma out to Topanga Canyon for play time, had amazing sushi lunch, stopped at my parents, hung out and swam in the pool with sister and her bf, lounged around doing nothing and finally got home around 10:00pm.

Hubby and I didn’t want the day to end. It was that kinda of day.

A lot of time we are presented a list to follow, things to do but once in a while, it’s good to do nothing except just to have fun.

xoxo

El