The Seven Foods I miss the most on the 24 day advocare challenge - the results surprised me!

We are on day 5 of our 24 day advocare challenge. The diet is basically fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, and yogurt. It is low carb (read no desserts!). The first 10 days are an herbal cleanse and the last 14 days are for burning fat. I thought I would really miss dessert and would be dying for chocolate.

I'm not.

Weird.

I've made a list of the foods that I miss the most:
7. Flavored coffee
6. Chocolate
5. Milk and cereal
4. Peanut butter
3. Bread
2. Pasta
1. Cheese

Yep that's right. I miss cheese. It is even above peanut butter. I've been really craving cheese over sweets.

So why are we doing this?

Our friends who did the challenge said they slept better and had more energy. One friend lost 21 inches and another guy only needs to put insulin in his diabetes pump once a day instead of 3 times a day from going on this challenge.  All in 24 days.

So with all those good results Erik and I decided to do it too.

The herbal cleanse involves drinking a fiber drink in the morning, taking herbal cleanse pills in the evening and probiotic pills in the morning. We also have this energy drink called spark with lots of vitamins in it. However I can't have a lot of caffeine, it keeps me up at night so I can only drink this first thing in the morning.  We aren't to the 14 day burn phase but once we get there I'll keep you posted on what it is all about.

We do feel really good on this challenge and are hoping to shed some pounds. I heard that each pound you lose shaves 2 seconds per mile off your running time. Erik wants to lose 30 lbs so he can be lightning fast. He already is getting much faster at running (much faster than me!). He has impressed me so much with his exercise routine and discipline.

I'm excited to see our results!

R & R

After the rally

On Saturday Jenna and I went to see Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan with Lynn, Lauren, and her sister Katie. Every person in the state (well just about) was jam packed in a very tiny area to listen to their speeches. Jenna had fun but was tired of standing since seating was apparently limited to only cool people (or people who got there early). There was also a great deal of alliteration in this event: Romney Ryan Rally.

This was my view after I stood on a fence to see better

 The night before the rally we went to the St. Joan of Arc festival. Here the kids had a blast! They rode several rides but their favorite was the ferris wheel. Matthew could even ride a few rides. All of the rides were spin-type rides which makes Erik queasy. So we all went to the festival without him.

Jenna and Sarah on the Ferris Wheel

 With the new school year we also started ballet. Sarah was excited to start her own ballet class. I couldn't find two ballet classes at the same time so I have to go twice to Columbus Dance Arts.

Sarah at ballet

My friend Jon built a Dalek (robot) by himself and took it to GenCon last week. I'm really impressed with the work and time he spent on it and it was a huge success at GenCon. He also joined Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss and Wil Wheaton in a True Dungeon experience. It sounds like GenCon was a blast!

79 points on Quiddler today.

Star confetti for second grade

Last night Jenna slept with a bag of star confetti under her bed to help her sleep before her first day of second grade in the morning. She was giddy with excitement. She couldn't eat her blueberry pancakes (her favorite by the way) because she was so excited.

I remember this. I loved school and got so excited for a new year to start.

Jenna and Lauren

 Jenna is in the same class as Lauren her bff. She even has a best friends necklace with Lauren. I'm so jealous! I've always wanted one of those necklaces. I told Erik I wished I could get a necklace like that and he said he is my bff and he wears a ring to prove it. Whatever....I want a necklace and I doubt he would wear the other half.

Jenna and Mrs. Tolford

 Her first day of school was great - this should be a fantastic year!

The last day of summer the girls and I took a trip with Lynn, Lauren, and Jacob to the Anthony Thomas chocolate factory to see one of their tours. This tour was great and the girls were glued to the glass watching in fascination as chocolate was squirted into little molds. At the end of the tour we earch received a free buckeye, then (of course) we bought chocolate to take home.

The BIG BUCKEYE at Anthony Thomas

Last weekend we went camping at the Dayton KOA. We had never been here but it was a fantastic campground. We will definitely plan more trips in the future. This campground had a cute train (like you would see in the mall) that the owner would drive around the park. The girls really loved the train ride. On Saturday night there was a spaghetti dinner and all campers could attend and bring a dessert to share. I brought sea salt caramel cookie bars. They were pretty amazing and Erik wants me to make them again. It was kind of like a dessert buffet and I ate way too much dessert (hey I have about 10 months until the next triathlon so I have time to get back in shape).

Sitting in a wagon at Carriage Hill Farm

 While at the Dayton KOA we went to the Carriage Hill Farm. This is an 1880s historic farm with animals, an old farmhouse, blacksmith, and a seamstress. The girls loved watching the seamstress sew a quilt. (probably because they watch Mommy sew quilts all the time....). Since Jenna loves Little House on the Praire books, this farm was perfect for her.

The train at Dayton KOA

My score in Quiddler was so wretched! 31 points :(

Crazy Zucchinis

How was your summer?  Crazy busy!  This is what I hear when I talk to acquaintances. Really? Do you want your life to be crazy busy? I don't.

I think we've had a wonderful relaxing summer. Next week Jenna starts second grade and we are living up every last minute of our summer! I spent some time with each girl individually. Jenna said she wanted to go for a walk with Mommy and talk and Sarah wanted a donut. So Jenna and I went on a 1 1/2 mile walk and Sarah and I hit Tim Hortons for cream filled donuts. When Matthew gets older I'll spend some time individually with him too.

The kids in the indoor playhouse

 We have a huge cardboard "house" in our living room now. They have been playing in it and coloring it. This play house is actually a huge hit. Our outside playhouse is also a big hit with all the kids. The girls have decided they are in the Olympics now after watching it constantly for the past two weeks.

The kids in the outdoor playhouse

 Our zucchini plants are pretty much going crazy. This zucchini I picked was so huge I made 4 loaves of zucchini bread, zucchini cakes, and zucchini cheesy rice out of just this one zucchini. We also have 4 more in the garden that are ready to pick. I'm sure my family is tired of zucchini.  I'm tired of the word zucchini. I wish it was named something easier to say and write like zuke or zini or skip the z altogether and call it an ini.

Our massive zucchini - the cherry tomato is provided as a size reference

Another update on our garden. Previously I posted that I thought our pumpkin was actually a watermelon. Well I left it on the vine and it has turned orange. Pumpkin orange! Apparently pumpkins start out looking like green watermelons. We have several pumpkins now (the rest are all green) and I'm excited about our pumpkin prospects!

Books I'm reading:

1. Our Coo* book club is reading the second Mistborn novel the Well of Ascension. I like this book however not as much as Mistborn. It is still a good read and I'm enjoying it.
2. I'm also reading Magician: Master by Raymond Feist. This book is much better than the first one and the plot and world building has become much more complex. I know this series is long so I'm looking forward to reading more of it.
3. I've started reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. This book puts into perspective our lives versus the greatness of God. There is a video Bible study that goes with the book and we are planning to do this for our small group starting in a month.

My Quiddler score was lame today. Only 74 points.

Chocolate weekend!

Tricia sent me a picture after the triathlon last Sunday. Since she and Erik finished before me, they were waiting for me to cross the finish line to take a picture. Since the triathlon, Erik and Tricia have been trash talking each other. He really wants to beat her next year. If my friend Lynn joins us next year we will have to up our trash talking - I don't know if we could beat her though.

Tricia, Erik, and me after the triathlon (literally I had just crossed the finish line and got my bottle of water!)

 Last weekend we went camping at Buckeye Lake for chocolate weekend. The Knupps and the Prices also joined us and stayed in cabins. Last year Jenna was hesitant to go in the chocolate slip and slide. She had no such qualms this year and got drenched in chocolate pudding. Erik's new theory is that he will lose 20 lbs and that will help him beat Tricia in the triathlon next year. So even though it was chocolate weekend he didn't eat any chocolate! I, however ate lots of chocolate!  I doubt I'll beat Tricia. Plus she brought a dozen cupcakes from this fancy downtown bakery. Of course I'm going to eat some!

Addie and Sarah in the camp chair

Jenna covered in chocolate pudding

The chocolate slip-n-slide

 Last week the kids had VBX at church. It is Vacation Bible Extreme. It was extreme! I was the leader for the 4-5 year olds. Sarah was in my group and she is on the end holding a huge boa constrictor. She had no fear!  The kids really loved the activities and the River radio station came and handed out goodie bags to the kids.

The yellow boa

77 points on Quiddler today and I got to make the word "pewter". Some days I feel like I need to burn pewter just to keep going (Mistborn reference - yipee!)