a year of change

How many of you get words for the year? I love being able to look back on the year and see just how the word I got seemed to fit. God is good like that. The word for me this year is CHANGE. It’s scary and good all at the same time. I feel like I’ve only done a few things, but man, they have made SUCH a difference. Here’s where change is coming, or has already come, for me in 2015.

Food

January 1st I completely eliminated white flour and refined sugar. I thought I was going to shrivel up and waste away without eating bread and dessert, but you know what? It hasn’t been that bad. It’s actually forced me to find recipes that are gluten free and sugar free.

Since I had such a hard time managing stress last year, I started doing some research. Did you know that when you don’t handle stress well your adrenal glands go into overdrive and throw your body totally out of whack? One of the things that happens is that your body can’t process carbohydrates. I don’t know if my adrenal glands are overworked, but I do know that eliminating just these two things from my diet has helped me tremendously. I feel better. I have more energy. No complaints here.

Exercise

I won’t lie. I don’t like exercising. I never have. My kids laughed when I said I was going to buy workout clothes. They didn’t know what in the world I was going to do with them. Despite their teasing, I’ve felt challenged to be proactive about incorporating exercise into my routine. Jeremy and I joined a gym, and my goal has been to go at least three times a week. So far so good. I may not like exercise, but I like its effects. More energy, sleep better at night, and a little trimming of fat going on. What’s not to like about that? I’ve also noticed an incredible difference in my balance issues that I occasionally suffer from due to Meniere’s Disease. Seems like a win win all the way around.

Essential Oils

I’m not going to harp too much here, because I know these seem to be the current fad. (Don’t worry. I’m not a distributor, so I won’t be pushing them because of that.) I love the naturalness of essential oils and can’t believe the great results I get from them. I do an adrenal gland massage mixture at night…massage oil, nutmeg, clove, and rosemary. I also love how my kids turn to oils with an ailment rather than a chemical. Double yea! My two favorite lately have been Lemon and Peace & Calming. The Lemon oil recently turned my white tablecloths back to their original color after a Valentine’s Party that left them filthy, and Peace & Calming is helping me have an awesome night’s sleep, so helpful since Jeremy is currently out of town.

Reading

I used to be a reader, but I’ve become less and less of one as the years have gone by. The end of last year I looked at my bedside table to discover FOUR half read books! That is so not me. I finish a book cover-to-cover even if I don’t like it. My goal is to read at least one book a month. It’s good for my brain and it helps me slow down and sit and relax. Have you read any good books I should put on my reading list?

Those are the changes I’m currently making. It feels so good to be making steps toward change! What about you? Any changes for 2015?