New Foods, New Things, New Year!

So I just went back and looked at my blog post from last year at this time, and here are what my 2010 goals were: 

Spiritual: Family devotionals every week night. Superman usually does a "quiet time" with the kids every couple days, but I'd like to see that more consistent. Right now the kids are assigned days to pray at meals (Monday is Mr. C, Tuesday is J-Man, etc), so on their days they'll also pick what Bible story we are going to focus on in the evening.

Physical: Finish running a 5K in under 27 minutes, and finish a 10K in under 55 minutes.

Life in general: Start writing letters again. I mean, e-mail is great and all, but there's something exhilarating about getting an unexpected note in the mail. My goal is to send out 2 letters per month.

I'm happy to say that I actually {pretty much} met my goals! Although we didn't do devotions every night, we have done them pretty much every weekday morning during the school year.  I didn't run an actual 5K race in under 27 minutes, but I did do 5K on the treadmill in that time! And, I didn't quite meet the 2 letters per month quota, but I would say I averaged about one per month. Pretty good, I think. 

These past few months have been exciting around our house. Superman has been working his little tail off to get things done on the farm--cutting up downed trees and brush, clearing MUCH unwanted shrubbery, putting up fences and building a pig pen for our 2 new pigs, Tasty and Yummy: 

I have 30 chickens coming at the end of January (sooooo needed since we go through more than 75 eggs a week in our house!), and as part of my Christmas gift, Superman is going to get my coop up-and-running for all my little sweet chicks. We're hoping to get a few cows, pygmy goats and sheep in 2011.

We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, and really enjoyed the family time over the breaks. I have to say, it's pretty much the best having a teacher as a husband. He's home with us 1/2 the year! The kids don't yet realize just how blessed they are. 

So after my discouraged post awhile back about Superman's dietary restrictions, I was referred by a friend to the book "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf. It talks all about the decline in health of our nation and promotes eating a "Pre-agrarian" diet (I really don't like using that word...I prefer "lifestyle" or something similar) of meats, fruits, nuts, seeds, and veggies. I decided since Superman already pretty much had to eat that way, I would attempt it and see how I felt. I had already cut out dairy for a month and was feeling quite a big improvement in my joint pain in the mornings, and figured I had nothing to lose. So, I completely re-vamped our eating habits, and I cannot believe what a huge change it has made in my life! It's been two months now, and my joint pain is virtually gone. I am much more even-keeled, rarely getting the dreaded "afternoon slump." I feel more energetic, clear-headed and just physically younger than I have in, well, frankly, as far back as I can remember. And on a side note for the ladies (if you're of the male sex, you may want to skip to the next paragraph...), my cycles are regular for the first time in at least 12 years! 

So, I have no desire to go back to my "old way" of eating. I decided to splurge on Christmas and went ahead and indulged in a few rolls and some pasta. Boy oh boy did I feel it the next morning! I woke up as stiff as I had been just a few months back. That in itself was encouragement enough for me to continue on. I rarely miss the old foods, as I've come across so many great blogs with yummy recipes. Our kids are all healthier, Superman is feeling great, and I feel better than I have since pre-adolescence. I highly recommend trying this if you have physical ailments you can't seem to shake! I truly don't feel it's a "diet," more of a way of life. I just don't have the desire to put my body through that physical stress if I don't need to. 

Well, this post is getting a bit long. I suppose I should break for now. I hope to update in the next few days with my goals for 2011...but don't hold your breath. I think I said I was going to try to update regularly on my last post, and that was over two months ago. Sorry!