Chopping, Friends, and Bracelets

CHOP AND TALK

I had my first Chop and Talk last night.  As most of you know, my calendar to sign up to help had some hiccups.  So I wasn't sure if anyone was coming.  I had 2 wonderful friends show up.  I actually wasn't as prepared as I should have been.  I should have had more vegetables.  But it is all a learning process.  I needed a time where I was forced to address this part of my arsenal.

My sister and I were talking about the severity of my diet and lifestyle change.  Why don't more people do it?  It wasn't hard for us to come up with reasons...

     - It is expensive! (The food itself isn't that much more expensive.  But the supplements are outrageous.  And the wheat grass is the worse culprit.)
     - It is time consuming. (Everything is cooked fresh.  You can't just pull something out of the pantry.  And I won't talk about the amount of dishes that are CONSTANTLY in my sink and on my counter.)
     - It is hard socially. (most get togethers revolve around food and drink.  I wouldn't mind bringing my food to a restaurant and eating) But think about that.  We meet friends at restaurants.  We go on dates to restaurants.  And let's not thinking about the drinks.  Oh, how I miss my beer.)
     - It is hard emotionally.  (I had a day where I was angry and tired and frustrate and just wanted some damn pizza and a dark beer.  I was very irritable, but I only allowed myself one day for that attitude.)
     - It is expensive.

I think what I am doing could benefit EVERYONE, but without an aggressive cancer to motivate, I don't see many people doing this without getting frustrated very quickly.  My hope, though, is that you read a post and it motivates you to make positive changes in their lives.  Every little will make a difference.

One of the reasons my sisters and I came up with the Chop and Talks is because with a 2 and 3-year-old, often it is hard for me to cook for myself.  A lot of times I conveniently forgot to eat because thinking about preparing yet another meal was daunting.  Now all my veggies are chopped and ready for me to grab and throw in a pot or a fresh salad.  It will help tremendously.  Thank you, my friends!

My beautiful Chop and Talk crew

 I have been slowly organizing my home to help with my new lifestyle.  I have so many wonderful friends coming in and out of my house.  Organization is key.  I am writing instructions down and putting them in a spiral notebook.  I have bins for the boys' clothes for my morning helpers.  My sister helped me organize my fridge.  As I have mentioned, I have OCD enough to be annoying, but not enough to go on drugs for it.  When I open my fridge, I smile.  It just makes me happy.

Bins from TJ Maxx

Isn't it a thing of beauty? 

MANTRA BANDS:  http://www.mantraband.com

One for the things in my backpack is positive thinking.  While pursuing Facebook, one of my friends had liked Mantra Bands.  I clicked on it and was very excited about what I saw.  Cute bracelets that have inspirational sayings on them.  I started looking at all the sayings and added the ones I liked to my cart.  When I was done, I had 10 bracelets in my cart!  Even though the price for each bracelet is great ($25 a piece), 10 of them was too many.  So I narrowed it down to 3.  Two other things I like about this company - made in the US and shipping is free.  Wanted to share because I think we all need reminders throughout the day.  They are thicker than I was expecting for that great price and I love how they sound when I move.

Enjoy the journey
Expect miracles
This too shall pass

I am sitting in chemo as I type this.  Feb 24 will be 3 months of chemo and when we will retest.  I am visualizing great results at the time.  We are half way there.