Mr./Mrs. Know It All

Sometimes, I think I know everything.  Sometimes, I think I can do anything.

All of the time, I eventually realize how mistaken I am :-) I know I'm not the only one.  Someone out there knows what I mean!

Does that sound discouraging? Is that bad?  Most of the time, people would say yes, but let me propose something to you: we don't know everything and we can't do anything we want.  It's no grand revelation, but we need to start at this sobering beginning before we can realize what we are really made of.

First, we can't do everything we want. We eventually realize that we can't just do everything, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. I'm constantly telling Amy how I could never be a fighter, because its not in me. It really isn't in me :-) but I shouldn't just dismiss the possibility if I haven't given it a go.

This leads me to my second point: I do not know everything. Think of how many times you will say in a day "I know that I don't like __", or "I know I look terrible in __."

How do we really know if we don't try?!  We are all about trying here at Sift Happens.  You try something new. Maybe you'll fall and get scraped up. The real test, and what Amy and I want for all of you, is to be able to pick yourself up afterwards.  We need to believe in ourselves enough to want to try new things. Only then will we become secure enough to accept our failures gracefully.

So, with all of this talk about trying and being ok with failure, I guess I should pony up some secrets of my own :-)

I love cooking. I find great satisfaction in making something from scratch, with ingredients that I have the control over. So basically, I bake a lot. I'll try anything. So one day, I decided to tackle meringues. I figured, how hard can this be - I can make meringue! It's basically meringue in a cookie form. I did everything I was supposed to. I followed the recipe to a T. I burnt the heck out of those little cookies. If you enjoy the usually sweet and airy morsel of meringue, mine were flat, burnt, and so tragic looking. But initially, they looked good! They had potential :-) What's most important, is that I tried, and failed, but I will absolutely try again! Have a great weekend friends. --Rita

Let's Have a Journey Moment

Rita and I are all about being honest here. I'm not much for vulnerability, even though I'm a therapist by trade, but I want you to know that I am sharing this journey with you. It's frustrating and a lot of hard work, but it's incredibly worth it in the end. 

I took this photo February 10, 2012. I had started doing more back to back classes and following points to the T. I decided that I would take photos monthly to document the progress of this year. 

I've been working out a lot more. Doing back to back classes at HotBox everyday and taking the stairs at work , watching all my food intake, basically busting my tail to make 2012 the year I got healthy. I don't know what's come over me, but I'm taking advantage of this extra steam.

I took this photo this morning. I cannot tell much of a difference in frontal view, minus more definition in my waist. I can tell a big difference in the side view. All the ab work must be working. I’ve lost 9 total pounds. I’ve lost about 3 inches in my hips, 1 inch in my waist, and 2 inches in my chest. I can’t believe I can already tell a difference. 

Starting tomorrow, Terri (my best that I mentioned) and I are eating vegan for 21 days. That’s the detox I was talking about. I’m excited to get started. I bought all my groceries today, spent less on food this week than I normally do and all at Whole Foods. I’ll let you know how the first week goes. Honestly, I'm excited about it. I really want to be more conscious of my body and what I'm putting in it and also experiment a little bit more. I'll keep you updated. 

Until next time.  Have a great week!