Sunday, April 7, 2013

I have an announcement to make!

I am a slacker.

Slacker slacker slacker.

I need to just stand up and admit it.  No excuses, like my ever-growing clientele and busy massage schedule.  Or my husband's 10-12 hour night shifts 6+ nights a week schedule, leaving me to single-motherhood (after being spoiled by his 2-month lay-off...).  Or my toddler ('nuff said).  Or the fact that we're going to break ground on a new house at the end of this month/early next month (eeee!!).  Or the fact that I'm about to embark on teaching cooking classes...

No excuses, I should have time to blog!!

I love blogging.  I love this little corner of cyberspace that I've created.  I love reaching out, sharing my knowledge or insight with people and helping them with making natural lifestyle choices.  I love learning more myself so I have more to share!  So I really do miss blogging when real life gets in the way.

Wait a minute, back up, did I say I was going to teach cooking classes??

I did say that!

It's ironic, if you ask me - Joyce Carnahan, my high school Foods teacher (for like, the whole whopping semester I took Foods...) asked me to guest-teach at some of her classes.  She and her husband have done a HUGE overhaul on their building on main street (as I'm sure you fellow Red Budians have noticed) and once it's completely finished she'll be teaching classes on all the many things she's skilled in, cooking being one of them.  Groups of six to twelve people can spend an evening learning new recipes and having a great time with friends - an excellent alternative to just hanging out at a bar, don'tcha think?  I love this idea, I'm excited for it!  We got to talking about how I've done an overhaul on my diet and the benefits I've been reaping from it, and how great it would be to help encourage others to eat healthier as well, which is how we came to the conclusion that I would help teach classes on healthy cooking!  The ironic part I was getting to earlier - I was definitely not a star student in Foods class... Mrs. Carnahan disagreed, but my memories are all of taking FOREVER to finish my baked goods and holding up a spot for the next class, being late for MY next class because of it, and the stress that surrounded that.  Ugh.  I decided I hated cooking and it was just not for me.  And then about three or four years later I got my first apartment and, well, had to figure out how to cook.  Then Justin came into my life a few years later, we bought a house (with a kitchen!) and I had two people to cook for.  And I did.  And I wasn't too shabby, contrary to my former belief.  Horray!  Aaaand with that came a few extra pounds.  To put it mildly.  And then a kid and a way too many more pounds.  But along with that kid came a new-found desire to eat healthier.  I had to give this kid a healthy start to life, after all!  And thus sparked my research on bad vs. good carbohydrates, and how to replace them with healthy alternatives so I didn't feel deprived.  A year later and 40 pounds lighter (that's me alone!), here we are today, our pantry completely void of grain flour, bread, pasta, sugar, and all those other boogers that used to be staples in our diets, and I am one happy momma.  Woo hoo!

What a journey it's been!  I've loved the feedback I've gotten about this blog, too - it's been VERY rewarding.  So, disregarding my history with Foods class in high school, I am so excited to do these classes.  And I'm glad Mrs. Carnahan's memories of me as a student are apparently way better than my own!  Thank goodness I don't have a fear of public speaking - I just hope I can portray my message and information to everyone effectively...  I have time to prepare though!

Our first class will be held on Friday, June 14th, from 7-8pm.  The fee per person is $25, and the class will be an informational gathering covering healthy eating habits, disease prevention and weight loss, feeling better overall, and overcoming the intimidation to make the change in your own life!  You'll get to sample foods that are normally high in bad carbs and sugars, like pancakes and cookies, but are instead made with healthier alternatives, and you'll get to take home recipes for the foods you sample.  Win!

In future classes we plan to extend them beyond one hour and get you involved - YOU'LL get to cook the foods and learn how to take these skills home with you, learn how to incorporate healthy eating habits into an on-the-go lifestyle, and reduce your intimidation even more!  Trust me, if this former carb-a-holic can say today that I really don't miss pasta, you can too.  Just send me a message or give me a call to sign up for a class and learn how!

Ah I'm so excited... Ever since this blog started taking off I've had this strong desire to help people improve their lifestyles in ways beyond just giving them something to read here, and it seems as though the Universe is providing me with an opportunity already.  Thank you, thank you!

So I'll see you on Friday, June 14th, right??  :)  In the meantime, I'm going to quit making excuses for why I don't blog as often as I'd like to.  Those of you who are working sorta-single moms who are getting ready to build a house and move should understand why I'm rarely here, right??  Seriously, though, I'm going to try to come back here more.  I miss it.  And I've got things to share!

Hope you've all been enjoying your weekend so far, and I'll talk to you soon!

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