Onto the next chapter!

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was ready and able to finally take the next steps toward changing my life for the better, and I had put in my notice at work. I made up my mind to do this after sharing my plans, dreams and feelings with a friend who not only supported me but encouraged me to stop listening to the voices in my head telling me I couldn't or I shouldn't and go after my passion.To be able to share my thoughts out loud without judgement and actually get support that what I'm thinking and wishing could be true meant the world to me. Not that you should need validation from anyone else, but it was just what I needed to give me the boost to take that first step.

Well, my notice expired at the end of last week, the day before my birthday to be exact, (what great timing right?!) and today marks day 3 of my next chapter in life. I gotta tell ya, it doesn't feel as strange as I thought it would not going in to work every morning. I thought I would get bored real quick but boy was I wrong. It's been quite the opposite so far actually...I have more than enough to fill the days and keep me busy. I even feel like I could use more time in the days still!! But alas, it's only been a few days. Things could change, we shall see. :)

So, what do I plan to do on this hiatus from work, you're probably wondering? Well I'm glad you asked. I've got many things in the works--and many I am willing to bet I have yet to discover--but first and foremost, I'll be taking time to make my health and happiness my highest priority. What does that mean exactly? For me that involves taking time to myself, to destress, to listen to what my mind and body needs to feel and do my best, and to explore my interests and passions.

As part of that, I have decided to go on a holistic journey to determine what's causing physical ailments I have and what I need to do to heal. By seeing a holistic doctor and running several tests, I've determined this 'healthy-looking' lady has actually quite a bit ailing her inside. Besides the clear signs and symptoms of GERD/acid reflux, it turns out I have inflammation in my intestines, candida (an overproduction of the candida fungus in the intestinal tract, that's supposed to aid with the absorption and digestion of nutrients when in proper levels) and my pancreas and liver aren't functioning optimally. I'm also deficient in some crucial vitamins/minerals. Yikes!
All of this equates to the following symptoms: poor digestion, fatigue, mood swings, a weak immune system, yeast infections, depression/anxiety--just to name a few. Can anyone relate? None of those are fun to deal with on a regular basis--let me tell you! Therefore, over the past few weeks I've been eliminating food groups that have caused some of these issues or added irritable fuel to the fire already there. As I mentioned in a previous post, that meant removing gluten and processed foods right out of the gate. Since then I've added to the elimination, and am avoiding soy, tomatoes, peanuts, egg, dairy, shellfish and CORN--which is a biggie. No more tortilla chips for me. And now that my birthday and celebrations have come to an end, I'll have to remove alcohol for awhile too. Wah- wah. There is no doubt this is going to be a huge challenge, but I knew that when I signed on. Nobody said it would be easy, but will it be worth it? 100%.

From time to time I may provide updates on how that's going, especially if its really making an impact in my health and happiness. I'm hoping to share some recipes I stumble upon that turn out to be amazing and delicious--with being lean, clean and green as an added bonus! See below for a kale salad I came up with for lunch today and a recipe for raw chocolate fudge balls (delicious). I may also share some recipes that were total fails. There was this one time I tried to make spaghetti squash pasta and it didn't turn out so well--you can ask my husband about that one. He won't let me live it down any time I talk about trying something with spaghetti squash again. There may also be times I stumble, cheat, screw up or want to give up, because it's hard or I feel like I'm starving and all I want to do is take a bite of that homemade ice cream cookie sandwich that's hanging out in our freezer right now. But through it all, I promise to be always be transparent. Because let's face it, I am human and I don't want to take life THAT seriously. I am bound to slip-up or make a mistake. And when I do I'll acknowledge it, refocus and move forward! An attitude I'd urge anyone to have.

The other part of that journey to pursue my passion involves writing more (blogging in this case) and searching for work that ties into that or whatever else intrigues me. I want to find work, preferably paid work, that brings me fulfillment and is good for my soul. It'd be awesome to find an opportunity or cause that could become my passion project. I've got a couple ideas, but that part is definitely a work in progress too, as is much of my life! :) I'm going to give myself some more time to marinate on that.

Here's what my lunch looked like today...A kale/spinach/cucumber/beet/roasted sweet potato/carrot salad with balsamic vinegar! After taking this photo I chopped it into small pieces/bites!

And for chocolate lovers looking for dessert...a look at how my raw chocolate fudge balls came out looking with this recipe. These things are mighty tasty I must say for being gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, oil-free!

If you know of any yummy clean eating recipes that are easy to make feel free to share them! I'm always looking for the next thing to try out.