Gratituesday: The Interns

This is my first semester having interns on board with me and I am kicking myself for not doing it earlier. Chelsea and Becker both have so much passion for their work - as most artists do. They are excited about working for me and get as excited about the successes of my business as I do! Plus they are uber-talented and we have a lot of interests in common. I love having them around! However, I wanted to take a minute and clear the air about a few things.

Chelsea, my PR intern, is my social media guru! She does a lot of clicking around (pinning on the business pinterest account (I do also have a personal account), following people on pinterest and twitter, and reviewing my stats), but she never says anything. Anything that has been posted, tweeted, retweeted, or shared - it all comes from me.

My fingers, my heart.

Everything on my blog? Written by me.

Yes, I have had my interns write blog posts - for the mere practice of doing so. Some of the blog posts are too good not to share - so I will share them in the future. But, don't worry, you will know when I post blogs written by someone else. And they will be few and far between.

Becker, my graphic design intern, has been working on graphic design projects behind the scenes. If her work is ever shared - you will know that it is her work.

I want to be as transparent as possible with you all.

Having interns on board has absolutely been worth my time and effort and I hope working with me has been a great experience so far for each of them. We still have months left of our time together, but I am already so grateful for their contributions to this business!

So this week... I am so, so happy to have interns on my team! They are helping me in more ways than they know!

30 Day Paleo Challenge | #30daysofpaleo

Alright, friends. I think I have figured out a way to share this journey with you and really only share it with those of you who care. :) I set up a category in my wordpress back end for the challenge and this category (30 day paleo challenge) will not be showing up on my homepage or in any of my RSS feeds. If you would like to follow along with this challenge, you can do so by using this link. I also added a fun Paleo Challenge button in my sidebar so you can hop over to my site and click through to see what's going on.

Okay, so, this is going to be harder thanI thought. See, I own the book Practical Paleo... which is kind of the bible of Paleo eating. And IN the book the diet allows fruit and sweeteners (natural sugars like maple syrup, honey and dates). So I figured... I can do this. It'll be tough, but I know I can do anything for 30 days. And at least I've got my escape of warm, sweet tea. Yummm. I am excited, I want to learn to listen to my body and understand why it does/feels the things it experiences. Yeah! Let's do this!

And then... you guys... I got the email about the challenge on Tuesday night. Here is a brief overview:

How to Earn Points during Days 1-7:

• 1 point for each meal you eat clean (NO: sugar- including honey or maple syrup, grains, gluten, legumes, dairy, or alcohol). Refer to page 10 of the resource guide. Each meal must have a protein, veggie, & fat. (You can’t eat just sweet potatoes for breakfast (What! This is nuts!!)). Also no fruit for the first week. (Are you KIDDING ME?!!!)
• ONGOING BONUS: add 5 points for each super food you eat (organ meat, homemade bone broth – not boxed or canned, sea vegetables - dulse, kelp, seaweed) There are a few more super foods, but we will add them in the coming weeks. (How about I don't eat any clean meals but I just add a super food to each day of the challenge?? That's like... more points than just eating clean meals!)
• Weekly challenge- track your water intake. 1 point per day that you get 64 oz of water (not including water consumed at the box)
• On the 14^th day (Valentine’s Day) – Dark chocolate will be allowed without penalty.  Must be 80% or higher.
• Fruit will be added back the 2^nd week (post wod only).

When I read that right there about no FRUIT for the first week... I wanted to quit then and there. I can't do this. I don't WANT to do this. You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me. And then... oh, look! It comes back the second week! But only after I have completed the Workout of the Day (WOD). 

And I mean... that kind of puts a major damper on my 30 Days of Juice challenge I'm in the middle of. What did I even get myself into here?! Imagine me right now... kicking and screaming and throwing a fit. (If only Sunday could see me.) I wish I had never even mentioned the challenge on my blog. Because now I have to do it. And I really don't want to. But... I really do want to. I want to break my addiction to sugar. I want to learn to eat three meals a day without snacking between them. I want to learn to love clean, rich foods. Foods that are so good for my body. Yes it's going to be hard... but it's going to be amazing. And... well... I am really looking forward to the results in my after pictures. Maybe, if they are good enough, I'll share the pictures with you guys, too.

So - the challenge kicks off tomorrow. I'll be sharing exactly what I am eating and how I am feeling over here. Feel free to follow along. I could use any and every bit of encouragement, even if it's just click throughs to the blog posts. :)

Discovery | #lifewithsunday

In the past week two people I know have been diagnosed with cancer. Two healthy, strong, living-life-to-the-fullest people. In the past six months that number adds up to like, 6. Ugh... that's a lot. Cancer is a mean beast. And I pretty much hate it. So what do I do?

I turn my eyes to my daughter. Yesterday, we went to the park to celebrate the gorgeous weather. I watched her explore, discover and observe. I wanted to just be that mom holding her hand as she went down the slide and introducing her to new things… but I was so inspired by her I kept picking up my camera and pulling out my phone to snap pictures and take videos. The look on her face… the awe and wonder. It is just beautiful. I love it. I love her… I love the experiences I gain by watching her grow.

Sunday, baby... your favorite thing in the entire world (aside from nursing) is being outside and people watching. Doing both at the same time is heaven for you. I was almost brought to tears yesterday watching you discover people, colors, patterns, textures... personalities and interactions. It is the most touching thing, watching you learn. It brings me so much joy. Joy, despite the hard things swirling around us right now. You are this little light of mine. xoxo. I will always love you. Love, Mama

I am grateful for distractions. For beauty amongst the pain. For joy interwoven into the reality of living in a fallen world.

5 random things for this Monday (okay, maybe 6. or 7.)

Oh, gosh! SO much to share! I don't know where to start so I'm going to dive right in.

1. Today is the first day of the 30 Days of Juice challenge. Will you join us? Just commit to having one glass of freshly juiced fruits and/or veggies once a day. No fasting, no dieting. Just add a glass of juice to your day. Snap a picture and use hashtag #30daysofjuice on Instagram and Twitter. I'll be sharing the yummy recipes I discover throughout the month over on Instagram, so if you're not following me and you are interested in yummy juice recipes, add me! @sincerelylizinc

2. Speaking of social media! Have you heard of Vine? It's like, 3 days old. But... it is SO FUN! It's like Instagram but for videos. I've already posted a few videos and I can quickly see it becoming my new favorite form of social media! Download the app and sign in... and then follow me! Liz Cook. :)

3. On a less social media note... my Crossfit Box is starting another Paleo challenge for the month of February. This time, I have signed up. I'm nervous... but feeling challenged and ready to accomplish a month of eating a strict paleo diet. I want to share the journey with you all, but I haven't figured out what that will look like exactly. Weekly blog posts with what I ate and how I felt? I don't know... would that get annoying? I'm exploring options... but this is definitely something I want to be completely open and honest about here so be prepared for some more foodie posts coming up!

4. Just in case you missed the last blog post, Sincerely, Liz: Photography has our First Annual Professional Headshot Mini Session day coming up this Saturday! There are a few slots left so if you (or someone you know!) need a new professional headshot, contact me soon.

5. Also, are you following us on Pinterest? Chelsea has been pinning away some really great resources full of wedding inspiration, paleo foods, activities to do with your young babes, and more! Come over and follow us!

Oh... and I've got a little something' something' in the works for Valentine's Day... :) I'll be announcing the details of that later this week, so check back in a few days!

Happy Monday! Speaking of Monday... did you all catch the news that Sunday finally named her sock monkey? Oh, you guys... this is awesome.

His name is Monday!

(There has been some skepticism and I figured I should put it out there that Tommy, in fact, named the Monkey. But I think it's awesome and Sunday will think anything we say/do is awesome for the next few years... so we are rolling with it. :))

seeing beauty again | #gratituesday

These dogs have been less than enjoyable for me over the past year (maybe two?). I have had little to no compassion for them, very short patience, and quiet honestly, I think they have felt the same way about me. If it wasn't for Tommy, they probably would have run away forever and ever. (Instead they would run off during the day and come home at night to hang out with him. Every single day, guys. Every day.)

We finally invested in an invisible fence and they have learned their boundaries. They have stopped ignoring my commands and what do you know... I happen to give them bones a lot more often than I used to, too! Things are looking up!

And they are pretty good with Sunday, too. Hawkeye can't lick her enough and Traveler just avoids her (which is much better than the other option of telling Sunday how she really feels).

This past week my intern, Chelsea, snapped this shot of Traveler and posted it to Instagram. As I scrolled through my IG feed, it suddenly took my breath away. I forgot... how adorable she is. How much she is very much alive and well... and needs love and attention, too.

So this week we reached out with a little more effort. We've had a lot of doggy cuddling time and extra bones have been given during the day. Our relationship is on the upswing again and I'm feeling really good about that.

I'm grateful for these pups. They are so good... obedient, patient, and loving. Far from inconvenient or a burden - truly. I have a hard time remembering that. I'm thankful for my new perspective this week.

Join us for Gratituesday at heavenly homemakers!