Wordless Wednesday: She Lost Her First Tooth

What I Hope My Daughters (And Myself) Learn From Shaklee 180

It's a bit different for me to share a letter to my girls within a Shaklee 180 blog post, yet I feel it is something they need to know and something I am currently learning through the Shaklee program.

Dear Girls,

Each day you notice mommy mixing up her Shaklee 180 drink and a part of me panics inside wondering if you know why I'm doing it. I worry that one day you will say, "Mom was always trying to lose weight".

I don't want you to remember me that way.

Thus, I haven't been telling you it's a weight loss thing. Instead, I'm telling you that it is something for mommy to review on her blog. You are well familiar with mommy's blog and know that sometimes I get products to review.

But the real truth is, it hasn't been a weight loss thing. At least not for me. For I haven't really lost anything. Sure a pound or two one day, only a few days later to hop on that scale and find that I gained it back. I haven't measured inches, and my clothes don't really feel that different.

But here is what I'm learning through Shaklee 180: That my worth isn't in a number on a scale!

Sometimes I stare at the three of you playing and it's hard for me to think that one day, you may not like the size of your body that God has given you. That you may hate those perfect pink lips, or blonde ringlet curled hair, or eyes so blue/green that they look like the ocean, or even your nose that scrunches up just perfectly when you smile. It's kind of hard and silly to imagine isn't it? That I look at you and see you as beautiful and always will no matter what you look like, just as my mom looks at me that same way today.

So this is what I'm learning through all of this: I am more beautiful than I think I am.

And so are you, precious teenage girl who believes she isn't skinny enough.
And so are you, 30 something mom with stretch marks scarring your once flat tummy.
And so are you, 60 year old Grandma whose body is truly no longer young.

And so are you, Zoelle, Meridian, and Xiomara. Wherever you may be. Whatever you have become. Whichever voices tell you otherwise.

You are more beautiful than you think you are!

So if I go through this whole Shaklee program and never lose a single pound or an inch, I will still find it a success because I have learned (and am still learning) that beauty isn't in a number or a size.

It's in my heart.

I feel stronger and more beautiful because of it. I hope that one day girls you can learn the same thing and look to your mom who was a shining example of beauty despite her weight, because beauty is on the inside of all of us.

Love,

Mama

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own.

 

People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

Wordless Wednesday: Precious Girl

More About Teal {Guest Post From My Husband}

I would like to introduce all of you readers to the newest member of our family; our new puppy, Lakewood’s Dazzling Indigo, call name Teal.  Teal is a Small Munsterlander Pointer or Kleiner Münsterländer, a breed that originated in and around Münster, Germany around 500 years ago.  They are a versatile hunting dog which share that distinction with other, more well-known, breeds such as the German Shorthaired Pointer and the Brittany Spaniel.  The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association defines versatility as "the dog that is bred and trained to dependably hunt and point game, to retrieve on both land and water, and to track wounded game on both land and water.”  They are a relatively new breed to the United States and, at this point, there are only around 2,000 Small Munsterlanders residing in the United States.

I am a very avid outdoorsman and have always wanted a hunting dog but didn’t want to get one until we moved out of town, as our small yard and city life was not dog friendly.  We finally moved out of town onto four acres about a year ago so the search began to find the right pup.  Our new property just happened to be all set up for dogs with two kennels and an underground “invisible” fence encompassing the entire property.

I did a lot of research before settling on the Small Munsterlander as my breed of choice.  Initially we put ourselves on a waiting list for a Stabyhoun; a rare breed from the Netherlands area.  After discussing the Stabyhoun with several breeders in the U.S. we ultimately decided to keep looking as this breed wasn’t likely to be as promising a hunter as we were hoping for.  Plan B ended up being the Drentse Patrijshond, which stands for Dutch Partridge Dog or Drent for short.  This breed required a very long wait as there are very few litters born in the U.S. each year and, at this point, we didn’t want to import a pup from overseas. 

Ultimately we ended up picking the Small Munsterlander as the dog for us.  This breed, while still quite rare, was going to be much easier to acquire because we happen to have two local breeders within a few miles of our home.  This also allowed us to visit the pups nearly every day during the seven-week wait to bring our little girl home.

We put our name on the waiting list last August and ended up getting second choice female.  The breeder we chose is very thorough and did his homework to pick an amazing pairing with his female and a stud from eastern Iowa who is the best, most decorated male Small Munsterlander in the United States.  His registered name is Max vom Schützenknapp, call name Max.  Our pup’s mother is beautiful and gentle and an amazing hunter herself.  Her registered name is Crabtree’s Daisy Belle, call name Daisy. 

So finally the litter was whelped on January 30, 2013, resulting in five males and four females.  We almost immediately narrowed our search down to two of the females but, of course, had to wait for the first pick to make her choice before we could make ours.  The first choice female, a lady from Texas, ended up picking one of the other two pups that weren’t on our “list” so we were still able to make our own decision on which pup was right for us.  We ended up picking a pup that the breeder called “Rusty” (due to her having a small rust colored spot on her back).  She was the pup we were more leaning toward the whole time as she was just so calm and content with our family.  We wanted a dog that would be good with our children and she really seemed to fit the bill.

We brought our little bundle of energy and needle teeth home on the evening of March 22 at seven weeks and two days old.  She fit perfectly into our family from the start and has been a joy to be around and play with. 

As of today she is just one day shy of eleven weeks old and is growing rapidly. I have been busy teaching basic obedience and getting Teal socialized at this critical time in her life.  She has shown amazing intelligence thus far in her training and catches on quickly.  Her natural tracking and retrieving abilities are very strong and getting better each day.  We currently have her going to “Doggy Daycare” two to three days a week in order to get her socialized well with other people, dogs, and even cats.  I have also been taking her to work quite often, where she has a chance to interact with the other people at the shop and just be constantly exposed to new things and experiences. 

I plan on running Teal in a North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) Natural Ability test in June, where pups are tested to a standard and awarded points and prizes depending on how well they do.  I am hoping for the best and can’t wait to see how Teal progresses in her training.  We will keep you updated!

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday: She Loves Choir

I'm so thankful for Zoelle's community choir class and also for her teacher, Mrs. Sonmor. Zoelle has really come out of her shell thanks to the encouragement she gets in choir. Coincidentally, her choir teacher first taught me to sing when I was just a little bit older than Zoelle. Later on, she gave Chris and I voice lessons in college. When thinking back on my own love of singing and choir, I often think of how encouraging Mrs. Sonmor was to me as a child. I see her offering that same encouragement to Zoelle which puts a smile on my face. Zoelle came up with this card all on her own because of her love for her teacher!

How To Easily Make A Shaklee 180 Shake In Less Than 5 Minutes

As a mom to three girls, my time is limited. On any given day I am trying to get the girls fed, myself fed, and the laundry started all at the same time. Thus, making a Shaklee 180 shake quickly became very important to me. It also was important to me that the shake be healthy, and used with ingredients that I have on hand. If you are curious about how to make a Shaklee shake that tastes good and in less than 5 minutes, check out the video below!

I'll be updating soon on my weight/inch loss so keep checking back. In the meantime, please keep cheering me on with encouraging words or stories of your own weight loss success!


This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own.

 

People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

Wordless Wednesday: Easter Edition