Meet Betsie!

Hi y'all!  I'm Betsie, the Crafty Diva of the group.  I'm the lucky wife to Wood Shop Guy and the mother of 5 ridiculous children ranging in age from 13 to 5.  We're a homeschooling family, always on the look out for the next cool thing to learn about.  Our family functions on two basic principles; Love your neighbor as yourself and why pay someone else to do something when you can google it and do it yourself.  We figure this pretty much covers everything.  I love to knit and sew and I'm learning to like crochet.  I'm constantly on the lookout for things to make my home beautiful and colorful.  I'm also chugging along a path to better health.

I have been struggling with my weight and appearance for the last 13 years.  I had my oldest child when I was just 18 and before he graced me with his presence, I was a slim 5'1" and 105 pounds.  After he was evicted from my body, I was still only 5'1" but now weighed in at 145 pounds.   It only got worse from there, folks.

 Me at 17, lovely.

Knowing absolutely nothing about proper nutrition, I ate a horrible SAD (Standard American Diet).  Boxed and canned food, soda all day long, chips, pizza, fast food, you name it.  And I ate a lot of it.  I was a young mother in a bad marriage and I was miserable and food made me feel better.

After about 2 years, RK1 (Ridiculous Kid #1) and I moved out on our own.  We still ate a SAD, and neither of us was better for that.  We then met Wood Shop Guy and RK2 and that's when our lives all began to change.  After Wood Shop Guy and I got married, we very quickly moved to a new state and almost simultaneously got pregnant with RK3.

While pregnant, we started to attend Bradley Natural Childbirth classes and that was our first introduction to a whole foods diet.  That was the first time either of us realized that food does not actually come from boxes and cans.  It comes from the ground, people.  I know.  Weird.  Although we had this introduction, it took us a very long time to make changes.  We both were accustomed to white Wonder bread, Cap'n Crunch and Jiff peanut butter, and so were our kids.  The shift has been painful every step of the way, especially for Wood Shop Guy.

But, I have persevered and we are eating way better than we used to.  We thought we were happy where we were.  Surely there were no changes left to make.  Right?  Right??? RIGHT???  Crap.

A few weeks ago, I went with the lovely ladies you have met in the last few days and saw the documentary Forks Over Knives.  I sat through the entire movie, mesmerized and occasionally muttering swear words and shaking my head.  I knew 20 minutes in that I was sunk and my family was going to hate me.  We had to make the most drastic change of all.  We had to switch to a whole foods plant based diet (hereafter referred to as WFPB).  I won't give it all away now, but let's just suffice it to say my kids are still demanding cheese and I'm pretty sure Wood Shop Guy cheats.

 Wood Shop Guy and I about 3 years ago.  Still applies...

But, just 3 weeks into my diet change and I'm feeling much better, my knees and hips don't hurt and I've lost 10 pounds.  I've started running and exercising on a daily basis.  I'm feeling very pleased with the success I've had so far and am looking forward to a whole new, better, healthier me in just a few months.  I'm Changing 4 the Better!