Finally! Time for South Africa!

I can't even believe the time is here! We are going back to South Africa in just a few days now. The fun part of that is the "we" as it has always been "I." I had been 6 consecutive years from 2007-2012 and have not been back since 2012. That was the year we reapplied for our fiancé visa, and waited, and waited, and waited. Luba arrived here in late 2013. Due to the immigration process, expense of the trip, my health issue-turned-surgery in 2013-2014, and the wedding, we have not been able to plan a trip until now.

I love South Africa so much. I attribute much of who I am today to my trips to South Africa. I met my husband there and now have extended family there to further tie me to this beloved country.It's also special to me spiritually as it is where God spoke most profoundly in such a deep, true, and direct but healing way. It's in my soul on so many levels (even the wine part of my soul).  

We have been looking at locations of our guesthouse as well as stalking other favorite restaurants and places for months through Google Earth. One of us has been looking more often than the other....

As we pack for our first trip back as a married couple, it brings back so many memories of times we spent in Paarl and Cape Town as well as how hard it was to get here to where we are today. Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate the little things and the ability to cash in on all of those "one days." One day we will have a picnic on the beach. One day we will drive cross country. One day we can just sit in the same space and hold hands. One day we can just be together without thinking of the days left before I leave. One day I won't have to board that plane alone not knowing when we will see each other again. One day we will have "live" conversations and I won't rely on BBM (for the pre-iphone generation, that's blackberry messenger) or What's app to be my lifeline.

We actually just found the Blackberry in a suitcase that Luba used when he moved from South Africa to here. Due to costs, we mainly communicated via free messenger services and emails. Skype conversations were difficult due to limited internet access for him and opposite "sleep-awake" or "at work-at home" schedules between us.

We are so excited to see family & friends! I'm also a tad excited to wine taste as well.

But first, we pack....

We'll catch you from the road! We will have lots of pictures thanks to my early birthday present from Luba:

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes that fits so well as well as my favorite pictures from South Africa....

Love, 
Danielle

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place." 

-Miriam Adeney

Whole 30 in the books!

WE DID IT! 

We finished the Whole 30 although we are basically continuing it past the 30 day mark. We are trying to decide what we will continue to omit and what we will reintroduce back into our meals. What did we think overall? We loved it. We felt great. We felt lighter and less bloated. Heads were clearer. We didn't drag mid day. I learned how to cook more vegetables than I ever have. 

For me, it went way beyond the physical. Being able to think clearly while I forced myself to sit down, research recipes and meal plan was key. Going through the motions and being successful with doing what I had considered "hard" before was a catalyst for moving toward more hard things that I usually avoid that are not related to food. 

In the recent years, two areas of my life had grown out of control. Funny, huh, for someone who is very systematic and in control of so many things? My weight/nutrition/body care and finances went off the rails. Once it went so far off, I sort of "piecemealed" it back together here and there but felt so overwhelmed that I could not get a full grasp. I felt like within both of those areas, I lived by sticking a band-aid here and there on problem areas to get me by.

Whole 30 gave me stamina and momentum. I've already taken the past few months and started to really look at spending. I need to see where we actually spent. My budget that I made has been in the file box from the moment I completed it. Each month, I swear I'll use the envelope system (Dave Ramsey style) because it will FORCE me to be more conscientious. Each month goes by and I swear that I'll do it the next month. Another band-aid or two and another month goes by, and then another, and then another. Now we are looking at spending (what we actually spend) in order to modify the budget.

One of the culprits for money loss was harmless stops here and there for a coffee (and then a spontaneous pastry to go with it because it's 2pm and well.....- see this connection?) and dinners out because we had slacked in meal planning or I was tired from a later night at work.

Look at all these transactions:

So, all these numbers are debits for restaurants and coffee shops. Then I found a few more and added them to get these numbers:

WOAH! That's a lot more spending than I expected. I complained about not having money to get some things we needed without realizing where money was leaking from the account. Because most meals were not as memorable or special, I wish we had eat a sandwich at home and stuck that amount in savings! 

Then, I looked at how much I had spent since starting Whole 30. I had gone to a few restaurants with the majority being due to work-related reasons (therapy session was lunch, co-worker birthday lunch, lunch on the road between clients). Luba and I had only had 1 meal out together in the 30 day span. I haven't missed restaurants like I imagined I would. I didn't need all those coffees in the afternoons. It was a reminder of how needlessly we had been spending the money and how easy it is to let the budget go out of control!

Because we meal-planned, we had food left over for breakfast ( veggies thrown in or covered with eggs) and lunches. Dinners were automatically lunch the next day. We practiced more portion control. I made the lunches before we sat down to each the dinner to ensure we didn't eat "seconds" just because the food was there. 

Who knew a meal plan would change so much, and so much beyond eating habits and nutrition? It's also made me think of how much we think we need across a lot of categories or areas, and then how much we would actually miss it if it were gone? We hang on to so much that is not beneficial for us or good for us. 

If you are considering trying it, bet on yourself and do it. You can if you want to. "It's hard" is an excuse. "I can't live without ____" is an excuse or poor reason. Yes, you can live without wine, and cheese, and rice, and creamer, and all the other stuff you think you need. If you do, I'll send you my favorite recipes and I'll be your biggest cheerleader.

Eat well,

Danielle