For a while now, I have been thinking about all of the things Alex has had to sacrifice in order to pursue his dream, comforts that I know I take advantage of every day without giving them a single thought, so I decided I wanted to pursue for a week my own little personal boot camp and taste just a little bit of what my husband is going through. I made a list of things that are not only time wasters for me, but also things that I have come to maybe depend upon a little too much and decided to eliminate them. I decided no T.V., no internet, no radio, no sugar ( I made the exception of coffee) I also wanted to wake up at 5:00 am every morning and start the day with exercise (or PT in military terms) Those of you who know me well, know that I DO NOT exercise in front of anyone and am horrible in this area. I don't even like the feeling after I work out that most people claim they get a "high" from. Gross. I know, I'm horrible.
The week I chose for this adventure, turned out to be the week everyone at work got sick, and I ended up working 47 hours at the coffee shop, so it did not go like I planned, but I have learned for the next time I embark on this project again ( which I am planning to do again before WOCS is over for Alex) I succeeded in eliminating internet and television.
For the first 3 days I did not listen to any music, however, I gave in after working the afternoon shifts alone (besides the few customers that stopped by the coffee shop) and listened only while I worked. Instead of internet and television, I had the time to grow spiritually and prayed, read my Bible and other awesome books. Here is a list of the books I have read the last couple of weeks, and I reccommend every single one:
Wrestling Prayer by Eric and Leslie Ludy. I have read this before, and then my friend and I decided to read it together! Alex and I are planning to read it on our road trip together to Alabama.
Rees Howells, Intercessor by Norman Grubb. An incredible biography about an amazing man. I did not know or understand what intercessory prayer was until I read his life story, incredible!
Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom. I think one of the most moving stories about forgiveness I have ever read.
The Pastor's Wife by Sabina Wumbrand. A real life love story that is even better than "The Notebook." Sabina's husband was imprisoned for many, many years, (I think something like 20) and Sabina herself was imprisoned for 5 years in Communist Russia after WW2 and into the 1960's. They were tortured and brain washed, and still kept their faith in God. Truly inspiring.
Sons of Encouragement and Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. These stories bring the Old Testament to life. Francine Rivers is my very favorite author. I always finish her books within a couple of days!
This week Ginny and I are also starting to read "The Brave Hearted Gospel" by Eric Ludy. We get together every Friday and always have a great time!
I regret to say that I did not get up at 5:00 am every day, but did get up at 7:00 am and did not exercise but once. Saturday I broke my no sugar rule (except in coffee) to eat a delicious berry cobbler and home made ice cream made by Aurora. All in all I was really happy I tried this experiment, and next time I know what will help me better succeed! I know it is not really comparable to what real boot camp is like, and I am not nearly as disciplined as I needed to be, but it was a good experience none the less! I will do better this next time! I am also highly addicted to caffeine, working at a coffee shop with delectable FREE coffee all the days I work, I have noticed headaches that creep up on me when I don't get my fix, so I am going to try and SLOWLY cut back, and maybe by the time I start my next "boot camp" I will be able to go without it for a week, or at least not have the awful headache!
My recipe for this entry post is one I made when my brother and sister came over to my house about a month ago? They both love cake batter, and I am convinced the possibilities are never ending when it comes to recipes using the magical powder! Cake batter cupcakes, truffels, cakes, muddy buddies, brownies, ice cream, rice krispy treats, mousse, cheesecake, etc! All too delicious and scrumptious to be true! I made them cake batter muddy buddies:) They LOVED them!
Chex Funfetti Cake Batter Buddies
Adapted from: So Very Blessed
Ingredients:
5 cups Chex cereal (I used Rice Chex, but Corn Chex would work great!)
10 oz (5 squares) vanilla flavored Almond Bark
1 1/2 cups Funfetti cake mix (any kind of cake mix would work)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vegetable shortening
Directions:
1. Melt Almond Bark according to the package directions, adding vegetable shortening to thin (I heard that you can make it without the shortening, but it worked great for me to use it).
2. Pour the cereal into a large bowl and drizzle the melted Almond Bark over the cereal. Mix gently with a large spoon or spatula.
3. Dump the cake mix and powdered sugar onto the cereal and mix gently with large spoon until all the cereal is evenly coated.
4. Enjoy!! It's so good! :)
Note: Instead of almond bark, I used white chocolate baking squares because I could not find almond bark. Almond bark is just a cheaper, more processed version of white chocolate;-)
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