Ashleigh, weekends and posts...

Those three things don't really mesh, I'm afraid. The weekends race by, Monday comes along and I am in a blind stupor. Where did it all go? Why does my house look exactly the same way it did on Friday morning? oh yeah..here's why. ( refer to number 6!)

But seriously, the real excuse for leaving you guys hanging was the fact that we were far, far away from home. We left for Utah, a six hour drive..... for one day. (Yes, as a mater of fact I AM crazy, thank you very much.) But for Family, it was all worth it.

I got to see my nephew get baptized, hang out with The Man's sister and her family, who we never see, and just get a little mini vacation from my normal day -to-day life.

And I did not eat even one smidgen of sugar! Proud? You better be.

It was sheer power of will that kept me from diving head first into the massive pan of chocolate covered peanut butter bars they provided with the lunch after the baptism. CHOCOLATE COVERED PEANUT BUTTER BARS!!!!! Those two ingredients combined in anything and I am head over heels! Not only were there those, but they had a HUGE candy basket in the middle of the counter with all different kinds of scrumptious delights.( some from Germany!)

You guys, I wanted it soooooooo bad! And to top it all of, The Man sits down right next to me with his plate covered in sinfully delicious treats. I could smell it. I watched every move he made, my mouth drooling with imagined tastes, as he lifted his hands up and down, back and forth from the table to his mouth.

I now know what it feels like to be my dog, sitting there with big eyes under the table, staring at us, waiting hopefully for any shred of a morsel to perhaps find its way to the floor and subsequently, to his mouth.

Is this really what it is to be an addict? Will I be this way my whole life? Does it get better?

I pray that it does!

Anyway, I actually feel really good, aside from occasional intense cravings for something sweet. Those are promptly satisfied with a good helping of fruit..or a yummy smoothie. All in all things are going great! My headaches are dissipating, my energy levels are up, and I haven't been cranky for a couple of days. ( well, not as cranky as I used to be...)

I might Post my pre-sugar stats on the blog somewhere. You know, weight, size, symptoms etc. That way we can track the changes and see the difference. If anyone is wanting to do this with me, its a good idea to write all this down somewhere for your own personal use. ( you don't have to publicly humiliate yourself along with me!) ;-)

I also promise that this wont be the only thing I ever blog about. I have too much crazy crap in my life to not share it with total strangers! So for now, I must say goodbye. I am going to post the first reason sugar is harmful to your body in a separate post, so watch out and keep tuning in!

Im a drug addict.

Well my friends, it has officially begun. What, you ask?

My new life without SUGAR!

Yes, that right no more sweets for me. No more cookies, cakes, doughnuts, candy bars, .....chocolate * drool* or any other good- but- oh -so- bad for you confection ever made!

* GASP!* BUT WHY!!!

Well here is a list of ailments Ashleigh is currently suffering from due to her high volume of sugar intake:
1: Monster head aches..migraines if you will. I get them when I eat sugar, I get them when I don't.

2: Secret migraines. The ones that cause pressure in my head and eyes and all around everywhere up there, but have no pain. Weird huh? I can't focus or think when these are happening. Don't ask me..I'm just the recipient of the strange but annoying symptom.

3: Dizziness. Not the kind that happens when you stand up too fast..oh no..the kind that comes on when your standing completely still and then you almost fall over. Or your bending down to clip your daughter in her stroller and you do fall over. It sucks.

4: This awful stuff called acne. ( ew gross, I know!) You would think that at my age, having already gone through puberty, that this stuff would be receding. I have worse skin now than I did in high school. (Partially due to lack of sleep I'm sure, which I am also trying to remedy)

5: Fatigue and witchy-ness. I am tired. I am cranky. I have no patience. I am a B- word, a lot of the time. No matter how much sleep I get, I always wake up exhausted.

6: I have intense cravings for Chocolate. Not candy, not cake not sweet stuff like that. Chocolate specifically. My body whispers, " Wouldn't a nice, huge bag of pnt butter M&M's taste good right about now? Go ahead, eat the whole thing, you aren't THAT fat," or " No treats in the pantry today? Why not rip open one of those bags of chocolate chips? No ones going to miss one little bag." ( FYI: I have done this. I have been caught. ( I stuffed the bag down the side of the couch and The Man just so happened to sit in that very spot and it somehow popped out!) It wasn't very pretty.)

7: Im fat. I know, I know. But seriously, Im going to say this only to prove my point. On average, one American eats 3-4 pounds of sugar a week. One pound of sugar has over 2,000 calories. You do the math. Think about how many calories I will cut out of my diet just by giving up sugar. And then what happens after that..inevitable weight loss. Cool huh?

8: Other ones that I'm not going to blather on about because this is already really long!

So the short of it is, I have an addiction. I'm a druggie! Who ever could have guessed that this sweet young girl from a middle sized town in Idaho would succumb to the temptations of a powerful, sweet, yummy drug? ;-)

So that's it. Yesterday was my first day without it and I am actually feeling better already. If anyone is interested in joining me..even for experiment sake, let me know. Its good to have support. Here is a list of really good books to check out if you want to learn more!

Wish me luck!

"Sugar Blues" by William Dufty
" Sweet Deception" by Dr. Joseph Mercola
" Lick the Sugar Habit" by Nancy Appleton, PhD

I am also going post every day, one way sugar harms your body. So check it out! =-) I will get down off of my soap box now......

Where have I been?

Five days without posting? What was I thinking?

Well, this last weekend Ashleigh was home alone. *put hands to cheeks and scream:AAAAHHHHHHHH*
And well, things weren't so great.

First of all, four days with just me and the kids? Things were bound to get scary!
1: I lost The Boy at Wal-mart.(don't worry, I found him again.)
2: I had an emotional breakdown in front of about 15 awesome women..tears and all!
3: Little Girl has either a chest cold..or Asthma, poor kid could hardly breath.
4 I went out looking for a sweet coupon deal, drove around for an hour trying to find the dumb store and ended up at Krispy Kreme. I bought two dozen donughts. ( did I mention it was just me at home?)

Needless to say I wasn't feeling so hot by Sunday night when The Man returned.

Secondly, I discovered that I really am attached to The Man. I was trying to deny it. I didn't really want to face the fact that I could possibly NEED someone other than myself so much. But I conceede, and its all his fault! Things just aren't right when he's not around.

So, I haven't really felt like posting. But all that has changed, Im a new woman!

From now on, its posting everyday for me!

Oh, and I wanted to say if anyone out there who is reading this blog happens upon a freakin sweet, awesome coupon ninja deal...post it in a comment. I want to know!

Who can relate?

Oh, this is just too funny..and oh so true. He's really quite genius actually.

If you have kids..or even if you don't... give it a listen!

I am the Coupon Ninja!

This is a long one..but suffer through it. Its well worth your time...I promise!


I have this friend. Let's call her "Maybell". "Maybell" is a Coupon Ninja. ( I know, lots of references to Ninjas this week...there cool OK..) Anyway, this friend named "Maybell", who is a coupon Ninja, introduced me just recently to the Coupon Ninja World.

There's a whole world of Coupon Ninjas, you ask? Well, yes..yes there is and I can't believe I never even knew.

I mean, I knew there were people out there who saved a few bucks here and there from clipping those little pieces of paper out of magazines and newspapers. " Not for me!" I said ever so ignorantly. " I don't see the point or the gain from spending the effort."

Well, my dear friends....this Wednesday I was re-educated.

Here's how it went:( note: I have taken liberties with this conversation..it might be a tad exaggerated..but only to heighten the effect..)

Said Maybell to my other Coupon Ninja friend " Harriet" ( name changed to protect the not-so -innocent): So, are you going to go to the store with those coupons to get the freaking sweet awesome deal that is waiting for you there?

Said " Harriet" to "Maybell": I am at Ashleigh's house right now.

Said " Maybell" to " Harriet": Take Ashleigh along... educate her, teach her and guide her into the wonderful World Of Coupon Ninja-ness.

Said " Harriet" to Ashleigh: Come...to the store we go.

Said Ashleigh to " Harriet": Um..I have to get out of my pajamas, brush my hair and teeth and then to the same for my half naked children. After that..Yes, I shall join you on this quest for the freakin sweet, awesome deal. I must tell you that I am skeptical though. I have heard its not worth the effort spent.

Said " Harriet" to Ashleigh: Just get in the stinkin' car.

So off we went to the store with our kids in tow. Two women on a mission, our envelopes stuffed with coupons and (for one of those women, namely..me), embarking on a journey of enlightenment.

At the store:

Said " Harriet" to Ashleigh: Here are the fifty million coupons you need to make this work, keep them in order, keep all your stuff in your cart in order, don't look so scared.....and hold on.

Said Ashleigh to " Harriet": I'm confused.. ( actually, I think I said that at least a hundred times..if not more)

Said " Harriet" to Ashleigh: Just pick what you want and stick it in your cart..I'll help you with the rest...my goodness woman!

10 - 15 minutes later, at the checkout:

Said Ashleigh to the cashier: Here's all my stuff and here's all my coupons..I hope this works.

Said the cashier to Ashleigh ( after ringing up 11 boxes of assorted Post and Quaker ( not cheap) cereal, 4 boxes of Quaker chocolate chip and smores ( not cheap) granola bars and 2 (1 quart) boxes of Rice Dream rice milk ( not cheap): That will be 6 dollars and 30 cents please.

Said Ashleigh to the cashier: nothing..because I had fainted.....


Isn't that sooooooo crazy? " Harriet's" total was almost the same as mine and her cashier almost couldn't believe it!

Want to hear something even more crazy? I have another friend ( yes, Ashleigh has lots of friends huh?) ;-) who got 52 boxes of cereal and 4 Gallons of milk for..wait for it........................10 bucks! ( she added up what it would have been without all the crazy Ninja-ness and...over two hundred dollars!)

I am dying over here! This whole time I thought it wasn't worth it..that you didn't really save that much money. " Maybell" has told me that you even can get money back..they owe YOU after its all said and done.

The Man was so impressed with my wicked Ninja skills that he actually encouraged me to continue! That alone..in and of itself is worth more that the effort it takes to get it all done.

If any of you are wondering how you too can enter this World of Coupon Ninja-ness, let me know. Its way too long to explain on here..but oh sooooooo worth it in the end. Especially those of you who are looking to bulk up your food storage.(or in my case, actually start it..) Its amazing!

So for now..I bit you Adieu'. I must leave to hone my new found skills so that I may one day become a Coupon Ninja Master. Good luck to you all.