Long Time, No See!

Well hello there followers! It's only been THREE YEARS!!!!! I never thought that I would fall off the wagon that hard! But, I have had some progress and good reasoning(I think, anyways). I last left you in January of 2011 with this post entitled Less Is More. In that post i gave you some easy recipes to make at home with just THREE ingredients! what?! (so yeah, you can check that out later if you want) I also mentioned in my last post (from 2011! again...sorry.) that I was "taking classes and trying to learn the more extensive tricks of the trade". well, GREAT NEWS!! I finished my classes and I graduated from the Catering course!

Also, in my three year absence, I had my second child. David Bascom (nickname: Baz) This is me just after delivery with my precious new baby boy.

I have the SWEETEST delivery/birthing story. All the events of the day even had my doctor shedding a few tears. I will have to share that with you another time, however. This next photo is of a very proud father and big sister! My husband, Jared, and my daughter, Alyssa. I think we all fell in love that day. :)

See?! I told yall that I had good reason to be absent the last 3 years! And I'm not even done with all the major events that have taken place! A little over a year ago we finally found a house to buy. at the end of February/beginning of March we finally closed on the house and got to move! yay!

Getting a little serious for the moment, and long story short.... Two years ago, I started going back to church. God started dealing with my heart and my mind. He convicted me on things like forgiveness, self-condemnation and self-pity. It took some time, but I started to forgive. Everything. Everyone. My parents’ divorce, my ex-husband and his drug addictions and physical abuse, friends who turned their back on me, their lies and betrayals, my own lies and secrets, and even that boy in 7th grade who told me I would never be as pretty as my sister. I forgave it all. The hardest part of forgiveness was forgiving myself. After God had dealt with me about things on the inside, He began dealing with my outside. My appearance. After all, I am a reflection of Him. Last March, I began to start eating healthy and walking/running on a regular basis. I told myself back then that it was because I wanted to have another child and did not want to be overweight at the start of my next pregnancy. But looking back, seeing how God's plan has come together, I see that I was part of such a bigger purpose. God has positioned me to be involved in a praise and worship dance team.

Had I not taken the initiative to get healthier back in March of 2013, I would not be able to be involved. I would still be 260 lbs., and unhappy. I wouldn’t be able to breath or have the energy needed to keep up or to practice, to put in long hours. He is still transforming me on the outside. God had set my path before me years ago and just being able to see a little bit of the big picture is such an amazing thing to grasp. I am so overwhelmed by His Love for me. By His mercy and blessings. I am still continuing with weightloss and eating healthier. A year ago, I started walking, and eventually running, and drinking green smoothies/shakes. I got to compete in my very first 5K last month and, to my unbelief and shock, I won first place in my age division! I think it was by default, lol, but hey...a win is a WIN! woo hoo! and I will take it!

I started my own catering company named Barefoot Catering. You can check out some of the different events and weddings I have catered on facebook. Here are some photos of some buffet setups from a few events:

Since opening my catering company, I have been able to cook for quite a few different things. Luncheons for dentists offices and churches, lots of weddings, a few baby showers and even quite a few private dinner parties. Which brings me to my current job as a Private Chef to a family who are strictly vegan. It has been challenging but very informative and a wonderful learning experience. Not to mention that the people I work for are very sweet and I just adore them! Anyways...back to the FOOD BLOG!!! lol I had to catch you up on whats been going on in my absence, but I could not leave you without a recipe!! That would be ridiculous! And in honor of my weight loss journey (and by request from MANY friends and family) Here is the recipe for my morning detox smoothie. This is the smoothie that helped me shed my first 10 lbs before I ever stepped foot in a gym or on a treadmill or even changed the way I was eating. The only thing I did was start my morning out with one of these bad boys and the lbs started falling off! I hope you enjoy it! and DO NOT be frightened by the color...it is DELICIOUS!

MORNING DETOX SMOOTHIE 2 large handfuls of spinach 1 Cup pineapple 2 bananas 1 Cup non fat yogurt Water til desired consistency. I always ALWAYS freeze my bananas. I like the texture they give better than the fresh. I should also add that this makes a LARGE 32oz shake. This is a meal replacement, not a snack. if you are looking for something smaller, you could half the recipe. I have done that myself, a time or two. I enjoyed catching up with all of you and will hopefully be back in blogging mode full swing! Til next time...