This coming Saturday I will be blessed to celebrate 36 years of life and loving.
If you asked me this last year what I thought 35 would look like I would have said excitement and adventure, celebrating who God made me to be.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." ~Jeremiah 1:5(NIV)

This is a verse I have had to repeat over and over again these last 362 days.
I am whole. I am progress. I am passion. I am loved. I am never forsaken.

These are my truths.

I took this photo last year a week before my 35th birthday,with grand plans that I had made for myself swirling through my head. That was the first mishap. I told God what I was going to do. You can stop laughing.
God gave me adventure.
We moved to a new state, a new church, new diagnoses , new friends, new battles in my marriage, a leadership roll I never saw coming, and things that would rock my foundation of who I was in Christ.
The excitement...well maybe not the typical idea of it.
I excitedly danced in my kitchen when I heard cancer free, I cried tears of joy as women I had never met before prayed over me. I delighted in the knowledge that it was okay to not be okay and to wait on God's timing.
I celebrated who I was now in Christ. This moment. A time such as this. Because the moment I lost sight of these truths, I would fall into an unknown and have to lay it all right back down at the cross. A cycle that has been repeated multiple times this year.
I was humbled, I was lifted up, I learned to love the me
who Christ built and ordained to do more for this world then get lost in books.
So 36, what can I tell you?
Remeber every single day you are a daughter of The King.
Do not let the world define you. Embrace you.
Pray, pray, pray, then pray harder.
Cultivate those friendships that show you that you are not alone.
Be truthful to yourself.
Love yourself, every last bit of you.
Tattoo scripture on your heart. You're going to need it.
Kiss Mr. Glitter more.
Tell your sons how amazing they are every day.
Always eat the cupcake.
Remember, God, family, then everything else.
Laugh more, it's good for the soul.
And above all else please remember,
​I am whole. I am progress. I am passion. I am loved.
​ I am never forsaken.

​Hello dolls! I know it's been a while but it's been a roller coaster and I have so much to share.
Today, I wanted to start with something life changing for me. The plant based way of life. Notice I will never call it a diet. It is a health change. Diets don't work, life changes do.
A year ago my health took a toll for the worst. I was faced with a thyroid cancer possibility, and in November of 2016 I would be rushed to the ER with a life threatening case of tachycardia brought on my adrenaline fatigue that I didn't even know I had.
At a loss of what to do, I started seeking information and research anywhere I could. Although I had healthy eating habits, despite my love of cupcakes, my
body was literally burning through all of it's energy sources and slowly breaking down. Even on a 4 day a week workout schedule my body was holding on to weight. I would wake up sore and in pain beyond workout soreness. The only thing I kept being told is "lose more weight."
As you can imagine I was frustrated and losing hope. I had nothing left but faith and God finally provided answers. I was finally connected with a doctor who listened. Who looked at my records, and could see a pattern that previous doctors refused to address. I was put on a supplement regiment to address the adrenaline fatigue, and he then suggested I look into an anti inflammatory diet.
Finally I had answers and hope.
​So to break it down quickly, an anti inflammatory diet is eliminating dairy, caffeine, processed sugary, most meats except for chicken and fish, and turkey, and also watching salt intake.
This got me extremely curious and I started digging deeper. It didn't hurt that I was blessed with a lovely neighbor already a year into a plant based/vegan life.
Why would dairy and meat cause inflammation?
I promise I'm not going to go into paragraphs of research here, all I will simply say is please do some googling and documatry watching of your own. I will simply say that the human body is in no way meant to process dairy and meat at the high rate of consumption that most Americans do now. It is actually harming us, to the point of death.
Before I continue I would like to state, that before this journey I had perfect cholesterol and normal ranges of blood pressure. I am not a medical doctor nor a nutritionist, but have set through at least 45 hours of nutrition classes. Most medical doctors only take the 15-20 hours required to earn their degree. I say this because when you do begin asking your doctor about a plant based eating plan, most don't truly have the knowledge to understand it. Seek a nutritionist.
Protien, calcium, and iron can all be found in abundance in many plants, seeds, nuts and grains. The only two supplemts required would be a daily vitamin (which you should be taking already) and a B12 supplement.
Januaury 2017 I made the decision to give up meat, and dairy. I can not call myself vegan or even 100 % plant based because I do still consume eggs( sourced from a home based, humane, cruelty free hens),and honey.
There is a world out there that I never knew.
If you gain nothing else from reading this, please know the level of ridiculousness that is in our food. For example most processed white sugar contains bone char from animals. I know mind boggling.

So here is why I'm sharing this with you.
From the picture above you can see the transformation. The kicker, I haven't been able to work out for a year because of the adrenaline fatigue and a necessary historectomy.
I have lost 63 pounds. I no longer wake up in pain, with sore muscles and joints. I have healed faster and no longer find myself sluggish or feeling ill after eating a meal. My skin is glowing, and I have energy I never had before. I don't miss out on a thing. My
labs all show improvement, and my body is now becoming better at self sustaining. I eat pasta, bread, bacon, cupcakes, ice cream, burgers,tacos,the list is endless. I don't have guilt after eating something because I know it's plant based and fueling my body. I've become
even more creative in my cooking, and my family supports me. I've made slow permanent changes in my household. All the milk, yogurt, and butter has been replaced with plant based options, with no complaints from other memebers of the glitter household. Twice a week my whole family goes meatless.
So my recommendations
~Start slowly replace one item every two weeks.
~ I love to follow the Buddhist Cheif, and the Minimalist Baker.
~Read labels.
~Be prepared. Life gets busy, have quick things on hand. Smoothies and oatmeal are a breakfast favorite in our home. I've also learned that many restaurants and quick to go places have diary/meat free options. Chipotle, Zoe's Kitchen, and Panarea Bread are my favorite go to's.
I share this to say there is hope beyond medication and waking up miserable. Do your own research into the food industry. There are a ton of alternative options now to things like cheese, sour cream and meat.
Please don't buy into powders and pills, you can change your life by simply fueling your body with what it needs. Stop substituting and jumping from diet to diet.
It took me 35 years to understand what my body truly needed and to open my eyes to the truth. Love yourself, know yourself, sparkle on.