Moving to a new apartment... giving it a name?

Firstly, I am moving to my first, by myself that is, apartment. I am going from unfurnished to furnishing it myself and with some housewarming gifts (received one today- Thanks, Sarah :) and have been offered another). 

I am excited, but am faced with the conflict of need versus want. At this time as I'm nearing moving in, and from many words given by friends and at church, I am questioning motive. When I'm looking at want what is the goal? Is it to create a sanctuary for myself that is welcoming to others or is it to gather likes on facebook? 

I also find the temptation to shop when they conflict with financial goals that I've set: pay for my next car in cash and be done with my private college loan in five years. Buying a cute carpet (the biggest turmoil today) is a luxury and not a necessity. The goal being sought currently is to find a balance between having a space that is hospitable and indulgent. I think it's fine to have nice things, and eventually might have space in my budget, and conscience, to purchase the carpet (or be more frugal and find a gently used cheaper version), but nice things can easily be the goal instead of a purposeful use from them. 

This new apartment means that I'll want to do a deep cleaning and organize as I move out of my current place and into a new one. 

I'm also hoping that with this apartment that I'll be able to start fresh some good habits. At this point there is no tv or internet in the apartment and that is actually quite refreshing and appealing to me. It's so easy to be consumed by media and by stalking others' lives to compare and either feel your life is going better or to be envious of their life- when it's only a snapshot of their life as you only share snapshots of your own. In this apartment I'm hoping to get some good reading done and find ways to connect to the area rather than spend time in avenues that don't really matter. 

I'm also finding the impulse to name my apartment. The only other time that I've had an impulse to name something was my car (her name is Jane, by the way). Any name suggestions (pictures are on facebook) would be appreciated :) 

I'm excited in this transition for the many possibilities, but also hesitant. Being 3.5 hrs away from the nearest family member has been made easier living with another person- there's always the certainty of seeing someone else, outside of working hours. This move reminds me of the fact that there are more connections to be made and stretches me out of the box that I've placed myself in. This move reminds me that I should be more connected to a church than work and once a week. 

These are some prevailing thoughts at the moment. Some worries and anxiety, but also a great opportunity to choose to make some changes with the inevitable changes that the move will create. I have to take this next step and trust that God will continue to be faithful. I hope that I don't miss opportunities in this area and through this move. I pray that I see beyond my concerns and see the concerns of others and how to use what God has given me to reach those around me. 

Dairy reflections.... Whole 30 Re-intro

Dairy was the first food I reintroduced. I had half and half in coffee, cheese at lunch, and froyo for an afternoon snack!

How did it go?

Half and Half: I did not notice any difference except that I was more aware of all of my senses since I knew I was supposed to be looking for my body reacting to dairy.

Cheese: a few hours later after having some with lunch I got a killer headache- although I also wonder if that had to do with the fact that I was outside in freezing rain doing car duty and probably needed to hydrate more. I'll probably give it a try after the reintroduction to see if it was the culprit of the headache, because I do like my cheese.

Froyo: Besides the fact that my stomach was making some noise and I could feel it working, most likely from not having dairy for a month, didn't have any other reactions.

I noticed that I "might" get bloated from Dairy. I checked the scale and was up a few lbs than the lowest of this process, but again I think a lot of this might be from paranoia... I'll definitely be more conscious as I eat foods normally and might have an idea of what to avoid.


Other life tidbits outside whole 30: I got a manicure and pedicure since I got my first accompanying paycheck, am still looking at apartment situations, and life continues on. I will most likely update more about my routine once Whole 30's reintroduction is done.

Day 29 updates for Whole 30 looking at Reintroduction

I'm on day 29... the magical number of 30 is reached tomorrow and I have shopping for the transition into reintroduction.

Some thoughts as I head into this phase. I am going to attempt to still ward off sugar, but I might loosen up on not making food paleo-approved. That is on the program you are supposed to try to stay away from modified foods that you might crave when allowed to eat whatever you want. For me one thing that I was tempted to make dealt with breakfast. So on day 31, I currently plan on having banana pancakes with coconut whipped cream and fruit.... and since it is dairy reintroduction half and half in my coffee. Then 2 days back to whole 30 then onto gluten grains and so forth.

I have my gluten grain day planned out. Still figuring out details for legumes and non gluten grains, but you know there's time to plan.

It will be interesting to see how this phase takes place and see how foods are affecting my body after the detox.