About Me

Hi Y'all!!

Although I'm sure you'll get your fill about me, I figured that it might be nice to have some background on who "Meggie" is.

I am:

• a teacher of middle school students with special needs 
• a wife of 3 years, dog mother to a gorgeous English pointer
• a cheerleading coach
• slightly OCD and very sarcastic 
• very fit-focused (now) 
• curly and sometimes level headed

I am not: 

• a perfect role model
• always a clean eater
• a good house keeper
• always put together

After all that, if y'all are still reading, it's important to know that I haven't always been fit focused. In fact, I was the opposite. I thought people that who went to the gym were CRAZY! I also thought that food was only for enjoyment, and soon enough, food was the only enjoyment I paid attention to. I quickly became super overweight- 207 pounds at my heaviest weighed (I'm sure I was heavier than that too-just refused to get on the scale) and pushing through a 20 in stretchy jeans. Worst part was, I hated myself too much to do anything about it. After a lot of motivation and inspiration from friends, I joined a weight-loss challenge at my doctor's office and was quickly on my way. I began eating as clean as I could figure out; it's still a learning curve, but an exciting one. After I lost the first 7 or so pounds, I joined Whitney, and her friend Paige, at their summer bootcamp class. ( I still have a love for stadium steps... ha!) I left that first class crying (I mean bawling, y'all, snotty nose and everything), but I promised myself that I would never be that fat again. 

That's now my mantra- I will never be this fat again. I say it everytime I work out (especially through cardio- my fave...not!) I am 50 pounds down from May 2013, and I will hopefully be editing that down soon enough! 

New Year Goals

As the new year is roaring to begin, everyone is thinking about their resolutions. Instead of resolutions, I am joining the TLS Resolution Revolution and creating goals instead. Just like our professional goals at school, these are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound.) I have two categories of goals: long-term and short-term. Since this is "Mostly About" me, I have included goals that aren't just weight loss related. 

Reasons

As we go into the Christmas break, I am reminded of reasons to further my healthy eating lifestyle. My aunt just passed away on Monday of complications due to diverticulosis, a digestive disease with an unknown cause that has correlations with a low-fiber diet.  My Mamaw died of similar issues, and my father has diverticulitis, a slightly less severe version, that can develop into diverticulosis. My step-mother, whom I call mom, has ALS (Lou Gehrig's) and can't do the things that I can. These people and memories are daily reminders of the blessings I have. I can move and make good food choices. I have the education, proof and means to have a good, healthy diet. Instead of focusing of being lazy, I need to appreciate that I have a choice to move or not to move- some people don't have the choice.

My mom- who now only weighs 90ish pounds due to ALS. 

My dad and I on my wedding day- both are clearly overweight ;) 

Weight Loss and Confidence

This is my transformation picture so far. I've lost 50 or so pounds since May of 2013, and I am finally able to fit into sizes I never have before. That is both a good thing and a frustrating thing. I have confidence in myself that I haven't had in a long time- but I am absolutely clueless when it comes to shopping and dressing my body. I automatically go to the "big girls" section and then realize I can't fit in that stuff anymore. I also don't like to spend money, and I used to borrow clothes from friends, and I can't do that anymore either.
I also am more aware of my body. I used to hate to look at myself in the mirror... now my husband catches me "checking myself out." Tehehe. I love finding muscles and definition that weren't there before. Bad side- I find things that I don't want there anymore too. I'm working on finding a balance.

Rosemary White Beans

I am so excited to have my first recipe posted by Whitney on Heandsheeatclean!! You can see the recipe here. 

I came up with the recipe after a trip to a restaurant in Marietta, GA with my mother-in-law. She raved about the beans, so I got them as a side. It was toward the beginning of my eat clean journey, and I was so excited to eat at a restaurant where the premise is real food. The beans truly were delicious, but when I talked to Whitney about the restaurant, we had both uncovered that the restaurant is not all that it's cracked up to be! UGH! Maybe one day, I will open up a clean, real food  restaurant... 

Needless to say, the recipe needed some REAL cleaning up. I used fresh rosemary and fresh sweet onions from our little garden in the back yard.  The freshness really made the dish. Also, the beans are even better the day after. If they get dry, which is not highly probable, you can pour in a little organic chicken broth. 

Here is the recipe: 

Ingredients:
2 cans of Organic Great Northern Beans (rinsed)
1 Vidalia Onion, diced
2 sprigs of Fresh Rosemary
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Using a non-stick soup pan, caramelize onion and rosemary.
2. Add in rinsed beans and salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Simmer on medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally.

The Sparkle Effect

I am so proud! I, along with an amazing parapro and the support of my school, are starting a Sparkles cheerleading program at my middle school. You see, I coach the CMS cheerleading squad and I also teach special education, so we kinda mixed the two together to give my students an extra-curricular opportunity. 

The Sparkle Effect, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides grants, encouragement and training to this national movement to get students with special needs included in sports. We applied to be a part of their organization, and we got approved! We are the 115th squad in the nation. Along with that title, we also received a $1000 grant to Varsity Spiritwear for uniforms for the girls, a whole set of t-shirts for all of the girls and coaches, and they are going to fly a trainer out to us in January!  

I am truly so blessed to have this opportunity and to work at a school that encourages these opportunities. My administration is wonderfully supportive and the community is extremely receptive. I had a random woman stop me the other day to thank me for starting the squad. Tears!!