Who am I and why in the world am I blogging???

So I could sit here for an hour and figure out the perfect way to start my very first blog entry or I could just get started. Let me begin be saying I am not a writer. If you are looking for a brilliantly written blog with with fancy words and pulitzer prize winning articles, you may want to stop right now. But, if you are looking to journey with me and hear it like it is, I am your gal! Those who know me will back me up when I say this, I will be honest and not sugar coat the truth here. I am honest to a fault and you are getting it right from the start. With this honesty I promise to share my struggles and challenges as I am on my own Journey to Wellness.

Let me step back a moment and tell you a bit about me. We just finished the first week of school here in Bend and it was fantastic! My oldest son is a Freshman, my middle son is in 8th grade and our daughter is in 3rd grade. They are all amazing people who I truly enjoy spending time with. My husband was blessed with his job to be able to telecommute from Bend. We love to golf, ski, run/walk, bike, camp, enjoy everything the outdoors offers here! The added bonus has been an incredible group of friends to share these experiences with. Our lives are truly blessed and I am so thankful we have the opportunity to live here.

Now, at this point you may very well be asking yourself "Journey to Wellness? Sounds pretty crazy to me ..  looks like she is well and everything is great!". Well, I would agree with you on the outside I have no right to complain and everything appears fantastic. Unfortunately, my body has decided it does not want to buy into this wellness business. So, the more I have tried to be healthy, the more "sick" I have become.

I have struggled my entire life with my weight. I have always been on the chubby side, never "skinny". And many people have pointed it out throughout my life. It was not until I had my first child that I lost my baby fat and not until a few years ago that I really began to get a handle on healthy eating combined with fitness. It was then that I was able to get my weight under control and manage it. Don't get me wrong, I recently had to regroup again and go through the whole process over but I know how to do it which it so helpful!

I will go in depth in future blog posts what is going on and how I am moving through each step right now but the cliff note version is this...chronic migraines led to an attack of ischemic colitis which led to seeing a neurologist to try to stop taking so much medication for the migraines. Unfortunately the medication seems to be causing anxiety and irritability which I am still struggling with today. I also have a low thyroid and Hashimoto disease. Putting all these fantastic issues together I am a firm believe that medication may not be the end all solution to fixing the problem and that food may be triggering a large part of the problem.

The purpose of my blog is to help me document the steps I am taking to connect the dots for myself and also I hope to encourage others on their journey. I know that we all have a journey and struggles. This process is not easy and I know I am not the only one trying to find the answers out there. So, if you are looking for an authentic blog please join me as we Journey to Wellness!