No Junk January

A long, long time ago in the winter of 2005, two young girls (who happened to be nutrition freaks) were addicted to Dairy Queen Blizzards and the joyful taste of Holiday treats. These two young girls--okay, okay. So 'young' is relative. They were college freshman, circa 18 years-- wanted to both enjoy the delicious enchantment of Christmas goodies and avoid the seemingly inevitable "Freshman Fifteen".

The problem was, Christmas goodies came once a year but Dairy Queen Blizzards came YEAR ROUND. Yuummmmmmm. (insert motion of rubbing hand over stomach with a satisfied look on face). However, determination overcame temptation and the young girls decided to keep each other accountable to a set of guidelines that would steer them away from the ever-creeping-closer-tummy-consuming-chubbily-gaining-FRESHMAN-FIFTEEN. (YIKES!!)

The guidelines were set, and are now listed below. For 5 years the girls and many friends have jumped on the bandwagon of what has become known as the legendary No Junk January. 

So come on! Jump aboard. Grab a friend for some good accountability and kick cookies, candy, ice cream, pop, chips, and your muffin top from your life. I, Kerrie Knudsen (and Melissa Bock), personally GUARANTEE great results, a greater amount of energy, and greater enjoyment of yourself. Okay, so that sounds a bit too Oprah for my blood, but you get the picture. 

TIP: THE FIRST 10 DAYS ARE THE HARDEST. Make it through that, and you're golden. By the end of January, you won't want to touch that bowl of leftover, rotting Christmas candy. You might not want to touch it anyway. Rotting? Ugh! 

Alright Ladies and Gentlemen,
It's time we lay down the law. I think we're all going to get sick and tired of the continuous calling and asking permission to eat this or that.  So here it is, the laws of the trade. The book to live by. The 'Thou shalt nots' of junk. I hope everything below is fair and agreeable. If there are comments, complaints, or fistfights about anything written please seek either Kerrie or Melissa in your nearest Iowa & Minnesota locations.

1. Thou shalt make sure to eat well balanced meals and still receive proper nutrition.  Our bodies needs are first priority, regardless of short-term deprivation.  If you are anemic or have extremely low blood pressure due to lack of sugar or fat--EAT SOMETHING! We don't want anyone suffering for the cause of our stupidity and stubornness.

2. When you are compliant with #1 the first thing to avoid is Fast Food.  And by fast food we mean your mom. No Hardees, McD's, Wendy's, bottlerockets, BK, etc. This does not include restaurants such as Subway, Jimmy Johns, Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits section, or King Buffet.
*note to self: salads area acceptable in any building, whether it includes a drive-thru or not.

3. Pizza and pancakes (with syrup) are allowed as meals, along with honey in cream-of-wheat or teas.  Pizza at supper is different than pizza at midnight, and who can resist some good bonding over a hearty brunch of waffles (complete with syrup traps. when you get to the butter--split up! *please google video Mitch Hedberg for full hilarious description of what was just typed. It will make more sense that way).

4. No chocolate. Not even in drinks (mochas, hot chocolate, etc).

5. No pop. Don't argue with this one, or we'll kung fu chop you in half and you won't even be able to enjoy that pizza for dinner.

6. Candy and ice cream are definately out of the picture. The only exception is to attempt a large DQ blizzard and successfully eat the entire 32 oz 1300 calorie treat in less than 7 min, 38 seconds. (Congratulations to Jonathan West, who still holds this record).

7. **NOTICE: MAJOR CHANGE AHEAD. DO NOT VIEW UNTIL FULLY EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY PREPARED** 

After days of reviewing nutrition labels and pouring our lives into seeking the truth behind the contents of pretzels, cereal, popcorn, and jello the conclusion has been reached by an elite panel of judges that they are perfectly safe to consume and do not breech any contracts binding your souls to No Junk January. *movie theater popcorn, however, did not make the A-list and is still not allowed.
  NO ARGUMENTS. PERIOD.

8. Nate Bock, this year please remember that chocolate chip cookies ARE junk food. Even homemade ones.
 
9. chips, brownies, and cookies are also definately not allowed. If there is something else you are unsure of, it is your call whether to eat it or not. We give you right to exercise your freedom in this area. Just remember: It's on your conscience, not ours. 

10. If you find yourself going through a life crisis, all rules are to be thrown out the window and a chocolate fondue and Dairy Queen Blizzard party is to be instigated immediately.
 
We wish you all the best of luck as you embark on this journey into the unknown. 

Sincerely (remember that kung fu chopping action? Yeah, we mean SINCERELY),
Nutrition Nazis,
Mel and Ker

ps. Yes, men. We are aware that some of you are on this list without actually taking part in the festivities. However, we would like to encourage you to join (it's not too late :)), but we know you probably won't. Mostly because you are just not man enough.

Parenting Class: Real Life Style

A few weeks ago Greg & I had the wonderful opportunity to be parents. Two weeks of moving in with my eleven year old sister was quite the experience.

My parents took a two week trip to Israel & Jordan--neat o!

As it turns out, eleven year old girls don't take care of themselves so we gladly accepted the role of parents. We spent fourteen days entertaining & chauffeuring a 6th grade girl. This included bribed piano practicing, many talks on behavior, movie night, why reading a book is far better than playing constant computer games :), and how to bake pumpkin bread. It turned out to be a learning experience on all sides. Kids are a lot of work! And time consuming! Jeepers.

We won't be entering that stage of life for a while, despite the bleeeeesssssing that children are :)

Life as a Knudsen: Part 1

It's been a while since my fingers have hit this keyboard as you may (or may not) have noticed. As it turns out: planning a wedding is a bit more of a whirlwind than our simplicity-loving minds had imagined.

Honestly, all you need is a white dress, a groom, & a pen to sign the legal documents--right?!

WRONG. Waaaay wrong.

Kerrie, being the not-so-detailed person that she is, and Greg, being the not-so-into-planning-weddings person that he is, quickly discovered there are many more details that are needed for The Big Day than we realized. Tux sizes, jewelry, candle holders, tableclothes, flowers, invites, directions, something old/new/borrowed/blue, shoes, dress fittings, hair & makeup (which did not have a run through. Ashley Brekke is the bomb), time schedules, reception hall set ups, Mother-of-the-Bride attire, Oh! And the list goes on.

Needless to say, it was all worth it.

Being a Knudsen is the best.
Sorry to all of you Bocks, Smiths, Johns, Larsens, Jensens, Williams, Browns, Davis, Millers, Jacksons, Harrisons, Allens, and everyone else. I'm sure your life is great, just not as great as mine :)

Since tying the knot on July 10, 2010 we have endured malaria, chemo--WHICH WE ARE DONE WITH!, a broken vehicle, real jobs (Greg landed a great job with a great company and great people as a Construction Engineer :)), a smashed camera (which explains why there will not be many photos for a while), being parents to an 11 year old for a while, and learning how to cook.

Wowzers.
Life is great.
Really, really great. :)

Date de Wedding esta Official!

Okay, so my Spanish isn't as fluent as my high school Spanish teacher had hoped to instill in me for lifelong use of the language, but it's Cinco de Mayo and I thought I owed the date a small tribute.

We are happy to announce that, after months of up in the air-no-idea-when-we-can-set-a-date-crossing-our-fingers-and-praying-hard-for-something-to-work-out, we have set a wedding date :) Greg and I decided to trust the Lord, set a date, and wait for everything to fall into place. July 10 is coming fast, and we are as ready as can be.

Our last few months have been filled with work and Mayo visits. Greg is in the process of doing 6 months of Therapy de Chemo (2nd tribute to Cindo de Mayo. Spanish still not improving.) and he has successfully finished the first two months. He has been a champ through it all and the doctors basically say he is a super human :) yup.

Sorry this update is so short. We promise to send more news soon.
Thank you for your continued prayers & support. We are so excited to enter this new stage of our lives! 

Adventures with Yeti & Other Everyday Occurances

You may be wondering what we've been up to now that our Adventures in Rochester have come to an end. Fear not, for we are still finding time to seek Adventure and it recently came in the form of the Yeti (aka Bigfoot).

After radiation ended, Greg's aunt and uncle invited us to spend a week with them in sunny Florida. The offer was readily accepted, so we packed our bags &  headed to the airport. Our first day there was spent watching Greg's cousin play softball... in the rain :) Sunny FL: 0. Rainy FL: 1.

The only natural thing to do while in Florida was (obviously) go to Disney World. We spent a day at Animal Kingdom enjoying the sunshine, searching for Yeti, & exploring the African grasslands.

The rest of our week passed quickly with a few visits to the beach and good time with the family. Leaving warmth & sunshine was difficult, but the Iowa snow has melted quickly & spring is in the air :)

 Oh, and we found Bigfoot on Mt. Everest (well, it's really just a roller coaster). This is right as we came upon him. Yikes! 

Our time was much enjoyed, but returning to Iowa life has been good. We are very blessed to have such great friends & family.

Thank you for all you do.

G & K 

Day 25: Check.

The last day of radiation was a huge success, as 18 friends & family members made the trek through snow & ice to celebrate Greg's HUGE accomplishment of finishing 5 weeks of treatments. Stefan & Lori even flew in for the big event :)

After the nurses gave the whole clan a tour of the radiation room, we eagerly waited for Greg to come out from his last treatment & ring the bell. The bell is mounted on the wall in the waiting room & when you finish your last treatment you ring it 3 times. Throughout our 5 weeks there, we saw some funny incidences with people and their bell ringing.

1. One lady stuck her head under it to look closer & simultaneously rang it with her head under it. I think her ears were ringing louder than the bell.

2. One man was wheeled out on a stretcher and was practically covered in a body bag & neck brace. He reached over to ring the bell, which is always followed by clapping & cheering from Waiting Room patients, and the nurse asked if he had anything to say to the people. He responded, "Get well soon."

3. Some people simply emerge from their last treatment to ring the bell by themselves, which made it all the more enjoyable for Greg to have so many friends & family there to support him.

We have been incredibly blessed through this process to have so many people supporting & praying. Our needs have been met abundantly through extreme generosity & we are so thankful for different roles each of you play in our lives. Greg will start his next round of chemotherapy on March 22, which will last for one week. He'll have four weeks off, and then begin another week of chemo. The process will continue for 6 months & sometime in there the doctors will take an MRI or two to see how the tumor has responded.

Greg is back to 100% energy levels (Praise the Lord :)) and is on the job hunt. We are praying for an opportunity to arise so we can set a wedding date -- the next thing on the agenda.

Coming soon: Adventures & Narrow Escapes with the Yeti.

Much Love to All,
G & K

The End is Near

The last days are upon us. The end is near. Radiation shall be conquered! VICTORY IS OURS!!

Well, almost ours :) We have been counting down the days to Greg's final radiation appointment (set for Saturday the 20th @ 8:30am) for quite some time, and are down to our final two days. Wow!

Our final week in Rochester has been full of to-dos that we promised we would accomplish while we were up here (*alas, the Spam Museum has not been, nor will be, graced with our presence*. bummer). Our list included:
-Take the kids out for an evening [X]
*this really means take them on a secret adventure with their eyes blindfolded & bounce around in giant inflatables for 2 hours

Greg barely made the height limit for being able to enjoy the fun. (and in case you didn't notice, his hair is g-o-n-e. shaved. buzzed. zippo. zero. zilcho. but growingo backo soono.) ------------>

-Stay in for an evening while the parents enjoy a night out [X]


*this translates to: eat 3 boxes of macaroni & cheese with hot dogs, pretend to be 8 again, and read gobs of Junie B. Jones.





-Confiscate a hospital wheelchair [X]
*Moms, you can stop reading here.

**it just so happens that hospitals have a lot of wheelchairs and so many of them need exercise. Honestly, they are practically screaming, "Use me! I was made to assist people, not stay folded up here in the corner!". The only problem is that neither Greg or myself fit the stereotype of someone needing the assistance of a wheelchair. We still thought it would be best if we kept one of them from rusting away in the corner, and headed to an area we knew was loaded with them. When the coast was clear, Greg sneakishly hopped in. We enjoyed touring the hospital and getting a combination of looks of sympathy and looks of "why are YOU in that chair?!". Kerrie also had lots of practice getting Greg into packed elevators. People were very accommodating. (Keep in mind the next time someone wheels into an elevator with you that they might not need the chair at all. They may just be testing your accommodation skills. Better practice those skills now so you'll be prepared).

As we prepare for the remaining two treatments, it will be hard to part with our home in Rochester and the wonderful family we have been able to spend so much time with. However, seasons come and go and it is time for the next one to begin :) Thanks for your prayers. Please keep them coming.