I’m not one to proselytize, or say live like I live! But I’m here to tell you, fiends, life has changed around here, and for the better, all because of one major detour.

On the 5th of this month, the Thriller had his blood pressure taken, and it was high. Most of you already know that. That evening, we went through the refrigerator, freezer and pantry, and got rid of everything that contained boatloads of white sugar, white flour, insane levels of sodium, and anything prepackaged and preserved with chemicals. In other words, everything we considered unhelpful to our health was removed.

The cupboard was pretty much bare. It was a considerable gut punch. We were faced with a choice: Do we continue to live like this and roll the dice on our health, or do we undertake a massive paradigm shift?

Well, we have now been living this new lifestyle (including my being 99% gluten-free) for 24 days, and let me tell you something: it works. Behold the ongoing results…

1. The Thriller’s dry, cracked hands and arms are clearing up.
2. We’re both sleeping better.
3. Our digestive problems have disappeared. Acid reflux=gone.
4. I no longer feel wasted every morning, dragging it out of bed with a bad attitude.
5. My propensity for nailbiting when stressed or nervous is completely gone. (In fact, I’m honked about having to trim them in order to play guitar on my high school concert on the 20th.)
6. I’ve discovered the awesomeness of coconut oil. I made some salmon patties for dinner last night, breaded with crushed-up gluten-free crackers, and fried in organic coconut oil. Beyond fantastic.
7. And most importantly — my cravings for sugar have all but disappeared. Although I am an official sugar addict (trust me, this is a real affliction), I can feel good about remaining abstinent, and that’s something that’s never happened to me, ever.

The 8-lb. weight loss thus far? I’m looking at that as a nice side effect, and not the major goal. The Thriller hasn’t weighed himself, but I can tell a difference, and so can he, in the way his clothes fit.

So there’s my sermon for this morning. Get the chemicals (and believe it, white sugar and flour are made up of little else) out of your body and start loving yourself more. We thought living largely organic was going to be a huge drain on our finances. Granted, while organic foods are more expensive, we’ve noticed that over the last three grocery buys, we’re saving lots by not buying canned goods, ice cream, cookies, donuts, and boxes full of fake dinners. Instead, I’m getting excited about being creative in the kitchen again.

Time was, I dreaded the idea of coming home after a long day and cooking dinner. There was a considerable stretch when I didn’t cook at all, and we both just fended for ourselves. No longer. We have to decide what’s important in life — not only for ourselves, but for our kids (and grandkids).

OK, pulpit closed for the day — unless you want to evangelize in the comments.