About Me

I always dread this part of the “creating a blog” process.  There’s way too much history (a whole, 25 years worth!) to sum up in a few short paragraphs.  In fact, this blog actually isn’t about me at all.  It’s about life…and life has always been about relationships for me…relationships with God, family, friends, food, and fitness (in that order).  That’s what this blog is about.  Now that we have that understood, let’s get to know each other a bit.

I guess we’ll start with the basics:

The name is Sami Cox Snyder.  I’m a newlywed (as of September 16, 2012) and could not be happier to wake up everyday next to my husband, aka, the most thoughtful, optimistic, affectionate man in the universe.  There’s no question in my mind that God made us for one another.  He’s a numbers man, I’m a words girl.  He’s a cheese & pasta lover, and fruit and veggies are more up my alley.  He’s a night owl, I’m an early bird.  We balance out one another in an impeccable manner.  Yet, when it comes to the most important things in life…the ones that really define people, we couldn’t be more spot on in agreement.  We always, always, always do our best to keep Christ at the center of our marriage.

I think what I’d most like to convey on this blog, is one of my favorite Bible verses… Psalm 139:14(which is something that I haven’t been able to fully embrace throughout my life),

“I praise You, for I am fearfully & wonderfully made.”

My goal is to help people see just how precious they are in the eyes of their heavenly Father.  We’re His creatures, created to do His work.  That is beautiful in itself.  It took me entirely too long to fully grasp the greatness and the truth found in this verse and it is SO easy to mistaken our value for the way other people see us.  Being on an emotional rollercoaster, fighting with body image, health issues, and frustration is something I am all too familiar with.

As a senior in high school, bound for a D2 basketball scholarship, I found myself diagnosed with Grave’s Disease, a thyroid condition in which, symptoms include weight fluctuation, unstable judgement, mental lapses, and emotional lows.  Playing a sport was out of the question until treated, so my scholarship went down the drain, and so did my self-esteem.  I decided to take control of the only thing I knew that I could…my eating habits.  I spiraled downhill into a state of even worse health than before.  At a mere 104 pounds (my lowest weight ever) on my 5ft. 7in. frame, my parents had a serious concern as to whether or not I would live to see another year.  Malnourishment took over, and I was basically numb…just going through the  motions of life.  The sick thing was, I thought I was “healthy” because I was no longer feeding my body junk.  Luckily, thanks to a whole lot of prayer, I began to see the light and slowly, but surely, wellness was within my reach.

I went back to college and am taking classes wherever I can fit them in, in order to eventually achieve my degree in fitness & nutrition.  Along the way, basketball was brought back into my life.  Would you believe how cool God is?  He blessed me with the ability to play on a college team, while maintaining school work, and keeping my full-time job with the Commonwealth of PA.  In two years, we earned two conference championships and one state runner-up title.  More importantly, in that second year, I met the man of my dreams playing recreational basketball at the local YMCA.  He even asked me to marry him on the basketball court.  Six months later, we were hitched!  Which brings me to the here & now.  If you think this “about me” sounds familiar, maybe you’ve been to my old blog, the Freckled Foodie.  I’ve started a new job, am living in a new home, have a new family, and a refreshed spirit.  I figured, it’s only right to create a new blog!

What can you hope to see on this blog?

Anything & everything.  I don’t discriminate 🙂  No, but really… You can plan to see the many adventures of being a newlywed, lots of good, wholesome meals, an occasional recipe, a workout here and there,  and a whole lot of encouragement.