Perfection or Failure

Goodbye Perfection or Failure

2010-07-15T15:17:00.001-04:00

I think that it's pretty obvious that I'm not blogging at Perfection or Failure. I hate that the name itself point out the quality in myself that make me dislike myself the most. Just writing a post under that heading felt bad and defeating. I don't need to see one more thing on losing weight or overexercising or body image, and I definitely don't need to add to the chatter. Funny thing is, since I stopped obsessing on body and fitness, things have fallen into place and it turns out that I didn't need to obsess on things that I wanted to change. I just needed to change them.

Let's All Cheer for Adam, Okay Cheering's Over*

2010-03-11T16:46:00.007-05:00

We're doing P90X Lean (Week 5, Day 2), and I can't believe that I'm still at it. I am getting to the point where I shout out all of Tony H's jokes before he says them (which is annoying to my husband); and it's starting to annoy me that I have to warm up for every cardio workout with a little yoga ... and I love Yoga! But not in my workout shoes. My mat looks like my dog used it for a chew toy.

I have noticed that my jeans are loose, which is great except for the fact that I have to hitch them up every few minutes so that the crotch isn't riding at my knees. I look like my Dad. He was the real impetus for Pants on the Ground.

What's not working for me: reading the recipe for vegan chocolate on Charlotte's website. It is so easy to make my four-year-old can do it - by himself. Yes, I made some with toasted coconut today. I don't keep Agave nectar, but I did have Pennsylvania Maple syrup. I only used 2 tsp. though. maple syrup is really sweet. I thought that I didn't have any sweets in the house, but with this recipe I do. Ugh.

News on the fridge is weird. We turned it off for a couple of days, but left it plugged in for the water filter. I turned it on for some reason and it works perfectly. So, we're okay for now, Whew! Also good: I still haven't taken the dorm fridge we were using out of the kitchen, so that's 3square feet that I don't have to vacuum every morning. And it looks so pretty sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. Maybe I'll knit a cozy for it so no one will notice it.

*Obscure Tony Horton Reference

21

2010-03-02T14:08:00.003-05:00

21 days of exercise in a row. So, isn't this the point where it becomes a habit again? I'm still finding it ridiculously hard to wake up at 5am. I cannot fall out of bed and exercise, so by the time I'm up, coffee'd and ready, it's 6. So we hurry through our workout and morning to get a couple of us out of the door by 7:30. I'm trying to get to bed earlier; but Lost is on tonight.

This morning was X Stretch. After P90Xing all week, this is the 'workout' I need most. I was standing in front of the pantry yesterday, willing some chocolate to appear when I pondered the fact that "Legs & Back" means "Buttocks", because I am so sore there. It does make for fun conversation with my husband while waiting for services to begin:

"You were so good this morning."
"Yeah, but that part against the wall was really hard, my legs were shaking."
"That's nothing, I can barely walk. My butt is killing me!"

My butt hurt so much last night that hubs volunteered to rub it for me until it felt better. I had to assure him that my bum was fine, yes you can stop rubbing it, and no my chest feels just fine too. With all of this exercise I haven't lost one pound. That's okay, because I have made two batches of rolled butter cookies with buttercream icing and crushed mint candy. I have been pretty good with having at least one fruit/veg with every meal. Now that I'm in a routine with exercise, I need to focus on eating properly. One sweet per day will suffice. It will sure beat the sugar with sugar chaser method I've been treating myself to lately.

Bad news: woke up to buzzing fridge this morning. Had a close call in the summer when we needed to replace a switch (for free). The repair guy said that the compressor could go at any time (over $600 repair). Guess what we're looking at? Anyone want a broken Jenn-Aire armoire fridge? I can't justify the expense. I'd like to try to replace the switch again. If that doesn't work, I'll buy a white junker and give the fridge to the repair guy.

Week 2 - Day 5

2010-02-21T19:48:00.004-05:00

Of P90X Lean - Legs & Back. I love what working my legs super-hard does to my heart-rate. Never do I get winded from working on my arms, but this leg routine is a huge cardio-vascular workout. I am one of those annoying people who can't keep themselves from chirping out a few 'woots' when I'm having a great workout. Did this a few times today. Tony Horton - you're growing on me.

- Finally got a webcam so that we can Skype with Gran and Pap (hubs used LogMeIn so that he could set up my Dad's computer- another reason he's a keeper), so put up a new profile pic - I HATE pictures of myself, can't help but notice how tired I'm looking today. It's probably a good exercise in just getting over myself. Ugh!

Out of Shape

2010-02-12T08:07:00.002-05:00

The last time I did P90X was 1 1/2 years ago. Back then, I would get sweaty and it would get my heart rate up, but I really didn't think that the program was challenging enough. Today I completed Day 3 of P90X Lean (Shoulders, Arms, Ab Ripper X). I'm just going to say, Ab Ripper X is the proof of how out of shape I am. Last go-round, I would finish all of the exercises, even fit in a few extra, and internally scoff at my husband who had to stop and take breaks throughout the workout. I was him today. Although I have to admit, it's a bit hard to get every rep in while holding a conversation about the intricacies of Lego Indiana Jones with my 4 yr old. (Did you know that Lego Harry Potter for Wii is being released in March? I know. All three of my sons are nice enough to remind me of this every. single. day.) I get a gold star on my forehead for not shushing him, or screaming out from the combined torture of Ab Ripping and Lego-obsessed ramblings.

If you see me today, I'll be the one who is having a hard time reaching for my seatbelt, or putting on mascara.

On it's Way:

2010-02-09T10:11:00.004-05:00

Wide health club step from Amazon. Used my National City points for an Amazon gift certificate. Now I can do Cathe workouts on a step instead of a balance ball (insane).

Hubs and I are breaking out the old P90X starting tomorrow. We'll be doing P90X Lean. Not looking forward to Kenpo, it always made my knees hurt - so after a couple of weeks we'll substitute with Cathe and Jillian on Kenpo days. Charlotte from Great Fitness Experiment (and Pink on Oprah) inspired me to do P90X again. If you're doing P90X, don't forget that yoga is 1 1/2 hours, so plan accordingly.

Breaking up is hard to do...

2010-02-04T18:09:00.005-05:00

We found each other in the Pittsburgh Airport almost 10 years ago in March. You were perfect for me: strong, not too clingy. I was so comfortable with you whether we were snuggling in bed or running around town. People would approach me to ask about you, to gush about how good you looked and how they could find another like you. I knew that you were irreplaceable, I tried, but none could measure up to you. I could count on you through thick and through thin, through good times and bad. I should have known that our time together was about to end. I could see the signs. You were tired, stretched thin. I looked at you today I knew it was over. It should have been over long ago. But I held onto you hoping that I could make it work, maybe we could just be together at home until I found another that could compare to you. You've even had work done so that you would look more attractive to me. But when I held you today I saw you as you really are, not as I remember. I noticed the waist-band half hanging out, the frayed holes, and the fact that I could read a newspaper through you in places that I prefer remain opaque.

Goodbye Gap yoga pants. I will miss you.

Hey There Shakey Shakey

2010-01-20T13:22:00.009-05:00

Go Here. I just finished all 68 minutes of Cathe Friedrich's Muscle Max DVD. It's the featured DVD on her site this week, so it's 30% off until Sunday. I'm having a bit of trouble typing because my arms are still shaking; and I'm a bit worried that my legs will fold underneath me like a newborn foal when I try to stand. Both are good things, because that's what I crave from a workout. Probably part of that no-nonsense Protestant upbringing (thanks Mom!). I love Cathe. Love, love, love.

We Won't Know

2010-01-14T16:39:00.002-05:00

At least until mid February. I need a Plan B (or C or D . . .) to keep busy.

But it will happen. I just know it. And I can't wait.

Healthy Start 2010 - Give Myself Credit

2010-01-10T08:11:00.010-05:00

I'm winding up the first week since I started tracking and it's really, really helping me stay accountable. Also helpful: finding out that the slice of Kirkland raisin bread is 3 points (150 cal, 2.5g fat, 3 g fiber). Yikes. Wish I had looked at the label before eating it. I definitely would have taken more time to appreciate what I was eating. In fact, I would definitely benefit from more appreciating in general; even appreciating myself.

There are times when I have it all together. I'm waking up early, exercising, getting the kids off to school with time to spare, the house is immaculate, Hubs is taken care of, my hair looks good, I'm getting some time to myself. It feels like everything almost takes care of itself, and I don't have to think about how it all comes together. There are other times when it's just the opposite. I resent having to scrub another toilet, I can't figure out how I could possibly fit in exercise or a trip to the grocery store with 3/4 of a dozen hands pulling me in different directions; the house is a mess and I don't even know where to start to get things back in order. When I'm in that place, my eating follows with a similar chaotic quality. All the while I'm telling myself that I'm a sucky mom, wife, and housekeeper. That I'm an insult to the mirror, that I hope no one calls because I really have nothing to say. Usually, like everyone else, I'm somewhere in between.

To keep myself closer to the preferred end, I intend to Give Myself Credit where credit is due.
Last night, I avoided eating a cookie that I didn't need - something I haven't done in months - because I told myself that I could. We definitely can't control everything in our life, but we can control our response. Just reminding ourselves that we're doing well, looking good, and making our best effort certainly doesn't hurt.

So, when I exercise, I'm going to celebrate it. When I eat right, I'm going to notice. I'm going to choose to find something good in the mirror and acknowledge it. If I can do it, so can you.

What do you like about yourself today?

Healthy Start 2010 - Write It Down

2010-01-05T11:31:00.009-05:00

I have a tendency to be completely useless when it comes to personal responsibility. Unless I write it down. So, for me it's time for baby steps, and the most important one for me is tracking. The picture in the post shows the way that I track. The best way for me to eat is the old Weight Watchers CORE method. Any food that isn't CORE gets counted as points. For me that's usually nuts, peanut butter, a cookie or piece of bread. I get 5 points a day to use as I choose - no more. So if I want a piece of cake, it's the small piece of cake and clean eating for the rest of the day. I can do this, and still cook for my family without a PhD, charts, graphs, and third-year Calculus. Otherwise, I'd be eating frozen dinners while the kids eat pizza or some other crap on a daily basis. That's me.

Also really important (possibly more important for me) is exercise. When I exercise, I put a big star on the top of the page and write in what my activity was (as you can see, no activity yet today). I haven't exercised regularly since the kids started school in the fall and I've been spending 4 hrs/day taking them to their respective destinations. Now that wrestling/skiing has started, my personal time just took another huge hit. That's why the new goal is to be in bed before 10pm nightly so that I can exercise before everyone gets up. I've done it before, and though it's not my preferred time to move, I can do it if it's my only option (and it is right now). Today I'm going to park the 4-y-o in front of Dora the Explorer after lunch so that I can do my workout. We're going sledding after I pick up the boys from school on the great hill near Maltby (in this part of MI, you have to actively find hills big enough to sled on and travel to them).

I'll be posting my thought on a Healthy Start to 2010 for the rest of the month. Any thoughts would be really welcome.

New Year 2010

2010-01-01T23:36:00.011-05:00

Too lazy to retouch: this year's tree - only spent $13 on decorations for the whole house. $6 of that was spray paint.

I can't believe that it's already the New Year. I have to say, in hindsight, 2009 was one of the worst. It was the year that my neighborhood officially died for me. Three couples on the street separated/divorced this year, and I've actually lost count on the total foreclosures/ walk-aways here as well. When we first moved here, the neighborhood was a dream: neighborhood picnics, Sunday activities and crafts for the kids, evening drinks by the pool for the grownups. All of the parents were always outside, always involved, it was an amazing neighborhood. Slowly the homes stopped selling and eventually the builder fled. They left still owing contractors for work on houses they'd sold, and the contractors were placing liens on houses so the new homeowners had to pay once more for work on homes they'd just purchased. Right now if I look at Realtytrac, it say that there are 7 houses currently in foreclosure on our street(of 23 houses). The value of our home is 46% of what we originally paid and more than $100,000 less that what we still owe. With the new perks of a stabbing in front of our clubhouse, swastikas burned into a street and sidewalks, and needles found around the south pond - who could resist living here? I keep reading that the economy is going to start to turn around in the US in 2010, but Michigan should expect an improvement in 10 years.

I know that we're still doing okay, and I should be grateful that Hubs still has a decent job, and that the kids love school; but it's been hard for me to keep being positive when the view out my living room window includes a house that's been vacant for two years and an army of for sale signs standing vigilant along a street lined with bank-owned lots. I've learned that a house is not a home, especially when it feels at times like a prison. I try not to sit with my worry for long because it is burns heavy and hot in the pit of my stomach, but I sit with it each day. I worry about us, I worry about the kids who've moved away, I worry that all of my sons' best friends are gone; one most recently when a rental truck showed up in the driveway. The kids speculated that maybe they rented the truck to get a new washer or some furniture; but I knew what it meant, and the family left in the middle of the night with no goodbyes. Boy1 mourns the loss of the friend that shared more than a temperament and name with him. He says, "Maybe they'll be back, maybe they just went to stay with their Dad for a while," almost half-convincing himself as he talks.

I remember being about the same age as him, growing up outside of Pittsburgh in a community supported by the steel mills that once dominated Western Pennsylvania when they layoffs started. Our family was lucky that my Dad worked for the newspaper, so his job was safe (ah, 1981). I remember lots of friends' parents divorcing, and friends moving away, and friends' parents being scary and weird when they were drinking - and they seemed to be drinking way more than they used to (which was already more than enough). I remember coming home from school early with a stomach-ache nearly every day in third grade. I thought it was a strange little footnote to my early years, but it's that same feeling that wells up now, I can feel it rising in my throat and between my shoulders as I'm typing this. But I'm not the type to sit on my hands and think that it will all work out in the end without a little pain and a little difficulty. We've pursued advice from friends, mentors, and professionals. We've looked at our options, and are pursuing them. We've been given an opportunity that we're going to approach with faith and optimism and a level head, and can't wait until we can let it unfold.

Here's to 2010. And looking forward.

Warm and Fuzzy

2009-12-01T19:34:00.006-05:00

I spend every afternoon from 3:15 until 4:05 killing time with my oldest (E) and youngest (G) sons waiting for their brother get out of school. Sometimes we race around the soccer field, or go to the playground (along with a group of high-schoolers who aren't exactly 'high on life'), sometimes we go to the store or run an errand, and sometimes we just sit in the car and talk or read.

G's favorite reading lately isn't a book, but any toy catalog that winds up in the mailbox or the newspaper (he keeps a folder of them in his room and pours over every page for hours). E will read anything that's in front of him. Books, manuals, yogurt containers, anything to possibly quench his insatiable thirst for more information. Today I had a stack of ads that came in the mail from Costco, REI, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Puff's tissues.

After talking about his day for a while, E piped up, "Mom, I want to look at dicks," then laughing, "The ad for Dick's."

Late to the Party

2009-11-25T11:11:00.003-05:00

I finally got around to reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: an Eater's Manifesto; and I have to say that this book is seriously one of the best books I've read in an incredibly long time. I always try to read with some skepticism; but if it's possible, I agree with every word written in this book.

Anyone who knows the book knows the short version of the Eater's Manifesto which is:

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.

The book outlines the theory that since people have studied nutrition and tried to extract the specific components in food that are conducive to our health and survival- we have actually become less healthy with more of what he describes as the Western Diseases: Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer among others. Over time, we've tried to find the 'magic bullet' of nutrition; protein,oat bran, antioxidants, pomegranates, flaxseed, or some single food (or supplement) that will take care of all our ills. As we ping-pong around following a current health fad, avoiding fat, or carbs, or meat, or dairy - we allow ourselves to push the common sense of eating in moderation foods that were raised healthfully and ethically away.

By studying what's 'healthy' in foods lets us create food products that do a much better job of supporting the economy with mass commercial farming, trucking, and commerce in selling the foods in a way that is shelf stable so that people can buy more food without the worry that the food will go bad. It's funny that in even my refrigerator, it's only the vegetables that hang around long enough to go bad, when the processed snacks (that could probably last for 100 years) are eaten within a few days of being purchased. By being so cheap and easy to consume, we don't appreciate the food we're eating - so people are more likely to 'feed' instead of 'dine' on our food. I would wager that most of the money put into the study of nutrition was put there by food corporations looking for ways to add another health claim to their package.

After talking about the problems caused by Nutritionism and the Western Diet, Pollan offers a solution in following the Manifesto: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. He gives us a blueprint to follow in making more positive choices that could benefit our lives.

I'm putting this down, not so much for any reader who happens by, but to remember more of what I've read and put it into practice for myself.

EAT FOOD

Don't eat anything your Great Grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. He uses the example of GoGurt (a far cry from yogurt that includes only milk and bacterial culture) .
Avoid food products containing ingredients that are: A) Unfamiliar; B) Unpronounceable; C) More than 5 in number, or That include; D) High-Fructose Corn Syrup. This answers the question that, yeah, Great-Grandma may recognize bread, but not the stuff on the shelves with added softeners and sweeteners because it's imperative that bread be eaten with no texture or inherent flavor. Also, to make lowfat milk more creamy they add powdered milk which contains oxidized cholesterol (which may be worse than regular cholesterol). Removing the fat also makes it harder for you to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins that made milk healthy to drink in the first place.
Avoid food products that make health claims. Do we really need to talk about the sugar cereals that now trumpet the existence of whole grains along with the tablespoons of sugar in each serving? Also, think about what the package isn't saying.
Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. That's where real food lives.
Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.Farmers' Markets, CSAs, independent meat/dairy producers. Find sources that rely less on chemicals, grain, and hormones. Shorten the food chain.

MOSTLY PLANTS

Eat mostly plants, especially leaves. We need the omega-3s,vitamins, and antioxidants from plants because our bodies don't produce these. Sticking to a diet that relies mostly on plants helps protect us from Western Diseases, and uses less energy and resources than needed in the production of meat.
You are what *what you eat* eats too. Eat meat, dairy, and eggs from pastured animals.
If you have the space, buy a freezer. Get healthy foods in quantity when they're at their peak, freezing has less of an impact on the nutritional impact of the food than canning does.
Eat like an omnivore. More species of everything, more covered nutritionally.
Eat well-grown food from healthy soils. Lots of farmers grow/raise food without the use of chemicals, hormones so the label 'certified organic' doesn't necessarily guarantee that the food is the healthiest option. Know who grows your food.
Eat wild foods when you can. Wild greens have super-high levels of phytochemicals, higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Wild animals eat a diverse diet, wild fish have higher levels of omega-3 because they aren't fed grain. Higher levels of omega-3 can ward off depression. Abundant wildlife: deer, sardines, anchovies, salmon.
Be the kind of person who takes supplements. Be more health conscious, more educated, and more affluent. Could take a multi, and if you don't eat enough fish, a fish oil supplement.
Eat more like the French. Or the Italians. Or the Japanese. Or the Indians. Or the Greeks. Eating foods in the way they're eaten in a culture makes up for nutritional deficiencies, dangers that may come from eating a food in other ways. In mexico corn and beans together, corn was ground with limestone. In Asia, they developed the best way to eat soy: in tofu.
Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism. Be wary of new permutations of soy.
Don't look for the magic bullet in the traditional diet. Mostly when we study aspects of diet, we aren't able to account for all factors in the success of a diet.
Have a glass of wine with dinner. Men can have two. Drinking alcohol in moderation seems to promote health - or help us enjoy it.

NOT TOO MUCH

Pay more, eat less. Better foods cost more. If you spend more, you may take more time over it, appreciate it, and consequently eat less of it. Americans eat by visual cue (unlike French who ea 'til they're full). Put a smaller portion on the plate, and we'll learn to be satisfied by that. We'll do less snacking, especially if we have to put effort in preparing what we eat. "In 1960 Americans spent 17.5 % of their income on food and 5.2 % on health care." Now, "spending on food has dropped to 9.9 %, while spending on health care has climbed to 16%." The numbers have flipped. Choose quality over quantity.
Eat meals. Together as a family, at the table, eating the same food. Turn off the TV and talk to each other. Do you really need to snack, or eat in the car? Are you going to starve otherwise. (Although I have to admit that a small latte before class (the mixture of protein, carbs and caffeine) was the key to getting A's in my Calculus classes.)
Do all of your eating at a table. No variations.
Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does. Duh. Corn syrup.
Try not to eat alone. You'll enjoy the company, take longer to eat because you're less likely to scarf your food in front of an audience. Use tricks to make you think you're eating more than you are. Look at the book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.
Eat Slowly. Eat deliberately ("from freedom") instead of compulsively. Learn about the Slow Food Movement. Think about what happens when we put success at the center of life. Our whole life diminishes, family, friends, leisure all take a hit. So does our health. Appreciate the food you're eating. Make eating a ritual, offer a blessing before eating. From Wendell Berry:
Eating with the fullest pleasure - pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance - is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude, for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend.
Cook and, if you can, plant a garden. We'll know, learn, and appreciate more about what we're eating.

The List

2009-11-10T12:30:00.004-05:00

Portland, Oregon
Madison, Wisconsin
Burlington, Vermont
Ann Arbor, MI

I wanted to put Pittsburgh, PA on the list; I love the city and it has the lowest cost of living of the entire group. I couldn't do it because I just don't see a big focus on health/fitness overall. Otherwise it would be at the top of the list.

On Change

2009-11-04T12:28:00.002-05:00

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.

- Anatole France

Three Things

2009-11-03T09:21:00.007-05:00

Okay, I went to Weight Watchers a couple of weeks ago and the leader for that particular group is some kind of Weight Watchers Rockstar or something. She's a total pistol and I can completely relate to her 'frugal' perspective on everything. Anyway, she had a really good tip that I'm totally up for doing this week.

Here's the tip:

Make a List of Three Things

So, if you're a list maker who (like me) makes a list of things to do, then gets totally demotivated by the looming number of unfinished things on the list, make a list of ONLY three items to complete. My list for today is:

~~Take down all of the Halloween decorations and put them away.~~
~~Clean the three bathrooms.~~
~~Take Grey to the park (temps in the 30's make me feel less and less like going outside lately).~~

That's it. I know that I have lots of other things to do, but I will definitely complete these items. The list could be for a week, or a day, or home projects that never seem to get done. I'll be back to mark them off as I go.

*Edited to add - finished everything on the list today. It really helped writing down the bathrooms because with three boys, cleaning toilets is something I try to put off as much as I can.

November already?

2009-11-02T12:55:00.003-05:00

So, since I was last here, the whole family (except for husband) managed to get over their bout of H1N1 with variable speed.

Kids had a great Halloween, managed to give away candy to a few hundred kids before running out just before Trick-Or-Treating was over. As we're one of the only subdivisions in an otherwise pretty rural area, people come for miles with vanloads of kids for trick-or treating. I like seeing all of the kids, but it would be nice if maybe some of the teenagers could actually dress up for the occasion.

Husband's car died over the weekend, so I had to take all of the kids for oldest son's checkup this morning - not that any of them minded being late for school - while Hubs bummed a ride into work with a friend. So, with over 220,000 miles, is this it for the old Passat?

Being Grateful

2009-10-16T10:09:00.004-04:00

I'm just really tired of looking at the same page. Instead of writing about how I feel, which would be somwhat negative (hello early winter) and not constructive, I'm going to be thankful because I know that lots of things in life are more about how we frame them.

Saying that I'm grateful for all of the really big things makes me worry that I'll jinx myself, so maybe I'll acknowledge mostly the things that aren't so big.

I'm glad that of the 23 houses on my street, 13 haven't gone into foreclosure, and more than half of the couples are still married to each other. I'm glad that a few of my kids' best friends are still able to spend half of their time with the parents that still live in the neighborhood.

Because the kids are LOVING school, I don't mind spending 3-4 hours taking them there and back (I'm serious - it is worth EVERY minute).

All three kids (and hubs) sick in the last week means that I get to mommy them a little bit more. Sometimes it's nice for mom when everyone wants to cuddle.

Husband working 76-80 hrs/week means that business is doing well enough to keep on going in this crazy Michigan economy. Also, I get to spend a bit more time talking to kids, helping with homework, teaching them to cook.

Even though he is the busiest man alive, hubs is really the most caring person I have ever known -his ability to see the positive in everything is the reason why I knew he was the one for me - and his friends are wrong, I am the lucky one.

Hubs might be home this weekend - fingers crossed. I may be able to get that armoire downstairs, and take a walk by myself.

The 50% off coupon at Michaels? Awesome. Making cheap, fake art for bedroom out of canvas and scrapbook paper is a fun distraction. Also learning that my house needs more glitter.

Livestrong Failure

2009-10-04T20:08:00.008-04:00

Usually when I screw something up, I feel like I should do something about it, but don't. I don't know how many times I buy a card for someone, then neglect to send it and feel bad about it - but not bad enough to send it late, or let the person know I was thinking about them. Even though it's not Friday, I'm still putting this up:

So, my favorite blogger POD had this great idea to write a post to support Livestrong Day on Friday, October 2. Sounded good to me, count me in. So this particular date coincides with Boy1's 10th birthday, and grandparents called to let me know that they'll be showing up too. Which is great news, but makes things just a bit crazier with cleaning, stocking, decorating, baking, preparing Sunday school class, dog obedience school, ~~garage sale~~ (some thing's got to give), etc.

So, I was running around all day Friday with last-minute preparations for the birthday and grandparents' surprise visit. I left my car keys in the garage when the neighbor's dog ran over earlier in the day, so when it was time to pick up birthday boy, I had no idea where I had put them and could not find them (no, we do not have a spare car key). I was late to pick him up for the first time this year ON HIS BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday E! We then rushed over to pickup Boy2 from school and he came out of his class 20 minutes after school was over - the first time he was late leaving from class ~~this year~~ ever. He wasn't able to find a folder that he needed and his teacher was ignoring him when he tried to talk to her about it. I was trying to beat my parents home, but got a call from them needing our garage code so that they could get into the house. As we pulled into the driveway, one kid thought it was funny that there was a car in our driveway with a Union Jack license plate like Grandma's at the same time another realized what that actually meant. I barely had the car in park as they jumped out and bounded up the stairs to greet their grandparents.

We had Evan's favorite pizza and yellow frosted cupcakes to celebrate the big day. My Dad and I talked about Michael Moore's movies. Anyone not from the rust belt may not understand how real and true all of his movies are, but now even conservative are getting behind Moore with his latest two films, Sicko and Capitalism, A Love Story.

It is pretty funny that people complain about the notion that healthcare would make our nation a socialist country when we embrace our military, police, and firefighters for keeping us safe at taxpayer's expense. I don't want to go without their services any more than I think that the current healthcare system is working even for those with excellent coverage. What happens to your great coverage if your job is downsized, or your care is deemed too expensive? In Moore's Sicko, many of those charged with providing care to us are encouraged, rewarded, and forced to make the decision to deny policy holders with needed health care coverage. A husband with leukemia with a brother who's a match is first told that he's been approved for a bone-marrow transplant, then told that the operation will not be covered and he will die. A doctor charged with making decisions that favor the bottom line over human life was told, to assuage her guilt, that you're not denying medical treatment, you're just denying payment.

In this country, we stay in jobs that make us miserable because we fear the loss of health insurance, especially those of us who've had any medical problems. A boy I went to high school with died at the age of 32, a few months before the birth of his second child. He was in remission from melanoma and having severe stomach pain. At his checkups, they didn't find the reason for this pain, missed the elevated levels on renal function. He had just moved back to Pgh. from CA, and was waiting for the health insurance to kick in from his new job in January because his cobra insurance wouldn't cover tests to confirm what was gnawing at the back of his mind. He was treated like a hypochondriac for months (his doctor gave him Cipro, telling him that it would make him feel better) until just before Christmas of that year when he wound up in the emergency room. They gave him the tests he had been asking for and he found out that the melanoma had returned with a vengeance. Just before treatment was about to begin, he became too ill and the disease took him from his pregnant wife and daughter in January . Maybe an earlier diagnosis wouldn't have saved his life, but he might have met his son or given his loved ones some time to digest what was happening.

Our worth as a person and our right to good medical coverage should not be tied to what job we have. Want to help small businesses flourish? Take the responsibility of health insurance out of small business owner's hands - they can't afford it - so either they don't provide it, or they provide sub-par policies because it's the best they can do, or they don't go into business at all. Without the ability to negotiate for better health care costs, people with pre-existing medical concerns cannot afford healthcare when insurance corporations take it away from them, and people without health insurance have to decide whether they are sick enough to warrant the cost of medical care.

Caring for the health of our citizens shouldn't be consumed by profit, and by making it a cash cow for some attracts precisely the wrong people to those positions. Making profit the goal is the reason that our top scientists aren't paid to cure diseases, but to find ways to 'treat' them with pharmaceuticals. Please let's take our health back into our own hands and return this country into a Democracy where the people decide what is best for our citizens rather than a few executives with a vested interest in keeping us sick.

Even though I was a jackass and missed Livestrong Day, don't let it stop you from visiting Livestrong.org and offering your support. Or Stand Up for Healthcare Reform.

By the way, these are my opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of anyone I've linked to in this post.

Parenting 101

2009-09-30T23:37:00.005-04:00

Not a good idea to buy 2 kids a cupcake to kill time between school pick-ups even if you tell them that they should probably keep that information to themselves.

Because when we pick up the third kid, it will be the first thing G mentions to him.

*edited to add: Also, don't take G with you to buy your 10-year-old a birthday present unless you want G to tell 10-year-old about the Lego Starwars ship he'll be getting.

Also today: Jillian's 30 Day Shred and Gilad.

Making it Your Own

2009-09-29T11:25:00.005-04:00

So, G had a big birthday over the weekend. He was excited about the Lego Space Police, and even more excited about the crazy straws (only one milk spill all weekend!). Instead of buying cards, each family member has to make a card (use some effort!) for the birthday boy (or girl). Since G's favorite animal is a lion, mommy felt that this was the obvious choice. After he fawned over the card for a bit, I put it up on the counter with the rest of the birthday wishes. A few minutes later, I returned to the kitchen to find this improvement:

Much better.

*edited to add: Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad, and Level 1 of Jillian. Go me!

Gilad and Jillian to the Rescue

2009-09-28T17:24:00.007-04:00

I haven't worked out in ages. Old habits that I knew were ingrained have just fallen by the wayside. Among other excuses, I haven't been able to figure out exactly where I can fit exercise into our new schedule.

Today, I decided to put my preschooler in front of NickJr (when did it stop being Noggin?) for a bit while I worked out to my hero Gilad, and I squeezed in a level of 30-Day Shred before having to basically run through the shower on my way to pick up Son1 from school. I feel great about not making excuses today.

And I'm calling myself out to keep it going.

I'm making it a habit. Especially because there was cake on Fri for G's birthday, and there'll be cake again for E's big day.

image from Netflix

The Spark

2009-09-14T11:09:00.005-04:00

Why is it so much easier to find when you step on the scale and realize that you've lost 4 lbs. since the last time you weighed? I'm feeling totally motivated and getting ready for Jillian Michaels' right now.

*edited to add: better not find out that someone was fiddling with the scale and I've actually gained weight.

Back to School

2009-09-11T12:26:00.003-04:00

This week has been completely amazing. I've forgotten how much easier it is to get everything done around here without an 8-y-o and a 9-y-o hanging around to remind me of how boring everything is. And how hot it is outside, and how I'm mean because I don't allow video games every day. Also, 3-y-o isn't missing the older kids half as much as I'd thought he would.

The thing that's not so great: the sixty miles of driving them back and forth to school everyday. Which amounts to 3hours in driving and waiting around for their respective school day(s) to begin and end. So, how do I still have all of this extra time? Is it because I'm back to waking at 6am? Should I get up at 5 so that my workouts can be done before the rest of the house so much as *thinks* about waking?

Everything about this week has been beautiful, including the weather: lows in the high 50's and highs in the upper 70s-low-80's. The kids haven't been weighed down with homework, so we've had time for art projects, some studying on the computer, and for running around the neighborhood with friends. I just want to freeze this week in time so that I can pull it out whenever things aren't so smooth or easy. When there's so much homework that there aren't enough minutes in the day to get everything done, when the weather keeps the kids inside, or when friends aren't around because so many of them have to go their other parent's house tonight.

Tonight we'll be together, toasting marshmallows and enjoying each other's company. And I'll also be thinking about the perfect day 8 years ago when the world seemed to change. The day when I worried about what kind of world I had just brought my new baby into. And I'll think about the families that were not so fortunate on that day.

Today I'm thankful that our family is whole, and loves each other; and that our kids have us to lean on when everything isn't so great.

Good Fortune

2009-09-02T20:12:00.005-04:00

So, everything is turning out to be very manageable. The broken appliances turned out with the best case scenario as far as repairs and a little reaching by the providers of our extended warranty. So now we have clean dishes and cold food after living for a couple of weeks with a mini fridge and a manual dishwasher.

We spent a couple of days this week at Kensington on the cross country course. While we were there, we saw deer, fish, turtles, swans, geese, turkey, cranes, a mole, and a cat. The kids initially resented us for the forced march, but they warmed up and were really excited by all of the animals by the end of the trip. Even with the gorgeous weather and fresh air, I have to admit that I've gotten really comfortable with not eating mindfully or exercising regularly. I have to make some changes. Starting right now, I need to journal every bite and get at least 40 minutes of exercise every day. With husband home on vacation this week, I have no excuse that there's not enough time.

I'm changing things up around here on the blog too. Just a bit to freshen things up.

Just ~~bought~~ read the Dave Ramsey book, and am feeling really stoked to completely change our lifestyle to continue to keep things in the right direction.

Role Models

2009-08-20T17:24:00.010-04:00

Months after reading this and mentioning it here, I am still in love with this woman. She is living proof of where we can all be at 83. My favorite yoga instructor in Ann Arbor was 72, and his busy schedule included teaching at least 4 hours of yoga every week.

At last year's Run Thru Hell (Hell, MI), I was talking to a man who had run every Detroit Marathon since the race started in 1978. More notable than his level of physical fitness was the level of happiness radiating out of this guy. He was having a great time doing what he loved to do.

That's something we can lose sight of. It's not totally about being a size 2. It's about being mindful, taking care of yourself, and having fun while doing it. Thank goodness there's a whole generation (or 2) of people still around to show us the way.

Going to workout now.

MBTI = INFJ

2009-08-18T22:07:00.006-04:00

So, was going through Nester's archives and saw this entry.

Clicked through and took the test, and shocker: I'm INFJ (Introversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging) - making up 1% of the population. I should be a minister, professor, or counselor.
Husband is nearly my polar opposite (an ENTP) but supposedly the best match for this weirdo.

Famous INFJ's? Mother Theresa, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandella. Wonder if they'd like Real Housewives too?

Balloons in the Backyard

2009-08-10T22:56:00.010-04:00

One of the really cool things about living here is probably that our town has a Balloon Fest every summer. If the wind is right, a half-dozen-or-so balloons will take off from or land in the field behind our home. Because the weather was perfect, we saw dozens of balloons float over our roof top. This year's favorites: the carousel balloon that 's a regular sight in town, and a new penguin balloon. I ran up to snap a picture of these two landing in the field this year ('09).

I think that every time I need to vent, I'm going to mitigate it with a picture that reminds me of something cool. In the last three days, both the refrigerator and dishwasher have died. We just had to replace the motherboard on the computer in July and paid over $300 to fix the microwave a couple of months ago. Yes we could have bought a new microwave for almost as much, but I'm feeling like we really need to mitigate the huge footprint that we're already leaving on the earth and actually fix the stuff we have instead of tossing it aside for something new. Another bonus: warranty on fridge expired July 28, and the problem is more costly/complex than pretty handy Hubs can handle on his own.

Aren't the balloons really cool?

Paint Therapy

2009-08-09T16:57:00.009-04:00

Lately I've been focusing on things in which I either have no control, or it's my responsibility to take over all control to steer my family onto a very difficult path that I feel will leave us better off in the long run. I know that all of this cryptic vocabulary doesn't make it any easier for anyone to help or understand the situation, but I can't really get into it any deeper here.

Without going into detail, I will say that I've been feeling extremely trapped in my current situation, worried about the welfare of those around me, and the welfare of my husband pracitcally killing himself to make everyone happy with the result of keeping everyone miserable. I've been angry about the situation, scared, sad, even devastated. I've also been working so hard to 'put a good light on it' and just deal with the situation and be happy for everything that's going right. This was working out okay until a couple of months ago when we got the rug pulled out from us in a certain regard. A couple of weeks later there was more bad news that left me depleted, then about a month ago a series of events transpired that basically destroyed any hope that this situation would be fixable in any measure whatsoever. That's when I realized that there is a very sound solution, but this means that I actually have to be assertive in my convictions and that I actually have to lead this family and not just follow grudgingly along the path to ruin. I felt the opaque fog that's been struggling to smother me the last few years go away. Instantly. I've been working on the plan for a few weeks now, and I am more convinced that I'm definitely on the right path, as hard as it is to navigate.

So, I've been finding ways to keep me from dwelling on this stuff 24 hours per day. That's where the paint therapy comes in. I found this little bird for $2 at Salvation Army. I've been wanting to try a project like this to see how it would come out.

After a little white paint meditation, the bird emerges a bit more to my taste. Here he is making my bookcase look so much nicer.

So here's to making things a little better, and a bit of paint to make it all easier to deal with.

Gilad Spotting

2009-07-26T16:09:00.005-04:00

Just watched Burn After Reading, and, John Malkovich working out to Gilad? Awesome.

...4 miles today! Not all running, knee was feeling a little sticky, so I took it a little easy.

Get the ball rolling

2009-07-23T14:56:00.002-04:00

So, I've managed to overcome a bit of my inertia of late. I managed to work out three days so far this week. Most of my challenge is just getting started. I worked out (Cathe Slow and Heavy chest and back, ow) on Tuesday, then husband asked me to go to the track with him and the boys. I said that I'd walk a couple of laps. Well, I got there and started to walk, and of course the music started to get to me and I wound up running a few miles in my trail shoes. Hubs knows that if I get started, I cannot help myself and have to continue until I get in a full workout.

So that's the idea for the rest of the week. Of course 6 veg/fruit per day, 6 waters per day, and FIVE minutes of working out. Five because I know that if I can just get started, I'll get in a full workout.

Any other tips for just making it happen?

Inertia

2009-07-20T09:51:00.007-04:00

We all have things going on in our lives that give us the excuse to not get it together, and I have a bagful, but they are just excuses. I know that by staying healthy and fit I'm way better equipped to handle the crap that gets thrown at me on a day-to-day basis.

Despite several aborted attempts, I have not maintained any real focus this summer when it comes to exercise and healthy eating. I went to Weight Watchers and was feeling really gung-ho about losing the 10 lbs I wanted to lose, but when I got to the magic number, my focus dropped and I started slagging off on exercise and eating crap at meal times. I had a pretty good wakeup call this morning when (TMI alert) I noticed that my bra is starting to spill over with the abundance of chest that I'm sporting. I am NOT going to buy new bras - they are too expensive and I'd rather save my money for something good.

It's like I'm trying to roll a giant boulder (not my chest), and I'm great as long as I keep moving and don't let my focus shift. If I let my focus lag just a bit, that boulder is impossible to move. That's where I am right now; headed uphill, bracing the boulder so it doesn't roll backwards and squash the crap out of me. I'm just looking for a little reserve of strength to get it rolling in the right direction.

So today I'm going to journal my food, I'm going to get (at least) 30 minutes of exercise, and I'm going to eat 6 servings of veg/fruit.

Woman Worrier

2009-07-14T12:00:00.015-04:00

So, Death Case Scenario: it's where normal people look at glass of water filled to the halfway point and say, "it's half-full'" or, "It's half empty." People like me look at it and say, "I'm going to pick up the glass to take a drink, it's going to slip out of my hand, and I'll fall and bash my head off of the corner of the counter while trying to save it."

Just to further illustrate Death Case Scenario in action, I put together a little list of irrational fears. Usually the minute I think of them, I laugh at the absurdity, but it is the way I think.

Irrational Fears: Home Edition

Do you know how sometimes there are worms in old, cloth books? Or that there are pantry bugs that can get into your flour, sugar or whatever? I sometimes worry that at some point between manufacture and sitting in my cabinet, my tampons could harbor an infestation that I'll unknowingly insert.
I worry that while running with my dog, she'll dart to the side quickly and I'll step on one of her legs, breaking it.
I've worried that my sweat will cause me to be electrocuted by my iPod.
I've wondered if the glaze on my coffee mug could be tainted with lead.
I've wondered the same of the vitamin I take to be healthy.
If my knitting is next to the bed, I have to move it before I go to sleep because I fear that I'll fall out of bed in the night and be impaled on one of the needles.

Any one else do this from time to time? What's your worry?

No More Pity Party

2009-06-26T23:48:00.003-04:00

So, just went without the computer for a week - and it was pretty awesome. I suddenly found the time to read a book I'd been meaning to read for a while (Eat, Pray, Love), I got a couple of projects done around the house, I read LOTS of books to boy#3, and I was able to pull myself out of a serious funk that came about for no GOOD reason.

First, Eat, Pray, Love is a really good book (despite the fact that I resent when something I'm interested in winds up on Oprah - I don't like being a minion). I was in such a crappy, feeling-sorry-for-myself-little-snit; and this book met me right where I wanted it to. I've been putting too much energy into feeling overwhelmed lately, and that is total crap.

It's pretty late, so I'll update more in the morning. Have a good night.

30 27 Days of Exercise in June: Still Going

2009-06-15T23:15:00.007-04:00

Let's keep the ball rolling and see 7 days of activity this week.

Mon, June 15: Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad Did I do it? Yes I did! Kickboxing and TBS back, chest, abs, thighs. Arms aren't sore from yesterday's Cathe workout.
Tues, June 16: Yoga Did I do it? Yup. Inhale w/ Steve Ross
Wed, June 17: Run/walk 5 miles, upper body Did I do it? Too much rain for the run, so 1 hr on mini trampoline plus a bit of abs.
Thurs, June 18: Jillian Michaels Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism Did I do it? Nah, but I did do 30 min of yoga.
Fri, June 19: Short Run, yoga Did I do it? Stuck inside w/ storms & rain, so Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad
Sat, June 20: bike ride, yoga Did I do it?
Sun, June 21: Yoga, Run, or Cathe - depends on T's Father's Day requests Did I do it?

Yay Pens!

2009-06-13T00:07:00.002-04:00

...So excited that the Pens won the Stanley Cup 'n'at!

30 27 Days of Exercise in June

2009-06-08T13:34:00.014-04:00

Okay. Last week didn't work out as well as planned, but I am going to work out every day for the remainder of June. I finally made a schedule to see how well I can follow an actual plan from week-to-week without having to rebel against myself.

Mon, June 8: Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad Did I do it? Yes I did! Kickboxing and Total Body Workout II
Tues, June 9: Run/ walk 5 miles, yoga Did I do it? I did it! 5 mile run and 30 minutes of yoga.
Wed, June 10: Jillian Michaels Banish Fat/Boost Metabolism, yoga Did I do it? Yes I did! Fitness trail w/ kids, Jillian Michaels, then 30 minutes of yoga. I'm exhausted today.
Thurs, June 11: Fitness Trail, and 50 states or playground sprints Did I do it? Sort of, too rainy, so went for Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt. Abs are actually a bit sore today. The first time in a while.
Fri, June 12: Kick, Punch and Crunch, yoga Did I do it? Mostly. Cathe's Kick, Punch, and Crunch after Pens game because I worried that turning the game off would mean that they'd lose.
Sat, June 13: arms/upper body, yoga Did I do it? Yoga (Crane sequence) and Cathe Friedrich's Stretch Max 1
Sun, June 14: bike ride (16 miles minimum) Did I do it? Yeah, Forgot that T had a triathlon at Belle Isle today, so no bike ride. Instead ran three miles, and one hour of biceps and triceps. I haven't worked my arms that well in a while - I think that I'll be hurting tomorrow.

30 Days of Exercise in June

2009-06-03T18:03:00.006-04:00

So, I'm starting June off with a bit of a challenge for myself. I plan on finding some way to fit in exercise everyday in June, even if it means only 30 minutes of yoga. Last week was a bit of a disaster with exercise, I let myself slack off for almost the entire week.

So this week, I'll be logging my exercise weekly, and editing posts to records the week's activity.

June
1:Jillian Michaels Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism
2:5 mile run/walk, Cathe Friedrich Pyramid Upper Body
3:50 states and capitals, Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

Wah-wah, totally skipped the next three days - but wound up in a frenzy of painting, upholstering, planting and shopping for things to get the house looking more homey.
4:Skip
5:Skip
6:Skip
7:30 minutes of pilates. Might start adding more pilates because I felt really good afterward.

So...Weight Watchers

2009-05-22T19:49:00.005-04:00

A rare picture of me...with Double G

Okay, I started this blog to get serious about my health/body issues. I was hovering at 10 lbs. above my personal ideal weight. I managed to lose a pound or two, then I managed to find them, plus an additional 5.6 since February. To be honest, I've been feeling increasingly demotivated since the holidays. Don't know if it was the weather, economy, personal issues or most likely a combination that made it impossible to get energy or enjoyment from almost anything. I stopped going to WW last year because I was obsessing over the weigh-ins, feeling like I couldn't figure out how to go to the meetings (which I personally needed) without feeling like I didn't belong there, or feeling like I was being asked by the leader for my opinion on every question. I just wanted to be anonymous (invisible), and the WW leader wasn't letting me. Instead of addressing that - I quit.

So, almost a year and a half later, I finally decided to go back. At 5.6 pounds above my WW goal weight. And even though I know some people would think that was an OK weight, I was still embarrassed to go back. My leader congratulated me on coming back - I wish I came back sooner. I lost 3.2 lbs. the first week and 1 lb. this week. Now that I'm withing 2 lbs. of my goal weight, meetings are free again.

What brought me back: Diabetes and obesity. In my family, if you don't have one, or the other, or both; you're heading there. I know plenty of folks can eat sugar/simple refined carbs with no effects. That is not me. Not only does it make me feel crappy when I have it, but it starts a cycle of sugar craving that literally lasts for weeks. I really think that it's pretty selfish of me to consciously engage in a behavior that's almost guaranteed to result in chronic disease. So, If I take a few steps down another path, maybe I'll be able to go a bit longer without the disease or doctors and medication.

This week I'm focusing on: tracking what I'm eating. That's it. I'm not into counting points and all of that. I prefer Weight Watchers CORE plan (now called Simply Filling or SiFi for WW nerds), it focuses on less processed foods and eating mindfully. I've also been doing 30 minutes of yoga most days for the last month or so - the difference in my flexibility is really noticeable. I've never been able to sit comfortably in full lotus, but in the last couple of weeks I've been able to sit comfortably for increasingly longer periods of time. This was my motivation for increasing my yoga practice.

So, do you have any advice for sticking with the program, or in making changes in general? Anyone else feel crappy about 'falling off the wagon' with diet and exercise?

On the UUp Side

2009-05-08T22:48:00.005-04:00

South Bend does have a really cute UU Church - I gave a little woot when I saw it. Wonder if Presbyterians do the same when they see another Presbyterian church?

Alan Alda was AMAZING on 30 Rock - when Jack asked him about his religious affiliation, Alda's character dropped the bombshell that he's an Agnostic Secular Humanist. Hubs and I both said, "UU." Funny to us.

ADD Road Trip

2009-05-08T14:04:00.011-04:00

In the last few months, I've come to realize that we've been living in this house for almost 5 years, and besides painting the walls, I've done nothing to actually make if feel like 'home.' I don't know if I was in denial that we actually live here, but the plan of selling the house in 2009 is definitely on the back-burner; especially since home values have fallen 30% or more in our neighborhood (yay Michigan!). Since we're going to be here for a while, I decided to actually start putting some personality in these rooms. Because I'm cheap and ~~OCD~~ particular, it's been a slow process of combing Craigslist, antique stores, and garage sales to start getting this house up-to-par on a budget.

One of the key pieces I've been looking for is an antique/vintage secretary desk. I've seen at least a dozen that weren't quite right or if they were, had too many zeroes in the price. Last week I found the perfect secretary for a great price in Iowa. The town was over 600 miles away - with trailer rental and hotel rooms, the secretary would still be well below the prices I've seen everywhere else. I brought it up with my husband, hoping that he'd talk some sense into me. No luck, he bought the piece of furniture and the family got ready to hit the road. I have to say that Iowa is really a beautiful state. The rolling hills were a welcome reprieve from the unrelenting flatness of Indiana and Illinois. We stopped in Iowa City the first night - kind of weird that the Iowa River runs right through the middle of U of Iowa's campus. Part of the university was under water last year when the Iowa River flooded - it looks like renovation is ongoing in the large and still-new buildings that flank the banks of the river. I'd like to visit Iowa City again if we had more time - it's no Penn State but it was a really nice university town.

We made it to Lamoni, Iowa (where we picked up the -exactly what I wanted- secretary) and stopped at Maid-Rite for lunch. I knew about loose-meat sandwiches from watching Roseanne as a kid, but had never seen one in person. I had a Maid-Rite topped salad. I expected the worst but it was really good, not greasy or weird tasting at all.

The next day, we decided that a detour through South Bend, Indiana would be a nice way to wrap up the trip. That is one depressing town. It was hard not to notice the huge dichotomy between the haves and have-nots in South Bend to the extent that it felt cartoonishly like propaganda against capitalism. Despite the general suckiness of the town, if anyone has to go to Notre Dame for a weekend I would highly recommend the Oaken Bucket. We had a great 'lunner' there on Sunday afternoon with the help of a Sierra-Nevada on draught (totally makes up for the 22 hours spent in the car over three days).

Now that we're home, I have three major painting/refinishing projects on the way. I'll try to remember to take pictures and post my progress. Also: went back to Weight Watchers yesterday - I'll post more about that soon.

Smartasses, stalking the subdivision, and of course, exercise.

2009-04-27T22:09:00.010-04:00

With three kids, I have to say that something I'm very thankful for is that they're not picky eaters and they tell me they really like the meals I make for them. I wasn't so fond of my mom's cooking when I was growing up. It was a real thrill for me to have meat, starch, and vegetable actually appear as three distinct items at dinner. My favorite included anything that didn't leave a thick film of grease on the bottom of the plate.
So tonight I was serving pork with broccoli, lemon, and capers over wheat cappellini and as I was rounding the table I nearly tripped. I said, "Whoa, if I died you guys wouldn't be able to eat any more of my good cooking." My oldest (9) deadpanned, "We'd be okay - there'd still be leftovers from tonight."

Last week was a good one, T was in Vegas for work, it was nice to spend time alone with the kids. When either parent is missing, it seems like the morning routine is so much more streamlined, so we were able to get out of the house for school in much less time with much less confusion. There were lots of great conversations with the older boys that seem to sprout up more when only one parent is in attendance. Just before T left, we got an email from a couple of neighbors telling us that there was some kind of wild animal loose in the neighborhood, that one of the kids had found a bunny missing its head and shoulders (on Easter), and that a cat was attacked and managed to survive. The vet who performed surgery on the cat said that it definitely wasn't wounded from a domesticated animal, maybe a fox or wolf. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any bunnies for the dog to find, and since a rabid fox attacked someone in our town last fall, I was worried that the animal might be sick as well (why else would you not finish your Easter bunny?).

Exercise: So far this week, I've completed yoga everyday, and we took the kids for a short (8 mile) bikeride after the rain on Sunday. I had fun with Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad today. Gotta get the youngest to bed, I hear him sneaking back downstairs.

Exercise as Motivation

2009-04-13T22:31:00.011-04:00

Getting a pretty good start to the week activity-wise, but because Easter brought with it lots of candy - food's going to be a pretty big focus for the rest of the week. I've really been missing the yoga that I practiced a few years ago. I've been so into the so-called "power yoga" that I've lost some of the more contemplative nature and deliberate movement of the yoga that I fell in love with. So, for the last two days, I've given 1/2 hour morning and night to a slow, deliberate Hatha practice. I'm already noticing an increase in flexibility.

Easter was really good - the kids loved their baskets despite the fact that the Easter Bunny made some significant cutbacks. Oldest got the third Diary of a Wimpy Kid book (bought with Borders coupon) and Pokemon cards with his bit of candy; Middle found an Indiana Jones lego set (on sale at Target but on his wish list) along with knitting needles and yarn. Baby (who's now three) is also really into the legos, so the Easter Bunny gave him a lego firefighter set along with some pastel Pla-Doh.

We took the kids to (UU) church. This is the first time in their lives that they've been to any kind of church on Easter. Does it sound like a back-handed compliment to you when someone tells you that your son is "all boy?" Or do they intend it as a comparison to your other son who prefers to dance shirtless in your living room so that he can show off the designs he made with his tattoo marker?

This week:

Sun: One hour yoga and 4 mile intervals

Mon: One hour yoga, Total Body Sculpt, and Bodies in Motion

Tues:Kids go back to school! 30 min yoga, 5 mile run, 30 min yoga.

Wed: 30 min yoga, triceps, biceps, back, chest - TV where Priscilla was TiVo'd suddenly isn't working - look for some yoga online tomorrow.

Thurs: 1hr30 raking yard, 30min yoga, Cathe Friedrich Bootcamp.

Fri: 30 min yoga, fitness trail and walk w/ kids, 30 min yoga.

Sat:4 mile walk w/ kids, fitness trail,

We're back

2009-04-10T14:25:00.005-04:00

Okay, after a week of family wide ....Gastro-Intestinal issues, a trip to Pgh, and lots of coughing and sneezing - we're back. While most of the family was in the throes of vomit and the other thing that comes with that type of illlness, I was smug in the assertion that I was Superwoman and nothing could make me sick. I was so wrong. Five days of "GI illness" and I was left feeling like a deflated balloon.

Yesterday, I finally was able to get it together enough for some much needed exercise. Since it was so nice outside (after the weekend's 7-8" of snow melted) the whole family headed to the track with footballs, running cones, and iPods for the grownups. I definitely misjudged the weather as I ran/walked in the frigid temperatures that start as darkness begins to fall. I stopped a bit short of my intended 16 laps because the whole family was cold, tired, and NOT enjoying themselves.

so here's the exercise I have for what's left of this week:

Thurs: 14 laps intervals on track. Lungs burning from cold air and lack of exercise for over a week.

Fri: Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

Sat: Lots of scouring antique stores for a couple of particular things that we needed for Easter, no exercise.

Now I'm off to get the needed supplies to finish Easter Baskets and something cute for the new neighbors. Trying to decide whether to make them cupcakes or cookies. Made adorable cupcakes for Boy2's birthday last week with marshmallow peeps on top. Might do that.

Western Michigan could expect...

2009-03-28T23:18:00.002-04:00

...6 inches of snow overnight.

Also, watching The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp on FLN - finally a show where people just need the extra push to get them the rest of the way to their goal.

Sitting on my ass and eating won't make the economy better March 22-28

2009-03-24T13:22:00.008-04:00

I've just had to take over the finances in our house because my husband's terrible money handling skills have us in a hole so deep that it will be a decade before we even see the light of day. Also, do you know that I don't believe in charge cards, and don't have one? But I just found out that hubs does, to the tune of $60,000. Idiot. Also, how is there a company-wide paycut while you're still working 75hrs+ per week? Because of our financial situation there is no extra money for child care - so get f'ing home sometime so that I can get a job that pays in money, and the kids actually know what their Dad looks like. Also, enjoy your trip to Vegas next month for 'work'.

Exercise
Tuesday: Gilad's Bodies in Motion/pretty old one with the guys sporting waist-deep armholes and women wearing belts on their leotards. Also, Total Body Sculpt/as always lots of lunges, functional moves.

Wednesday: All Star Workouts: Core workout w/ Petra Kolber.

Thurs:no

Fri: Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

Sat:Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

Food -on plan
Mon-yes
Tues-yes
Wed-yes
Thurs - no - Had a nasty turkey reuben for lunch that probably had a gallon of mayo and almost no turkey. Cost for sandwich and cup of coffee $12.75!
Fri -yes, despite heading toward the pantry a few times, super healthy eating with lots of fruit and veg, and a great piece of wild salmon for lunch.
Sat - definitely not enough fruits and vegetables or water

Exercise - March 15 thru 21

2009-03-15T23:24:00.008-04:00

I can't believe that it was actually 60 degrees today! I took the opportunity to go running outside, then drinks with the ladies - it was really good to get out without hubs and kids.
Here's how the week looks:

Sun - 5 mile run.

*Mon - 1 hr yoga (Inhale w/Steve Ross)

*St. Patrick's Day - 5 mile run; then 2 1/2 hrs. at Kensington walking around lake, playing on playground, and fitness trail with the 3 boys.

*Wed - Cathe Friedrich Pyramid Upper Body

*Thurs - Boy2 spent the day becoming the vomiteur - so no exercising, but lots of scrubbing, disinfecting, and herding rest of family away from Mr. Contamination

*Fri - Boy 2 still puking

*Sat - off/ is it normal for husbands to work 75+ hours/week while taking a company-wide paycut?

Exercise - March 8 thru 14, 2009

2009-03-08T23:14:00.009-04:00

Okay, since I stopped recording my exercise weekly, the activity has been lacking. More than any other time in the last four years of my life. So, welcome back weekly exercise logs.

Also, there has been much baking going on in the house. It started with bread, then beer bread (amazing when made with a Yuengling Black & Tan), then I needed to make a cake with chocolate buttercream, and finally today a dark chocolate cake with mocha and vanilla buttercream. I don't know if it's the weather, the economy, or what that's creating this pervasive funk around the house; but cramming baked goods down my throat definitely won't make things better. So, in honor of the dark chocolate cake, here's my exercise for the week:

Sunday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion, Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad, and 1/2 hr. yoga (went through a series from a book - yawn).

*Monday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion, Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

*Tuesday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion

*Wednesday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion, Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

*Thursday - Off

*Friday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt

*Saturday - Total Body Sculpt Plus VII

Bee in my Bonnet

2009-02-25T10:24:00.006-05:00

I love my DVR. It has seen me through countless episodes of Cardio Max, Lost, and Real Housewives. With an equal fervor, I hate our huge, clunky DVD player that accompanies 4 large baskets of DVDs. Most of them we don't watch - but you never know when my husband is going to need a Caddyshack or Zoolander fix - so we keep them. I have to admit to more than a dozen workout DVD's of my own. I'm so tired of the audio-visual gymnastics that I have to do to play a DVD on our system. That and having to replace Toy Story twice due to scratches, and did I mention the 4 baskets of DVDs wasting space on our shelves?

While we were driving to Ann Arbor over the weekend, I asked my husband if we could get a hard drive to put all of our DVD's and downloaded iTunes episodes on - to get rid of the DVD's and make it easier to access them. He said that we should, then we both promptly forgot the conversation. Then I read this post. If I had the hard drive connected to the TVs, I would definitely be downloading more exercise shows (right now I put them on my iPod and connect to the tv with av cables). The comments were helpful too, with some sources for ripping old DVDs.

Project for this weekend: price hard drives that can handle the amount of files I need, and figure out a way to get it to work in three rooms.

Exercise: Friday - Cardio Blast Push-Pull
Saturday - Gilad Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad
Sunday - Gilad ''

Wed - Gilad Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt

Nothing to see here...

2009-02-19T22:57:00.002-05:00

...Just recording my exercise.

Yesterday I did an hour of yoga (almost an hour/Inhale w/ Steve Ross). It's always moderately challenging, but today my hamstrings and triceps are so sore. Didn't even realize it until I started working out tonight. Must be the extra focus I put into lowering into Chaturanga , and repeated Warrior poses.

Today, husband and I busted out some old school Gilad (Bodies in Motion) and some newer Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad. It was okay, but I definitely need some outside exercise in the next couple of days to break the monotony.

Was sorry to miss the concert for Black History Month tonight. Husband got home a little late, and I just didn't feel like slinking in late to another function. Also, with the kids, it would have been pretty expensive - whatever - we should have gone.

Selfish mothers

2009-02-17T23:24:00.004-05:00

Did anyone watch The Biggest Loser tonight? I think that I just watched Helen force her daughter off of the show. While I did that, I ran 5.15 miles (can't just round down and say 5) on treadmill, then some crunches and push-ups (all of this while husband put the three boys to bed).

Oldest son returned to his 4th grade class from mid-winter break and the teachers were nice enough to welcome him with 4 hours of homework.

Ridiculous.

So much for ski club tonight. Sorry E. And felt really bad when I had to tell two of the neighborhood boys that he couldn't play because he had too much work to do. In addition the 4 hrs of work, he had his nightly reading assignment of at least 20 min. and had to practice his multiplication facts.

Check-in

2009-02-16T20:12:00.004-05:00

So, we're back from our short trip to PA. There's so much going around in my head based on the trip that I might go into on another day. I just can't leave there without feeling worried about and disappointed in the way that many of my family members handle the challenges of normal life.

Exercise Thurs, Feb 12 - 5 mile run/walk on treadmill. Walking got really boring, so had to start running for a while.

Fri, Feb 13 - Jillian Michaels' Boost/Metabolism.

Sat and Sunday - no exercise.

Noticing the time, time to get started on my exercise for today. Gilad?

New DVD

2009-02-11T11:07:00.004-05:00

Woo! Just finished Jillian Michaels' Banish Fat Boost Metabolism workout video ( just got it for $9.99 at Meier). It is seriously hard for me to need to stop for a breather while doing a video. I had to stop twice during this one - during standing mountain climbers, and just before the second set of moguls. I even think that I almost felt a little queasy about 3/4 of the way through. Another great thing about this video is that there is absolutely no equipment except for a mat - so I think it would be great to take along with me when we go out of town. Of course, for those of us who've had a few kids, pee first because there is a fair amount of jumping.

Also, I've been a bit remiss about putting my workouts up. Here's how the previous few days looked:
Sat: Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred, Level 1 and 2
Sun: 5 mile walk on treadmill (1 hr 15min), abs
Mon: One hour yoga (Inhale)
Tuesday: off

I'll probably try to get in a bit more activity to gear up for visiting the family this weekend. My son's been asking to visit my 93-y-o great uncle for a while - so we're taking a trip to see him. The man is super sharp and seriously funny, he is a joy to be around.

First Weigh-In

2009-02-05T20:57:00.002-05:00

Went back to WW today, and my weight is 1.8 lbs over goal. So, hoping I can turn that around a bit by next week. The usual leader who is a really great, kind and motivating woman just had open heart surgery - so she'll be out for for a couple of months at least.

The new leader was nice. It was her first meeting (at this WW center) and she tried to get the meeting going, but was met with lots of blank stares. I somehow felt it was my job to get people talking, because I am a complete nerd. Also, Hello, when people lose weight - you clap because we're here for some f'ing support people. I hope that the duds at this meeting perk the f* up next time.

Also pretty happy that the leader gave me the week six booklet so that I can follow Simply Filling instead of spending my whole day counting points. Guess there was no reason to avoid going back.

Exercised yesterday - Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt
Today too - 45 min on treadmill (3.09 mi)

Finding it hard to resist some Flu-related pun or rhyme.

2009-02-03T23:14:00.007-05:00

So, I guess that I can say that I'm officially over the flu. No more fever or chills despite wearing two sweaters and a fleece jacket. No headache or all-over bodyache, and no mountains of tissue lying in my wastebasket. I feel good. ....AND the Steelers won on Sunday (which I celebrated by eating four pieces of cake this week)! So now that I can obviously eat more than soup, it's back to eating right and exercising. I still weigh the same that I did when I started this blog in November. The whole point then was to work hard to get back to my ideal weight (actually just so my jeans fit right). That plan went right off the rails as soon as I rediscovered sugar over the holidays.

So, back to keeping a food journal, back to exercise, and back to Weight Watchers this week (either Thursday or Saturday will be my weigh-in). I still don't want to count points, because it almost makes my brain explode when I try to count points and make a healthy meal for my entire family - but I heard about filling foods and how it is much like CORE - so I'll try it.

I managed to get in some exercise today too - Sharon Mann's 'Pilates and Yoga' on FitTV and an hour walking on the treadmill (4.11 miles).

Also: on the Biggest Loser tonight when the contestants were walking across the gym carrying their team members piggyback-style. I do that with my husband all of the time, but just because we're total dorks, and we like to imagine what our neighbors probably think of the shenanigans that go on over here.

Exercise is not all I'm going to write about, January 25 - 31

2009-01-25T18:21:00.004-05:00

* Exercise is not going to happen.

Came back from Boyne today. Didn't want to leave, but luckily it kept getting colder and I was running out of hand warmers. Also, no fitness classes on Sunday, so I missed my chance at Pilates or Spinning at the spa.

This week, I'm looking for six days of activity. I want to do the 30-day Shred, yoga, and one more day of treadmill. If I can fit it in, Gilad and Cathe, and possibly some P90X. I'm starting to get a cold, so I'll try to knock it out with Airborne, water, and saline nose spray. Here's how it looks:

Sunday - 4mile run on the treadmill, arms, and abs.

*Monday - Spent the day in bed with two kids home from school sick (suspect the oldest took advantage of my weakened state with some acting). Fever, headache, chills, congestion. Not feeling guilty for taking the day off.

*Tuesday - Woke up with the bed drenched in sweat, so worst of it is over. Middle son still home sick. Still feeling crappy - so we're all eating soup and as it burns to breathe, I'm not exercising today either.

*Wednesday - So, apparently it's dangerous or something to workout with the flu. So, taking a break until next week.

*Thursday -Flu

*Friday -Flu

*Saturday -Flu

*(edited to add) -

Exercise will make me stronger, January 18 - 24

2009-01-18T13:05:00.010-05:00

So, skipped some days last week but had a great day yesterday and did some yoga before going to the UU church today.

Goals for this week: skiing Thurs, Fri, Sat, at least one day on treadmill (meaning I need to make a new (good) playlist NOW), at least four days with Jillian Michaels, and one day of yoga. If we're going to Boyne next weekend, I'll probably get in some Pilates or spinning too.

Sunday - One hour of yoga (Inhale) before church. 1hr,20min shoveling snow while T watched the Steelers get ready for the Super Bowl.

*Monday - Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad and Level 2 of 30-day Shred.

*Tuesday - One hour of yoga (Inhale). 45 minutes on stepper while watching Real Housewives.

*Wednesday - Off

*Thursday - 30-Day Shred Level 2

*Friday - 5 hours skiing.

*Saturday - 5 + hours of skiing. Didn't mind that it was 11 degrees because I was wearing 9 hand warmers.

*(edited to add)

So what's up

2009-01-12T22:43:00.005-05:00

Right now I'm looking out at the frozen tundra that is our neighborhood. We had an additional 8" of snow on Saturday to cover the few inches already on the ground. It was a great day for the older boys to go skiing, so hubby took them over to the local ski hill for ski school. They had a great time until 7-y-o's skis were stolen. They put their ski's next to the ski school (where everyone is supposed to leave their skis) while they grabbed their boot bags from inside. When they came back out, C's skis were gone. We asked around and hubby looked everywhere hoping that someone took them by accident and left them somewhere else - no skis. So, we're off to buy him a new pair tomorrow. As for the last pair, I'm happy that he got to use them twice - I guess.

Further suckifying his weekend, C got lost on the way to his classroom at church (older brother thought it would be fun to ditch him). He came running back to our seats crying hysterically. Once I got him to his classroom, he realized he had been looking on the wrong floor. On the way home, he told me that he preferred the kids at the later service because the early kids act "even more wild than me mom."

We spent a couple of hours sledding on the new snow over at the playground on Sunday. The dog kept jumping in and out of the sleds. My "Death Case Scenario" was working overdrive, I was terrified that we were going to run over and break her legs. Also, you would not believe how heavy a three-year-old (G) can be to pull up a hill 20 or so times. G is fearless, he rode every sled down the incredibly steep hill, face-planted in the snow a couple of times, but always came up laughing.

My eating has been far from exemplary this week. Of course, I blame PMS. My motto this week is going to be, "I can eat it on Saturday." Hopefully by Saturday I'll have forgotten what seemed so good in the first place.

Exercise is Non-Negotiable, January 12 - 17, 2009

2009-01-12T22:37:00.008-05:00

I met last weeks goals on exercise; so this week - at least one level of 30 Day Shred every day, two days running, and oneday of yoga.

Mon - Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred Level 1 and 2.

*Tues - 45 min. shoveling more snow. Went to bed early and actually had a good night's sleep (except for periodically waking up to worry about husband's swollen face).

*Wed - Total Body Sculpt Plus IX. Pretty good kickboxing sequence.

*Thurs - Went to bed early. No exercise

*Fri - No exercise today. Don't feel guilty because I went to bed early again. Woke up feeling really good after only waking up twice to check on the kids and once w/ dog nudging me awake.

*Sat -P90X cardio X and 30-day Shred Level 1

*(edited to add)

Exercise is Non-Negotiable, January 4 -10, 2009

2009-01-04T23:21:00.010-05:00

Okay, the goal this week is to get some great new workouts in. Just bought Jillian Michaels 30-day shred. Also planning at least 2 days on the treadmill or outside running depending on weather.

Sunday - Jillian Michaels 30-day shred: Phases 1 and 2. Cathe Friedrich Stretch Max 1.

*Monday - No exercise today. Running, meh. DVR, meh. Exercise DVD, meh. Told myself I was waiting to exercise with husband. When he got home from work at nearly 11pm, I was NOT in the mood to exercise and we went to bed. Of course, I told myself that I'll exercise for two hours Tuesday. Now that I've written it down, I have to do it.

*Tuesday - 5k run on treadmill

*Wednesday - The FIRM Ultimate Fat Burning Workout. Not. For. Me. I feel bad for buying this, so I'm going to have to find someone to give it to. If you like dancey, not super-challenging workouts -this one is for you.

Also did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Level 1 and Level 2. Thank god for Jillian. I really like this workout and will try to incorporate at least one session every day for at least a week or so.

*Thursday - 30 minutes (at least) snow shoveling. 4 mile run (45 min). 30 Day Shred Level3 and Level1.

*Friday - 30 Day Shred Level 1 and Level 2.

*Saturday - 2 hours (!) shoveling snow. Driveway, sidewalk, four feet bank of snow in front of driveway so that we can get to the street.

*(edited to add)

I'm not mad

2009-01-01T22:09:00.008-05:00

Yes, Penn State didn't quite get around to beating USC, but I did manage to kick ass at Jeopardy today. National Parks? Not so much.

And with the kids and my husband fighting over oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies tonight, I made a batch of Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip cookies with coconut. Seriously good, but I bet I could reduce the sugar by 1/3 with no ill effects.

Husband found the mint sauce, and it was so good. Rack of lamb, roasted potatoes, carrots, cabbage salad; who knew so many foods needed mint today?

By the way, Happy New Year everyone.

Just when I was prepared to ignore my husband this New Year

2008-12-31T14:08:00.004-05:00

He called to say that he was on his way home from work, and they've finished everything they need to until Monday. Then he asked me, "Are you ready to go to Pittsburgh?"

Dude, now we can't go. While I'm used to living at the whim of your ever-changing work schedule, it makes my family crazy when I call them four times in two days to tell them we're coming, no we're not, yes...we are, no..not this time. Let's spend the New Year at home with our awesome kids and make it a fun evening (instead of me going to bed at 10pm to avoid kissing you at midnight--grudgy much?).

Maybe we'll go AFTER we watch Penn State kicks USC's ass at the Rose Bowl.

Plus, the eight-hundred dollars we'll save on the gorgeous New Year's Eve hotel room (ridiculous) can go to the YMCA of our choice (Milford or Ann Arbor) - and I'll be able to have childcare while I exercise this year!!

Exercise is Non-Negotiable, December 29 - January 3

2008-12-30T00:52:00.009-05:00

I did go for a 40 min walk with my dog on Sunday, but didn't count it as exercise because I had to stop every 20 seconds or so to get her head on straight again, so we seriously only walked little over a mile in that time.

Monday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion (back,abs) and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad (arms,thighs,shoulders)

*Tuesday - No exercise - power outage all over Detroit metro area means day three with no power at husband's work. Burned up infinity calories being pissed at husband who cancelled our New Years trip to visit family (and have a night to ourselves at the hotel). Instead of having Wed - Sunday off, he'll be working on some crappy commercial. Once again work wins over family.

*Wednesday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad

*New Year's Day - Total Body Sculpt Plus VIII. Seems that TBS+7 was erased, and Saturday's show will be...8. So, 9 weeks until I can record '7.' Evs.

*Friday - Cathe Friedrich - Bootcamp. I love you Cathe, my arms and aching legs thank you too :) Also, poop-eating dog loves this workout because of the multiple opportunities to stand over me while I work on abdominals. Love you too Chloe!

*Saturday - 30 min on elliptical, 20 min running on treadmill. I have a professed dislike of elliptical machines but this one was really good (Star Trac Natural Runner). The only think that I'd probably say is that I'd prefer if the handles moved.

Apparently Exercise is Negotiable Week of December 22 - 27

2008-12-23T08:19:00.007-05:00

So, no exercise Sunday or Monday. Parents were visiting. Didn't get home from church until 3:20pm on Sunday, That totally killed our day. We got a couple more inches of snow, but fortunately, it was so windy that most of the new accumulation blew off of the driveway and walk.
Gonna get exercise in every remaining day this week, and at least one 2-hr day.

Tuesday - Cathe Friedrich - Kick, Punch, and Crunch

Wednesday - Gilad's Bodies in Motion (X-mas eve fun!), and Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad.

Christmas - No exercise, except for the endless trips to the kitchen for cookies, candy, and the English foods basket that my sister sent me.

Friday - "21" and Total Body Sculpt Plus VI

Saturday - 5 1/4 mile run, abs, and lots of stretches. Calves are really tight

Last Minute Gifts

2008-12-17T14:19:00.001-05:00

Can we all agree to stop calling them last minute gifts until Dec 24th? Granted, I am a huge procrastinator, but it really annoys me when people everywhere are telling me they need to pick up 'last minute gifts' - for next week.

I plan on buying my parents last minute gifts. Meaning when they call to tell me that they're within 50 miles of my house on Saturday, I'll go out and buy their gifts.

Exercise is Non-Negotiable, December 16-20

2008-12-16T11:38:00.007-05:00

Okay, getting a late start on this too. But, I did manage to cancel much of my sleep debt last night. Slept from 9pm to 6:50am.

Tuesday - 5 1/4 mile run on treadmill. Had lots of fun. Ran to a DJ Ted Eiel podcast (superchunk?) Look for his podcasts on itunes - they're really good.

*Wednesday - Power Hour w/ Cathe Friedrich (arms, back, abs, buns, legs)

*Thursday - Two Gilads - husband worked out with me, laughing so hard must have been good for my abs.

*Friday - Spent 2 hours shoveling 10 inch snowfall, plus 4-ft snowdrift from driveway.

*Saturday - 30 minutes spent shoveling 4-ft wide, 3 to 4-ft high wall of snow that the plow deposited across the bottom of the driveway. There is a park across the street. A park with no houses, or driveways. Can you please plow towards that side next time, thanks.
*(edited to add)

Poor Dale

2008-12-16T10:59:00.004-05:00

So...the week's starting a little slow around here. Sunday the whole family went to church - this is a literal first for our family. My husband grew up Catholic, but not a fan. I grew up Episcopalian, but the family stopped going before I was confirmed. I went to a 'Christian' church with my friend in high school for a while but was honestly turned off to that on my first visit ("AT&T just announced that it is discontinuing it's support of Planned Parenthood, I'd like to thank everyone who made an appeal to God and sent letters to help make this happen."). Still liked the idea of the local Episcopal church, but visited and the vibe there seemed a bit tumultuous. So, for the last couple of years, we've been discussing the Ann Arbor Unitarian Universalist Church. That's where we went. It really seems to align with much of our thinking, and looking around, everyone looked like someone we already hang out with - so we're going back next week. Now my kids can't blame me for at least introducing them to religion.

Yesterday I made Pioneer Woman's Vodka Sauce. I didn't have onions, so used onion powder, and substituted Fage 0% for Heavy Cream. I also added a can of white beans (is that why my hands were swollen this morning?). In college, I worked at a restaurant (Mario & Luigi's) that had the best Vodka sauce (super spicy), we used to pool our money to share a plate of it. I was afraid of burning out the kids sinuses, so went a bit easier on the crushed red pepper. I think I could have used more, but it was still really good.

Minutes after dinner, I wanted to sleep, but managed to stay awake w/ the boys to watch the Charlie Brown movie last night (I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown). We had just read that book yesterday, so 3-y-o really liked seeing the parts that were in the book.

I don't remember Rerun from Peanuts at all growing up. My husband says that he remembers Rerun as his favorite character. He, like Rerun spent most of his young childhood on the back of his mother's bike. My favorite line last night: "Over hill, over dale. Poor Dale."

Is it Bad

2008-12-12T17:41:00.001-05:00

To make "Sangria" with leftover Shiraz and Honest Kids Tropical Punch?

Husband and I are about to find out. How does that go with sirloin?

One month

2008-12-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

After a month, all I really have to say today is to get yourself in front of NBC at 9:30, Elaine Stritch is back on 30 Rock tonight, and she is amazing.

The Tree is Trying to Kill Me

2008-12-09T10:32:00.007-05:00

Okay, I have the tree 3/4 of the way up and apparently 20 strand of lights are not enough!
At about 3:15am (because I procrastinated by organizing photos on the computer), I realized that I was a bit too charitable with the lights, and will have to find a way to pull a strand or two out of the tree.

Also: realized that I'm not a big fan of Christmas music. I'd rather sing along to Pete Yorn.

So now, I'm avoiding the work, and thanks but no I can't just pick up another strand or two of lights because these lights are clear/white/orange and look like candle light. I'm tempted to pull a strand(*or three) from the back (below window level and replace them with a clear strand).

*That's what I did. Plus, while I was out, dog that wouldn't poop before we left pooped in her crate.......and ate it. Sh** burps actually smell worse than actual sh**!!

Tree Day

2008-12-08T16:59:00.008-05:00

Putting up the Christmas tree tonight. Original plan was day after Thanksgiving, but needed to wait for husband to bring in sandbags so that I could put the base of the tree in a large planter (you know, sometimes it takes a few weeks for that to happen). In the meantime, went to Bordine's and they had beautiful (fake) trees. I was about two seconds away from replacing our 10-year-old tree (that takes me all day to put up) when I realized that it didn't have LED lights. Bad store!

They did have other trees with LED's, but not any of the trees that I liked. So, I went to Michael's - spent $99 on silk stems and tabletop pieces from the Metallic Shimmer collection (50% off + 25% off coupon). I'll have to add some silk stems to the old tree to hide its infernal ugliness. I'll try to post some pictures of the finished product.

Exercise is Non-Negotiable, December 7-12

2008-12-08T16:26:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I forgot to take a day off yesterday. I was so excited that my husband was going to exercise with me that I forgot Sunday's my day off. So - looking for 6 day this week (maybe 7 with Sun). Two days on the treadmill, and one double day. Here's how it looks:

Sunday - Cathe Friedrich's Kick Punch and Crunch. Could not stop laughing at my husband at one point where we do these wide "straddle leaps" (don't know what they're called). Not his most coordinated or masculine moment. Sorry T, that I had to stop the workout to go pee.

Monday - Steve Ross' Inhale. Knew it would be an intense day when we started with tree pose. Really good and relaxing today.

*Tuesday - Day off. Working on two hours of sleep, finishing tree, and bathing stinky dog - I thought it best to put my focus elsewhere today.

*Wed - Total Body Sculpt with Gilad (X2). Arms,back,thighs,abs

*Thurs - No exercise/ there goes my six days this week.

*Fri - Two episodes of Total Body Sculpt with Gilad

*Sat - 5 miles on the treadmill, then abs before stretching

*(edited to add)

I Love My Husband

2008-12-06T12:14:00.001-05:00

For telling me exactly what I wanted to hear. Last night at 10:30, I complained that I had wanted to work-out 6 days this week, but was just going to go to bed. He said, "How about one Gilad?"

That's all I needed to hear. I put in a ponytail, turned on Gilad and did two shows!
He knows me so well, and I want to thank him for giving me the spark to get going.

Exercise is Non-Negotiable, December 1-6

2008-12-01T22:09:00.007-05:00

So, the target for this week is 6 days of exercise, and at least one session on the treadmill (or at the track weather permitting). One double day needs to be in the mix this week too.

Monday - Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad (Bum, thighs, arms, abs). Also, took 3-y-o out in snow to play for 2 hours! Dragged the sled (with him in it) up and down the hills behind the house, then across the street, down through the unshoveled sidewalks on the block, around the park, and back home to shovel the driveway and sidewalk.

*Tuesday - P90X Plyometrics with hubby, then some abs.

*Wednesday - Cathe Friedrich Pyramid Upper Body and Core Max 3

*Thursday - Gilad's Total Body Sculpt Plus V DVR'd from FitTV. The workouts in Total Body Sculpt are consistently more challenging to me than the P90X workouts.

*Friday - Gilad "Shoulders and Abs II" and Gilad's Total Body Sculpt -"Inner Thighs, Abs, and Back." TBS used medicine ball, lighter and heavier weights.
Favorite today were the punching and knee combo.

*Saturday - 5 mile run (on treadmill) - did a couple of high/fast intervals to keep it interesting.

*(edited to add)

Nutrition / fitness Week in Review - Nov 30

2008-11-30T13:04:00.008-05:00

Okay, as far as exercise goes, I did okay last week. I planned for six days of activity - hoping to get in a two-hour day. That didn't happen. I exercised 5 days this week, with no running, and no double days. I did get off of my ass enough to get a couple of really good workouts in (especially Kick, Punch, and Crunch). Also, despite feeling sick as a dog yesterday, I managed to complete a yoga workout (Inhale DVR'd from Oxygen). (Putting things in perspective, Steve Ross, the inspirational host of Inhale was in Mumbai last week. My thoughts are with him and everyone affected by the terrorist attacks there).

Nutrition is different altogether. I ate (almost) two huge Symphony bars. One I bought in preparation for making these chocolate chip cookies (awesome recipe, when I make it I use more oats, fewer pecans). When my husband and I shared the bar instead, I decided to use leftover chocolate from the kids' Halloween haul. Husband didn't love that idea, so he bought another (which I ate in protest). Also didn't journal anything this week, and I probably didn't eat enough veggies most days. Also: feeling crappy + pretzels and other junk food in house = me feeling crappier having eaten most of the junk myself.

This being almost on plan is not good enough.

Going back to Weight Watchers

2008-11-30T11:36:00.006-05:00

I know that there are so many people who can't stand Weight Watcher's, but it's what's kept 40 lbs (officially) off of my body for almost two years. Why I'm going back? I need to get rid of the 10 lbs that keeps me from my ideal weight, and the weekly meeting makes me more able to do that. Does it mean that I'm going to have to sit through someone feeling sorry for themselves for gaining .5 lbs? Yes, and it also means that I get to listen to people raving about making baked goods from a mountain of artificial sweetener :P The meetings are also a place where every week, someone is doing something inspirational to make their lives more healthy, satisfying, and rewarding.

The things I take away from a WW meeting?

On Plan (or Perfectly On Plan), we have infinity ways to make weightloss work for us.
The leader/members give me food for thought in some aspect of my weightloss journey that I'm not necessarily thinking about.
I get an hour to focus on my priority of being healthy.
Time "alone" (without husband or kids, and outside of the house!).
After meeting grocery run (without kids or husband).

As sad as it sounds, because of my husband's industry there is no way of knowing what his schedule is going to be in a given week, except that it will be 50 hours minimum; the last three on the list are pretty important to me. Aside from the time it takes to get my haircut every six weeks, I do not get to leave the house alone - ever. When I have a WW meeting to go to, somehow my husband is able to get it together enough almost every week to meet me at the center at 7pm. The time that I get at the meeting helps me really refocus on what my goals for the week are going to be. Also, grocery shopping right after a meeting ensures fresh produce at least once per week, and I get through the store so much more quickly when I'm going solo.

So, I'll weigh myself tomorrow to see where I am, and hopefully I'll be going to a meeting this week. I know that they'll be bringing in any new changes on Dec 7th, so I'd like to go back to see what the changes are anyway.

Loving

2008-11-28T10:46:00.005-05:00

So, C exercised with us yesterday, and it was a pretty good workout. C is a master at all pushups. We did regular, tricep pushups, and planks - he had perfect form for all of them. Last week he did a P90X workout w/ his dad, so he did something like 150 pushups - all with perfect form. Once I get to about 16, it's all girl push-ups for me.

C was mad at me when he woke up Thursday morning because I told him that he could exercise with me Wed, then I got caught up cleaning and stressing and never worked out.

Wednesday morning, before the older kids got up, Hubby and I watched How I Met Your Mother on the DVR. It was an episode about a dating technique called "The Naked Man." Three-year-old came downstairs while it was on, and went behind the couch to play with his cars. As the show ended, 3-y-o came running from behind the couch wearing only his underwear and a big smile saying, "I'm the naked man!" Great parenting Mom and Dad! But, it was adorable.

Hating

2008-11-28T10:40:00.002-05:00

Clipping my dog's nails.

Exercise is Non-Negotiable November 24-29

2008-11-24T09:49:00.006-05:00

Okay, my goal is to work out 6 days this week; even on Thanksgiving. I already worked out today, so here's how my week looks:

Monday - P90X plyometrics workout with husband T. It is my favorite of all of the P90X workouts - so I sucked it up and woke at 5:20 to workout before helping the boys get ready for school.

*Tuesday Nov 25 - Power Hour w/ Cathe Friedrich. Husband and oldest son joined me. And of course, as always, the dog joined us for ab work -to lay on top of us.

*Wed Nov 26 - No exercise :( I don't know if my shoulder is still sore from tetanus shot over a week ago, or if I did something to it. This has nothing to do with the fact that I was too lazy to exercise, then decided to go to bed early (10:30) so I could avoid vacuuming the couch until tomorrow.

*Thurs Nov 27 - Total Body Sculpt Plus IV (Gilad). Seven-year-old did the entire workout with me and husband.

*Fri Nov 28 - Kick, Punch, and Crunch (Cathe Friedrich) DVR'd from FitTV. I LOVE this workout! Some of the kicks are a little hard to keep up w/ 100%, but when I'm done, I'm sweaty, tired, and smiling. Thanks for a great workout Cathe. Plus - it was my first solo workout in a few days and I have to say that sometimes I prefer working out by myself.

*Sat Nov 29 - Dude, what is up with 7-y-o? He did yoga with me (Inhale) and hung with it for the entire hour. Sure there are a few form issues, but he really did a great job.

*(edited to add)

Loving

2008-11-22T23:28:00.005-05:00

My husband went on a work trip to NYC this week. As much as we all missed him, why is it that everything runs so smoothly when he's out of town?

When he got home yesterday, he surprised me with a bottle of Narciso Rodriguez perfume. It's been a recent obsession for me - I can't wait to wear it tomorrow. You Rock T!

I saw a really cute pair of shooties at DSW for a pretty good price. They were pretty plain with a platform front - essential for me in winter to keep my toes a bit further away from the cold, cold ground. They were still a bit more than I wanted to pay so I thought I'd check out what I could find at TJ Maxx. They had the same shoes for $30 less! I wore them to the mall today (they are so comfortable even with the 4 inch heel!), and was complimented on them by two different people.

Climb to the Top

2008-11-22T23:14:00.004-05:00

7-y-o has been trying to climb to the top of the rope in gymnastics for a couple of weeks now (I think it's 15-20 ft high). For added incentive, I told him and his brother that when they make it to the top, I'll take them out for an ice-cream sundae. Wouldn't you know that the week after I throw down the challenge, C crushed it! He made it to the top of the rope on his first try. As per C's wishes, we had a sundae bar at home right after we picked up his new skis. If the weather holds up tomorrow, I think that we'll definitely be using the new skis.

Exercise is Non-Negotiable November 17 - 22

2008-11-17T20:32:00.008-05:00

Monday - 60 minutes on treadmill 5.09 miles running/ walking intervals @2pm. Nothing like being 5 minutes late to pick up my kids from school because I was running :) Playlist is all over the place - time to make a new one!

*Tuesday - "Bootcamp" w/ Cathe Friedrich. Sumo Squats almost did me in today. Fun and Exhausting (1 hr).

*Wednesday - Total Body Sculpt Plus II (Gilad) - arm is still soooo sore from Tetanus shot yesterday (1 hr).

*Thursday - Day off, went to bed early to get some sleep, dog woke me up four times wagging her tail and jumping up to bump her nose into my face - aargh!

*Friday - Total Body Sculpt Plus III - so, so many lunges. Got my husband to work out w/ me (by asking incessantly, putting his shoes next to him, putting the workout on the plasma, doing handstands until he finally relented were a few of my methods to get him to agree).

*Saturday - Cardio Blast (Cathe Friedrich) "Muscle Endurance." One of the less challenging Cathe Friedrich workouts. Four days later tetanus shot still hurts.

*(edited to add)

Purple Heart

2008-11-14T21:53:00.004-05:00

Okay, this is kind of weird. I've kind of been on an emotional high since Nov. 4 , and all sorts of things are getting done much better and faster than usual at the p/f house. I've made all of the random last doctor, dentist, vet, eye appointments for the year. My son broke his glasses (again) and they've given him ANOTHER free pair (yay Costco!). Homework is getting done quickly and without incident, and it is actually making it from his planner to the teacher's basket on the first day he brings it to school. My kitchen hasn't looked better in months, except for the fact that we still have an improbable island completely blocking any traffic flow, I swear one day soon, I'm going to cut off the power to the island and take it out myself.

Anyway, I had just pulled out a Rubbermaid tote full of the last of G's baby clothes, and was getting ready to take them to the Salvation Army when the phone rang. Purple Heart was coming the next day, and did I have anything that I wanted to leave out for donation? Really? All I had to do was bag them and they'd pick them up on my front porch.

Even though I have no trouble with Oprah, I am kind of bandwagon resistant and get annoyed each time a book I'm about to read winds up in her bookclub (or that I was totally going to buy A Stroke of Insight before it was on her show, now I feel meh about it - sort of like how the popularity of the song Stand ruined R.E.M. for me).

But Law of Attraction people? It is working.

Let it go

2008-11-14T11:21:00.008-05:00

Really, it is time. In May, I had maintained a 50 lb. weight loss for 1 1/2 years. I was feeling really good about my body, and I ran in my first 5k on Mother's Day. My birthday was in two days, and I was excited because I was going to run in another 5k on my birthday.

I had just picked the kids up from school, and was waiting to turn left into my subdivision. We live just off of a really busy road, with a 55 mph speed limit. There's a lane to the right of me for cars to pass, and five cars went by as I waited for the mile-long line of cars to clear to the left of me. All of the sudden, without a squeal of tires there was a huge, ear shattering crack. We were suddenly turned 3/4 of the way around in the oncoming lane of traffic. By some miracle, my front bumper followed the last oncoming car, and the next car was far enough away to barely come to a stop just feet away from my rear bumper. The car that hit me was 20 feet beyond the accident site and was in bad shape. The two passengers climbed out, but the driver was trapped inside the car. My toddler was screaming, I jumped out of the car to see if they were okay. Half a dozen neighbors came running down to help, most of them had been waiting for the bus to drop their kids off from school. My kids were okay, none were hurt.They were either in a car seat or a high-backed booster (even the 8-y-o). My middle son, in the back seat on the passenger's side, was pelted with my sunglasses, which had flown off my face; his older brother's eyeglasses, and both of his little brother's shoes (they were knocked off by the force of the impact). To get them away from the busy road, my neighbor took them to her house until police and ambulance arrived.

There was heavy traffic on both sides of the road, I was able to get my SUV onto the shoulder, but I wasn't able to go over to the other car to check on the girl, I was really worried about her. She left in the ambulance with her two friends. The woman in the car that followed the girl said that she was in shock because she saw that the girl wasn't slowing down at all, and she had seen my car stopped with the turn signal on from the top of the hill, 1/2 mile away. I found out later that the girl was a track star coming home from practice, and she shattered the bones in her ankle and foot. She probably destroyed any chance for a running career in college. I understand being a teenager, and how maybe you're not paying attention the way that you should be, and it changes the entire course of your life. Her car was destroyed, the people who looked at my destroyed truck said that the entire frame was twisted and that they were amazed that no one in the truck was injured.

I was relieved that I only had a bump on my leg, and some bruises along my back and on my stomach, a tiny cut from the sunglasses on my face. I was relieved that the girl wasn't critically injured, I was thankful that my kids were okay, except that my potty-trained 2 1/2 year old wasn't potty trained any more. I was also angry that I was very sore and bruised for weeks because a girl wasn't paying attention on a very busy road. I was haunted because there was nothing I could do to avoid being hit. What if the boys had been hurt, or killed? This accident where no one was thankfully seriously injured really affected me. I couldn't shake it, or the funk that followed it. I couldn't sleep for months, instead I'd lie awake listening to my husband and the dog sleep.

In three weeks following the accident, I put on 10 lbs. I could not shake them. I was not stuffing myself, in fact I was probably eating less. Even though after a few weeks, when I was given the okay to start exercising again I got right back to the same intensity and schedule the pounds still wouldn't come off. It's almost six months later, and I still have the 10 pounds - although recently I've not been accountable for my eating (and added 2 more), and I haven't been giving my all on exercise. I've been chasing some idea that would get me motivated, some new exciting exercise.

I'm letting it go.

This week it's time to really let it go and make room for the things that are actually important to me. And guess what? I've already lost two pounds.

Exercise 11/11 - 11/15

2008-11-11T14:33:00.005-05:00

Today:
Cathe Friedrich Kick, Punch and Crunch from FitTV - I really like this workout, it definitely is challenging, especially the series of kicks during the second half of the workout.

*Wednesday - Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad (2 episodes). Lots of buns and thighs, diagonal lunges, some biceps and triceps.

*Thursday - 45 min run/walk intervals (4 miles). Not exactly as long as I wanted to go, but dog hurt her foot, had to take her to the vet.

*Friday - Cathe Friedrich Supersets from FitTV - lots of lunges, squats, arms, abs.

*Saturday - Total Body Sculpt Plus I and Stretch Max 2 (Cathe Friedrich)

*(edited to add)

New name

2008-11-11T13:22:00.002-05:00

I'll be writing all of the rest of my posts as P/F; that way any blog related stuff can stay separate from my personal stuff.

Perfection or Failure

2008-11-11T12:50:00.002-05:00

This seems to sum up the way that I feel I handle any challenge on any given day. I'm starting this blog to realize the balance between the two extremes, making my life (and the lives of my family) much easier. I intend to post my workouts, things I'm working on in the home (like how I've been looking for the perfect sofa for my living room - as a result, I'm still looking four years later!), and other stuff that's keeping me occupied. I can't wait to get started.