Tomorrow is the start of yet another New Year.
People are scrambling to make lists and goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. Maybe as they think of those things, they think of what they would have liked to do this past year.
Much of what I would like to do this upcoming year is fitness related since I was pregnant last year. I could have done more being pregnant, but I didn't. This year is my year to get my body back since there will be no more babies.
Once upon a time I had six pack abs. I might never have that again, but this year, I'd like to give it a try. Though I would love to get myself back into top shape and amazing health, I don't want to miss time with my family. Over the years I have missed way to much time with my friends and family because of schooling and work.
This year is the first year I will have only one W2. That was a goal of mine for the past couple years, to only have one job and stop wasting my life away working. To have time for my friends and family and to be able to accept invitations more often rather than saying "sorry, I have to work".
I'm glad I was able to spend more time with family last year and I hope this year I will be able to see my friends more often too. For too long, I let many of those relationships slide and this past year I've tried to improve my relationships with my family. Now it's time to make sure my friends know that I miss them and care.
When my daughter was little, I worked 40 hrs at one job and another 10-20 at another job. Then when I got my first associate degree, I did full time school and worked weekends. Every weekend. Until about a year and a half ago, I probably had fewer than 4 weekends a year off in over 15 years. When I graduated from college the first time, I worked at least two, sometimes three jobs. Then I returned to full time school for my second associate degree while still trying to work full time. And still working a side job on weekends...
My family and time for myself and being able to have a life of my own is more important to me. Not just because I'm older, but because I know how much I've missed out on.
Just want to say to all my family and all my friends, I love you guys and I hope we spend more time together this coming year :).
Happy New Year everyone!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Soy vs. Sweet'n'sour Pineapple Chicken
Christmas Dinner!!!
Christmas Dinner started with lots of Chicken and a few cans of crushed pineapple.
Above is part one. I put half a can of the crushed pineapple in each pan, then about a quarter cup of soy sauce in the pan on the right and a half cup of sweet'n'sour in the pan on the right. Mixed it all up and then put the chicken in. I diced up some thawed chicken. Put covers on the pans, and let it sit in the fridge overnight to soak up the goodness :).
Coming out of the oven; soy on the right, sweet'n'sour on the left.
It smelled absolutely amazing! I used about a pound and a half of chicken in each pan. My very amazing boyfriend also made his chicken. He does what he calls brown chicken. I'm pretty sure there's catsup in his. I didn't picture his because we eat that every week so it didn't seem as exciting at the time. I'll have to chronicle that sometime...
And the after, on a very cute snowman plate. Again, soy on the right and the sweet'n'sour on the left on the same plate over the rice. The pineapple was a nice addition. It was subtle enough that even if you're not a fan of pineapple, you'd probably still like this quite a bit.
And what did my family say??? Soy or Sweet'n'sour???
They loved LOVED the Sweet'N'Sour Pineapple Chicken best.
It will be an addition to our more routine meals :). I'm glad I tried something new!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Favorite Fears
There are lots of phobia's out there.
I think one of my favorites is trypophobia...
the fear of circles.
There are some people who really do have a fear of circles. Apparently this might have been a life saving fear for our ancestors living in the wild forests and jungles and such ages ago. Some venomous reptiles and snakes have circles on them. And there's also holes in the ground that could be a lair for some dangerous creature, or an underground cavern housing bats (think Cujo, poor fictional dog getting rabies 'n all that).
Sidenote: Cujo is not a book a second grader should read. I was afraid of my closet for ages after reading that book. And no, I wasn't allowed to read the book. My dad has a Stephen King collection. I was expressly forbidden to read anything on that shelf.
So what did I do? Yeah, I picked the one with the scary dog on the cover and read it. And I never told my dad why I was afraid of the dark all of a sudden in second grade either. But he did break down and get me a nightlight.
Anyway, back to the circles. There was a recent program on Science Friday, at least that's where I thought I heard it. But I can't find it in the audio archives. So here's a different link.
I have to admit, the picture of the hand with the holes, yes, it made me shudder just a bit. And looking thru their photo's, it's pretty much just the holes in skin AND OMG, DID YOU SEE THE EYE!!! I'm sure the eye is photoshopped but yeah, that's a bit gross to me too. Circles in nature, on buildings, and holes in the ground don't bother me at all.
There was also another awesome program about water going uphill on SciFri. But maybe that's for another day.
I think one of my favorites is trypophobia...
the fear of circles.
There are some people who really do have a fear of circles. Apparently this might have been a life saving fear for our ancestors living in the wild forests and jungles and such ages ago. Some venomous reptiles and snakes have circles on them. And there's also holes in the ground that could be a lair for some dangerous creature, or an underground cavern housing bats (think Cujo, poor fictional dog getting rabies 'n all that).
Sidenote: Cujo is not a book a second grader should read. I was afraid of my closet for ages after reading that book. And no, I wasn't allowed to read the book. My dad has a Stephen King collection. I was expressly forbidden to read anything on that shelf.
So what did I do? Yeah, I picked the one with the scary dog on the cover and read it. And I never told my dad why I was afraid of the dark all of a sudden in second grade either. But he did break down and get me a nightlight.
Anyway, back to the circles. There was a recent program on Science Friday, at least that's where I thought I heard it. But I can't find it in the audio archives. So here's a different link.
I have to admit, the picture of the hand with the holes, yes, it made me shudder just a bit. And looking thru their photo's, it's pretty much just the holes in skin AND OMG, DID YOU SEE THE EYE!!! I'm sure the eye is photoshopped but yeah, that's a bit gross to me too. Circles in nature, on buildings, and holes in the ground don't bother me at all.
There was also another awesome program about water going uphill on SciFri. But maybe that's for another day.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Pole Fitness
I have a fitness pole in my house (pictured above).
Pole dancing and pole fitness are not just for mens clubs.
There's a whole world of pole fitness. There are competitions (men and womens) and fitness facilities. We have an amazing pole fitness studio near where I live.
I'm not sure how I initially got interested in trying pole fitness. Maybe it was the idea of it. It looks neat. Look up some pole videos, it's amazing the moves those people can do! Pole is awesome for overall fitness. Strength... arms, abs, legs, everything. And it also gets your heart going. It gives you a great cardio workout at the same time.
I have this pole in my formal living room. I have no other furniture in there (besides a piano and currently a Christmas tree). When people walk in my home this is one of the first things they see. People who know me well know it takes a lot for me to be embarrassed. And I am NOT embarrassed that I love to dance using this pole. When people come over I'm more than happy to show a move or two if they're curious.
And I'm glad to have people come over and use it themselves if they want, which is exactly what happened this Christmas! My brother in law... OMG!!! Who knew he had those moves? He was able to do a couple awesome inverted moves, while wearing pants!! If you've done pole, you know that skin to pole contact is extremely helpful. He wasn't able to let go with both hands because of the pants (and he did refuse to take them off). I'm certain if he would have had good skin to pole contact with the legs he would have been able to go hands free no problem.
Even the kids had a great time spinning on the pole. And even Grandpa -my 60 year old dad- got a good spin in too! He did a pretty good fireman!
One hell of a Christmas was had at my place :).
Monday, December 23, 2013
Why Do Guys Wax
Pretty soon you're going to see a lot of workout challenges online. And lots of guys will join these challenges.
You'll see the before pic. Let me describe to you this before pic...
You will see a mildly to moderately overweight guy.
He will likely have mildly pasty skin and maybe a bit of a shiny face.
AND this guy will have chest hair. Maybe not a lot, maybe just a little bit. Or maybe it will be a lot and he'll look like a gorilla just escaped from the zoo.
Now in a few more short weeks you'll see the end picture.
Let me describe to you this picture.
His hair will be nicely done.
His abs will look much better if not amazing.
He will be more tan, either from fake baking or spray tanning. And possible but less likely, from being outdoors. Around where I'm from, the only thing being outdoors with a shirt off will get you is frostbite.
Lastly, the chest hair will be gone. Completely gone.
And that's what I don't get. The waxing or shaving it all the way off. Why? He's a man for cripes sake. Lots of very attractive men have chest hair.
Yes, I get that if it's gorrilla like chest hair, trim that stuff up, but to wax it completely? That's where I get lost. Most men have a beard trimmer on their electric shavers. Use that, just trim that stuff down. Thin it up a bit. Obviously because the before pic shows hair, it's not something he was concerned about before. So why does sudden weight loss lead to all of this waxing (and fake tanning)??
Anyone have the answer for me?
You'll see the before pic. Let me describe to you this before pic...
You will see a mildly to moderately overweight guy.
He will likely have mildly pasty skin and maybe a bit of a shiny face.
AND this guy will have chest hair. Maybe not a lot, maybe just a little bit. Or maybe it will be a lot and he'll look like a gorilla just escaped from the zoo.
Now in a few more short weeks you'll see the end picture.
Let me describe to you this picture.
His hair will be nicely done.
His abs will look much better if not amazing.
He will be more tan, either from fake baking or spray tanning. And possible but less likely, from being outdoors. Around where I'm from, the only thing being outdoors with a shirt off will get you is frostbite.
Lastly, the chest hair will be gone. Completely gone.
And that's what I don't get. The waxing or shaving it all the way off. Why? He's a man for cripes sake. Lots of very attractive men have chest hair.
Yes, I get that if it's gorrilla like chest hair, trim that stuff up, but to wax it completely? That's where I get lost. Most men have a beard trimmer on their electric shavers. Use that, just trim that stuff down. Thin it up a bit. Obviously because the before pic shows hair, it's not something he was concerned about before. So why does sudden weight loss lead to all of this waxing (and fake tanning)??
Anyone have the answer for me?
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Is Your Food Really Food?
I hate mayo. Reallly hate it, but LOVE fat free ranch dressing. Now I know why, thanks to Mark at Mark’s Daily Apple.
Fat free dressing is basically just corn syrup and modified food starch. The one I had earlier today- a lowfat version- had actual buttermilk in it (though it was in the less than 2% category) and instead of modified food starch had whey protein powder in it.
So apparently I only like fake ranch dressing but now that I have analyzed the content of what I’m eating, I don’t want to eat it. It’s not really food. How much of what we eat isn't really food? A lot of it. A really whole lot of it.
Fake food is even put into our real food. You get something like applesauce. You expect your applesauce to be apples, some water (or it’d be real chunky applesauce), and maybe a bit of sugar. Then you find out they put all sorts of crap in your applesauce and modify it from something that was food (your applesauce) into something that is filled with chemicals.
Why all this corn syrup? I don’t mind the whole “corn syrup movement” really, but, okay, yeah I do. The more processed it is, the more it loses if what is once was. You certainly can’t call it corn, eh? Isn't plain old table sugar a bit less processed than corn syrup? I don't know, but I’m not a big fan of either.
These “fruit snacks” we feed our kids- what the hell are they? They’re certainly not food if you actually take the time to read the labels.
Even in our dried raisins, dried cranberries, and other dried fruits you’ll find a bunch of additives and chemicals. We are doing ourselves (and more importantly) our children a huge dis-service by purchasing and continuing the growth of companies that feed us chemicals.
Real food lives and dies.
Real food goes bad and rots.
Real food is fruits, vegetables, and animals.
Anyway, make sure the food you’re eating is really food.
Fat free dressing is basically just corn syrup and modified food starch. The one I had earlier today- a lowfat version- had actual buttermilk in it (though it was in the less than 2% category) and instead of modified food starch had whey protein powder in it.
So apparently I only like fake ranch dressing but now that I have analyzed the content of what I’m eating, I don’t want to eat it. It’s not really food. How much of what we eat isn't really food? A lot of it. A really whole lot of it.
Fake food is even put into our real food. You get something like applesauce. You expect your applesauce to be apples, some water (or it’d be real chunky applesauce), and maybe a bit of sugar. Then you find out they put all sorts of crap in your applesauce and modify it from something that was food (your applesauce) into something that is filled with chemicals.
Why all this corn syrup? I don’t mind the whole “corn syrup movement” really, but, okay, yeah I do. The more processed it is, the more it loses if what is once was. You certainly can’t call it corn, eh? Isn't plain old table sugar a bit less processed than corn syrup? I don't know, but I’m not a big fan of either.
These “fruit snacks” we feed our kids- what the hell are they? They’re certainly not food if you actually take the time to read the labels.
Even in our dried raisins, dried cranberries, and other dried fruits you’ll find a bunch of additives and chemicals. We are doing ourselves (and more importantly) our children a huge dis-service by purchasing and continuing the growth of companies that feed us chemicals.
Real food lives and dies.
Real food goes bad and rots.
Real food is fruits, vegetables, and animals.
Anyway, make sure the food you’re eating is really food.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Pineapple Angel Food Cake!
I'm sure just about everyone has seen this recipe on Facebook or Pinterest or some other place on the web, but I made it this past weekend!!!
Was it amazing? Well, I can't say I love it as much as I love spice cake, but it was good.
How it works, buy a box of any brand angel food cake as long as it only has one bag of mix in it. Not the one that you have to mix two bags of dry together. Then take a can of any brand 20 oz crushed pineapple.
I got the Dole brand only because it has an easy open top.
Heat oven to whatever temp it says on the cake mix box.
Put the mix and the pineapple- do not drain the pineapple- into a bowl and mix it together.
I like to spray my pans with bakers joy, but I wont make you. Do what you like there. I however can not be held accountable if your cake sticks to the pan.
Put the mix in the pan and bake for as long as it says to bake for the cake mix on the box. I like my angel food cake a little on the lighter side so I took it out a couple minutes early and the toothpick came out clean.
Then to top your cake, I see lots of people using whipped cream or such things. That's what I did THIS time.
Next time, I'm buying a second can of crushed pineapple and adding some sugar to it, blend it up into a puree, and then I'm going to serve it like strawberry shortcake... okay, I guess it would be pineapple shortcake :).
This is the dessert I'm serving at Christmas after the main dish of sweet'n'sour pineapple chicken.
Enjoy!!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Body Lift from Pacific Fitness Corp
Editing to add: Manuals, resistance charts, and tons of info can be found at my facebook group page here Body Lift. Thanks to a wonderful group of random internet strangers we have all the info on this machine!
Today’s piece of equipment is from a company that is long gone.
This machine is probably ancient. But, like anything ancient, it holds up well.
The Body Lift is a cable machine basically that uses multiples of body weight. If I got to 15 and could lift up myself, I’m sure I could add a plate to the base of the machine to increase total resistance. There is really no limit to the amount of resistance because weight can be added, but the weight added does not mean that there is an exact change of resistance to equal the weight. You might add 5 lbs but resistance might increase by 15 lbs. Or you might at 100 lbs and resistance might only increase by 20 lbs depending on what setting it’s on.
Unfortunately I got this machine very very used and no manual was included. I don't know what the numbers mean by percent of weight.
Exercises that you can do: Lat pulldowns, wide grip, narrow grip, underhand/overhand/mixed grip. Abdominal curls, seated rows, chest press with two different grips, horizontal or vertical, upright rows, abdominal twists, leg extension.
Above is really quite a narrow list. Anything you can do in a gym with a cable, you can do with this machine. There are three different cable stations, high, chest height, and low. All the grips can be changed, the lat pull down bar can be put on any three places, the row bar, same deal. Any type of bar or grip attachment can be used in any three areas.
Only negative- you don’t know the exact amount of resistance. Here’s the pics of this machine!
Thanks for visiting :).
Today’s piece of equipment is from a company that is long gone.
This machine is probably ancient. But, like anything ancient, it holds up well.
The Body Lift is a cable machine basically that uses multiples of body weight. If I got to 15 and could lift up myself, I’m sure I could add a plate to the base of the machine to increase total resistance. There is really no limit to the amount of resistance because weight can be added, but the weight added does not mean that there is an exact change of resistance to equal the weight. You might add 5 lbs but resistance might increase by 15 lbs. Or you might at 100 lbs and resistance might only increase by 20 lbs depending on what setting it’s on.
Unfortunately I got this machine very very used and no manual was included. I don't know what the numbers mean by percent of weight.
Exercises that you can do: Lat pulldowns, wide grip, narrow grip, underhand/overhand/mixed grip. Abdominal curls, seated rows, chest press with two different grips, horizontal or vertical, upright rows, abdominal twists, leg extension.
Above is really quite a narrow list. Anything you can do in a gym with a cable, you can do with this machine. There are three different cable stations, high, chest height, and low. All the grips can be changed, the lat pull down bar can be put on any three places, the row bar, same deal. Any type of bar or grip attachment can be used in any three areas.
Only negative- you don’t know the exact amount of resistance. Here’s the pics of this machine!
Thanks for visiting :).
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Oh Happy Day!
Once a week I'm on call from 11 pm until 7am. I live to far from work so I stay with my mom when I'm on call.
She works third shift so shes awake all night :). So we sit up late and watch true crime TV dramas.
Extra bonus, I get to hang out with my very awesome mom. She really is pretty darn awesome.
When I was younger and used to go out, I often brought Mom out with me. My friends would even ask, "is Mom coming tonight?".
Yes, my friends called her mom too :). I loved when she came along. Neither of us are drinkers, we just love to dance.
And dance we would... All Night Long!!!
But I'm getting old now. We don't go out and dance like we used to. Those times going out worth mom were some of the best nights of my young years. She often more fun than all my friends combined.
I'm very glad I get to have such a good relationship with my mom and that I have many more years with her.
Mom, I know you won't ever see this because you don't use the internet, but I want to say..
I LOVE YOU MOM!!! And you're awesome :).
She works third shift so shes awake all night :). So we sit up late and watch true crime TV dramas.
Extra bonus, I get to hang out with my very awesome mom. She really is pretty darn awesome.
When I was younger and used to go out, I often brought Mom out with me. My friends would even ask, "is Mom coming tonight?".
Yes, my friends called her mom too :). I loved when she came along. Neither of us are drinkers, we just love to dance.
And dance we would... All Night Long!!!
But I'm getting old now. We don't go out and dance like we used to. Those times going out worth mom were some of the best nights of my young years. She often more fun than all my friends combined.
I'm very glad I get to have such a good relationship with my mom and that I have many more years with her.
Mom, I know you won't ever see this because you don't use the internet, but I want to say..
I LOVE YOU MOM!!! And you're awesome :).
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
OMG! DOMS!!!
So that pull up challenge...
I've been doing pretty well. I'm doing the 20 pull up challenge. And really just focusing on the eccentric part of the pull up :).
But yesterday I forgot to do them and did inverted rows under the counter at work. Yes, I got on the floor- under the counter- and did inverted rows.
I'm glad no one walked in on me doing that... I might have been given some strange looks O_O! And today, oh my, the soreness!!!!
I had some DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) after the first couple days and now doing the rows my shoulders are just in agony :). But it's a good kind of agony ;). If that's possible??
And despite popular belief, NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!! makes it better :(. Despite knowing that massaging my shoulders for hours will really do no good, I'm doing it anyway :). Why not right?
Also, of course I'm very hydrated so anything in the muscle tissue should have been flushed out of my system.
Okay, maybe something makes it better... I think that a light workout helps, but that in no way is proven to help. So I'm going to do some counter push ups to keep things really mild for tonight.
Then tomorrow is another day of pull ups! YAY!!!
I've been doing pretty well. I'm doing the 20 pull up challenge. And really just focusing on the eccentric part of the pull up :).
But yesterday I forgot to do them and did inverted rows under the counter at work. Yes, I got on the floor- under the counter- and did inverted rows.
I'm glad no one walked in on me doing that... I might have been given some strange looks O_O! And today, oh my, the soreness!!!!
I had some DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) after the first couple days and now doing the rows my shoulders are just in agony :). But it's a good kind of agony ;). If that's possible??
And despite popular belief, NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!! makes it better :(. Despite knowing that massaging my shoulders for hours will really do no good, I'm doing it anyway :). Why not right?
Also, of course I'm very hydrated so anything in the muscle tissue should have been flushed out of my system.
Okay, maybe something makes it better... I think that a light workout helps, but that in no way is proven to help. So I'm going to do some counter push ups to keep things really mild for tonight.
Then tomorrow is another day of pull ups! YAY!!!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Getting Tough :)
And for the whole reason I'm blogging, getting tough ;).
Tough Mudder training starts in just a couple weeks.
And I've been doing those pull ups, okay more so I've been doing the descending part of the pull ups. And OMG! My ARMS!!! And my SHOULDERS!!! The agony!!!!
I'm feeling much less sore today than day 2-4. Today I missed doing the pullups so I did inverted rows under the counter at work. And I switched it up to 5 sets of 4 since the inverted rows are much easier than the eccentric part of the pull ups.
Also to prepare for Raw in January and no soda, I've moved up to two glasses of water this week for each soda. So far so good. I'm getting pretty excited for January! Anticipation :). Yay!!!
Tough Mudder training starts in just a couple weeks.
And I've been doing those pull ups, okay more so I've been doing the descending part of the pull ups. And OMG! My ARMS!!! And my SHOULDERS!!! The agony!!!!
I'm feeling much less sore today than day 2-4. Today I missed doing the pullups so I did inverted rows under the counter at work. And I switched it up to 5 sets of 4 since the inverted rows are much easier than the eccentric part of the pull ups.
Also to prepare for Raw in January and no soda, I've moved up to two glasses of water this week for each soda. So far so good. I'm getting pretty excited for January! Anticipation :). Yay!!!
Gettin' the Nails Done!
My awesome teenager painted my nails for me. She has all sorts of nail stuff, I don't even know the names of it.
She has hundreds of colors. And knows how to do hundreds of designs :).
The color is Black Mamba and then a powder blue snowflake on the thumbs with sparkle on the snowflake points.
She is really good at this stuff :). I hope she does them again next weekend!
Thanks Kid, you're awesome :D.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Santa??? Yes? No?
So many people in my area, okay just about everyone, does Santa every year.
I didn't do a Santa with my teenager. But some people, including my teenager, think I should do Santa for the baby.
I guess I'm just not sure. I'm torn apart over this issue. Okay, not really, but I'm just not for it.
I didn't do Santa with my oldest, or the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. If I do Santa with baby, does that mean I'm stuck with all that too? I wouldn't say it's "lying" to do these things, but at the same time I think it's not honest. So there is my issue.
If I turn a blind eye and allow those around me to be "Santa" and all the others to my child, will they expect me to not tell lil man when he asks as he gets older that it's not real? Because if he asks me directly, how am I supposed to say it's real?
And even though I always was honest with my teenager, when she was young she believed in Santa anyway. She was determined he was real. Nothing I was going to say or do would make any difference. There was a Santa and that was that.
I grew up with Santa. I don't remember when I realized he wasn't real. Maybe I always suspected. Would I have been dissapointed with a lack of Santa? I think I would have been fine with that. It's not like my parents bought "more". They bought what they were going to and that was it. Then they marked some from them and some from Santa.
However I was an odd child and presents, particularly opening them in front of someone, made me VERY uncomfortable. I hated it. Still do. So maybe that's why I think I wouldn't have minded a no Santa Christmas.
Anyone grow up without Santa willing to comment on your experience? We are a mixed Christian/non-Christian household.
I didn't do a Santa with my teenager. But some people, including my teenager, think I should do Santa for the baby.
I guess I'm just not sure. I'm torn apart over this issue. Okay, not really, but I'm just not for it.
I didn't do Santa with my oldest, or the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. If I do Santa with baby, does that mean I'm stuck with all that too? I wouldn't say it's "lying" to do these things, but at the same time I think it's not honest. So there is my issue.
If I turn a blind eye and allow those around me to be "Santa" and all the others to my child, will they expect me to not tell lil man when he asks as he gets older that it's not real? Because if he asks me directly, how am I supposed to say it's real?
And even though I always was honest with my teenager, when she was young she believed in Santa anyway. She was determined he was real. Nothing I was going to say or do would make any difference. There was a Santa and that was that.
I grew up with Santa. I don't remember when I realized he wasn't real. Maybe I always suspected. Would I have been dissapointed with a lack of Santa? I think I would have been fine with that. It's not like my parents bought "more". They bought what they were going to and that was it. Then they marked some from them and some from Santa.
However I was an odd child and presents, particularly opening them in front of someone, made me VERY uncomfortable. I hated it. Still do. So maybe that's why I think I wouldn't have minded a no Santa Christmas.
Anyone grow up without Santa willing to comment on your experience? We are a mixed Christian/non-Christian household.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Trolls and Drama
I participate in some internet forums. And a couple facebook groups.
Why does everyone hate these trolls so much?
My life isn't very dramatic. I love my family and my job. I don't have any huge issues or concerns... so when these trolls roll into a forum, I'm thinking, "hells yes!!! Time for some drama and fun!!!".
There are many benefits of trolls on a forum. In no particular order...
1) You realize that someone must be more bored and imaginative than you to come up with that crap.
2) It saves you from your boredom and gives you something to do.
3) It's funny. Seriously, these trolls post such radical stories! How can you not laugh?
4) All your internet friends start PANing you with the backstory or requests for backstory which in turn creates more drama and more fire to the story and it becomes even more implausible :).
5) Everyone likes to gang up on the troll and then you start an internet mob. And internet mobs are ALWAYS fun.
6) It's really damn funny! Yes, this is also number three, it deserves a double mention.
7) If you're having a crappy day, it's nice to know that someone somewhere is willing to make up this insane story because their life sucks more than yours does.
8) And if you are the Troll, the drama takes you away from your IRL problems.
9) And being the Troll, you can laugh at all the rediculous responses to your improbable situation.
10) Lastly, it's damn funny! And yes I know, this is 3 and 6...
Update on pull ups- did today's still focusing on the down. My arms are a bit sore from Monday though. And the soda's I'm doing great with the one water and one soda.
Why does everyone hate these trolls so much?
My life isn't very dramatic. I love my family and my job. I don't have any huge issues or concerns... so when these trolls roll into a forum, I'm thinking, "hells yes!!! Time for some drama and fun!!!".
There are many benefits of trolls on a forum. In no particular order...
1) You realize that someone must be more bored and imaginative than you to come up with that crap.
2) It saves you from your boredom and gives you something to do.
3) It's funny. Seriously, these trolls post such radical stories! How can you not laugh?
4) All your internet friends start PANing you with the backstory or requests for backstory which in turn creates more drama and more fire to the story and it becomes even more implausible :).
5) Everyone likes to gang up on the troll and then you start an internet mob. And internet mobs are ALWAYS fun.
6) It's really damn funny! Yes, this is also number three, it deserves a double mention.
7) If you're having a crappy day, it's nice to know that someone somewhere is willing to make up this insane story because their life sucks more than yours does.
8) And if you are the Troll, the drama takes you away from your IRL problems.
9) And being the Troll, you can laugh at all the rediculous responses to your improbable situation.
10) Lastly, it's damn funny! And yes I know, this is 3 and 6...
Update on pull ups- did today's still focusing on the down. My arms are a bit sore from Monday though. And the soda's I'm doing great with the one water and one soda.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Future
I'm reading the book "IT" right now. It looks back on the lives of seven kids who have grown up and have to go back and kill the monster basically.
These seven kids all turn out ridiculously successful.
I remember being a kid and thinking that it would somehow just be easy to be rich and have a great car and an awesome house.
Hahahahaha. Yeah.
It takes work. Hard work.
And planning.
And even then, you still might not make it.
I've gone to college four times. The first time was right after high school to the tech college. I dropped out. Baby to take care of, bills to pay... I said it's too much at once and I just kept on working. I had two jobs, at two different pizza places.
Then when my daughter started kindergarten I went back. I graduated with an Associate Degree in the health care field. I liked what I did but it was a fairly physical job. With my back being in so much pain daily, I knew it wouldn't be something I could continue.
So I went back again. Another Associates Degree and again in healthcare. I love Love LOVE LOVE what I do. And for the most part, I can handle the back pain and it doesn't make it much worse.
I went a fourth time to get a four year degree but with a divorce and paying the bills alone I chose to wait. Then I met a wonderful guy and we decided to have a baby. I knew that having a baby would mean I would likely not go back to college at all for that four year degree. And I'm okay with that- because I LOVE what I do.
I made plans as a kid. Lots of plans.
My future isn't what I planned when I was in sixth grade, if it were I'd be the first woman president pretty soon.
And it's not what I planned in middle school, if it were I'd be chumming with Stephen Hawking as an astrophysicist.
And it's not what I planned in high school, if it were, I'd be a chemist.
And even in adulthood, I planned to go back and maybe be a doctor someday. Though, I changed that plan when deciding to have another baby.
My plans for my future are not at all what it looks like today, but without those plans, I don't know where I'd be. The plans, even the ones that are crazy and rediculous, are the plans that kept me motivated and steered me this direction. Each "failed" plan isn't really a failure. It's a modification and alteration of how I view the world and myself. If we didn't grow and change, what point would there be for us to be anything but big toddlers?
My today is not the future I'd planned for myself pretty much at all... it's better. And I'm glad for all the people in my life and the experiences that have made me who I am today.
Even today, I still plan for my future. I like to look ahead and know that there is hope in my life for all the things I want to do. Without that hope for a future, I can imagine it would be a very depressing existence.
These seven kids all turn out ridiculously successful.
I remember being a kid and thinking that it would somehow just be easy to be rich and have a great car and an awesome house.
Hahahahaha. Yeah.
It takes work. Hard work.
And planning.
And even then, you still might not make it.
I've gone to college four times. The first time was right after high school to the tech college. I dropped out. Baby to take care of, bills to pay... I said it's too much at once and I just kept on working. I had two jobs, at two different pizza places.
Then when my daughter started kindergarten I went back. I graduated with an Associate Degree in the health care field. I liked what I did but it was a fairly physical job. With my back being in so much pain daily, I knew it wouldn't be something I could continue.
So I went back again. Another Associates Degree and again in healthcare. I love Love LOVE LOVE what I do. And for the most part, I can handle the back pain and it doesn't make it much worse.
I went a fourth time to get a four year degree but with a divorce and paying the bills alone I chose to wait. Then I met a wonderful guy and we decided to have a baby. I knew that having a baby would mean I would likely not go back to college at all for that four year degree. And I'm okay with that- because I LOVE what I do.
I made plans as a kid. Lots of plans.
My future isn't what I planned when I was in sixth grade, if it were I'd be the first woman president pretty soon.
And it's not what I planned in middle school, if it were I'd be chumming with Stephen Hawking as an astrophysicist.
And it's not what I planned in high school, if it were, I'd be a chemist.
And even in adulthood, I planned to go back and maybe be a doctor someday. Though, I changed that plan when deciding to have another baby.
My plans for my future are not at all what it looks like today, but without those plans, I don't know where I'd be. The plans, even the ones that are crazy and rediculous, are the plans that kept me motivated and steered me this direction. Each "failed" plan isn't really a failure. It's a modification and alteration of how I view the world and myself. If we didn't grow and change, what point would there be for us to be anything but big toddlers?
My today is not the future I'd planned for myself pretty much at all... it's better. And I'm glad for all the people in my life and the experiences that have made me who I am today.
Even today, I still plan for my future. I like to look ahead and know that there is hope in my life for all the things I want to do. Without that hope for a future, I can imagine it would be a very depressing existence.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Oh Christmas Tree and Extra Christmas Tree
This is the tree in our family room.!!!
It already has Lil Guy's present from grandma by it. He got a bouncer from grandma and after his initial, "what the heck is this" he then understood he was supposed to play with it :).!!!
This tree is where I put stuff for just "our family". I mean by that, the family that lives in our house. I don't really do presents but I might have a surprise for a boyfriend of mine this year... Maybe ;).!!!
I'm not sure what I'll do for my daughter yet. I usually write something on a notecard, put the notecard in a pretty container and wrap it and put it under the tree. I'm not sure what she would like to "do" with me. I've taken her mostly to museums or waterparks for her birthday and Christmas "presents". But I'm not sure at 15 that she would still like that. And I'm running out of time!!!
This is our second tree. It has almost the same decorations as the other tree. The balls are on this one and the stars are on the other. Either way, I think both trees are awesomely amazing!!!
This is the tree that when family comes over they'll put whatever it is they have for others under the tree. We don't do adult gifts, so pretty much just the kids. Which is fine with me. It's so much easier to not have to shop for every adult and them not for me. Then we can just buy for ourselves what we need. But kids love presents, except me. I hated presents. I always felt guilty for getting presents as a kid. But now, I don't mind. Buy me all the presents you want :).
I have new poster board for our snowman. I'll be drawing him soon. It'll be a real work of art... haha. Yeah. Art... Ok, you'll be able to recognize that it is a snowman. Beyond that, I make no promises.
And now, for the update. I did the pullups this morning focusing on the down, going as slow as I could. I had to jump up for most of them anyway. And the soda/water deal? So far 3 for 3 and hating every minute of water drinking.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Soda Addiction
Along with being all raw for January other than some taco sauce on my salad (sorry, it's processed, I'm just not going to make my own), I have one other thing that is very processed that I must give up.
Soda.
Yes, Soda. I drink A LOT of soda every day. I don't particularly want withdraw headaches. So, along with this Monday starting my own mini pull-up challenge I have on other thing I must do. For every soda I drink this week I will also have one glass of water.
The following week will be two glasses of water for each soda.
And the final week will be three glasses of water for each soda.
Doing it this way hopefully will help me stay more hydrated to make the withdrawal from soda much less uncomfortable. As it is, switching to raw will cause me some issues. All the processed toxins leave the body and yes, we are addicted to many of those too. I'll have my own processed food withdrawal so I'd much rather not double up and also have caffeine withdrawal at the same time.
Though I know soda is bad for me in general, it has been much harder for me to quit than when I quit smoking. One day I decided to stop smoking after being a smoker for about 5 years, so really not very long. I was in my early 20's. I just stopped then and there. Put it down after one drag and never finished it or the pack I had.
I had it easy. I know many people struggle like crazy to get away from smoking. And I'm having that same struggle repeated year after year with caffeine. Ridiculous I know, but true. I'd really like to be able to give up soda and then if I have one out to dinner sometime this year not go back to it like I do now.
Soda.
Yes, Soda. I drink A LOT of soda every day. I don't particularly want withdraw headaches. So, along with this Monday starting my own mini pull-up challenge I have on other thing I must do. For every soda I drink this week I will also have one glass of water.
The following week will be two glasses of water for each soda.
And the final week will be three glasses of water for each soda.
Doing it this way hopefully will help me stay more hydrated to make the withdrawal from soda much less uncomfortable. As it is, switching to raw will cause me some issues. All the processed toxins leave the body and yes, we are addicted to many of those too. I'll have my own processed food withdrawal so I'd much rather not double up and also have caffeine withdrawal at the same time.
Though I know soda is bad for me in general, it has been much harder for me to quit than when I quit smoking. One day I decided to stop smoking after being a smoker for about 5 years, so really not very long. I was in my early 20's. I just stopped then and there. Put it down after one drag and never finished it or the pack I had.
I had it easy. I know many people struggle like crazy to get away from smoking. And I'm having that same struggle repeated year after year with caffeine. Ridiculous I know, but true. I'd really like to be able to give up soda and then if I have one out to dinner sometime this year not go back to it like I do now.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Pull Up Challenge Anyone?
20 Pull Up Challenge
I'm going to do a pull up challenge, not the whole thing, but just the first three weeks of one. I'd like to get some good strength in these girly arms and a little definition before starting my training this January.
This program seems simple enough. I can most of the time do 2 pull ups so I'm going to start with the first part of it. By the end of the week, we'll see how I'm doing and maybe repeat the same program or go to the next level. Then come January, I'll just go back to my random pull-ups as I walk through the doorway.
I'm starting this Monday. I'll update at the end of each post how I did for the day.
I hope you join me :).
I'm going to do a pull up challenge, not the whole thing, but just the first three weeks of one. I'd like to get some good strength in these girly arms and a little definition before starting my training this January.
This program seems simple enough. I can most of the time do 2 pull ups so I'm going to start with the first part of it. By the end of the week, we'll see how I'm doing and maybe repeat the same program or go to the next level. Then come January, I'll just go back to my random pull-ups as I walk through the doorway.
I'm starting this Monday. I'll update at the end of each post how I did for the day.
I hope you join me :).
Friday, December 6, 2013
Wax Star Plant
This is a Wax Star Plant. Also known as a Hoya. I think they're amazingly beautiful plants even when not in flower.
These little flowers are about the size of a dime each. They are tiny! And so pretty. They do sort of feel like wax if you touch them.
I have many Hoya plants similar to this one at home. I recently repotted them all into the same pot. I used an old bundt pan and placed them all around the circle. This picture was from the "before". I don't have any flowering photo's from the "after" repotting yet.
The cuttings I got to start my own plants came from a plant my dad got from some old lady well before I was ever even born. Since I pretend to still be in my 20's, we'll say that my dad has had it for 35 years or so. Over the years it's flowered a few times for my dad but not often or regularly. Sometimes going years between flowering.
Then I got my cuttings and grew them and started getting flowering sections fairly quickly! I was so excited thinking I might NEVER see it again. Then I found this really old plant book at some random store along the way or maybe my mom gave it to me and it actually had this plant listed in there. It doesn't seem to be a very common plant now but maybe was more popular years ago. Apparently flowers only happen on the new growth. Cutting back the plant and making new plants will help it to flower. They also like to be watered a bit less often to help with flowering and like to sort of be a bit overcrowded, having a tighter root ball. They don't need a very large pot.
Once a year I trim it back so new growth can come from it and with those trimmings I start them off in a vase until they grow roots. They take to dirt amazingly well and I've never lost even one cutting. I get flowers all throughout the year and I just weave the flowering sections up a bit so that the flowers can be well displayed. This plant does like to vine and will cling to itself, window treatments, and other plants.
So, if you like plants, this one is a beautiful plant for foliage or flowering. The flowers last a good while too. Next time I'll try to get a pic before the flowers open, they look like little gift wrapped stars.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Christmas is Coming
The countdown to the end of the year is getting so close and I haven't yet even put up either of my Christmas trees!
I was going to do it the weekend after Thanksgiving. Then we had stuff going on. Then I worked some extra hours during this week so I have still yet to put them up.
In good news, I did bring the cushions for the outdoor furniture in the other day. They did get a little snowed on but I figured I couldn't wait till they were actually covered in feet of snow. Or maybe I could have, then I could be like, "Outdoor furniture? What outdoor furniture?". But I know you're not supposed to leave that stuff out all winter.
I love putting up my Christmas trees. I love it so much, I have two of them :). I don't remember which decorations I used last year. I'll have to stalk my own facebook page of last years Christmas party so I can figure it out and not use the same this year.
I also have stockings to do and games to plan. We play really fun games for Christmas.
My favorite is pin the nose on the snowman. Our snowman is SOOOO marked up from prior years that I need to make a new snowman. I can do that pretty quickly though.
Other games we play are things like "Snowball Carry" where you have two mixing bowls across the room from each other. One side is full of cotton balls, the other empty. Kids can use their hands to hold the spoon, but adults must not touch the spoon with their hands and carry the cotton balls across the room. Do NOT try this with raw eggs at Easter time, that would be messy.
Some years we do a snowball toss. It's kind of like a beanbag toss except we use those white foam balls from the craft section.
And we do holiday Bingo, Word Finding games, Trivia...
The things we do NOT do are things like Pictionary and Charades. If it's something a normal rational family would do, we probably don't do it :).
I get prizes for the games, too. I can't wait to set up this years games and search for new ideas! I love wrapping the prizes. Sometimes it's hard to find things that are appropriate for everyone though so prizes work sort of like White Elephant. You either pick a prize or steal. For the most part, doing it that way means everyone gets something more appropriate for them.
I'm also doing the dinner, but this mess is getting long enough. I'm trying something new this year rather than the typical roasts so I'm sure you'll all hear about that soon :).
Happy Thursday people :).
I was going to do it the weekend after Thanksgiving. Then we had stuff going on. Then I worked some extra hours during this week so I have still yet to put them up.
In good news, I did bring the cushions for the outdoor furniture in the other day. They did get a little snowed on but I figured I couldn't wait till they were actually covered in feet of snow. Or maybe I could have, then I could be like, "Outdoor furniture? What outdoor furniture?". But I know you're not supposed to leave that stuff out all winter.
I love putting up my Christmas trees. I love it so much, I have two of them :). I don't remember which decorations I used last year. I'll have to stalk my own facebook page of last years Christmas party so I can figure it out and not use the same this year.
I also have stockings to do and games to plan. We play really fun games for Christmas.
My favorite is pin the nose on the snowman. Our snowman is SOOOO marked up from prior years that I need to make a new snowman. I can do that pretty quickly though.
Other games we play are things like "Snowball Carry" where you have two mixing bowls across the room from each other. One side is full of cotton balls, the other empty. Kids can use their hands to hold the spoon, but adults must not touch the spoon with their hands and carry the cotton balls across the room. Do NOT try this with raw eggs at Easter time, that would be messy.
Some years we do a snowball toss. It's kind of like a beanbag toss except we use those white foam balls from the craft section.
And we do holiday Bingo, Word Finding games, Trivia...
The things we do NOT do are things like Pictionary and Charades. If it's something a normal rational family would do, we probably don't do it :).
I get prizes for the games, too. I can't wait to set up this years games and search for new ideas! I love wrapping the prizes. Sometimes it's hard to find things that are appropriate for everyone though so prizes work sort of like White Elephant. You either pick a prize or steal. For the most part, doing it that way means everyone gets something more appropriate for them.
I'm also doing the dinner, but this mess is getting long enough. I'm trying something new this year rather than the typical roasts so I'm sure you'll all hear about that soon :).
Happy Thursday people :).
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
T minus 4 weeks
Till training time!
Then the countdown to the Tough Mudder begins.
Well, as I've said in a prior post, my January is a raw vegan 8/1/1 style diet.
But did I mention my training? I do have a plan. 3 days a week of weight training consisting of only two joint exercises. Which means I'm not wasting time on bicep curls (sorry to you guys who worship the bicep curl). I find that I get much better muscle building and functional strength from doing pull ups instead of bicep curls. and pull ups DO work your biceps. And shoulders, and forearms, and even grip strength.
Pull ups actually wont be in my weight lifting routine though since technically I don't lift weights with that. But I will be doing press/pull exercises for the upper and lower body. The pull ups are more of a random incorporation. I have a pull up bar that pops into a doorway. I don't have a door going from my bedroom to a small hallway to the attached bathroom.
Don't worry, my bathroom has a door. Otherwise it would make living with a man sharing my bathroom just about impossible...
Anyway, I digress, the pull up bar is to be used every time I pass by it. How many times a day do I use my bathroom? A LOT. Before work multiple times... bathroom, brushing my teeth, to shower, to go back and brush my hair, to go back because I'm so sleep deprived I forgot deodorant :). Yes, I have to go back lots for that. And to check to make sure I didn't put lipstick on for eyeshadow and vice versa.
I can already to one full pull up and most of the time two full pull ups. Just as of right now it's not very consistent that I do this. I'm starting now to get more into the habit so that by January it wont seem like I'm adding everything at once.
Also for cardio I plan three days of that as well. This month will be 10-20 minute sessions of bike riding (indoors), pole dancing, and kickboxing with my awesome heavy bag. Yes, I have a heavy bag. And it's all mine. Though my boyfriend does sometimes put on my super sexy pink boxing gloves and hit the bag a bit too. He does look awesome in pink ;).
And yeah, I said pole dancing and no I'm not an exotic dancer. It's for fitness people!! Seriously, the way some of you think just surprises me. Okay, no it doesn't :).
I hope you all love the smileys today. I maybe used a few of them here n there.
Then the countdown to the Tough Mudder begins.
Well, as I've said in a prior post, my January is a raw vegan 8/1/1 style diet.
But did I mention my training? I do have a plan. 3 days a week of weight training consisting of only two joint exercises. Which means I'm not wasting time on bicep curls (sorry to you guys who worship the bicep curl). I find that I get much better muscle building and functional strength from doing pull ups instead of bicep curls. and pull ups DO work your biceps. And shoulders, and forearms, and even grip strength.
Pull ups actually wont be in my weight lifting routine though since technically I don't lift weights with that. But I will be doing press/pull exercises for the upper and lower body. The pull ups are more of a random incorporation. I have a pull up bar that pops into a doorway. I don't have a door going from my bedroom to a small hallway to the attached bathroom.
Don't worry, my bathroom has a door. Otherwise it would make living with a man sharing my bathroom just about impossible...
Anyway, I digress, the pull up bar is to be used every time I pass by it. How many times a day do I use my bathroom? A LOT. Before work multiple times... bathroom, brushing my teeth, to shower, to go back and brush my hair, to go back because I'm so sleep deprived I forgot deodorant :). Yes, I have to go back lots for that. And to check to make sure I didn't put lipstick on for eyeshadow and vice versa.
I can already to one full pull up and most of the time two full pull ups. Just as of right now it's not very consistent that I do this. I'm starting now to get more into the habit so that by January it wont seem like I'm adding everything at once.
Also for cardio I plan three days of that as well. This month will be 10-20 minute sessions of bike riding (indoors), pole dancing, and kickboxing with my awesome heavy bag. Yes, I have a heavy bag. And it's all mine. Though my boyfriend does sometimes put on my super sexy pink boxing gloves and hit the bag a bit too. He does look awesome in pink ;).
And yeah, I said pole dancing and no I'm not an exotic dancer. It's for fitness people!! Seriously, the way some of you think just surprises me. Okay, no it doesn't :).
I hope you all love the smileys today. I maybe used a few of them here n there.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Holy Wall Of Text!
Seriously every post of mine is a HUGE WALL OF TEXT!!!
I put in spaces. I put in paragraphs. My punctuation is beautiful and I throw in lots of extra exclamation points.
Then I hit the publish button...
And then I close the page and move on with my life...
Next I actually LOOK at my blog and I'm like...
O_O...
And think out loud (yes I think out loud sometimes) "What the heck happened!!!!". And yes, I think the exclamation points too. I like exclamation points.
So maybe this post is completely useless but I had to share that I, in fact, do use paragraphs and punctuation.
I hope you like the many ellipsis' <--- not sure what the plural form of that word is so just go with it guys, moving on---> that I've placed in this post. I like them too :).
I put in spaces. I put in paragraphs. My punctuation is beautiful and I throw in lots of extra exclamation points.
Then I hit the publish button...
And then I close the page and move on with my life...
Next I actually LOOK at my blog and I'm like...
O_O...
And think out loud (yes I think out loud sometimes) "What the heck happened!!!!". And yes, I think the exclamation points too. I like exclamation points.
So maybe this post is completely useless but I had to share that I, in fact, do use paragraphs and punctuation.
I hope you like the many ellipsis' <--- not sure what the plural form of that word is so just go with it guys, moving on---> that I've placed in this post. I like them too :).
Monday, December 2, 2013
Magical Mondays
Ok, maybe Monday isn't so Magical.
Work week starts all over again. The joys of balancing work/family/and housework starts all over again.
It's always great fun to drive to work on Monday. I'm sure you all feel the same way. I do my weekly home blessing most Mondays (if you're a flybaby you know what I mean). And of course washing like ten gazillion bottles.
I'm pretty sure I could spend all day washing bottles. I'm sure that's not really true and it only takes a few minutes but over and over and over again I'm washing bottles. Lil guy thinks its great fun for me to wash bottles though. He sits in his high chair and laughs at me while I clean them.
Anyone watch Walking Dead? Why do I have to wait till February!!!!! I think I might die before then just because of the agony of anticipation!!! And seriously the commercials? How many commercials do we need. Lay off the commercials!!!! So, yeah, that might be a lot of exclamation points in the above. Deal ;).
What else... My hip and back hurt a lot today so I'm going to zap myself when I get home. It's this awesome little device called a TENS unit. You put it on and being the zapping. If I could marry the darn thing, I would. It's the most amazing thing ever. And it's really fun to put on other areas (like your forearm) and watch your fingers twitch all on their own. I might sleep with that thing tonight.
So, even though I have to start my work week today, it's still a great day :).
It's always great fun to drive to work on Monday. I'm sure you all feel the same way. I do my weekly home blessing most Mondays (if you're a flybaby you know what I mean). And of course washing like ten gazillion bottles.
I'm pretty sure I could spend all day washing bottles. I'm sure that's not really true and it only takes a few minutes but over and over and over again I'm washing bottles. Lil guy thinks its great fun for me to wash bottles though. He sits in his high chair and laughs at me while I clean them.
Anyone watch Walking Dead? Why do I have to wait till February!!!!! I think I might die before then just because of the agony of anticipation!!! And seriously the commercials? How many commercials do we need. Lay off the commercials!!!! So, yeah, that might be a lot of exclamation points in the above. Deal ;).
What else... My hip and back hurt a lot today so I'm going to zap myself when I get home. It's this awesome little device called a TENS unit. You put it on and being the zapping. If I could marry the darn thing, I would. It's the most amazing thing ever. And it's really fun to put on other areas (like your forearm) and watch your fingers twitch all on their own. I might sleep with that thing tonight.
So, even though I have to start my work week today, it's still a great day :).
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Spectacular Sunday
I don't know what you all do on Sunday, but you could comment and tell me.
I used to go indoor rock wall climbing at Adventure Rock one Sunday a month. That was always fun. Then I got this gigantic belly (darn babies) and stopped doing that. Now taking an infant to an indoor rock wall climbing facility with falling people might not be the best idea.
I also used to go to the movies a lot and out to dinner. Also not very infant friendly when he decides five minutes into a movie that he'd like to spend the next hour crying :).
So I've been experimenting with my Sundays. Some of my Sunday experiments have been things like making brownies and cakes. Let me tell you, I am AWESOME at eating those brownies. Maybe a lil bit too awesome at devouring brownies. And I have learned that I LOVE spice cake and don't much care for orange cake.
Having a teenager and an infant has been a little difficult in finding things that both can be at without either being bored or in a potentially unsafe environment. She'd love to paintball with me I'm sure but I'm sure paintballing with an infant strapped on my back isn't a good idea. Though it sounds fun. He needs to learn to paintball someday anyway, right? Four months old shouldn't be too young for that...
So Sunday experiments have all been basically at home. I've been contemplating fort making with my daughter but I'm pretty sure as a teenager she will be like, "Mom, I'm fifteen. You want me to do what? Build a fort?". And then she'll probably ask me if I'm insane.
I'd really like to get out a bit more. Museums around my home are not very exciting and the nearest ones are a bit of a drive.
What do you do to occupy your family on weekends? I need some creative things preferably active that we can do mainly indoors since it's darn cold around these parts this time of year :).
I also used to go to the movies a lot and out to dinner. Also not very infant friendly when he decides five minutes into a movie that he'd like to spend the next hour crying :).
So I've been experimenting with my Sundays. Some of my Sunday experiments have been things like making brownies and cakes. Let me tell you, I am AWESOME at eating those brownies. Maybe a lil bit too awesome at devouring brownies. And I have learned that I LOVE spice cake and don't much care for orange cake.
Having a teenager and an infant has been a little difficult in finding things that both can be at without either being bored or in a potentially unsafe environment. She'd love to paintball with me I'm sure but I'm sure paintballing with an infant strapped on my back isn't a good idea. Though it sounds fun. He needs to learn to paintball someday anyway, right? Four months old shouldn't be too young for that...
So Sunday experiments have all been basically at home. I've been contemplating fort making with my daughter but I'm pretty sure as a teenager she will be like, "Mom, I'm fifteen. You want me to do what? Build a fort?". And then she'll probably ask me if I'm insane.
I'd really like to get out a bit more. Museums around my home are not very exciting and the nearest ones are a bit of a drive.
What do you do to occupy your family on weekends? I need some creative things preferably active that we can do mainly indoors since it's darn cold around these parts this time of year :).
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Weekend Cleaning
Well, usually I stay on top of things better but this past year my house on a scale of one being unfit to live in and 10 being show-worthy has probably averaged at a 5, or maybe a 4.
I was a flybaby. I did awesome for years. YEARS!!!!
Even in school working multiple jobs I managed to do okay-ish. There's nothing rotting anywhere and we have no bugs (well the occasionally earwig that gets inside and freaks my daughter out). But just a general state of disheveledness has entered the house. I never used to spend a weekend cleaning and I loved that anytime anyone came over my house was "clean". Well, it was probably about an 8. My daughter can tell you how I used to make her dry the sink every time she would wash her hands. I think she may have thought I was insane for a bit.
So it's time to get back on the flywagon. If you've got some improving you could do at home, check out FlyLady.
I've been making a few excuses to not keep on top of things like I could pull a muscle cleaning a closet, I could slip and hurt myself mopping, I might kill a fish if I try to clean their tank, and my all time favorite excuse is there was a good movie on TV and I needed to watch it and order a pizza :).
I love pizza. Maybe I'll do that now, find a movie on netflix and order a pizza. The house can get clean another day, like when the kids move out :).
Even in school working multiple jobs I managed to do okay-ish. There's nothing rotting anywhere and we have no bugs (well the occasionally earwig that gets inside and freaks my daughter out). But just a general state of disheveledness has entered the house. I never used to spend a weekend cleaning and I loved that anytime anyone came over my house was "clean". Well, it was probably about an 8. My daughter can tell you how I used to make her dry the sink every time she would wash her hands. I think she may have thought I was insane for a bit.
So it's time to get back on the flywagon. If you've got some improving you could do at home, check out FlyLady.
I've been making a few excuses to not keep on top of things like I could pull a muscle cleaning a closet, I could slip and hurt myself mopping, I might kill a fish if I try to clean their tank, and my all time favorite excuse is there was a good movie on TV and I needed to watch it and order a pizza :).
I love pizza. Maybe I'll do that now, find a movie on netflix and order a pizza. The house can get clean another day, like when the kids move out :).
Friday, November 29, 2013
Unique Me
Ten things that make me who I am...
In no particular order...
1)I have to eat foods in a certain way. Anything rectangular is short edges, long edges, then repeat till there's nothing left. Candy bars I eat the chocolate off first. Anything circular I take small bites around and around and around except cookies which are broken into quarters and the center eaten first then the edges.
2) I can't eat pork chops. Really, I can't I gag the second it touches my tongue. But I can eat bacon and pepperoni. Sausage is a bit iffy.
3) I am friendly to everyone but very difficult to get to know because underneath my happy exterior I'm really shy.
4) I like capitalism. Yes, I really do. I'd rather live here than in Russia or any other socialist/communist country.
5) Even though I'm generally a capitalist I think there are some services we should all have to equally pay for like the police and fire department.
6) Occasionally I will have a snickers and a soda for lunch. By occasionally I mean a couple times a week.
7) I really really hate chocolate ice cream. It's so gross.
8) I think kids should be allowed some independence and have some basic household responsibilities. I think 8 is not to young to start doing their own laundry.
9) I need very little personal time but would be just as fine spending a week alone as I would spending a week with a big group.
10) I'm one of the few people who truly love my job and what I do. I can't imagine being this happy doing anything else.
Unless I won the lottery and could just watch TV, read, and eat pizza for a living, that might be the only thing happier than what I do.
In no particular order...
1)I have to eat foods in a certain way. Anything rectangular is short edges, long edges, then repeat till there's nothing left. Candy bars I eat the chocolate off first. Anything circular I take small bites around and around and around except cookies which are broken into quarters and the center eaten first then the edges.
2) I can't eat pork chops. Really, I can't I gag the second it touches my tongue. But I can eat bacon and pepperoni. Sausage is a bit iffy.
3) I am friendly to everyone but very difficult to get to know because underneath my happy exterior I'm really shy.
4) I like capitalism. Yes, I really do. I'd rather live here than in Russia or any other socialist/communist country.
5) Even though I'm generally a capitalist I think there are some services we should all have to equally pay for like the police and fire department.
6) Occasionally I will have a snickers and a soda for lunch. By occasionally I mean a couple times a week.
7) I really really hate chocolate ice cream. It's so gross.
8) I think kids should be allowed some independence and have some basic household responsibilities. I think 8 is not to young to start doing their own laundry.
9) I need very little personal time but would be just as fine spending a week alone as I would spending a week with a big group.
10) I'm one of the few people who truly love my job and what I do. I can't imagine being this happy doing anything else.
Unless I won the lottery and could just watch TV, read, and eat pizza for a living, that might be the only thing happier than what I do.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Happy Food Day
And Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah.
Today was a day of lots of food. Little man was feeling better but still he's not ready for solids so still just milk for him. And thankfully I have awesome family members who don't try to feed my infant without permission. Seriously surprises me how many people have family that feeds their babies without asking!
That kid could have allergies, swallowing problems, or just not be ready yet. And besides I think the first time a baby eats is something special that the parents should be able to be the first to feed their own baby :). No, I don't feel strongly about that at all...
My brother in law made this awesome crock pot turkey with cilantro and onion. It was absolutely delicious. And juicy. And wonderful. And I ate way more than I should have. I ate so much of it that I **almost** couldn't eat a huge plateful of pie. But I managed.
Only a few more weeks to go and it's training time. I have for the past few years followed a month of the 8/1/1 raw vegan plan for January. I didn't last year because, well, I was sort of pregnant. But I've always felt awesome doing a month of all raw and mostly monomeals. I don't think it's something I could do for a lifetime, but a month, now that I can handle. And I should't say I do it 100%. I use a premade taco sauce on my salads. Which is definitely processed. And occasionally I'll put just a tiny bit of cheese on the salad as well.
I already have a printout for what fruit I plan to have each week so I can minimize my time staring at all the fruit, veggies, and berries at the grocery store. Ah, and another area I "cheat" on this is that I don't get raw nuts and seeds. I just don't want to pay the exorbant prices for raw nuts so I go with the storebought Planters cashews because I'm partial to cashews. I don't eat much in the way of nuts and seeds during January anyway.
And yes, I do get all my calories this way. It's actually pretty easy to eat enough calories in fruit and salad in a day and toss in some nuts if I'm falling short. I've tracked January before on FitDay and similar sites and the amount of nutrients per calorie that I get in January is pretty awesome too. I move toward a more paleo type of diet for the following few months. But then by late September usually I've fallen back into the SAD foods we all usually eat. It's the Red Lobster cheesey biscuits and hot lava cookies that just do me in and I fall off the wagon.
A really awesome Paleo blog is Marks Daily Apple. I've lurked there for years.
Other than starting off each post holiday binge with healthy eating; weight lifting and a bit of cardio also starts in January. I'm a big believer that you don't need to spend ten hours a day in a gym to get good results. I might look like someone who just had a baby four months ago right now but one good month of training should fix that. As long as baby boy behaves and starts sleeping better and my bad disks in my back don't cause me too extrememe of pain I should be able to keep a pretty good schedule for January.
My back has limited me quite a bit over the past two years. And as much as I know I should see a surgeon for it since the MRI wasn't pretty, I'm scared to death of someone doing anything to my spine. I try to not make excuses, espeically when it comes to my back pain. It's just some days are so bad I can't sleep at night. Sometimes moving is so damn painful and I can barely walk but not moving is just as painful. I don't even know what to compare it to for those of you who don't have back pain.
So to recap, baby boy is no longer projectile vomiting and managed to sleep a full 5 hours before waking up last night for the first time. And I feel like my pain is under control at least for now that my January should go smoothly :).
Today was a day of lots of food. Little man was feeling better but still he's not ready for solids so still just milk for him. And thankfully I have awesome family members who don't try to feed my infant without permission. Seriously surprises me how many people have family that feeds their babies without asking!
That kid could have allergies, swallowing problems, or just not be ready yet. And besides I think the first time a baby eats is something special that the parents should be able to be the first to feed their own baby :). No, I don't feel strongly about that at all...
My brother in law made this awesome crock pot turkey with cilantro and onion. It was absolutely delicious. And juicy. And wonderful. And I ate way more than I should have. I ate so much of it that I **almost** couldn't eat a huge plateful of pie. But I managed.
Only a few more weeks to go and it's training time. I have for the past few years followed a month of the 8/1/1 raw vegan plan for January. I didn't last year because, well, I was sort of pregnant. But I've always felt awesome doing a month of all raw and mostly monomeals. I don't think it's something I could do for a lifetime, but a month, now that I can handle. And I should't say I do it 100%. I use a premade taco sauce on my salads. Which is definitely processed. And occasionally I'll put just a tiny bit of cheese on the salad as well.
I already have a printout for what fruit I plan to have each week so I can minimize my time staring at all the fruit, veggies, and berries at the grocery store. Ah, and another area I "cheat" on this is that I don't get raw nuts and seeds. I just don't want to pay the exorbant prices for raw nuts so I go with the storebought Planters cashews because I'm partial to cashews. I don't eat much in the way of nuts and seeds during January anyway.
And yes, I do get all my calories this way. It's actually pretty easy to eat enough calories in fruit and salad in a day and toss in some nuts if I'm falling short. I've tracked January before on FitDay and similar sites and the amount of nutrients per calorie that I get in January is pretty awesome too. I move toward a more paleo type of diet for the following few months. But then by late September usually I've fallen back into the SAD foods we all usually eat. It's the Red Lobster cheesey biscuits and hot lava cookies that just do me in and I fall off the wagon.
A really awesome Paleo blog is Marks Daily Apple. I've lurked there for years.
Other than starting off each post holiday binge with healthy eating; weight lifting and a bit of cardio also starts in January. I'm a big believer that you don't need to spend ten hours a day in a gym to get good results. I might look like someone who just had a baby four months ago right now but one good month of training should fix that. As long as baby boy behaves and starts sleeping better and my bad disks in my back don't cause me too extrememe of pain I should be able to keep a pretty good schedule for January.
My back has limited me quite a bit over the past two years. And as much as I know I should see a surgeon for it since the MRI wasn't pretty, I'm scared to death of someone doing anything to my spine. I try to not make excuses, espeically when it comes to my back pain. It's just some days are so bad I can't sleep at night. Sometimes moving is so damn painful and I can barely walk but not moving is just as painful. I don't even know what to compare it to for those of you who don't have back pain.
So to recap, baby boy is no longer projectile vomiting and managed to sleep a full 5 hours before waking up last night for the first time. And I feel like my pain is under control at least for now that my January should go smoothly :).
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
What a Day
Random Wednesday...
Baby boy is sick. He threw up all over me. I'm sure he thought it was great fun. I didn't find it nearly as exciting as he did.
Tomorrow is going to be very exciting. Lots of great food since by brother in law is cooking ;). He is a pretty good cook. My sister and I both have great cooks at home. I would probably starve to death if I had to cook for myself. I don't think I'm qualified to evrn make a frozen pizza.
I forced my teenager to watch Zoolander with me tonight. Twice. She found it as crazy stupid and funny as I did.
Well sick baby needs me so back tomorrow.
Baby boy is sick. He threw up all over me. I'm sure he thought it was great fun. I didn't find it nearly as exciting as he did.
Tomorrow is going to be very exciting. Lots of great food since by brother in law is cooking ;). He is a pretty good cook. My sister and I both have great cooks at home. I would probably starve to death if I had to cook for myself. I don't think I'm qualified to evrn make a frozen pizza.
I forced my teenager to watch Zoolander with me tonight. Twice. She found it as crazy stupid and funny as I did.
Well sick baby needs me so back tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Yep, here I am.
Hi random internet stranger. Want to join me on my randomness? Yeah, I thought so :). This will mostly be about my training (or lack thereof) with some random parenting, scared of pudding, and maybe book review posts.
A group of us wonderful people who are not insane do a 10-13 mile mud run with obstacles. Maybe you've heard of it? The Tough Mudder? It's great fun.
We say every year, we're going to train for this and do it right and we'll all be amazing!!!!
Then all of a sudden the Tough Mudder is... NEXT WEEKEND!!!!
And we're all like, OMG!!! I thought we had more time!!!!! OH NO!!!
So then we drive our cars or steal someones van and all pile in and do this thing. We manage really well the first few miles. Obstacles are fairly close together and we run from one to the next. We get a nice rest break at each obstacle. And we ARE amazing. We crawl through mud. We get zapped with electricity. We dive into icy baths. We jump with enthusiasm after each obstacle!!!
Then something happens. We run part of the way to the next obstacle. And we only do high fives after. We do the monkey bars and fall in the water because our muddy palms just can't grip the bars (it has nothing at all to do with our lack of training or poor grip strength)- but actually I did make it except for last year.
Finally we get to the last few obstacles and some of us drag our worthless butts over to them, give them a good look, then walk around them. Hey, at least we stop and consider doing them. Or maybe the stopping and considering is just another way to work in resting. Wouldn't you like to know :).
However, I have an excuse for last year. I had just had a baby boy 7 weeks before the run. I'm sure my doctor would not have recommended me doing an 11 mile obstacle run had he known about it. So really, I couldn't train for it. And I still managed to run about half of it. So there :p.
If you've done the Tough Mudder you know that nothing is going to stop you if you've signed up for the darn thing. I could have been delivering that baby during the run and I STILL would have shown up.
Dedication... or insanity. Is there really any difference anyway?
Okay, so to the point after all that mess is that this year I'm not pregnant so I really can train for this thing. Training starts in January so I'm going to live up the next few weeks to the fullest and be as gluttony as possible. Plus Baby Boy does not sleep more than 4 hours at a time yet even though he's four months old. So exhaustion levels are pretty high right now. This Baby Boy better sleep at least 5 hours through by the time January rolls around because we're serious this year about the whole training thing. Really, we are.
A group of us wonderful people who are not insane do a 10-13 mile mud run with obstacles. Maybe you've heard of it? The Tough Mudder? It's great fun.
We say every year, we're going to train for this and do it right and we'll all be amazing!!!!
Then all of a sudden the Tough Mudder is... NEXT WEEKEND!!!!
And we're all like, OMG!!! I thought we had more time!!!!! OH NO!!!
So then we drive our cars or steal someones van and all pile in and do this thing. We manage really well the first few miles. Obstacles are fairly close together and we run from one to the next. We get a nice rest break at each obstacle. And we ARE amazing. We crawl through mud. We get zapped with electricity. We dive into icy baths. We jump with enthusiasm after each obstacle!!!
Then something happens. We run part of the way to the next obstacle. And we only do high fives after. We do the monkey bars and fall in the water because our muddy palms just can't grip the bars (it has nothing at all to do with our lack of training or poor grip strength)- but actually I did make it except for last year.
Finally we get to the last few obstacles and some of us drag our worthless butts over to them, give them a good look, then walk around them. Hey, at least we stop and consider doing them. Or maybe the stopping and considering is just another way to work in resting. Wouldn't you like to know :).
However, I have an excuse for last year. I had just had a baby boy 7 weeks before the run. I'm sure my doctor would not have recommended me doing an 11 mile obstacle run had he known about it. So really, I couldn't train for it. And I still managed to run about half of it. So there :p.
If you've done the Tough Mudder you know that nothing is going to stop you if you've signed up for the darn thing. I could have been delivering that baby during the run and I STILL would have shown up.
Dedication... or insanity. Is there really any difference anyway?
Okay, so to the point after all that mess is that this year I'm not pregnant so I really can train for this thing. Training starts in January so I'm going to live up the next few weeks to the fullest and be as gluttony as possible. Plus Baby Boy does not sleep more than 4 hours at a time yet even though he's four months old. So exhaustion levels are pretty high right now. This Baby Boy better sleep at least 5 hours through by the time January rolls around because we're serious this year about the whole training thing. Really, we are.
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