29 October 2012

A bit of a hangover, actually

I didn't manage myself well this weekend at all.  I drank FAR too much, ATE far too much and the wrong things, but we had so much fun.

When I got up Saturday morning, I cleaned the kitchen and made pumpkin bread for breakfast.  I also baked some cupcakes. I took the dog on a 4 mile walk.  We got showered up and

We went to Treinen Farms.  We did a corn maze

Deven really enjoyed climbing on this tire maze
The boys did some pumpkin chucking
Deven lassoed this...cow?

Deven played in a huge vat of corn
Climbed a mountain of tires
and of course picked our pumpkins.  Once we were done picking our pumpkins, we took a horse-drawn hayride

It was chilly, but we had a really wonderful time.  I love doing these kinds of things with my family.

Once we got home from the farm, we went to a friend's house to visit and play with their new baby.  We stayed for a while and went out for Mexican food and came home and drank entirely too much Pumpkin Beer.

On Sunday, we did some shopping, some laundry, some other housekeeping.  I took the dog for a five mile walk.

Then we carved our pumpkins.

All in all, a really great weekend. How was your weekend?

26 October 2012

Parent's Night

Last night we went to Deven's daycare to see what the kids have been doing all year so far.  This is kind of  redundant to me because I am always asking what Deven has been up to and specifically about anything I don't agree with or that he mentions that he is outraged about.

We didn't really talk to the teachers, instead we talked to other parents, in particular,  Deven's friend Violet's mom.  We've become pretty good friends in our own right, so it's great when our kids pick someplace to go on a playdate.

They were also having a bookfair, so we bought two books for Deven.



And

When we got home, we read some of the Clifford stories and the Splat book.

I was quite over in calories.  I had a miscalculation at Taco Bell (Cantina Bowl ONLY not Chips and Guac, please!)  ALSO, cookies.   Because of Parent's Night, I couldn't exercise yesterday (no time) so overall, I was quite over.

Back on track, today.


25 October 2012

Thursday

Oh God. This week has been eternal.  It's Thursday finally, so we are wrapping it up.  The problems with blog.com  have created a gigantic pain in the ass, but at least I have something to focus on.

  I've been moving and backdating posts manually.  Some things, like FMM might ultimately be deleted.  It's all kind of a pain.  There are over 300 posts to move from my other blog and none of the import/export tools work.  I ultimately want to take down that blog, so I want it all saved over here.  Plus maybe using this one will remind me to do the monthly updates on my son.  I haven't done any since he was about 3 and he's about 5 now, but he's awesome and notable and deserving of his own posts.

Today is Parent's Night at Dev's daycare.  So we will come home, I will take the dog for a walk (he needs it, that dog is caaarazy) and we will hit Subway, eat fresh, then go find out that our kid is good but whiny, smart but needs to work on his social skills.  You know, stuff we already know but don't know how to fix.

Since I had lunch out with Raj yesterday, I was able to keep my whole lunch at work, so I have some great choices there.  It's all healthy and delicious.

I hope you all have a great day!


24 October 2012

Nature Walk

Over at the other blog, which may or may not (leaning towards not) get moved over here, I've talked about running with my munchkin.  He's not a particularly complaint child. He is enthusiastic to do things with you, right up until you try to convince him to do something that isn't on his specific agenda.  He'll do it but oh man, there will be bitching.  If you are walking, it will be with every step. 

I don't really let that dissuade me because my kid is going to be fit and happy and healthy, damn it.  So after the last run, I didn't want to FORCE the kid to run.  But he's going to do something active with me several times per week.  I decided that what he is going to do is go on a nature walk.

Tonight, I convinced Raj to walk along with us and we brought our little buddy, Conner.

Conner LOOOOVES being out on a walk, especially in new or infrequently visited places. 

So he was extra happy to have the leash on.  Plus, like all dogs, he LOVES to go on a car ride and this particular trail is about 5 miles from my house.  Because I had everyone with, I didn't get much of a workout, but we were out moving for at least 45 minutes and that isn't all bad.  Here is my gang toward the beginning of the walk. I really love everything about this trail.  Especially in the fall.  There are tons of leaves all over the trail, it smells great and every step delivers a lovely crunch that sounds like fall to me.


In part to encourage Deven to come along happily, we brought this soccer ball.  At the beginning of the walk, he kicked it and chased it, and with the exception of the dog, the whole family got involved.  I got to run maybe a total of a quarter of a mile chasing after that silly soccer ball.  More than anything, it was kind of a burden.  I generally prefer having my hands free for being out and about in the world but what are you going to do?  I had Deven carry this ball MOST of the time, when we weren't kicking it around.  In the beginning, the whole family was pretty enthusiastic about this.  Raj was less so, because, well, if you've met Raj, you know he isn't overly enthusiastic about much.

We went along for about 3/4 of a mile and headed back to the car to go home.  I'm glad I had this time with my family.  It was really fun for me and I really hope it was for them, too.

I also tried something new today.  Raj wanted to go out with me for lunch, so I put my entire lunch in the fridge.  I didn't eat any of my snacks at all.  Even with sharing a piece of pie with the family for dessert, I ended up well under my calorie range- I aim for 1250-1500 per day,   I ended today with 1415 calories.  I'm slowly trying to teach myself that hunger isn't an emergency.   I eat pretty hearty breakfasts anyway, and you know, I wasn't even that hungry.  I would say that means that my snacking is more of a habit than it is a necessity and I can start stepping them down, little by little.  If I get used to eating heartier meals and no snacks, maybe that's better.  Because it never seems to matter HOW MANY snacks I have.  I am always hungrier with snacks. So maybe that isn't working out for me.  Worth a try.  Next week, there will be no snacking.


Klutchclub

I'm going to give http://www.klutchclub.com/ a try.  It's like Birchbox but with healthy living items.  It's a little more expensive, but I love that I can try new healthy items every month for just $16.

I will probably be reviewing my boxes here.  We will see.  As you know, I'm flaky about this kind of thing.

It's taking a lot of getting used to, this new blog home.  I am going to miss the blog.com format, because I've been blogging there very consistently since January 2011.  But this is good.  Change is good, right?

In other news , my shoes today are fierce.   I think I need to focus on feeling like I look awesome more often.  




I've been doing really well on my plan. Eating roughly what I should be and exercising.  I am going to try to make myself do some Pilates.  I think that will help with my low back pain.

Also, I really need to strength train.

OOOOH, last night's run. IT WAS SUPALAME.  It was about 68 degrees  and I was way overdressed. (same outfit I wore for a run in the 45 degree rain) It was crazy humid and I thought I would die.  BLAH.

23 October 2012

Housekeeping

My blog at blog.com has frustrated me for the last time.  I'm rolling over to this older blog and will be making some changes slowly over time.  I will go through my old posts and move over the ones that I think deserve more views.

Otherwise some history is going to be lost because I'm doing this informally.

I hope my limited few readers follow me over here.  I am sure they will.

Be well, everyone. Be well.

22 October 2012

Friend Makin' Monday- Winning the Lottery


If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!





Winning the Lottery

What’s the first thing you would do for yourself if you won 100 million dollars?  Note: this question is specifically for you…what would you do for fun after the family and the bills and the obvious stuff was taken care of?

I'd build a new house just the way I want on the edge of town- country in the city :)  It would have a 4 car garage for my Hybrids.  I'd pick up a Prius V, keep my Camry Hybrid, get a Ford Escape Hybrid and leave the other bay for the new family bikes we'd buy.  The house would have a real master suite with a super luxury bathroom.  We'd have a large fenced yard for the dog.

I'd have a workout 'wing' of the house with an indoor track that has some elevation changes. 

I'd take Deven to Disneyworld.  I'd hire a personal trainer and I would DEFINITELY hire a housekeeper.

But it's not going to happen. I rarely buy a ticket because I hate the lottery.  I think it's a voluntary tax on the poor.


Now it's your turn to answer this week's question!  Don't forget to head over to www.alltheweigh.com and leave your answers in the comments!  Happy Monday, friends...

21 October 2012

Emotional Eating 101

I was doing GREAT yesterday.  I went for a 3 mile run/walk.  I was happy. I made a great, healthy breakfast and had a fun plan for the day.  I got the house all cleaned up. It looked great!

We got showered up and headed for Eugster's Farm Market- Fall Festival.  While we were there, we saw some animals.



Raj and Deven were excited to get to the petting zoo portion.
Deven milked a fake cow.
We bottlefed a goat.
Dev rode a trike
Raj and Deven played with a kitten.  This boy was so sweet I wanted to bring him home with us.
Had some apple cider donuts and fresh cold pressed apple cider
and went on a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch



That's where it all fell apart. Deven mentioned again that my shape is ROUND. Like a ball.  My heart broke a little. A lot, actually.  I didn't make good choices the rest of the day.  I started poorly this morning, but I made myself stop and examine my behavior and am turning it around.  Just because he said I am round like a ball, doesn't mean I have to make sure it's true.

16 October 2012

Running with my kid

So, every other day, I am taking Deven out for a very short run.  With each run, he gets a little whinier and more distracted.  I don't think this is because he can't run or even doesn't like to run,   I think it's because he'd much rather play video games. I do know that as we get further into each run, he becomes more focused on the world outside and less focused on what he'd rather be doing, so it seems like bringing him along even if he complains is a good plan for now.

I don't want to force him to do this, but I want to encourage him, certainly.

For me, sitting around playing video games, messing around on the tablet and watching TV are not appropriate past times for your average almost five year old.  I want to encourage him to do things when they feel hard, do things even though he doesn't feel like doing them, and want to do things with me.  I am frustrated that the culture of lethargy starts so early.

I am fiercely protective of my son.  I don't want him to have the same struggles I do.  I don't want his self worth to be defined by the number on the scale, by the size of his jeans.    I don't want him to have to fight his way to fitness.  I want to instill a love of exercise in my son that lasts a lifetime.  I don't know how to go about changing his mindset without him feeling like he is being punished.  And I most especially don't want him to become a lazy and entitled child.

He's certainly someone that wants to take the path of least resistance right now.  I want to instill fight in him.,  Fight will keep him on top even when things are hard. 

I want to keep running with him. I want it to be fun.  I want it to be our thing.

Does anyone have any ideas?

14 October 2012

A Perfect Day, Really.

I got up this morning and anxiously checked the forecast.  It was supposed to be raining really hard all day and I was doing Color Me Rad this morning.  I was determined to run rain or shine, but there was threat of lightening.  We'd get pulled off the course if it was lightening, plus, well, you know, risk of death.

It was cold.  It was about 45 and it was absolutely pissing down.  MISERABLE.  No biggie, I'm running. That's my plan.  it's time to leave the house, it was chilly with a light drizzle.  No bigs.  I can do that.  We get to the course and it's not raining at all. THANK GOODNESS.  Then it starts just downpouring.  I've got Raj and Deven with me.  It's freezing, raining hard and my teammate hasn't arrived with my number.  They won't let me run with it.   A friend text that she was at the course but was heading out, too cold for her.  Finally Heather arrived with my number and we went to the corral to wait for the next wave.

They start tossing color packs and we get lightly colored.  It's still raining quite a bit, but less.  It's crazy cold.  The line starts moving and we get going. Slowly.  I strongly dislike the steerage portion of races.  I sat with my team for a while, but I was cold and I wanted to get the show on the road, so I broke away into a run and made my way to the first color station.  I did a combination of running and walking because I didn't do a good job of monitoring my breathing.  Additionally, it wasn't a timed race and to keep running, you really had to pass people and I am not about that, especially when you have to veer off the course to do it.

It was cold and miserable, but it was a lot of fun.

Here's me at the end of the race.


When I finished, I was so cold, all I wanted was to get my wet clothes off.  Normally, I am very shy about my body, but in this case, I stripped my shirt off in the parking lot and threw a different shirt on over my soaking wet sports bra.  I took my shoes and socks off, pulled my pants off, put on different pants and we headed to buy some hot coffee and hot chocolate and did some shopping.  We then headed over to get some dinner at my favorite pizza place

Then we went to the Fitchburg Fire Department Open House.

Deven loved seeing the ambulance.


and the fire truck


We came home and showered.  My skin was very alarmingly tie dyed and it took a lot of scrubbing.  I still have plenty of dye in a lot of places :)

We went out, did some more shopping and came home and made some dinner (potato soup!)

Dev threw some tantrums so we sent him to his room/to bed and we watched 'My Idiot Brother"  A charming movie, actually. I LOOOOVE Paul Rudd.

What did you all do with your Saturday?

11 October 2012

25 Minutes and Then Some

So last night it was my night to do C25k.  It's week 7, so warm up- run 25 minutes, cool down.  I don't want to say it was easy, necessarily, but I kept my head in the game and I did it without much difficulty.  I need to start pushing myself on the hill front more.  I've never met a race yet that didn't have at least one very substantial hill.  I don't want to be defeated by some little hill, you know? 

When I got home, I did something I've been thinking about doing for months.  Deven keeps mentioning that he wants to run with me. But 4 is too little, right?  Well, I decided that when I finished my 'big' run, I would take him out on a 'little' run.  So I queued up the week 1 podcast and off we went.  We talked and talked while we did our warm up walk.  We discussed fall, Halloween decorations and the neighborhood.  Soon enough, it was time for our first 60 second run.  Mind you, I just got back from about a 2.5 mile run, so I was kind of beat, actually. 

He did great.  I kept reminding him that we had a lot of running ahead of us, so don't go too fast.  He REALLY wanted to turn on the afterburners, but he listened to me and settled into a nice pace.  Soon enough, it was time to walk again.  He started complaining that he was tired.  I told him that you get the best results if you keep working when things get hard.  I could see that rolling around in his little four year old mind and he seemed to like that, because he just kept plugging.  If he'd said "Mom, I am really tired" we'd have headed home, but I want to squash the thing inside him that wants to quit when things get hard.  I want him to be someone who pushes through things and does what he needs to do, whether in school, in fitness, in life.   My tiredness evaporated as we ran, and I could have gone on like that for hours.  We did 8 total one minute runs and we really had a fun time. I'd go so far to say it is the most fun run I've ever had.

We got home, my husband gave Deven a bath while I finished up dinner. An easy meal night- packaged Indian food over brown basmati rice.  As a special treat, I made some pudding for Deven and thawed some frozen blueberries and cherries  and had half a serving of vanilla pudding for dessert.  He was in such a great mood.  I don't know if it was the special time with mom, the endorphins from running or both, but it was really great.

When I tucked Deven in bed last night, I asked him, as I often do, what his favorite part of they day was.  He said it was running with me, seeing the Halloween Decorations through the neighborhood and seeing a gargoyle on the trail we ran on.  I told him that running with him was my favorite part of the day, too. 

He gave me a big hug and settled in for a good night's sleep.

All in all, I feel like I am on track for where I need to be, weight loss wise.  I'm trying to change my mindset where I need to lose 2 lbs every single week. I don't. I just need to live healthfully, burn more than I eat and keep notching it down., little by little.

I feel like I am in a pretty healthy place.

How are you all?

*this post was moved over from my old blog.  All comments are lost.

09 October 2012

My Life Lately

I've been trying to take some time to enjoy life.  I've been working on that eternal struggle- not celebrating with food, not medicating with food.

This past weekend with my family, the emotions were raw.  We all feel protective of my little sister.  She's the kindest of us, but she's also the most brittle in a way.  Her self esteem has been whittled down to nothing and it wasn't too strong to begin with.  Despite that  fact that she's one of the kindest hearts you'd ever wish to know, that she has a capacity for love that few people can match, that she's nearly pure good.  Maybe because of it. I don't know.  But what I know is that her pain is my pain.  I'd take it all from her if I could.   If I could impart any knowledge to her, it would be how strong she is.  She's been holding a marriage together singlehandedly for several years, raising three kids virtually by herself, working and going to school.  She's been trying to sell one house and remodel another.  She's amazing.  She's kind.  Her smile will make anyone smile.  Swear it.

That being said, I veered wildly from my usual more conservative style of eating. (Like I always do when I am in Iowa)  We ate comfort food, pure and simple.  Mac and Cheese, Pizza, Monkey Bread. Donuts.  Normally, I come home from Iowa about 6 pounds heavier, but this time, one day out, I'm up only about 1 lb.  I'm sure if I buckle down, I will be back into losing territory soon.  I need to be.

I went out on a 25 minute run last night. OH MAN was that ever a slog.  I did fine, I really did, but it was exhausting.  The dog was an idiot without interruption and I forgot to breathe correctly and that is so key.  My runs just don't work for me without good, measured breathing.  I got myself through it by sheer will, but it was sooooo hard.

Inconveniently, I have a 5K (Color Me Rad!)  scheduled for this coming weekend.  I'm not ready for it, but I will run as much as I can.  I honestly think I can run the full thing.  I can just slow down and drive it home.  We shall see. I will do my best.

After the run, we plan to go to a farm, feed some goats, enjoy some Apple Cider Donuts and Cider- some good clean farm fun. 

On Sunday, we have a 5K for Autism scheduled. This one is a walk.  I'm looking forward to this, too.  One of our good friends has two children with Autism so this is a favorite cause. 

Looking forward to Sunday weigh in.  I'm anticipating a good one.

*this blog moved from my old blog. 

08 October 2012

My Weekly Weigh In

I weighed in on Friday morning because we were going away for the weekend.  I weighed in down 1.6 and am delighted by this result.  Then I went off to Iowa.  Unfortunately, my eating was way way off all weekend.  I will be on damage control the rest of the week. 

We got to my sister's place at around 10 PM.  We sat down with a cocktail and had a nice visit.  We made plans for the next day and at 4:30 I got up and took my beautiful sister for a run.  She's not a typical runner, so we did short intervals but she kicked ass.  I hope she liked it because it's such a healing thing for me.  No matter how stressed I am, the nature of the way I run helps me every time.  I methodically count my breaths in and out.  With each breath, my stress erodes. She could really use the stress relief.

My beautiful, sweet, loving sister is going through the hardest time in her life. She's struggling to bring herself and her three children through a divorce.  It's new and the wound is fresh.  Unfortunately, the wound is through scar tissue.  I've written before about my parents divorce and how it left its scar on each of us.  Unfortunately, their divorce happened right when my sister was starting to form certain ideas- right as she was going into kindergarten.   My parents divorced amicably, but their marriage before they split up was absolutely god awful.   They didn't just fight. They brawled.  There was screaming.  There was excessive drinking.  People didn't keep their hands to themselves.  A fight would erupt and Amanda and I, without arrangement, would go into Jennifer's room and huddle together with her.  We'd cry, clinging to each other, because we knew when it came down to it, we were all we had in the world. 

One particularly brutal night Amanda- age 4 or 5- about the same age my son is now, went down to try to stop the fighting.  Unfortunately, it turned into a verbal tug of war- "come here sweetheart and show me who you love more."  It was awful. It's both burned into my memory and kind of fuzzy and blocked out.  There are plenty of examples of times like these.  You can see why my parents terrible divorce left wounds that haven't healed in all three of us.  Those wounds are particularly deep in Amanda.  My heart hurts for her that her situation is as it is. 

She's trying to protect three children from the ugly reality of the dissolution of her marriage, leaving as few scars as possible.  She's hurt, she's angry, she's sad, and above all else, she's frightened.   She's faced with changing virtually everything in her life in just a matter of days.  She's doing really well, but doesn't know what she should be doing.  I told her she doesn't need a map for how she should be proceeding right now.  She just needs to keep moving.

I know she's receiving an exhaustive amount of advice right now. A lot of it from an angry place by sisters frustrated by her husband's behavior. I know she's overwhelmed.  I know her family isn't always upbeat and positive about her situation, in particular about her estranged husband.  But she's doing really well.  She's making a lot of really good strides.  I'm proud of her.

I love you, Miss Amanda B.  You're one of the best friends I could ever hope to have.  I'm so proud of you.  Keep your chin up, honey.  You are amazing.

04 October 2012

8 Years

Yesterday, It had been 8 years since we had this [caption id="attachment_404" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My dad giving me away."][/caption]

8 years since this.


8 years since
and we've been like this ever since.


Happy Anniversary Raj.  I love you.

01 October 2012

FMM Uniquely You

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at  at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please add your links both here at at www.alltheweigh.com so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
 Uniquely You

 

1) Do you prefer to talk or text? I much prefer a conversation with most people. I have a general four text rule.  If what you have to say can't be resolved with four texts back and forth, just call me.

2) How often do you make your bed? Almost never.  Mainly when company is coming over.

3) What sounds do you hear right now? My son is watching Curious George.

4) List three things that you always carry with you. My Droid Razr, my purse, my AMEX card.

5) What are your favorite TV shows? The Voice, Go On and my local Morning Show on NBC 15.  OH, and Parenthood.

6) Is there a hobby that you’d like to devote more time to? If so, what is it? Knitting.  I have so many projects stacked up and others on the mental knit queue.

7) What is your favorite drink? Coffee, Apple Cider and Water.

8) Share a couple of cool facts about your family. Hmmm, we aren't very interesting.  My Grandpa grew up with a mom that didn't speak English, but she understood it.  As a result, My Grandpa understood Danish, but didn't speak it.

9) List one thing that you will do for yourself today. I've got a run scheduled for tonight.

10) Share something that you’re thankful for today.  I'm thankful for my son and my husband.



Now it's your turn to answer this week's questions!  Don't forget to come back and link up in the comments.  And try to say something to someone new this week. There are some pretty cool people connected here.  Happy Monday, friends!