Focus on Fitness

Happy 2013!

I began this year with a little good, old-fashioned theft.  I admit it.  I stole.  Pilfered.  Swiped.  Lifted.  Whatever you want to call it, I did it.  What, pray tell, did I take that wasn't mine?  An idea.  From my sister.  And it's a good one, too.

We all know that resolutions are well...less than resolute.  I can't think of a single person who kept their New Year's resolution through the whole year.  I haven't.  I gave up making resolutions long ago, knowing that I wouldn't keep them.  That I'd fail.  So instead, I have decided to emulate--that's a better word, now, isn't it? I have decided to emulate my sister Carin.  I am going to have a focus for this year.

A focus?  What on earth am I talking about?  Well keep yer panties on and I will elucidate.  A focus for the year means that I have a specific thing that I will give extra time and attention to.  When I have an extra moment or a choice to make, I will choose the one that lends itself to that focus.  Hubby, the kiddos and I have decided to have a Family Focus on Fitness.  Yes, I roped them into it, too.  You betcha!

So for this year when we are deciding what to do as a family on a Friday night, we may consider taking the soccer ball to the park instead of having a movie night.  We'll remember to eat more veggies and less processed junk.  We'll move more and sit less.  The monkeys and I even went through magazines and cut out pictures of things to help keep us focused and reminded, then we made a collage for Family Home Evening. See?

It includes things like eating healthy food, getting sleep, drinking water, exercising, and reducing sugar.  (Hubby's even taking a 1-year sabbatical from soda!  !!!  !!!!!)

Additionally, I've started doing more yoga and core exercises so that when I DO actually get out and exercise consistently I don't break.  Because let's face it--I'm getting old.  (I was okay when my oldest 2 sisters turned 40, but Lara had her milestone birthday last fall and that means one thing:  I'm next.  Yikes!)  So I'm eating raw veggies & hummus instead of leftover lasagna as I make lunch.  Recent research is discovering that it might be better to fast for a longer length of time between eating to allow our organs time to digest, rest and regulate, so I've started eating between 10:00am and 6:00pm.  Dinner's hard because sometimes it's not on the table until 6:45, but I do what I can.  That also means that the late night nibblies are quenched with a glass of water instead of a cookie.  There for about 4 or 5 days in a row I drank about 2 quarts of water with some doTerra Slim & Sassy essential oil blend dropped in there to help speed my metabolism and curb my appetite.

But the biggest change I've made is the menu.  I finally FINALLY sat down and came up with a week's worth of meals that are low-fat, low/no-sugar, include lean meats (or no meats), high veggie, whole grain, work with the candida cleanse that Hubby's supposed to be doing, and--get this--are tasty enough that the whole family (mostly) will eat.  I'm still in the process of weeding out recipes that aren't as good as they seem on paper, or that I don't want to eat leftovers of.  I think I'll also come up with a second week because I'm needing a little variety.

The amount of cereal & milk I've consumed has dropped dramatically, as have other things in the category of Yumminess that have all teamed up to contribute to my perpetually pregnant-looking body: pb&j, quesadillas, pasta, crackers, granola bars, cheese, all the fruit I want, yogurt, sweets, pizza, etc.

I've been doing all of these things on & off for about 5 weeks, give or take.

"So..." you ask, "how much have you lost?  How many inches?"

The answer, my friend, is zero.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.

Yeah, it wasn't what I expected, either.  And frankly, I'm a little miffed.  It doesn't really make sense.  I mean yes, we have occasional desserts, and due to germs the kids had to skip a fun movie/nacho/candy/popcorn night at the school, so we had one at home instead, with all the above-named fattiness.  And I don't exercise EVERY day.  And we went out to eat for our anniversary, but for Pete's sake, we had Greek instead of Mexican!  I mean, we passed up a huge, cheesy enchilada for a kabob and tzatziki sauce!

The worst part is that I want to keep being good, and I know I need to make other changes and be more consistent about the ones I have, but my motivation has taken a big hit.  If I make the sacrifices and get nothing, why shouldn't I have one or four of the gooey caramel brownies that Abby made for last night's FHE treat?  (The ones that took more time to cool than Cora's lesson about Jesus calming the storm.)

*siiiiigghhh*

No, I will not fall off the bandwagon.  No, I will not eat the rest of the brownies by myself.  No, I will not give up.

I will evaluate what I can be doing better and do it.  I will exercise longer.  I will use more Slim & Sassy, though it tastes like grapefruit & lemon rind.  I will peel & cut the carrots and put them out on the counter.  I will Focus on Fitness.

And I will get there.

Stuff I've Made

You already know I'm a dork.  Because I'm a dork, I sometimes do silly things...like take pictures of the things I make that turned out really nice so I can show them off to other people or maybe even give them an idea that they can make themselves.

Wait.  What?  People do that all the time anyway?  A lot of people?

Oh.

Well, then I guess I'm cool.  So here's a bit of my coolness to show off because I haven't shown any of it to anyone.  You're welcome.

Thanksgiving Veggie Tray.  Note the jicama, radish roses and all sorts of other fanciness.
'Cause Healthy is Cool, right?

Cora & I went on a leaf walk for preschool (PS--I'm doing preschool for her.) and I pressed the leaves.

When the leaves were dry, they needed someplace to go.

So with a little whimsy and a lot of blue tape, they found a home.

I seriously loved it so much that I was sad to take down my fall decor.
(Hey, look!  My living room's clean!)

Abby's girls' group leader had a baby, so she & a friend picked out some fabric, we did the cutting, I sewed & all the girls tied a sweet, fluffy baby quilt for her.

Isn't it nice when your food is friendly?
Especially when it screams as it goes into your mouth,
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!  Don't eat my NOOOSE!!!"

It doesn't always end up as people, though.

Such a sweet girl!
She ate every last bit of it, too!
(Don't tell her that it's healthy.)

Last NYE day night we played Pick with Riah's Mom, stepdad (until they went to bed), brother & sil.
(Pick is a contagious game that got popular enough that somebody copied it and called it Bananagrams.)
This little  number grew & earned me a flabbergasting number of points.
It was so high & only 3-letter words were used that I just had to record it.

 And because it's getting to be Christmas Craft Time (what?  That began in October? Oh.), I wanted to showcase a few things I did a couple of years ago...

These little guys are name elves.
My grandma made them for us so long ago that we had to make another one for my youngest brother.
That was a long time ago.

So I decided to share that tradition with Riah's family, as well as all of my siblings/etc.

And I do mean ALL of them.
(And right about now I'm sort of grateful that that flaky dumkopf in Ireland with 8 kids DIDN'T marry my sister.)

I sort of make peppermint bark to include on goodie plates to give to a few friends.
Fudge, snickerdoodles, chewy gingersnaps...the basics.

But that year I was apparently busy, so didn't include the handmade coconut macaroon bon-bons.
Hey--a girl's gotta' know her limits.

I'd completely forgotten about these.  They turned out nice, but MAN they were a pain in the neck!

What???  How did that get in here?  I had NOTHING to do with the Peep-wound wreath or the Peep garland that showed up on Lara's front door!
Carin did that garland all by herself!

 Random?  Maybe.  Quirky?  You betcha. But if you were at all inspired--or at least amused--then my mission has been accomplished.  Now GO MAKE SOMETHIN'!

Halfway

Today was an exciting day.  Not because I finally started getting the outside Christmas lights up; not because we slept in, watched a movie THEN ate breakfast; but because today was the last day of Riah's 3rd quarter.  Which means he's HALF WAY THROUGH HIS NURSING PROGRAM!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I might be a little bit excited about this. A little.

Why?

Because for the almost-13 years we've been married, life has sort of revolved around the construction industry.  Well, not revolved, per se, but more like........underpinnings.  The whole dang industry was tightly knit into the underpinnings of our lives.  It's not as dramatic as it sounds, but let me tell you, it was certainly influential.

Of course there was the income part: when, how much, where's it coming from, which bills get paid now, which get paid later...blah blah blah, boring boring boring.  But it was more than that.  It was him leaving before any of the rest of us woke up, then coming home after dinner.  It was having to work the morning of the 4th of July, making it impossible for us to stay for the extended weekend with family in town.  It was trying to run a framing business when neither of us had any semblance of a business clue.  It was sometimes working out of town for a week or two at a time.  Or more.

So I'm excited.

I'm excited because the next quarter doesn't start until January 7th.  He has a Whole. Stinking. Month. Off.  I am giggling in front of the computer right now.

I'm excited because even when he has classes or clinicals or a study group, he's still here.  He can pick up milk on the way home.  He can come to a soccer game.  He can be here for the mundane things in life.  You know, the precious ones that you cherish forever, like slobbery chubby fingers and batty eyelashes and mispronounced words?  Those.  He can take a moment in the middle of what he's doing and say, "Gimme that chubby boy!"  Which he does.

I'm excited because when he's done he can be in demand, instead of having to compete for the opportunity to be able to utilize his skills.

I'm excited because at the end of it all, we will enter a different universe.  A universe that contains such crazy concepts as Predictable Income.  A Schedule.  Time Off.  Better yet, Paid Time Off.  Sick Leave.  Insurance.  We've had little glimpses of it here & there, but this will be a full-on immersion into this universe!    (Oh, and nothing called Walking On Top Of Framed Walls When It's Icy.  Or Almost Falling Off Rooftops.  I'm glad to have left those behind.)

I'm excited and proud because he's learning so much.  He's doing well, like I knew he would.  Not as well as he'd hope, but well.  He's respected, liked, trusted...all that good stuff.  He's succeeding.

And I'm excited.

A billion photos because I feel like it...

Or..."Our Summer: the Photographic Cliffnotes In Reverse Order"

Abby's such a good big sister.  She held Weston while he fussed...until he zonked out!

1st day of school, 1st 4th & 6th grades.

The whole brood on a hike with friends.
Abby 11, Alex 9, Lee 6, Cora 3 1/2, Weston 8mos

On the way back, we stopped by White Pass & there was snow!  Cora  showed her intelligence by wearing shoes.

"Folding laundry."  They called themselves Unnawarriors.

Kiddos participated in a kids-only track event, including a relay.

Redneck baby bed.

4th of July at my favorite resort:  my sister's house!

And a very very happy 4th of July to you, too!

Hiked with the older kiddos & my sister's family.
Why yes, I am posing that way to cover my love handles.  Why do you ask?

Wes has a really strong suck and gives lots of kisses.  And it would seem that my beautiful niece gets hickeys easily.

 This is what happens when you put a mortar in a watermelon.  :-)

Hey, guess what?  That stuff's spicy.

The only baby I know who often spits up out his nose.

1st big-boy bath.  Lovin' life!

He sleeps for one Grandma...

...and showers another Grandma with his, um, love.  Sorry, Mom.

For Alex's 9th birthday, we ran a 5k.  16yo niece got 1st place overall for the women, and Alex toasted his Mom & Dad by 10 minutes!!!  He got 2nd for his age group & we couldn't have been prouder.

The weather was uncooperative, so we picnicked in the living room.

Can you guess where we went after lunch?

This is what happens when a newly tie-dyed shirt isn't rinsed out, then a graduating kindergartener gets in a water fight .

For Father's Day, we went for a drive after church.  RIGHT after church.

We found a local hike to take.  It's a good place to get lost.
Not that we'd know from experience.
*cough*

A sideless bridge over running water?  Yikes!

I super love my Ellaroo wrap.

I love how everyone's looking away except Weston.

At the end of the hike, Lee and Cora were the best of buddies.
I love this photo, except for the Awkward Family Photo moment.

He even stopped to tie her shoe for her.  What a good big brother.

One of Wes's newly-found favorite things.

For Abby's birthday, we went to the skating rink.  It was super fun, and I learned that my camera doesn't take clear action shots, no matter the setting.  Boo.

Yes, I do teach my children to sniff cedar.  Don't you?

Because sometimes a chopstick drum on your head concert is what's on the agenda!