End of Another Year!

Okay, so I haven't been real great about my blog. And I haven't been great about working out this year. And I haven't been great about eating healthy. In fact these last few weeks have been disatrious as far as eating goes at my house. Wow! I don't sound very accomplished do I? Oh well, there is always tomorrow. I can only try to do better and I will try to do better.

Did I mention that I am going to try and give up beef? I pretty much eat whatever I want and going through life I have known where my food comes from for the most part.I know that when I eat a hamburger or steak that there is a cow involved. Well, thanks to Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs I was shown that cow and her name was Bessy I believe. He was doing the job of a mobile butcher and they pretty much showed everything involved. Anyway, I was sobbing the whole time I watched the show. Not sure why it hit me like that but I felt that I needed to avoid beef as much as possible. We will see where this goes. If my track record keeps up to true form, I'm sure this will pass in a few weeks.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a joyous new year!

WOW!!

August 23rd, really? That was the last time I decided that anything I had to say was important enough to blog about? Wow! Pretty pathetic if you ask me. Oh well, such is life sometimes. My quest for being a healthy mama is not going so well. I have done such a great job of brain washing my children that eating out is so much better that now, eating at home is a chore. Yes, a chore. Why can't I have a real life Alice from the Brady Bunch that lives with me. I could come home from work every day and dinner would be waiting for me, oh wait, maybe I want a wife? Any whoo, like I said, making dinner at home is a chore. First the planning, what wonderful things can I waste my time on that is healthy for the fam and that they will thoroughly hate? Apparently I am pretty good at this one because before I can even get the dinner to the table I hear a lot of yucks, and I hate that and gross. All very encouraging words to make me want to keep cooking. Then I have to go shopping and finally put it all away when I get home. After dinner has been served then you have to clean everything up. What is this about? I guess I just wasn't cut out for the cooking portion of motherhood. I'm too lazy. Who wants to be bothered?

Anyway, I don't even know where I was going with all that but I will do my best to be better at composing my blogs. I certainly don't want to be dropped from my huge fan based for lack of posts.

What To Do

I am in somewhat of a quandary. I am supposed to be training to run my second half marathon but for some reason I just cannot get myself to do the runs. I guess I am having some kind of mental block. I don't think I have actually run in two weeks. Part of me thinks I should just forget it, that it is getting to late in the game. On the other side, I don't like being a quitter. I don't know what to do. I know my SIL is doing a great job with her training and I am even afraid that I am getting really far behind her. I guess I will just have to see what this week brings.

1st Day of School

Today was my kid's first day of school. I was quite excited for them, they were starting 1st grade. I started out by making my kids Bento lunches for school which I was happy with. Especially since it was my first time. They definitely were not as creative as what I have seen online but I did it. After I got ready for work and the kids ready for school we headed out the door. Did we drive to school you ask? Why no we did not. We walked. Yes, it is the year 2010 and my kids and I and the dog actually walked to school. The kids were pretty excited and I felt really good about what we were doing. I know I saw a few surprised looks from some of the other moms that passed me in their cars. It felt good. I got to work later than I would have wanted but I know that I was doing a good thing for my kids and myself. Let's just hope I can keep it up.

DISASTROUS!!!!

Disastrous is how I would describe my so called 6 mile run last Saturday. My husband had to work so I took my kids with me. They were going to ride their bikes while my SIL and I ran. We met at 7 am as usual. I was a little hesitant but knew it could be done. The first problem of the day, people. Isn't it funny how people are the root of all problems? Ha! Anyway, there was a running group training that morning so there was a crap load of people. Problem number two, my kids just switched to bigger bikes. My son's was just a tad to big so that he couldn't touch the ground when he sat on the seat but once he got going he was fine. Well his lack of confidence got the better of him and he decided he couldn't do it. He kept falling before we even started. I warned my SIL that I had a feeling I might be cutting my run somewhat short. Little did I know how short it was going to be. At one point I finally gave in and told my son to wait with his bike in the grassy area while I ran ahead to let my SIL know I was leaving and to get my daughter. She was actually doing pretty well and had ridden ahead. No sooner did I start running did I hear my child screaming and crying. As I turned around I saw him hysterical trying to run next to his bike while he tried to catch up to me. I asked why he didn't wait and he told me he was too scared. Fine! So I propped his bike up next to a tree and told him to run next to me. Of course now he was concerned that somewhat would take his bike. I told him at that point I could care less about someone taking his bike. I finally caught up enough with SIL and my daughter to let them know we were leaving. My SIL continued on her way and she completed her 6 miles. My daughter rode her bike back to the car and waited for my son and I to return. We walked back because he was going to have nothing to do with that bike. So here I am, sweating profusely, (even though I didn't get a run in) and walking bent over trying to guide his bike back. Let's just say that by the time we got back I was extremely frustrated. I know I shouldn't have been that upset but I know I wasn't going to get my 6 miles in. In fact I only got in 1.58 miles. So now I am really behind which is disappointing. I guess I won't be trying that again anytime soon.

Accomplishment?

I know I haven't blogged since last week so you might ask yourself why did I title this one accomplishment? Let me answer that for you. For me, blogging for the amount of times that I did is an accomplishment. I'm not nearly the professional blogger that my SIL is (check out her blog) so for me this was pretty good.

My eating habits last week went pretty well I thought. Exercise was so so. Although my SIL and I had to run 5 miles on Saturday. I convinced my husband and kids to come along so they could ride their bikes (quest to be a healthy mama). We started at 7am to try to beat the heat and it actually didn't go that bad. I was lagging behind at one point so I kind of cheated and cut a corner but then I felt bad so I doubled back to my SIL and finished my run. We actually finished faster then what we originally thought. So that I would have to say is my big accomplishment for the weekend.

I have another challenge for myself and that is to eat out less and cook more at home. I made a menu for this week's meals and I am really going to try and stick to it. Sunday I made breakfast at home and we made a great dinner that night. Last night I made this baked chicken parm. and some mashed potatoes. I thought it was really good. My son said he liked the chicken but of course my daughter didn't. My husband got home late and said that my dinner looked too heavy and so he decided to have the leftover steak and rice from the night before. Exactly how is chicken heavier then steak? Things like this really deflate me so why do I even try.

I try because even though there is complaining I want my family to be healthy. I don't want my kids to be a statistic as in overweight and lazy. That is one of my biggest fears for my kids. Of course there are other scary factors out there but this is at least one that I can try to control. My husband is a little overweight and has some minor health issues. I would like to try and help him with that but even though he says he wants to change, I think it is a lot harder for him.

Sooo, I guess if I keep trying, things might start to change. My kids and my husband might actually like what I cook for dinner and we become the good looking, healthy family on the block.

Yesterday

Yesterday was hump day and here is how mine went. For breakfast I had a skinny iced vanilla latte and some oatmeal from Starbucks. For lunch I can't even remember what I had. Is that sad? I want to say that I had a sandwich but I can't really remember. For dinner we went to my brother-in-law and his wife's house for dinner. I really enjoy spending time with them and my sister-in-law is a really good cook. She always has some kind of recipe that she is using where I make the same things over and over. We had whole wheat pasta with some type of spicy sauce and salad and garlic bread.

After dinner we sat down to watch So You Think You Can Dance. The boys disappeared and we enjoyed commenting on the dancers. If you haven't noticed, there was no workout yesterday. Was there supposed to be you ask? Well of course there was but I didn't partake.

Today I had some toast with peanut butter for breakfast and some coffee. At lunch I picked up some hummus with carrots and crackers. I was on a search for some shoes to wear to my high school reunion and I haven't come up with anything yet. I found a dress yesterday for $25 for a semi formal event. I think I like it but not sure if it is a bit too formal. My husband didn't seem to think it was anything special. I just wanted to get a dress that when I walk into the room people (guys who turned me down in HS) turn and say WOW! So I am looking for shoes to go with my dress.

Again, am I supposed to be working out? Why yes, yes I am. Did I? No, no I didn't. Again just another flaw that I have. But I am learning to accept my flaws.

My kids come home tomorrow so my small staycation is over but I do look forward to seeing them.

Hope you have a great Friday!

Here We Go

Tuesday's recap. I know, I can hardly believe it myself. Two blogs in one day. Watch out! I'm out of control. I find sometimes if I keep my routine the same I tend to make smarter choices.

Today for some reason I felt super hungry. Maybe the exercise that I have been doing over the last week has started kicking in.

For breakfast I had my yogurt and granola again, no coffee, just water. But then I was really hungry around 9:30 so I had a sandwich thin toasted with some type of non-butter spread.

Lunch consisted of going to Applebee's where I chose a chicken sandwich on a whole grain bun with portabella mushrooms and a side of fruit. It was one of their weight watcher meals so it was only 7 points.

Around 2 I was hungry again so I had some more yogurt.

For dinner my husband and I went to Planet Sub and I got a turkey sandwich and Iced tea before heading to my last softball game. So even though I didn't run like I probably should have, at least I got some type of activity in. Not sure if 1 hour of recreational softball counts the same as running 3 miles but I am going to pretend like it does.

Have a wonderful evening for what is left of it and I will be back tomorrow.

Challenge Day 1

Okay, so here is my Monday in a nutshell. For breakfast I had some vanilla yogurt with strawberries and homemade granola which has become one of my favorites. I skipped out on the coffee and decided to just go with water today. For lunch I ran a couple of errands and then stopped in at Dean and Deluca's and grabed a tomato, mozzarella, basil sandwich to go. I got hungry in the afternoon so I had another serving of my yogurt. Dinner consisted of a fresh tomato and mozzarella salad (the tomatoes and basil were from my garden) and a baked chicken breast. I ended the evening with 4 twizzlers. I would have to say that I didn't do to bad. On Sunday I was supposed to run 3 miles but missed it since I was taking my kids to my mom's house. She is keeping them for the entire week. Therefore, I left work a little early and went to the gym to get my run in. Then when I got home I did a little bit of yoga, or at least I tried. So I will pat myself on the back for a pretty decent day. Let's just see if I can keep it up.

Challenge

So I have decided to come up with this great idea of challenging myself. The challenge is to blog every day this week and record what I have eaten and if I have been following my training schedule. Last week eating was so so but I did pretty well on my running. Sunday I ran and it was kind of bad but I did it. I ran Tuesday night after dinner and I thought I was going to throw up. It was horrible. I ran again on Friday and it went really well. I don't know if it was because it was earlier in the day, I hadn't eaten dinner yet or because I was running on the treadmill. Who knows. I will check in later today to let you know how my day goes.


Have a good one!

Pathetic

Okay, so obviously I am not very good about this blogging thing. Either I am too lazy as stated before, I don't think it will do any good or I don't think people will really care what I have to say. I could go with any of those. So let me tell you about my girl's weekend, it was AWESOME!!!! I look forward to it each year and I am so lucky to have been invited and get to share some fun fabulous days with some great ladies. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being a mom and wife. I have a wonderful family but sometimes a mom just has to get a away. I think the fact that you have absolutely no responsibility for a fews days lets you re-energize and be a better mom.

I think I said in my last post that there would be a lot of drinking and I was not wrong. Drinking and bonding and drinking and eating and drinking and floating and drinking some more. The next day started out with some shopping and then drinking and eating and drinking and floating and drinking and eating and drinking again. It is nice to hang out with people who share your same interest and you have a lot in common with.

Last week I was on vacation but I will save that post for another day.

Take Care!

Weekend Number 1

I have no idea what to title these blogs so don't ever try to read anything into them. I had a pretty good weekend for the most part. My BIL and SIL came over after dinner to just hang out on the patio since it was so nice. They of course brought pie with them and being the gracious hostess that I am, I couldn't refuse. My SIL and I opened a bottle of wine and the boys proceeded to "run" to the Sprint Store so they could check out some cool new phone. Only when they got up to leave did we all notice that they were both wearing practically the same outfit which for some odd reason they have a tendency to do. They are constantly showing up wearing basically the same thing.

While they were at the store the girls finished off the bottle of wine (by the way was only 2 glasses a piece) while trying to put together a 700 piece puzzle. I have to say, the puzzle thing is a little addictive. You always say you are just going to find one more piece but you just keep going. Let me just say this while I am thinking about it. You have to check out my SIL's blog, she is hilarious. www.deannadartingschulz.blogspot.com. I had to throw that in there because I have the world's worst memory.

Saturday started off with my daughter's 8:30 game, then lots of pool time followed by my son's 2:30 baseball game. Weekends sure do go by fast when you have a lot of commitments.

Sunday I started my 1/2 marathon training. Let me repeat that, I just started, meaning I only had to run 2 miles. Piece of cake you would think since I did run a 1/2 marathon in November. Apparently my muscles have about as good a memory as I do. I sure hope this gets easier because if it doesn't I don't know if I will make it this time. The one thing that did make this run somewhat enjoyable was my son. I swear, sometimes he just cracks me up. My son and daughter were with SIL and myself since my husband was in Lawrence helping his sister. They were riding their bikes and my son was cracking the whip on me and SIL. Telling us to get it going and to run faster. Maybe I need him to go with me more often.

That was basically it for my weekend. I hope everyone enjoyed their time off.

Day Two

My day has not started out exactly as I had planned. On Friday mornings I usually get up around 5:15 to walk with my neighbors. This morning, instead of walking we were going to do a mini boot camp in the cul-de-sac. I got all my clothes ready last night and set my alarm. When I woke up at 4:40 I decided to turn my alarm off. Why you might ask? Let me tell you, I am an expert with sabatoging myself and coming up with some of the best excuses. I decided that I couldn't go this morning because of a dog. I am fostering a dog right now and she follows me everywhere. If I leave the house she wines and I didn't want her to wake up everyone else this morning at 5:30. I am such a considerate person don't you think?

So I am going to try and do better the remainder of the day. For breakfast I had my sandwich thin toasted with my Omega 3 peanutbutter and 2 cups of coffee. For lunch I plan on having a salad. I am usually good during breakfast and lunch, it is the late afternoon and dinner that get me. Sunday I offically start my 1/2 marathon training with running 2 miles. My husband will be at his sister's house so I will be taking the kids with me. Yah! A somewhat healthy family activity. The kids can ride their bikes while I struggle to put one foot in front of the other. Is it too much to ask a 6 year old to carry me on the back of his bike??

Have a great Friday!

Well, let me start by saying that this is my very first blog. I was never really interested in blogs until I started reading my sister-in-law's blog. So I guess you could say she was my inspiration. In fact I would have to say that she is my inspiration for many of the things I have done in my life since she married my very cute and very sweet brother-in-law. They make a very attractive couple and I love hanging out with them. Since meeting her I have tried and I stress tried to eat healthier. She got me to run my first 1/2 marathon last fall and for someone who says they hate to run, I think that was a pretty big accomplishment. And I would have to say that I never watched a UFC fight before I met her. She is quite a gal!

Anyway, I decided to try to the whole blogging thing since it is supposed to be a great way to hold yourself accountable for what you do, i.e. my journey to a healthier me. I would have to say that I am a closet eater. On the outside most people would probably say that I eat somewhat decently. What they don't see are all the times I sneak food. The thing is, I know it is not good for me but I do it anyway. It is almost as if they don't see me eating it then it doesn't count. I love the idea of exercise and how I feel afterwards but for some reason I just cannot get myself motivated. I guess you could say I am a bit lazy. I want my kids to be healthy and eat as little processed foods as possible but I just can't seem to get my act together. It is so much easier to go out to eat then for me to try and fix something that all four of us would eat.

So this is my journey and I welcome any suggestions or words of encouragement you can give.