Some kind of crazy

This morning was "Muffins with Mom" at The Taz's school.  As we ate, she waved to every third person who passed by, saying hello, presenting the pastry that she chose like she just won first place in a blueberry muffin picking contest.  I kept urging her to eat so that she'd have half a chance at being focused for the day. When she does not eat, she gets into trouble. Take yesterday for instance when her teacher pulled me aside to inform me that The Taz told another teacher "You're not the boss of me."  After we got home and wrote two "Sorry I was disrespectful" letters, I unpacked her backpack to find only half of her lunch eaten.  So I begged; "please honey, eat your beautiful muffin."

Two tiny jugs of orange juice and half a muffin later, The Taz was headed to her class and the wee one and I made our trek home. With Bear Cub riding her bike, stopping every so often to pick weeds flowers, it is a leisurely stroll home that I cherish. It won't be long before she will join the ranks of her sister and these un-rushed moments will be a distant memory.

Just as we turn the corner onto our street, I saw a woman running down the middle of the road. She was in workout clothes, so I only thought she was a little nuts because there was a line of cars, two blocks long, behind her. She started shouting something about a white suburban. I went into panic mode thinking someone stole her car and her baby must be in it. But why was she yelling at me? I'm on foot with a 3 year old.  She got closer; her yelling was clearer. "Stop that White Suburban. My 18 year old son is driving it." Now I really think she's nuts.

Our house is on the main street into the development, which, if you ask me, was planned poorly with narrow streets. Add to that the traffic coming into the elementary school and the cars that do not park in the driveways, it can take a bit of time to weave yourself out to the major thoroughfare. I could see this woman's vehicle at the stop sign a block away and would have given her 80% odds that she would have caught up to him. I stood there, secretly hoping to see it happen.

My guess is that the boy must have seen his mother in the rear view mirror because the car turned off the main street and the woman crossed over to the sidewalk and slowed to a walk. I got the giggles at the whole scene.  Bear Cub asked me what was so funny, so we had a one-sided conversation about who must be crazier - the woman running down the middle of a busy street, or her son for taking the car, knowing full well his mother is a wild card.

I let my mind wonder on what the conversation would look like for that kid when he returned home. That's when I stopped laughing. Because I saw myself, sitting my 18 year old red-headed Tazmanian Princess down at the kitchen table, after chasing her on foot through a busy neighborhood, because she took the car without eating the blueberry muffin I made her for breakfast.  I would be telling her that I didn't care if her friends saw me looking like a stark raving lunatic, that I loved her enough to make sure she has what she needs for a successful day.  Then, after breakfast was over, instead of a "swear jar" we would each put a dollar into our very large, almost full, "therapy jar".

Recognize

Both of the girls made a picture for me tonight. Of me. First came Maggie. "Here Momma. Dis is you. Your bootiful."  Then, a half hour later, Rylee came up and said hers was better. "Mom, I did a picture of you and it looks just like you."


I won't tell you who's is who's. What I will tell you is that they both got it exactly right.

Pushing the Re-Start Button

I've started 6 different entries over the last couple of weeks on the same topic.  What's the topic? Making healthy choices. I've been wrestling with myself and my habits this month; my inner health nut has been trying to bust out of my lazy, sweet-tooth and convenience driven self. Why is it so hard? How do I start? What kinds of obstacles are in front of me? What am I doing to get past those challenges? Why do I sabotage myself. Why must garlic cheddar biscuits smell so delicious?

I have all the tools I need to succeed. Knowledge. Coaches. Videos.  A Club Membership. A sweet pair of Brooks running shoes. I even have time to do it. So what's the problem? Why is it so hard?

Ruts. That's the trouble. Rewarding myself for a job well done with a diet coke and some cookies. Celebrating small victories with a bowl of frozen yogurt. Escaping from stress by cruising through facebook and reading about everyone else's lives. I've gotten lazy and complacent. I started driving The Taz to school when walking or riding our bikes is faster. 

A small snack here, a little bowl of low-fat ice cream at night, driving instead of walking - they all add up. I wrote a blog a year ago about reaching my goal weight. One year and a bunch of lazy choices later, I am up 20 pounds. I had to do something. So I pushed the re-start button.

I've gone the approach of making small changes here and there until they add up to big changes. Cut out butter here. Ditch the ice cream there. Go low-fat when you can. But this time, I needed something different. I chose to do the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge. In addition, I've paired it with using the Weight Watchers on-line tools to make sure I was getting the right amount of food in addition to the right kinds of food.  (It's important to note that no one is paying me to write about their programs.  This is just me, telling you, how I'm going about this "re-boot".)

The 24 Day Challenge starts of with a 10 day "cleanse".  It's not a fast. You still get to eat; but what you do eat is very "clean".  What's "clean"?  Fruits, vegetables, proteins.  If you can't wash it, don't eat it.  The first three days I felt like I was being deprived. I couldn't wait for the 10 days to be up so I could have even the simplest of things...like a piece of toast.  But at the end of the "cleanse" I found myself down 4 pounds and wanting to continue ridding my body of the junk that I put in it. (Except for the day that Troy made no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies. Forget it, I ate three of them.)

I'm about half way through my 24 Day Challenge and have realized that the hardest part of the whole thing was breaking out of the ruts. Reaching for carrots instead of pretzels. Jogging behind The Taz as she bikes to school.  Being aware of, by tracking, all the food that I put in my body.

Are you trying to make changes this year? What are some of your Rut Breakers?  Sometimes, even my grocery shopping list is the problem. We buy the same thing from week to week. Which means we eat the same things week to week. In the next few days I'll try to post some of the delicious meals My Chef and I have been preparing to shake things up a bit.  I'd love to hear some of your ideas for healthy snacks and meals. Share in the comments, and I'll send you a recipe from the fabulous-almost-famous-not-yet-written cook book called Feeding the Handeland House of Hooligans.

Not so much a resolution, more of a Check Yourself

I put a hurtin' on myself over our Christmas Vacation.  A Hurtin'?, you ask. It's where I test how much junk I can put in my body before I burst into a sugary blob of slime - later to be bought and used by Nickelodeon.

The signs that I am near the point of combustion are as follows:

1. I got the shakes in the grocery store today. It's no coincidence that they only came on while I was in the candy, soda and ice cream aisles.  

2. I dreamt that I was hoping to be pregnant so that I would have an excuse for my ever growing gut. (Anyone that knows me, knows it has to be bad if I'm dreaming of being pregnant)

3. I can't go three hours without feeling like it's been two days since my last meal.

4. I thought about quitting The Club, out of shame.

5. I was unwrapping an yellow Starburst before I had even finished chewing the two in my face. I don't even like Starburts, especially the yellow ones because they taste like Lemon Pledge which reminds me of doing chores when I was 10.

6.  I dreamt that I was a private detective searching for extra material and a seamstress.

7. I dreamt that I ate a Skittle off the floor of our car. I don't even like Skittles. (OK, that wasn't a dream.)

8. Thinking about giving up carbs and starches gives me the cold sweats.

9. Speaking of sweats, even my "yoga" pants are tights.

10. I just found a little sack of chocolate gold coins, that were meant to go in the girls' Christmas stockings, and hid them in laundry room. (I hope Troy doesn't read this until I've had the chance to either eat them, or re-hide them).

Since this is more of a minor detour into gross negligence in taking care of myself than I've-hit-rock-bottom-and-can't-climb-out-due-to-the-sugary-quicksand-I'm-wallowing-in, I don't think it warrants a whole year's resolution.  But there is some serious Check Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself conversations that need to happen every time I pass by the kitchen. 

Anyway, Happy New Year friends! May your resolutions be challenging but rewarding and may your friends not be "enablers".