Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Total Health Tuesday- General Update

There are two new tools in my fitness toolbox now.
1: We joined the YMCA and I have been able to get back into strength training and not just cardio
2. So I don't JUST do the weights at the gym I downloaded the Couch to 5k app for my IPod.
Both have proven really motivating in getting my sweat on.
Since we go to the Y 3x a week I am still just running on the "off days" but hope to incorporate a bit of strength and/or flexibility work as well, that will require me to dig out my pilates dvds and search netflix for some inspiration.
I just don't push myself as hard at home.

I also have looked back through my fitness logs and food logs and realized that often I am not "good" on both. I may work out like a mad man OR eat like a rabbit, but never together. I am trying to be a bit more aware of that. Our CSA share starting up really helps as it has pushed lots of leafy greens in the kitchen that I may or may not always reach for. Salads are a staple for now and I'm trying to find fun healthy ways to sneak spinach in for me and the kids. (Because although its super yummy, spinach artichoke dip with crackers is not the best choice)
Lately food wise my biggest obstacle is the weekend.
As the weather has improved everyone wants to get together and chow down. Which is great for this winter weary Southern Girl who got just a bit more lonely than she let on, but not so great for my wavering willpower as often times grilling out means lots of processed foods and sugary desserts.
My gluten rebelling belly is trying to help me out by reminding me with not so subtle pain after each offense. It helps, but not always as I am not yet used to thinking about all the things I shouldn't or cannot have and often time plop something in my mouth without thinking ( another problem).
Physically wise I am noticing an increase in energy, now that I am not killing myself first thing in the morning for workouts and spending much needed reflection time. Also I have lost all but one pound of the 5 I gained during the move process. Its a success, but I won't truly start counting it until I get back to where I was before the move.

That's a general update on health here. No real news or accomplishments with the PCOS, but I am confident the more weight I lose and the more aware of food that my body does and doesn't need I am, then my insides will begin coming online again. ;)
How's ur Summer going? Is it easier to eat healthy now for you or harder?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Menu Monday


This week I find myself with a plethora of veggies.
Our summer CSA has started and I am extremely thrilled with the amount of Yum in my fridge right now.
That being said, we have to eat this stuff quick so it doesn't go to waste. Seems like with our recent hectic schedule that pick up day comes so quick.

Here's what we have this week.
Breakfast:
Smoothie
Oatmeal
Eggs
Pancakes
Muffins
Granola and Yogurt

Lunch:
Leftovers
Sandwiches and Salad (or fruit)
Tuna and crackers
Veggies and Hummus

Dinner:
Eggs in a Nest (Leftover from last week's menu)
Spinach Calzone
Broccoli Casserole
Potato Soup (for the rainy day)
Spinach Strawberry and Walnut Salad (a recipe from our CSA newsletter)
Spinach and Cheese quesadillas

Can you tell we have a bit of Spinach? Anyone have any tried and true Smoothie recipes with Spinach or Kale that are kid friendly? Or do I just throw a handful in when they're not looking and go with it?

Also I finally found a stash of Bob's Red Mill flours of various kinds at a local shop so I will be experimenting with a loaf bread and pita bread and tortillas. I hope to at least find a decent loaf bread solution soon as paying $3 a loaf for spelt bread it a little pricey.

For more ideas on summer nourishment head over to Org Junkie and check out their Menu.

Friday, June 10, 2011

this moment-

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Total Health Tuesday.... I want Daddy Part 2

My poor husband, he puts up with so much.
Even after long days at work he still has the will to come home and let me air my frustrations when I need to.
I try not to bombard. I know he is tired, and frustrated too.
But he knows sometimes I need to get it out.
Yell, negotiate, figure, the works.
It's my way of dealing, and most of the time we both know that through this process I will have answered my own questions and solved my own problems.
His job is to sit there and smile, give me a hug, or smack me back into reality when I get a little too crazy (just joking).
This weekend I was venting about our current scheduling situation and how I just couldn't seem to fit everything I needed and the kids needed into every day and still stay sane.
The sane part was the problem.
To which he agreed and said, "We've got to find you some help, or a way for you to get a break."
Frustrated by the "duh" comment I screamed, "I don't want anyone's help, I want you! I don't need someone ELSE to give me a break I need YOU!"
Wow.
We both just looked at each other in amazement at my level of craziness.
So today I joined the Y.
Yes I understand its ok for me to want my husband home, and that I'm entitled to my feelings about the situation.
I also understand I can either continue digging this hole or grab the rope that's hanging there and let someone else give me a hand.
The latter is a bit more productive.
Joining the Y right now frees my usual morning workout time up for the planning and prep for my day time that I have been lacking.
It allows me to still rise to meet my day and to begin in quiet meditation, bible study, and homeschool planning that I need to continue.
It also insures that I can still acquire the fitness time I need to battle this weight and disease.
It's not my husband and its not free.
But its necessary.
Life seems so much easier when you have a helping hand.
Now if I can just work on that sane part........

Monday, June 6, 2011

Menu Planning Monday

Alright we are back in business. Time to plan these menu's if I ever hope for our budget to have a chance.
Here lately we have found ourselves in the awesome situation of taking advantage of tons of invites from friends to cook out. This means I am having to cook less (bringing only a side or dessert) but having to be MORE careful of my choices. Because really very few people think figure friendly when the grill gets goin. While this may be heaven for my time constraints, not so much for my waist.
This week I hope to rectify that.

Breakfast:
Sorghum Muffins
Granola and Yogurt
Oatmeal
Buckwheat Pancakes
Smoothies (I bought a blender YAY!)
Eggs
Breakfast Risotto

Lunch (Still a hard meal for me):
Leftovers
Hummus and Veggies
Sandwiches
Salad and tuna

Dinner:
Sweet Potato Pizza
Salmon Patties
Crockpot Chicken and Veggies
Chicken and Veggie soup
Quinoa Taco Salad
Spaghetti Squash Pesto Lasagna
Eggs in a Nest

There are 7 dinners here but I doubt we will get to them all this week, priority is using the vegetables my hubby snagged from the Farmer's Market this week. But at least there are 7 planned. (now if I could get lunch together I would be SET!)
Be sure to visit all the other yumminess everyone is inhaling over at Org Junkie

Friday, June 3, 2011

this moment.... better late than never!

I don't want YOU, I want DADDY!

She gets out of the bath and I wrap her towel around her.
"Now dry off and get dressed for bed Hazel"
"But I'm CCCOLDDD. I don't want too!"
"If you dry off and put your clothes on, you won't be cold."
"But I'm CCCCCOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDD!"
"Hazel you need to get dressed now."
"I don't WANT YOU, I WANT DADDY!!!".......

I'm sure this happens to everyone at some point, be it a discipline situation, or a parent trying to help a toddler navigate a particularly tricky spot on a new playground, or any other situation. At some point YOU are not wanted, someone else IS.
As parents we take it in stride seeing that maybe this is our child telling us they prefer how another parent handles a situation to another, or maybe that our child needs that time from the other parent, or maybe even they are just trying to stretch their negotiating skills a bit and see what they can get.
It happens.

I was thinking about this today and how the situation pertained to my own actions as an adult. When I'm presented with something I am not very fond of, or feel too overwhelmed to deal with right now my usual response is, "I don't want THAT, I want THIS!!"
It may be my dislike for my children's attitudes, or my choices at the Commissary, or even what's available in the clean laundry versus the dirty.
Today it's a schedule.
My Husband's to be exact.
It's changing and in ways I'm not fond of. I don't have a choice, a say, or even 30 seconds to plead my case before a jury of my peers.
And all I want to do is stamp my feet and scream "I DON'T WANT THIS!!!!" (and at moments I have)
I'm trying though to be the adult. Trying to channel my inner Polyanna and peel back the scum of the situation to find the good, or at least that its not going to be that bad.
I'm trying to see that my current expectations of this job have GOT to change. I've got to learn a better way to communicate, to utilize my resources, and trust.
But to be honest.... I don't WANT to.
I want my husband.

So please if you think about it pray for us, send us some positive vibes, or just count your blessings. I may need your example to follow soon.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Summer Plans

We are officially on Summer Break here and loving every minute of it.
I don't usually plan a ton of Summer activities each year mainly because Summer is when we are unpacking in a new location. This year not excluded.
I did want to make sure and maintain a semblance of a rhythm throughout the season so that we don't go spinning off into crazy land and so that the new school year is not such a shock when it comes around again.
Our daily rhythm at this point looks somewhat like this:
Chores
Breakfast/Cleanup
Finish Chores
Garden work and walk
Morning activity
Lunch
Rest
Pool/Afternoon Activity
Play til you drop.... or remember that its Dinnertime.

Again this is what I strive for each day. I have been better about Dinner than it looks like, but the kids have been playing hard and making friends with the MASSES of children in the neighborhood. They are in Heaven. And minus a few instances of playground politics this Momma is too.

Chores are a big thing in our house and Jakob has reached the point of taking on other jobs as he has handed down some of his smaller chores to Hazel. We are navigating and learning how to do them still. Hazel is excited to add a "Big Chore" a day to her list just like her brother. Momma is still trying to find her rhythm in how she wants to clean, but to be honest after two weeks of heaving boxes from one end of the state to the other, I have just done the minimum and allowed myself a little more sleep in the mornings.

Our Morning and afternoon activities are nothing fancy. Stories, Library time, crafts, and Science experiments will be our go-to here. We officially own more Science experiment books than any one family should be allowed so my hope is to explore those throughout the Summer. There are LOADS of awesome ideas floating around right now and I am bookmarking certain things, but trying to keep the rest just simple.

Hazel is still in dance so our Saturdays are filled with shuttling her there and taking turns going to the Farmer's Market (I love that my Hubby asks to go to market.... although it may be because he doesn't want to go to Ballet *wink*). We will be participating in a Reading Program, though I'm not sure which because of probable travel plans.
We are going to North Carolina in July for my dear Daddy's 50th birthday and Jakob will be visiting extended family for a while longer either before or after our trip. Because of this I don't feel the need to add any other bells and whistles to the time off.
This is plenty.

That's our Summer, lots of fun playtime and enjoying being a kid. Sounds perfect to me! Whats on your agenda this Summer? Do you like to take a slower approach or do you have certain activities that your family looks to each Summer?



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Yarn along...pictureless



Since moving, I have placed my camera SOMEWHERE.
I'm sure its somewhere I KNEW I would remember but alas, it's not presented itself yet.
To be honest I haven't looked a lot but I have been reading and knitting.
(since that's the only thing I could do with my hand in a sling for 3 days)
I picked up my Hubby's sock again and have been working on it. I'm almost to the point of being ready to turn to the heel and all of the tutorials that were sent me a few weeks ago have really given me confidence! Thanks!
Reading......
I saw this book over at Rockin Granola (she's awesome btw) and was happy to get it in at my local library.
Oh the wonderful information and "ah-ha's" I have found so far within its pages. Simplifying our lives has been a goal of mine for some time now, but this book addresses not only the pairing down of stuff and activities in our kids lives, but the amount of mental "stuff and activities" that we as adult carry around as well. I must admit this is an area I need to work on.
Good Stuff.

On a lighter note the kids and I are reading Alice in Wonderland as our night-time reading. The kids rooms are now directly across from one another which has given to a bit of struggle at bedtime when one little girl wants to sing herself to sleep and the other little boy wants to concentrate on hearing his breath til he dreams. Momma sitting in the hallway between reading a chapter a night has seemed to work out well.

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