Category Archives: life

ch-ch-changes …

Today I …

… shopped at a natural food co-op store.

… carried my groceries away in reusable grocery bags.

… bought very local goat cheese.

… ate sticks & twigs that had chia seeds in them and were free of gluten and wheat.

… gave thought to the argument for more calories from a natural product vs. a preservative-laden snack with fewer calories. Natural won.

… used an all natural lip balm – and liked it.

… made a salad with local, organic ingredients (And it only cost $7.29 a lb.! Relatively speaking, that’s not bad! My salad was only $5.09!).

… gave serious thought to whether it was more environmentally friendly to use a recycled paper towel or the hand dryer.

… realized my new, 2-month love for Icelandic skyr may be more like an addiction.

… made a grilled pizza. And if that wasn’t enough, I made it entirely from organic ingredients.

This alternative energy, tree-hugging, sustainability thing is rubbing off on me a bit, I guess. Sounds like a good thing to me!

Green with envy yet???

flash cards on life.

Are there any volunteers out there? I’m looking for someone to follow me around all day with flash cards. On the flash cards would be reminders of life’s moments and things around me, and they’d be presented at just the right time. It would go something like this:

When I’m frustrated because our daughter is splashing in the dog’s water for the 7th time in an hour …
“You’re gonna miss this.”

When someone important forgets my birthday – again …
“You make mistakes, too.”

When I get frustrated because someone is taking too long to get ready …
“Slow down – life is short.”

When I don’t have time to reply to the emails and messages …
“You’re only one person.”

When the mix of work and family seems to lose its balance …
“Be thankful you have a good job and education.”

When I forget something, get overwhelmed, or feel I can’t do it all …
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

When I’m feeling like I’ve failed again – I didn’t finish my run any faster, couldn’t carry groceries and a little one, or wasn’t there when someone needed me …
“You’ll do better next time.”

When a promise of much needed help doesn’t come through …
“There’s always tomorrow, and everyone makes mistakes.”

When someone cuts me off, leaves me behind, or forgets to ask …
“Don’t let others decide what kind of mood you’re in – you control your own destiny.”

When I’m overcome with working mom guilt and feeling awful about my choices as a parent …
“You’re providing a good balance for your family. You’re a good mom, and you’re a better person this way.”

When I find a new hobby but haven’t followed through with the previous 25 hobbies …
“It’s okay to try new things. One day you may find the time to pursue everything you love.”

When someone doesn’t appreciate the things I do or the gifts I give …
“Don’t worry about the things you cannot change.”

The list could go on and on.

I know these things, and I reflect on them often. The problem is in the timing. I never stop and think when these things are happening – and I always say I’ll remember next time. Naturally, I forget.

Will you be my shadow … with flash cards?

we’re going with a plan.

I’m a planner. If I’m going somewhere, I’ve got to know what we’re doing and when. Maybe not necessarily down to the hour, or the day, but I need to know that I’ll accomplish everything that’s planned before time is up. I need to know what there is to do, and what options there are for things. I know – crazy.

We’re headed to Florida soon, and I hope I don’t send my family into overload. I’ve already started mapping things out – again, not to the day, but in two parts of the week. My sister is joining us for the first part of the week, so I want to make sure we do what she wants to do while she’s there. All in all, we’ve got 6 full days there, and 6 things we want to do. And there will be 8 of us. 8 opinions, 8 decisions. We’ve simply got to be organized to get it all done, right?! No, we won’t be standing around each night/morning trying to decide what to do – there’s a plan!

Is it overboard? Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’re going to hate me. But at least we’ll be organized!

How far do you go with planning your vacations?

we made it!

So we all made it through the day yesterday – Peanut with hurting teeth (She’s pitiful, really.), me with a broken heart, hubby with … well, I don’t know if he had any issues. But we survived!

I started strength training yesterday – ouch. I made that decision at the last minute, so I came up with a circuit on the fly and made it work. I’ll come up with something better and more planned for next time – though from the feel of my aching muscles, yesterday’s plan seemed to work! Not only did I do 35 minutes of strength training, but I also walked for 45 minutes last night! I think I’ll take a needed day off today – my body is telling me it’s okay. I love it when we agree!

And thanks to the running, walking, and pilates, I’m so excited to be in pants that are one size smaller today! Yippee! I knew it would come – eventually. Now if only the scale would tell me it’s working … wishful thinking, I suppose. Perhaps that number will move once I’m off this sinus meds regimen. Last day for that nonsense is next Tuesday (Well, for the steroids, which is the mean one.), so we’ll see how next week looks. At the end of the day, it is just a number, but it can be so validating! Why can’t it just drop, already!?

Boring today, I know. It’s rainy, and my tire decided it would like to be low today. Nice. Needless to say, my hair looks like Medusa thanks to 5 minutes in the rain with the air tank. Eh, who cares anyway. Not me!

Happy hump day!

P.S. – Did I tell you yet that I’m now registered for two 5k races in October? Yippee! I’ve told myself that if I train throughout and complete both races, I’d consider a running GPS (Perhaps a Garmin Forerunner 205?). Consider being the key word. I do adore gadgets! Perhaps that would get me through the winter and into a few 10k races in the spring? Now that’s pushing it! ;)

one of those days.

“Mama said there’ll be days like this …”

I’m having one of those days. If someone looks at me the wrong way, I might erupt into tears. The working mom guilt is almost too much to bear today. My baby is hurting, and I’m stuck in this place. It’s days like these that almost put me over the edge.

Teething is a bear, and Peanut is getting her first big teeth – her first molars. I feel so bad. I want to hold her, comfort her, and fix it. I want to wipe away her tears when she cries. This is awful.

She’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.

But it just doesn’t feel right.

My heart is breaking and I’m very, very sad …

running?

You read that right – running.

In a desperate (Okay, it’s not desperate. Well maybe just a little bit.) attempt to get rid of this baby gut (Nope, the body is never the same post-child. She’s oh so worth it, but it’s not the same!), I started going to the gym 3-5 days a week about 6 weeks ago. Most, if not all of those days are spend in the gym at work during lunch, which means not a whole lot of intensity gets mixed in. I typically walk at a moderate speed at an incline from 5-10% for 30 minutes. I might make it to the park one night a week, and I typically do a 30 minute run there. Eh, not too shabby.

Weekends, however, rock on a whole new level. I’ve started running in the mornings (I know, get excited! Ha!)! I started with a simple 1.8 mi route that I’ve walked plenty of times. This weekend, though, I wanted something new. The route I ended up taking was 3.2 miles (I went on time, guessing I’d end up at around 3 miles in 45 minutes) and to my surprise, I did it in 41 minutes. I know, I’m slow. That’s a 12:48 minute mile. But it’s improved. I started at a 15 minute mile, so I’m excited!

I was so psyched about yesterday’s run that I signed up for an account on MapMyRun.com – it allows you to customize routes, calculating distance of those routes, and keep a journal. I’m not sure of anything beyond that yet, but I’m sure there’s more to the site than just that.

Here we go. I’m so excited! Now I need to keep my motivation – I’ll be fine until it gets cold, but then it’s a whole new ball game. This will take discipline!

focus …

Ever feel like you’re always distracted? Like you have so much to accomplish but just don’t know where to start? Overwhelmed by all life places upon you, feeling like the things you love most in life are slipping further and further away?

It’s one of those weeks for me. But instead of complaining about it all, I’m trying to focus. Trying to see the positives, find balance, and move closer to what I want from life. Am I making it very far? No – but you can’t blame a girl for trying, can ya?

Like this blog. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to me. Why did I start it? And why do I continue? I have a few reasons that I don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to share here. But the question has been more why do I maintain it at all. Because really, who cares? It’s not like it’s got a purpose. A niche. A theme. Nope, it’s all random, so it’s likely that it means very little to very few. I think of all the good blogs I follow (The number I keep up with is embarrassing.), and they all have a purpose. A niche. A theme. Not me! Maybe I could work on that, though I don’t know what my theme might be.

Then there’s time with our daughter. I just don’t get enough, and lately, it’s been hitting me hard. I think it’s a combination of how incredibly fun she is at this age (I just don’t want to leave her! Not that I did before, but now she’s even more amazing …) and the fact that we’ve had several things lately that have reduced our time together. I’ve been two weekends now without really spending tons of time with her, and its wearing on me. No worries – I plan to not leave her this weekend, and I hope that helps.

Wonder if carrying a cheat sheet with me all the time would help? If I did, what might it say? Here are some ideas …

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My cheat sheet would remind me that life is short. It would tell me not to be so hard on myself. I’m so critical of everything I do, and am unfortunately very critical of others, as well. My standards are sometimes ridiculous, and I know that. I need to remember to just live .

No one is perfect, and that’s okay. Right?

to the fair?

What is it about the county fair that’s so exciting?

As we made the drive for the second time this week (Ehem, the 7 minute drive. Terrible, I know! Ha!), I tried to answer that exact question. Certainly, the fair makes different people happy for different reasons. Sure, some must like the rides – you can count me out there. Others may go for the fireworks – I’m not even sure our fair has them. Perhaps you go for the music – it’s nice, but it’s certainly not the highlight for me.

No, I go for a few other reasons. First, the food. While I didn’t do all of the traditional “fair food” this year (Well, I only missed the funnel cake.), I typically go crazy once a year, and this fair is it. I start with a cheeseburger from the local “snack shack.” That’s typically paired with fries from the HS stand – “May I please have a freshman?” (They name the sizes by class years.) Finally, the night is finished off with funnel cake – and my husband and I have yet to finish one between the two of us. On a really good year, there might be cotton candy thrown in there, but that’s when I’m really feeling like a kid.

Second, the animals. There are some really cool animals at the fair – nothing earth shattering, but I enjoy seeing all types of farm animals all spiffed up and ready to be shown off. We typically watch whatever judging is going on while we are there – this year, it was the pigs. Very cool!

Third, the people. They’re hilarious, and I don’t care where your fair may be – you’ve got them, too! Naturally, you can people watch anywhere, but it seems only the best come out for the fair. You can see young romance blossom, see people who have stuffed themselves into clothes 2 sizes too small, and watch the prima donnas stroll by. It’s hilarious!

This year, we had plenty of additional entertainment. Our daughter is at such a fun age right now, so it was great to watch her dance to the music, say “aww” about the pigs, pull hair from a sheep (Clearly she needs some help in learning to pet animals!), walk the fairgrounds, and point at other children as we strolled by. It’s a pretty big year for politics, so we got to have some fun with the candidates on hand for the evening, and naturally brought home some yard signs that we’ll display for those we are supporting. I enjoyed seeing 5 of my photos on display, and enjoyed seeing 4 ribbons – 2 second, 1 third, and 1 fourth – pinned on them, as well! Finally, this year we watched part of the first annual zero-turn mower challenge. Funny!

The fair is a recap to summer and a warm welcome to fall. It’s a time to enjoy family and make memories. Walking around this year, I remember many of the things we did last year. Last year was special, but this year was even better.

What’s the fair to you? Why do you go and what do you enjoy? And what kinds of great things does your county fair have?

lately …

I’m trying so hard to blog regularly – I really am! As I said before, our Peanut is so incredibly active now, making it hard to do anything besides the day-to-day things I have to do (You know, make dinner, clean up dishes, take the dog out, laundry, pack lunches, keep the house straight, etc.) and chase her around. For the most part, I’m pretty hands off. Unfortunately, she (1) likes to put things in her mouth, and (2) likes to climb and reach for things that could hurt her. That’s to be said for most little ones, though, so I guess she’s no different. Anyway, that was completely not the point of this post!

Just over a week ago, our family grew by one! Justin’s brother and his wife welcomed their third little one – a girl! She’s simply amazing! A full head of gorgeous brown hair and incredibly long fingers! She went home yesterday and I’m sure everyone’s having an adventure settling in to life as a family of 5! Congrats and love to them!

I’m ready for fall – are you? This ridiculously hot weather is getting old, though I guess I shouldn’t complain – I certainly don’t want another winter like last year’s! Then again, it might be alright. Last year I lost vacation days for those missed days from work – this year, I can work from home! Last year, Peanut was so little and we were essentially stuck inside the entire time – this year, she’s much more mobile and might actually enjoy the snow! Eh, I take it all back – it’s still not worth all. that. shoveling.

Anyone started Christmas shopping? Well, I know of some that have. I’m among them now! I’ve made my list and will be checking it twice over the next few days! I don’t know about you, but I’ve got some people on my list that are just impossible to buy for – those that are picky beyond belief. This year, I’ve decided that I just don’t care. I’ll do gift cards if I have to, as impersonal as that may be! I’m not stressing over it this year – life’s far too short and frankly, I’ve got better things to do than worry about pleasing the picky and ungrateful. Sounds mean, but why should I care if they don’t?

Peanut has started saying some words – grandpa is the latest! More, ma, hello, and a few others I can’t remember at the moment are also part of her vocabulary. Seems she learns something new every day. She cracks me up in the bath – when she sees me put soap on her washcloth, she rubs her belly. And when she sees me pour shampoo into my hands, she rubs her hands together, then rubs her hair. It’s so cute! She’s also starting to really laugh at things on her own. We were in the car on Friday – my husband and I talking in the front, Peanut in the back playing with her Leaptop. Out of nowhere, she pushes one of the buttons on the Leaptop and cracks up! She repeated it a few times and kept on laughing! It was so cool!

I’m one week into my killer sinus treatment and while the side effects haven’t been as bad as I expected, some of them are still pretty icky. My legs ache nearly every day, which is not fun at all. And I can’t sleep! Once I’m out, I’m okay, but it usually takes an hour or more for me to fall asleep. Once a night might be alright, but if the dog moves, I wake up. There’s an hour to fall asleep. When my husband comes to bed, I wake up. Another hour. Peanut cries and needs to be comforted back to sleep and there’s another hour. Needless to say, I don’t get much sleep! Other than that, though, I’m pretty much okay with it. Just looking forward to seeing what might happen in the next year – no more infections and I’m good to go! Of course, there’s always the chance that they come back, and in that case, we’re essentially back to the drawing board. Fingers crossed!

Guess that’s about it for now! Peanut and I have a play date this Saturday, and I’m so excited! As play dates are usually during the week, we don’t often get the chance to go to them. I love, love, love when they’re on the weekends! Hey, working moms and our little ones need them too, right?

Happy week, everyone!

reminders …

When times get crazy like these, I need to remind myself of the important things in life. Things like …

  • I am only one person and it is okay that I can’t get everything done. Most things can wait.
  • Family is first. Creating memories is first. Being there for my Peanut is first. Everything else can wait.
  • I can’t care about what other people think.
  • And if people treat me like crap, act accordingly. (I have huge room for improvement here, and this one’s been hitting me hard lately.)
  • Don’t stress over things that don’t matter.
  • Who is in control of my destiny? Me. So I need to hold the reigns and not let the negativity and mixed signals of others get to me.
  • I will surround myself with the things I love – whether that be people, pets, hobbies, things, etc.

Reminders. That I am strong and deserve to be happy.