Farmers Market

These were growing in the community garden last night. This morning they were in bags on Main Street. By noon, they were sizzling in a pan ready for my tummy! God is so great!

A fat mom's guide to eating better and getting moving again, yes, even after all those years.

Let’s face it, no one likes being overweight. Not even a little bit. I have gained 50 plus pounds over the course of 7 years. There are a lot of different factors that weigh in (excuse the pun) to a person’s overall health. Metabolism, illness, baby weight, and even depression are just a few issues that I myself have dealt with. Now, after my fourth child I feel fat and tired and I am just plain sick of myself. I don’t want to diet, I don’t want to join a gym, I can’t afford to hire a trainer. I just want to feel better about myself and model good health behaviors for my children. For the last few months I have made a concentrated effort to get moving. Consequently, I have started and stopped and started again. My determination is short-lived and is fueled by my emotions which can be completely out of control at times. Yet, in this short time I have learned some things that I think will help me make this a life change and not just a short lived attempt at trying to lose weight.

1. My body likes exercise. It’s the hard, cold, truth people. My heart was built for beating and my lungs were built for breathing. God gave me this body and it is my responsibility (I Cor. 6:7) to take better care of it. I can complain and procrastinate all I want, but the moment I get moving I feel better, almost instantly. I have had issues, my ankle doesn’t like jogging and my butt doesn’t like biking. I choose to do some resting and change up my routine. In other words I don’t do the same thing over and over. It gives my brain a work out, too. It takes patience and a bit of extra will power, but that feeling of whatever it is that runs through my whole body after I start moving for a bit is so worth the effort. I can’t really explain it and I feel pretty dern stupid for avoiding this ‘high’ for such a long, long, time. Speaking of time…
2. I can make the time. For years, I have used excuse after excuse not to get up and move. It really isn’t the easiest time for me to start now, either. I haven’t slept through the night since May of 2005. I am tired. I am busy cleaning up five other people’s messes and barely have time to shower. Mornings are crazy, afternoons are horrendous and evenings are worse yet. In May, when I started walking, I would think about it for days. I'd look at the calendar, ask my husband to be home at a certain time so I could go…now I just do it. I snatch up a free 30-60 minutes and take off. That is how it works for me. My family has a schedule that is just too crazy to try and plan a time. If I do plan it, then I think about it and my head starts playing tricks on me and I feel like I should clean the kitchen instead of exercise. I don’t know how other people do it, but I live in the moment. Carpe deim . Today, my hubby was dozing and the kids were all hungry for lunch and I said, I am going for a bike ride, be back in an hour. That was that. I got home and they were all still alive, AND I got to move today. Sometimes I meet my husband at the door and say, I need an hour, I am going for a walk.
3. I need time to myself. I completely understand the group exercise thing. I am sure it is fun to visit and have someone to be accountable to. I think I may actually enjoy working out with others. But, I gotta be honest. I love being alone. It is just me and God. I am loving the sound of the wind over my ipod music and seeing the green grass and the beautiful trees. I wonder if I will be able to enjoy myself this much when the snow comes? I hope I can. I don’t get much alone time these days. My brain goes positively nuts. I think about how great it is to be alive, how amazing my Creator is. I ponder my relationships with people and my children’s future. I plan about a gazillion things to blog about only to forget them all when I step onto my driveway. I am blessed with living here my whole life. I enjoy revisiting places I knew well while I was growing up, the mile between my husband's childhood home and mine, the field where we gathered as high schoolers to listen to local bands and hang out, the secluded spots where my husband and I 'talked' for hours.
4. Small steps take longer, but will help me change my life for the better. I am just a mom. I cannot do everything by myself. Sometimes I just need a chocolate covered rice krispy bar to make everything better. I allow myself that. I feel like if I make a conscious effort to make better choices, I can afford to still reward myself. Only now, instead of a whole row I savor one small piece of a treat to satisfy my cravings. It works most of the time. Do I get sidetracked and bake for a week? Sometimes. Emotions rule my eating. If I can just learn to get moving instead of stuffing my face when I feel down, I may be able to maintain a healthy weight and feel good, too. Sometimes when I am sore from moving, my brain makes excuses and doesn’t want to do anything for a week. Those are the time when guilt sets in and I eat a whole bag of m&m’s. I need to work on that. I am trying to remember to do some sit ups and leg lifts before I fall asleep. I haven’t been as successful at that goal, unfortunately. Small steps, right?
5. It’s not just about the numbers. If I were keeping score I would be losing, badly. So I don’t keep score. I don’t count the number of times I exercise. I don’t keep track of how far I ran or rode. I don't count how many calories I just burned only to replace them with a piece of chocolate. I just do it. When I feel like everything is just about as perfect as it could be I turn around and head home. Sometimes I make it a long way, sometimes I make it around the block. But every time, I move. I haven’t lost a pound. My clothes don’t fit any better. It may take a long time for me to see any real results. But I am trying. I am making an effort to improve my health, and you know what? I like it.

One season down, two to go...

The Gavinator had his end of season t-ball party last night. It was the perfect night. One parent always plays the last night so I had to hit the ball left handed and run backwards...little did they know that I probably did better than using my right hand since I am such an athlete. Gavin hit the ball well into right field. I hit the ball three feet into the infield. It was fun, nonetheless. One more week of Maleah's softball and then districts with daddy. Isn't summer fun?

Monkeys who eat spinach go to bed early.

It's exactly 6:45 p.m. on a Tuesday night. My oldest is playing a ball game in Emery. My boy is asleep on the couch waiting for t-ball to start. My blue eyed monkey is asleep in her bed and the youngest is playing at my feet.

Today Addison climbed;

the couch and

the clothes line pole (I could barely take this photo I was so shocked).

She picked spinach and ate some for lunch (well, mostly ranch with a little spinach) while mommy washed and froze the rest.

This morning she unknowingly gave Lou Lou her first taste of bomb pop.
In other words, it was an awesome day to be a 21 month old.

Heritage

more weekend photos

Weekend Update

I love my new camera.

10x optical zoom

Sparklers at Grandma B's.

Lou Lou and mommy

It even has a fireworks setting, oooooohhh, aaaaahhhhhh...

More oooohhhhh's and aaaaahhhh's

Lou Lou with bug sprayed hair

The punk has a punk, I can say that 'cuz I am the mommy.

Eating sweet peas from Grandma B's garden...my zoom works a little too good, I missed the peas.

I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Alice.

This is a brand new, this month, website. Her name is Alice.com. Seriously, I think they have been listening to my thoughts because it is exactly what I need. Get this - a free shipping service for non-perishables, cleaning supplies, toothpaste, diapers, coffee and toilet paper. That's not all, folks. They use coupons, COUPONS! They find them for you and honor them. I am not kidding. In my first order I used $30 worth of coupons. I got the same price or better that I would pay at Walmart or Target. Unbelievable! I may never print another stinking coupon again. I already have another order in. I can get 40 Pampers for less than $10. That is an amazing deal. AMAZING. Did I mention the free shipping? Enough already. Go check it out. Buy some razors, buy some eight o'clock coffee, buy some toilet bowl cleaner. You will be happy you did. Use my referral link or click on the button in the sidebar. Right now if you spend $50 you can get a $10 credit in your account for your next order. Stock up, people, fill the pantry! Did I mention the FREE SHIPPING?

http://www.alice.com/referral/7127853

Look Grandma!

Present softball player.

Future softball player.

Nora can crawl.

Summer lovin'

Say hello to my little friends. A local welder does these adorable flowers and dragon flies. I LOVE them. Got some for my sister for her birthday. He's got some three times this size, too. Like 'em? Call Rion at 363-3184. Tell him Rani told you about his metal lawn art. The columbine has pretty much taken over this part of the landscaping. I need to do some moving around I think.

Can't remember what this is called but it has also completely taken over my landscaping near the garage. I do like the purple, though.

The big kids went fishing with dad today. See the BIG fish they caught? Squint if you can't. Yep fish appetizers here today:) Dad was cleaning it and Lee says, only two tiny pieces? Dad laughed.

One of my free perennials. Thanks Grandpa Geno! It's beautiful. It's a golden something or other.

Another freebie...no idea what it is but them yellow flowers sure are fancy.

This is called Yarrow, I think. Mom gave it to me. It has gotten completely out of control. I have no idea what to do about it. I hate doing plant abortions. I have got to find somewhere more appropriate for this stuff.

The garden in it's entirety, is that a word?

Rhubarb, spinach, lettuce and carrots and onions that need to be weeded, badly :( At the end past the peonies there is some dill growing and then some big onions.

Here's a shot of the cukes and the melons and more big onions.

Strawberries with feet? Wonky, I tell ya. Dern camera doesn't focus real well one -handed.

Double berry goodness!

Beautiful berries, if you look close enough you can see a critter bite on the red one.

The garden is sure filling out with this warm weather we're having. We have a strawberry patch and if we can get to 'em before the critters, they taste mighty fine. They are pretty wonky looking berries, we got double berries and footed berries but no real regular looking berries, hmmm.

Hope you are getting some sweet summer lovin' at your garden, too!

She slept

all night long!

I am sure it had nothing to do with;

• us not getting to bed before 10pm in a week
• a nice soothing bath before bed
• the constant hum of the fan all night
• eating small meals all day and going to bed on a pretty satisfied tummy (we tried a bun soaked in barbeque at the ballgame-yum)

I, of course, did not (sleep all night long, that is). I was checking on her every couple of hours not being able to hear her breathing noises over the sound of the fan.