January Here

January is a nutty month around here. Not only are we dealing with the post-holiday let down, we also have 2 of our kid's birthdays this month.
The Princess ( our baby) turned 7 a mere 10 days ago.......7, not a little one anymore, but, now a big girl.
Son #2 turns 10 today...a decade.....seriously? How can it be that time has flown? I vividly remember my 10th birthday, that I felt so old because I'd been on the Earth for a whole decade.
(I'm really trying not to think about the fact the the oldest son turns 13 this summer, and that son #3 will be 9 then too.)

The song "Your Gonna Miss This" my Trace Adkins makes me choke-up every time I hear it on the radio, because it's true....(don't tell my parents).

Working Out at Home

Reasons I like working out at home: 

~I can turn up the music or DVD as loud as I can. 
~ I can wear WHATEVER I want. For example, today was a tank top, sports bra, boy shorts and an outrageous Lululemon hair wrap in blindingly bright pink! 
 I looked like a hot mess, but, felt like a superstar! 
~Cursing....lots of cursing. I heard that there was a study, that swearing makes you feel better when you hurt yourself. It's true folks. I was swearing a blue streak at Bob and the hardbodies today, and it made me feel MUCH better. 

Today was Bob strength DVD from his "Inside Out Method" series. Serious burn. I love that the big muscle guy (Francisco) struggles A LOT in the workout. The one woman I really like ( whose name escapes me now) is my hero. She has 4 kids (like me), but is rockin' the hottest bod EVER! 

Like many people, I did not feel like working out today. I have a dental appointment that I wish I could sleep through ( serious dental phobic over here). I have to clean the house for weekend company and my Son #2 has his bday party tomorrow, and I have to finish putting his cake ball creation together....so many excuses. 

But....yup, there's a but.................... 

I did the one hour workout....grunting...sweat dripping off my nose.....and a big ol' grin on my face during the stretches at the end. 


***I will have sexy arms for the summer. 
***I will wear shorts for the first time in many summers. 
***I will hit my 35th bday looking and feeling better than I have since....well, since before I was 30. 

Talk Show Thoughts

So, the other day, I posted a blog about my  First Lesson of 2011.......I said I didn't feel bad about what I had done.....well, I still don't feel bad exactly, but, true to form.....I've been picking apart my behaviour.
...........................Perhaps I should have been kinder than I was..............
        ...............................................I could have said things in a different way..........


I didn't though. 




As a general rule I like to help people when I can. I don't mind being asked for advice, or for my opinion......however, like most folks, I like for people to ask after me as well. 


The other day, Delusional Mom posted a quote from her "Daily Bitch" calendar: " Daily Bitch - Jan 2: Call me sometime when you don't need anything."........that's sort of how I feel.


I am hitting the middle of my 30's in a couple short months..... I really feel it's time to do something big....do I know what the something might be? Nope, not a clue over here. I just feel like I should be "Doing Something".

What does that even mean? Maybe I've been Dr. Philled and Oprahfied into thinking these things ( Thankfully I've not been Maury Poviched......I know who my kids belong to).

A friend recently asked me if I am feeling more "fulfilled" now that I am working. I thought about it, then answered a truthful "No. I don't find cleaning other people's toilet's fulfilling". I do like to think they find it nice to come home to a clean house, but, little would change for them if I stopped coming around.

I would love to do something big, some kind of grand gesture/achievement that would make me jump up and say "YES! Now I am fulfilled!". Any suggestions? Whatever they are, you must consider my prior commitments to my husband, kids, dog and job....oh, and if it could be something that is free of charge, that would be so sweet.

New Wish List

I'm sitting here thinking of things I'd like to get...for fitness, for the house, for fun. 

~ a good calf compression sleeve.  My calf is still causing me trouble after all these months. The answer is a calf compression sleeve. None to be had locally, so, shipping must be added to the price tag. Calf Compression Sleeve

~new pair of Fivefingers, in pink, before summer. www.vibramfivefingers.co
m/products/Five-Fingers-Sp
rint-Womens.htm       

~a new steam mop/cleaner. I used to have one but something went "pop" in it, and, it never worked again. www.thane.ca/products/ho
usewares/h2omopx5/h2omopx5
.php 

~a travel hoop and dvd from Hoopnotica www.hoopnotica.com/ 
It looks like a lot of fun, and an amazing workout. 

~$300 to spend in the Itunes store, for all the music I've been wishing for. 

There, now it's out in the Universe.  

At the end of the day, I am happy to have the things my family and I need.....but wishing is fun. 

Not Feeling Like a Warrior, but Feeling Pretty Good

Today was Bob Harper's "Yoga for the Warrior". My thighs were very tight and sore from my Bob workout on Monday, so, I was really dreading this. I nearly talked myself into just doing the 15 minute workout, just to see how it was.....methinks Fluffy is surfacing again. 

So, dvd is in, I choose the long workout and got on my mat. The first 10 minutes were ok, and I'm thinking "Hmmmm, not bad, seems a little easier then Jillian's Yoga Meltdown".......I was very, very wrong. He was just lulling me into a false sense of security. 
I've talked plenty about Jillian's dvd's, so I won't waste anyone's time doing a side by side comparison. I'll just say Jilian's is like a yoga-bolt....hits you hard, leaves you sweaty. Bob's is like a yoga wringer......movement in postions, long holds, plenty of stretching. 
I can feel it in every muscle of my body. My thighs are tired, but no longer tight. My abs....they're feeling a tad wobbly ( had to pause and think for a minute there). 
Again, it was a full hour. I'm not sure how I'll be feeling later, but, for now, I am feeling good. 


He said something at the end about being in this moment, before you have to head out and take care of all the people you have to take care of.....sound advice.  

Lesson Gleaned from a Cleaning a House

~Patience.....no matter how much you rush, it takes a certain amount of time to finish the jobs that need to be done.
~Planning.....I can waste less time and energy if I do the jobs in order of efficiency. ie: spray the bathtubs and sinks down with cleaner, then go dust. When you get back, everything wipes clean. ;) Now if I could just do that with my pile of laundry!( Spray the work away I mean)
~Perseverance......if you can't get it clean with a cloth and cleaner, use a magic sponge. There is always an answer to the problem.
~Acceptance.....no matter how nice a house is, or how neat folks are.....cleaning a toilet is always an icky job....it just is.

I Managed to Keep my Insides Down.....

The kids have returned to school the Christmas tree is packed away, and the New Year has arrived. I always think I should feel different somehow when the shiny, new calendars are hung on the wall.....but, I don't. Same old me hit the snooze on the alarm this morning.
Saying that, my alarm did go off at 5:30 am, so, a 10 minute snooze seemed perfectly acceptable. Today was a dry-run for my new workout routine. With my new work schedule, I don't have the time to work out during the day like I used to. However, I need to keep on with the exercise. No working out over the Holidays was a great break....but it shows. The clothes still fit, but not as nicely......and my lovely triceps are sinking back under the fluffy layer.
So, 5:40 am........ Bob Harper, his hardbodies, and lil' ol' me in the living room ( Bob and the hardbodies on TV of course), doing the dvd you see pictured in this post......it's one hour people. Not a 10 minute warm-up 40 minute workout, and a 10 minute cool down....it's long! It's hard....dare I say harder than Jillian??? Well, maybe not harder, but a different kind of workout.
I wanted to quit about 20 minutes into it. You NEVER STOP MOVING! There are no breaks between moves, no water break, no time to grab a towel to mop up the sweat pouring off your face.
All in all, it's a good workout.....except the mountain climbers, oh, how my back hates those.

First Lesson of 2011

First day of 2011......the day to jump on the Resolution Band Wagon....usually with both feet, and without much forethought.  What did you do to ring in the New Year?
Me? My day went almost exactly as planned. I did a whole lot of nothing. Yup, nothing. I sat in my chair, drank coffee brewed in the fantastic new coffee maker my sis got us for Christmas (single serve, yum!). Hubby took down the tree, I vacuumed tree-debris.

 There may have been a few rounds of Just dance 2 with the kiddos ( Asher may have kicked my butt on "Rasputin"), but, as far as I know, there is no video proof.

I also had time to do a little bit of thinking ( just a little bit). I had a phone call from a friend last night, and, I was not as kind to her as I could have been. I won't go into details, as, it's her story, not mine, and it isn't my place to share it. Suffice it to say, it was another thing in her evolving life she now has to deal with.
When she called I was in the middle of sorting things out for the kids' movie night for New Years Eve (snacks etc....), we'd just come home from a 4 hour drive, the house was a jumble, and I was short on patience.
I'm not feeling bad about it exactly....I have the right to care for my own, and not stop my world because someone else's is spinning off the rails. Yet ( trying not to use a "but" here), I do feel a niggle of guilt that I didn't.
There was a time I would have. Not as much now. Our life here is pretty busy, and some days I feel like I'm just hanging on to things by my fingernails.

First Lesson of 2011: It's important to take time to care for me and mine....and sometimes it's even ok to put me first. ( I will have to refer back to this periodically, I'm sure)

Happy New Year!