Thunking . . .

I've been thinking this morning . . . (yes, that's why it looks like the East Coast is covered in smoke I dun been thunking again)

About what?

My recent eating habits. I've indulged every whim, fancy and craving.

What has it done for me?

Not a whole hell of a lot. Instead of happier, more content and at peace (because I don't have those cravings haunting me) I've been crankier, punchier and more a slave to my cravings. It's been interesting.

Well . . . maybe not interesting . . . that might not be the right word. Eye opening maybe?

I'm going to pull out my WW food journal again and start tracking what I'm eating. I'm not going to worry about points but just keep track of what I'm eating.

Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone just did a podcast on intuitive eating. It took me quite a while to listen to it (I was at work and kept getting interrupted.) And I feel like I need to go back and listen to it again, but it was an interesting and something I'm mulling more over.

I'd like to give it a try as it seems like, no matter what I'm eating, being present while I eat and enjoying it might not be a bad idea. I hesitate to say I'm going to do it because it seems as though I make declarations like that here and then with in a few days I'm off the wagon in a massive way. I'm tired of admitting to that.

I'd rather get into the routine of something, then let you know. Know what I mean?

Actually in the podcast MizFit (who I totally idolize for being so awesomely and totally true to who she is) discusses simply being present in life in general. (That's all I'm going to say about it . . . so go listen to it if you haven't already!)

It got me thinking though. How much of my life do I just slide through, coasting in nuetral. It explains why when I hit bumps in life or the little mole hills, I've been having a hard time getting up them.

Huh . . .

A lot of the blogs I read (yes, I'm trying to stay up to date on them again. I sorta feel like I've lost weeks of people's lives! Well . . . I have, but that thought bunny trail will have to become another post.) people have been talking about how they feel better after they work out and how they don't feel as good or feel worse if they dont.

Which got me thinking . . . 

They're right! I do feel better after I work-out. Even after Curves. Which reminds me, I forgot to pack clothes! CRAP!

Yes, that has been sliding too. My mom got me a camel pak for an early birthday present . . . and I've not used it yet. I've been using this insane heat as an excuse not to get on my bike. Honestly? I need to fill up my pak, get on my bike and head out. I do so much better mentally and emotionally after a long bike ride.

What have I been doing instead?

Chocolate! Yes! I have discovered a love of dark chocolate and sea salt. OMG! And I've returned to chocolate milk, milk chocolate, junk food, soda, popcorn the microwavable kind (which will be my lunch because I forgot to pack something this morning) and all sorts of other not so good for you stuff that's packed with sugar.

*sigh* 
Yea . . .

And I'm going to the beach with my in-laws for a week starting Sunday. This is otherwise known as cookie central since my Sister-in-Law aka Cookie Queen will be there too.

Do I plan on eating some?

YES! But the goal is to not gorge myself and be content with ONE. (After I've eaten my lunch or dinner though.)

If we're going the same route we did last year, we'll pass some fabulous farmer's markets on the way down. I'm going to stop by and pick up some yummy produce to ensure there is plenty of fruit. Since we're leaving on Sunday, I may try to swing my our farmer's market to pick up some grassfed meat & other local produce to take down with us.

Or should I just wait, enjoy and continue indulging this week and get back on track next week?

What are you thinking?    

What? Blog? OH . . . yea . . . That thing I write that stuff on . . .

 Yeeks! Has it really been a week and half? Oy!

I didn't forget. Really! I got sucked into the world of facebook games. HA! No really, I did. It's SO BAD! I've also not been on Twitter a lot recently . . . it's not that there's not a lot going on . . . More that I don't have too much to say. (As strange as that is. I usually have something to say about everything!)

So let me get you guys updated. I have missed spilling my guts here! (Have you missed my emotional word vomit?)

Hrmm . . . where to start.

Weight: It's gone UP! (No, that's not a happy exclamation point.) But I know why and the Pepsi can with the straw in it sitting on my desk is a huge reason why. Yea, I thought I'd beaten back the soda monster. But it's come back in a BIG way. Oddly enough . . . I don't like coke anymore. Pepsi . . . that's okay. I like that. It used to be reverse. Weird. Very very weird.

Work: Thank you guys so much for your kindness with my work vent post. Things are far better. I think I'm out from underneath the microscope. Or else Big Bossman over heard my threats to quit. I don't know. (Naaa . . . I don't think that's it.)

Friday before this past one I had a meeting with Bossman and Big Bossman to discuss the newspapers. (Did I relay this story already?) I was fully prepared to suggest we simply pull the papers from the internet and had reasons why it would be better than me copying them, cutting them out, then taping them to another sheet of paper. (There used to be more steps than that! But I cut those out several months ago.) Before I could open my pie hole BBM (Big Bossman) made the suggestion! I nearly fell out of my chair in shock!

Oh my goodness . . . it makes life SO MUCH easier now! YAY!! ***HAPPY DANCE***

My Italian: He went to the doctor a week ago last Thursday. His surgeon (who is fabulous!) declared his ankle completely fused and the stress fracture totally healed and released him back into physical therapy. For the past couple Saturday's we've been going to the pool where my Italian has been getting his work-outs in, a shorter version of them, and I've been swimming laps.

In therapy they've been working on getting him from the bed to the floor and back to the bed again. Getting out of bed is easy. He just rolls out . . . sorta. He rolls his legs out.

The past couple mornings I've woken up to him on his knees stretching his arms and back. To get him back into bed all I have to do is block his feet from sliding. No more lifting him into bed! YAY!! (Not that I was so much lifting him . . . all the time, but still. My back is happy.)

He is still spending a majority of the day in his wheel chair. But when he practices walking with his walker (did I tell you guys about this contraption? I'll have to get a picture, it shows it better than I can describe it.) he has his AFO on. His AFO is a plastic brace that goes under his foot and cups his ankle and calf. It gives his ankle support and helps prevent his knee from getting hyper-extended. (That's totally gross. Essentially he's now double jointed in his right side. ICK!!!)

On the job front for him, he had an interview today with a state agency he interned and worked part time for before our dear former Governor (now the Democratic National Chairman) cut funding to a lot of agencies. So while it's not guaranteed, he knows a lot of people who can put in a good word for him about his work ethic. And oy! Does he have a work ethic. He's a total ant. (While I'm the grasshopper.) BBM knows the commissioner of that department, so I gave him the name of the job my Italian interviewed for & maybe something positive will happen!  

Other stuff: Hrmm . . . what else is going on?

OOH!!

I'm so totally in countdown mode. A couple reasons.

A. (yes, I'm list making too.) BEACH!!! Every year my in-laws rent a beach house and invite my Italian and his siblings and their families to the beach for a week. This year is a little bit later. We're leaving for the beach on the 4th and staying through the following Sunday. I am SO looking forward to that. At the same time I have to prepare myself for all 7 of my neices and nephews running around like maniacs for a week. (I now know I only want 3. I'm done after 3!)

B.  WEDDING!! Ironically this ties in very well with the beach. The beginning of September my little brother, who is currently in the Army stationed in California, is coming back east to marry his girlfriend. AND THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED THE DAY BEFORE MY 30TH BIRTHDAY! NOT FAIR! MY MONTH! 
Okay, I'm done. Temper tantrum over. But really! September is my month! They're horning in on NOT ONLY my month, but a major milestone birthday! WTH!!! ***pout***
Okay, so I lied, I wasn't done . . . actually it's in half jest really. I'm thrilled for them. 

How does this tie into the beach? Weeeeeeellllll . . .

The house we're staying at is mere miles from where my lil Army bro and future sister in law will be getting married. My Italian and I are going to go and check out a restaurant that Baby Brother and his girlfriend recommended for the rehearsal dinner. (Once lil Army Bro gets married it'll be his turn!)

Lots going on here! Things are getting better all the way around.

Did I tell you all about my appointment with my endo? If I did awesome . . . If I didn't . . . Enough to say he looks like mini-giant and I LOVE him! I think I did . . . Or I wrote the post in my head.

Oy! If the posts in my head were actually magically posted, it's be insanity!

I've missed you all. Tell me what's going on? (I got SO behind in my reader that I finally just gave up and I feel really really guilty about it, but I was 7-800 blog posts behind. I was NEVER going to catch up!)

Spooky blogosphere

Seriously? I actually really enjoy reading other people's blogs. It's just really spooky when I've been mulling something over in my head and I read someone's blog (In this case Prior Fat Girl ) and they're reading my mind . . . er . . . writing my mind(?). 

I've been thinking a lot about work/life balance today. I took Monday off to celebrate Mom's birthday. It was a fabulous mental health day for me. But coming back to work was not so good. I am still completely buried under newspapers. I pushed my lunch back to 2 because I had to pick up lunches (during what would have been my lunch) for a meeting in the office. I ended up working through my lunch so that I could get all the newspapers through today done. (I did take a little bit of a break.) 

I'm not a top level management person. Quite the opposite. I'm the receptionist! Albeit, I do work in a small company. (8 . . . no 9 counting me) So we all do a little bit of everything. And everyone is really nice . . . except BBM (Big Bossman). He's been a little bit of an ass recently. Some of us are theorizing there's trouble in paradise. 

Usually when that happens we (the peons) get the brunt of it.

The company had been really good to me too, I'm just tired of the disrespect and rudeness. I don't know how everyone here has lasted so long. I'm the newbie at having been here 2 years. The person I replaced had been here 15 years or something crazy like that. The next newest person has been here 7 or 8 years. People come and they stay . . . despite the abuse!

I did have a purpose when I started this post . . . crap. It wasn't to complain about my job or BBM either. OH! Work/Life balance . . .

Now where was I going with that? Umm . . .

I have a pretty good work/life balance . . . except when I come back from taking time off work to live my life a little more, I seem to suffer for it.

That doesn't seem right!

An Open Letter to the Fashion Industry

Dear Fashion Industry,

Some of us will never be 28B's. Some of us are much larger! That doesn't mean we like wearing frumpy, ugly bras that are NOT cute.

We like cute bras! We want to wear cute bras!

OH! And charging us more? Totally not cool! Look mine came this way. I didn't have surgery and despite losing weight . . . they're getting bigger! (WTH!!)

Oh and same goes for shirts too!

Comprendes?

That is all.

Thxkbye!

And the envelope goes to . . .

YIKES!


Did I tell you guys that I had forgotten my health insurance card when I went to go see Dr. Mini-Giant, my endo? Yea, I did. And I forgot to send it in until 2 days later. 


Guess what came in the mail for me today! A bill for my labs! 


$982.00


What the freakin' heck! Sheesh! 


This makes me very thankful that I have incredible health insurance through my job. How can . . . hold on, I'm counting . . .  8 tests plus a drawing fee (really? I have to pay you for the pleasure of you jamming a needle in my arm and pulling out blood? MYEH!) equal out to that much! Seriously? 


Okay . . . ya know what? That's depressing! I'm not going to talk about that anymore. Except to say that I think I submitted my health insurance info to them correctly. At least I hope I did. We'll find out soon enough I guess.


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On to happier less ranting subjects . . . 


I wanted to say thanks for all of the e-mails and comments on my freak-out post. It made me feel significantly less crazy! 


I went up to Fred Vegas (Fredericksburg) on Monday and had a serious afternoon of "me" time. Went to Carl's (Massive disappointment! The ice cream tasted like cotton candy! I ate my entire jumbo cone, but it just wasn't that good! I think they changed the formula . . . or my taste buds have changed . . . mixture of the two?) then to Fredericksburg's greatest independent coffee shop; Hyperion. Really. If you're ever in F'burg and want coffee, skip Starbuck's and go to Princess Anne & William Street in downtown Fredericksburg and go to Hyperion. It's an awesome place. A great place to people watch or just sit with a book. 


I miss Fredericksburg sometimes!


Monday was mom's birthday so after Hyperion, I stopped at Wegman's to say hi to Dad before heading back down into Caroline to see Mom. 


We went out to dinner and I brought up my freak out from last week (see, there was a point to that bunny trail! I'm not totally random . . . just mostly! HA!) and she asked if Dr. Mini-Giant simply mentioned off-hand, observation like that my thyroid was enlarged. When I told her yes, then she said that's probably why it got filed away in the think about later folder and that it was probably nothing to be concerned about. 


We did a lot of thyroid and thyroid symptom discussion actually. It was really neat. I'm pretty sure my dad is hypothyroid because as we were discussing the symptoms, we began discussing Dad as well. Yep . . . he's got all the symptoms. 


So I've been applying gentle pressure to him to go get his checked. (It does run in his side of the family after all!!) 


He said he would when he went to the doctor next . . . He doesn't have an appt. ERGH! 


But as I am his daughter I totally get it too. (That's the frustrating thing!!)


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In happier news


Did I mention this already? My Italian went to his surgeon on Thursday. His ankle is completely healed and the surgery was a success! His ankle is fused! And the stress fracture in his foot is healed up as well. **happy dance** 


He's back on pool and land physical therapy and will remain in the boot until his foot quits swelling . . . which could be up to a year. 


(NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!)


But he's allowed to practice walking again with the rigged up walker and I'm going to get him to start doing sit-ups in bed to help strengthen his core again. (Which was weak to begin with, but has gotten weaker with lack of use/exercise)


OH! And if you haven't see  The Men Who Stare at Goats  . . . a definite must see. Totally funny. My Italian slept through it, I think he was tired though. He did have his first session of land PT in several months today. My poor baby was worn out!


And on that note, I've got a Rufus monster wanting attention and a husband who's zonked out despite computer screen light. So I'm gonna zonk out myself!


G'night!


(I've missed you guys! How have you been? I'm still playing catch up on my reader . . . HUGS!!!)

Freak-outs and Food

I SO desperately wanted to put up another blog post about 5 minutes after I posted yesterdays. But I held off thinking I'd do it that night. Hrmm . . . Nope!

Yesterday was NOT a good day. Anxiety filled would be the best description for it.

Why? Well Tuesday, Dr. Mini-Giant, felt my thyroid and told me my thyroid was enlarged. At the time I said okay and filed it away to think about later. Yea . . . That file didn't get re-opened until yesterday when I was re-reviewing my week.

So I thought I'd do a little research. Probably not the best idea. Or maybe it was . . . I'm still debating. Every page I went to did discuss an enlarged thyroid but then began talking about thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer.

I try not to think like a hypochondriac . . . but this completely and TOTALLY freaked me out. I mean I was naseous <---- I will NEVER learn to spell that word correctly!, anxious, and completely hyper-active. It was awful!

Normally, I can sit down and talk myself back into a sane reasonable state of mind. Yea . . . not so much yesterday. Even food didn't work! It actually made it worse!

I managed to get my work done and was completely exhausted and thought seriously about going home and skipping my work-out. I had g-chatted my Italian that, but he didn't respond. (The brat!!!) So I called him before I got in the car and he (initially) said it was my decision to make. No kidding!! I want your opinion though! I hate when he does that!! He convinced me to go to the gym.

I did a mediocre work out, but am glad I did it. It did help clear my head some . . . but it wasn't satisfying.

I'm thinking once this year is up, I'm going to let go of Curves and move to a "real" gym. I've found Curves to be great for getting me started back in the exercise routine, but . . . meh . . . Is that snotty of me to say?

Actually right now I'm loving riding my bike. It's freeing. Feeling the wind through my hair helmet. It's just a nice feeling.

I told my Italian about my freak-out when I got home (apparently he didn't get my g-chat message. BOO!!) and he asked why I didn't mention it when he asked me about my appointment on Tuesday. It was in my To-Think-About-Later file! That's why!!

(Yes, I'm having conversations with myself today.)

I've calmed down and decided I'm going to ignore that topic and leave it as a question on my list for my next visit or when he calls with my results. (I'm assuming he's going to call right?)

So that was my freak out yesterday.

I'm not even discussing eating right now. It's been pretty not good. The sad thing is . . . I've not been fully enjoying it either! Ugh!

I can't use the excuse that there's nothing in the apt that I can eat, because there is! I'm just being amazingly lazy about it all.

So tonight with my computer, grocery list and pen in hand I am going to sketch out a meal plan for myself for the week and what I need to do to prep each meal. Ideally most of it will get prepped on Sunday and then I will not have an excuse!

HARUMPH! Take that lazy butt!!

(Though Monday I am taking my Mom out to lunch for her birthday!)

More thyroid thoughts

My endo, Dr. Mini-Giant, mentioned that my thyroid felt enlarged. Which didn't bother me (or maybe register) until today.

So of course off I go, looking up and researching enlarged thyroids. (Mine isn't so big you can see it) Apparently the two causes are iodine deficiency or Hashimoto's Disease. *sigh* Which I forgot to ask about! Damn it!

Both are things I've wondered about and wanted to get checked out. In the US an iodine deficiency is rare because it's so plugged into our foods. But I'm not a big salt person . . . never have been.

Hashimoto's Disease is genetic. My "crazy uncle" is hypothyroid (but we're not going there. That's a story that I don't want to get into), so I know I came by it honestly. I have theories that my dad maybe too. So Hashi's is a definite possibility.

When I started doing research on enlarged thyroids, thyroid nodules also came up, as well as thyroid cancer.

Okay . . . I really don't want to be a hypochondriac, but this stuff is FREAKING ME OUT!

I still need to fax over my health insurance card to my endo's office and I'm anxiously awaiting my test results. I'm sure they won't come back for a week, but still . . .

I WANT THEM NOW!

Freak out much? Oy . . .

Okay . . .

It's lunch time . . . I'm hungary <---yes, I know that's misspelled.

I'm going to go to my car, get my insurance card and get some lunch.

Thanks for letting me freak out a little!

A hypo sort of day

Of course I ate like crap too, but today was truly a hypothyroid symptom filled day.

I don't want to complain . . . but oy! (And complaining is what I do on here . . . right?)

It took a lot of caffeine to keep me awake . . . get me fully awake! Who am I kidding?

I generally felt crappy all day. Of course the crap I was putting into my system didn't help.

Interesting note, I wasn't even finished my crap breakfast when I noticed my body complaining about it!

Did I stop and start eating healthy? HA! No. I seriously ate crappy all day . . . I think that had a lot to do with my flare up of hypothroid symptoms.

- fatigue
- lethargy
- inability to focus (oh wait, that's normal!)
- hair shedding
- achey muscles and joints
- tendonitis flare up (in my elbow of all places! That hasn't flared up since right after high school!)

So tomorrow I'm packing lots of yummy veggies and m.aking sure I have both bottles full of water.

Apparently my diet and the way my thyroid decides to function are connected. this was an interesting incidental . . . unplanned . . . accidental (that's the word) experiment. One I don't plan on performing again anytime soon.

OH!! I'm down to 202!! ***happy dance*** Confirmed at my endo's office yesterday :-)

On that happy note, I'm going to snuggle in between the sleeping meows and my sexy Italian!

Good night!

MIA Land

Hey!

I know, I disappeared again . . . But it's been good crazy busy! This weekend was full of fabulous food (Greek Festival and Broad Appetit), fantastic friends, family, and OMG I'M GOING TO MELT sun and heat!
Oy vey! It was hot! this weekend!!!
My Italian's horseback therapy was even canceled! He had already planned on not going, so it was nice to hear that they were canceling class as well.

I got the message that they were canceling while I was on my way to Broad Appetit with friends.


Essentially it's a several block long food festival! Restaurants from around the Richmond area came and did samplings of food for $3. I picked up some Pork terderloin w/ fruit chutney from . . . I forget now. Dang it. But it was very good!

Then I went over to Urban Farmhouse and got some of their organic strawberries in a honey yogurt.
Seriously? the picture doesn't do it justice. I almost licked the plate when I was done. Come to think of it . . . I think I did lick the plate. SO INCREDIBLE! Definitely something I'm going to make at home. Strawberries and yogurt with a good amount of honey mixed in. Hrmm . . . it's the perfect dessert. Doesn't stand up in heat too well though. You can see it was already starting to melt some.

After that we went back to the Greek Festival. My Italian and I had been there on Saturday, as had my friends, but we went back because I dropped my Italian off and went to see my cousin who lives a block away. My aunt, her husband, my cousin's brother and his family were there and since I don't see my other cousin and his family very often (his wife was one of my bridesmaids) I wanted to go see them. By the time we got back to the Greek Festival, my Italian was overheated and cranky. So we went home. I hadn't gotten my gyro! grrrrrr!!

My Italian stayed home Sunday because of the heat. So I went with my friends, after Broad Appetit to the Greek Festival and promptly got in line for a gyro. YUM! Oh I can't wait for November when they have the mini-Greek festival. Or I just need to find a good Greek restaurant in Richmond.

Anyone know of a good Greek restaurant around here??

We looked at the market they had. Lots of really pretty . . . expensive . . . stuff. I then stopped for some lo . . . loli . . . crap! What were they called? Anyway. It was blobs of dough fried then heated up in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. YUM! So good.

Needless to say . . . I indulged myself with food this weekend. Lots of food, not so much intentional exercise. I did walk . . . 2 laps around Broad Appetit and lots of walking around the Greek Festival.

After the Greek Festival we were all roasting and feeling ickie. So we stopped at by their house so they could pick up their suits and we returned to our apartment to play in the pool.

Does this make sense to anyone else? It's blistering hot outside and where do we jump in first?

The Hot Tub!

It made perfect sense at the time. Thinking about it now? I'm scratching my head going . . . huh?

Eh . . .

We jumped in the pool next then back in the hot tub . . . just in time for it to start to rain! ERGH!

Once the rain let up, a rainbow showed up. I tried to get a picture of it, but the phone on my camera couldn't grab it. :-(

Back to the apartment we went. Dinner was chicken, quinoa, and a bag of steamer veggies. The guys had the rest of the neopolitan ice cream (the strawberry. I ate all the chocolate and vanilla) and I made Michelle and I some blackberry sorbet . . . at least that's what I'm calling it. I blended frozen blackberries and added a packet of Truvia.

So good! It's also good for killing the ice cream/milkshake cravings I get. That was a bizarre discovery. But good to know.

They went home and my Italian and I collapsed into bed. (After we got the kitchen sorta cleaned up and I packed my bag for the abs class the next day.)

I worked through my lunch Monday and got to Curves about 4:30 for their 5 abs class. So I went ahead and did my work out, then the class started just as I finished the last machine of the circuit. So I got a nice hour long work-out in on Monday, came home, fed my Italian and went for a 30 minute bike ride on my new-to-me road bike!

It was my Grandpa's bike and was just a hair to big for me. Since I was meeting Michelle to go riding yesterday, I wanted to get a short ride in on my own to get used to the way it handled and be somewhat comfortable on it. I rode for about 30 minutes (It took me 15 to get the tire pumped up . . . figuring out a new pump is a bitch!) then came home and pooped out.

Yesterday my Italian was at his parent's house for dinner so I picked up a salad from WaWa and ate that while changing to go riding.

We ride out at WestCreek parkway. It's a 6 mile loop that has a hill that has kicked my butt! I made it up this time! **happy dance** We ended up riding 8 miles and my legs were jello (!) afterwards.

OH! I had my appointment with my new endocrinologist, Dr. Wigand!!

I LOVE HIM!

The person who recommended him to me told me that he was larger than life personality wise. She wasn't kidding!

He sorta reminded me of a small giant. My guess is that he is 6 ft (tops) tall. But he has HUGE features and a large (loud) voice. But honestly, the nicest guy. And he talked to me like I knew what he was talking about! He listened to my concerns and addressed them.

I think he and I will do just fine. He took some blood and is testing my thyroid, adrenals, and glucose sensitivity (that's not how he phrased it, but I forget what he called it).

OH! But genius of geniuses . . . I forgot my health insurance card! ARGH! So I told them I would fax it to them when I got to work. Guess what I realized I hadn't done on my way home from work . . .

yea. Didn't fax it. In fact, I still haven't faxed it. Probably should get on that. Ergh . . .

That's pretty much about it . . . after I got back from riding last night I vacuumed and again collapsed into bed. Would you believe me if I told you that getting up for work this morning was REALLY hard? (It was!)

Okay, back to work and sending my health insurance card off. (I can't afford those tests! Yeep! I don't even want to think what the visit costs!)

Play vs. Exercise

I HATE running. I really want to like it, but I just can't seem to get into it. Albeit (<-- I've been wondering . . . is that really a word?) I did play soccer for 10 years, still was never good at running, nor did I enjoy it.  

How did I do that? I played fullback! Though I did play some midfield but I usually hung back some.

See . . . I wasn't always a couch pa-tater! Just after my sophmore year in high school. I quit marching band (yes, I was a band geek) and soccer (everyone started taking it WAY too seriously!).

I've never been one to take sports or that sort of thing too terribly serious. So when I stop and look at my attempts to exercise recently, I'm struck by this one fact.

I'm being WAY TOO serious about this!

Life is supposed to be fun right? You're supposed to enjoy living.

I mean the shortened version of the Westminster Catechism (Or is it the Westminster Confession . . . I don't recall) is To Love God and Enjoy Him Forever

Frankly . . . I think people are taking this eggz-er-ma-size thing waay to seriously.

Eeeehhh . . . Let me take that back. I've been taking this eggz-er-ma-size thing way too seriously. I always say that mentally I'm about "dis minee." And I'm usually holding up between 3 and 5 fingers.

Kids don't exercise at that age. Not on purpose! They play! So that's going to be my concentration for the next week. To play more! I don't know what that looks like . . . I'm still figuring that out.

Actually I lied. Playing = Doing stuff you enjoy! What do I like doing? Hiking, biking, swimming (eh . . . I don't know . . . maybe?), climbing (where in the world am I going to go climbing? Do I really like climbing? I'm afraid of heights!).

What got me started thinking on this was continuing to research and look more into the paleo lifestyle, not just the diet. I found this article. The Definitive Guide to Play from Mark's Daily Apple

No, I haven't drank the kool-aid yet. (They didn't have kool-aid. What would be . . . ya know what? I don't even want to think about it! ICK!)

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not abandoning the things I've been doing. I'm not quitting Curves (frankly I enjoy that) and Jillian will continue to torture me. Though I still haven't gotten the nerve to attempt her Yoga Meltdown.

How do you like to play?

Dad Update

Did you drink your water today? I did far better today than I have been. Thanks Dad! Next time can you not do motivation that way please! I didn't sleep well last night because I was worried about you!


I called Mom about 3 or 4 today and she said she had just gotten home. Dad was with her! Dad is home now! WHOOT! He has to wear a heart monitor for the next month and he's going to continue to drink water and have a bottle with him at work.

He said the water went straight through him so he figured he was hydrated enough. I advised him to keep on keepin' on. His body wasn't used to being fully hydrated and it will take some time, but the water will eventually quit going straight through.

The doctor suggested he go on a Mediterranean Diet. (YUM!) So Dad picked up a cookbook on the way home (Mom dropped him off at work where his car was and he drove himself the rest of the way home).  I'm going to do some research myself and see what I find.

I am SO GLAD he's home. Maybe I'll get to sleep at a decent hour tonight?

More Reason to Get Healthy & Stay Hydrated

I got a call from Mom today about my Dad. He was taken from work to the hospital in the rescue squad.

Several years ago he had a pulminary embolism and was hospitalized. He had a blood clot in his lungs and had to have his gall bladder removed. (I know, WAY TMI, but there is a point)

He was at work today and started feeling dizzy, light-headed, and weak. Because of his medical history, he was a little worried. They called the rescue squad and took him to the hospital. An EMT used Dad's phone and called Mom. She said who she was, that Dad was conscious (did he lose consciousness?) and then handed the phone to Dad.

They took him to the hospital and put him on a saline IV. He improved and felt better as time went on. They're keeping him overnight for observation and Mom should be able to pick him up tomorrow. Mom and I are thinking it was dehydration

*sigh* Bad DAD!! BAD!!

I'm getting him a couple water bottles for Father's Day. With a note instructing him to drink both of them completely gone daily! (I DO NOT want to hear about that happening to him again!)


Apparently he's also eating all of the grain and gluten enough for both he and I! (grrr!) I won't go so TMI and tell you what he had for breakfast, but lets just say . . . it was all bread/grain related.

But I've been thinking about Dad and this situation since I got off the phone with Mom.

I've been slacking on my water intake recently. Pretty badly. So back to water I go!

In addition to that . . . I am my father's daughter! Almost to a fault. So remembering and thinking back to his gall bladder surgery and health problems reminds me of just one more reason I am in this weight loss and get healthy mode.

Dad, I'm sure is doing fine and it was just serious dehydration. I'm SO going up there this weekend to lecture him!!

So . . . go drink your water and then drink some more!

(I . . . am going to bed.)

Food & the Great Pantry Clean-Out

Tonight is looking like it's going to be a kitchen night for me. When we went to the grocery a couple weeks ago we picked up 5 lbs of hamburger meat for my Italian and his (ick!) Hamburger Helper. Well . . . instead of separating it into 1 lb chunks, like I was supposed to, I put all 5 lbs in the freezer.

So you're not supposed to re-freeze meat after it's been thawed (not that I haven't done it before with no problems . . . but that's another story for another day) I am going to make up 5 boxes of Hamburger Helper tonight!

YAY!

Can you sense the sarcasm? Is it thick enough for you?

I'm also going to put my new toy to work . . . (details to follow in a later post). SO EXCITED!

I haven't figured out what's for dinner for me, but my Italian is having some form of Hamburger Helper. I think we have 5 HH, if not, I'm tossing some black beans in a pot to soak and tomorrow night he's having black beans and hamburger meat over rice or quinoa. Maybe I'll toss in some diced tomatoes with it. That sounds yummy to me!

OH! I should have taken a picture of what I made him for dinner last night! Lasagnia noodles and lentils. Over that was a can of black beans and marinara sauce. He said it was good! It was too much so he had some for lunch today and (if he didn't finish it today, which I doubt he did) he'll have it for lunch tomorrow!

Why is he eating such funky conctions? We're playing clean out the pantry of stuff Em isn't eating anymore but got tons of when she was eating it! Ideally I'd like . . . to remember what it is I was going to say . . .

I hate when I do that! I start to write something but someone/thing (like doing actual work at work. HA! What a concept!) distracts me and when I come back to it . . . I don't remember what I was going to say!)

OH! Wait! I do remember! Ideally, I'd like for us to eat our pantry empty, as well as our fridge and freezer.

Why?

I don't know. It's a good thing to do every once in a while, me thinks! We're all out of Jello Pudding and just have two boxes of watermelon jello left.

Yes, I ate all the remaining boxes of Jello pudding by myself. Which if you don't like vanilla and that's all you have, adding a little bit of unsweetened cocoa to makes it taste (and look) like chocolate! Total YUM!!

That's my evil plan right now . . . hopefully it will work!

Anybody wanna come over for dinner?

My Own Language & Next Challenge

I realized my last post was a little disjointed . . . let me translate.

Fundage = money

Umm . . . was there anything else that wasn't quite English? Eeeehh . . .

Oh! Un-rendered lard:

Pig fat. The farmer's market vendor, Faith Farms , does all grass fed animals. Even pigs!

Kohlrabi!! That's what it was called! The funky vegetable I was trying to talk about.

This website is where I found the picture and they have what looks like a yummy recipe for it too!! I'm going to have to try it out. If you find kohlrabi at your farmer's market . . . Go for it! It's really yummy . . . raw. I've not tried it cooked yet. That's my next thing . . . (okay that lack of verbage I'm blaming on it being late at night).


I'm going to attempt the hard-core 30 Day Paleo again. I fell off pretty hard.

I came across a blog of a Toronto reporter who did Paleo for 30 days. It was a really interesting read and I learned quite a bit from it. I think now, I might be a little more determined to actually succeed this time. (It helps to not have any cheat days planned.)

Though lunch still has me scratching my head. I guess I need to hard boil a bunch of eggs and take that for lunch with some veggies.

Well . . . I do have to make 4 or 5 hamburger helpers for the hubby tomorrow. (I forgot to separate 5 lbs of hamburger meat before freezing it. So now I have to make it all at once.) So I'll cut up some veggies and hard boil 1/2 of the dozen eggs I have.

Okay . . . it really is late now. I'm off to bed!

Weight . . . up a pound . . . ergh . . . but I know why. **le sigh**

#100!!

YAY!! My 100th blog post! WOOHOO!! 

Sorry, that's it. Nothing spectacular. Yes . . . I know . . . How boring. Stop yawning! You're making me yawn!! 

Eh . . .

So tell me . . . How was your Memorial Day weekend?

Mine? FABULOUS!

Saturday, Julie and I got together for lunch and then spent the day knitting. It was fantastic! We discussed food (my favorite subject), nutrition, blogs . . . OH! Which reminds me! You must go check out her new blog! She's making all her own clothes for a year! That's all I'm going to say about it, so you have to go over there and read it.

Speaking of Saturday (yes, I'm a little ADD today) I FINALLY got to the Farmer's Market with cash in hand! I picked up a dozen eggs, unrendered lard (which I'm going to render tomorrow while I'm at work), beets, radishes and some kobuchi (that may not be right). It's a funky looking vegetable that (I think) is in the cabbage family. It's REALLY good!!

Then I ran out of fundage. But never fear! I picked up lots of fish at the grocery on Friday when my Italian and I went grocery shopping. So it's going to be a seafood & veggie week for this girl this week. I'm hoping to pick up a Cow's heart and some bacon at the Farmer's Market next week. I'm really excited about the cow heart. That should be a fun adventure to try to cook up. I miss bacon too. I can't wait to pick up some pastured bacon!

Other than that . . . I gorged myself on Sunday at my in-laws annual Memorial Day picnic . . . and then felt ugh later. Food over-load. Junk food overload!

But! I did get to hold the cutest lil baby! It was so much fun and he look JUST like his dad!

Okay, my wrist is now screaming at me and I've got a pile of work to do!

Sorry for the disjointed, ADD blog post today. (Can you tell I forgot to take my meds this morning? LOL!!)