28 March 2012
26 March 2012
Keep Truckin'
Just like Rome I need to keep in mind that my habits weren't created in a day but rather over a period of time. I think Einstein defined insanity as-doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. According to him I've been nutty for a decade. Ten years ago Samantha was turning three, Emma was seven months and I was exhausted. Now, with no excuses to be had I've come to terms that 'if it is to be-it is up to me'! Get ir' done.
25 March 2012
Perspective
Patience is not my greatest virtue. Growing older I've acquired some through necessity-- potty training, temper tantrums, differences of opinion. These past few months I've wondered if my actions would bring any beneficial results. Today I bought two pair of shorts from Old Navy. Pretty generic statement. The realization though is that I wasn't shopping in the 'big girl' store. Yeehaw! Down a size. Staying with the visuals- I'm flipping the coin-but I already know what I'm hoping for.
Agree to...
21 Mar 2012
If I were gainfully employed I am almost certain this would be printed in color, laminated, and pinned for all to see!
If I were gainfully employed I am almost certain this would be printed in color, laminated, and pinned for all to see!
From a Distance
19 Mar 2012
I have an old acquaintance from whom I learned a lot during a period when the path to the future was not always a straight one. 'Composure' was her favorite word for me and looking back it was very appropriate. A few years passed and our courses diverged but I will never forget learning from her and trying to live up to a higher standard. The next few posts will be 'jacked' from her fb page as she still inspires me from a distance.
I have an old acquaintance from whom I learned a lot during a period when the path to the future was not always a straight one. 'Composure' was her favorite word for me and looking back it was very appropriate. A few years passed and our courses diverged but I will never forget learning from her and trying to live up to a higher standard. The next few posts will be 'jacked' from her fb page as she still inspires me from a distance.
18 March 2012
16 March 2012
80's on Eight
Day two of The Detox. Took caffeine only-both days. So far, so good.
15 March 2012
Spring Cleaning
Though the official start of Spring is a few days away, spring and summer-like temperatures have invaded our days. The front door is wide open and the windows are mostly clean. A little more Windex wouldn't hurt. It's also the first day of another spring cleaning- detoxing from diet soda. Research reveals that I'm not the only addict! I've found a few tips out on the world wide web (http://www.livestrong.com/article/230229-how-to-detox-from-diet-coke) that others have followed... plus some of my own.
1. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars, saturated fats and artificial sweeteners.
--Most of these I have left behind or never used- except for the 'refined sugars'. How does one bake without sugar? Hmmmm. That one will mostly likely have to stay and be used in moderation.
2. Use healthy sweeteners--raw (unpasteurized) honey, organic maple syrup, or stevia to sweeten your food, and use these in moderation to avoid a spike in blood sugar.
--This I can do. Maybe I can bake with these substitutions.
3. Eat plenty of fiber from brown rice and fresh fruits and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying foods. Also supplement with vitamin C.
--Fruits I can do but where do I find seaweed in the heartland of the country?
4. Drink lemon water daily. It enhances liver function and provides the antioxidant vitamin C. Also, drink adequate amounts of water to help restore pH balance. Sip half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
--The lemon water has been incorporated but drinking half my body weight in ounces of water-not so much. Right now- that's a lot of water!
5. Just don't buy it.
--For the past few weeks I had only been drinking soda fountain drinks. I bought a case of it the last trip to the store which put me back on the path of imbibing too much. Knowing I was starting this process today I bypassed it yesterday at Sam's. My mom even noticed it by mentioning that I never not buy Diet Coke at the store. That's pretty bad.
6. Change of routine.
--This is major for me. In the past when I drove the girls to school in the morning I would stop at the gas station between drops and get 'my fix'. I would then come home and surf the web while drinking my soda. Now that the girls are peddling their way to school I stay home...
7. Cost
--As with EVERYTHING else the price of a soda case keeps increasing. I'm adding the savings to the 'frugal side of life'. At @$6 a case, at one a week, is a savings of $312- and if I were to include fountain drinks- I'm estimating a savings of $500 a year. Holy crap!
8. Drug Therapy
--In no way could I actually do this 'cold turkey'. The plan (so far) is to ingest caffeine in the form of a pill after eating breakfast and taking a combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen throughout the day, eventually backing off when the blood vessels in my head are no longer constricting.
9. Music
--As Yoda would say, 'weird one, this is'. A channel we are now getting for free shows music videos from the 1980's era at eight o'clock every night, which sends me nostalgically back to a time when I didn't drink soda like it was water. I actually drank water. That's not to say I didn't drink soda- I just didn't have it with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
10. Body Functions
--I believe, through personal observation, that soda prohibits the body to function at its optimal prime. I'm sure there is a plethora of research to back me on this one, but I don't need it, I know it. With the onset of aging I need all those body parts to function as prescribed.
1. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars, saturated fats and artificial sweeteners.
--Most of these I have left behind or never used- except for the 'refined sugars'. How does one bake without sugar? Hmmmm. That one will mostly likely have to stay and be used in moderation.
2. Use healthy sweeteners--raw (unpasteurized) honey, organic maple syrup, or stevia to sweeten your food, and use these in moderation to avoid a spike in blood sugar.
--This I can do. Maybe I can bake with these substitutions.
3. Eat plenty of fiber from brown rice and fresh fruits and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying foods. Also supplement with vitamin C.
--Fruits I can do but where do I find seaweed in the heartland of the country?
4. Drink lemon water daily. It enhances liver function and provides the antioxidant vitamin C. Also, drink adequate amounts of water to help restore pH balance. Sip half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
--The lemon water has been incorporated but drinking half my body weight in ounces of water-not so much. Right now- that's a lot of water!
5. Just don't buy it.
--For the past few weeks I had only been drinking soda fountain drinks. I bought a case of it the last trip to the store which put me back on the path of imbibing too much. Knowing I was starting this process today I bypassed it yesterday at Sam's. My mom even noticed it by mentioning that I never not buy Diet Coke at the store. That's pretty bad.
6. Change of routine.
--This is major for me. In the past when I drove the girls to school in the morning I would stop at the gas station between drops and get 'my fix'. I would then come home and surf the web while drinking my soda. Now that the girls are peddling their way to school I stay home...
7. Cost
--As with EVERYTHING else the price of a soda case keeps increasing. I'm adding the savings to the 'frugal side of life'. At @$6 a case, at one a week, is a savings of $312- and if I were to include fountain drinks- I'm estimating a savings of $500 a year. Holy crap!
8. Drug Therapy
--In no way could I actually do this 'cold turkey'. The plan (so far) is to ingest caffeine in the form of a pill after eating breakfast and taking a combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen throughout the day, eventually backing off when the blood vessels in my head are no longer constricting.
9. Music
--As Yoda would say, 'weird one, this is'. A channel we are now getting for free shows music videos from the 1980's era at eight o'clock every night, which sends me nostalgically back to a time when I didn't drink soda like it was water. I actually drank water. That's not to say I didn't drink soda- I just didn't have it with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
10. Body Functions
--I believe, through personal observation, that soda prohibits the body to function at its optimal prime. I'm sure there is a plethora of research to back me on this one, but I don't need it, I know it. With the onset of aging I need all those body parts to function as prescribed.
14 March 2012
Just Say No
Up to this point, the two habits that I successfully quit, one permanent and one for Lent, was done cold turkey. I've come to the conclusion that diet soda will have to go the same way. Awhile back I posted about having visuals to help in my quest. I found this one to help in this mission. So if you say hi to me in the next few days (or so) and you get nothing but a pained stare in return- keep talking-eventually my brain will engage and words will come out.
13 March 2012
Life is Good
I've always been goal oriented. Keeps me going to see a finish line- in one form or another. 'When I saw this 'saying' I could feel the light bulb come on. My entire life has consisted of finishing one project to start another. While I will keep moving forward towards a goal I will also keep moving the finish line forward until good habits and exercise become ingrained and the need to 'finish' evaporates. No starting over.
Update on the frugal side of life: I cut both satellite television and satellite radio. When the account representatives asked for a reason why- I said 'no'-as in no they can't ask why I no longer want to pay for services I can and am now getting for free. :-) I also stopped in Goodwill today and bought a pair of Capris for $4.95 with the Kohl's tag still attached.
12 March 2012
11 March 2012
Doubtful. I will run that mile though, just to cover my bases. Since I don't buy cookies from the grocery store I have either worked hard to produce them or taken the time to order them from sweet little girls doing their best to peddle their wares. Either way, cookies are going through the pie hole and down the gullet. I'll just do my best not to eat too many at any given time.
10 March 2012
09 March 2012
Perceptions
Another thirty on the treadmill today and towards the end I'm pretty sure I looked like the toddler in the raincoat! Which, in the end, is o.k. Throughout my forty-three years I have felt it all- awkward, clumsy, graceful, coordinated, powerful, powerless (i.e. when you let go of a pitch and instantly want it back as you watch it go over the outfield fence). Those feelings depended on what I was doing at the time. In the end, perseverance wins out over perception every time. I'm not afraid to look foolish when the goal is worth the effort.
08 March 2012
A Number of Things...
Today I did- a lot! I ran 30 continuous minutes on the treadmill for a total of 45 minutes (walked five before and ten after). Today's running goal was twenty three minutes and I was still breathing easy when it came and went so I pushed for the next minute, then the next - the same way I eat Girl Scout cookies- just one more until... March goal achieved. Time to raise the bar and the leave the cookies in the bag.
Not many days of winter left until Spring which then will give way to Summer, bathing suits and temperatures when just by going outside will make you sweat and then we'll be wishing for Fall. What a circle....just like cookies.
07 March 2012
Exercise Finder05 March 2012
Worthy
This is particularly apropos for today. My oldest child wanted her hair braided this morning in a specific fashion. Not only is this child exacting about her hair she has an abundance of it. After two starts I managed to finish only to find her in a ponytail five minutes later. I told her she owed me fifteen minutes of my life that I will never get back! :-) I have been thinking lately- about sixty minute increments. During the past year the numerous doctor appointments have been one hour in length. Grocery shopping takes an hour (if I'm not strolling) and most athletic events are the same. Today I ran nineteen continuous minutes for a total of thirty minutes and then stretched and worked abs- for a total-you guessed it- sixty minutes. I think the swap is worth it.
04 March 2012
03 March 2012
A Brave New World
A very interesting and unique way of gardening. Lately I've been fixated on returning to the ways of those who have gone before me. I've been searching for homemade concoctions to use in the domestic engineering profession! :-) I've found a number of cleaning recipes and decided to incorporate them into daily use one at a time. Each mixture must pass a litmus test of 1. requires minimal time to prepare 2. works as predicted and 3. saves money. In addition to that I've been studying the art of canning. Annually, my dad cultivates a garden and each year my intention to store the produce for the winter wanes as the summer temperatures increases. This year my goal is to can and freeze enough vegetables to sustain the family during the off-season. Tonight I rented Hugo from a Redbox for a $1.25. We bought movie theater popcorn for $3.50 and two sodas from the gas station for $1.71-all for less than the price of one ticket. This preoccupation of saving money stems from the increase of prices across the board, except of course the income side. While I'm not giving up all the creature comforts of the 21st century we are learning to adjust. The next extraneous outlay to be cut--satellite radio--a savings of $165.
01 March 2012
Just Remember
I did move tonight. Normally I exercise while the girls are in school. Unable to do so today I ran tonight- outside my normal zone. During the run I felt weighted. Most other times I would have stopped and walk out my thirty minutes. Tonight my mental game was stronger than my physical one and I was able to add an extra minute to my run.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)