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The TRUTH About Motherhood

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  • How to Eat Take Out food and Stay Healthy

    How to Eat Take Out food and Stay Healthy

    How to eat take out and stay healthy? That is the million-dollar question. We all know that fast food is cheap, convenient and if you’re hungry enough, almost anything tastes good. Unfortunately, eating take out fast food can pack enough calories, sodium, and fat for an entire day or more in one meal. Eating fast food on a regular basis can cause all kinds of health problems but the price and turn around time make it hard to resist. So why not make better choices?

    I’m a busy mom and I love to eat fresh fruits and veggies and home cooked meals as often as possible but on those days when I have lots of work deadlines and the girls have school and dance and whatever else happens to pop up on any given day, on those days, I need help. I need take out, preferably delivered to my door and not loaded with enough calories to feed a baby elephant.

    Moderation is the key. Finding a healthy, well-balanced meal in most restaurants can be a challenge, but there are always choices you can make that are healthier than others. Learn to make healthier choices when ordering

    Prepare ahead by checking guides that show you the nutritional content of meal choices at your favorite restaurants. I love Fitness pal and Dotti’s food score because then I can plan my meal before ordering. If I plan early enough, I can make sure that my entire day stays on track.

    Tips for making healthy choices when ordering take out.

    • Make careful menu selections – pay attention to the descriptions on the menu. Dishes labeled deep-fried, pan-fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped, Alfredo, au gratin, or in cream sauce are usually high in calories, unhealthy fats, or sodium. Skip the fat by asking for your food to be grilled, steamed or broiled instead of sautéed or fried and request that your food be cooked “dry” which means no oil or butter.
    • Order items with more vegetables and choose leaner meats.
    • Drink water with your meal. Skip the pop. It’s just a bunch of empty calories. Instead order water with lemon or unsweetened iced tea.
    • “Undress” your food. When choosing items, be aware of calories and fat-packed salad dressings, spreads, cheese, sour cream, etc. Ask for all condiments, special sauces and dressings on the side.
    • Special order. Many menu items would be healthy if it weren’t for the way they were prepared. Ask for your vegetables and main dishes to be served without the sauces. Ask for olive oil and vinegar for your salads or order the dressing “on the side” and spoon only a small amount on at a time. Ask that they be cooked in the healthier option.
    • Eat mind fully. Pay attention to what you eat and slow down. Have a side salad before you eat your main course. Chew your food. I’ve always had a bad habit of eating on the run or waiting until I am starving and then overeating. It takes time for your body to register that you have eaten. Stop eating before you feel like you are going to explode from all of that lasagna.
    • Always order food your way. Order smaller lunch sized portions, avoid salt and don’t add bacon to your order. Order food with no salt and no sauce. Get it on the side and then ration as needed.

    What are your best tips for eating take out and staying healthy?

     

    Photo Josh Mazgelis

    Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by EatNow but all opinions are my own.

  • The Soundtrack of My Life ; Audio Fest is Happening at Best Buy!

    The Soundtrack of My Life ; Audio Fest is Happening at Best Buy!

    Ever wonder what the soundtrack of your life would sound like played out loud in stereo?

    Recently, I had the opportunity to work with Best Buy and review a JBL Flip Portable Stereo Speaker that works with most bluetooth-enabled devices. This JBL streams music wirelessly from your phone/tablet/laptop, its portable and has a speaker-phone, built-in microphone and call-answer button that lets you easily take phone calls. It is about the size of a Coke can but packs the speaker punch of what my full size boom box used to; all the sound with none of the bulkiness.

    I was born in the 70’s to parents who defined who they were by the music they listened to. My earliest memories are of my mom singing the Mama’s and Papa’s to me as a very young toddler. Fond memories of my dad strumming his guitar and singing Johnny Cash are part of the soundtrack of my life. Music has always been an integral part of who I am.

    My formative years happened in the 80’s. I remember from the time I was old enough to earn an allowance, every single cent of it went towards buying cassette tapes, compact discs and concert tickets. I remember begging my parents for extra chores or to let me babysit so that I could earn some extra money. Every penny went towards music; buying blank cassettes or the biggest boom box that I could find.

    Music was an obsession. It was my comfort and refuge as a teen. If I was at the beach with friends, at the park with family or even taking a bath, my boom box was with me playing the soundtrack of my life. No matter what was going on in my life, I needed music to be playing in the background. Music was and is something I need in my life, at all times.

    When I was in high school, music was my escape. In college, it defined me. There was a perfect song for everything I was feeling and experiencing. First loves, first heartbreaks, first taste of freedom, facing challenges, meeting the man I was going to marry and growing into the woman I would become. There was a song to fit each one. A song that , to this day, transports me back to that moment in time.

    In those early days of marriage and motherhood, music was my constant companion. It lulled me to sleep when my husband traveled for work. I sang it to my pregnant belly while swaying and decorating the nursery. There has been a playlist for every major event in out life. I played music while we played and grew from a couple into a family.

    Music plays and invokes feelings and memories. Songs are for my ears what photos are for my eyes, the keeper of our memories. Now, I share music with my girls. I have shared that love. We sing songs together in the car. We dedicate songs to one another. Music says the things our heart wants to say.

    I want music playing with me at all times. A boom box doesn’t really seem like the best option in today’s world of technological advancement in which everything has gotten smaller and more portable. That’s one of the reasons that my JBL Flip Portable Stereo Speaker makes so much sense. It is compact and easily to take anywhere I go. Now, I can have music playing in the background at all times, just like I’ve always wanted it to be. I’ve had it for less than a week and it’s already been used to lull kids to sleep, keep me dancing while I cooked dinner, accompany me while I sung in the shower and was the official Frozen Soundtrack player at my daughter’s birthday party. I am in love with it. Honestly and truly in love with it.

    Beginning on March 2nd through April 4, 2014, Best Buy will be hosting March Audio Fest. It will feature one month of fabulous deals on every audio product your heart and ears could ever desire.

    We’ve made a lot of our big audio purchases at Best Buy because I like being able to test and try out the products before I buy them. I like to know how loud my speakers are going to sound, how true to life my surround sound is going to feel and just how much noise can my headphones reduce? Who wouldn’t want to try before they buy? It’s being a smart consumer.

    This week’s deals are as follows:

    2x points on Sonos Home Theater

    All AVRs on Sale

    All iPod touch on sale

    Save $80 on Samsung Blu-ray/Soundbar Bundle

    soundtrack, life, Best Buy , Audio fest

    Disclaimer: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

    If you making the playlist for the soundtrack of your life, what would you include on the list?

     

    Photo

  • Don’t get your panties in a bunch

    So, Gabs has decided that she is going to take me on a fast train ride to Crazy town! You heard me right folks. My 3 year old is behind the wheel and has the gas pedal pressed through the floorboard.
    Lately, every single time I …wait a freaking minute, every single time I try to put a stitch of clothing on my child she goes completely berserk on me ( sorry, temporary relapse of Mommy brain). Son of a bitch, I have a little nudist on my hands. Shit, I was really getting worried. I thought maybe we were having some sensitivity issues. But I digress, every single time I put socks , shoes, jeans or undies on my 3 year old, she adamantly vehemently  violently refuses. Today ,for instance, Gabs decides she wanted to put on new panties ( for absolutely no reason at all. I normally argue but it wasn’t worth the battle today). Ok, I’m game. Let’s do it. After sifting through a menagerie of panties, she settled upon a pair of Fancy Nancy panties. Promptly upon putting them on her person, she began to SCREAM, cry, and stomp her foot. I was a little annoyed and asked her what was wrong. Annoyed because we had already wasted 20 minutes ( at dinner time) sifting through unnecessary panties. Me: ” Gabs, what’s wrong?” Gabs:” Me NO Like these panties!!!!!” ( as she stomps her foot and subsequently resumes her screaming, unintelligible tirade on the awfulness of said panties). Me: (trying to remain calm..wanting to shoot myself) ” Why? What’s wrong with those panties?” You love Fancy Nancy!” Gabs: ” Well….me NO LIKE! Them keep moving from side to side.” Me:  “O……..K…… ( I am speechless), let’s just take them off and find some other ones.” Gabs:( in absolute complete hysterics) ” NO!!! You NOT MY MOMMY!” ( and she puts her head down and looks up  at me like she literally wanted to stomp me..opposed to the floor who is my poor substitute.) I remove the panties out of the equation. She runs off to her bedroom, bare assed,  and repeats for about 15 minutes straight ( at the top of her lungs) “YOU not my Mommy! Me no Like YOU!”  ( Oh yeah? Well, you’re not winning any prizes over here either) and that is where she stayed, until she realized I wasn’t following her and begging for forgiveness. Then you hear a very sweet and quiet, “Mommy…me Love you!” Choo, CHoo, All Aboard!!! You hear that train bound for Crazy town? It’s building steam. Did I mention, we had the exact same episode earlier today..just swap out  panties for socks.Hey, I think this kids been to Crazy town before. In fact, I think she may be the president of Crazy town!
    Apparently,  socks, too, can be a life threatening affliction if not worn in just the right manner. What a terrible Mom I am. And don’t get me started on tags! Holy shit Batman, if I have to cut the tag out of one more piece of clothing for this kid. Yes, I am convinced seeing it in writing…she is a nudist!

  • If you’ve haven’t used in in two seasons…throw it out !

    I’ve been watching a lot of Real Housewives lately..don’t know why. Maybe to annoy myself, maybe I’m bored, maybe its just so rainy and crappy out there’s nothing else to do but I did happen across a very important life lesson the other day. “If you’ve not used it/needed it in 2 seasons..throw it out!” So, I am going through purging my life of needless things today. Clothing, dishes, nick knacks, toys ( oh yeah even some of the kids stuff..some of the tough love feedback from last weeks post ..stuck), all slowly decreasing the clutter. I love it. I feel liberated. Then I realize, does this only have to apply to things? What about people? I know that sounds really awful but you know what I mean. Do I really need that FB friend who only really friended me ( in my personal FB not my fan site) to be nosey? I know its true because they’ve never said anything to me except the original “will you be my friend?” If we’ve not genuinely engaged in the last two years, I say I take you off my friends list. It’s fair, right? If you have been my friend over the past 10 years and you don’t know that I have a 5 and 2 year old….then I am eliminating you from my life. See how this works? If we dated a zillion years ago and God knows we absolutely don’t care what’s going on with one another…we shouldn’t be friends. If you don’t return calls consistently and anyone who has not been genuinely involved in my life via conversation or physically (one or the other or both) in the last 2 years, then I think we are not really friends and we should just eliminate one another from our lives.People are in our past for a reason, there’s is usually a good reason they are not part of our present,  so why try to force a future? I know this sounds cold but I have always tried to keep all my friendships going all the time. It is exhausting! There are some people who you can go months without seeing each other and talking but you pick up the phone and time never passed. Those are the exceptions. Those are the real friends! And those people never let 2 years pass without checking in on you. All the other relationships are a lot of work and if they are not doing their part, then what’s the point of trying. It takes two in a friendship. I don’t want to impart upon my daughters that they have to be people pleasers and keep every friend they ever make. Sometimes we just outgrow one another and life takes different directions. There is no wrong doing in that. It is evolution. But sometimes we hold on so tight in relationships that we end up either making ourselves miserable or smothering the other person with our expectations, or both. So, I’ve decided to stop holding on to the past, and concentrate on the future. I am de-cluttering my life and making room for all the wonderful things that are to come, instead of trying to figure out the past. In the spirit of that here is a little something I wrote ( feel free to use it if you’d like);

    Ode to a Shitty Friend

    Dear shitty friend,
    You used to be my closest friend~
    But now , after years of friendship thrown down the toilet by you~
    You are indeed the shittiest of friends!
    We used to be like sisters~
    Where there was one, there was the other.
    I shared in your happiness,
    I was your biggest cheerleader!
    Your friendship was more valuable to me than anything else in the world.
    Then, the time came when we had to grow up.
    The friendship could have evolved, it could have survived, it could have flourished~
    But you chose to cut me out of your life.
    Returning only on occasions when you felt especially shitty about yourself and you needed me in your cheering section.
    You were like some crazy friend version of a booty call.
    You’d call when you needed a friend and disappear when you didn’t need it.
    But when I needed my cheerleader, you were no where to be found.
    When I needed guidance, sisterhood, love,support and friendship,
    You turned your back on me;stopped answering your phone.
    I kept waiting, even coming back for more.
    I figured, you needed my friendship more than I needed my dignity.
    Now, the calls have become few and far between.
    Maybe once every year or so, you check in~
    Just to make sure that I am not perfectly happy, you like to drop in and infuse my life with a little misery.
    It’s OK. I don’t get upset and cry anymore,
    I barely even care.
    In sad reality, I expect nothing of you
    And there lies our friendship, on the floor in a million pieces.
    I don’t worry about you ever reading this,
    I know that you wouldn’t afford yourself the inconvenience.
    There is no benefit in it for you.
    Thanks for the lifetime, but lets move forward.
    I have children of my own now and I can’t keep stroking your ego,
    And feeding your narcissism.
    I am too tired, too old, and even less interested.
    Please don’t call me inebriated, professing love and friendship
    and making promises that you have no intentions of keeping in the light of day.
    I have endured my last frustration and worry over you.
    I wish you nothing but happiness in your life~
    But I refuse to any longer try to resuscitate a friendship that is so long dead.
    Yours truly,
    Someone who is finally coming to their senses

    Happy Mothering!

  • So much bloggy love

     Wow! I have been sent so much bloggy love lately that I feel like the Katherine Hepburn of blog awards. Thanks so much to all of my wonderful readers, without whom, lets face it, I’d just be annoying the crap out of my kids with all my incessant droning on. Thank you to my husband and my daughters, without whom ( as I’ve said before ) this would be a blog about nothing. Thank you so much to these lovely ladies who awarded me with these awards ( wow! That was a mouth full!) I am so appreciative that you not only thought of me, but thought my writing life blog warranted being recognized! You Ladies rock my world! Here are the lovely awards I was given over the past week and they are listed by who gave them to me.These women are great bloggers themselves and obviously have great taste ,so please hop on over and check them out. You won’t be sorry that you did!

    Peryl @Parenting Ad Absurdum
    awarded me the Gorgeous Blog and the Honest Scrap Award

    Passing along to
    My Fantabulous Wonderful Life
    Love comma Ashlee
    Magically Ordinary

    Honest Scrap

    Passing along to
    Real Mommy 365 @ Real Mommy 365
     How to survive the suburbs
    The Ins-&-Outs of a Stay @ Home Mom and WIfe
    The Brewery

    The Sunshine Award Given By
    : Queen Bug @ The Dysfunction of Motherhood  
    Ashlee @ Love Comma Ashlee
    Real Mommy 365 @ Real Mommy 365

    The Sunshine Award
    This goes out to those bloggers who’s positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world!

    Passing along to:
    Ma whats for dinner
    Reflections of a Navy Wife

    The Sweet Blog Award and Blog Monster award given by Real Mommy @ Real Mommy 365

    Passing along to:
    The Brewery
    Got one past the Goalie
    Jelly Belly
    The Dysfunction of Motherhood

    The Sweet Blog Award
    This award is for the sweet and friendly blogger

    The Blog Monster!
    This award is for all the bloggers out there who constantly work hard to keep an updated and insightful website. They aren’t afraid to take a bite with their honest reviews and enjoyable content. You amaze me, you inspire me so I call you a blog monster.

    Passing along to:
    Organic Motherhood with Coolwhip
    All I ask of the recipients is that you pass them along to some deserving candidates! Happy Mothering!

  • Truthful Tuesdays; May 25, 2010

    Time to unload Ladies! Seems I am not great at the memes per say but I have decided there are two weekly posts I will revisit..Tuesdays are for being super honest and unloading all the bullshit that is weighing me down (metaphorically speaking of course) and Thursday will be for throat punching and ass kicking any and all imbeciles who are deserving of such treatment. It’s cathartic and I need some catharsis in my life! So let’s commence with the unloading of the proverbial bullshit! Remember, no judgment. You hear me Judgy McJudgement? I’m talking to you! If that’s what you’re here for, turn around and walk away. This is for us to feel better, lighter, healthier and happier not guilty! Boo to guilt!
    I am sick of feeling guilty about not exercising! There I said it! I do love to  like   not absolutely hate to exercise, but I hate getting started. Seriously, its such a pain in my ass to get into the gear and locate the workout dvd, shoo the girls out of my way and fully engage! Of course that brings us to point #2, I am sick of worrying about my weight. Look, I’m not going all 900 lb. mom on you or anything ( love the TLC specials) but damn is there ever a moment when women can just let that go. Seriously, I know it will never happen but for once I’d love to look in the mirror and say “PERFECT!” No matter the size or shape I am ( and believe me I think I’ve seen them all) I am NEVER satisfied. There are days when I am more or less satisfied than the previous day but never just completely happy with what I look like. I just want to get off this roller coaster…I don’t want to perpetuate this madness. HELP!!! Dr. Phil…can you fix me? Can you say body dysmorphic disorder? Enough already! Sheez!!!!
    Next, I am so monstrously sick of all the complete idiots that have been allowed to procreate and interact with children as of late! Between the Texans who don’t watch their children, the men in Bangkok using the kids as human shields, the bullies in New Hampshire, and the teacher in Texas beating the student in Houston, ( all in the last couple of weeks) I am seriously becoming afraid to watch the news. That’s to say nothing about sending my children out into the world with these people !Hell, I’m getting pretty afraid to go out there myself knowing what kind of imbeciles are roaming free in the world.What is this world coming to? Can we get some protection over here from the morons? They are loose and coming for our children!
    One more thing, is BP ever going to get a hold on this oil spill? My God…how bad does it have to get before they actually fix this disaster? Hasn’t Louisiana been through enough?
    On a positive note, in complete honesty, my husband and girls are pretty much awesome this week! That could have something to do with the fact that my husband is keeping a safe distance  4 hour travel time between us and I’ve pretty much been giving into all the whims of my girls this week. I’m just too damn exhausted to fight them. I wonder if this is how all wars are won? Oops, hope I didn’t speak to soon!Shhh! Maybe nobody heard!
    Now its your turn! Time to bear your soul and unburden yourself! Happy Mothering!

  • Where’s my fairy?

    Seems like the damn Cleaning fairy has once again missed my house! Damn her. Now, I suppose I will have to spend the whole day tomorrow not only trying to pull together some crap for my neighborhood garage sale but trying to get my house up to par before my husband returns home this weekend. You know, I am so glad when he comes home but since when does he get the “guest” treatment? I mean, wait a minute, aren’t I the one holding it all together all week long? Why should I be trying to convince him that the house is always immaculate? He’s lived here full time before..he knows these kids are like Tasmanian devils on crack. Who am I trying to fool? and why is he going along with it? That’s it, I’m boycotting! The Cleaning Fairy better get her ass over here STAT! By the way, why do we always try and convince our visitors that our house is always spotless, especially our other Mommy friends? Doesn’t it only serve to make them feel like they are less of a Mommy because they are at an immaculate house..knowing damn well there are Goldfish and Cheerios keeping company on their floors? I’m making a decision..I have to stop this madness. I’m doing it for all of us. So next time you are over my house and its not immaculate, don’t judge me…I’m doing it for you! I am sacrificing my own cleaning standards and anal retentiveness, so that you may live more peacefully and happy!Happy Mothering. I’m off to bed. See you in the morning dirty house and I may or may not give you the attention you so crave in the morning!

  • Truthful Tuesday: EFF YOU Tuesday, I heart you!

    I am not a passive person, so when life is holding my happiness hostage and  hurling lemons at my head …I rant , rave and buck crazy. Today is one of those days and I really need to work through this frustration so I am going to list all of my grievances here, to get them off my shoulders ( so my head doesn’t explode)! If you don’t go for that sort of thing..stop now. Look away! I don’t want a post full of rage and anger so I am going to substitute the word “heart” for “hate” all throughout this post. You know in the spirit of turning my God damn (sorry but its just that frigging serious) frown upside down and all that shit! So be prepared, and feel free to expunge yourself here after I have finished my tirade! Happy Mothering my fellow POW’s!

    • I heart my husband being gone and me being alone!
    • I heart that my kids are acting like complete uncontrollable maniacs!
    • I heart that I am losing my cool and can’t handle it all.
    • I heart stupid ass people.
    • I heart waiting on others,for example, the people who interviewed my husband about a new job. I can not stand placing my forever in someone else’s power (its the impatient control freak in me).
    • I heart feeling fat.
    • I heart exercise, even more!
    • I heart never getting to see my friends.
    • I heart that we moved and moved back with not much say in it.
    • I heart that I got to see how my life could be only to have it taken away!
    • I heart that that bothers me so much.
    • I heart feeling envious of anyone.
    • I heart that bad things happen to good people; for example, good people dying young or little babies getting cancer.
    • I heart complainers; so I am hearting myself right now, a little bit!
    • I heart people who don’t know me at all pushing their unsolicited opinions on how I am suppose to feel (I’m referring to people in real life who don’t know me, have never read me, and don’t care about who I am or how I feel not y’all. You people get me!).Thanks..I  really need other people to tell me what I am supposed to feel when they have never taken 1 step in my shoes.
    • I heart perpetual cleaning! Seriously, is it impossible for a house with children in it to stay the least bit lean?
    • I heart all the dog shit in my backyard…Dog, can you please stop shitting so much? Don’t I have enough asses to wipe inside the house?
    • I heart being broke! It’s fabulous and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s so awesome having to decide what to do with that extra $10 in your account..I’m voting for cheap wine!
    • I heart finally knowing what I want out of life and having to depend on others  to achieve it.
    • I heart feeling old on days like this.
    • I heart feeling like such a shitty Mom, and not having enough hours in the day to do better!
    • Mostly, I heart that I just broke down in front of all of you. Now that I’ve shattered your image of calm, cool, collected me, please feel welcome to share what you heart today!

  • The illusive baby book

    Before my girls were ever born, in the very early stages of conception , I became obsessed with  chronicling every single thing they would ever do. There were the usual; first tooth, first time crawling, first time sleeping through the night, first solid food, first trip to Grandma’s..and so on and so forth. but were those other things that I just new I never wanted to forget too, first tantrum, first time they bit someone, first concert, first time they threw up on me, first time they danced with a Wiggle ( oh yeah, my girl got pulled up on the stage..it was very reminiscent of Courtney Cox and Bruce Springsteen but with hot potato and smashed banana…). There have been a lot of things I have recorded. But somewhere along the way, things went horribly wrong.
    The “baby Book” that I so painstakingly searched for and found after countless hours of searching the shelves of multiple bookstores has been forgotten. I mean its here. I know where it is….I think.Somehow it’s been reduced to random pieces of  paper, napkins, tissues with dates and occasions on them. To be honest, I am praying I wrote the year and the child because it may just be the action and the date. I was so in the moment that I never thought I’d forget the first day Bella laughed so hard that she blew milk out her nose, or the day 11 month old Gabs (I’m not 100% sure but I’m pretty sure, all the signs tell me) ingested shit. Let’s just say there was poop on her hands, and it looked like poop on her face. That’s all I’m saying. Yeah, I called the doctor..there was nothing they could do but tell me to keep an eye on her, give me a statistic about how 100% of all money has traces of human feces on it (EWWWW! I’m not sure if they were trying to make me feel better or worse), and I’m pretty sure they they made a mark somewhere  ( you know some special database accessible to DCFS….1 eff up you’re a dumb ass, 2 eff up’s they’re coming in and taking the kids away!) It was an accident people, if it even happened….which I’m not sure it did!
    Anyways, I digress ( as always). My point being, I have become accustomed to writing these little forget me not notes, or stashing tickets to their first movies, or a napkin from their birthday party because it was
    is going in the book at some not yet determined time in the near future . It’s gotten so bad that now, whenever anything happens my 5 year old promptly exclaims ” Hey , Mommy. You’re putting that in the baby book, right?” I’m really not sure if she is being facetious, or serious. Either way, it makes me feel like a rat..lower than a rat..like a flea on a rat.
    This weekend, I came to a life altering decision… I am going on a scavenger hunt. I am determined to find each and every single piece of tissue, toilet paper, napkin, scratch pad paper containing rogue information that I can find. When I do, I am going to bring that illusive Baby Book up to date. I plan to gather my randomly placed post it notes of my children’s life thus far and my scattered thoughts on the whole thing and put together the most effing awesome Baby Book to ever walk the face of the earth ( you know what I mean).  I’m thinking I may just have to arm myself with wine and water , lock myself in the basement with all the papers and power through and get it done. I wonder if they will ever know the depth and breadth to the sacrifices we make for them? That Silent Ninja Mommy assistant would be priceless right about now. Next on the agenda, the baby quilt I keep promising myself that I am making from their baby clothes. Also,with each passing day, my husbands ‘crazy’ idea that I log everything that happens in our children’s life into a file on the computer..seems to sound a lot better to me .

  • The heat is melting me & the ONLY cure is Ice Cream

    Not quite sure what the issue is but lately its been like a balmy 100 degrees of hell outside, and in addition to the Monica Barbados hair that I am sporting

    I feel like I am definitely melting. Well, I am surely sweating perspiring  glistening a lot! It’s pretty disgusting! But I’m not actually sweating my ass off ( if only that were possible because after the past two weeks I’d be giving Kate Moss a run for her money). No, in fact, I am pretty sure I am completely bloated. Is that even possible? Is that a THING..can humidity make you retain water? I’m serious, my money is on yes. I actually discussed  this with a girlfriend, who just happens to be a doctor, and we are pretty sure that there is a “THING” where women retain water during times of humidity.Well, anyways, that’s my story and I’d love to be able to stick to it.Of course, the inordinate amount of ice cream that I have been eating as a cure for the human melting heat, could also possibly be the culprit. Nah, it has to be the humidity!Right?

    Regardless, I am starting to feel like maybe I am resembling Ruby minus the red hair add the Monica!

    Damn ice cream! Damn heat! I know, I’m not actually anywhere near 617 lbs. or even her 300 lbs, that she has most recently been at, but this is what I feel like. This is my perspective. I don’t want to feel like this.

    So, what do you do when you feel frumpy? Lumpy? Gross? I’m pretty much sick to death of excuses..you know…. the ones I tell myself. Believe me, there are a thousand and 1 ‘reasons’ why I am a chunk but the real answer is…I’m not making myself a priority. I put everyone else’s needs above mine. I’ve tried once, last year, to take the bull by the horns..and it really made a difference. I made myself a priority in my own life and I actually felt ‘human’, like  I deserved to have time alone to mentally recoup and workout, to take the time needed to be a better me which made me a better Wife and Mommy. I spent time with my friends. I enjoyed life and felt like I was being a positive role model for my girls. I always conjure the image of turning into Gilbert Grape’s Mom, and how that effected her kids. Yes, I know..I am extreme!

    Of course, these things snow ball. I was on track, lost 25 lbs…the right way by exercise and portion control. I was over the moon and feeling like for once, I was in control. Sure, I’d lost weight before but I cheated. I’d either completely starve myself or I would eat a little and barf it all up. It worked, though I’m pretty lucky I have any teeth left in my head, that I didn’t have a heart attack, and that my esophagus survived the 8 year ordeal( Disclaimer: I stopped this behavior when I got engaged for fear my beloved would have dropped me like a hot potato if he had learned about that particular puke flavor of crazy. I did tell him about it….after I’d stopped. We’ve been married for 11 years, you do the math. Just didn’t want you all to be worried I was running off to the lieu barfing between key strokes). But last fall, my birthday present to myself was “ME”. Then over the holidays life happened, we had to move ( again), I lost my workout buddy ( my biggest cheerleader, my friend), my whole life was up-heaved and then I was stressed about money and our livelihood in general. Add to that my husband being away, the stress of being here all week with the girls while my husband is often out of town, and the uncertainty of it all. It completely threw me off of my “me” game. Now, I feel like such a loser and not like the BIGGEST LOSER in a good way but like an idiot who had the keys to the kingdom and lost them. You know, sorta like poor Kirstie Alley!

    I guess, I have to start prioritizing “me” again. If I don’t, who will? It’s my journey and no one else can take it for me. But my girls are eyewitnesses to my journey, their legacy….and I want it to be one worthy of them; deserving of me! I have to make an effort, make a schedule, make a list, sacrifice some sleep..whatever it takes! Because I know, I can not be happy feeling like this. I know that nobody’s perfect but right now I am not even close to being the best me that I can be. And I really feel like I need to be the best “ME” for me so that I can be a better “ME” for my girls. I want to show them to make themselves a priority! I want to show them what a happy,healthy, fulfilled person looks like! I want to teach them by example what it is like to feel comfortable in your own skin and to love your body and yourself. I want to show them to demand the same of everyone they know, because they are worth it. I want to show them..not tell them! So, please human melting heat go away; I can no longer take the cure! I need exercise, will power, a walking buddy, maybe a program and possibly a therapist..STAT!

     
    Decide carefully, exactly what you want in life, then work like mad to make sure you get it!
    Hector Crawford

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