I've fallen off of The Shred wagon, folks. I haven't done it since last week (but, I did finally conquer Level 2, so that's something, right?). Turns out that the 20 minutes that I thought I could surely find in which to do The Shred is more elusive than once thought. Most days, when I do get 20 minutes to myself, I really don't want to spend it exercising. A lot of days, I'd put Anna down for a nap, stick Jack in the swing and then begin The Shred. Like clockwork, 10 minutes into the workout, Jack would start screaming, so I'd spend the last 10 minutes shushing him, going over and rubbing his head, while doing bicep curls with the other hand and trying to keep him quiet enough so that I could finish the damned workout without waking his sister. Ugh. So much for "me" time. Frustrating.
I might give it another whirl soon, but for now, I'm burned out. I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is. Anna goes back to school next week, (which takes one selfish little bugger out of the equation {I kid, I kid}) so maybe that will be a good time to start up again.
The good news is that I'm feeling pretty good about how my body is recovering from this second pregnancy. It seems to be bouncing back into shape a little easier than last time and I'm beginning to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes again. I also have not abandoned my healthy diet. Generally speaking, I eat well. Lately though, since I've really stepped up the healthy eating, I've found that when I do "fudge" and eat something not-so-good-for-me, it hurts. Bad. So, I have the best incentive ever to stick with the good food--it just makes my body feel better.
I told you earlier that I was planning to post some recipes soon. I don't have a recipe to share in this post, but did want to share my latest favorite breakfast with you. It's chock-full of protein (which I need in the morning to fuel my day) and has a fair amount of fiber and nutrients.
First up, I drink 1/2 a cup of Kefir (pronounced Ke--like "Kettle"--fir). You can read about it yourself, but it tastes like a slightly sour (sounds gross, I know) smoothie (I like the mixed berry flavor). It's also a lighter consistency...more like milk.
Next is 1 hardboiled egg (I don't eat the yolks though); about 1/2 a cup of assorted nuts and raisins and a fruit of some sort (today it was a couple of slices of cantaloupe).
This breakfast really sticks with me and is yummy because it gives me a nice mix of sweet and savory.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Spaghetti Night
Because Jenny already has so much laundry to do...pre-treating tomato sauce-stained men's dress shirts isn't on the agenda. Precautions must be taken, at the expense of dignity.
Jack took his new* high chair for a test drive. He loved it.I think he liked being up at our level instead of down on the floor in his bouncie seat, otherwise referred to as "Papasan of Disregard".
*If you know me, or read this blog at all, you know that "new" means something that I've pilfered and plundered from my mom's group. One mom's trash, is another mom's treasure indeed.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Random picture Wednesday
"And all God's people said, AMEN!"
"Now, if you'll turn in your Methodist Hymnal to page 379..."
Rockin' his "new" (ish) excersaucer.
Mirrors=Awesome
p.s. I love to kiss his pointy little bird chin
Have I told you lately how much we all love Aunt Julie?
Monday, May 18, 2009
One creaky step forward, two shaky steps back
After graduating myself to Level 2 of The Shred last week and not feeling very successful, I decided to go back to Level 1 the following day. I had much better luck just pushing myself to the limit in Level 1. Of course, I fudged a day last week and didn't do The Shred and then took the weekend off (a weekend that included Kevin's famous pancakes, nachos, margaritas and chocolate chip cookies). So, back to Level 1 today and man, my knees KILLED me--and not in the "feel the burn" kind of way...more in a "total surgical knee replacement" kind of way. I'm not sure what's going on. I'm not known for my excellently spectacular knees--I've always had problems with them. Even the first round of jumping jacks today on The Shred hurt so bad. I'm pretty frustrated now.
In other news, if you follow my Tweets (the Twitter sidebar) you'll notice that Jack continues to be a superstar sleeper. We're so pleased with him. I think we are going to keep him after all.
Also, we're having some super wonderful weather here this week--unseasonably cool, low humidity and breezy. I'm currently sitting outside listening to my very vocal Mockingbird sing his little heart out. Oh, how I do love my birds.
So, that gets you up to date. I'm hoping to start posting some recipes that I've had good luck with recently, so look for that in the coming days.
In other news, if you follow my Tweets (the Twitter sidebar) you'll notice that Jack continues to be a superstar sleeper. We're so pleased with him. I think we are going to keep him after all.
Also, we're having some super wonderful weather here this week--unseasonably cool, low humidity and breezy. I'm currently sitting outside listening to my very vocal Mockingbird sing his little heart out. Oh, how I do love my birds.
So, that gets you up to date. I'm hoping to start posting some recipes that I've had good luck with recently, so look for that in the coming days.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Long hike
I just realized that, once my kids go to bed at night--or even when just one of them finally succumbs to sleep--I feel as though I've just shed a 40lb backpack, that I've been carrying all day on a strenuous hike. Ahhhhhh. Relief, exhaustion, a sense of accomplishment and glad that it's over as I sit down to take off my shoes, rub my feet, relax and reflect on the day.
Day ? Oh, hell, I don't even know what day it is anymore
...of The Shred.
I graduated myself to Level 2 yesterday. In hindsight, I probably should've stayed on Level 1 and just followed that suck-up, Natalie instead of Anita (Backstory: there are 2 girls who do The Shred with Jillian on the video. Anita is the "easy one" {um, huh} and Natalie is the "challenging one"). I was just getting bored I guess and wanted to try something different.
The good news is that I'm not very sore this morning from doing Level 2. The bad news is that I think I'm not sore because I didn't get a very good workout...because I couldn't do about 75% of the moves in Level 2. It was rough. Most of the workout takes place from a "plank pose" which, if you've ever done yoga, you know very well what a plank pose is. It's hard and works so many muscle groups, that it's really unholy.
Also, since yesterday was my first time doing Level 2, I didn't know what to expect and so I spent much of the 20 min stopping to watch and see what was going on. That's a little frustrating.
Everything else is going well though. I'm eating well, feeling well and am enjoying our shiny, new sleeping-through-the-nighter! Hooray, Jack!
I graduated myself to Level 2 yesterday. In hindsight, I probably should've stayed on Level 1 and just followed that suck-up, Natalie instead of Anita (Backstory: there are 2 girls who do The Shred with Jillian on the video. Anita is the "easy one" {um, huh} and Natalie is the "challenging one"). I was just getting bored I guess and wanted to try something different.
The good news is that I'm not very sore this morning from doing Level 2. The bad news is that I think I'm not sore because I didn't get a very good workout...because I couldn't do about 75% of the moves in Level 2. It was rough. Most of the workout takes place from a "plank pose" which, if you've ever done yoga, you know very well what a plank pose is. It's hard and works so many muscle groups, that it's really unholy.
Also, since yesterday was my first time doing Level 2, I didn't know what to expect and so I spent much of the 20 min stopping to watch and see what was going on. That's a little frustrating.
Everything else is going well though. I'm eating well, feeling well and am enjoying our shiny, new sleeping-through-the-nighter! Hooray, Jack!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mother's Day 2009
Dancing on the patio at Berryhill, except that if you were to ask her if she was, in fact dancing, you'd be met with the following response:"I do not dance"
Get a load of those sandals!
Also, get a load of those beautiful blue eyes! Kevin has some real concerns about my whereabouts and my activities in early June of last year. Luckily, Jack has Kevin's mile-long lashes so that eases his mind a little.
Friday, May 08, 2009
The Shred--Day 5
Do you guys even care, or would you rather that I just keep posting pics of my kidlets?
Well, if you don't care to know how the Shred is going, move along now (Ashley wrote a nice blog entry about yours truly, if you want something different to read) 'cause I'm gonna talk about it.
I did my 5th day of the Shred today. While I'm not nearly as sore as I was earlier this week (meaning that I can move both legs in a forward motion at normal intervals, almost resembling walking) my stamina was back down today. I'm not sure what that's about exactly. Could be psychological because I know it's Friday and I'm fairly certain that I'm going to take the weekend off of the Shred. Or, it could be related to my eating habits.
Eating habits: For awhile now, (since shortly after Jack's birth) I've really been reigning in my portion sizes and not eating a few hours before bed. In the past, whenever I've needed to shed a couple of pounds, I've had good results from going to bed just a twee little bit hungry. I always remember seeing Bob Green on Oprah saying that your body burns fat while you sleep. If you eat a giant bowl of say, ice cream, before bed, your body nibbles on that while you sleep, but if you go to bed without the bowl of ice cream in your body, your body attacks your existing fat stores instead (i.e. your ass). That always stuck in my head and I've had good luck with it. Amazingly enough, you also feel really good when you wake up in the morning and don't immediately need to head to the fridge (at least in my experience). Breakfast lately has been either a small bowl of high-fiber cereal, with no-fat milk (I'm not a milk drinker, so I've never had anything other than fat-free milk in my cereal--but I understand that a lot of people hate fat free milk, especially if you're used to whole milk, which is like heavy cream to me--blech!) or a hard-boiled egg and fruit. Both keep me going through the morning (oh and my coffee...with fat free milk, no sugar or sweetener).
So, I've been eating well and doing the no-eating before bedtime for awhile. Another one of my tricks (please don't take my word for the Gospel. I'm not a nutritionist or doctor--I'm just blathering on about what I'm doing) is eating way more veggies and fruit than anything else--especially at dinner time. I've always considered myself a healthy eater--I love vegetables and was vegetarian for a few years. An example of what a typical dinner is like for me: the other night, I made a pork tenderloin, broccoli and corn on the cob for our dinner. For me, I ate a very small portion of the pork--about half the size of my palm--a large helping of broccoli, corn on the cob (with Smart Balance instead of real butter) and then also made myself a salad with some almonds on top. I wasn't full to the point of discomfort, but I felt satisfied. I'm also not worrying so much about what I eat for lunch. Most days, I make a quick sandwich (ham or turkey, whole wheat bread, mustard, lettuce and tomatoes) and have a small bag of chips--not the baked kind. The full-fat, fried yummy ones. I've found that the calorie difference between the "good" and the "bad" chips is minimal (when you're not eating them by the 1 lb bag) and, well, I enjoy the "bad" chips a lot more, so that's what I eat. Also, it's in the middle of the day, so I have plenty of time to burn it off. Also, I'm just not worrying too much about what I eat on the weekends. More often than not, there are margaritas on the patio at Berryhill at some point during any given weekend, (typically on Saturday, when margaritas are half-price--hooray!) some wine at dinner or a beer or two while Kevin grills and I observe.
Ok, so all of the above drivel leads me to why I think that I have had less stamina the past 2 days of the Shred: I think I'm not eating enough. I think that I need to incorporate some nuts or other form of healthy protein into my day.
Based on my scale that may or may not be accurate, it appears as though, in the past 4 weeks, I've lost approximately 7 lbs. I think that's fairly commendable--especially since I'm not trying desperately hard and I don't have that much to lose in the first place. So, I'm pleased. Still hate every minute of the Shred, but I'm doing it and something is working.
Well, if you don't care to know how the Shred is going, move along now (Ashley wrote a nice blog entry about yours truly, if you want something different to read) 'cause I'm gonna talk about it.
I did my 5th day of the Shred today. While I'm not nearly as sore as I was earlier this week (meaning that I can move both legs in a forward motion at normal intervals, almost resembling walking) my stamina was back down today. I'm not sure what that's about exactly. Could be psychological because I know it's Friday and I'm fairly certain that I'm going to take the weekend off of the Shred. Or, it could be related to my eating habits.
Eating habits: For awhile now, (since shortly after Jack's birth) I've really been reigning in my portion sizes and not eating a few hours before bed. In the past, whenever I've needed to shed a couple of pounds, I've had good results from going to bed just a twee little bit hungry. I always remember seeing Bob Green on Oprah saying that your body burns fat while you sleep. If you eat a giant bowl of say, ice cream, before bed, your body nibbles on that while you sleep, but if you go to bed without the bowl of ice cream in your body, your body attacks your existing fat stores instead (i.e. your ass). That always stuck in my head and I've had good luck with it. Amazingly enough, you also feel really good when you wake up in the morning and don't immediately need to head to the fridge (at least in my experience). Breakfast lately has been either a small bowl of high-fiber cereal, with no-fat milk (I'm not a milk drinker, so I've never had anything other than fat-free milk in my cereal--but I understand that a lot of people hate fat free milk, especially if you're used to whole milk, which is like heavy cream to me--blech!) or a hard-boiled egg and fruit. Both keep me going through the morning (oh and my coffee...with fat free milk, no sugar or sweetener).
So, I've been eating well and doing the no-eating before bedtime for awhile. Another one of my tricks (please don't take my word for the Gospel. I'm not a nutritionist or doctor--I'm just blathering on about what I'm doing) is eating way more veggies and fruit than anything else--especially at dinner time. I've always considered myself a healthy eater--I love vegetables and was vegetarian for a few years. An example of what a typical dinner is like for me: the other night, I made a pork tenderloin, broccoli and corn on the cob for our dinner. For me, I ate a very small portion of the pork--about half the size of my palm--a large helping of broccoli, corn on the cob (with Smart Balance instead of real butter) and then also made myself a salad with some almonds on top. I wasn't full to the point of discomfort, but I felt satisfied. I'm also not worrying so much about what I eat for lunch. Most days, I make a quick sandwich (ham or turkey, whole wheat bread, mustard, lettuce and tomatoes) and have a small bag of chips--not the baked kind. The full-fat, fried yummy ones. I've found that the calorie difference between the "good" and the "bad" chips is minimal (when you're not eating them by the 1 lb bag) and, well, I enjoy the "bad" chips a lot more, so that's what I eat. Also, it's in the middle of the day, so I have plenty of time to burn it off. Also, I'm just not worrying too much about what I eat on the weekends. More often than not, there are margaritas on the patio at Berryhill at some point during any given weekend, (typically on Saturday, when margaritas are half-price--hooray!) some wine at dinner or a beer or two while Kevin grills and I observe.
Ok, so all of the above drivel leads me to why I think that I have had less stamina the past 2 days of the Shred: I think I'm not eating enough. I think that I need to incorporate some nuts or other form of healthy protein into my day.
Based on my scale that may or may not be accurate, it appears as though, in the past 4 weeks, I've lost approximately 7 lbs. I think that's fairly commendable--especially since I'm not trying desperately hard and I don't have that much to lose in the first place. So, I'm pleased. Still hate every minute of the Shred, but I'm doing it and something is working.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Jack Attack!
Plotting to take over the world, or at least to wake up at an obscene hour of the morning
"Who me? Why, I would never, ever wake up at 2:30am, ready to party."
Hooray for Baby Brother!Tuesday, May 05, 2009
30 Day Shred
Or, as I keep inadvertently calling it, the 30 Second Shred (wishful thinking--ha!)
I started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred yesterday. It's a great concept: 20 minute long workouts that incorporate both weights and cardio. After doing the workout for 30 days, you're supposed to be "shredded". The 20 min long idea especially appeals to me because I just don't have a lot of free time as it is. I certainly don't want to exhaust a good portion of my free time exercising, when I could be doing such things as showering, using the bathroom and emptying diaper pails (motherhood is so awesome).
I don't have much weight to lose. I didn't gain as much with this last pregnancy as I did with my first and, with the two kids, I just don't have the time to eat anymore, so I'm eating way less than I used to. As a result, I'm only about 7 or so pounds away from my pre-pregnancy (er, pre-second-pregnancy weight, that is) weight but more than anything, I really need to tone up. Because my day-to-day activities are pretty strenuous (toddler lifting and chasing, laundry doing, house-cleaning, etc) I really don't consider myself "out of shape" so I started the workout yesterday, curious to see how awesome I would be. By the end of it I was 100% sure that I was going to do one of the following: die or throw up...or, possibly both. Turns out, I just don't have the stamina that I thought I had. Apparently, being fit in "Mommy World" isn't the same as being fit in Jillian Michaels' World. Then, about 2 hours later, I began to feel my legs getting stiff and tingly. Needless to say, I shrieked in pain first thing this morning, when I went to sit on the toilet to tinkle. My quadriceps were screaming for mercy (and they also screamed some nasty obscenities...at least I'm pretty sure it was my quads that said those ugly words).
Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to "Shredding" (as all of the cool people call it) today but I put Jack down for a nap and did it. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it was much easier for me today. I'm shocked that my stamina had improved that dramatically in just one day, but it did. The best thing about this is that now I might not dread it as much tomorrow (or maybe I will).
I'm also probably not going to be posting before and after pics, like a lot of the other "Shred Heads" do, because I'm vain like that and also, because I don't want to be held too accountable in case I slack off in the coming weeks and ditch this workout. What you don't know about my post-pregnancy body won't hurt you.
I started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred yesterday. It's a great concept: 20 minute long workouts that incorporate both weights and cardio. After doing the workout for 30 days, you're supposed to be "shredded". The 20 min long idea especially appeals to me because I just don't have a lot of free time as it is. I certainly don't want to exhaust a good portion of my free time exercising, when I could be doing such things as showering, using the bathroom and emptying diaper pails (motherhood is so awesome).
I don't have much weight to lose. I didn't gain as much with this last pregnancy as I did with my first and, with the two kids, I just don't have the time to eat anymore, so I'm eating way less than I used to. As a result, I'm only about 7 or so pounds away from my pre-pregnancy (er, pre-second-pregnancy weight, that is) weight but more than anything, I really need to tone up. Because my day-to-day activities are pretty strenuous (toddler lifting and chasing, laundry doing, house-cleaning, etc) I really don't consider myself "out of shape" so I started the workout yesterday, curious to see how awesome I would be. By the end of it I was 100% sure that I was going to do one of the following: die or throw up...or, possibly both. Turns out, I just don't have the stamina that I thought I had. Apparently, being fit in "Mommy World" isn't the same as being fit in Jillian Michaels' World. Then, about 2 hours later, I began to feel my legs getting stiff and tingly. Needless to say, I shrieked in pain first thing this morning, when I went to sit on the toilet to tinkle. My quadriceps were screaming for mercy (and they also screamed some nasty obscenities...at least I'm pretty sure it was my quads that said those ugly words).
Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to "Shredding" (as all of the cool people call it) today but I put Jack down for a nap and did it. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it was much easier for me today. I'm shocked that my stamina had improved that dramatically in just one day, but it did. The best thing about this is that now I might not dread it as much tomorrow (or maybe I will).
I'm also probably not going to be posting before and after pics, like a lot of the other "Shred Heads" do, because I'm vain like that and also, because I don't want to be held too accountable in case I slack off in the coming weeks and ditch this workout. What you don't know about my post-pregnancy body won't hurt you.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Saturday in Kemah
We went to Kemah on Saturday. We hadn't been since Hurricane Ike smacked that area, so we were curious to see how it looked. You can see what used to be piers behind Kevin.
Also a blue tarp on the roof behind Anna and Aunt Julie
Ah, family portrait in front of the beautiful brown water
Jack's obligatory weekend outing pose
Anna had her first Icee at the Boardwalk. Everything seemed back to normal at the Boardwalk and there were lots of people there having fun.
Anna and Julie enjoying their Icees
Unfortunately, this was as close as Anna would get to the fun water park. We had high hopes that she'd play herself silly in the water, but alas, I'm afraid that she has inherited my guarded, overly-careful and non-adventuresomeness (probably not a word, but you get my drift). We would welcome any parenting tips on how to gently encourage her to try some new things--within reason--base jumping, not so much but maybe just stepping outside of her box now and then. Thoughts? Advice?Saturday, May 02, 2009
Awesome Songs Series
Part 2
Say Goodbye: Dave Matthews Band
One of my all-time favorite songs. It has roots in my past, both far (practically the stone age) and near (always seems to come up on a playlist when we have good friends over for dinner or whatnot). A fabulous song and, although I've seen DMB (Dave Matthews Band) live several times, I've yet to hear this song live (boo, hiss). Those who are close to me know that this is one of my favorite songs. If we're in a bar together and this album is on the jukebox, you can bet that I will play this song, even though it's not always considered "uplifting bar-type music" (I've seen people sneer when it comes on--especially after songs such as "Whiskey River" and "Dancing Queen"--both of which I'm also known to play on a jukebox--and often met with sneers as well). I don't care. I love this song. And I love to share it with unwilling patrons at any given establishment.
Say Goodbye: Dave Matthews Band
One of my all-time favorite songs. It has roots in my past, both far (practically the stone age) and near (always seems to come up on a playlist when we have good friends over for dinner or whatnot). A fabulous song and, although I've seen DMB (Dave Matthews Band) live several times, I've yet to hear this song live (boo, hiss). Those who are close to me know that this is one of my favorite songs. If we're in a bar together and this album is on the jukebox, you can bet that I will play this song, even though it's not always considered "uplifting bar-type music" (I've seen people sneer when it comes on--especially after songs such as "Whiskey River" and "Dancing Queen"--both of which I'm also known to play on a jukebox--and often met with sneers as well). I don't care. I love this song. And I love to share it with unwilling patrons at any given establishment.
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