I'd really Like to Know...

how do you decide if what you are sensing is a genuine need for rest (mental and physical), or merely an attempt on your own part to cop-out of a  workout.

Reasons to rest:

1. I am emotionally "spent" today.
2. I've been crying, and now my head hurts.
3. We had a party last night, and I worked ALL day yesterday cleaning and cooking.
4. I worked out everyday this week...hard!

Reasons to workout:

1. I'm fat.
2. I have not done as much jogging this week as I had planned, and feel like I'm off track for my C25K plan.
3. I'm fat.
4. I usually am glad when I push through and do it.
5. Have I mentioned that I'm fat?

I think the emotions are winning.
I don't even have it in me to tell you to
Eat Your Veggies.

Vacation 2012: A Pictorial

Hi Friends!

Vacation was great. Well, parts of it were; other parts were tough. On the whole, it was a good time with my girls and hubs, and those are the memories I'm keeping!





 

Scenes like this (above) were abundant. We nailed the peak of color the week we were in NC. I cannot tell you how breathtakingly beautiful it was!

 

We spent a day in Cherokee, which is a tourist trap Native American reserve. It was a fun day for the kids, spent reminiscing as well as making new memories.

Our traditional trip to Saunooke's Village in Cherokee, NC.

 

We ate MORE than our fair share of ice cream on this trip. :)


Here's the whole crew by the water wheel (another tradition):

David, Michelle, Lauren, Lexi, Erin, Randy (FIL), Vicki (MIL), Eleanor (GMIL), Lester (GFIL), Brooke, and Avery.

It's not a great shot of any of us, but it's (sounding like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof) Tra-DI-tion! :)

We walked a lot that day, hiked the Joyce Kilmer (who was a man by the way, and wrote the poem "Tree"...you know, "I think that I shall never see a poem so lovely as a tree") Memorial Forest one day, and took a few walks around our mountain.

Don't let go! You can do it!!



"Yes, I am ba-rave!" (Lexi [19])

Cool tree-root "bench". (Erin [14])

GORGEOUS sky up through the trees at Joyce Kilmer.







Walking Thunderbird Mountain. For some reason we were all color-coordinated that day. LOL

Other than that we sat around and ate. Part of me wants to apologize, but then...

A sign we saw in Cherokee, complete with the "oops :)".

I came home roughly the same weight as I left, and that's good enough for me. I didn't stick to my vegan guns, and I wish we could have done better in that regard, but we had extenuating circumstances involving other people, so we did the best we could. I will admit to an over-indulgence in sweets. But, for me, that's what vacation is all about: things I don't normally allow.

**DISCLAIMER: My husband is NOT a flannel shirt/ sweat pants kind of guy, so this pic is used only for the purpose of remembering a special moment. He is always pulling them in for kisses and hugs. I love that he is that kind of Daddy!!!

Avery, David, and Brooke enjoying a snuggle in front of the fire at the cottage.

This is likely to be our last year vacationing in the family cottage, as it has been placed on the market for sale. My husband has been visiting that mountain for most all of his life. It was a bitter-sweet time for us all.

Our traditional photo on the porch, the last day of vacation 10/22/12.
Vicki, Randy, Erin, David, Brooke, Michelle, Avery, Lexi, Lauren, Eleanor, and Lester.

One thing I'm learning is that things change...always. Hold your memories tight, but your loved ones tighter. While we may never have another vacation in that specific place, we will never lose the memories, and the ones we love are with us to make new memories! Living in the moment is giving me a greater sense of gratitude.

I'm also learning that it's best to:

Sign at "The Scoop", the local ice cream shop in Robbinsville, NC. And, yes, they also sell purses, jewelry, pre-paid cell phones, AND you can pay your utility bills on site. :)

In case you didn't get that, in red-neck it reads: Quit your belly-aching.

Of course, one of the best ways to get rid of a belly ache is to
Eat Your Veggies!

Vacation 2012

Just thought you'd like to see what we did today. We hiked the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest Trail. 2 miles of Family FUN!!

The first family photo we've taken in quite some time. I LOVE IT!!



Erin, Lexi, David, Avery, Brooke, Michelle, and Lauren. 10-17-12

Here are my beauties! I couldn't be more proud of each one of them.



Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, NC

I'll be back home next week. Until then, don't forget to 

Eat Your Veggies!

The Cold, Hard Truth

To update from my last "Negative Nelly" post, I'm feeling better. Thank you Rosalie and Joanna for your encouragement!

I'm not sure why I get those Blah moments, but at least I recognize them when they are happening now. I can remember having the same emotions, but not catching on until it was over and then I had a bunch of apologizing to do! Of course, that was way back my days of chemical birth control. Once I figured out that was killing me, we went with other methods and I evened out. And that is why I'm fairly convinced I'm dealing with hormones. I'll be working on some holistic remedies after vacation. In the mean time, I have this to keep my spirits up:


My youngest made this for me in Paint.

As far as weight-loss goes. It still really isn't.

After a solid week of logging my food and wearing the Bodybugg, I have the results: I eat too much and move too little. Pretty much already knew that, now didn't I?

I guess that isn't 100% true. On average, I consumed 500 calories fewer than I burned; that should equal one pound per week weight loss. First of all, I didn't lose one pound last week, and second, I want to see more serious results than that!  Unfortunately, we all know we underestimate calories consumed -whether it's due to portions or "forgetting" we ate something. I know the Bugg doesn't fudge, so it has to be on that end. AND my goal of taking 10,000 steps a day is almost twice what I'm doing now.

I won't be jogging today, but I will be shopping....lots of shopping! We are heading for the mountains of NC this weekend and the kiddos and I need cooler-weather clothes. I have to at least concede that I need clothes because nothing I have fits anymore!! :D

Here's hoping I can take more steps and eat fewer calories! And here's hoping that you will
Eat Your Veggies!!

Unloading

I haven't posted lately because my camera is on the fritz. I know a post without an image of some kind is boring so I don't post.

Dumb because I'm pretty much the only one who reads this thing anyway.

So today, I'm going to as quickly as I can unload everything I'm feeling...as succinctly as possible.

I've been in an emotional funk for the last several weeks. I may be dealing with pre-menopausal symptoms...maybe not. I am definitely experiencing mood swings for which I have no explanation. I'm cranky with my kids and husband, fight tears all day every day, and am almost homicidal with stupid strangers in public. When did the average citizen get so freaking STUPID!?

*breathe in, breathe out*

See?

I had been doing really well with my eating and my workouts. The Bodybugg was cool and I was learning how to manage a calorie deficit for fat loss. But then I just didn't "feel" like working out one day. And then it was two. And then I wanted "comfort food" (what a joke THAT term is!). So along about Thursday last week I just stopped working at it. To be fair, I have been diligent every single day for MONTHS, so a few days off isn't the end of the world.

Or it wouldn't be if I felt any desire to get back on. I know I will. I will do what is expected of me. I'll do what I'm supposed to do, because that's what I do. But my "this is for ME" attitude is no where in sight. I suppose whatever motivation it takes is what it takes, but at this moment I'm pissed that I'm back to performing based on what I *should* do, rather than what I *choose* to do!!

And then there are my other responsibilities. I've been planning to make covers for my sofa and loveseat for three months. Pushed my husband to stretch the budget and purchased all the materials. And there is all sits in my closet...I look at it everday and think "I really need to get on that." But do I? Nope. My kids have about a dozen stuffed animals needing a quick repair. Uh nuh. My 14 yr. old has been waiting for me to hem her jeans since April!

Of course, there are a thousand things I *want* to do as well: things I want to cook, sew, organize, read, craft, learn, and do. I'm not even talking about Bucket List things, just simple stuff. And instead, I watch another episode of CSI, or burn another hour on Pinterest.

Dumb. Dumb. DUMB!

Am I being hard on myself? Yep. Too hard? I don't know. As a kid in Christian school, I learned this verse: "To him who knows to do right, and does it not, it is sin." So, if I know I should get off my ass and do something (which I do know), and I don't (which I don't), then I'm pretty pathetic, aren't I?

Even now, I think I'm only typing this so that I can avoid a workout I don't want to do.

UGH! This is clearly a waste of time, and I'm only hating myself more.

I hope anyone who actually reads this drivel will have a good day and will
Eat Your Veggies!!

Over the "bug"- trying out the "Bugg".

So many things are happening health-wise. Good things. I've gotten over my man cold, we're ramping up our commitment to clean eating, trying new recipes, my Hubs has been hitting the treadmill, and the BIG NEWS...I have finally broken through the 185 wall! I weighed-in at 182.2!!!

I was stuck there for MONTHS. My clothes were getting loose, I could see myself getting smaller, even other people were commenting, but the scale Would. Not. Budge. Until late last week. Even better, it has stayed below 184 for several days; it isn't just a fluke like the last time I was here!!!

My friend, Laura, loaned me her Bodybugg to track how many calories I am actually burning in a day. It's pretty, stinkin' cool! The Bodybugg is an armband that records things like body temperature, movement, sweat, and steps taken. It configures all that info and determines how many calories you've burned. The best part is the cool graph it creates. Here's mine from yesterday:

You can clearly see my workout! I can also clearly see that I need to move more during the day! Sitting, teaching and checking schoolwork doesn't get the calories a-burnin'.

Yesterday I burned 2095 cal and according to MyFitnessPal.com, I consumed 1503. That deficit will equate to a one pound weight loss per week (assuming I don't gain muscle mass, which I have been consistently doing). Not exactly what I was hoping for; but at least it explains the serious plateau I've been experiencing.

Today, I'm shooting for fewer calories consumed and more calories burned. That's the point, anyway, isn't it? Once I get the hang of what the proper amount of calories looks and "feels" like, I'll quit tracking again. I really want to eat intuitively, without food being such a focus.

In the mean time, at least I find the Bugg to be interesting and fun! Anyone else tried the Bodybugg? A similar product? Let me know what your experience has been. Oh, and are you on MyFitnessPal? If you are friend request me: 5girlsmama.

And one more bossy thing:
Eat Your Veggies

BEWARE!!

I've been in bed for two days with a Man-Cold! I had no idea a woman could even catch one. It is so rare that I catch any bug, we're all shocked that I've been hit so hard. I'm on the mend, however, and hope to be back in the game soon.

Beware, ladies...beware of the Man-Cold!!




Know what the best medicine for a Man-Cold is?
Of course you do! It's to
Eat Your Veggies!!