17--Alabama Shakes and Dawes at Sloss Furnace

I've never been to a show at Sloss Furnace before, but what a great place to see a couple of really awesome bands.  We ordered tickets a few months in advance and were really excited about seeing this show with our friends.  And neither band disappointed.  The only thing disappointing was that Dawes didn't play longer!  I think they only played about 6 songs, and they have so many great ones.  So, I was sad about that, but once the Shakes came on stage, I was over it.  Brittany Howard can straight up sing!  Her voice is what I wish mine sounded like.  It's raw and soulful, and I just love her.  Now, she can be a little odd to watch close up because she makes some seriously weird facial expressions, but you sorta get over it because her talent is insane.  We weren't able to stay for the whole show because my parents were watching the kids, and we had church the next day.  But it was awesome nonetheless.  I sorta wished that she had broken out into some covers of Led Zeppelin or Janis Joplin or something like that.  She could totally rock that.  Of course, she rocked their original stuff anyway, so...  If you ever get the chance to see either of these bands, then do yourself a favor and go to their shows.  Both are really great musical/vocal talents.

Here's a video of Alabama Shakes singing "Hold On."  Please excuse the awful camera work.

Alabama Shakes--Hold On

15 and 16: Girls' weekend in Tuscaloosa and a New Restaurant

Back in January, a few of my sorority sisters and I decided to plan a reunion trip for the Spring.  Destination--Tuscaloosa.  My friend, Melissa Vergona Conner (who will, from this point forward, be referred to as "V"), found a great house in Tuscaloosa to rent, so we all decided to make it happen.  A few weeks later, they announced that A-Day was going to be the same weekend.  Naturally, we were super excited.  Not only would we be going back to the place where our friendships all started, but it would be during a really fun weekend on campus.  And if you've ever gone to a college with a BIG football program, then you know that Springtime weekends can be pretty dead compared to the games, band parties and crowds that accompany weekends in the Fall.  But we were all grown up now and weren't necessarily looking for a band party to attend.  (Well, I say "we."  "THEY" weren't necessarily looking for a band party to attend.  "I" on the other hand...)  So, after a few months of planning and anticipating, we were off.

That Friday happened to be the morning of that huge manhunt for the Boston marathon bombers, so I spent that morning on the couch, watching the Today Show coverage and dosing in and out of sleep while waiting to hear from V that she was on the road from New Orleans.  It was a GLORIOUS morning.  Well, the news was sad to watch, but a chance to relax all morning in a semi-conscious state was awesome.  Once I got word that she was in Meridian, I hit the road.

We met Candice and Kim (who from this point forward will be called "Watty") at Phil's on the strip for lunch.  It was the perfect way to start our weekend.  Afterwards, we went over to our very cute house and met the rest of our group, and the rest is...well...a sworn secret among girlfriends.  Let's just say there was alot of reminiscing, alot of laughing and alot of good, old-fashioned girl time.  But the highlights included visiting our sorority house, meeting some football alums, eating lots of great food and just enjoying our college town as grown ups.  I highly recommend a weekend with friends in the place where you met and got to know each other.  It puts so many things in perspective and is just a great way to refuel the mommy engine so to speak.  Many times, I find that I pour so much of myself into work and home and kids, and this was an awesome chance to just soothe my soul with my best friends.  It was amazing!

Our cute house that turned out to be massive on the inside!

Watty getting an autograph from "the bookends" John Copeland and Eric Curry.

Fun at A-Day.

Pure awesomeness.


As a side note: we ate dinner at Chuck's Fish.  I HIGHLY recommend it!  I had sushi, and it was wonderful.  Definitely give it a shot if you are ever in Birmingham or Tuscaloosa.

7-14 New recipes

Well, it's been quite a while since I've written here.  I know everyone is waiting on pins and needles to know what I've been up to.  It has been a crazy awesome summer!  I've had lots of exciting things going on with work and life.  And some of those adventures will be their own posts, but just so you know...I haven't completely abandoned my list of 52 new things.  I've simply decided that I just can't make individual posts for every new recipe I make.  That's not very interesting, and I'm just not funny enough to MAKE it interesting.  ;)  So, here are a few of the ones I've tried lately.  All from Pinterest.  Yes, it actually DOES serve a purpose in life!  Many are in keeping with my low/no sugar diet that I'm working to keep up with.  I'm not sure how you all will feel about them, but I thought they were really great!

7) Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli.  This is the ultimate staple for me.  Sometimes I make just the vegetables as a side dish, and sometimes I add the shrimp for a total meal.  Either way...It's GREAT.  Recipe here.
 
8)  Roasted Okra.  This makes an EXCELLENT side dish for anything you are cooking.  Recipe here.

9)  Baked Chicken Fajitas.  I made these for dinner with shrimp instead.  (Shrimp was on sale.  Chicken was not.  You see what I did there.)  But I did use only 1 tsp of cumin.  I highly recommend that choice.  Recipe here.

10)  Smothered Chicken.  This was really good, but it was a little rich.  I'm not used to cooking with alot of cream cheese for dinner stuff (even though this diet that I'm on highly recommends it.  Yes, I know...) Recipe here.

11)  Breakfast Ham Cup.  These are a delightful, little treat for breakfast if you are doing a no sugar diet or even if you aren't.  Recipe here.

13) Herbed Chicken Cutlets with Panko and Parmesan.  OK--So, the Panko bread crumbs make this not officially on my diet, but hey...I'm not always officially on my diet.  But I did like this one.  So many times they put chicken cutlets on sale, and I just never know what to do with the darn things.  This quick and easy recipe is a good solution.  And if you are into eating potatoes and such...(aaaaah potatoes), then add some of those glorious mashed ones and a green veggie, and this is a good weeknight favorite.  Recipe here.

14) Skinny Broccoli and Cheese Casseroles.  Again...the bread crumbs make this not officially "low sugar", but they make a good side dish.  And let's face it...we cooking moms are always looking for those.  Recipe here.

I hope you all will try out at least SOME of these.  It's never easy adopting a new way of eating, and let's face it...I'm not as dedicated as I should be.  But what is life if not full of a few delicious indulgences?

Happy cooking!

6: Bye bye, sugar (well...sorta...)

As most of you know by now, I've been on a new eating plan for the past few weeks.  I've basically eliminated sugar and white flour from my diet, and I separate my proteins/fats from my carbs (which are now all whole wheat).  My friend Heather started eating this way a year ago, and she lost 40 pounds and has kept it off all this time.  So, she was my inspiration.  Since I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia, my nutritionist said I needed to lose 10 pounds which I thought was a little insane, but I guess she knows best.  So, I've started this diet.  In the first two weeks I dropped 6 pounds.  I was VERY surprised...like SHOCKED actually.  I've lost one more and have three more to go.  Now, this is not to say that I never eat sugar.  I totally cheat on the weekends.  And I went out of town for work a few weeks ago and did not stick to it then either.  But for the most part, I eat this way during the week and enjoy some treats on the weekends.  I'm older now, and I just have to learn to balance my diet more than when I was younger and had a killer metabolism.  And surprisingly...I don't miss the bread and stuff as much as I thought I would.  Don't get me wrong, I ate a dinner roll when was out of town and it was GOOD.  But during the week, I don't find myself missing that stuff.  And my energy level is AMAZINGLY different and improved.  I'm telling you...carbs weigh you down (literally and figuratively.)  I don't get that afternoon sleepy/lull feeling anymore.  And I just generally feel good about myself.  I have never dieted before or ever tried to lose weight.  I've always been in the mid 120s, so I thought that was pretty good.  But now that I'm below 120, and I feel super excited...like "it makes me wanna go and get my driver's license renewed because my weight is wrong on there now" kinda way.  Not to mention, I haven't had any dizzy/near-fainting spells since I've started eating this way, so I feel like my blood sugar is staying level now too.  And that really is the most important thing!  So, yea me!  And thank you, Heather!  You are helping me change my life for the better.  :)

5: Organizing User Manuals

Last weekend, I cleaned the house (big surprise).  But this was a serious cleaning.   It was a having-company-over kind of cleaning.  So, I was on a tear through the house to get some things organized and put away.  But it seemed like every time I opened a drawer, I found a new user manual for something in our house.  TVs, DVD players, appliances, iWhatevers, etc.  My head nearly exploded.  WHY were these things in 10 different drawers/cabinets all over the house and not in one location?  Enter Organization Karen.

I remembered seeing how someone organized their home manuals, warranties, etc somewhere...probably on Pinterest.  So, I copied that person's good idea.  I got a binder, dividers and some clear sleeves.  I made labels for Electronics, Cable, Appliances, Kids' Toys and Home.  Then I put each manual in its own sleeve.  Easy. As. Pie.  And now I feel a little better about life in general.  It's the small things, right?

Before

After

Next up: labeling the paint cans in the garage according to room.  :)  

4: Love Your Legs Workout

Last year, I worked with a personal trainer for a couple of months.  He told me that you can actually work out your legs alot more than you think you can because they are the biggest muscles in the body, and they can withstand more work.  I found this out the hard way when he made me do 120 lunges while holding a 5-pound weight in front of me the whole time.  Then, he said, "Ok...now, let's move over to the machines."  Yeah...I could hardly walk for about three days.  He was right though.  I would not normally push myself to that limit (and I definitely haven't since.)  But I got an email a while back with this "Love Your Legs" workout, so I decided to try it tonight.  YOWZA!!!!  You can find it here: workout.

It says to do this every other day, and I'm definitely going to need a day of rest!  I could only make it through the workout twice before I gave out.  Of course, now that I'm sitting here and typing, I'm thinking I could probably make it through one more time, but why set the bar too high right off the bat? ;)  But I might be going to the beach sooner rather than later, so it's time to get moving!

What leg workouts do you like?

3: Movie in the park

We took the kids to Disney World last week.  That experience in and of itself is worth about 37 posts, but I won't bore you with all the details.  :)  I'll just talk about one of my favorite memories: watching "Cinderella" in the park at the resort.  We've never watched a movie outside, and it was a unique and wonderful experience.

When we got to the resort, they gave us a schedule of lots of activities they do there like a daily Mardi GRAS parade at the pool for the kids (Anna participated in it one day.  It was too cute.), campfires at night, pool games, etc.  The thing that I was most excited about was the nightly movie.  I looked at the list, and it worked out perfectly that the night they were showing "Cinderella" also happened to be the day we were going to Hollywood Studios.  I knew we'd be finished at that park early, so I was excited that we would be able to do the movie too.  We grabbed dinner at the resort, bathed the kids, got them in their PJs and headed to the green.  They had a giant, inflatable screen set up and warmed up pool towels for us to lay on and snuggle under.  Jeremy went to the resort restaurant and got us some popcorn, so we were all set.  There were lots of families out too, so it was fun!

Of course, Alex didn't last longer than about 30 minutes, so Jeremy took him back to the room while Anna and I stayed.  Now, Anna doesn't usually sit still during movies, but she was as still as a stone during this one.  And it was wonderful.  We snuggled and ate popcorn and just enjoyed being outside at night.  I think we are definitely going to have to do that again!

2: Food, Fun and 15

On Monday, I hosted my first National Championship party.  Last year, we were in New Orleans (SUCH FUN). In 2010, our friends came over, but I didn't do a traditional "tailgate"-type party.  So, I'm counting this as new.  I did try some new recipes, and they turned out great!

Our friends, Heather and Brian Warwick and Matt Vogelsang, came over to watch the game with us.  I love entertaining, and I always like to make my guests feel special when they come to our house.  I definitely learned that from my mother.  I mean, if you are playing hostess, then try make it a memorable experience for your guests, right?  I'm sure Jeremy probably thinks I go overboard with the little details, but I enjoy it!  And he DID go overboard with the awesome decor in our house.  Every Daniel Moore, Sports Illustrated with Bama on the cover, sign, flag, shaker, hat, visor, houndstooth pillow or coaster with a Bama logo on it was out somewhere.  It definitely looked like the Sup Store threw up in our house.  We had the mojo going!  While he took care of the decor, I worked on the food.  Our menu:

"Roll Tide" Sliders (I skipped the extra Miracle Whip)--Recipe here.
"15" Fruit Salad
"Big Al" Artichoke Dip  and wheat thins (new recipe.  I highly recommend it)-- Recipe here.
"Make his @$& quit" Meatballs--Recipe here.
"Do your job" Trifle (new recipe.  For this occasion, I only used strawberries.)--Recipe here.

Of course, I had to make signs for each dish.  AGAIN--I like the little details.  Here are some pics:

If you are hosting a party, then I highly recommend these recipes because they are great for prepping the night before.  Since the game was on a Monday night, we had dance class, so it was going to be a get-home-late night for us.  I needed things that I could prep on Sunday and pop in the oven on Monday night.  It worked out well.  And of course, it didn't hurt that the Tide's performance made it all worth it!  Roll Tide!

I wonder what I'll do next year...(see what I did there?)  ;)

1: Long Vacation

Today marks the end of the longest vacation I've had since I was in college.  Outside of maternity leave (and let's face it--that's no walk in the park), I haven't been off from work for two solid weeks in 14 years.  More important, it was the longest time our little family has ever spent together.  And it was glorious. Was it all roses and happiness?  No.  The kids argued, and we got frustrated with them, but overall, it was just nice being able to spend so much time with them and with Jeremy.  We haven't been on a vacation together as a family in a year and a half, and even then that was only for about 5 days.  We opted not to do a vacation this past summer so we could afford to go to Disney World.  And it wasn't until this nice break that I realized how much I've missed my family.  It's hard being a working mom.  It's hard feeling like the time you spend with your kids is reduced to a couple of hours a night.  So, I decided that I was going to enjoy this time, and that's just what I did.  Granted, those two weeks were in 2012, but today was the end.  So I'm letting it count for my "new things" in 2013.  You all will forgive me, right?

I woke up this morning sort of dreading that this time was ending.  I tend to drift toward the pessimistic side of the spectrum, so I had to mentally slap myself in the face and choose to be thankful instead.  Thankful that I got some much needed rest.  Thankful that I got to enjoy seeing my kids and husband all day every day.  Thankful that I got to stay up late with Jeremy and relax rather than running the usual rat race of making lunches, packing backpacks, ironing clothes and getting ready for the next day.    Thankful that we got to spend our mornings in our PJs rather than waking up and rushing out the door everyday.  I even took a break from my usual fury of cleaning.  I figured I had two weeks, so there was no reason to spend all my time working in the house.  But we got so much accomplished.  We cleaned out several closets, the kids' rooms, our room, but it never felt rushed.  And that was nice.

It helped that we had exciting things to look forward to like Christmas, family gatherings and New Year's.  My in-laws kept the kids one night, and Jeremy I got to go to the movies and dinner.  And my parents are keeping Anna tonight (since she's out of school until Monday), so we got to spend some great time with just Alex tonight which is a wonderful and rare treat.  He's such a great kid, and he never gets our total attention.  So, I was glad to be able to let him experience that fun.

I was thinking today about the part of the Christmas story in Luke where it says "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19), and I couldn't help but smile.  As a mom, I totally appreciate that feeling.  There are times in life that you just want to take a mental snapshot of something precious and keep that memory forever and dwell on it when you have a quiet moment in your life.  I will definitely treasure these two weeks and ponder them in my heart for many, MANY years.

Aaaaand now, it's time to shut down the computer and make lunches for work tomorrow.  And make dinner for tomorrow night.  Spaghetti--it's easy and all.  Gotta dip a toe back in the water, you know?

Happy New Year!!

52 Things for 2013

Do you ever feel like your life is staring you in the face and passing before your eyes at the same time? I always enjoy this time of year because all of the news programs are doing year in reviews, and it always makes me think about what I've done during the year.  Memories are funny things.  Some stick with you for no known reason while others slip away, completely forgotten.  I can think of several new things I did this year, but I know there has to be more.  I should have written them down.

My friend, Stephanie, encouraged me earlier this year when my blog was fairly new to commit to blogging just once a week.  She said it didn't have to be some life-changing post but just to write SOMETHING.  Clearly since I haven't written here since the Spring, I didn't listen to her advice.  Now, I wish I had!  I would like for my blog to be my personal year in review.  I'd like to be able to look back at it and see the different things I've done.

So, I want to commit to writing about 52 new experiences in my life in 2013.  Some might be really monumental in my life, and some might seem very small and trivial.  But I want to try and embrace new experiences next year.  Maybe it's visiting a new place or learning something new at work.  Or, wonder of wonders, making some of those pins on my Pinterest board a fun reality in my life rather than a bunch of "that's cool, but I'll probably never really do that" pictures on a social network site.  Heck, I have two children.  They alone offer plenty of material, right?

This sounds very much like a New Year's resolution, doesn't it?  I really can't stand those.  I don't want to treat this like that.  And I'm not actually foolish enough to think that I will have the time to write every single week.  I'm a mom.  And a wife.  And a full-time worker.  Life gets hard, and weeks fly by.  But it is my goal to have a wonderful blog/scrapbook of 52 new experiences to reflect on by this time next year.  I think that sounds fun!  Make it your goal too!  And hopefully it won't fade by the end of February.  :)

I really do not like to run. So, why not train for a 1/2 marathon?

Makes sense to me.

My sister is a goal person.  She sets goals, and she accomplishes them.  Now, she would probably shake her head and say that I am being too kind about her.  But this is my blog, so I can say anything I want. :) And I admire her for it!  I really do!  She is a "don't tell me I can't" sort of gal, and I think that is awesome!  So, she decided that she wants to run a 1/2 marathon this year before her 40th birthday, and she asked if anyone wanted to join her in training for it.  Stupidly, I said "Sure!"

So, after much deliberation on which race to run, we've decided to run in the Ruben Studdard Celebration Weekend half marathon on November 18 in Birmingham.  We were originally going to run in Savannah, GA on November 3, but we are both trying to plan for family vacations a month or so after.  So, we thought a local race would be the most economical.  I mean, who wants to travel to an awesome city like Savannah just to be too tired to enjoy it after running 13.1 miles?  Not me.  I can be sore in boring old Birmingham!  AND save money in the process.  (Oh my goodness...it's like the two worlds of my silly little blog have merged into this one giant super goal.)  And there you have it.  My next fitness goal.

I'm starting my couch to 5K training beginning this Saturday.  I want to complete that and then move on to our 15-week training program for the 1/2.  This is going to be comical.  Truly.  Comical.  But as my friend, Allison, pointed out...at least I get a new pair of shoes out of the deal.  :)

Starting a stockpile

Have you ever wondered what you can buy at the grocery store for $10? Maybe you'd choose to buy one big thing like a great steak or a bottle of wine. Or maybe you'd grab some milk, a frozen pizza and a pack of gum. Whatever the case may be, $10 doesn't seem to get you much at the grocery store. Jeremy and I have been complaining to each other for a few months about how the price of groceries seems to have gone up and up and up to the point that our grocery bill is out of control. We try to budget for $100/week at the store (not counting diapers and all that stuff). And for the most part, we do a good job of spending at or a little under that when we make our Saturday morning trip for the week's groceries. And then the little trips start. You know what little trips I'm talking about. It's the "Oh, crap...I forgot to get laundry detergent" trip. And the "we are almost out of milk" on Thursday trip. Well, after a while, those little trips add up. ALOT. And we are planners. We menu plan for the week and try to only buy what we need for the week, but we were always forgetting little things. So, we got a magnetic note pad to put on the side of the fridge that we write things down on throughout the week. If one of us grabs the last roll of toilet paper or notices that the toothpaste is getting low, then we add that to the list for the next Saturday. We've found that when we sit down on Saturday morning to make our grocery list, that we just somehow forget those types of things, so the notepad comes in handy.

Three weeks ago we decided to take back control of our grocery bill and only shop one time for the week. We would NOT make little trips to the store. AND we would start a stockpile. Yes, I said it...a stockpile. (Call TLC. I'm the next extreme couponer.) I've been a casual couponer before. I'd take a $.35 off a can of Grands biscuits coupon to the store, flash that puppy at the cashier when the time came and walk out feeling like I'd really done something. But I never REALLY understood the concept behind couponing. So, I started talking to some of my girlfriends who use coupons, and they referred me to a great site called southernsavers.com. On that site, the lady matches weekly sales papers for various stores (we are Publix customers) along with coupons to get you the absolute best deal on groceries. It's like she does the research work for me, so I appreciate her. Yes, I appreciate her so much. But it wasn't enough to me to only make the one-trip-a-week pledge. No, I wanted to also start a stockpile of groceries so that maybe a few months down the road we would REALLY start to feel some relief from our grocery bill. My friend Molly said that starting a stockpile is hard to do but is a must if you want to really save at the store. So, in doing some research, I found that the best way to start a stockpile is to devote 10% of your weekly grocery bill to the stockpile. So, for us...that is $10. I thought...well, this is going to be tough. Not only am I going to have so little to use for the stockpile, but I also have to be committed to feeding my family on only $90/week. But I knew I could do it. We would just have to be creative. And I knew that there would be weeks that we just wouldn't be able to add to the stockpile because maybe the weekly deals didn't work in our favor or maybe we didn't have a coupon to use, but as much as I could...I would try to add to it. And that mindset has really worked! So far, so good!

This was my first week's stockpile:

Isn't it pretty? :) But seriously...That's what I got for $10! Between coupons and B1G1 deals at the store that week, that's what I was able to put aside for a rainy day. The second week wasn't as impressive looking, but still decent nonetheless:

So, I'm off to a good start! And I'm hoping that by starting a stockpile, maybe I won't need to make anymore "little trips" to the store. Maybe it will already be on my shelf...next to my 77 bottles of mustard, no doubt.

Quitter

One thing I've found out about myself since this whole thing started was that I am a quitter. I am capable of quitting. Now, for my "glass half full" friends out there, you see the word "quitter", and you probably see something negative. But I think of it as a positive. Sometimes, quitting can be GOOD. I'm sure a therapist would tell me to turn those "quitting" statements into something positive, but I prefer to look at all of the things I no longer do. Starting something new seems difficult to fathom sometimes. But quitting something seems to appeal to me. I like the idea of an "end" to something. It's done. Over. Finished.

Things I've QUIT doing:

I've quit with the laziness. Granted...When I first started this blog, I said I would exercise for 30 minutes every day. Well, I haven't been able to keep up with that. But I DO exercise as much as I can when I can. I no longer sit on the couch all the time, thinking about the things I should be doing. Instead, I just get up and do them. I remember when I did boot camp the summer after Alex was born. I hated going in the beginning, but after a couple of weeks, if I missed a few days for various reasons, then I felt my body miss it. I realized that I actually desired to exercise. I hurt my back at the end of that summer and had to take several weeks off to recover. In the beginning of that injury, I missed my beloved boot camp so much. I mentally felt compelled to go, but I knew that I couldn't because I was hurt. After a few weeks of rest, I didn't miss it anymore. And such is life. If you get out of the habit, then you stop missing it and start a new phase of laziness. But I've broken through that once again, and I've quit laziness.

I've quit being afraid of health goals. At the beginning of this blog, I said I was starting the 100 push ups app. That was a tough one to get through. I battled myself mentally and physically, and I won! I completed it, and I felt good for that. I realized about 3/4 of the way in that I was so close to the end that I just HAD to keep going. And now, I'm setting new health goals for myself. (Look for Couch to 5K posts this Spring.) But now that I've actually completed a health goal and know how good that feels, I'm no longer afraid of new ones. Because I know there is going to come a day when completing that goal is going to be hard, and I'm going to want to give up. But now, I also know what it feels like to complete one, and that feeling is SO worth it!

I've quit denying my body of water. I never realized just how little I drink during the day until I MADE myself take notice. When I got on my green tea kick and stopped drinking that morning diet coke, I realized just how long I could nurse a drink through out the day. (Jeremy calls me a camel). I could literally pour a glass of water in the morning and still be drinking it that afternoon. But with tea...I mean, who wants to drink a cold cup of hot tea!? BLECH! So, I had to drink fast. And after that, I set water drinking goals for myself throughout the day. I tried to drink a glass of water as quickly as I would drink a glass of hot tea. And it has made a HUGE difference in how I feel throughout the day. And now...It feels like second nature and a NEED for my body. I NEED x-amount of water throughout the day in order not to feel completely parched. (And I will never understand why the more water I drink, the thirstier I feel. But so be it.)

I've quit neglecting my skin. About a month ago, I developed a new routine at night. After dinner, I take five minutes to go cleanse my face and apply all the necessary "please don't let me look old before my time" products. The lady who does my makeup told me that not removing makeup (especially eye makeup) can age you tremendously overtime. It leaves dirt and all kinds of nastiness all over your skin and clogs pores. So, even though I'm already starting to develop those fine lines and wrinkles (I like to think that the smile and "expression lines" are just because I lead a very happy and, I guess, surprised life and are a good thing), it's time to try and keep this mug clean. Beautiful women in the 50s didn't just get lucky. Well...I guess SOME of them did. (Curse those good genes of theirs!) But many just took really great care of their skin early on. And I've neglected mine for a LONG time. The funny thing is...after a few days of this facial care, even Jeremy noticed. He told me that I looked "all glowy." :)

I've quit eating after 8pm. Jeremy and I like to watch TV after the kids go to sleep, and I swear...most nights, I can't remember what I even ate for dinner. Dinner time with our two kids is like an eating contest between me and Jeremy. Who can finish dinner first?! Because we are constantly dealing with the kids, we hardly even taste our food. So, when we sit down to finally relax for the night, I sometimes snack. But I've stopped. And honestly...now that I don't do that anymore...I don't even miss it. It's like my body finally gave up the need/want.

I've quit beating myself up. I've quit looking at the all of the flaws, and started TRYING to focus on all of the good. I've quit saying I can't and started thinking "Well, maybe I can." I've quit being scared of actually succeeding at something and started reaping the benefits of healthier living.

There have been other things I've quit too, but this post feels long already. So, I'll stop typing for now. But my husband is proud of me. And I'm proud of me. And I'm finally starting to take care of this body of mine. And that feels good. So, yes...I'm proud to be a quitter.

Nobody eat the Greek yogurt! The Greek yogurt has gone bad!!

Do you remember that scene in the movie "Can't Hardly Wait" when the nerd kid drinks the beer and screams out that the beer has gone bad? And folks are all "Tastes like beer to me."/"Me too!" Well, that was how I felt the first time I had Greek yogurt. I'd seen people tweeting about it and how great it was. And gals in the office all swore by it, so when I was in the store one day, I bought some. I was excited to open it and give it a shot. I took my first bite. Um...UM...what the...BLECH!!!! It was like that taste you get from a sprite when there is too much carbonated water and not enough syrup. I swear...I think the stuff fizzed in my mouth. It was NOT good. How could this be? How could all of these sheep be so fooled into thinking this stuff is tasty?! Are they those creepy rice cake people who claim that those styrofoam cakes actually taste good?? And then I thought about it...maybe it was the brand. I'm the kind of person who LOVES a Diet Coke, but I wouldn't drink a Diet Pepsi if you paid me. (Well...depends on how much you paid me...)

So, I went back to the store and bought a different one. Tried it, and was so pleasantly suprised...success! Fage Greek Yogurt is truly awesome! And it comes with this little fruit cup on the side so you can mix all the fruit flavor into the plain yogurt all at the same time. Or you can dip the yogurt in it. OR you can mix some in and dip the rest. The possibilities are endless. But it was good, y'all. Like really, REALLY good. I like the Fage Total 0%. I encourage you to give it a shot!

I'll try rice cakes next.

The Road to 100 Pushups

100 Pushups. THAT is the name of the app. Please download it. It is so worth it.

When I started this app, it said "do as many good-form pushups as you can". I could only do three. (And to clarify...yes, I am doing REAL pushups. Not the wimpy, girlie kind.) Week one went by with no problem as did week two. It was week three that killed me. At that point, I was up to 50 pushups. Hold on...let me back up...

This app is set up to break down the total number of pushups into smaller reps with break periods in between. For instance, "do as many good-form pushups as you can" meant "how many can you do in a row before you collapse?" THREE. That was all I could do. So, the app took that and created a program around it. On my first day I did 12 pushups, but it was broken down: 2 pushups and take a 30-second break. Then I did 3 followed by a 30-second break. Then 2 and a 30-second break. (Do you see where I'm going with this?) So, my reps were 2, 3, 2, 2, 3 for a total of 12 pushups. It gradually increased from there. And the rest periods changed too. Sometimes they were longer...sometimes they were shorter. I don't know why. That's just what the app did, so I followed it. So, to say that I did 100 pushups doesn't mean I did 100 without stopping. (What am I? A soldier??) I had 60-second breaks between my reps. (Or is it "sets?" Oh, heck...I don't know.) Regardless, that is how it is set up.

But it was week three that got me. The day I had to do 50 was bad. And I had to do half in that wimpy, girlie style. Well, I decided that wasn't good enough. I couldn't very well go on if I couldn't do those 50. So, I stayed on that week for another week (plus one more day). Then, I thought I was psyching myself out and just said "WHATEVER" and moved on. Well, it turned out that I was more than ready. 55 was a breeze. 63 was a breeze. 72 was where it got tough again. But by that point, I decided that even if I had to break up my reps into even SMALLER reps, then I would. I just had to finish this app. It was killing me mentally. And that's what I did. 80, 86, 100 was how the next three days went. And it was over. And I was relieved.

So, I started at 3 in a row. 18 is now my personal best (though I'm not consistent.) And that is one thing I learned over the course of this app. I'm not always going to be consistent. I'm not always going to feel strong. I'm not always going to feel weak. It's truly a day-to-day thing.

The app wants me to keep going. My next one is 120, and it wants me to continue until I reach 170. *excuse me a second* BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! WHOOOOO!!!! Sorry.

I think I'm going to hang out at 100 for a little while if you don't mind.

It's beginning to look alot like Spendmoneymas...

Well, the Christmas season is upon us, and like most parents out there, I've received about 120 toy catalogues in the mail. And I've looked through all of them...about 10 times. I've considered what I'd like the children to have, what I think they'd absolutely love, what I think I'd absolutely hate, and everything in between. And then I get disappointed in myself. Why do I do this to myself? The pictures of kids enjoying these toys in the catalogues is so intriguing, but I know in my heart that toys actually provide about 10 minutes of entertainment at a time. Or at least that's the span we get in my A.D.D. household. But even more than that...why do I feel the pressure to spend a billion dollars on toys when my kids have everything they could possibly need or want and there are children out there with nothing at all. Anna is so into art these days. She can plow through a pad of paper in about an hour. (Kids don't care about the environment.) I could give her a stack of spiral notebooks and a mega pack of PostIt Notes, and she would be as happy as a lark. Of course...I'd end up with 1000 pink, yellow and green squares with the names of her classmates on them stuck to everything in the house and about 50,000 "books" with her stories/illustrations in them all over the place. More cleaning? No thanks. And Alex? Please. That kid would be happy playing with a banana peel...though I'm pretty sure that gift might not last longer than a day before it turned black and started to smell. Back to the drawing board for him also...

Last year, we (along with some of our friends) adopted three Ugandan children. $100 sends a child to school for an entire year. Seriously?!? What are we in America doing wrong with our money?? So, we will be doing that again this year as well as contributing to the Salvation Army Angel Tree. I want my children to know that the REAL meaning of Christmas is not about gifts and toys. It's not even about giving to others. It's about the birth of Jesus. But if our society insists on using this time of year to help others, then I'm all for it. And I want my kids to grow up in a home where giving isn't a chore but rather a pleasure. It's something that we cheerfully do.

Don't get me wrong...the Kizzire children WILL be visited by Santa. I like Santa. And I enjoy the childlike "magic" of Christmas. But now that my daughter is getting older, she's able to understand other things too. I'm looking forward to this year and sharing with her the joy of giving to others. Because it is a joy and a privilege to share what we have been blessed with with others.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!

Exercise is a pain in the neck. Literally.

So, my 100 pushups was temporarily put on hold this weekend as I nursed a sore neck. I don't know if it's the pushups or maybe I just slept wrong, but oh man it hurts! (Oh, and a word to the wise...don't take Flexerill before going to church. I didn't realize it was a muscle relaxer. I learned quickly that it is.)

My last shot at the pushups was to do 50. And I S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D. I got about halfway through them and had to resort to the wimpy girly kind. So, I'm going to do week three over again until I can do them all. I WILL accomplish this. Even if it takes me a few tries!

My friend Stephanie told me that if she ever thought I was getting fat, then she'd let me know by offering to split lunch with me when we go out.

This was right after we split lunch at Cocina Superior. Hmmm...

I know she was joking, but it got me thinking. Do any of us really have that solid person in our lives who will actually tell us the truth about ourselves. And even more than that...do we REALLY want to know the truth? (Cue Jack Nicholson.)

Very few outfits get put on this body of mine that I don't immediately go to my husband and ask "Do I look fat in this?" His standard response: "No, you don't look fat. You don't look like an Oompa Loompa. You don't have big legs. You don't have muffin top. Your boobs don't look too big. And you can't see any cellulite." Poor guy. He has to remember the right answers to all of the specific questions that I guess I've asked him at some point. Notice I said "the right answers." Because what in the world would I do if one day he just up and said, "Yep, babe. Hate to tell you this, but you look like a whale in that." ???? Would I curl up and cry like a baby? Would I lash out? ("WELL WHO ASKED YOU?!?") Why do I even ask these questions? I don't want to know the truth for real. All it boils down to is that I see these problem areas with myself, and I just want someone to tell me that they are NOT problem areas at all and that I'm just perfect. Basically...just lie to me so we can walk out the door on time. :)

My workouts are going okay. I'm not finding as much time to get in my full 30 minutes these days. We are heading out of town this weekend for my cousins wedding, and I've been busy in the evenings this week trying to get everything washed, ironed and packed. But I am still keeping up with the 100 pushups, and I just added the 200 squats app to the mix. I LOVE it! And speaking of pushups and squats, here is a new workout plan to try out from my friend Keri!

Using only squats, pushups and a jog in place, complete the following movements:

1. Jog in place for 1 minute, perform 10 squats, 10 pushups and then jog in place for 1 minute.
2. Stretch the legs.
3. Perform 15 squats, 15 squat jumps (leaving the ground), 15 pushups
4. Jog in place for 1 minute, perform 10 squats, 10 pushups and then jog in place for 1 minute.
5. Perform 20 squat pulses, 20 frog hops (leaving the ground), 20 tricep pushups or pressups.
6. Jog in place for 1 minute, perform 10 squats, 10 pushups and then jog in place for 1 minute.
7. Perform 15 squats, 15 squat jumps (leaving the ground), 15 pushups.
8. Jog in place for 1 minute, perform 10 squats, 10 pushups and then jog in place for 1 minute.
9. Perform 20 squat pulses, 20 frog hops, 20 tricep pushups.
10. Stretch.

Enjoy!!

Happiness is...

...waking up to God's new mercies each day.

...holding your baby at 1am because he is coughing too much to sleep. Sitting up on the couch while he lays on your chest and sleeps so good that he starts to snore a little.

...watching your daughter blow you a kiss when you take her to school and cherishing the moment because it (like all of them) is fleeting.

...raking leaves on a beautiful Sunday with your husband and not really saying much but just working together on something.

...the smell of something yummy cooking in the kitchen.

...cleaning out closets and generally ridding your life of clutter.

...finding a new outfit that makes you feel skinny.

...celebrating with someone when they get married and watching them glow with excitement over the anticipation of "their day."

...being asked to be your best friend's baby's godmother.

...getting covered up with stuffed animals and having your children run and jump on you. (a bit painful at times, but their laughter makes it all worth it.)

...saying prayers with your kids.

...seeing the number of pushups go up on your phone app and actually being able to meet the challenge!

...sitting with your girlfriends late at night and laughing over something that you've probably already laughed at 1000 times before, but it still seems funny.

...snuggling under a blanket when it starts to get chilly outside.

...a great pair of pajama pants.

...hearing good news...ANY good news...if you see how happy the person is that it's happening to.

I didn't want you guys to think that I was entirely cynical. :)

I'm convinced that Anna's brain wakes up five minutes before her body does each morning.

Have you ever seen this lady on the packaging for baby monitors?

At first glance, this seems like a perfectly lovely mom, sitting with her computer...probably facebooking...and enjoying some alone time while her baby naps. You know what's wrong with it? (I mean besides the fact that Mom looks like she's already had a shower, is completely dressed and is sitting in a clean room.) That monitor is lit up all the way! That baby is screaming it's head off, and there sits Mom...smiling the creepiest kind of smile, when she should be a crumpled mess, collapsed in front of the couch, elbows on knees, hands grabbing hair and screaming, "Why won't that child stop crying?!?" I like to think the fact that I'm still crazy enough to completely lose it at any given moment means that I haven't drifted off into that scary, catatonic mom world that we all are one child tantrum away from. You know the one I'm talking about. I'm talking about the one that allows you to smile and have a conversation with another person while your child goes crazy in a public place, screaming like a nut, jumping on furniture and yanking you by the arm (MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!!) But you've gone to the other place. The place that allows you to completely block those sounds and never miss a beat in your conversation. I am not that mom.

So much of being a parent is mental toughness. Don't get me wrong...chasing a toddler around all day is physically demanding, but the mental game can be the one that gets me the most. When things don't go the way they should, I tend to lose it. But I think that's okay. It means that I know in my heart that things should be a little rosier than they are at that very moment. I can see the difference in my current reality and a place with more peace. And the difference in the two makes me snap. I'm okay with my tantrums. Really.

Lately, Anna has been asking the weirdest questions first thing in the morning. "How long is an hour?" Well, it's as long as your dance class. Do you think that's a long time? "No." Well, that's how long an hour is. "Then how long is 'a while'?" I DON'T KNOW! DON'T ASK ME THE HARD QUESTIONS BEFORE I'VE HAD MY CAFFEINE! But it's like that all the time now. And she's old enough to sort of reason through things too. It's not like when she was 3 and would ask me what words meant: "What's a republican?" (Yes, she asked me that. How do you explain that to a three-year-old?) She's always known big words, even as a very young toddler, and trying to dumb down the answers to a kid who tells you that "voting is our civic duty" was really tough. But now...Oh now. The constant "but why"s that follow everything, and the need to logically figure it all out. And the worst is when she outsmarts me!

Anna: "Mommy, how many bones are in my hand?"

Me: "Alot. Lots of bones make up the inside of your hand."

Anna: "What if I didn't have any bones in my hand?"

Me: "Then your hand would be this soft mushy mess that you couldn't use."

Anna: "Do fiction characters have bones in their hands?"

(She's obsessed with fiction vs. nonfiction books right now.)

Me: "Sure."

(She thinks for a second.)

Anna: "No, they don't. Because they aren't real people."

Geez! Is she right? I guess they don't. Score one for the 5-year-old. Oh yeah...and this conversation took place at 6:45am. Gone are the days when I could give her an answer, and she would just believe me because hey...I'm mommy. I know everything, right? Now, she needs logical answers in order to accept the world around her, and frankly...my brain is finding it hard to go between her world and Alex's in a split second. With Alex, it's just about words...any words. He points to an object, and I tell him. Couch. Light. Book. Ball. Cow. Triangle. I could tell him that a chair is a boat, and he would just accept it. Love that trusting kid. And I can't help but wonder if he will be as inquisitive as Anna. You know they say all children are different, so will he need to be as logical as her? I don't know. It will be interesting to see. Just as long as I don't end up smiling that creepy blank smile at either one of them when they ask me those tough questions. That's when we know there's real trouble.