I Claimed The Day (Or At Least The Hair Cut)

I haven’t had a haircut since before G was born, and I just really needed one badly.  Last week, I decided to go get it done (haircuts are ALWAYS low on the priority and budget list), and then the Hair Cut Robber struck.  And struck again.  My icky-brittle-way-to-long-even-for-a-ponytail hair could wait a little while for a tune up… a long while.  At least until they (who is THEY??) caught the guy.  On lunch today, I was heading out to my usual, but in light of yesterday’s accomplishment, resolved to change my attitude.  No haircut robber was going to deny me cute hair.   I was going to get my hair cut NOW.  HairCuttery is the best; no appointment needed, and noon is not too busy since no one has apparently figured out (like I have) that the lunch time haircut is an awesome way to break up the day and get in some relaxing me time while also scratching off a to-do list item.  And now I’m back at the office enjoying my shorn locks, and I feel great knowing that I took back control of my hair

It Doesn't Cost Anything To Help

I felt compelled to write this immediately, although I'm somewhat swamped with work (work, what?!).  Over my maternity leave, G and I watched a lot of Law and Order: SVU.  One of the episodes that stuck with me dealt with people waiting for others to do something first instead of themselves jumping in to help.  I know we've all been in that situation...driven past the hitchhiker or walked by the homelesss person or kind of ignored the young man in his 20's sitting at the airport with a sign saying he lost all his money and his cell phone and just wanted to call his mom, hoping that it would never happen to us.  Watching this episode brought back two memories I had...one of helping and one of wanting to help, but just not having the bravery to do so.

The first instance was strange....I was driving down the road on teh way home, and I saw a bird sitting on the yellow lines separating the to and from lanes.  He clearly could not move, and was clearly chirping, although I couldn't hear him.  This was a country road, and no good turn offs, but I managed to turn around and drive by the opposite way just to make sure I really saw what I thought I saw.  I did.  Deep breath.  I turned around again, but I just knew I wouldn't stop.  THANKFULLY, a man had stopped while I was turning turning turning, and when I drove past, he was carrying the bird in his hands.  Relief.  On so many levels.

The second instance is a little boring.  I was driving to a little downtown area and had been following a sedan for quite some time.  It took a while, but I realized that the brake lights weren't working.  As we pulled up to a stop light, I got out of the car and knocked on this poor little old lady's window.  She must have been terrified.  As quickly as I could, I told her that both brake lights were out, and then I ran back to my car.  I did it.  I conquered a fear of helping a stranger.

So this brings me to today.  On my lunch break, I was out for a drive, and I came upon a little beat up old car that was attempting to chug along on a front flat tire.  Other cars were whizzing by, and as I went to pass, I noticed that this gentleman was about 90 years old.  It was the bird AND the little old lady!  Without much thought, I turned around in a parking lot, drove past him again, and noticed that the back tire was also flat.  I turned around yet again and pulled up right next to him and waved.  We both stopped, and then I noticed that this man was clearly NOT 90...he was like my dad's age.  Still, I asked him if he needed help or wanted me to phone anyone (because if he was 90 surely he wouldn't have a cell phone or a contact person).  He told me his daughter blew out the tires and that it was sweet of me to stop.  Thankfully he was nice and didn't seem annoyed with my assumptions that he was geriatric and helpless.

I know its not much, but knowing I can stop and help someone without my anxiety getting in the way is a big step.  A RELIEF.

UPDATES!

Cell'Maids!  Where have you been?

I've been away for a couple of days, getting my cellulite plans together!  Here are some of my updates.

1.  I didn't get to grocery shop with E this weekend, I had to go all by my lonesome, BUT that did not deter me from getting a melon. TWO, in fact.  Since E wasn't with me, I didn't know what to choose, so I got orange and green, which I cut within about ten minutes of getting home!  Me - 3...Melons - 0 !!  Also, that's two weeks of responsible melon activity - only 26 more weeks and it will be habit!

2.  I also took the opportunity to research cellulite busting foods (courtesy of pop up ads), so now I know that I should eat almonds, low-fat dairy, green tea, and some things that I forget.  I should not eat orange juice, sugar (duh), and some other tasty things.  So I got 100 calorie packs of almonds for my lunches (I already forgot to bring them today- so much for habit forming activities!).  And I did not get orange juice (although I hardly ever do).  I did bring green tea two work two days in a row, so I guess I'm two for three.

3.  I made two other AWESOME purchases - cellulite shorts! and thigh slimming wraps!  The cellulite shorts are a little confusing...it was a sanctioned impulse purchase, but I still wish I researched a little more.  I just showed up at the "fitness" section at a major retailer and picked the most gimicky and fun cellulite reduction product that I could use immediately.  Now these shorts, I'm not sure if I am supposed to wear them to appear less celullite-y or if wearing them will actually reduce the cellulite...or rather, the appearance of cellulite.  That, at least, was clear.  No real cellulite REDUCTION...
The second purchase was thigh slimming wraps.  SO AWESOME.  They are pretty much a length of neoprene that gets wrapped around the thigh as tight as possible, causing the leg to sweat out excess water.  Totally, the first day I got them, I wore them all day at work and during Lunch Zumba, and they were SOAKING.  Today, I wore both products TOGETHER!  My legs are almost sticks.
I will be taking leg measurements tonight (was supposed to do it yesterday - Measurement Monday) and will do so every week.  Fortunately, the tape measure is a bit more cumbersome to use, so limiting myself to measuring once a week should be fairly doable.

4.  YouTube ROCKS for workouts.  I'm a dancing fool with Zumba, pumping and thrusting like none of you have ever seen.  Its. So. Awesome.  I heard today that Tae Bo is on YouTube, too.  I. CAN"T. WAIT.

First BRIDESMAID fitting tomorrow! I'm so excited for the dress and the girls!  Not so for the measuring, but at least now I'm not terrified!  Wish me luck!!

Friday Frustrations and Feeling like a Failure

Today’s letter of the day must be F! 

Friday should be my weigh in day…unless I don’t like the number, and then weigh in day is the next Monday.  I tend to be compulsive about the scale anyway; I step on it every morning and every night and sometimes more than that.  This morning I was sooo excited.  I exercised every day this week, I had NO fast food, no oreos, I ate vegetables and drank water…  To my utter dismay, the scale indicated that I gained yet ANOTHER POUND. 

Now, I don’t want this blog to just be a rant and rave about how my body is working against me and how I’m so bitter, blah blah blah.  But I couldn’t let this pass.  I was all ready to tell you about my first cellulite purchase yesterday (anti-cellulite shorts!) and wish everyone a TGIF and say YAY for the snow!  But I’m disappointed.  And disheartened.  And feeling like having a pity party.  And in the midst of these thoughts, Maria and the elephant started singing, “Get off your seat! And kick your feet!” on E’s Sesame Street this morning.

Okay, so enough of the pity party.  Yes, I did make some positive changes this week.  BUT I can do better.  I didn’t get a full 60 minutes of recordable activity each day this week.  I did have sugar every day this week.  I drank a lot of coffee and a little bit of hot chocolate (a lot of hot chocolate).  I don’t eat within the first hour of getting up for the day.  I haven’t slept a full eight hours in three months (a lot of that is up to little G!  J  ). 

So today, going into the weekend, let’s get off our seats and kick our feet!  My kicking will be done in the bathroom stall (!) but I’ll certainly enjoy doing it!  Enjoy the snow today, and TGIF!
 

I Might Not Like You Right Now, But I Still Love You

Patrick and I had the incredible honor of being married by one of the Lanes' long time and very good friend. We provided him with a bit of a script, but he also chose to deliver his own homily.  And it was AWESOME.  One of the things he said in closing, courtesy of his awes wife, was that there will be times when we don't like each other, but to remember that we still LOVE each other.  I choose over and over to love my husband; he is such an amazing man, and I am so fortunate to be his partner.

And I can apply this same advice to how I feel about my body.  I want to go on record saying that I LOVE MY BODY.  I may not like it right now, but it is mine, it is amazing, and I LOVE IT.  When I feel down, I remind myself (I've been doing that a lot lately!) of the incredible things this body has done - its been catapulted into the air, its run a couple marathons, participated in triathlons, it danced to a National title, it created life, it birthed two wondrous little humans, it fed those little humans, it carries those little humans...  My body has done some really AMAZING things!!  WOW!!

But.........

Then I do some jumping jacks and feel my belly bounce up and down, and I can hear my thighs slapping together.....oh ugh blech awlk.

This is my kind-of-ugly-not-so-pretty-cover-it-up part of postpartum.  I created life?  YES!  My body fed my little babies?  YEP!!  My belly is squishy, bumpy, and kind of hangs over my pants?  Oh, yeah...

When I decided to start this blog, I thought I would post a ton of pictures and be all fun with my before and after snapshots.  Well, I don't have any after snapshots yet, but to keep up with my bargain and in the interest of full disclosure, I am posting my belly before picture.   Don't be concerned about the weird marks above my belly button...I had it pierced twice (the first time, with one of my bridesmaids; the second time with another one of my bridesmaids!  Brother E = SO SEXY.  The big giant skewer needle = not so much.)

I had been planning to have an after photo shortly; if you have been to my MyFitnessPal profile, you'll see that I haven't 'checked in' lately.  Its hard to admit that after using a fun, easy to use, motivational weight loss tool, I've actually gained weight.  I decided I won't check in until my progress goes in the opposite direction; until then, I'll keep tracking, keep moving, and keep telling you all about it!  Keep on keeping on!!

My Bridesmaids

Yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I would ever have enough to write about, and today, I have SO MANY ideas!  But I would be remiss if I didn’t take some time out to talk about my bridesmaids.  I was so lucky to have seven amazing ladies and one precious niece stand up to attend, support, and represent me in front of my husband-to-be, friends, family, and family-to-be.  And I am STILL so lucky….I talked to one bridesmaid last night, emailed another two all day yesterday, will see another one for lunch later this week, play Bunco with two of them once a month (PLUS one of incredible my sister-in-laws!!!!).  My ‘maids were super supportive, fun, and they looked so beautiful on my wedding day.  They helped me pick out the dress, and one ‘maid even picked my color scheme for me on bridesmaid dress picking day!!  And still, five years and two months later, they are still supportive, fun, and beautiful!  I can rely on them for baby advice, mommy advice, a girls’ night away from home, workout encouragement, recipe sharing, and a lot of times, just a really good laugh!  Thank you to my ‘maids – Liz, Maisie, Denise, Lori, Joey, Colleen, Carrie, and Phoebe.  You are the best a bride could have!

 

Hello Fellow Workaholics!!

My little sis sent me this today; I had to laugh!  I hide in the bathroom to do resistance training while I'm at work, but maybe I need to bring my workouts to the cubicle!!

 This Year's First Countdown (EIGHT DAYS to go....)

In eight days, I will be going for my first bridesmaid fitting of the year.  I am TERRIFIED.  I am nervous to try on dresses, and I am more than dreading getting my measurements taken.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am ONLY 3 months postpartum.  I have signed up for MyFitnessPal.com and have committed to taking Zumba on Thursday nights.  In addition, I am doing bathroom resistance training at work and am trying to squeeze in some Zumba or walking on my lunch breaks.  Still, seeing the numbers will not be easy.  I have to keep reminding myself that I have worked to reduce the stress and unhealthiness in my work life and that the past three and a half years have been very very difficult mentally and emotionally.  And now I feel vibrant and interesting and fun.  The weight will come off…I have to tell myself that this, too, shall pass….

This Weekend’s Success!

 

I have started grocery shopping with my little girl; since G’s birth, its been sort of our mommy daughter time.   I love it; I love letting her pick things out, I love it when she tells me to shake shake the cart, I love it when she carries the melon.  Yep, that’s right…she loves to hold the melon!  This Sunday, when it was her turn to pick out a fruit, she could have picked an orange melon, a green melon, or pears.  She picked the green melon (whew; I’m SO glad she didn’t pick the orange one…cantaloupe...ugh!), and I was able to find a smallish toddler sized one.  She held it with her in the cart for the rest of the trip and even carried it inside (in that kind of, sort of toddler way).

 

Now I had to hold up my end of the bargain.  Normally, when I need to chop up something or containerize it or some other such activity, the said item will languish on the counter for days until it spoils and it will thus be transferred to the garbage.  Not this time!!!  Before all the dry goods were stashed away, I pulled out a cutting board and a HUGE knife and went to work.  The melon was super soft and cut so easily (one of my many fears  - getting the knife stuck in the melon, then ripping it out uncontrollably and stabbing myself in the head).  I had some on a plate in no time for E and the rest in a container and in the fridge!  We’ll have melon for days!!!  Well, a couple days, anyway.  E must have eaten half of it already between lunch and dinner!

 

So here are my successes from this adventure :

1.        E loves fruit and picking it out herself makes it even more awesome!

2.       Cutting the melon and putting it away pronto reduced spoilage and gave my family a healthy snack option.

3.       I was a melon- DOER!!!!

2013 = DO!

HELLO!!!

For the past several years, I've had a "Word of the Year" for reasons I'll probably blog about later, but for now, this year's word is DO.  Instead of planning and list writing and thinking and rethinking and saving for a rainy day, I want to just DO IT.  Not like Nike, but more like....to be interesting.  So far, I have - Learn to crochet, take Zumba, do crafts with the kids, start a blog (!), start a yoga class, workout at home, workout in the bathroom at work, and I think there may be a couple more but I can't think of them right now!  And along with those DO ITs (aka New Year's Resolutions), this will be a busy busy year of family events.  I have the privilege of standing up in two weddings (August and September), attending a wedding in July, hosting a shower in June, and countless other "required" obligations that go along with being an attendant.

Here's the thing...I'm three months post partum.  With my second child (my fourth pregnancy, which I'm sure I'll also blog about later).  I gained fifty pounds with E and lost about half of it.  With G, I gained only thirty pounds and have since lost almost all of it, but I'm left with a doughy postpartum belly and jiggly legs.

I've decided to chronicle my journey of postpartum squishy bliss to rockin' hot bridesmaid!  I'll test crazy cellulite products and try new workouts and tell you how its going when I "avoid the top five cellulite causing foods"!  There will be pictures (embarrassing, but YAY!), links to fun products, recipes, and hopefully lots of reader comments!!!  Come join me!!!!