A Truth about Challenges

Some challenges are ridiculous! Like the challenge I gave myself saying
I'd blog once a day every day for a year. :) Hehe!
Whatevs!

I am on Google Plus and Pinterest every day and I feel like I share a
lot of my thoughts there. That leaves me at a loss for a blog post that
is BETTER than just a sentence or two about my silly day.

I have things to blog about, especially about yesterday, like my awesome
Mario Bro's costume and the Halloween Party we went to... about how
Saturdays are therapeutic for me because I tend to reset my brain and
recenter myself back down to reality (instead of the not-reality of
every-little-stupid-thing-matters-and-must-be-fixed-urgently).... but
the day comes to close before I have time or desire to share any of it
with the blog'overse.

So, I'm cutting back the challenge requirements.
I can only promise one or more posts per week instead of per day.

Does anybody really care anyway? LOL!!

Feeling Loved

I have the best husby in the whole wide world.

I love him.

And he loves me.

Right now our kids are gone. They had a movie deal that they got to go to so husby and I had three hours to ourselves to do whatever want!  

We went out to eat.

We did a little bit of shopping (last minute Halloween stuff).

We got ice cream (mmmm, pumpkin pie shake from Sonic!)

And now we still have an hour to spend and I'm on the computer in my "study" and he's downstairs watching Game 7. 

And I feel loved. Supported.  Adored.

I'm a pretty lucky lady.

He loves me.

And I love him.

I have the best husby in the whole wide world.

Candy Free Until Mid-November

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=293022197383289

So, I know that I do well when challenged.  Like, measurable, accountable challenges - like "I challenge you to lose a buttload (literally) of weight in x amount of time" or "I challenge you to make a difference in the community" ... that kind of stuff.  (I'm not modest!)
But seriously...

I think I do well with real challenges because the goals are usually juuuuust out of reach.  And, whenever something is juuuuuust out of reach, I know that I can still have a shot at it because I have God on my side and nothing at all is out of reach for Him in any way whatsoever.
That seems pretty simple.  It should, because it is.

So anyway, my newest, latest, greatest challenge is to go Candy Free until Mid-November.  This means that I, Ms Maggie, do solemnly swear to not eat even one piece of candy whatsoever between now (yesterday actually) and November 18th, 2011.

I can do it!

Know why?
Because candy is extremely fattening. And it's full of pointless calories. Calories that are good for nothing except putting lard on my thighs.  That's not too graphic is it?

My personal trainer at the Y told me last year that if an 'average' person eats one tootsie roll everyday for a week, at the end of the week that person will have consumed enough calories to gain a whole pound of weight.

Recent "research" has taught me that one hershey's kiss comes out to about 26 calories.  That's like 27 more calories than a whole stick of celery.

And really - who eats just ONE tootsie roll or ONE kiss anyway? Not me! How do you think I got to be such a 'big' girl?

So that's it. I'm candy free.  The teacher's lounge at the school where I work is creepy crawley with "fun sized" candybars.  The kiddos snacks (I have to classes a day, that means two snack opportunities a day) are ridden with sugary goodness, usually in candy form.  My own kids receive candy as gifts or rewards from relatives, friends, even neighbors at a rate that is alarming to my calorie conscious butt.  The very best ice cream on earth (from Coldstone Creamery) often has candy mixed in with it.  There's candy in my house right now (open bags!!) waiting for distribution at Trunk or Treat.  The kids are going to be LOADED with the c-a-n to the d-y in just a few days as they partake in the most obscene holiday we have around these parts.  My "candy drawer" really is going to be overflowing with candy in a week's time, instead of the stuff WE call candy in OUR house (fruit snacks, crackers, raisins, yogurt covered raisins, etc.)....

All that going against me, and I stand by my statement.

I will be candy free until November 18th!  and, let me add that it's my goal to have the kids candy stash totally GONE by then. Seriously. And those of you who mock my challenge should be willing to take bags of the crap off my hands ... that would be much appreciated.

That is all, thank you.

Excuses

I have bicep tendinitis.  Oops, guess I wasn't stretching enough when I was lifting weights 3-4 times per week during the challenge.

It has been my excuse for a lot of things:

• not sleeping
• being crabby
• skipping exercising
• not carrying heavy things (namely, kids)

The cure, says the good Dr., is some physical therapy and some heavy anti-inflammatories.  Basically she said that if I wanted the pain to go away now and fast and stay gone, then I'll have to do the formal therapy. Or, if I wanted to take my time with it, I could do therapeutic exercises at home by myself.

I hope the insurance covers it because who wants to sit around twiddling thumbs, avoiding exercise, losing sleep due to pain ...when there's the option to nip this thing in the bud.

This should be interesting - it will require physical therapy 2-3 times per week for a month or more.. it will take a 35 minute drive to get there and I'll likely have my two kiddos with me for most of those sessions.  I wouldn't mind if you feel called to pray for my sanity and patience...   oh, and healing.

Open Letters

Dear Husby,
I'd like it if you'd make this on your next day off, please (reminder: you're off tomorrow).  Thanks, sweetie!
Sincerely,
Wife

Dear Kids,
I love you more than I ever thought possible. And it keeps getting better. Every single freiking day.  This past weekend was a blast... and all we did was play together.
Smooches!
Mom

Dear Dogs,
Play together and be friends.  But, for the love of a peaceful home, STOP barking after the girls' bedtime. Gah.
Loves,
Maggie, the giver of your food

Dear work,
I don't mind you so much. It'd be awesomer, though, if I could make a living napping. Just sayin'.
Not Ungrateful,
Mrs. Maggie

Dear Exercise,
I do love you so. So, why is it so hard to remember that sometimes?
Needing Motivation,
Formerly way too large Maggie

Health & Diet

I have been watching a lot of documentaries and reading a lot of "articles" on the internet lately about healthy eating and all the different lifestyles/diets there are out there.

One thing I've learned is that I'm very impressionable.  The things I'm told about how diet affects your body in the long term stick with me. I'm thankful to have the gift of discernment, so I tend to research those subjects which interest me thoroughly before "buying" into them.  I'm the first to admit that I don't have a lot of time on my hands (wife, mom, employee, homeowner, pet owner, etc.) so I know that while my research seems "thorough" to me, it's not extensive by any means. I don't know who the producers are of the movies I'm watching nor do I really read into the authors of the things on the internet I'm reading about the subject.  I'd like to be more informed in that way, but I'm just not. I'm too busy for that and, truthfully, the purpose of my "research" (as I like to call it) is to get an understanding of my own body, my own diet, and how I can live in a way that is biblical and healthy.

I have a few favorites that I've seen lately.  One of my first favorite films was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."  This film made me want to go buy a juicer and become a vegan. No joke. Serious as a heart attack.

One of my most recent favorites is called Fat Head.  That movie made me want to go out for a 5 Guys Burger, hold the fries and (if I'm feeling extra healthy when I finally get that burger, I'll toss the bun).

I've tried to watch a few documentaries about medications and the recent research on the use of fluoride and all that, but I just can't sit through them. In my life right now, healthy eating and exercise is of great value.  The medication factor (and other supplements like vitamins) are a part of being healthy, but are not directly related to my eating lifestyle in this society.

I follow a few bloggers who are on the Paleo Diet. I read a lot of bloggers who eat only organic.  I personally know a handful of folks who despise (and rarely ever eat) vegetables.  I know a couple people who eat fast food at least 5 times a week. I know some people who hardly EVER eat out (they never know what restaurants I'm talking about when I mention them in casual conversation..  are you kidding me? I know of every restaurant in a 20 mile radius. I like to eat! and I love to eat out! but I digress...)

Honestly, my take on dieting and healthy eating at this moment is this: everything's good in moderation.  Not a new concept by any means, but certainly a more reasonable one to me than the "go vegan!" "no way, just eat more protein!" or "you'll be fine if it's all home-grown or organic!"  and the "don't worry about any of that" back-and-forth-thing that I could be entertaining.

My biggest battles with food right have little to do with what I'm eating ...  my personal battles have more to do with how much I'm eating. Especially when it comes to the tastefully delish variety.  But, I've lost 50 lbs this year and I've reached my goal weight for now. My plan is to maintain this weight until the new year, then go at it again to lose 10-20 more.

I've enjoyed being healthier.  Now THERE'S an understatement!  I've enjoyed it quite a bit. I can't even blog about it right now because I know there's enough pride in me to write a whole 'nother post. Perhaps I will someday.

But for now, I'm just going to keep reminding myself to walk away from the temptations.  To treat my body like the temple it is.  To be mindful of my caloric intake.  To exercise so that I can keep my new-found strength and energy.

Is there a documentary or an article you recommend on this subject? I'll gladly take a look!

1 Corinth 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

These are a few of my Pinteresting things...

I heart Pinterest. I find perusing the site to be completely relaxing. It can be a time-waster so I have learned to be careful and to only Pin when I'm ready for my me-time (as opposed to my family-time). Heh... 

Someone out there might be wondering, "What is Pinterest?" ...My best description for it is that it's a visual social medium. "To pin" is to peruse the site, finding things that inspire or interest you and then saving them in your own space so that you can go back to them later when you're ready to create or remember what you saw. Or, "to pin" is to save a picture of something on the www that you want to return to at another time..something that is inspiring or interesting to you that can be categorized in a way that will help you have easy access to it when you're ready to revisit it. For me, pinning helps organize my thoughts, inspirations, ideas so that I can return to the tutorials, ideas, recipes, etc. when I have a few free minutes to go at 'em. I often see something on the internet that makes me go, "ooooh! That's neat!" and then when I "red x out" I completely forget what it was that I saw or where I saw it. Pinterest is way better than having thousands/millions of "bookmarks" in your browser. 

 Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the things I've done lately that have been inspired by Pinterest.

The very first thing I ever did that was inspired by Pinterest was to recreate this artwork display. I don't have a picture to share because the board is still in the garage where it was painted months ago. I just haven't had the inspiration to finish it because it was intended for our "new living room" (used to be a playroom when I did daycare) and we just don't spend as much time down there as I wish we would (our big expensive fancy TV is in the "old living room, so that's where we dwell). Someday soon (next weekend??) I will finish it and hang it up and I will love it. :)

 I've also tried numerous recipes from Pinterest... a lot of which we will definitely do again as long as we remember to buy the ingredients. The latest recipe we put into action was pinned from this blog post. I had more fun making these thing the kids did, probably because I got to pipe the chocolate onto the pretzels while the kids just watched. Rebecca (4) loved putting the raisin in the middle of each pretzel stick starburst. :) Julia(7) just wanted to eat them... that's my girl.

Last week, it was Boss' Day, and while I don't typically enjoy "celebrating" such things, I do play along. It's been a very long time since I have ever had a BOSS... so I didn't mind going with it. I would have never thought to give a gift for this occasion if my co-worker hadn't texted me to let me know she was going to be buying flowers.. thank goodness for that sweet co-worker so I didn't look like a tool showing up empty handed. Anyway, I made a pop-top can of Oreo cookies (boss' favorite). It was fun. :) It was inspired by this post. Here's how mine turned out:

The picture is not very good - but the can itself was pretty cute. It was the easiest project I've ever done (except maybe for the next one I'll write about)... and it was a cheap gift that was meaningful.

 Ok so this morning, the girls and I were going over all three of our "invitations" for fun things to do today and trying to decide what we'd pick because we can't do them all. They definitely wanted to attend a friend's 6th birthday party, so we had to get to work on a gift for the friend. We decided to make her gift because it is more meaningful that way than rushing out at the last minute trying to find something cheap/silly to buy for someone that we don't know that well... husby and I aren't big fans of cheap plastic stuff - so we try to steer the kids away from it, too. A while back, I bought the supplies for these necklaces. I knew they'd come in handy! (I'm going to be making gifts for Christmas this year for teachers with these supplies!) I made my first necklace for my BFF (it was kind of crappy but she's the kind of BFF that said she loved it anyway :) She's sweet for letting me experiment and then give her the trials.) ... Anyway, we used the birthday invitation to make the necklace for our sweet six year old friend:

Well, there have been a few FAILs along the way too...

 I tried the dried bananas and they turned out pretty bad.

I put hot glue on the under side of our hallway runner and it's still slipping everywhere (but I think I just didn't use enough hot glue.. only dabbed the corners and a few spots in the middle.. I may re-try with strips all the way down the back side).

 I even made this fun wrap-scarf thing. The wrap/scarf turned out EXACTLY as it should have, the tutorial was perfect - but it just doesn't work for me/my style. I did use it as a scarf once at church, but I probably won't use it anymore. Maybe I can find something new to do with the fabric. :)

 I have more fabric just like it for this fun maxi skirt - I just need to muster up the courage to make the skirt...

Despite the fails and the sense of urgency I get when I see a really good idea that I love, I will use Pinterest as my search engine more than google now... because usually what I'm searching for can be found on Pinterest with pictures, tutorials, preschool lesson plans, coloring pages, craft ideas, etc...

 I have learned a lot from Pinterest. Like where to get free and awesome letters for finally framing the letters of our last name for display on our mantel and how to get the urine smell out of the carpet.

(We still need to hang our last name, but someone (me) forgot to make sure that the dollar-store frames we bought for the pictures were the kind that you can actually hang. oops...

 So those are a few of the things that have been keeping me busy lately... if you haven't been to the visual toybox that is Pinterest, and you have some time to kill, I highly recommend it!