Ezine Blogs: June 2008

Going Back to go forward

So back in April I did a brave thing. I posted my weight and measurements for all the world to see in an attempt to stay accountable and get healthier. As you may have figured out, I have a problem with consistency. However, each day brings with it new possibilities and opportunities. "His blessings are new every morning!" And so with that I will begin again. For the past two days I have really been focusing on my diet.
With the purchase of the pool and the trike, I have also been able to be more active.
The goal now is too keep it up.
New stats
Weight 159 lbs
Measurements-
Waist 33"
Hips 43"
lower ab 42"
chest 37"
upper thigh 26"
knee 17"
upper calf 16"
upper arm 13"

So based on previous entries I have lost one pound and one inch off my waist and hips. I have gained one inch around my lower abs. Of course I measured myself so that might not be accurate.

As for the diet.
To kick off my diet on Saturday, I did a protein shake fast. All I had all day was 3 protein shakes, some scrambled eggs and some ground beef. My body didn't like this much. Yesterday I had an apple for breakfast, some coffee with a diet(60 cal) hot cocoa packet mixed in. I call that the poor man's mocha. For lunch we went to Pick up Sticks. I had their lunch special of Garlic chicken. It came with brown rice and a salad. I drank a diet coke with it. For dinner we got a rotisserie chicken from Ralph's and all I ate was the chicken. My plan is for no carbs after 3pm. I can burn off carbs earlier in the day, but at night they just sit there and store. On Saturday
we got the trike and the bikes so we had to test them out and I rode mine for at least half an hour. Yesterday I rode it for 40 minutes or so and then swam and played in the pool for another 2hours or so after that. The best thing about all of it is to see the kids being more active. Seeing them feel their need to move and not suffocate it! If I am moving they are more likely to move too! Ryan is even pedaling now. Previously he couldn't quite get the hang of it. So now we need to get his legs stronger and soon he will be riding with Armstrong!

"Stimulatin' the economy" or "Confessions of the hopelessly uncoordinated"

So we checked my bank account online and were pleasantly surprised to find that Uncle Sam had snuck in there and left us something. We had already anticipated the gift but didn't know whether to expect it in the bank or the mailbox. Likewise we had already discussed how to spend the windfall. New bikes for the family. Taylor's bike was stolen from our backyard and Jody's was kaput. Ryan had outgrown his and Jenna's is beyond repair. Here is where the confession comes in. Notice how I didn't mention anything about the state of my bike? That is because I didn't have one. I have not had one since I was about eight years old. My dad took the training wheels off my bike when I was 6 or 7. I don't remember exactly. Both my parents had pretty much taught themselves to rise their own bikes, so I was expected to do the same. This was a pretty valid expectation since most everything else I had ever learned to do I had done on my own, refusing help from my parents and others. The problem was that I never did learn. So now, at 34, I have no shame and have invested in an adult tricycle. I can justify it somewhat with the increased gas prices. There is a grocery store less than a mile away. With the nice big basket on this I can ride my trike to the store and save precious gas and get some exercise at the same time. I can also ride with the family now and encourage the kids to be more active. The library is close to the store too so we can ride over there as well. If gas prices keep going the way they have been, we are all going to get very fit. Should make Michael Moore happy. Maybe he should try that too.

On a side note, we saw Wall-E yesterday. It was a great movie. It is literally a movie for the whole family. Those who know me well will know why I identify with this character after you have seen the movie.

Up, Up, and Away

Jenna is off. The day went off great. We left La Quinta by 5:45 or so and got to LAX by 8:30am. Needless to say I was in desperate need of a ladies room by then. If you have had more than one child you will understand! God was so good to us! As we were driving around the parking structure level by level we spied people waiting behind others to grab their spot. I happened upon the open space that was closest to the sky bridge access to the airport. We left Jenna's bags in the car and made a dash for the facilities. Why do they not realize that the majority of travelers leaving airports are already having to travel quite a ways and put bathrooms in the parking structures?
Anyway all was well. Jenna's flight didn't leave until 12:30. We had plenty of time. After getting her bags we proceeded to check her suitcase. Twenty-nine dollars later (oversize baggage fee) I was allowed to also get a gate pass. I made Jenna find her gate by herself, but I felt better putting her on the plane myself. God is so good to me. I was able to listen to Christian teaching all the way home and I am currently enjoying a few precious moments alone. I think I may take a swim, before I tackle the dishes and the website updates.

Fish Family

So we got the pool on Saturday. Jody had it set up and filling by Saturday afternoon, but I had to babysit so I wasn't able to enjoy it until after church on Sunday. But oh did I enjoy it! It really is perfect for us. It does take up more than half our yard, but we never use the yard in the summer anyway. Now we can be outside and stay cool. Or cooler at least. It didn't take too long for the water to warm up. It cooled off overnight though. Come August it probably won't. The kids love it and it is so great to see them moving around and being active. Most people complain about hyperactive children, mine are hypoactive. While this makes for very mellow and mostly obedient kids, it also makes for kids with low muscle tone. Taylor does handstands and tries to snorkel. He can actually stay under for quite a while. Ryan is very timid in the water, but every time we go in he gets a little braver. His feet touch everywhere in the pool so that helps. I can do all my water exercises in it and swim for a little bit. We are hoping to keep it up until the end of September. While we are in the pool we turn the a/c in the house up a bit so we save electricity and we don't freeze when we come back in the house. Hopefully that will help offset the cost of running the filter on the pool.
In other news, Jenna leaves for Pennsylvania tomorrow. We figured out that Red Lion is actually about 50 miles or so west of Philadelphia, so just maybe she get to visit some family who are there over the summer as well. This will be the first time she is flying solo. She is not even flying as an unaccompanied minor. What this means is I probably won't be able to get a gate pass to walk her back to the gate her flight is leaving from. Touchy moment for a mom. I am sure she'll be fine, but I would rather be able to walk her to the gate.
We have decided not to put Taylor is football this year. I asked him if he wanted to do it or if he was doing it because he thought we wanted him to do it. His answer was in the latter so we decided we would try out karate. There is a class a few blocks from our house and the price is very reasonable. Ryan will do it too as will Jenna when she gets home.
That is all the family news for now.

Just checking in

There is nothing profound that I have to say. Not that there ever is really, but for today I just wanted to keep everyone apprised of our summer's goings-on.
This weekend we are making a major purchase. We are going to invest in a small above ground pool. It will only be 15ft across and about 3-4 feet deep. But for us it will be heavenly. Where we live it is so hard to get kids outside. It is so hot, even by 8am.
Yesterday we had to get up at 6:30 am so we could get to the park by seven and not melt. Then we went swimming at my mother-in-law's office. That was lots of fun. But we couldn't manage it today because bedtime ended up being really late. We have other things on our agenda though. Our local library's summer program kicks off today and we will probably go to the local mall to walk indoor laps. Later we are going to the art museum because today is their free day from 4 to 8pm. We plan to stay until 6 or so and then go to a special family VBS thing that is put on by a musician friend of ours. It is shaping up to be a busy day. I can not wait for the pool though. Whenever we go swimming now it is always such a big deal. We have to get everything ready, drive to the pool and then when we are done drag it all back home. Now we will be able to simply open the sliding glass door, be outside and moving around and still stay cool. My boys are not swimmers as of yet. Taylor can swim, but he won't swim in deep water. Ryan does not swim yet and is pretty cautious about the water. The 3 foot depth will be great for both of them. I can do water aerobics too. Next year we are seriously considering moving to a house with am in-ground pool but for this summer I think the small one will be wonderful.
My summer art program starts up next week and I am getting ready for the next year of homeschooling. The one thing I have to make sure I do is to not lie to myself about how much relaxation time I deserve. It is so easy to let whole days go by with nothing to show for them except an increased library of Law&Order programs seen. I really want to try not to turn on the TV at all and just see what happens.

Quotables

This was a comment left in response to the continuing California home school debate.

On June 12th, 2008 at 2:53 pm, timinphoenix said:

Come on…

There shouldn’t be home schooling. It could cut down on the wages of the public school teachers.

And everyone knows that dating students these days is more and more expensive.

Well said. I think I'll keep home schooling.

How Far?

So, in classic Julie fashion, I got to the gas station and realized I did not have my purse with me. Minutes earlier I had seatbelted my six year old into his grandpa's van. The cousins are in town and everyone was going to go swimming. I had an errand to do so they were just going to go with Paw-paw. Of course I put my purse down to buckle the kid and forgot to pick it back up. So phone call to the paw-paw, and a trip home to meet him to get my purse and back to the gas station. This all took about 45 minutes. The first time I pulled in at the pump the price was $4.18/ gallon. When I got back, 45 minutes later, to the same pump, it was $4.23. I knew that gas prices fluctuated daily, I had no idea that now it's hourly.

New House- Sort of.

Well my Dad is trying to sell his house in Palm Springs. He and his fiance are planning to live in Arizona once the house sells. So what this meant to me was free furniture. In the ten years Jody and I have been married, we have only bought one item of furniture, a bunk bed set for the boys that he had to put together. I have always tried to make the hand-me-downs work in some sort of matching way. It didn't always work, but God has been gracious to me this time even in the small things. We have a new couch and rug. I was able to come up with a unique furniture arrangement(thank you HGTV) and bring out and hang some of my old artwork. I think it works. If nothing else the newness of it is very gratifying.
The first pic is very old of the old couch. Hubby and Ryan are spudifying on it.
The second two are both shots of the new stuff.
The couch is set at an angle in the room and the computer desk is behind the couch.

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