Yoga is Harder Than It Looks

I don't do yoga. That will be plain to see from the photos. I was a gymnast (20 years ago). I still think I should be able to do basic stunts. I've seen that handstand like thing on your forearms floating around Pinterest. I thought I can do that.

Definitely not as easy as it looks.

I did get the pose briefly.

Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, A Beautiful Mess, Naptime Momtog Live and Love...Outloud and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

Sparkly Nails

Who doesn't love sparkly nails?

Giving Caitlin sparkly nails makes me happy. I'll have to give myself sparkly nails today. Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

2 Weeks in Our World

This is my favorite shot for this month.

I almost gave up project 366. I was a week behind posting. My photos are not all very inspired but I still took them. I'm planning a theme for March to keep me inspired (hopefully). It is hard to remember to take photos when life gets busy but I'm trying.

Join Chic Homeschool Mama and Naptime Momtog for lots of project 366 fun.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Health Update

I have been tracking my calories since January 1. I saw a naturopath doctor for a nutritional consultation on January 18. I saw my endocrinologist on February 6. Here is my progress:

The Good:

I have discovered a couple new (to me) health foods that I really like.

Spaghetti squash is awesome! I love it. I usually eat it with diced tomatoes. You can have a large portion with few calories and plenty of nutrients.
Frozen banana blended with 1 tsp of cocoa powder. It tastes like ice cream and has the same consistency when blended well.
Cauliflower pizza crust. So delicious even my daughter will eat it.
I am definitely eating better. I am eating more organic and whole foods. I stopped drinking diet soda. I am eating far fewer processed foods. I feel more energetic.

I'm exercising a lot. I get to go to the gym 3 days a week. I run at least 2 miles each time. That is my minimum run. My longest run has been 5 miles. I work out at home 2 days. I use my elliptical machine and catch up on television shows on my DVR. I'm lifting weights 3 days a week. I feel strong.

The Bad:

I am not seeing the scale move much. I may have lost a couple of pounds. I'm really not sure. My weight fluctuates so much it is hard to tell. I also forget to weight at the same time each day. I am waiting to see the naturopath doctor and weigh in there to see for sure.

The naturopath canceled my appointment 2 weeks ago because she was sick. I totally understand that. She then went on vacation. So I don't see her till Monday. It will over a month since my first visit. I am hoping that she can help me tweak my diet so I can be successful. She seems so optimistic about it. This will probably be my last appointment with her since my insurance only covers 2 nutritional visits a year.

I am frustrated. Really frustrated.

The Ugly:

When I saw my endocrinologist, I spoke up about my weight issues. I even read up on how to get through to your doctor. The tips were to not be emotional, state the facts and the problem. I told him that I have been eating an average 1400 calories a day, I eat whole healthy foods, I run or use the elliptical machine for 45-60 minutes 5 days a week, and that I also lift weights for 20 minutes 3 days a week. I expressed that I am frustrated that I have had no success losing weight. His response was the ugly. He told me that 2/3 of Americans are overweight. While that is true, I am someone who is trying really hard to be successful to lose weight. I was flabbergasted that he had no advice or even sympathy. I will not go back to see him again.

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So wish me luck on Monday. I'm still trying. I'm not giving up.

I See You!

Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, A Beautiful Mess, Naptime Momtog Live and Love...Outloud and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

He Still Brings Me Flowers

Dave and I agreed to no presents for Valentine's Day. Dave still brought me flowers. They are still beautiful. Having Dave as my valentine makes me so happy. Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

Panicked!

I saw this one on Pinterest. It made me giggle especially since my blinds are almost always broken like this.

Labor of Love

Valentine's Day is finally here. Caitlin insisted on making her own Valentine's this year. Her Fancy Nancy book was her inspiration. (Specifically this page) She spent many, many hours working on these Valentines.
Here she is posing with the finished products.
Seeing Caitlin's finished homemade Valentines makes me so happy. Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

Week 6

This week I saw a beautiful sunset, a fairy that partied too hard, the kids dance with the tv, the city trim our huge pine tree, and the girls dance at a girl scout event. I also made black bean brownies. Even the kids liked them. I also finished our photo wall. Whew! Another week done!

Join Chic Homeschool Mama and Naptime Momtog for lots of project 366 fun.

Outdoorsy

Sounds really nice in February. Or any time.

When Fairies Party Hard

Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, A Beautiful Mess, Naptime Momtog Live and Love...Outloud and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

Photo Wall

Finishing my photo wall makes me so happy. Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

Project 366-Week 5

Monday- Davey and Maximus played tug of war over a glove.
Tuesday-Maximus rested on the couch. He isn't allowed but he looked so cute.
Wednesday-Caitlin dressed like a princess.
Thursday-I captured a pretty sunset sky through the trees.
Friday-I got the kids Pats donuts as a tree.
Saturday- Caitlin and I surprised Dave and Davey and decorated for the superbowl. I love Davey reaction.
Sunday-We watched the Superbowl. We were sad that the Pats loss. Giants simply played better this game.

Join Chic Homeschool Mama and Naptime Momtog for lots of project 366 fun.

Dating My Husband Again

I did a dating challenge two years ago (Project 52). Dave and I had one date a week for the whole year. It was great. I felt that we took the time to connect and not just veg out in front of the tv or computer.

Last year, I thought we would continue but I wouldn't blog about it. Well, that didn't work so well. Apparently I need to blog about it to be consistent. I think I will try to blog once a month about our dates. I'm hoping that will make our date nights more regular.

So for January...

We had a Pinterest date. I'm a bit obsessed with it. Dave wanted to see what it was all about. We looked through my boards. We talked about my dream house's features, places I'd like to visit, and cool science experiments for the kids. It was another fun way to talk about our future and find fun stuff to do with the kids.
We played The New Newlywed game. ( And by new I mean the 1986 version.) To play the game properly, you need at least 2 couples. We just used the cards to play against each other. We had to laugh about how the questions are designed to make you fight. One of my favorites was "What will your partner say was the last thing she did to you that you think, was just inexcusable?" Is there a good answer to this one? Nothing says a fun board game like drenching up painful memories from the past. Another thing that would make the game hard to play with other couples is the fact it often asked questions like "Who will your partner say is the least attractive of your friends?"

Despite the game's flaws, we had fun. We were able to guess most of the time how we would answer and we had a good laugh about the absurdity of some of the questions.
We wrangled a babysitter for our last date of the month. We went to the movies to see Contraband. Mark Walberg plays a former smuggler that has gone straight after having a family. His brother in law gets in trouble with a drug dealer. In order to protect his brother in law and the rest of his family, he has to go on one more smuggling trip to raise the cash to save his brother in law. I did not have high expectations. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so good. Mark Walberg is always nice to look at too.

We were going to go out to dinner after the movies but I felt nauseous. I hate to waste babysitting but that is just how life goes sometimes. Dave took care of me when we got home. That was pretty sweet too.

Accepting Myself

How do you practice self-acceptance and find unconditional love for yourself?

This is the question for this month's BlogHer's Life Well Lived panel. It is not something that has always come easily for me. I was painfully shy all through school. I think a big part of being shy is not being confident in yourself and caring too much about what other people think. When I got to college, things changed for me. I realized that we are all more alike than different. There was no longer the cool kids. There was just kids.

I got to reinvent myself. I realized that I could be whoever I wanted to be. I also realized that I am as good as anyone. I stopped criticizing myself. I started to try more activities and succeeding in them. I became more confident.

Another big barrier for self acceptance for me was coming to terms with my body. I knew pregnancy would change my body. I just didn't know how much it would change. My perky C cups became ginormous G cups when I breastfeed. Now that I'm done with breastfeeding, let's just say they are less perky and somewhere in between the two cup sizes.

I am struggling with Hashimoto's disease and losing weight. I wrote about it recently here. While I struggle with the changes the disease has brought, I also have to find a way to love my body the way it is now. I had to change my thinking. Instead of seeing my breasts as saggy, I look at them and remember how they nursed 2 babies for the first year of their lives. I see those healthy,strong kids running around and I am thankful. When I look at my bigger waist line, I remember how it was the babies home for 9 months each. I try not to focus on how my thighs touch but on how they are strong and ran on the treadmill 5 miles this morning. I try to focus on the amazing things my body can do.
I'm not perfect. I have my bad days where things get to me. Overall, accepting myself has made me a happier person.

Check out more blogs for more thoughts and advice on the Life Well Lived site. While you are there, make sure you enter the Life Well Lived sweepstakes for a chance to win a Kindle Fire.