Feeling Healthy

Ok, so I'll admit it, as the years have gone by I may have begun to let myself go.  I love food, and I'm too busy to exercise.  A few weeks ago I went on a walk with my kids and I could not believe how exhausted I was. I try very hard not to conform to what media tells me is "beautiful".  I will never look like the models in magazines and as I am OK with that.  I don't feel the need to look a certain way but I do have a need to feel a certain way.  Healthy.  A few months after T was born I realized that I did not feel healthy.  So, a few weeks ago I decided to take action.  I've heard a few people talk about Jillian Michaels and how great she is so I decided to give her a try.  So, I went onto Amazon and ordered three (yes, three) of her videos.  It said that they would arrive in about 8-10 days. I figured that meant that I had 8-10 days to vegg and eat until I had to get serious about being healthy.  Then, only three days later a packaged arrived!  This was the first time I was ever upset about something arriving too early.  Stupid UPS!  I should have left the package closed for a few more days because once I started those videos I truly realized how out of shape I really was.  I started by using one video that is only 25 minutes long.  I ordered it because I figured that I didn't have any more time than that to actually work out (turns out I was right).  How much pain could you possibly be in after 25 minutes?  Let me answer that question for you....... a lot!  I didn't think I would be able to walk the next day.  I'm super embarrassed admitting that but I am proud to say that I got up and did the video again the next day.  I have been doing it everyday, except Sundays, for two weeks and I have to say that, in addition to no longer being in pain, I do feel much healthier.  And, I've lost three pounds.  I'm still a long way from my pre-pregnancy weight but I feel good.  I have more energy, I'm sleeping better, and the best part...... I can eat that yummy bowl of ice cream without any guilt.  Hmmm...... I don't think that's exactly what Jillian had in mind when she made those videos ;)

Could I be a country girl?

I grew up just outside the city limits on a lovely acreage.  I spent my entire childhood, teenage, and some young adult years there.  I even got married on that acreage.  I loved living outside of the city.  I loved how quiet it was.  I loved how private it was.  I loved that the only sound you could hear in summer time was the wind brushing through the leaves on the trees.  Then, when I got married, I moved into the city.  At first I hated it.  We had a VERY small lot in an older neighborhood where the houses were tall and close together.  I felt like someone was always watching me.  We were on a fire route and a bus route.  We had nosy neighbours and we had loud neighbours.  However, over time I began to appreciate the city.  I could walk five minutes and get a slurpee anytime I wanted to.  If I ran out of milk or some ingredient I needed, I could be at the grocery store and back in about 10 minutes and continue baking.  If I ever had a fire in my house (which has happened) the fire department could be there in about two minutes.  The nosy neighbours always let me know if someone had been lurking around my house or if I left my garage door open.  And those loud neighbours provided hours of amusement if I stopped and listened to them.  Yep, I learned to love the city.

When we moved to our current house my love affair was solidified.  We found a cute little house that is very pleasantly situated on a park green space.  I no longer have neighbours living behind me, just a lovely patch of grass leading to a pretty (but dirty) lake.  I now have the best of both worlds.  I can get get in my car and 10 minutes later be sitting on my deck sipping my slurpee (or better yet, my Starbucks!).  Now, having said that, lately I've been having an odd urge to be in the country.  No matter where you live in the city, you are still in the city.  There are still noises and people that you cannot control.  I find myself more and more often driving out to my parents house just to hear the peaceful sound of the wind in the trees.  My kid likes to go to Grandma's to swim and play but I like to go there to unwind and feel...... settled.  All the stress and strain that comes with kids, a husband, a mortgage, laundry, house cleaning, bill paying, etc... all melt away the second I feel that calming breeze.  If you have never lived out of the city you may not understand what I am talking about but maybe that's just it..... that breeze isn't just a breeze, it's home.  So, as much as I love the city, I think I will always be a country girl at heart.

Summer Guilt Syndrome

I love summer.  I really really do.  However, every year I find myself drowning in intense guilt.  When spring first arrives we take every opportunity to be outside, even if it is still a bit chilly.  Then when the warm weather arrives I am outside with the kids from sun up to sun down.  Then the end of July arrives.  By this time, warm summer weather is beginning to feel normal and I start to get the itch to get a bit more done everyday.  This year I even want to take up a hobby that is..... are you ready for this..... indoors!  And this is where the guilt enters.  I feel so guilty every time the weather is beautiful and I want to do something indoors.  I went outside this morning for over an hour with the kids then I spent two hours outside in the afternoon with L while T had his afternoon nap.  Now, T is still sleeping, the weather is still nice but I want to come inside and do some baking.  Is it so wrong to not be outside every second of our super short Manitoba summer?  While baking I am still in front of my kitchen window with the beautiful summer breeze in my face while watching the curtains in my dining room swell and sway with the same breeze.  Oh, the things I find to feel guilty about.  Perhaps I just need to let go of the guilt and go make my chocolate cinnamon buns.  Yep, I bet eating one of those will melt away my summer guilt..... but it will probably make my diet guilt even more intense!  Oh, Nancy... how art thou so guilt ridden?

My New Hobby

I desperately want to be a good cook and baker.  I really love being in my kitchen and creating new things but my kitchen skills are limited to what I have learned from my cookbooks.  I really want to learn some real skills.  So, from now on, every month I am going to try master a new cooking skill.  I think I will start with bread.  I am going to learn how to make bread and buns from scratch.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Over the last little while I have attempted a couple of cakes.  I did one for my dad's 70th birthday with some help from a friend on mine.  She came over and helped me make the fondant and showed me how to use it.  The cake was simple and it looked quite nice.

Then, this week I decided to make Dean a birthday cake.  No one in my house (other than me) eats cake.  Dean and L will take a few bites but neither of them love cake.  Despite that, I thought I would make Dean a cake just for the fun of it.  It turned out quite cute and he appreciated it.  Dean really likes wake boarding and he's quite good at it so I wanted  to make a wake board themed cake.  Since it was my first time attempting fondant by myself I was not about to make a 3D person but I figured I could probably make some feet.  So, I make a cake that looked like Dean fell off his wake board.  He thought it was cute and Lillian laughed all day about it :)

Road Trip

Dean and I have decided to take our first road trip with the kids.  I know that this may not seem all that groundbreaking to some of you, but for us it really is.  We've done destinations up to three hours away but now we are going on a seven hour drive.  When we first thought about doing it I was most concerned about L but then I thought about it for a while and now I am concerned about little T.  He is pretty good in the car but his favorite thing to do is to lay on the ground and roll around grabbing his toes.  If he can't do that for seven hours, I'm not sure how he's going to feel.  In general he's pretty laid back but it's still making me very nervous.  We are going to attempt to leave at.... are you ready..... 4:00AM!  Yep, we figured that doing as much of the trip while the kids are sleeping would be a good idea.  If we drive through the night then we are going to be exhausted when we arrive and since we are only going for the weekend, by the time we get over our exhaustion it will be time to go home already.  So, we figure that we could go to bed nice and early the night before so we are fairly well rested by the time 4:00AM comes around.  At least, that's the plan... (insert nervous laugh here).

I really do want to be one of those adventurous parents who takes her kids on fun adventures but it is very difficult to do that when you are a control freak like me.  So, I'm going to take a leap and just go for it.  It may be a train wreck but it may also go well and be the beginning of many more fun adventures.  I'll let you know how it goes.