Good Morning! We made it!

Camping!  And not only did we "make it" as my title suggests, but we ROCKED it.  Ok, so we're not exactly shopping around for deluxe campers complete with strings of lights, nor are we feverishly booking our next trip to the great outdoors; but overall, camping was a huge success.  So huge in fact, that tears were actually shed by the littlest Wheaton when he was told it was time to pack up to head home. 

Of course, as my hot-mess luck should have it, my camera died as soon as I snapped the first picture on Saturday morning, so all memories of our first family camping trip must now reside in our heads.  EPIC FAIL.  So sadly, pictures didn't happen this weekend. But in no particular order, here are some things that DID happen:

• Bodysurfing in the lake
• Building sandcastles
• Neighbors who played their music too loudly til 2 AM
• Baby bunnies
• Live music on the beach
• Doritos, potatoes, bacon, marshmallows, ice cream cones, lemonade, basically every other unhealthy food you can possibly think of
• An air pump that wasn't charged up enough to blow up the air mattress
• A trip to the camp store to purchase a hand-held air pump
• Playgrounds
• Walking in the woods with flashlights
• Basically every other activity that boys enjoy, including but not limited to, both peeing and brushing teeth outside. 
• Mistaking an adult drink for a kid drink... and then being asked to perform a sobriety test in the form of Follow The Leader.  (Just kidding, that didn't happen.  OMG YES IT DID. We were scared out of our minds that our 5-year-old was gonna be wasted. But thank God he was totally fine.  There was hardly anything left in the cup anyway. Maybe the sobriety test was a little over the top...)
• The phrases "I wuv tampin'!!!"  and "Woah, camping is so awesome!!"
• Passing out and completely missing both marshmallows and glow-in-the dark bubbles the second night.

So here we are, home again, and I am fatter than ever.  I'm pretty sure that I gained 50 pounds while away so it's time to get things back on track. 

Here's what's happening on the workout front:

Monday- 4 mile walk (dare I say Power Walk?) with the stroller/ 1-hour Power Body class
Tuesday- (yep, that's today) Arms with free weights/ Zumba = Dunzo!/ Hopefully "hiking"(walking on a trail) with boys later if it's not a million degrees out.
Wednesday-Friday- some running, more weights, maybe another cardio class or 2, hmmm... the possiblites are endless 

What's on your workout agenda for the week???

Have a healthy day,

J

Mid-Week Check In

 I've decided that I'm sick of paying for the childcare at my gym.  It's only $3 every time I bring them, but if I'm bringing them 4 or 5 mornings  a week, I'm suddenly paying about 60 bucks a month for a gym to which I have a free membership!  That's total craziness!  So the good news is that by not paying anymore, I'll be helping us (me) stop wasting money, but the bad news is that now I need to figure out when in the world I'm gonna work out.  OhMyGod... where are you going with this?  Right here, people- I'm back to preaching about early morning workouts! 

I've actually forgotten how much I enjoy them.  It's 7:13 in the morning here, totally quiet in my house (miraculous!) and I am already loving this day. The alarm went off bright and early this morning and I actually got up with it and strapped on the sneaks.  Instead of rolling out of bed once I hear the little monster start to wake everyone else (his brother)  up, I now have 3 miles, some free weights, and some abs completely done.  I am loving it.  So much in fact, that I literally do not care that Husband just stuck his head out of the bathroom door and told me that he's pretty sure the towel he just used to dry himself off with has pee on it, and he realized it once his body was dry and he wiped his face.  Yes- instead of being irritated that someone peed all over the floor, I will embrace this and be happy that the mess was cleaned and the towel was rehung. 


Cat's out of the bag, Cherubs... one of you is a
floor-peer.  You're still cute though.
Gross, but cute.

Ok, they're starting to wake up, so the rest of this needs to be short and sweet:

1. Workouts so far this week:

• Monday: Power Body
• Tuesday: a mile on the treadmill and Zumba (another early bird special. Yeah!)
• Wednesday: nada. I couldn't figure out when to make it happen, so it just didn't. Boo.
• Thursday: 3 miles outside, upper body free weights, abs

2. It couldn't have been a more perfect morning to run.  And that's saying a lot, because I think by now, everyone is well aware of how much I dislike this activity.  It's finally no longer 100 degrees here. In fact, this morning it was a perfect 65.  I actually had my iPod charged and ready to go for once so I got to listen to more than just my pounding feet and my heavy breathing/panting/gasping. I got sweaty but not too hot, and basically feel like I might want to do it again tomorrow.  Weird, I know.

3. I love summer and don't ever want to go back to work.  I ran in to the mother of one of my students at the gym on Tuesday and this thought was instantly confirmed. 

4. You readers are making it very easy for me to not post.  I'm not quite sure at this point if you like/care what I have to say; or even if you exist at this point.  So I'm begging you to leave me a comment once in a while.  I don't even care what you tell me. Do you have a 3-year-old who drives you insane? Do you read blogs to avoid cleaning your house? Do you drive a black car?  Please.  Give me some sign that you are alive and well. 

Have a healthy day,


J

Getting Back On Track

We made it through our crazy weekend relatively  unscathed. Summer vacation is so close I can smell it, and my cellulitey (yes, I just made that word up) thighs are terrified, as they should be.  Bottom line- I HATE THEM, and have decided they need to be gone.  Enter Operation: Buckle Down. 

Two birthday parties, a neighborhood party and Father's Day meant that our weekend was filled with food, drinks, lack of sleep, being totally stressed out, more food, more drinks, and zero gym time.  We had fun and it was absolutely worth it.  I mean, seriously, how could you not have fun when cupcakes, presents, and Dude Club shirts are involved?

Wearing this girly-looking fuzzy hat was not his favorite party moment.  Yet he
still let me take his picture.  It may have had something to do with the fact that I said,
"Put the hat on and act like you enjoy it, or I'll eat your cupcake myself."



Let's not talk about the fact that the personally requested RED frosting
actually turned out looking kinda pink.  Nor should we talk about the fact that
the venue we picked ended up being the biggest waste of money ever.



Look at these guys... I am so lucky.

We ate, we drank, we were merry.  Good times.

And this morning I got this week started on the right foot.  Or maybe it was the left. Whatever.  I got up at 5:30 and went running.  It was hot and I was sweaty within about 3 seconds.  I wasn't sure if I could make it, and I pretty much hated every second of it.  But I hate feeling fat even more.  So I kept going.  And after about 20 minutes and 2 miles it was over.  Going to work with a workout already completed is such a great feeling.  I'm thinking about running another 5K on the 4th of July.  Totally doable, don't you think? 

Between that little run and the Power Body class I'm teaching tonight, my online food journal (another way I'm getting back on track this week) told me that I've earned an additional 688 calories!  How awesome is that?!  20 minutes of exercise before work, plus a class that I'm getting paid for, and I get to eat 688 calories and still be on track!  Yes please. Another totally doable plan.  

And with that,  here are some of my goals for the week: 

1. 5 morning runs

2. Online food journaling every day

3. Sign up for one of the million races that are happening around here on the 4th.  

What are you doing this week?????

Have a healthy day,

J

Where Has The Time Gone?

How is it possible that I haven't posted since Wednesday?  Sheesh, my bad.  Oh well... new week, new me.  So here goes. 

"Mom, food with no nutritional value just isn't getting it done... Please. Go. Shopping."

I was thinking about giving this post the title of "How To Healthily Survive a Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet", but seeing as how the boys and I gorged ourselves silly on Friday afternoon, I clearly don't know the answer to that.  You see, they have been so well behaved lately, that I thought they definitely deserved a special treat.  Either that, or I hadn't been grocery shopping in months, so they were actually STARVING.  Ok fine,  you win.  Well, you kind of win.  Yes, it had been a (long) while since the last shopping trip.  But they are pretty well behaved when they're not crying for no reason, punching each other, tattling, or otherwise throwing fits. And the three of us kind of LOVE Pizza Hut, so it was a no-brainer.  (As in, I am way too ashamed of how much I am eating at a greasy buffet right now to take a picture for my blog on how to live a healthy lifestyle type of no-brainer).  Anyway, there is my confession for the week:  I ate Pizza Hut, and I liked it.  I do not regret it.  There, I said it.  And, I may or may not have eaten a piece of ice cream cake later that night.  Wow, I'm on a roll.  Let me stop now before I bare my soul.  This is too much truth for one little paragraph. 

So yeah, that totally happened.  And not going to the gym happened too.  Oh well, life will move on.  And I'm thankful that I can start over today.  Onward and upward.  So here's something cool that happened this weekend: 

Wow, the people who live here must really love working out.
I'll bet they never eat Pizza Hut.

The hubster turned part of our porch in to a workout space!  He was planning on painting the garage this weekend instead, but since it rained both freaking days, he did this instead. Truthfully, this is probably way cooler for him than it is for me, but I still think he did a great job.  He had all of the stuff except for the core ball and the legit looking mats before he started this project, but it was all mixed in with the rest of the crap  boys' valuable stuff out there, so now it's nice and neat in its own little spot.

Here's something we haven't done in a while: Goal Setting Monday!!  Have you figured out what's on the week's agenda yet?  Here are some of my goals (in no particular order):

1.  Teach a great class tonight despite the fact that I am sore as hell from the crazy yoga class I took yesterday.  I went to relax for a minute and stretch out and not focus on the fact that I hadn't been to the gym since Wednesday.  That plan backfired, however, as soon as the teacher announced that "today's class will be pretty intense.  Remember to breathe it out."  Ummmmm.... I was literally dripping in sweat within 10 minutes, and I'm pretty sure that at some points my breathing was more like panting.  The 2 mile walk I took with the stroller when I got home did nothing to help.  Every muscle in my body is sore today. 

2. Clean my house.  I hate to clean, and my house is gross.  I will clean it even though I would rather nap and/or watch TV.  Boo. This goal is not fun, but it will be fun to make a list of each room in my house, and then cross them off as they get done.  Crossing things off lists is fun!

3. Donate clothes to Goodwill.  There are three bags of clothes that are packed and ready to go.  There is a Goodwill collection bin literally within walking distance to my house.  In fact, I think I may be able to see it from the upstairs window.  Said bags have been sitting on the dining room floor for at least a week.  Do you think either of us has grabbed them and dropped them off on our way to work?  No, of course not.  This week, that will change. 

4.  Not eat crap.  I will eat healthy things this week like bananas and Kashi Go Lean.  I will refrain from Pizza Hut.  I will drink a lot of water and will not give in to temptation when things like this show up on my kitchen counter after it has been discovered that baseball practice has been rained out:





And no, I did not eat one of these.  I didn't even have a bite.  And for once I am telling the truth. I have so much willpower.

And there you have it.  I think that's enough for now.  Here's to a productive week! 

Have a healthy day,

J



Working hard, or Hardly working?

Have you recovered yet from your long weekend?  My wonderful students apparently have not, seeing as how I'm sitting here writing my blog instead of teaching.  None of my kids showed up for class today.  It's not like they have a state exam in a week or anything.  I know you're thinking that it's impossible that not a single kid showed up, but I was only supposed to have 3 anyway.  I teach in an alternative program (read:  all of the badass kids who have been kicked out of the high school attended by everyone else in the town).  There are only 7 of them in the program right now, but they can't all be in a room together at the same time, so we split them in half. (Read:  I wasn't kidding when I called them badass, and I didn't mean it in the "whoa that truck makes him look so badass" way).  And today the three who are supposed to be with me right now just didn't come to school.  So here I am. 

First of all, because it was just Memorial Day, and because I'm technically wearing my hat of English teacher right now, I am feeling the need to recommend a book to you.  You may have read it already, but just in case you haven't, you should.  It claims to be a work of fiction, "except for a few details from the author's life", yet it was written by a Vietnam War veteran and is so detailed and believeable that you are left to wonder exactly which parts were made up. It is raw, gritty, touching, gut-wrenching, and all of those other strong adjectives that you would expect to come with a book that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.  It's about love, relationships, coming-of-age, and war.  Now go order it.  You will not regret reading this book. 

You didn't know that in my other life I'm a book
critic, did you?  Haha. I'm so not. 
But I have read a few good books in my day.
This is one of them.

Ok. Moving on.  On the health front, things are going fairly well.  I'm loving the new supplements.  Remember how I told you about my sleeping problem.  (As in, I wasn't sleeping at all because I was just never tired?)  Well, two weeks in to the new pills I'm popping, things seem to be changing for the better.  I've been starting to get tired at the very appropriate time of 10:30ish, and have been waking up around 6:30, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Thank you, Supplements!  Sleeping at normal times is kinda fun!

Additionally, the move away from dairy is proving to be a good one, too.  My nutritional muscle test a couple of weeks ago showed that I have an issue with my stomach.  But I've never had noticeable symptoms, so we didn't spend much time talking about it.  Well, I'll tell you something:  now that I've been away from dairy (well, mostly...) my stomach feels all kinds of new.  It's hard to describe, but I really do feel noticeably better.  Which is so weird, because I never thought I had problems before.  So anyway, I'm doing a pretty bad job here, so let's just leave it at this:  I have been cooking with and drinking either almond or coconut milk, have stayed away from all yogurt, have not really eaten a ton of cheese, and have avoided most other dairy.  And I feel healthier! 

Giving up dairy = good for me
Mozzarella cheese = impossible to give up

Moral of the story:  one little change can make a big difference.  TRY IT!!!! 

Here's a question for you:  (to which I'm asking begging for responses.  Don't let me down.)

What little change have you made that has made a big difference?
(Working out once in a while;  going meatless once a week; drinking more water; using sunscreen???? C'mon.. tell me!!)

Have a healthy day,

J

I RAN A 5K

It happened!  I woke up on Sunday morning and was so nervous, and anxious, and excited, and totally ready to go.  I just kept imagining the sense of accomplishment I was about to experience, and it happened.  I ran 3.1 miles without stopping.  And it felt amazing. 

The race I did was an annual event to raise money for The Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester.  I love that all of the money raised (which the news said was over 20 thousand dollars!) stays right here at home.  I went to pick my registration stuff up on Saturday. The cancer Supporters got a light pink bandana, and the Survivors got a dark pink one.  I was totally psyched to put my stuff on bright and early on Sunday morning, but my friend told me that I absolutely COULD NOT wear my race shirt to the race.  She told me I'd look like such a rookie.  (Duh, who would want that??)

So instead, I wore this:

That lovely guy I'm married to bought me a brand new running outfit for Mother's Day.  I felt so legit. He used to actually be a real runner who broke records and stuff, so his support was awesome.  I've never in my life owned real running clothes, and now I do.  And yes, I posed for pictures instead of, oh, I don't know, stretching or something silly.

Of course, the first thing I had to do as soon as I got out of the car was go to the bathroom.  Unfortunately, so did everyone else.  This is just a tiny portion of one ridiculously long line. There were about 6 lines of the same crazy length.  I decided I didn't really have to go that badly after all.



So finally it was time to line up.  I might be somewhere in that crowd.  

Or maybe I'm in this one.

Wow, look at all those rookies.  (And do you see that one lone GUY?  Yeah, he must have missed the memo that this was a women's only race.   Seriously though, that sea of pink was so energizing, motivating, and inspiring. 

I hope my feet don't fail me now...

That thing on my shoe was my time chip.  Cool, right?



And then we were off.  And it was exactly at this time that I realized I had made perhaps my most fatal ROOKIE mistake. When it was time to line up, there were little markers down the path with numbers on them.  You were supposed to line up according to how fast you were going to run. Since I was planning on finishing in just about 30 minutes, I stood with the 10-minute crowd. 

People kept telling me to just plan on going slowly at first since I'd have to weave in and out of a lot of people.  Once the crowd thinned out, they'd said, I'd be able to get in my zone and just go.  Well, the crowd was literally so thick that not only could I not weave anywhere, I also couldn't get in my zone.  There were about 4 thousand runners there, and I'm pretty sure that 3500 of them were also planning on finishing in 30 minutes.  I WAS SO ANNOYED!!!!  The clock was ticking away and I was seriously stuck for about a half a mile in a painfully slow moving crowd. So note to self: next time, stand with the 7-8 minute group. Wear your legit clothes again and act like you belong. They'll never know the difference.

So I finished (with my friend Jessica, who I found at the turn!) with an official time of 32:34. That totally should have been 28 or 29 something, but that brutality at the beginning completely messed me all up.  But the most important thing here is that I FINISHED!  And I didn't walk at all, and I didn't die at the end. 

(My mom ended up running it, too.  I wish I had remembered to get a picture of us after we finished, since it was Mother's Day and all. But I'm kindof an idiot sometimes).

And then it was time to go eat!  My brother, sister and I made lunch for our mama.  This was one of my contributions to the table:

 

oooohhh, I'm so crafty.  Too bad it tipped
upside down on the way over there.
Husband told me it was due to my
crazy driving.  I told him he wasn't holding it well enough.
We love each other.



And in case you're wondering what else we made her:











Missing from this picture is my brother's contribution
of pizza logs and Doritos.

And cupcakes.  We ate cupcakes.  How delicious do these look?!
They were from an all-natural bakery.  I could have eaten at least 5.

Oh, one last thing.  I'm pretty sure I received better gifts than any other mother on this planet.  I mean, seriously. 

A beaded necklace, a bird with pink sequins (it's a pin!) AND hand painted flower pots??!?  Wow, I must be really loved.  I hope your day was as wonderful as mine was.

Have a healthy day,

J

Have I Mentioned...

...that I'm running my first 5K soon?  In 2 weeks from yesterday to be exact.  And I'm nervous!  3.1 miles in a row?!?! I've NEVER in a million years thought that I would be excited to run for multiple miles, but I am.  I have been working hard, and I'm excited!  (And you can sponsor me if you feel so inclined.  I would really love it, and so would the amazing cause that's sponsoring the race. Click here to kick me some dough.)


I totally understand that to a lot of people, running 3 miles is practically nothing.  But to me, it's going to be a huge accomplishment.  I've had to teach myself how to run, and it hasn't been pretty. Nor has it been fun.  But I'm finally feeling stronger, and more confident that I can make it.  As long as I don't have too many mornings like today.  I got my arse out of bed at 6:15 and the shoes were hitting the pavement by 6:22. Usually, the cold air greets me with a gentle punch in the face and I get moving.  Today, however, I never felt like I really got in to it.  Physically, my feet were moving, but it never felt comfortable.  According to mapmyrun.com, I ran about 1.6 miles.  My legs felt heavy and I wanted to stop the entire time I was going.  Boo.  It was the longest 16 minutes of my life.  (Ok, I exaggerate.  Moments in my life have felt longer.  Like labor.  Being in labor was worse than this morning's run.)  It's alright though.  I made up for it with an AWESOME class tonight at the gym!  There was such great energy in the room, and we had a great time.  I even recruited a couple of new members!  Note to self:  buffalo chicken bites and french fries for dinner on Sunday, no matter how stressed out you are, make for a very bad Monday morning workout. 

Last year, I organized a team at work.  We all wore matching shirts, complete with glitter. Some walked it, some ran it, and all had fun.  It was so amazing to pull together such a diverse group of people who were just out to do something healthy.  A couple were pregnant, a few were workout fanatics, and one was even a breast cancer survivor.  I was so sad that I couldn't run it with them :(


Hi team!  You guys were so great.  

Even my mom and sister ran it.  Well, my sister ran the whole thing.  My mom started out on the walker's route, but decided half way through that they were moving too slowly.  So she cut over to the runner's course. Totally legal in an official race. 



Can we go out to eat after the race?  I'm gonna be starving...

So while everyone was running their little hearts out, I did what I do best- took pictures of myself. I had some pretty cute props with me, don't ya think? 



Happy Mother's Day to me!

But this year will be an entirely different story.  I have since parted ways with my team, so I will not be sporting a College Prep glittery tee.  Don't worry, though.  My girlfriend and I WILL be donning pink together.  She is thinking it will be in the form of socks and bandanas; I'm rooting for sequins and headbands.  I'll let you know how it turns out. 

Wish me luck.  I need it. 

Have a healthy day,

J

Catchin' Some ZZZZZZZZs

Last year at this time, I was working a full time job with "at-risk" teenagers, coming home to two boys who were 2 and 3 years old, trying to make it to the gym with some sort of consistency (which usually meant I was there by 5:30 in the friggin' morning), etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You get my point.  I was busy. And so, by extension, I was tired.  Like, in bed every night with eyes involuntarily shutting by 9 kind of tired. But I thought nothing of it.  I mean, I worked hard.  I was drained both physically and emotionally by the end of each day, and I needed to get some sleep. No big deal, right?

Well, as I've told you before, it was also at this time last year that my body started revolting.  And somewhere along the way, it was discovered (by pure luck), that something was growing on my thyroid.  (And I will not make you relive the post I wrote about my ridiculous self-diagnosis of thyroid cancer. But it's in the archives.  Anxiety?  What makes you think I have anxiety??) Anyway, that little discovery got me sent to 2 more specialists, and both times, my blood work came back "normal". Now here's the part where the relevance of my title comes in:  I thought that falling in to bed every night by 9 and needing caffeine by 3 every afternoon was normal. Turns out, it's NOT!! 

A good friend of mine referred me to her Holistic Specialist. I know what you're thinking: oh great, lemme guess... she was cured by a witch doctor.  I know.  I was totally skeptical too.  But seriously, what did I have to lose at this point?  All I knew was that my body was literally falling apart, I felt like garbage most days, and the only thing doctors could tell me was to try to find a new job and start doing more yoga.  So here's what happened: 

I'll totally go in to more detail about what happened at my initial appointment in a later post, but the important thing in this case is that she sent me home with a bottle of nutritional supplements (think vitamins) that were specifically for my thyroid.  She explained that even though my blood levels came back within some textbook's definition of "normal range", they may be a little bit off for what MY "normal range" is.  "Here, take these for thirty days" she instructed. "They might even cure your problem completely". Not believing it for one second, I took the bottle and was on my way.

Hi Chelsea, you are very funny.
And you are one of the reasons
I miss having cable.

Fast forward about 2 weeks (ok, maybe more- I wasn't really great at taking them every day), and now I CAN'T SLEEP. As in, I don't get tired.  Ever.  I am up, ready to chat it up, watch a movie, cook tomorrow's dinner, clean the house, whatever, at 9, 10, even 11 at night.  There were so many nights when I would lay in bed and force myself to turn off the light after Chelsea Lately.  Um, that's at 11:30!  And I would still get up and run in the morning like nothing ever happened.  What the heck happened?  OMG, was I cured?!?! 

So here we are, a few months in to my new, totally bizzare lack of sleep habit, and it's finally catching up with me.  I'm still getting up before dawn a few days a week, working an emotionally draining job, and staying up way way way too late. But the only difference is, I only work a few hours a day, so I actually have time each afternoon to make up for an hour or two that I didn't get during the night.  Not a bad plan, right?

Well, a lot of days it's working out quite nicely.  But then there are the days when the laundry is just way too out of control to ignore.  Or the days when the boys lay down for approximately 7 minutes.  Or the days when I actually have to *gasp* stay and work a full day.  Ugh, those days kill me.  So what am I supposed to do?

Truth is, I really don't know.  My sleep habits are completly messed up right now.  We all have heard that the magic number is 8 when it comes to the amount of hours our body needs to function optimally.  I heard on a health show once that your body actually functions as if it has an alcholic drink in its system for each lost hour of sleep.  Wow.  So if I'm averaging 5 hours lately, I might as well be downing 3 drinks before facing my day.  How's that for reaction time and productivity?

So if you have any ideas on how I can get a normal sleep pattern back in my life, I'd love to hear it.  I'm going to visit the Holistic Specialist again next week, and you better believe it will be numero uno on my list. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get in the shower and head to bed.  After all, it is 11:15 at night... 



Have a healthy day, (or night)

J

The new obsession

What do you use on your floors? I used to use one of those huge wet mops, and I'd drag around a giant bucket with sloshing water filled with dirty water slash Pine-Sol. Then I realized that I hated putting that much effort in to getting my floors clean.  And I use that term "clean" loosely. There is no shot that using the same mop over and over is a sanitary decision. But my floors smelled clean, so I thought I was doing something right. And then I became infatuated with my Swiffer Wet Jet.  My house would still smell great, only this time, I could throw away the dirt.  Yes! Again, I totally thought I was doing something right.  That is, until  I took a second to actually think about what I was spreading all over my house.  Hmmmm.... nothin' but chemicals.  But wait! My kids play on those floors. They crawl around and drop food. They put their hands in their mouths and eat dropped food. There must be a better option.

Enter Steam Mop.

My new obsession. I can now clean and sanitize my floors with nothing but steam.  Ok, let's not get carried away- I am 100% NOT obsessed with cleaning.  In fact, I loathe it.  My house is not dirty, but I'm certainly not a clean freak either. Whatever. Exposing my kids to germs is just building up their immune systems, right?

Exactly why I love my steam mop.

The one I have- The Shark. 

This thing is so wonderful. Fill the little tank with water, attach the cotton pad, plug it in, and go.  The water heats up almost instantly, and suddenly I'm cleaning my floors. The steam billows up (I've heard it's over 200 degrees, but I'm not positive about that) and the kitchen tiles shine. You guys- I am not kidding- my floors get cleaner with this steam mop than they ever did with any other kind of mop. I just used it the other day, and almost took a picture of the cotton pad at the end of my mopping adventure, but something called pride got in my way.  There is no way I will ever admit how dirty my floors actually were.  (Remember those pore cleaning strips you tried when you were in middle school?  I equate the experience to that.)

I know you're thinking, "but I really love the smell of newly cleaned floors". Yeah, me too.  You equate smelling clean with actually being clean, don't you? Well, I have a solution for that too.  Put about 10 drops of essential oil into your steam mop's water tank. I used Lavender, and my whole house smelled like a spa when I was done.  Hooray for not breathing in chemicals!  (Or ingesting them if you are either a pet or a three-year-old child).

So there you go- a cleaning tip from a person who hates cleaning.  I hope you use it; I hope you love it. 

Have a healthy day,

J

Vacation from vacation

Hi!  I know it's been a while, huh?  I'm off from work this week, which is in turn, throwing my entire schedule off as well.  I always try to jam as many fun things into one week as is humanly possible, which always ends up backfiring and leaving the boys and I crazier than usual, and exhausted.  Sheesh, I'm totally gonna need a vacation from this vacation!

While I have been drooling over perusing friends' pictures on Facebook of their fancy migrations South, I have been living it up here in the ROC. Yep that's right, we've been coloring Easter eggs, eating our weight in jelly beans (oh wait, maybe that's just been me), going to swimming lessons, trying to catch up with friends who we never get to see because my stupid job gets in the way, and getting on eachother's nerves because we are never around eachother for this long at a time.  (Tune in to my other blog for my true feelings on spending a week "off" with the kids...) Butttt.... you don't read this for updates on my glorious life with two young heathens; you read it as a supplement to your healthy lifestyle.  So here are all of the healthy things I've been doing since I last posted 5 days ago:

1. Running!  OMG, it's true!  I officially signed up to run in the Mother's Day 5K to support the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. This will be my very first 5K (since my health crapped out last year at just about this time, and I didn't get to do it). I'm excited, I'm nervous, and I still can't believe I'm really gonna do this.  So anyway, now that I've committed, I have been running three mornings a week.  I usually do anywhere from 1.5-2.5 miles.  Now for all of you runners, I totally get that this is like, nothing.  But for me, it's nothing shy of miraculous that I can actually run for 2 and a half miles without stopping.  Oh, hey, wanna sponsor me? Here's the link.

2. Pilates!  Yes!  I've done it 2 and a half times since my last post (the "half" comes in to play because there's a lot of pilates-type stuff the class I teach). I went to a class on my own will the other night, and then got to teach a class last night.  It was my first time in this particular gym, and it ended up being a great time.  I'm not sure if the best part was that I got to teach on a stage, or that I wore a sequin headband.  But those are just minor details. Hooray for working the core for an hour straight!

3. Zumba! I love it. True story. I've moved up to the front of the class. That's probably a really embarrassing thing to admit, but I don't really care. I'm sick of standing behind people who are either off beat, moving in the wrong direction, or both. So now people get to stand behind me. HA!



4. Making moves! I can't really elaborate on this one yet, but suffice it to say that I've been doing a lot of thinking about what's coming next in this game of Life. I think I'm coming to some agreements with myself, and I like where my thoughts are taking me.  I have no idea whether or not any of these thoughts will come to fruition, but whatever happens will surely be healthy for the mind and soul.

What healthy things have you been doing?  I'd love to hear. C'mon- inspire me!

Have a healthy day,

J

Stolen Post

I saw this chart on Pinterest a while back, and am officially deeming it worthy to share.  It absolutely amazes me how much sugar we consume.  It's in pretty much every single thing we eat and drink, but the truth of the matter is, the more we eat, the more we want.  Yes, sugar is very addicting.  Yet, as is the case with everything else, it is fully within our control.

 And just to prove one more time to you that I am in fact on this journey WITH you... this post is coming to you at the end of a day where I *drank* about 600 times the amount of sugar that any normal person should consume in any given day.  Ah yes, it started with Splenda in some coffee at the beginning of a very long day of meetings (Splenda=fake sugar=no calories, but totally weird).  I then downed a Snapple with lunch, and followed that up with some hot chocolate at the end of the day.  I vow to drink nothing but water tomorrow and hope that it all evens out. Blah.

So for those of you who are like me and enjoy a visual aid, here it is in all its glory:  the disgusting amount of sugar we consume in everyday foods and drinks. And for those of you skeptics who enjoy a disclaimer, here it is in all its glory: I have literally no idea who the original creator of this chart is.  I'm choosing to believe it is truth, but I guess unless I take the time to do the math, I will have no real way of knowing.  If you are math person and enjoy that kind of thing, please feel free to figure it out and let me know.

And on that note... ENJOY!


...and now you know. 

Have a healthy day,

J

Welcome!

I love a good oxymoron.  Baby grand, jumbo shrimp, large fries with a diet coke, healthy with a side of ranch.  It seems as though everywhere we look, we're making excuses.  Doing what's mostly right, and justifying the other part.  Right?  Isn't that how it goes?  I ate really well today, so I deserve this cookie for dessert.  I am so stressed out, so I deserve this ice cream.  Hey- I'm not knocking you.  In fact, I'm right there with ya.  And I'm declaring that today is the day it needs to stop.  For all of us.

I have become obsessed lately with fitness blogs.  And you know what I'm finding?  That they're all written by supercute, young girls who live supercool lives in big cities.  They all love running, and taking pictures of their expensive, organic breakfasts.  Well I'm here to tell you something.  I am neither supercute nor young.  I am a 32-year-old average mom of two gorgeous boys. (Check out my other blog- http://www.naptimeisthenewhappyhour.blogspot.com/).  I live in a pretty small city.  I eat breakfast on my way to work in the morning, and as much as I hate to admit this, I rarely eat as organically as I should. Oh yeah, and I hate running. 

Have you seen this? I think it was written for me:


So what business do I have writing a blog about health?  Well, I certainly don't know everything about anything, but I do know a little bit about a few things.  And what I know is that we aren't left with much if we don't have our health and wellness.  I'm looking forward to sharing some of my sweat, tears, joys and successes with you.  (And some tips along the way).  Thanks for stopping by.  I can't wait to hear from you, learn from you, and celebrate successes with you!


Have a healthy day,
J