Friday, April 6, 2012

Perspective

I got a look at myself in a mall mirror. Perspective is everything when you think you're doing good....and then reality hits.  I haven't been to the mall since before the start of cold/flu season. (You'd be surprised what disgusting things are floating around in that circulated air, let alone on surfaces with crawling, drooling children!) So Tuesday the in-laws were here for a visit and we went off to the mall to get mother-in-law a new pair of glasses and shoes and a stop at the book store for us.  Note: I go in for childrens books, the kids find their usuals. Fire marshall diecast car and diecast airplane with opening doors for the boy, a stuffed purple turtle for the girl. Sigh...

As I was walking around while the mother-in-law was shoe-browsing, I got a peek at my profile in a mirror.  Bubble butt, spare tire poking out the front that refuses to budge...legs looked decent enough...but ohhh...the unmistakeable proof of a lax last couple of weeks on my face.  The puffy face and double chin is a giveaway for sure.  The first place I show it is in my face...then my stomach. The stomach I can hide better than the face.  Not. Good.  Reminded me of being 9 months pregnant, ready to produce this full-sized baby (and by full-sized I mean one kid was 6.14oz and the other was 5.75oz so most of it was ALL me!) and then you get home and think you look fantastic in your pre-maternity clothes!! That's not real. That's not good. You were still a fat-ass before you got pregnant and your pre-maternity clothes should never have been in your closet either because YOU should never have been that size either.  A little perspective, yessiree. 

I think it's impossible to eat rabbit food, drink the correct amount of water, work out, maintain a household and homeschool all while keeping your sanity and NOT drop at least one of those balls occasionally.  Well, I've dropped a few recently.  Can't do it all at once.  So the water-drinking went out the window.  I didn't pay attention to my food choices that much. I worked out only three times last week. Not enough to make a dent in the bubble butt or the spare tire or the fat face.

 I keep reading that writing down what you eat and what you do to work out helps keep you honest.  Perspective and some honesty.  That's what I need.  Do I want to be honest on paper? Absolutely not.  But I know I consume empty calories that need to be cut out.  I need to pick and choose the calories that are most important.  I also need to increase the calories burned.  So I need to write down what I do for exercise.  Blogging every day just wasn't happening.  Another thing I need to write down is water intake.  You'd think it would be silly to write down how much water but when it's such a problem...yes, it needs to get written down.  So I'm breaking out a spiral notebook that has "Vacation ideas" written on the cover from yester-year (I had half a page of ideas for vacations on continents I'll only see in educational videos for the time being. That page is now replaced with what I've poured into my gut.) 

I have several projects I'm working on at the moment...but the body is a constant work-in-progress. Time to shuffle the priorities a bit, at least for the next month or two and start getting honest on paper.  Maybe the next time I catch my profile in a mall mirror I'll see a smile on a slimmer face. ;-)

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Caliente!

It's been too long....and from the number on the scale I can tell it's been a lazy time too.  Ah well, the mojo's finally back because summer has decided to surprise us early this year.  My "summer" will start mid-May with traveling and the husband coming home for his three week visit.  Only a month and half left!  Whaaaa?!?  Yup, time to get my butt in gear.  So of course I need to finish off the last of the fatty food that has somehow made its way into this house.  ;-)

On to my main thought process here...Caliente! was a show on Univision I used to watch when I was in high school.  Usually in Miami but sometimes on location in the Dominican or Puerto Rico and always with half-naked swimsuit- wearing, booty-shaking hot Latinos.  The music is what attracted me because they always had live singers as well as new releases.  You couldn't sit still and watch, you had to move.  I'd watch in the middle of winter in Virginia and fantasies of Puerto Rican breezes and the slight scent of cologne on a guayabera-wearing gentleman kept my teenage mind alive and well. ;-)  For those that don't know what I'm talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guayabera

I don't like just a GQ look...it's a relaxed, still put together look...nice slacks...a linen shirt, tan skin, cologne on the neck...and then of course I plug myself into that equation...and I'm 50 pounds lighter, my hair is never frizzy and preferably blow-dried by a hairstyling goddess.  We're salsa dancing outdoors...I'm not even thinking about dinner...or dessert....my mind is free of responsibilities...and then just when I'm really getting to the good part one of the kids tells me they see a dog across the street while we're stopped at a traffic light and I snap back to reality.  Sigh....listening to Marc Anthony in the car sure does bring back memories....

Here's where part of the mojo from this week came from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwylzRrIkv4

The title translated is "The moon over our love"...yes, I retained some high school Spanish! lol It's a beautiful song and it got me moving in the car and remembering the good ol' days.  I came home and danced while the kids napped.  Feels good to have the mojo back...maybe I should try a mojito to go with the mojo?? LOL

Monday, January 2, 2012

More chances for new beginnings

  Every year we get a new start, a new beginning and EVERYONE is on the same page.  We start off the year with wanting to improve something.  For some it's losing weight, saving money or promising to take the family on a vacation this year.  For others it's a new pep in the step on the journey of self-improvement.  We all start the year off well...but we should remember to make these not just new year's resolutions but actual life changes.  I don't need a temporary fix, I need an overhaul. lol  Small things are what you put on your to-do list on the $1 bin notepad on the desk or fridge.  No, for me, the overhaul needs multiple half-naked celebrities and fitness gurus to motivate and remind me of my goal.  It needs a saved document on my desktop.  It needs not just bullets but actually numbering of goals.  So here it is:

Resolutions for 2012

1. Buy used clothing/goods as much as possible or at least check thrift stores/Freecycle before buying retail.

2. Don't buy clutter. Think twice before adding something to the cart.

3. Exercise more, save the $ on crap food and buy something special instead.

4. Eat more fruits, vegetables and quality proteins.

5. Relax more and do things that ease stress on the mind and body.

6.  Read all the books stacked up all over the bedroom.

7. When the temper rises, take a deep breath and speak with a softer voice...or leave the room.

8. Don't let anyone pile garbage onto my shoulders. If they are miserable they need to crawl back under the rock from whence they came or they can own their nonsense and let me do me.

9. Make time for quality moments and leave the rest for later.

10.  Organize the school cabinets.  Organize the spare room.  Donate, Freecycle or throw out. 

Remember last week after Christmas when I had too many cupcakes?  Yeah well it's time to get back on the horse or the wagon or whatever and get movin'!  I have my workouts planned for this week.  January is time to prep and psych myself up for Insanity for February and March.  It's going to be tough and I will sweat and it won't be pretty so I need to prepare my body and it ain't even close at this point. lol  I'll probably add in some of my easier workouts in the mix with Insanity because I might need something a little less intense on some days but I'd like to be able to say I survived Insanity. lol  That's the fitness goal for this month and today is the first workout day in January.

By the way, if you've heard of Piloxing, it's great..however...if you watch the Piloxing clip on www.collagevideo.com it is different than the 14.99 version sold at Target.  Target's is a mix of different workouts and the Piloxing toning and express versions but not the full extended version (which is what I wanted).  Too late for me to return since I've opened it but if you're considering it, there's a reason the actual dvd is $20. lol  The set is fine to add on to other workouts but that's not really what I was looking for. Oh well.