Fitness Friday: FAIL

That's a dramatic title, huh?

This week, from Friday to Friday, was a wash. I wish it had evened out, but I gained a pound back. The exercise that I did do was cancelled out by the extra calories that I took in. We had milkshakes one night (half price at Sonic after 8pm) and then I got the kids Frosties from Wendy's one afternoon (they had never had a Frosty...Christian didn't even want to try it, because he thought he wouldn't like it; what a goof). I had a little bit of each of their Frosties, which turned out to be a tad more than I thought it would be. Because of a kind of crazy schedule, we drove through Chick-Fil-A a couple of times, and I had a half sweet/half unsweet tea each time. I was still exercising, but I didn't take advantage of some opportunities to go walking or jogging that I should have. 

So...just kind of a blah week. I decided that I would start over today. Calorie count was okay, and I did jog earlier this afternoon. I will do my video at some point in the next two hours, probably. As far as eating more quality proteins and laying off of the carbs? Well, I'll have to give that another shot, too. I find myself grossed out by the very foods that I need to be eating! I'm not sure what to do about that. I have a theory that it's related to my cycle. 

A boring update, I know. Hopefully next time I'll have a better report! I really want to work hard the next three to four weeks, before we take off for the summer. I am frustrated that I blew two weeks in a row, but..."is what is." 

3-2-1 Contact!

Michaela had an eye appointment this morning. Since her glasses have given her headaches for a while now (like, as long as she's been wearing glasses), we thought it was time to check into contacts. The eye doctor recommended age 12, but was okay with giving it a shot, since she seemed ready and willing (not hesitant). 

After her regular eye exam, he went to get the contacts; he wanted to put them in the first time, just to be quick and check the fit. She was very brave when it came time for him to stick his fingers near her eye! The contacts seemed to irritate her eyes at first, and he thought maybe she had gotten something in her eyes, some lint? It kind of made me laugh on the inside, because he's the one who was handling the contacts! He was very nice, though, and I think that made all the difference. A kind person can help ease nervousness when encountering a new situation like this...not that it was scary, but definitely something to get used to!

They fit fine, and he sent her to the assistant for, well, assistance in taking them out and putting them back in. The assistant was young and cute, and matter-of-fact while still being patient and encouraging. I thought she did a good job. She explained how to pull the bottom lid down with one finger and then pinch the contact with the thumb and first finger. I have never done this! I have always used two hands! I asked her if they usually taught people to use one hand, and she said they start out with that, and if it doesn't work out, they pursue a two-handed removal. (She didn't actually say those words, but that was the gist.) 

Well. Michaela did it after just a few tries. The assistant was sitting across from her, telling her that she had pulled the contact down and that she just needed to pinch it, or she just needed to pinch it harder. She used just the right tone of voice, though. Once Michaela got both of the contacts out, she had to practice putting them back in, also with one hand.

Again! I have never done this! I was amazed when she did it, right off the bat! (Baseball! It's everywhere!) She only had to do it that one time, and then we were done! By the time I was paying at the front desk, she said they were no longer itchy or feeling irritated. And she wore them the rest of the day! 

There are a lot of exclamation points in that paragraph, but that goes to show just how impressed I was with her!

When we were standing at the desk waiting to pay, she asked,"Do I look weird?" I said,"No! You look like Michaela!" The truth is, she looks older. I thought that was true after she returned from the Mendenhall mission trip, and now without her glasses, she looks even more grown up. 

Even though she doesn't look like this anymore...

she's still my first baby girl.

Summer Days, Sweet Endings

We are about two weeks into summer vacation here. What have we been doing? 

I cleaned my stovetop.

 

I truly wish I had a before picture. The top was Beyond Dirty. Bar Keepers Friend was also Christina's friend on this particular night. Note: As well as this stuff gets junk off of your stove? Imagine what it does to the skin on your hands. Very peely. I should invest in some disposable gloves for next time. I hope there is never a next time for my stove to look like it did pre-cleaned, though. 

We've been watching a lot of baseball. By a lot, I mean every game (as far as I know). I'm a fan of the game. Did you know?

Some kids from Christian's class met up (along with their parents) at an indoor trampoline park. They had a great time. Eliana was limited to one set of trampolines, but she made the best of it.

The kids have worked on a banner for some friends. Note to self: Find out how much a tube costs at the post office.

I discovered that Sonic has half-price shakes after 8pm. They encourage folks to "blow off bedtime," so one night, we did. Around 7:40, we headed out on foot to the Sonic that is up the street. Michaela was worried about coyotes, but I was pretty confident that we wouldn't have any troubles, at least before dark. 

She caught me taking photos.

We got four small shakes, and all agreed that if we had split two, there would have been plenty! We ate them on the way home. Christian said,"Walking and eating is not my thing." He says the most awesome things. 

This week, Christian and Eliana are participating in Vacation Bible School. Michaela has outgrown it. And I don't mean she doesn't want to go anymore...she's just too old! She insists on getting older every year, too.

Tonight was a family picnic which ended with ice cream sundaes. I can't think of a better way to end than that!

What are you up to this summer? Will you stay home? Will you travel far and wide? 

Why I Love Baseball

I am watching the game right now. It's going to give me high blood pressure. The Rangers started out as one of the two or three hottest teams in either League. They had an amazing month in April, and a great first half of May. Then, it seems, they hit some kind of wall. So, tonight I'm feeling frustrated because one of the best defenses in the game is making errors left and right. Those errors have been costly.

I mean, they are losing games that they should be winning. When your goal is to win as many games as you can so that you can make the playoffs and win the whole shebang (That looks really crazy...is that how you spell that word?) (It's right. Also, hash-exclam is a word. I like that one a lot, and may have to add it to my regular vocabulary.), then errors that lose games are costly. I certainly know there are bigger problems in the world.

What was I saying? I love baseball? Why? Why do I love this game that makes me insane at times?!

Well...it's because I can relate. Don't get me wrong. I cannot (I repeat, I CANNOT) relate to the athletic aspect of the game. I have just about zero coordination (although that is improving as I exercise...my balance has definitely improved). You can ask Mike and any of the kids (even Eliana, the little stinker) how well I pitch. (The answer will be,"Not well. Not well, at all.") But I relate to the aspects of the game that are so universally, well, relateable that they have become ubiquitous in our culture. Hitting into double plays, bobbling easy infield ground balls, striking out...when my team does any of those things, I want to stand up and scream,"What is wrong with you?! That is a play you practice making every day!" I rage when they let batter after batter on base, with two outs! I get so mad when they get men on base, but can't end up getting a run across. I roll my eyes when they swing at a pitch that is so clearly a ball, I wonder if the batter might need to see an eye doctor immediately. 

Do you know that the hardest thing to do in professional sports is to hit a ball thrown by a major league pitcher? I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it.

I promise I have a point. Here's the thing. Right when I start to get all riled up about the stupid mistakes or bad breaks, it slaps me hard, like a hit-by-pitch, that that is just the way life is. Especially my life. How often do I swing and miss? Actually, how often do I just stand there with the bat in my hand, staring the pitch down as it whizzes past me into the catcher's mitt? For a called strike. A called strike three. That's right...you're out! How often do I bobble the ball? Look, there are times that I don't even show up for the game. What else? Out in left field? Oh, I live there! 

And yet, the guys don't give up. They can't. They will have another game tomorrow night (or maybe in two nights, when they get a break every couple of weeks or so). The season is long; they can't let one game, even one really terrible outing (when they get spanked 21-8), get them down or so frustrated that it affects the next time they play. They battle. They keep swinging the bats. They go back out and pitch.

They don't give up. (Even in the 21-8 game.) (I mean, I would have started crying and gone home at 17-0.) (Yes, those are actual numbers from a recent game.) 

All right. Maybe I don't have a point. I just love this game. I love it that the players on the opposing teams chat on the field. And then they get right back to the business of baseball. I love the team dynamic, particularly the Rangers'. They seem to be very supportive of their teammates, no matter what has happened on the field; they don't throw one another under the bus. I really love when everything is clicking, when they make the plays that you know are going to end up on the highlight reel, when they pull off the amazing catch, or strike out the key batter. 

What I'm trying to say is, I'm so glad I discovered that I love baseball. And they better win tonight.

SOS

Mayday! It isn't May anymore! But that doesn't mean that it's time to slack off of my exercise routine or my change in eating habits! 

It really helped to have someone with whom I was checking in...and Mindee was sweet enough to say she enjoyed my updates, so I might continue to do some form of a report. Today and yesterday were...odd. I haven't done any kind of exercise video, because I finished the 30 Day Shred, and the day before the 5K-that-wasn't, I jogged farther than I had been jogging prior. I think there are too many commas in that sentence. I'm sorry. It's a bad sentence. 

Here are my thoughts. (I know you've been dying to hear them!) There are four Fridays in June, so I will give a Fitness Friday Fill In. (I like alliteration. There are no great "F" words that I could use with Fitness Friday. Well, there are some good "F" words, but...well, you know what I mean.) (I'm being naughty. It's been that kind of a week.) I need to find something to do for strength training. I can continue with the 30 Day Shred, start it over, and maybe get a set of 8 pound weights (and switch between the 5 and 8 pounds...I couldn't use the larger ones for everything yet). I could look for another strength training video. I could ask Mike if we can set up the weight bench that we have and use that. (This is when I think it would be super handy to push out the wall in the back of our house, or add a room back there. Easy, right?) I think I will continue to jog; I would like to go farther, bit by bit. I think the longest I have jogged (at a very light pace) was 2.5 miles. As far as food goes, I want to do an experiment; I am curious what would happen if I really cut out a lot of the carbs (what I still eat: whole grain bread, cereals, high protein pasta, aaand...I won't lie, I've eaten a few pieces of cake this week [mostly small ones]), and upped quality proteins, fruits, and veggies.

I just had a funny memory of the Frasier episode in which the folks at the radio station participate in a weight loss challenge and at the end of the challenge their team has more weight because of Frasier; he says,"I don't know what happened! I even added a salad to every meal!" If I added a salad to each meal, I would add a significant amount of salad dressing calories!

I know the bottom line is that it's not rocket science. Exercise and eat well in order to have a healthy body. I have definitely had a couple of off days. Maybe that's what I needed and now I can get back to business. I promise I won't hog the blog with this stuff. But thank you for listening to me about it! 

For my own purposes, here are two pictures of me in the same shirt at the oven, one from March 4 and one from now.

That extra chin...I might be stuck with that.

The main thing I can learn from these photos is that this is not really the most flattering shirt! Maybe for someone who is a size -2...