Putting Things Together

Don't get all excited. I'm not putting things together in an existentially meaningful, philosophical way. I haven't come up with any revelations that are life-changing or newsworthy. 

Here is what has been going on around here...a little building. Years ago, we bought Michaela a new desk and small cabinet-type drawer-cart thingy. Mike put the desk together shortly after we bought it, but the cabinet remained in the box for at least two years. We are awesome like that. Just the other day, I thought,"We've got to make that! It's taking up space in her closet!" So, one morning we got her room all cleaned up and then dragged the box out of the closet. She was very happy.

She opened the box and took out all the parts and pieces, she sorted them out, and we found the drill (and its accessories). It was just like Phineas and Ferb, except we didn't blow anything up or use fire or make a roller coaster, and there were no platypuses around. 

This girl is perfectly comfortable with power tools. And figuring out how things go together. 

She was careful and methodical, but she still had fun.

There is that period of time during childhood when work doesn't seem like work. That's a little glimpse of heaven, I think.

Eliana wanted to help very badly. She was pretty good about waiting for her turn. 

She and Michaela were a good team.

Michaela is, for the most part, a very patient big sister. 

She explains the way to do things, and helps Eliana see that there are many ways to be helpful. 

Eliana did her part, and then made sure that Michaela was doing hers. 

We were just about done when Christian got home from school.

He helped a little, and he also entertained Eliana.

You know, the hands in the knee-pit kind of entertainment. 

That will always get a laugh, I'm afraid. 

Finally, the project was finished, only a few tears had been shed, and no one had gotten hammered (by the hammer, I mean...but no one needed a drink, either). 

My only concern in the end was the existence of holes that have no purpose. Why? Why is there a hole there? This is a question that I will come back to many times. It's disconcerting. 

You might think that I took a picture of the final product. But that would mean that I was good at putting things together. Around here, that's what the kids are for. 

Tuesdays Never Got So Much Attention

It's Tuesday! Taylor has stuck with her May project, and I am joining in again this week. 

This was the first week since I started exercising and changed my diet that I had a certain monthly visitor. I have to say, my issues must be seriously related to my period. (Sorry! I am talking about my period!) There was a definite noticeable shift for me, as far as my energy level went, feeling motivated, attitude; honestly, it was crazy to note the difference. Yesterday and today were better (even though I have a ridiculously out of whack cycle, it seems like the beginning is the hardest on me).

I stuck with the exercise and the lower calorie diet, drank only water, and resisted things (for the most part) like brownies, ice cream, and extra waffles. (In the interest of full disclosure, I did eat a few small bites of the brownies that I made, here and there. I also licked a couple of ice cream spoons after serving the kids.) I weighed myself today and I was down one more pound from last week. Out of curiosity, I weighed myself earlier in the day and then again tonight, and it was exactly the same both times. I thought that was interesting. 

A couple of days ago, I began Level 3 of The 30 Day Shred. I am still walking/jogging each day. And truthfully, most people wouldn't call what I do "jogging," but it's bouncier than walking. So, I'm bouncing. And I'm doing it uphill. But not when I have the jogger (ironically). When I have Eliana, I just walk fast, and I am able to keep my heart rate up without adding the bounce. 

I have really enjoyed the exercise. It feels good to be doing something that contributes to my fitness. Here are a couple of pictures; I can see a difference, and hopefully it's not just wishful thinking. (I promise that is not a not-so-subtle call for compliments on my endeavors. I hope it doesn't sound that way.)

This is last October. You might look at this picture of me and think I look fine. And I guess I do look fine, but...to me, I don't look like me, at least the me that I am used to. My arms were bigger, my face was bigger, and my tummy was bigger than any other time in my life, other than when I was pregnant. And even then, it was a different kind of bigger. I'm also sure I was holding it in for the picture. When I let my belly go, I looked six months pregnant. And I know I had gained weight even since October. 

A friend took this picture last weekend (Saturday) and sent it to me. I know it's not a great shot as far as seeing anything other than my head,

but I think my face does look different. I am planning on getting a photo taken wearing the same Texas Rangers shirt at the end of the month, to do a better comparison.

So, I know the changes are taking place. I know I am getting stronger, and things like taking the stairs to the third floor at church or even carrying the laundry from the laundry room up to where I fold it don't make me quite as winded as they used to. I still have quite a roll around my middle, and those irritating saddlebag-like pouches on my outer thighs. I am curious to see what happens to those areas, say, in another month.  

I have to keep telling myself that getting to a better place takes a lot of work. And when you start out with this kind of material... 

well, 30 days just isn't that long.

Time? It Flies, Y'all

I'm so sad that I haven't posted since Tuesday! I feel like I am constantly writing blog posts in my head, but...they never make it out of there. 

I have thoughts about songs I hear on the radio.

I have thoughts about baseball. (I really like baseball. Did you know?)

I have thoughts about my kids growing up.

I have thoughts about having an empty nest.

I have thoughts about my laundry. (Many of them include words that would not be appropriate for this blog.)

I have thoughts about not eating what I want to some of the time.

And although all these thoughts are winging about in my mind, I have been unable to sit down and give them a coherent black and white permanent place on the Internets. 

I'm going to try to be better about posting, even if it's just what we do on a certain day, and it's not all that exciting. I used to do that all the time, but I think somewhere along the way I started to feel like it had to be Something Special about which I posted. What I know, and have struggled to see in many ways, is that it's all special. It's special because we are here, and we are together...one step at a time.

(Do you see what I did there?) 

I do think the exercise has helped my general well-being. I think I have been a little more pleasant, had a little more energy, and been a little more laid back ("a little" is a step in the right direction, yes?). The exercise has not helped me get the laundry under control. Maybe I need to do the full 30 days? 

That is a goal for this week...getting the laundry down from a full-blown mountain to something more along the lines of an anthill. 

This is terribly enthralling, isn't it? 

Here is some news, for those of you that have been reading for a bit...My mom's friend, Jan, who had a liver transplant a few months ago, is about to go home! There have been some ups and downs since her initial surgery, but now she is just about to get back to her own house! She also just celebrated a birthday, and what a wonderful one it was! So, thank you for praying for her way back then, and if you think of it now and then, I'm sure that prayers for a smooth transition into a new normal would be greatly appreciated. 

If you continue to read here, know that that is also greatly appreciated. I am grateful for the bloggy friendships I have made...they are very meaningful to me. And it is so much fun to hear from friends that I know and don't get to see often, too! 

This might be one of the most random posts I have ever written, but that is a window into my brain right now. Good night!

Not So Fat Tuesday?

All right. I have a confession. It's pretty, um, ridiculous, what I'm about to admit. 

I was so tired today, I mean really dragging, that I wanted some Dr. Pepper (which is in my fridge staring at me every time I open the door) so badly that I actually got tears in my eyes at one point. I don't know if it was my fatigue plus the fact that I still crave those bubbles plus the tired! I was so tired! I know it is mostly in my head, the thought that a caffeinated beverage would help me feel less tired. But, man! I wanted a drink!

I didn't have one. 

I know. I'll wait for you to get up off of the floor. 

Here is what has been going on:

-only water, except for a couple of small (4 oz-ish) glasses of chocolate milk after exercising
-exercise video every day, on level two of 30 Day Shred
-added walking last Monday, have walked all but two days
-jogged my loop once (that was fun!) (I'm being serious)
-eaten less (I'm certain my calorie count is way low, I don't keep diligent, militant track of what I eat and how many calories are in it...one day I wrote down how many calories were in my food until dinner, only because I didn't really know how to figure it out with a roast from the crock pot, but even so, I think my total was around 1200)
-eaten more healthy snacks

I have weighed myself only twice during the time period when I started this whole thing (April 28); the first time I was down four pounds from the last time I weighed at the doctor's office (last summer...I can't imagine that I was any less than that, and maybe more). Today I was down six pounds from that doctor's visit number. That was encouraging. I am definitely seeing changes in my arms and legs (Missy Jill gave me a supportive word regarding this...arms and legs will change first, then the tummy will follow suit) (I am really looking forward to the tummy following suit!!) and I know I'm stronger. It doesn't hurt to sneeze like it did the first three days after I started all this. Christian would laugh and laugh when I sneezed, because I would make a terrible grunt after each one; my abs were so sore!

Today has been one of the hard days. I have been so tired (Did I mention that already?) and unmotivated to do the exercise thing. I need to do my video, even though it's late. I had been trying to do the video earlier in order to get more out of the calorie burning effect, but today it just didn't happen. The kids are encouraging me, though, and Mike is impressed with the fact that I've stuck with it for this long (and NOT HAD A SODA) (NOT EVEN ON MOTHER'S DAY) (AND WE WERE OUT TO DINNER AT OUTBACK AND I ATE A SALAD). So, in the end, on this Fat Tuesday, I feel good. 

But tired. 

And I am definitely anticipating the day when I can no longer make a heart with the flubber on my belly. And now I'll leave you with the questions that likely generates in your mind. 

Heavyweight Vs. Lightweight

I may have mentioned here before that Mike reads a lot. Quite a lot. (I need to read more. I wanna be like Mike.)

It's not lightweight stuff, either.

These are the stacks of books in our bedroom.

There are just a few.

He is a smart guy. (Clearly. Look whom he married.) 

On the dresser, on a little tower in the corner, books, books, books, books, books. But wait! 

What do I see on his bedside table? John Calvin...yes, that is to be expected. Aaaand some light reading material, after all...

Or maybe he was reading to Eliana in there one night. Yes, I guess that could be it. I can't think of a better way to get in a little light reading.