Ten Things

This right here is my problem, people:  I have all these thoughts swirling around in my head, things I’m thinking about and wondering about and learning, things I’d love to hear your thoughts on, things I’d like to share… And I think, “Oh! That would be a fun blog post!,” but then I get overwhelmed thinking if I were to do this concept justice it needs to be a long, well thought-out post with lots of links and references, so then I just put it off and it never gets done.  Thus, the lack of posting.  So even though it kinda annoys me and I think it’s a cop-out (for me), I’m just going to embrace the list format for now so I can get my thoughts out there and decide which ones to expound upon later.

1.  Anyone else use dictionary.com as often as I do?  Just now I used it to make sure I was using the word “expound” correctly… I was pretty sure I was (and I was!), but I’m always nervous to put wrong word usage into print.  So I love http://www.dictionary.com, so quick and easy!

2.  We joined the local YMCA about a month and a half ago and are really loving it!  I love that there are lots of different kinds of people there, teenagers, moms, older people, kids, etc…  I never feel intimidated working-out because there aren’t a ton of skinny women in spandex to compare myself to.  I mean, not like everyone there is fat, there are skinny women, but they’re mixed into the crowd of normal looking people so they don’t stand-out so much.  It’s a comfortable crowd, that’s what I’m trying to say!  They have FREE childcare up to an hour and a half, and the kids love it.  In fact, sometimes I just hang-out in the lobby when I’m finished working-out to read a book and enjoy the alone time for the rest of my time!

3.  I’m finally losing some weight!  For a long time I was about ten pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight (the number will remain a secret!!!), and slowly that crept-up just a few more pounds.  Even when I eliminated processed foods from my diet, it didn’t make a difference.  Up until about a month and a half ago I was on an antidepressant for postpartum depression, and I think that’s what kept me from losing anything, or even gaining more, since one of the side effects was weight gain.  But now I’m off of it, my diet is better than ever, and Clay and I are on a new workout plan, and so far I’ve lost about 8 pounds! I can finally fit into one of my favorite pair of pre-pregnancy jeans, and I’m on my way into a few more!  I still have about 6 pounds to go before pre-pregnancy weight, which is my immediate goal.  I should probably lose a few more once I reach that, but I’m not going to worry about it, my main goal is to get back into all my old clothes.  I definitely want to blog later about how I’m losing the weight because I have never lost weight so easily and so effortlessly in my life!

4.  More info. later, but the workout plan that Clay and I are doing is based-on the book Body By Science.  I kid you not, we work-out once or twice a week for about 20 minutes, but it’s a high-intensity weight lifting regimen, so I’m working harder than ever during my work-out.  The harder you work, the longer the rest time your body needs to recuperate and rebuild muscle, and in fact, working-out too often can derail your success.  Here is the website that goes along with the book:  Body By Science I know it sounds totally faddish, but I’ve never read anything exercise-related that is so completely backed by the cold, hard facts of research and biological functioning.  This guy seriously knows his stuff, and (surprise, surprise!) most of it goes against conventional wisdom and everything I’ve always heard about exercise.  Here are some YouTube videos.

5.  I’ve been working so hard on keeping Harris’ diet full of variety and not building any major ruts by serving the same foods over and over again.  (well, within reason… he gets a lot of eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches!)  He’s definitely at that stage where he either eats what I give him or screams and throws it on the floor, so it’s a bit more complicated than when he used to just eat anything I put in front of him.  But!  But!!!  He keeps amazing me by what he will eat!  Right now he’s finishing his lunch of roasted sweet potatoes, swiss chard, pinto beans, and cheese.   My child just sucked down a large amount of swiss chard!!! SWISS CHARD!!!

6.  Evelyne’s eating habits have drastically improved as well!  Of course she’s still picky and usually refuses much of what I put on her plate without tasting it (really, I think some kids are just so much more predisposed to that!), but gradually she’s expanding her horizons and including more and more healthy foods in her every day diet.  She decided that she loves red bell peppers and cucumbers, so she eats those a lot.  She will also eat almost half a pound of peas and carrots.  (the kind that comes mixed together frozen in a bag) She still eats an apple a day and would eat more if I’d let her.  She’s obsessed with carrots, and the other day I literally had to cut her off from eating more carrots until she finished her cheese.  Cheese!  I’m talking my child into eating her cheese before her carrots!  She does still have a small range of what she likes to eat, but it’s slowly getting larger.  I think the biggest thing that has changed is that I simply stopped buying the quick and easy snacks like Goldfish and crackers.  She used to be a crackerholic, eating tons and never getting really full, hungry an hour later.  So I stopped buying them, and it was hard.  There was a bit of screaming and crying.  And she was upset, too.   And now it takes a little more thinking on my part to figure-out something she’ll eat that’s healthy that we have in the house, but she’s getting used to snacking on veggies, and I’m happy.

7.  I love this song.  It was in our wedding, and I’m pretty sure I want it at my funeral, too.  (So, mark that down and tell someone since I won’t be there to make sure that happens!) Every time I listen to it I’m reminded of God’s faithfulness in all the different seasons of my life.

OK… time to go to bed.  Lent is over and I’ve blown my new bedtime already… I’m sure I’ll be sleepy and regretful tomorrow morning.  So let’s just call this post “Seven Things.”  Is it weird that when I wake-up early in the morning (oh yes, around 5:30 a.m. these days) and am overcome by sleepiness and don’t want to get out of bed, I remember that I can get a nice cup of coffee when I get out of the bed.. and suddenly, my morning seems a little brighter and I have more oomph to push myself out of the bed?  All I have to do is visualize it in my kitchen, the sounds my coffeepot makes brewing, and my heart smiles.  Is that kind of coffee love a little bit too strong?