Monday, December 30, 2013

The Domino Effect-Move the Way You Love

Exercise.....do you dread the thought of it?   If you said yes, you haven't found your mate yet.  Just like you do when you date, you have to try out different activities and find what you love.  What are your needs?  What are your weaknesses and strengths?  How can you push yourself, and how can you stay interested enough not to quit? 

My Road to Obsession

When dance and cheerleading were over for me, I remember being depressed.  Not sad, but actually depressed.  I also wondered what I would do instead to stay active.  Cheerleading and dance aren't like tennis; you can't really carry them with you through your life, unless you want to look like a weirdo in your back yard cheering for imaginary friends....I told myself I was better than that.  Anyway, for a few years after high school, I didn't exercise.  What was the point?  I was skinny, and that's all I cared about because I was young and dumb.  I always had a butt, and I was afraid of weights because I thought I would "bulk up".  Not true, by the way.  Anyway, I smoked a lot of cigarettes and then when I would occasionally resent the fact that I never ate anything but cereal and just smoked all day, I would go through periods where I believed that I should be healthier.  They were short lived.  I walked or went to the gym for periods of time, but I always got bored.  I started yoga around 24 or 25 at home, and I still walked and ran, but I was in school and had other things on my mind.  I was flirting with the idea, but not quite hooked.  I knew one thing at the time and that was that I wanted to be outside so I wouldn't get bored.  There's one problem...I got bored and I absolutely DESPISE running.  I would rather do stadiums, and have, rather than to run long distances.  I have always looked at runners and thought "Gosh, I wish I liked that" because they look so peaceful, but I don't.  I don't feel any kind of rush when I run, I never get into a groove; it's just not my thing. It's like Spin class; I wish I liked Spin, but I don't like feeling like I have been sexually assaulted for days after my workout.  I just can't do it.

After Carson and Dylan were born, Don's dad bought me an awesome jogging stroller.  I mean, this was the Mack Daddy jogging stroller, and when they were two months old I started pushing them up and down Wyngate Parkway for miles at a time every day.  I actually did enjoy this because it was good for the boys, I got out of the house, and it was HARD.  The hills of Georgia can be brutal, and the boys were growing every day, so it became more and more challenging.  I pushed them until they were 4 years old and I just couldn't muster the strength to do it anymore.  They loved their stroller.

I joined LA Fitness for my 30th birthday.  I really loved it because I wanted to take Pilates and yoga, and the classes were included in the membership fee, unlike the other gyms.  I knew one thing about myself....I have to switch it up or I get bored.  I have been hooked ever since.

You have to find what you love, and when you are bored or something is getting too easy, you have to change it up. 

I used to go to Pilates two or three times a week but my favorite teacher left and I haven't been back since.  Plus, I don't like doing so much ab work because my stomach is flatter without big ab muscles.  It's not an area that I spend a lot of time on; I just hold my stomach tight when I do anything else. 

What I Love...

These are constants in my life, but that isn't to say that I don't do other things.  I do, and I switch them up, but these are my go-to's and my babies. 

Yoga is the love of my life.  I am freakishly flexible, so it's fun for me and I love how you can always push yourself once you have mastered something.  Plus, it's not just stretching and strengthening your body. I have learned so much about balance in the body and in life, I have learned about peace and loving myself and others, and I have learned about learning to exist peacefully in a mess and listening to myself.  I have to thank my great teacher, Deborah, who has taught me for three and a half years.  She has taught me more than she realizes.  I also go to Ember Yoga in Downtown Woodstock and I have pushed myself in temperatures that I could have sworn would have killed me.  Now if I miss hot yoga, which I attend at least once a week, I swear I always get sick.  It releases toxins and teaches you to breath in uncomfortable climates.  If you are considering yoga, you have to try it and stick with it and learn about the practice and the history.  There is so much more to it than stretching out your quads.  I CANNOT stress the importance of yoga in your life.  It's a part of my other workouts and without it, I am "off".

Zumba.  Ahhhh Zumba.  THANK YOU for letting me dance and cheer without looking weird!  Thank you for allowing me to dance on a regular basis and not be forced to enter a club where alcohol is being spilled on me and penises are ramming me in the back.  If you try Zumba, PLEASE buy dance shoes.  I cannot stress this enough!!! You will tear your knees up and ruin your feet!!!  Zumba is already very hard on your body even with dance shoes.  I have weakened my ankles and gotten shin splints from taking too many classes a week.  Also, hold your core.  Grinding (lol) without holding your core will throw your back out.  And PLEASE, give people space.  Everyone will hate you for crowding.  I won't move now.  I just let my arms smack whoever is standing there. 

Stair Master....it's also the Devil.  At least, it was for me at first.  This is the only machine I will touch.  I walk sideways, kick my legs out, and I don't focus on speed, but form.  People who lean over and hold the bars aren't getting a good workout.  You're better off standing up and going slower.  This is what I do when I have a lot on my mind and I want to throw headphones on and listen to music and not make any decisions about reps and weights.  Usually I do it on a lazier day when I don't feel like counting, or if I can't make Zumba. 

Weights...there isn't really anything I can say about this, except I have learned a lot of tricks and I have learned to LOVE it.  I lift weights a few times a week. It's obviously a huge part of my workout. I also do a lot of exercises using my own body weight. 

Whatever you choose, make sure you love it, and make sure you learn good form and do your research.  My friend and I were talking about Crossfit, which has blown up, and we were talking about how there are some really bad gyms.  There are bad gyms and bad instructors of everything, everywhere.  That's why you have to really choose wisely and make sure you aren't doing something that could hurt you.  It's like Zumba.  I cheered and danced.  I know what I am doing and sometimes a teacher will do something and I just stop.  I won't do it because I know that it's bogus and she shouldn't be moving her body that specific way.  But other people don't know and they could hurt themselves, and they probably do.  But like I said, this can happen anywhere, that's why you have to be careful.


Tomorrow: The Domino Effect-Making Time For You




Sunday, December 29, 2013

The Domino Effect-Your Diet

It's almost 2014 and that means that everyone will be making New Year's Resolutions.  Most of them will to be to lose weight and be more healthy.  I don't make New Year's Resolutions because I am the type of person who decides to do things on a random day in July or October, and I also don't believe in New Year's Resolutions.  I think people tend to fail at them and all they end up doing is beating themselves up come March or April.  However I do believe in goals and if it takes "January 1st" staring back at you on the calendar, well then that's better than nothing.  I just want to warn people that it really is quite a marketing ploy, especially when joining gyms....it's the WORST time to join a gym.  There isn't room, everyone is grouchy (especially the regulars), and parking is atrocious.  I would recommend going against the grain and coming up with an alternate plan.  Perhaps don't join until March, and walk for now and focus on your diet.  Diet is what I want to talk about today because it really does become a part of your life if you do it the right way, and it's a domino effect for everything else in your life.  Your life is about balance....body, mind, and spirit, and if all three are in sync, you are a whole person.  Just like dominos, if one is off, the rest won't fall into place. 

Before You Do Anything.....

The first step in being healthy is to think about the reasons why you want to be healthy.  If you don't know, think about what your body wants and needs.  Think about how your body houses your soul and if your soul wants to do a lot, then the body has to keep up.  Once you feel the changes, especially from long-term habits, you'll understand that it isn't a bunch of crap.  It's seriously a HUGE difference.  These are the reasons everyone should be healthy......

  1. When you look better, you feel better.
  2. When you feel better, you have more energy.
  3. When you have more energy, you accomplish more.
  4. When you accomplish more, you have a better life in general.
DIET

When I was about 23 or 24 years old, I went to a Bible study every Tuesday morning.  There was one session on what the Bible says about food.  It was the best thing I ever did for myself, and it was a blessing to be present for that.  Basically what the guy was teaching everyone is what I am about to tell you, and it's how I have eaten for a long time.  The ideas are so simple, and yet, people don't know or understand because our country is so unhealthy, and if they do know, they assume they can't afford to eat well or it's easier to eat something processed.  The ideas in this Bible class were basically what Michael Pollan says in Food, Inc. and they're also present in his books, like "Food Rules", and anyone who has read my blog for a long time knows how much I love Pollan.  What I am writing about today, it is not a diet, it's just how you should eat.  If I want a cookie, I eat a cookie, but I eat well and it's a way of life.  That's the difference. 

Where I have changed......

I have never been a huge food person; food just isn't something I have ever gotten excited about; I have been like this my entire life.  Sure I have some favorite foods and restaurants, but I could take it or leave it, which is what I used to do.  I used to eat cereal and Nutri-Grain bars, yogurt, and crackers when I was starving because I pretty much never ate because I would either forget or I just didn't feel like eating.  My last semester in college ended that.  I was taking 16 credit hours, 6 of which were English classes which required me to read 18 novels....on top of the rest of my classes and my lab.  I scheduled all of my classes in TWO DAYS, and I literally didn't even have time to go to a vending machine......and I functioned!  I would get grouchy and sick by the end of the day, except I was so used to my blood sugar being low and out of whack, I had no idea.  I genetically have low blood pressure, so basically, picture a little waif walking around, feeling lightheaded and not even knowing she was close to passing out.  That was me.  By the end of the semester, I was white as a ghost, about 105 pounds, and really unhealthy.  I still didn't realize it.  I got pregnant that summer and ate like a pig, or at least like a normal person, and that was the end of the waif diet.  After I had the boys, I decided to really learn about food, and food is fuel...that's all it is.  I stopped skipping meals, I ate the right food, and I realized I had been running around my whole life basically accidentally anorexic.  Also, instead of being skinny, I started working out and getting a lot of muscle tone.  I now weigh my healthy and natural weight of 120, give or take a couple pounds, depending on how much muscle I lose and gain.  Like if I get a cold, I tend to weigh less and I can tell by my clothes that I am losing weight.  If I go hard core, I may weigh a little more because my clothes fit right.  It's just a number and it doesn't matter though, so I never weigh myself.  I know my body.

It's simple, I swear.

These are the easiest things to remember and will absolutely change the way you eat. 
  • Food is supposed to rot.  This is THE SIMPLEST way to explain what you should be eating.  If you ask yourself "will this rot" all day long, you are going to make wiser decisions. The fact that a French fry from McDonald's can look the same after a year under your car seat is extremely disturbing. Food is part of God's plan, and everything we need is in the things he originally created....not Little Debbie.
  • Don't eat it if it's in a wrapper. I don't even really eat nutrition bars or granola bars or crap like that unless I really am in a jam, and at that point it's better than nothing, but I choose those wisely.  The only thing I really eat in a wrapper are mixed nuts. 
  • The more ingredients, the worse for you. Cooking isn't difficult when you eat clean.  My dinners are really easy because they are a piece of meat or fish with seasoning, and two veggies.  My breakfast is eggs, maybe a vegetable, or fruit.  Preparing food is super easy when you eat clean. 
  • If you don't know how to pronounce the ingredients, put it back.  
  • When grocery shopping, stay away from the inside aisles.  The middle aisles are where people get into trouble.  If you stick to the outer aisles, you'll get what you need. 
  • Don't fear fat if it's a NATURAL fat. I think the 90's really screwed people up.  Fat is not bad, but there are different types of fat.  Peanut butter, avocadoes, cheese....I eat all of that.  Your body knows how to process natural fats rather than say, a bag of chips. I can't tell you the last time I looked at a label to see how much fat is in it, but then again, I don't eat foods that come with labels.  Your body doesn't know what to do with all of those engineered ingredients, because God didn't design our bodies to process it.  If you think about it that way, shopping is much easier. 
  • Choose the real thing over the fake.  I cook with olive oil, but let's say that I am in front of the butter and margarine.  I am choosing butter.  If I am standing in front of the cheese, I choose the real stuff.  Your body is better off eating something real than some engineered crap that some dude in Cleveland manufactured.
  • Eat like a King in the morning, a Prince in the afternoon, and a Pauper at night.  Your body is actually made to eat more in the morning and less at night.  I have been doing this so long, honestly, I really struggle at dinner time.  And I certainly don't need any kind of snack after dinner. 
This becomes a way of life and you realize how addicted you are to sugar and fat once you eat this way.  People get down on themselves because they "love to eat" or "love to eat junk food" but I don't know if I buy it.  I think those foods are actually addictive. 


Why your diet is also political......

With every bite you take, you are voting. 

You have to think about the economy and the government....what would happen if people demanded their food to be real food?  Think about all of the companies that would go out of business and how many jobs would be lost.  I realize that this is scary, but isn't it scarier knowing that the government thinks about this when making decisions about YOUR quality of life and YOUR lifespan?  Think about it this way....when you eat junk food, you are just supporting some rich guy who eats organically on his private jet.  No one wants to be farmers anymore, but if we demanded real food, maybe being a farmer would be like it used to be and farmers would get a better deal.  They have no pull right now, so of course, people don't want to be farmers. The food system is SO political and people are sheep; they are part of a system and they don't even know it.  If you don't want to change for yourself, at least do it to revolt against the bastards who are basically controlling you by what you eat.  To go even further, we talk about looking good in a bathing suit, but we ignore the fact that if we were healthy, we wouldn't need insurance the same way that we do.  Insurance has been a HUGE issue this year, and honestly, the way insurance companies operate DOES need to change.  If we stop getting sick from things we can control, we have more power.  We need to talk about preventative healthcare rather than what happens when we need the drugs.  And don't even get me started on the drug companies.  The whole thing is SOOOOOO messed up and I just wish that every single person would do something about it. 

Follow the money.....the answer is always there.  What you are putting in your mouth is more than likely making someone else rich....at your expense.

Tomorrow: The Domino Effect-Move the Way You Love






























Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Nutcracker

I took Lindsey to get a facial yesterday and then to see The Nutcracker at the Fox. After the ballet, we had dessert at Century Tavern, well she did; I had a salad. We had a great time together. I'm so glad I have a daughter to do these things with. The seats were awesome. Also, I've seen The Nutcracker many times and I think this was the best one I've ever seen. 

Side note....did you know you can bring giant poodles and food and drinks into the Fox now?? Seriously. A lady, who was not blind, brought her giant poodle to the show, and they sell refreshments and they allow you to bring them in. ??? When did this happen? Another side note...Atlanta Ballet is performing Romeo & Juliet in February. I'm going, for sure. 


Friday, December 27, 2013

What Is Love?

I have been wanting to write about this for a long time because I think it's so important; I almost did last week but I really ran out of time before Christmas.    

There are three types of love and in romantic relationships, you should have all three at some point. I think the fact that you have to have all three in ROMANTIC relationships is probably why the divorce rate is so high.  It's a gift if you have been given all three types of love from one person, and a gift to yourself if you are able to love someone in all three ways.  It's a blessing. 


1) Eros love -This is also known as "erotic love", it's very physical.  It is based on strong feelings toward another, or physical attraction. This is the romantic, butterfly, insane love that bonds a couple in the beginning of a relationship and sometimes is can change over time.  When it changes, people might say "I love you but I am not in love with you anymore".  I think that it is important and very realistic to realize that no one can feel like this forever or no one would ever go to work or be productive in any way.  During the "honeymoon" stage of relationships, people sometimes disappear because they are only interested in talking to the person they're falling for.  No one would ever get out of bed if it didn't wear off a little bit.  It can be the most deceiving kind of love and yet, it's really very important.  It's either there or it's not.  God planned this all out....it's what places people together initially. And when I say that it tends to change, I don't mean that it goes away....it's what separates your mate from others; it's sexual attraction.


2) Philos love - This is a love based on friendship between two people; it's a mental connection.  Philos is a higher type of love than Eros and therefore, couples who are friends first usually have the longest lasting relationships.  They are able to give and take, negotiate, work together, and just enjoy their time together.  It's a less selfish kind of love than Eros and yet not as high as Agape. 


3) Agape - This is unconditional love.  Agape is spiritual because only your spirit can love someone unconditionally without reason, and love as God wants you to love them.  Have you ever loved someone and you have no idea why?  If you were to use your head, you know you would feel differently, but you can't.  You love unconditionally with your heart and soul.  Your soul sees their soul.  Agape is totally selfless, where a person gives love to another person even if this act does not benefit her/him in any way. Whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love.  You will never love a person as close to the way God loves us as Agape.   

This is a perfect description of what Agape looks like:

I Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

I know Christmas is over, but we should all try to remember what love looks like this week, and really, every day of the year.  Our days are limited here.  It should MOST DEFINITELY be spent loving others. 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Love From a 12-Year-Old

After wrapping up Christmas and getting the boys to bed, I spent some much needed one-on-one time with my baby girl. And what does she enjoy the most? Watching Twilight. I HATED Twlight at first, but it's one thing that I have learned to love because she enjoys it so much.  

We watched the first two movies last night and we're watching the rest today before she has to go to her daddy's for Christmas.  I love hanging out with her.  She is so funny and smart.  And SNUGGLY.  She is hugging me like she is five. It's awesome.  I asked Lindsey last night if she ever wondered why Bella wasn't afraid of Edward. She never was and I mean, he is a VAMPIRE. Lindsey said "No, I don't. When it's true love you SHOULD go all out and dive in."  

I thought that was so cute. It's so innocent. When you get older, you feel like you can't do that. There's too much at risk. You even stuff and hide your feelings just to protect yourself. You hold onto so much baggage that  you miss out on stuff.  Children are so beautiful. 

This is one of my fav's and it's appropriate. :)  It's a good song, I think it came out around 2002.







Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas!  I hope you all have a great day with your families! I'm posting pics below this link...



I am posting this song because it's adorable.  It's Zooey Deschanel's duo, "She and Him".  Baby It's Cold Outside was originally recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan.  The guy is trying to persuade the girl to stay because it's cold outside, and the girl keeps making excuses.  Zooey's version is exactly the opposite.  She is being a little vixen and trying to persuade the guy into staying longer.  More up to speed with the times, I would say.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=she+and+him+baby+it%27s+cold+outside&qs=n&form=QBVR&pq=&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&mid=B5698E71B9DD5FB3930CB5698E71B9DD5FB3930C



My happy boy, Carson. First thing in the morning. Don't judge my face.

Superhero Junction


Whoa! Santa ate the cookies! Look how pleased they look.

Andddd the only picture I got of all 4 kids. Great one, right? Haha. 

Dylan in bed with a bunch of Superman toys in his Superman pajamas and robe while watching "Man of Steel" on their new TV. 




Monday, December 23, 2013

2013 in Pictures


Stayed Silly.....











Became Someone Else.....







Turned 33.....



 

Had Some Firsts.....


First day of Pre-K and 7th Grade



Carson's first time riding a pony


Mommy's First Painting 


Carson & Dylan's first time ice-skating and Mommy's first time taking all 4 kids. Alone.


Kids' First Puppy



Dylan's First Time at a Braves Game 

First Time Petting a Snake...and hopefully the last.

Logan's First "Date" 

First Time Lindsey Had a Reptile on Her Head

First Time at Fernbank

First Time Mommy Understood What This Contraption Does (at the High Museum)

Carson & Dylan's First Trip to the Aquarium 

First Time at our secret "Adventure Park"

Lindsey's First Time Performing en Pointe

Lindsey's First Time in San Francisco


Stayed Active.....






Had Some Good Times With Friends...




Loved and Smiled......




As I'm preparing for Christmas, I'm remembering the reason we're celebrating and I am reminded of how much God has blessed us this past year.  I'm thankful for everything we've been given and all of the moments that we've had together.