Life Lyn Style

Today, the kids and I stayed home until after 3pm.  It was nice to relax (clean) most of the day and get a few things done.  After nap time, we headed to the JCC so I could take the BOSU sculpt class.  Kim teaches this class and it is very challenging.  It’s also the type of class that you can modify to your level.  Today, there were only 5 participants.  I think 60 degrees and sunny had something to do with the low attendance.

I had planned to take the class with a friend.  They were a “no show”, but I ran into my friend Angela and she’s interested in trying the class out.  So, we have a date in two weeks.  (Next week is Passover, so all of the Jewish Community Center schedules are changed up a bit).

Next up: off day Friday due to ENT appointments for Nick and Sally.  Hopefully, we’ll work in a walk or playground trip.

Wow, what a day.  Sometimes my emotions really get the best of me.  Today was one of those days.  In a nut shell, about 6 weeks ago, I screwed something up.  In the scheme of  life, it’s not that big of a deal, but today, I was blind-sided having that mistake come back to haunt me.  The details are no longer important, but the thoughts that came from today are.

Everyone makes mistakes.  It’s part of life.  Forgiving and moving on are also part of life.  The sooner and easier you can pick up and move on, the better.  Tomorrow is a new day.

Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed by my schedule, house, kids, and weight.  The funny thing is that I’m the one with the ability to make my schedule (within reason), manage the house (with lots of teamwork) and choose what to eat.  The kids, well, they are kids and usually they are happily persuaded to go with the flow of the day.

So, I’m making a few changes.  I’m not going to do the c25k at this time.  I will do it at some point, but I think the runs are hard on me at this weight and the scheduling is tough.  I can’t really fit them in without adding them to a workout or replacing something else.  When I add them to a workout, I’m overly tired and stiff/sore and when I replace them with another workout, I’m unhappy because I give up something I like.  At this point, I hate running.  I hope that I won’t always hate it, but right now I do, and it’s not a good use of my time.  I need to be happy when I exercise.

I’m going to give Weight Watchers a break.  I still think it’s important to eat more veggies and take off weight, but my focus needs to be on shopping/cooking/chopping and not dragging my kids to a Weight Watcher meeting that I don’t usually get to hear much of.  I love Weight Watchers, but I need a break.

My husband and I need to make a plan for the house.  A projects list and cleaning schedule of sorts is needed with a few realistic goals.  I think a few trash bags or donation boxes will help as well.

So, for the next 2 weeks, I am going to really focus on taking care of me and getting my “house” in order.  Hopefully, by the end of the month, things will be in better shape and better weather will join us too.

On the exercise front, I did 15 min on the treadmill at the J.  It wasn’t much, but it was a nice stretch.

Next up: afternoon BOSU Sculpt class with a friend.

I’ve been wanting to workout with Paula for months.  She doesn’t work a ton of hours and she’s popular, so her schedule is pretty full.  But, today was my chance.  I was excited to workout.

Paula always takes a minute to say hi when we see each other at the JCC, and she is a great influence when it comes to clean eating and real food.

I warmed up on the elliptical for 15 minutes.  Then, today’s session started with her asking me if I wanted to talk about food or just have a workout.   I told her that I wanted to work out.    She told me that she read my blog, I eat too much crap, and she doesn’t know why I have it in the house.  She offered to lend me a book to read with some ideas for meals/snacks.

So, with all of this to chew on, we started my workout.  I forgot to ask her for a copy of the exercises.  All of them were done in our personal training room with limited equipment.  I liked that because most of them would be things that I could do at home.  My mind was thinking about food, Sally was up 3+ hours last night, and I’m doing exercises that were complicated and new.  It was STRESSFUL.

I ended my workout session with 20 more minutes of the elliptical.  I’m on Paula’s schedule next Tuesday as well.  I’d like to train with her on a regular basis, but I’m not sure if I want to spend the money on 2 sessions a week and I’m on Chelsea’s schedule once a week through May.  I need to take a closer look at the calendars.

The bottom line is that I do eat too much crap.  I don’t eat enough vegetables.  I’m very knowledgeable about healthy eating.  I shop for healthy foods.  I like to experiment in the kitchen.  But, I don’t really like vegetables.  I am starting to tolerate them cooked, but for the most part I hate them raw.  The thought of raw broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and a host of other veggies makes me want to gag.  I will eat them cooked now, which is progress.

So, I’m on a quest to figure this out.  I’m not sure how to retrain my taste buds to like veggies, but I’m going to conquer this.  I want to be more healthy.  I need to be more healthy.  My family needs me to be more healthy.

Next up: I’m looking at a preschool for Nick in the morning, so we are heading to the J after naps time.  There aren’t any classes that appeal to me on Wednesday afternoon, so I’ll probably hit the fitness center for cardio.

As I approach my bed time, here are 10 things that are on my mind.

1. I didn’t track my food yesterday or today.
2. I need to track since I want to get to a healthy weight.  I’m considering the 100 days of real food challenge to help spice things up a bit.
3. I took photos of my food on Saturday.  It was challenging to stop, think and shoot, before eating.  I’d like to do this once per week.  It’s different and will also allow me to practice my photography.
4. I took Beth’s spin class today.  It was GREAT!
5. I’m looking forward to my first trainer workout with Paula tomorrow morning.  I’ve wanted to try one of her workouts for a while.
6. I’m thinking about putting my C25K training on hold until later in the year.  (Read: after I take some more weight off so it’s a bit easier on me physically.  I think extra walking and keeping up with other cardio is better at this point.  I haven’t made a final decision yet..)
7. The kitchen is still a mess from dinner, but it was yummy.  We had pork chops, red peppers, green beans and sweet potatoes.  It’s time to do the dishes.
8. I still need to pack for the morning.
9. I’m happy and tired.
10. I did three blog posts today and feel caught up from the weekend.  I’m learning a few new tools to make photos easier and I’m liking it.

Sunday, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, swam again and then headed over to the National Aviary.  It’s also known as a bird zoo.  We were happy that our Akron Zoo membership that we purchased through Groupon, entitled us to free entry.  We aren’t beyond paying entrance fees, but we enjoy getting our money’s worth out of our memberships.

Here are out first impressions.  Sally was worn out from the swim and slept for the first 30 minutes or so.

Stephen and Nick were sporting their hats on this beautiful sunny day.  Here’s Nick looking at the first birds we saw as we entered.

We saw lots of other birds.

We enjoyed a feeding here at the Wetlands.

We fed the Lories.

We also had lunch (1/2 packed and 1/2 purchased from the café), saw the penguins, and enjoyed a flight show during our visit.  The kids started getting crabby around 1pm and we headed home.  We arrived home in time for dinner.

My activity for Saturday and Sunday involved site seeing and swimming with the kids.  It was not a lazy weekend by the pool.