Body for Life: Day One

I have had many a "day one." Usually I am filled with gusto and rearing to attack the plan head on. Today....I am just tired. Justin thought I would feel much better if I got up at 6 am, like he does, and get my work out in. One problem. I. Hate. Mornings. Buuuuut, I did get up, I did work out...and I currently cannot lift my arms above my head. Justin says I will learn to love this feeling...and even crave it. I think he is a masochist that I will not ever become, but that is okay. I am going to do it anyway.

I read through most of the book yesterday. About 85% of the book deals with the mental aspect of getting in shape. Actually that makes sense to me. I get the "eat smaller portions, eat better food, eat more frequently, exercise more" part. It is always the psych-myself-out-so-much-that-i-binge-on-an-entire-package-of-oreos-part that gets me. I suppose that is why Jillian is always screaming at people and tells them how sad they are, makes them cry and then hugs them and they lose 100lbs. Same idea, right? So while I don't have Jillian screaming in my ear, I do have good ol Mr. Phillips (you know, the author) asking me to write out concrete goals (not dreams, mind you) that I hope to achieve over the next 12-weeks and why those goals are important to me and what will potentially hold me back. I always feel like a total cheeseball when I am asked to make goals. Its not that I dont have them, I do, of course. They just seem so silly when I take them out of my head and stick them on a piece of paper. BUT I did it, don't worry Mr. Phillips. I did it.

So far today, I have had 2 meals and 45 minutes worth of weight lifting. I also avoided a potential disaster. Somehow I thought it would be a great plan to warm up left over pizza for Addison for lunch. Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza mind you. Apparently I am more of a masochist than I thought....hmmm.

Anyway, the plan for the rest of the week: 6 meals a day for the rest of the week, drinking more water! and workouts as follows: running wednesday, legs thursday, running friday, FREE DAY SAT!, back to arms on sunday and running again on Monday.

Although I will never place my actually weight out there for all the world wide web to see, next week I will let you know the negative or (godforbid!) any points on the ol' scale.

i'm baaaaaaaaaaaack!

Hopefully you have not given up on me. Pretty, pretty please come back. It will be fun, I promise. Its just that December was its usual mix of craziness and I simply had no time. Actually, I feel like while I was hanging out with November, December slipped a little something in my DDP and I woke up next to January, used and abused. However, I am going to put that behind me. I am ready for 2010 and I am coming out swinging.

I have a plan. I love my plan. When I try to make other people love my plan, they tell me I am crazy. Thats how I know it is a good plan. This plan was born while I watched Julie and Julia (guuuureat movie btw). I decided my blog had ADD and while I enjoy writing it, it is in desperate need of some focus. Enter "The Challenge." 6 books--6 different areas--12 weeks of self-improvement. Each day, I will update the weekly improvements in that area. Oh, and day 7, I rest.

So the Goals:

1. Improve Myself Physically

The Book: Body For Life

I have started reading this one. Actually this is the reason behind the 12-weeks as that is how long the challenge in this book lasts. It is a nutrition and exercise guide....basically a total boot camp that you follow for 6 days a week. Plus it comes with pictures. Oh, and I have a real-life picture too....its the program my brother followed that now results in those people who have not seen him since high school literally having to pick their jaw up off the floor. Here's to breaking jaws.

2. Improve Myself Mentally

The Book: Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

A Buddhist monk should be a great teacher, right? I am not entirely sure what this book entails....i mean besides the key to happiness.

3. Improve My Finances

The Book: Miserly Moms

I was deciding between this book and Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. I decided to go with the book geared specifically towards Moms. That and I think you actually have to have a little money in the first place in order to go with Mr. Ramsey.

4. Become a Better Parent

The book: Raising Confident Girls
Justin and I are going to read this one together. I realize I cannot become the parent I would love to be in 12-weeks. I have a feeling that is going to be a lifelong struggle. However, I am hoping that this will provide some insight for both Justin and I....and that we can use this as a guidepost for raising confident, self-assured young women who can communicate with their parents freely and effectively.

5. Become a Better Wife

The Book: The Five Love Languages
I have heard a lot about this book and am excited to read it. Actually Justin and I are also going to read this one together. We had previously read Men are like Waffles--Women are like Spaghetti and I still use that as a way of understanding why my husband does what he does or may think the way he thinks.

And finally

6. Have more fun

The Book: The Bread Bible

Okay, so maybe learning to bake bread is a totally lame kind of fun. I admit that. However, there are several things I have thought I would like to learn to do, but always find an excuse not to. I am going to take the first 4 weeks of the challenge to use this book. For the second 4 weeks, I will pick another fun thing I have been wanting to learn (perhaps knitting or sewing...does that make me old?!?) and the last 4 weeks for something else (like learning to use photoshop or furniture staining) It shall be interesting to see how bread making works with goal #1....hmmmm....

I really hate New Year's Resolutions. I feel like no one sticks to them. So, I am going to call this a quest for self improvement.....that just happens to be at the beginning of the year. Here goes nothing!

The greatest gift is a portion of thyself...

Growing up, my parents always instilled the spirit of giving. One small example that has always stuck with me--In grade school, we could earn popcorn parties in PE. They provided the popcorn, but you had to bring your own soda and/or candy bar. On those days, my mom would send me to school with a pack of soda and extra candy bars for those who could not afford to bring their own (....or maybe just forgot). In large ways and small ways, giving back has always been a priority in my life and something I want to instill in my children as well.

One of the aspects of Wash U that I love is the opportunities for public service. When the opportunity arrises, I always try to bring Rileigh along to help....you know, any opportunity to start the spark that lights the fire. In fact, just a few weeks ago, she and Addison helped my round up cans during our school's canned food drive.

So you can only imagine how my heart swelled with pride when Rileigh came to me with the idea to donate her hair to Lock of Love. We have been measuring her hair for a while and she finally had the required 10 inches (and then some) to give. I found a place in St Louis and made the appointment.....an added bonus--the salon offers complimentary cuts for Locks of Love donations.

Waiting for them to call her back....Getting one last photo of her long locks!

Surprisingly, she said she wasn't even nervous....I think I was more so!

Some one is going to get a lot of hair out of that ponytail....

There it is! I told her it probably felt like 10lbs was taken off her head!

She was so excited....She sat with a smile the entire process and couldn't wait to show off her new 'do.

I was so incredibly proud of her, especially knowing how she feels about her hair. She ADORES having long hair. Last time I took her in, just for a trim, she cried. No tears this time. Although she did warn me "Mom, if I do cry, its not because I am sad, it will be tears of happiness."

Giving is great...Pass it on....

Stuffed like a Turkey

A day later and I am still recovering. Since Thanksgiving dinner yesterday at 4, I have yet to wear anything without an elastic waist. Yep, that means dinner was a success.

My mom came up and it was a completely low-key holiday for us. No-stress occasions are the perfect time to try new recipes....and try them I did! After a frigid viewing of Miss Ri marching in the Thanksgiving Parade,

we headed home to hit the kitchen.

Our Menu:

Turkey w/ simple stuffing

Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Groovy Gravy (as my mom ALWAYS says)

Green Bean Casserole

Creamed Corn

Butternut Squash with Brown Butter

Sweet Potato Casserole

Brussels Spouts with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Creamed Onions

Hazel Beason Rolls

Okay, so I may have gone a little overboard. When we finished with dinner it looked like we had not ever started. My mom was in charge of the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and gravy....all the staples that are necessary for Thanksgiving. I took on all the "accessories." Here is the low-down on the new recipes.

Sweet Potatoes:

Justin absolutely loved these. My mom said they tasted like candy. They were also super easy, which is a must for any recipe that wants to be added to my repertoire. They have a brown sugar-butter-pecan topping that is fabu. It comes from my absolute favorite site, allrecipes.com, and had five-stars, so I had little doubt that it would be anything but fantastic. If you want to try it, here is the link: p://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Yummy-Sweet-Potato-Casserole/Detail.aspx

Creamed Onions:

Sorry, no photos of these. In fact, I made them in advance, so I almost forgot to set them out. I did scour food&wine for their photos, but they didn't have any either....jip! These were also very easy. They are extremely rich (heavy cream base) so they have to be eaten in moderation. I didn't get much feedback on them, but I did see that Justin had packed them as part of his lunch the next day....I will take that as a good sign. I get the Food & Wine magazine and adore Top Chef, so I have been dying to try something from their recipe box, but frankly I have been a bit intimidated. I will probably make these again, but only on special occasions. For the recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/creamed-onions-with-thyme-and-sage

Creamed Corn:

So, I messed up the picture on this one too...its the bottom left. If you think you hate creamed corn, this corn will make you change you mind....and eat the whole pan. These were SO good (which means, of course, that they were an allrecipes.com 4 1/2-star) These were the first of the leftovers to be gone. If you want to try: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Corn-Like-No-Other/Detail.aspx

Brussels Sprouts:

I had never, ever had brussels sprouts. I didn't even know they were brussel"S" sprouts until I typed this. I wish I would have taken a picture of these when we got them at the store. They only came on a stalk, so they looked very bizarre. This was the biggest experiment of all my new recipes which was tough because I had no idea what I was doing. You have to steam the sprout first, then start on the recipe. They had bacon, which makes every thing better, and blue cheese, which can make or break a recipe. All in all they were okay. My mother loved them even though she hates blue cheese. I just asked Justin and he said "I though they were great"...in complete monotone. He is so helpful. If you aren't scared off by blue cheese and want to give them a try: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/brussels-sprouts-with-bacon-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Squash:

Frankly I picked these because brown butter sounded delish. More specifically, brown butter and brown sugar sounded extra delish. These were the biggest let down. I don't know what I was expecting...but they just weren't....really....anything. They weren't bad, but they weren't memorable enough for me to ever make again. However, I did learn how to brown butter, which I have never had to do before. But should you simply LOVE butternut squash, you should give it a try: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/butternut-squash-with-brown-butter?comments_page=1

Oh, how could I forget....the most unusual (but SO GOOD) dessert. Mountain Dew apple dumplings. No seriously. If you don't try anything else, try these. To put this in Rachel Zoe terms---I die! Click on over and don't be scared: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Country-Apple-Dumplings/Detail.aspx

Now, if you will excuse me....I am off to have some more leftovers....(looks elastic will be making an extended stay in my wardrobe)

Happy Halloween-Turkey Day!

Terribly (cute) Two

Something crazy happened yesterday. I woke up and my baby was gone.

In her place was a jabbering, fast-paced-yet-adorable little PERSON. OMIGOSH--my baby is not a baby! Yep, yesterday we spent the day celebrating the second birthday of Miss Addie Sue! For the last week, this is how conversations about her birthday would go--

Us: Addie, how old will you be

Addie: Twoooo

Us: and what would you like for your birthday

Addie: uuuuhhhhh, candies

Yep, everytime you asked her. So of course, she spotted the candies among her present pile when she first woke up....and consequently had Reece's Pieces for breakfast. After a birthday celebration with her sitter while Mom was at school, Addison and I had the afternoon to hang out and prep for the night's celebration. Addison started out by helping me make her cake. And by helping, I mean sticking her fingers in the fondant and pulling out a chunk while I was trying it roll it out. Thankfully naptime came quickly so she could rest up and I could finish the cake.

Rileigh had a short cheer performance in the early evening, after which we stopped off at the golden arches to pick up Addison's choice for her birthday dinner.


Papa was able to join us in singing "Happy Birthday" and got to watch Addie blow out her candles via ichat's video chat. We had to light all the candles again so Christopher could join us for a second round via Skype. Then we proceeded to light the candles a good 5 more times because Addison thought it was so much fun.
She decided forkless was the best way to eat her cake, which was a huge change from last year. When I tried to entice her to dig into her cake on her first birthday, she cried. I thought she would not be a cake person, however, she had a year to make up for her no-cake-birthday moment, and she came at this year's cake with avengence.

Following cake, Addison opened her gifts, which included a plethora of all things Dora. She started each gift by saying "Hey, what's in 'ere" before she would actually try to unwrap it. After opening each gift, she would comment on what she thought of the gift (por ejemplo--she opened a dora fleece blanket--she says 'awwww. its dora. how cute.')
She received a Dora tent as one of her gifts, so when she was finished, she and her sister pulled her Dora couch and Dora blanket into her Dora tent and settled in to watch a movie for Family Movie Night (not Dora....actually it was Pocohontas)
Yep, she stayed in that tent just about as long as it took for me to take this picture. She was so hopped up on sugar that she spent the remainder of the night running around like a crazy person. A cute crazy person, but indeed crazy.

All in all it was a great night. I think we wore her out because she is still sleeping as I am writing this.

There's a storm a'brewin

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A  * TORNADO WARNING FOR...   GATESBURY DRIVE IN SOUTH COUNTY.  * UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  * AT 535 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED    A SEVERE TODDLERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS   DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED ON TOP OF THE KITCHEN TABLE   ...MOVING TOWARD THE ISLAND COUNTER AT 100 MPH.  * LOCATIONS WITHIN THE WARNING INCLUDE...   THE KITCHEN...THE BATHROOM...SISTERS BEDROOM...THE LIVING ROOM   ANY AND ALL BEDS...THE PANTRY...AND ANYWHERE REACHABLE AT 2 FEET.  THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. MOVE ALL BELONGING INTO YOUR TORNADO SHELTER NOW! IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...PRETEND IT ISN'T HAPPENING... AND PRAY DAD GETS HOME SOON!

That's right. We have moved from 'tornado alley' to 'tornado addie.' Within an hour of returning home today, Addison did all of the following:

1. Took an oreo (you know, the new winter ones where the creme filling is red) and painted the window sills of our living room.

2. Poured out an entire cup I had just filled with Diet Dr. Pepper off of the island to make a waterfall.

3. Pulled the cat around the kitchen by its tail.

4. Chased the dog around the kitchen until he bit her and then continued to chase him, telling him 'no biting'

5. Poured an entire bag of Tostitos out of the pantry and onto the floor.

6. Played race cars with the chairs, pushing them all around the kitchen....so I suppose it was more like bumper cars.

7. Peed her pants....with no diaper....and no advanced warning.

This was all occurring while I was attempting to get dinner in the oven, help Rileigh with her homework, unload groceries from the car.....and just breathe. Most of it I can handle. However, she will have to learn quickly that nobody, and I mean NOBODY, messes with my diet dr. pepper....no matter how stinking adorable she is.

So Tornado Addie has hit, and hit hard. All I can say is duck and cover.....duck and cover and hope birthday number 3 comes fast!

Wedded Bliss!

I was so happy to create a video for my brother's wedding documenting the pre-wedding lives of my brother Christopher and his fiancee, Sheryl. It was a wonderful team effort between myself and the parents of the bride and groom. I was all set to show the creation at the rehearsal as I felt it was the best testament to amazing people that I could hope to come up with. The stage was set. I made the announcement, cried of course, then hit play. Less than five minutes in and the movie comes to an abrupt hault....and it never recovered. Oh the drama! Now, over a month later, I have figured out how to share it with family and friends of the bride and groom.....

Christopher and Sheryl--love you guys! Enjoy---->