Journey to Fitness

So I've written this post in my head  a few times this week. Fitness and weight loss is such a hard thing for me to talk/write about.  I spent most of my twenties getting chubby and wanting to be skinny, but I feel like for every one step I took forward, I would take three back. I know lots of people out there can relate, lose 5, gain 7.  

Most of us mommies love to say "baby weight" but truthfully I weighed as much as I did before I got pregnant a few days after her birth.  The truth is, I just let myself get chubby. I sat on my butt and ate a lot the past few years.  

Last spring (2013) I went on a 10 day cleanse and lost 9 pounds!  I was so excited, but within two months I was 14 pound heavier.  I got mad at myself and then did nothing but cringe every time in looked in the mirror. 

This New Years, I made a goal to get skinny, and I joined weight watchers with some of my girlfriends.  The problem was, I'd have a great day and then two bad ones.  I just wasn't disciplined enough for a diet.  I did manage to lose around 4 pounds, but then I quickly gained 3 of them back. 

February I decided that diets just weren't going to cut it for me, so I went back to what had worked in college, exercise.  It's crazy that it took me this many years to go back to what worked before, but I'm the type of person who always has an excuse (too tired, too busy, papers to grade, homework to do....). I can really come up with any excuse to not work out! 

The last part of February was good, I was doing two workouts a day, but it just wasn't a pace I could maintain.  I do have to care for MA and the other little girl I keep at some point.  

I was doing well with a workout routine until I went on vacation and did nothing, which was followed by dropping a high chair on my toe when we got home. Seriously, 6 weeks later, and that toe is still purple.  

Ok I said all of that to say this, I've FINALLY found something that works for me!  For the past 6 weeks I've been doing a workout video 5-6 days a week and been doing some others I found on Pinterest.  I started keeping a record of my weekly measurements a month ago, and I want to share them with you.  

 

Looking at the measurements makes me cringe, but I guess we all have to start somewhere.  However, if you look across each row, you will see slight improvements!  But here's the kicker, look at the last row, my weight......it really hasn't changed.   In one month, I've managed to lose an inch and a half in both my waist and low waist (muffin top) with a total of 6 3/4 inches lost over all. I've gone down a pant size (the ones I own actually fit again) but I didn't lose a pound!   

Truthfully, before I started writing things down, I was ready to quit (again). I was killing myself everyday, and that darn scale wouldn't budge.  Now that I chart every Saturday, I really don't care what that thing says because I can clearly see things are getting slimmer!  (I do take a sports bra/yoga pants pic too, but those are just for me!) 

I know there are people like me who obsess over the scale and use it as a tool to measure their fitness. STOP IT!  I really want to encourage everyone like me, who is chubby and frustrated to start committing to yourself to workout just 3 times a week.  No matter how busy we get, we have 30 min to spend on ourselves.  I am truly amazed at what I did in 1 month, and I'm really excited to see where I will be at 3 months.  

Diets work great for some, my friends I started weight watchers with are totally rocking it and watching the pounds fall off! Diets just weren't for me; find what works for you and commit to it!  Also remember fitness is so much more than a number on a scale!  I used to roll my eyes at people who would say things like "muscle weighs more than fat" but I am losing fat and gaining muscle, so maybe they were right ;) 

***i am trying to make healthier food choices and have cut out a lot of bad stuff! I'm eating better, but I wouldn't call it sticking to a diet or meal plan. Here's a bathroom selfie of me this month bc that's the only pic I have :) 

Mother Necessity

There is this really old School House Rock episode about inventions and inventors. The phrase they use over and over again is, " Mother Necessity, where would we be?"  Well necessity is the mother of all inventions and I had a need!  

MA and I will embark on a 12 hour odyssey to Oklahoma this week. She loves to watch her favorite tv shows on her iPod (my old iPhone) but she drops it easily. Obviously with me driving I can't retrieve it, so I needed a plan b.  

I have my nifty new ipad mini but no way to suspend it in the car. There are many options but they are all too expensive in my opinion. 

My original plan was to make an envelope type case out of fabric and clear vinyl and suspend it between the seats but that would require me having to go somewhere to buy the vinyl. 

Last night, I was telling one of my friends my predicament and she offered her headrest DVD player. She had recently gotten a new car with a built in DVD player and didnt need the old one anymore. Great problem solved! Except for the fact I have no children's DVDs. Yes, you read that correctly, I have a nearly 2 year old and no DVDs. We have always used Netflix or iTunes and never had a need to use anything but digital versions. 

Well using the headrest DVD would require the purchase of DVDs, once again requiring money and a trip out of town. 

This morning, she gave me the DVD player after church.  Once I got home and looked at their design, I had a plan. 

I bought MA a new pair of shoes that has a very sturdy box. With a few snips, I had a great, stable "body". 

Next, I dug through my box of fabric until I found one I liked. 

I cut off a huge chunk and ironed it, my mom would be so proud! 

I placed the body in the fabric and pinned around it to give me an idea of how much fabric I would need. The I cut around the pins and tried to remember to give myself enough extra for seam allowance (I did not) 

Now I needed to devise a way to put it around the headrest. The DVD player used webbing and clips but I didn't have an if that I could steal off something I already had (trust me I looked). I even considered tearing up a belt. Then I remembered my huge box of ribbon and I found some Velcro  I had left over from a project last summer. I picked pink and black to match my new organizer I am getting from 31. I have high hopes of corralling the kid stuff into one big bag :)

From there it was a lot of pinning (which I am terrible at) trying to get the ribbon and elastic in the right place.  As I was just making this up as I went, there was a bit of trial and error. Also I had an excellent helper trying to pin everything in sight 

Finally, I was ready to sew. I did the sides and top, then took the body out. I turned it right side out and checked that everything looked good so far. I did not leave enough to turn the bottom seam under and press it before sewing so it ended up a big ole raw edge mess, but I'm pretty sure MA won't complain. 

I took it out to the car and tried it on to pin where I needed to see the elastic, and came bank and finished up. 

To have just made it up as I went and only used what I had on hand, I think it turned out pretty stinking great. We are going to try it out tomorrow and she how MA likes it!  

Pretty Plate

So my craftiness merged with my need to downsize before the big move. I decided to find a use for the box of plastic beads. I have a big container with a lid that won't stay on very well. They promised to spill everywhere once I put them in a box.  I decided to melt them to see what would happen. 

I put a layer of them in a cake pan. I made sure to just have one layer with no beads stacked on top of one another. 

I didn't do anything to the pan, just put the beads in. 

I started with the oven at 250 but after an hour, the beads had just gotten brighter but not melted. I bumped it up to 350 for between 30-45 min. Still not melted. 400 was the magic number. They melted right up.  I have no clue how long I left them because honestly, I forgot about them. I would say at least an hour. 

Once I remembered them, I pulled them out and left it to cool on the stove of about 2 hours. 

Once it was completely cool, I flipped the pan over and it came out with a little wiggling of the pan. 

I would not put anything made from melted beads in the dishwasher or microwave but they would be fun to use for summer plates 

Got a Little Crafty

So it has been a while....grad school, work, and a baby are keeping me very busy.  I graduated last week, so I have this strange stuff called free time again.  I am having so much fun!!

A few weeks (maybe months) back I saw some really cute hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil owls on zulily but they were forty bucks!

I couldn't find those exact ones but these are $45 at homedecorators.com












 

That's way over the budget for little knick knacks.  If found these little guys at Freds for ten bucks.  Much better price; however not the biggest fan of the color (I thought it made them look cheap)













Enter a can of white primer spray paint and a can of white high gloss enamel spray paint.  Two coats of primer and two of the white and I think they look down right expensive.

 Notice I got crafty with a few other dollar store finds too.  The mushrooms were originally this horrid mix of white bases with yellow, orange, green, and purple caps.  I think they look fun in solid orange.  Also the little bird you can barely see behind the owl on the right started out the same turquoise/brown as the owls.  He is now a sweet little lavender birdie for MA's new big girl room (that I still need to make the bedding for)

I have a few other little projects I would like to start on in the coming weeks before the big move.  Hopefully I can find the time to finish all my side projects and pack my house :)

Kids say the darnedest things-high school edition

We all love the old Bill Cosby show where he would interview kids as they gave hilarious answers to mundane questions. We are always surprised and amused by what comes out of the mouths of babes, but high schoolers can take this shock and amusement to a whole new level.

While this is not a comprehensive list (I really need to write them down), these are some of the best I can remember.

In reference to Sponge Bob, "Mrs. Medeiros, does jelly really come from jellyfish?" Imagine his shock when he leaned it was actually made from fruit not seafood.

In reference to the Irish, "Are leprechauns real?" "No." "Really, because I saw a thing on animal planet and they said they were real." And yes, this child was serious. A debate over unicorns also ensued.

Still in reference to Irish I migration "Can you walk from Ireland to America?" (Me, No) "Why don't they build a bridge?" (Because it would have to cross the Atlantic Ocean) "well they have a bridge over water going to Pensacola." Had to pull out a map and look at distance on this one.

While working on a map activity, "Mrs. Medeiros, is Massachusetts a southern state?"

After using an Abraham Lincoln quote in class, "How do you know he said that? He's dead."

"Are Native Americas from America? What color are they?"

"How does our Spanish teacher know Spanish if she's not from Mexico?"

During a discussion about the resignation of the pope. Me-"Who is considered the first pope?" Student-"Buddha?"

"How can Mrs. Hart be your mom if your last name is Medeiros?"

"Is President Andrew Jackson one of Michael Jackson's brothers? How about Jessie Jackson?"

"Did Abraham Lincoln and George Washington know each other?"


I feel I should add that no, none of these students are "slow" or "dumb." However, they each suffer from that dreaded teenage affliction of speaking without thinking. Today I asked one if he ever thought that maybe he shouldn't say somethings before he says them. He replied with a resounding, "nope!"

I really wish I could write down all of these and give them to the students in 10 years. Can you imagine some of the things that must have come out of your mouth at 14? Teenagers aren't as cute as small children, but their minds can come up with some of best unintentional humor.

A series of unfortunate events

Some days I am convinced my life is a crappy version of the Truman Show. You know where Jim
Carey is the "star" of a reality show but has no idea. All of his acquaintances are in on it, and the producers plot crappy things o happen to him.

For example, tonight, I get home as the tornado sirens are going off, get the kiddo safely in and ready for bed. It is only after the bottom falls out before I realize I had gone o the grocery store and there is food sitting in the back of my car.

I decide that everything can wait but the milk, the milk must get out! I wait for the rain to slack up some and make a break for it. Well slack or no slack I get covered from head to toe in some very cold rain. I get the milk out, close the car and run for the house, splashing water all over me as I run.

Finally, the precious milk is safe! Or is it?? A few hours later as I am getting ready for bed, I go to the fridge for some juice (I decline to comment on the fermentation level of said juice ;) only to discover a white liquid covering the self and dripping down the drawers.

Fortunately I had just wash my kitchen towels and had a stack handy. Everything has to get taken out, the milk sopped up, and then wiped with a Clorox wipe.

Now I have a problem, I have a gallon of milk that needs a new container but my tea pitcher if full of tea. However I do have another fancy crystal pitcher we got for a wedding present that only get brought out for fancy stuff (it been used like twice). So you guessed it, my milk is now back in my fridge but in a fancy pitcher, but I was unsure about having it uncovered, so my fancy pitcher is also covered with a piece of tinfoil.

So you see, my only conclusion can be that these things ate planned and staged for the general public's amusement. I mean really, could these things actually happen unless they were planned and staged just without my knowledge?

And yes, as I was putting everything back, I decided I needed a larger glass of juice :)

Long pause...

Ok, it has been a while but I'm back. There has been way too much going on to try to even catch up, but it has been eventful.

Learning to be a single parent has been very difficult. I need a lot of help to be a mom, and I've had to learn to say, "hey I need some help over here!" My house is messy, I may not always cook dinner, and my child may or may not always get a bath, but we are happy and healthy.

A good friend warned me that the hardest thing about being apart is resentment, and she was right! I know he misses us and would love to be here with us, but some days when I am dealing with a fussy kid, stressful job, and crazy life I want to yell, loudly, at him. None of my frustrations are his fault, but he isn't here to help a d that frustrates me more! Just a vicious cycle :)

Today's message at church was just what my soul needed. Stephanie reminded us of Jesus retuning to Nazareth to preach. Can you imagine how proud his hometown was to see the son of god return to his city to preach their message? Well they should have been, but they weren't. They tried to throw him off a cliff. Jesus' own hometown rejected him because they still saw him as the little kid he once was and not the savior.

While I am no savior, this message was so powerful given the events of this month. Many of you know the trial I have had over the past few weeks, and it has been so difficult to be rejected by my people, my hometown. However, Pastor Stephanie reminded us, it wasn't our job to fix these people. We should show them love no matter what and understand that their hearts can be changed through Christ's love.

I cannot tell you how powerful that was for me. Jesus could not change the hearts of his people and they tried to kill him, but he still loved them. The people who have hurt me do not have to answer to me, I am not their judge. Jesus called me to love, and I can do that! I love my job and my students!! This year has not been the best, but as long as I continue to do my best and show Christ's love through my actions maybe it will get better.

There is a long time between now and June, and sometimes I think I won't be able to make it. However, I have a wonderful family and amazing coworkers and I can get by with a little help from my friends :)