Here’s the good news…..

business and life are good.

Here’s the bad…

it leaves little time for the pursuit of hobbies or blogging.

Oh well, as long as the kids are happy and healthy and we are all happy together, that’s really all that matters!

Till the next time I blog (which hopefully will be before 2012)…. I hope anyone who finds my little personal spot here on the net, enjoys this post I wrote a while back and just recently stumbled upon….

It’s always something!

Today marks my oldest son’s 9th birthday. The memories of being pregnant, childbirth and our first few days together are forever etched in my mind as some of the best, if not THE best, moments of my life. And even if I knew then what I know now, I would, to the amazement of many, (I’m sure), still do it all over again.

Today, in the category of “it is always something”, I had the distinct opportunity of calling our veterinarian only to be honored with the  “weird vet call of the day” award. You see, while preparing the afterschool snack ritual, I found my son’s extended release ritalin on the floor, crushed and spread all over the tile. Fortunately, school is over, he had a good day and didn’t drive his teacher too crazy. Unfortunately, we have a 4 month old kitten.

Are you getting the picture yet?  A kitten on ritalin is not a good thing (although it is hard for this writer to contain her laughter). Kittens are hyper enough as it is, the last thing they need is a stimulant!  Imagine the kitten gleefully swinging from the ceiling fan, jumping onto the TV and then on top of the laptop. Repeat this scene several times, in fast forward, and you may just have the image of a kitten on ritalin.

The news from the vet is not good.  Possible side effects range from hyperactivity to seizures. So, now I am faced with the decision — cancel my son’s birthday dinner with Grandma because we may need to monitor the kitten or assume the kitten didn’t eat enough of it to cause damage and go forward as planned.

You see, it is always something. Nothing is ever as it seems and rarely are plans made and kept without some alternate scenario to consider.  Today it happens to be a possibly extra, super hyper kitten. Tomorrow quite possibly vomitting. One never knows…..

Oh the joys of Motherhood!

Better late than never….

It’s never too late….

Today is the first day of the rest of your life….

There are so many little adages about being late, having forgotten to or simply gotten to busy to do what you set out to do and starting a new.  So today, I forgive myself for having neglected my blog and for having fallen off my weight loss journey.

And today I start anew.

As a quick update for a my one or two readers (thank you very much!), I did great through mid-March. I lost 30 lbs total and then Spring Break, my mom visited, work got busy, Easter and “the right foods aren’t in the house” set in. Obviously these are a string of no good excuses.

And viola, here it is almost June and I have completed neglected my attempt at losing weight and having a healthy life style. Obviously th

I do eat less carbohydrates than when I originally started this but not few enough to control my blood sugar and stave off the hypoglycemic headaches.  My headaches have returned on a far more frequent basis than I want to admit.  It is a direct result of me not eating what  my body needs, not getting enough sleep and in general an unbalanced lifestyle dominated by work rather than what makes my heart tick – the kids and Dave.

Time to shake it up, get back on track and showing up (not in a literal being their kind of way but rather the figurative, being me kind of way) for my family. Today’s a new day, a new beginning and I claim it for me, Dave and our 3 little nuts!

Day 3:  I knew today would be a challenge going back to work full-time again after the holiday break but I didn’t expect it to also be filled with an unexpected trip to the doctor with Aidan.  All’s well but it seriously ate into my ability to walk and get outside with the kids this afternoon to rack up my step count.  Right now I think I am sitting at about 6000 steps with little hope of getting to 10k today. I did squeeze in 11 minutes on the treadmill. That’s about all I could fit in while Z & E played in the tub.  Eleven minutes is better than nothing. Maybe I can do a quick video tonight!  Wish me luck!

Eat Less:  Omelet with egg beaters, cheese and canadian bacon, asian lettuce wraps for lunch, nuts and cheese for snack, turkey chili and sliced cucumbers for dinner.  Great food, no carbs – feeling good!
Move More:  6k steps, 11 minutes on treadmill

Here’s today’s 365 photo – Aidan with his new recorder! He could hardly contain his excitement!

And I finished this fun layout last night. 

Credit:  Shabby Daddy by Scrapkitchen and Traci Reed; Stitching by Traci Reed; “Chill” letters by Shawna Clingerman

Day 2:  Today I started the interval walking of the South Beach Diet Super Charged regime.  I decided to do it on the treadmill since hubby was working on a new screen door and other errands and I could at least listen for the kids while walking.   I did 20 minutes and felt great afterwards. My asthma bothered me slightly but quickly got better.  I decided that today’s photo of the day would be the treadmill.

Otherwise today has been a pretty lazy day.  Dave have been doing some errands and things around the house, I’ve been scrapping and cooking.  I made an amazing batch of Turkey Chili for lunch.  I’ll be the first to admit that generally I shy away from recipes with ground turkey in them but this was soooo good!  It was so good even Dave said he liked it and would take it to lunch!  This was the first recipe I have made of hers but I am definitely bookmarking her blog and will try many more recipes. The only thing I did differently is that I did sautee the onions and garlic in the same pan as the Turkey. I just added a teaspoon of olive oil and sauteed them till they were soft.  Good stuff!

I think the best way to show my intentions for 2011 is via a layout I created today.

At the end of 2011 I hope to look dramatically thinner than I do in the small photo above. But more so even than that, I hope to look back on a year spent focusing on the things that are most important in my life and continuing to become better at what I do, who I am and as a person.

Thanks for taking the time to visit! I would love to hear your intentions for the new year!

It’s that time of the year, the time when everyone starts thinking about resolutions, commitments for the new year and wiping the slate clean and giving it a try again. I have done this many a time.  This year is a little different however.  I started on a path in the Fall that puts me in a great place to be starting the New Year with great promise and excitement.

In November after much delay and angst, I finally decided to go to the doctor and have my blood work and vitals checked.  My husband had commented that I seemed to feel bad more often than I did good and while I didn’t want to admit it, he was right. So after carrying blood work orders around with me for nearly two years in the bottom of a purse or laptop bag, I went to the doctor.  Based on how I was feeling, he ordered a three hour glucose test and a long list of other ones.

I was fully prepared for the doctor to tell me that I had diabetes. Afterall, I have gained a huge amount of weight over the last few years which I can’t blame on the babies anymore since they aren’t. Plus, the times I have made an effort to manage my weight and tried the  South Beach Diet, I have always been surprised at how much better I have felt.  So I ate a few bowls of ice cream too many while I waited for the results, assuming he’d say I was diabetic.

Turns out, I’m extremely hypoglycemic and have a vitamin d deficiency. He told me to cut out sugar and carbs from my diet, increase my exercise, eat more small meals and lose some weight. In addition,  he gave me a prescription for a huge dose of vitamin d each week.  All my other numbers/vitals were good.

Yes, there was a big sense of relief but also a real commitment to get it together and take charge of my health.  The kids are too little to feel awful more often than not and miss times that I can spend with them and things we could do together.  With this new knowledge, I started on a new journey.

So to wrap things up, my New Year’s Commitment really began on November 19th.  Since then I have lost more than 15 lbs staying on the South Beach Diet.  I feel great, have more energy and far fewer headaches!

My goal for the New Year is to continue this focus, blog and scrapbook my journey and hopefully share it with friends and  family who will cheer me on and celebrate my anticipated success with me!

What commitments are you making to yourself and others this year?

Yes, such a thing exists. I have not had my cholesterol checked since before Aidan was born 9 years ago and feel like it is high time. So today when I was at Walgreen’s I saw CholesTrak, a home cholesterol test and grabbed it. Now before I get comments about how I can’t expect this to replace the advice of a doctor – no worries there – I am  going to schedule a full physical exam here soon.  It was more of a curiosity and I figured if it showed up really bad I would speed up how quickly I go to the doctor.

So $20 later I am on my way home, late as always. As with all things that I think my husband will laugh at me about, I clandestinely take it upstairs with plans to try it after I shower.

I got out of the shower, sat on the love seat and opened up the test. I was pleased to see that there was no mention of fasting. (I had read that a downside of home cholesterol tests is that people forget to fast.). The directions were easy to read, simple to follow and quick. Start to finish the test took 20 minutes. I did find the chart about your results somewhat confusing, but on second read, it made sense.

I mentioned being late right? We were headed to a couples baby shower that evening. Yikes! I was ready to go before the test had finished.  So at the risk of my husband laughing at me (and the kids too), I grabbed the test, my notebook  and phone and ran out the door. Yes, I sat the test on top of my cup holder, exposed well of blood and all, and waited for the results.

For an at home quickie test, I found CholesTrak to be very simple. The results indicated that my levels are borderline between idea and acceptable. No reason to rush to the doctor today but I do plan on following the results with a true, read by a professional, test. Nothing replaces the advice of a good and trusted doctor.

I would recommend the test if:

• You are concerned (or curious) but can’t get to the doctor soon
• Your levels are high and you want to easily monitor your levels

For now, I am  satisfied that my cholesterol levels aren’t dangerously high. I do present other Heart Disease risk factors and this test alone does not give me the whole picture.  For myself and my family, I will be eating better, exercising more and asking for everyone to help hold me  accountable.  Including you!

Thanks for stopping by! I’d love to hear what you are doing to take better care of yourself.

Oh and by the way, my husband did laugh at me but he was glad I had taken the test.

Have you noticed how many television ads for cholesterol lowering drugs feature men?  I’ve been searching my memory for an ad that features a women and sadly I can’t think of one. Yet, heart disease is the number one cause of death for women.

Let me say that again. Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women.

Cholesterol levels are one way to determine a persons risk of heart disease. Cholesterol is a fatty like substance that is present in our blood cells. An excess of cholesterol causes plaque build up in your arteries. Plaque reduces blood flow and causes the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout your body.

A heart attack is when a blood clot (often caused by plaque build up) dislodges from the wall of an artery and blocks blood flow to the heart. Similarly, a stroke is when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain.

While most of the attention is placed on men. Women also have to monitor their cholesterol levels and heart disease risks.

Call and schedule an appointment to have your cholesterol levels checked today if:

• You haven’t had your cholesterol level check in more than 5 years.
• You have never had your cholesterol level checked.

And especially if, you have any of the other risk factors for high cholesterol and heart disease such as:

1. Overweight/obesity
2. Family history of heart disease
3. You live a sedentary lifestyle
4. You smoke
5. You have more than one of the risk factors listed above

We all know that women are the crux of the family. Our husbands, partners, children, grandchildren, friends, siblings and parents all depend on us and love us. If you can’t make time to do it for youself, do it for someone you love. Make the call today!

Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com

Tonight was date night. Date nights are always spectacular. A time to be with my hubby that we can talk freely about anything we want, actually be able to finish a sentence and simply focus on each other for a change.  Since our now 15 year love affair started in a bookstore, it is common that we find ourselves at one on date nights. Tonight was no different.  At the store I stumbled upon a book about the many things there are to be happy about.  I immediately thought what a great idea it would be to regularly blog about the things that make me happy.  Here’s installment one!

There are so many things to be happy about.

Tiramisu – Seriously the best dessert ever – not good for my heart or waist – but tastes amazing.

Red wine – good for heart in moderation.

Bookstores – I love walking through the store touching the books. Some people like to touch fabric or ribbons – I like books – what can I say.

My sexy husband – enough said.

The joyous reunion with 2 of our children who were with Grandma ( the 3rd is spending the night with a friend).

Friends

It’s a good life! What makes you happy?  Leave a comment and share!

Obviously this is a new blog! I am getting ready to throw myself full throttle into a 30 day mom heart healthy and weight loss challenge with my friend @Tracy_Roberts. Over the weekend I’ll be designing the site, creating a nice header and look and adding lots of content! I do hope you will come back and visit on Monday!