Laziness and Other Favorite Things

Remember how I hurt my finger?  The doc said I should re-tape it when the original tape got dirty or wore out. 

I used black electrical tape.  Think he'll mind?  I have been lazy, and finally just TODAY remembered to pick up some more medical tape.  I have not gotten around to re-wrapping the fingers.

I was reading over at Off Our Chests about "favorite things." 

Here are some of mine.

When it's snowing so hard at night that when you step outside, you can HEAR it.  Hhsssssssssss.
When I say my doggie's name and he wags, even when he's asleep.
Crayons.  Especially the cornflower blue one.
The way my kids look when they sleep.
Rain after a week of hot dry weather.
Falling in love with a book, then realizing it's the first of a series!
Having a cup of coffee that someone else brought to me.
The feeling of having a long-running in-joke with a friend or sibling.

This Is Why I'm Not Posting

I have damaged myself, and it's hard to type. 

Baby Brain is Real

I just read a facebook post by a good friend who recently had a baby.  She was lamenting the fact that she couldn't organize her thoughts enough to write anything.  It brought back a memory from when I had my first.

I actually went to a neurologist a few months after Allie was born because I thought I was losing brain function or suffering some kind of tumor or something. My husband was telling me about entire conversations we had, of which I had literally no memory.  

The neurologist saw the spit-up on my shoulder and asked if I had a baby. I nodded, and she burst into peals of un-doctorlike laughter, and said I didn't need a brain scan. I just needed a couple nights of uninterrupted sleep, and a WHOLE LOT LESS of the baby-feeding hormones. 

 

Baby mush brain is not a medical diagnosis, but it sure is real.

Journey From Sloth and Despair: June Edition

You may recall that I have been working towards health and well-being through clean eating.  No?  Here are some links for you to peruse:

Journey from sloth and despair: the beginning
January sloth and despair
More of the Journey

Anyway.  I spent a good month cleaning up my act this spring.  I eliminated ALL fast food (ok - nearly all), just about all processed food (boxed, bagged, prepared, colored, canned, jarred, etc.), all simple carbs. (potatoes, pasta, bread), and even grains/legumes (oats, rice, beans, wheat, etc.).  Also no alcohol or sodas (ok -- I did have the occasional Diet Pepsi.  I'm no angel.).

I ate (nearly) solely fresh meat and fish (lean beef, chicken, turkey, seafood), and low-carb veggies and fruit for over a month.  Why?  Because I needed to break my attachment to food.  I needed to see what my body was like without chemicals and junk in it.

It was SUPER difficult for the first several days.  I went to bed dreaming of cake and wine and mac 'n' cheeze.  I woke, craving cereal and donuts and danishes.

BUT: things I started noticing:

• My stomach was happier.  It was peaceful (if you know what I mean)
• My skin was GREAT (with all the water I was consuming)
• I would wake,and feel less muzzy and fuzzy and gross
• My allergies improved (could be that the atmospheric allergens decreased, though)
• I started to really LOVE fish (tilapia and salmon are lovely!)
• Fruit became a delicious dessert, especially strawberries
• I totally stopped craving fast food and high-fat snacks
• Diet Pepsi became a treat (one glass, with ice) rather than sustenance

After about a month of this, I decided it was time to start adding back a greater amount of foods.  I added more proteins, fats, and fruits/veggies.  Also alcohol in small amounts.

Things I noticed:

• My body likes pure meats better than processed (sausage, bacon, lunch meats).  I know this because I had a few stomach aches AND I'd feel kind of grody after eating a salad with chopped lunchmeat and bacon
• Avocados are WONDERFUL, no matter how high-fat
• Cherries are good for me
• Diet Pepsi is still not that great for me.  I feel weirdly chemical-ish after drinking much of it
• Alcohol now gives me a gross feeling the next day.  Even just one glass.  Sigh.  
• Real cream (whipped, with just a tiny bit of sugar) is terrific on berries as a dessert.  Just a bit.  And I don't care if it IS high-fat.  It's deelish.  And doesn't make me feel gross like CoolWhip does.  My mouth doesn't feel all slimy afterwards.
• Whole, raw almonds are a fantastic snack.
• My body NEEDS lots of water. No matter what.
• Triscuits are grossly slimy feeling, and Pringles?  EW.

My next step will be adding back grains, legumes, and so on.

This has been amazingly enlightening. 

Some questions I had:

• Is it more expensive to eat "whole-ish-ly"?  Not that I've noticed.  Pre-packaged foods are fairly expensive, and fast food is too.  I buy a bag of frozen tilapia fillets ($9/12 of them), a bag of frozen turkey patties ($8/12 patties) (just ground turkey, pre-portioned), and lots of veggies/fruit, and maybe a buy one get one free steak, and I'm set for the week.  I buy almonds on sale, and lemons/limes by the bag.  
• Is it hard to dine out at restaurants?  Well, kind of.  Depending on where you go.  We went to an amusement park, and UGH.  But I did find a restaurant that had a big salad.  However, the protein available was chicken strips (breaded).  But still, could have been worse.  At most restaurants (not crappy ones) I can order grilled protein (chicken, steak, fish) with veggies.  I just ask for no butter or sauce.  I ignore the breadbasket, and request no croutons/bread/junk on the plate.  Mexican places are excellent, because I can order fajitas with no tortillas (with extra lettuce), and make a fabulous salad.  I even have some guacamole.  No margaritas, though.
• Do I end up cooking twice to accommodate my family?  Sometimes.  But mostly, I just make them additional sides (potatoes, pasta, breads), and they eat my healthy stuff PLUS the other stuff.  
• Do I feel like I'm obsessing about food?  Kind of.  But I realized that I already was focused on food.  "Can I get away with eating pizza?" and "what will I make for dinner" and "what kind of martini" and so on.  Now, it's just the opposite direction.  "How can I make this a clean meal?" or "Will they be able to make this without breading?" and so on.

I'm indulging in small amounts of full-fat sour cream, butter, and olive oil.  I'm learning that veggies are NOT supposed to be just vehicles for dressings and cheeses and sauces.

I don't want to be all religious about this.  All fanatical.  But something needed to happen.  I needed to clean up my act.  I've done it!  I have no illusions.  I"m going to eat pizza again.  I'm going to eat cake and drink wine.  I love tortillas and bread.  I do.  But ... I really needed a re-set.

I Judge People

Yesterday, my little family and I went to an amusement park/water park.  As I stood there, waiting for the kids to get off of a (shudder) spinning ride, I observed a woman and her husband/boyfriend/whatever who were cooling off in the shade near me. 

  She was extremely obese, and he had a tail.  You know -- where the hair is short all over, except that spot at the back?  And he was being affectionate to her, and she was laughing.  My horrid, horrid thoughts included such doozies as: "Ew. a TAIL.  What a redneck," and "Wow.  Wonder how she got that fat!"  I was appalled at my own brain.

SMACK.  I have NO RIGHT to judge.  No right whatsoever.  And yet, judge I did.  I made assumptions, and not nice ones.  So I challenged myself.

Every time I noticed myself getting preconceived notions about someone, I would force myself to try to assume the exact opposite.

Many, many men that day were (according to me) poets, ballet dancers, historians, scholars, yoga aficionados, authors, dressmakers, and etiquette specialists.  Many women were nuns, physics majors, athletes, fitness trainers, seamstresses, diction coaches, and holistic farmers.

This was one of the most enlightening days I have spent in recent memory.  It forced me to see how unjust my thoughts can be.  And it taught me that people are rarely what they first appear to be.

Including me.

Summer Kickoff

Yesterday, my hubs and I took Kid1, Kid2, and Kid1's BFF to an amusement park/water park. 

It was EXHAUSTING.  It was hot.  It was expensive. 

It was fun!

But the important thing to remember:  always ALWAYS bring the kids' friends.  I need to make sure we have a buddy for Kid2 next time.  It's SO much easier!  They chatter to each other all day long.  They share fries.  They giggle over melting ice cream.  They clutch their stomachs after roller coaster rides. 

I will happily be the pack mule on each and every trip to the amusement park from now on.  I rode SOME of the coasters, SOME of the water slides, SOME of the time in the wave pool.  But it wasn't vital that I was there the entire time.  And that, parent friends, is the key.  I stayed behind them, giving them enough space to feel all independent and daring, but being close enough to stop them from doing anything truly awful.

(Except for that ONE TIME I told them to meet us back at the bridge after we (the adults) went on the "Lazy River" ride and they (the kids) went on the tall, tall waterslide with tubes.  And they didn't see us right away, therefore they started wandering around in a panic.  And then they found us. With the help of a security guard. Sigh.)

But really.  It was good.  And I suspect I FINALLY put enough sunscreen on the kids and myself (and did it often enough) that I have not done their future wrinkles any help.

Gosselin: Always.