I hate the super bowl

It's on my birthday. I hate football. My husband has to work. Every one else has a party to go to. I hate the super bowl.

Things that seem odd ...

I saw a fire truck at the gas station today ... getting gas. I know they have to get gas, but I don't really ever remember seeing a fire truck getting gas ...

Challenge day ... who cares!

I did exercise last night, but not tonight. My sister & a friend at work got me started on a new fitness app called My Fitness Pal. It's free and super easy to use, but it keeps reminding me that I am eating to much and exercising too little. Last night I did 160 crunches and 5 minutes of step ups on a 10 inch box - ouch! My butt hurts tonight!!! With this much pain my butt should be rock solid ... it is not.

Whatcha making for dinner? Pulled Pork is on the Menu

Pulled pork, potato pancakes and salad ... not exactly lite, but very tasty!

Not a slacker

Not a slacker ... at least not completely ... 240 crunches. Tomorrow I should be back to normal for working out during conference.

Challenge

My body is revolting - not because of the exercise (or lack there of so far today), but because of switch up in drugs ... not a great day and just gross overall. I am about to put up the boy and try to do something tonight (other than dishes and laundry and cooking and bathing and reading ...

Farting is funny!

It takes a little boy less than two years to decide that farting is possibly the funniest thing ever! It started in the bath tub tonight, and it continued to the changing table. Gassy, gassy boy ... We should have named him Farty McGaserton ... Or Vladimir Putin ....

Zucchini spaghetti

This is my favorite and one of Xman's favorites as well ... He ate all of his and then started eating off my plate tonight!

I first saw this on Rachael Ray. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/spaghetti-with-zucchini-and-garlic-recipe/index.html

I did even more garlic, just a few more cloves, and I don't add the parmesean to the whole bowl. We just add it as we like it on our plates. I add peas on top for me and Xman. So good!!

The first hour ... On a Saturday

What do you do the first hour you are up on a Saturday morning? Here is what I have done ...

Slept in til 630!!!
Get the boy
Change the diaper
Make his breakfast and deliver it to him as he watches Dinosaur Train. Make my coffee and a graham cracker with peanut butter (breakfast of champs and people with no food in the house).
Play with the talking dinosaurs
Put all the toys up
Shoot some hoops
Get the giant shark back out ... Not to play with, just so it can lay in the middle of the floor
Drum!!!
Batting practice
Get all the dinosaurs back out
Play with the dinosaur train set in our pajamas on the kitchen floor
Find a ball - play catch
Find the light up ball - more catch
Snacks for the boy and blogging for the mommy.
Hour number one of the day ... What else will we do today? A lot!

I am off to play with the train again ... This is much different than sleeping to 10 coffee breakfast and shower which was probably closer to my sat morning before Xman. Only one more hour before Daddy gets up!

What is for dinner? Pork Tenderloin

One of Robert's requests for the week:

Pork tenderloin, smashed potatoes and broccoli (I wanted roasted broccoli but forgot to buy the fresh broccoli.)

Balance Challenge for Anatomy

No need to exercise today. Four hours of a balance challenge in Anatomy proved to be enough. I knew I would be demonstrating all day, so I took it easy with first period, but by 5th I was already sore and not doing much more than demonstrating.

My students were challenged to hold each pose as long as they could with a maximum for five minutes. I would definitely say that form was not important to them - form was pretty sad most of the day. But at least one student maxed out (hit the five minute mark) on almost all of the poses. I am going to try to alternate days for a little while with yoga and what I have been doing.

Tree
Star
Warrior 3
Eagle
Hand to Big Toe
Flamingo
Dancer
Up on your toes!

I used the poses i found on the Reach website
http://reachyogastudio.com/posesforanxiety.aspx

Making posters

Sounds easy, right? Apparently not. I have been asking students to do tis for years and a few do a great job, and the rest ... I have determined that some people can come up with a good idea, some can make a good looking poster, but very few can do both. So I made a rough draft and a poster. I am not an artist. I wrote everything in my handwriting (which changes often) then went over and over the original writing and drawings to even out lines and things of that sort. Let's see if I can now get others to follow!

I have a problem: Garlic edition

I love garlic! L. O. V. E. love!!!!! If there were garlic scented candles or perfume I would buy it! When a recipe calls for one clove of garlic I add two as long as they are really big, if not then four!

Too much loss

A local teen death has affected those we love this weekend, and now a professor that worked at the school died this morning. Too much! I can't imagine what tomorrow holds for my students who were also in her class. Most already know.

Day 21 ... so far

Well, I found a great fitness website that I am no where near ready for, but I like the idea of a minute fast cardio alternating with a minute of slower cardio. So I tried it today ... kind of. I got 2 steps of different sizes (from the firm workouts) out of the closet where they allow me to reach my t-shirts. And alternated my minutes between the two steps ... but I only made it a total of 8 minutes. I am going to try to build up as we go ... I guess that is why I refer to this as the challenge.

Products I love

This is the toy solution ... It doesn't contain everything, but it hides a lot, while still keeping it handy.

Day 20

Nothing - we did nothing all day. Not really. Church, breakfast with the fam, laundry & dishes ... But other than that the day was thrown off by the hubby's work schedule, and the cold weather.

Day 19 (Saturday)

I spent quite a bit of the day at a swim meet and did enough climbing stairs to skip out on squats and I only got 1 set of everything else in because my presence was requested often while The hubby gave Xman a bath. But one set is better than just sitting!

Easy Snickerdoodle Ice Cream

Okay, so technically these little ice cream cups are Xman's ... But they are on the shopping list for tomorrow and I wanted something sweet. A light (or not so light, depending on the size of your sweet tooth) sprinkling of cinnamon sugar transforms regular homemade vanilla into something that to me tastes like cold Snickerdoodle cookie dough ... may not exactly, but close enough!

Best ever smoothie!

One of the healthier things I have been trying to do is getting all five colors of fruits and veggies a day. But I am broke and fresh fruits and veggies tend to go bad a little too quickly for me. But I have been getting almost all of them thanks to a spinach salad for lunch and this smoothie.

1/2 c frozen fruit
1 banana
1-2 T wheat germ
2 oz nonfat plain yogurt
3 oz pineapple juice
1/2 c water if yogurt and pineapple juice is frozen

I am trying to make this very convenient for myself so I pre-package everything I can. One ice cube is one ounce, if you are looking for ice cube trays for this purpose it is worth getting the more expense trays at target or Walmart. I tried the cheapo ones for the first round of Xman's baby food experiment, then went and bought the better ones.

I put the 1/2 cup frozen fruit in a plastic bag and then add 2 cubes of yogurt and three cubes of pineapple juice. That way when I come home I break up a banana in the blender, add wheat germ and them grab a bag from the freezer and blend away.


The yogurt only comes in giant tubs, so I started putting it in ice cube trays and freezing it so I can pre-package my smoothies and not have to worry about the yogurt going bad or measuring it every day.

When I started I had 6 oz cans of pineapple juice, so I would pour in 1/2 of a can and then put the rest in in container in the fridge for the next day. Once I finished all the little cans I bought a big can (to save a whopping 20 cents!) so I put a couple-of-days-worth jn containers and froze the ret. it just as well frozen, but you need to add about 1/2 c water.

Yummy!!!

Myers-Briggs Test

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

I recently had a friend ask me to take a personality test, sure thing ... I have lots of them :). I took it again today to get a pic of the results, the numbers changed a bit, but still etsj. What are you?

Things I love

Taking a shower! I know, you are welcome. But this is a bit harder than you would think when you have an almost 2 year old at home, and a husband who works two jobs. During the week I set an alarm for 530 so I can shower before the boy gets up. If he gets up early Robert has to get up early.

But on Saturdays I want to sleep as long as possible and it throws the shower off a little. When and how I shower depends on what time Robert goes to work. If Xman sleeps in and Robert goes to work early, I sometimes have to wait until nap time.

But today ... I had an epiphany! Xman figured out how to get around the cage guarding the fireplace and tv stand from a little man. Who loves to climb and push buttons. So we folded the cage up and stuck it behind the chair in the bedroom. But today it was my salvation. I put the cage together and made a weird diamond-type shape so he could watch Dinosaur Train (our favorite tv show) and could still get into the bathroom to talk to me and make sure I did not run away. Throw in a few toys that can be thrown out of the cage and I had a full 15 minutes to shower and get dressed before he started wanting out ... and now he wants back in ... Giving me time to post this!

I am planning on using this when we garden in the front yard too, practicing in the backyard first, of course.

Lazy Saturday morning

Silly bonus question

Silly bonus questions = sillier answers

Day 18

Finally back on track! I didn't work out at school, but just finished my workout for the day. I have reorganized the workouts to alternate them and finish the workout as quickly as possible.

Group 1: (3X)
10 push-ups
Superman 10 breaths
Swan (same position but pull arms back) 10 breaths

Group 2: (3X)
10 squats
10 bicep curls
10 calf raises

Group 3: (3X)
Kicks - 15 breaths
20 crunches
10 out and up legs

Stretch

Resting 16 & 17

Getting sick. Headache, crazy sore throat, overall yucky-ness. No exercise.

You learn something new everyday!

Today a friend ran across this picture with the following description

http://pinterest.com/pin/288089707383094950/#


great info on menstrual cups, the different types, sizes ect. There are more than just the Diva cup

menstrualcupinfo.wordpress.com

What?!!

Never in my life could I imagine this!!

Then we went to the blog and read the description. I thought I was going to puke. The description was something to the extent of wear until full, empty clean repeat. And they last for years.

No offense to those of you who use or like this idea, but obviously this is not for me. My mind has been officially blown!

This looks disgusting ... But Tastes so Good ... Chicken Taco Plate

Although this looks disgusting the was amazing! I really wanted Chipotle or Del Taco tonight, but I am trying to eat out less, so I improvised. I made chicken with taco seasoning, brown rice, smashed black beans, corn, added sour cream and guacamole,. Then I heated up a pan to toast my tortillas - cut them in fourths and pretended they were chips! So good!

I truly apologize for the picture. I didn't think to take a picture before I started eating, but it didn't look a lot different - just all the different ingredients puked on my plate slightly on top of one other and slightly stirred. So good!

Frozen bananas

I have always thrown ripe bananas that were getting overly ripe in the freezer to make banana bread at some imaginary point in my life when I want banana bread. Then on pinterest I saw a smoothie kit idea and it suggested slicing bananas then freezing them - wow! This is all I will do from here on out! They look way more appetizing, and let's face it - when am I going to make all that banana bread. This is also very handy because Xman has gotten to where he likes to eat bananas but only about half, so this allows me to freeze the rest! Life change for the better!

FlipBoard

Have you checked out FlipBoard?  It is my new favorite app!  It allows me the deel like I am dlipping though a magazine while checking out facebook, twitter, google reader, instagram and a few of their groupings like recipies, nerd approved, laughing squid, Colbert Report and a few others.

Day 15

So I totally slacked this weekend (days 12 &13). Day 12 was spent cleaning house and doing prep for school work. Day 13 I did 10 jumping jacks - just to see if I could walk the next day (bad knees). I was okay, but that is as far as the jumping jacks and workout for that day went!

Monday I returned to school and my normal routine. I had a friend in during my work out during my conference on Monday so I didn't add anything new. Today I did the same thing and added double leg lifts - don't know what else to call them - lay flat on your back lift both legs to 90 degrees and repeat.

Tomorrow - calf raises!

Spinach

So I have eaten a lot of spinach today! This is the second week for spinach salads for lunch. Then last night I found a spinach smoothie and spinach chips on pinterest. So I was brave and tried them both today.

 

I think the smoothie looked so good because of the color. It was drinkable but ... it had a lot of milk and yogurt which was the main taste. Then you would get hints of the banana and peanut butter. Neither of these are my favorites. The spinach didn't really have any taste at all, so maybe I should just add a little spinach to my normal smoothie ... but it may turn it an ugly color. What color does purple and green make? Maybe not.

So how would I change it. Cut the banana. A smoothie without a banana is yucky? I agree, but wait until you see the other changes. Cut the spinach. Quadruple the peanut butter. Swap the yogurt out for ice cream. Add chocolate ... Yeah, that sounds good!

The winner is definitely the spinach chips - yummy!!! Tastes a lot like lays potato chips to me. Not much to it except grease and salt. I would definitely make these if I was craving greasy chips and didn't have chips in the house. And they were easy to make!

Disclaimer:  While I am trying to start working out, I am not changing my diet.  I am not on the "lose 50lbs this week" kick.  I am trying to get more fruits and veggies in - which makes these two choices make a little more sense!

Blogging marathon

I have totally been slacking so I am attempting to catch up tonight ... Hold on to your butts!

Oh and I am totally blogging on my iPad all the time now which is why it sometimes looks like crap. The app doesn't quite let me have the options I often need. So I am going to try to get on the laptop and make some format changes and maybe the whole look of the blog - who knows what the night holds!

Things I love ...

Yes, I am stealing a bit from Miss Allyson ...

I love T-shirts! And even more than T-shirts, I love being able to see my T-shirts and them to all be uniform ... OCD much? Thank you Flip-n-Fold for making my life easier. Yes, the Flip-n-Fold, like Sheldon. I know.

Christmas is over ...

What a day ... and it's only 4:00. Last night I started putting up my Christmas decorations. I left them up longer this year because I was being a good Catholic ... not because I was being lazy ...well not just because I was being lazy. I love my Christmas decorations and hate to put them up. Taking ornaments off the tree with an almost two year old helping is definitely an interesting experience and took about twice as long as it should have. But we got everything. Outback in containers and waiting in the garage for Robert to return to they can go back to their home in the attic.

Xman slept in this morning, which means we all slept in until 8am! So I was figuring we would be off schedule the rest of the day, but after Cars and helping with the Christmas decorations, he went down for a nap before 1pm. Since he slept in, I figured it it would be a short nap, but he slept a good three hours! Which means I got a shower (best part of everyday), folded clothes for about 1.5 hours and then did most of the dishes.

Not only that but while in the shower I came up with a beyond-amazing plan for my Anatomy & Physiology class.. Why do I think best in the shower or while I pee?

Day 11 on 12

Yesterday I did do my same old workout in my room during conference. I didn't add anything new, because I was thinking we would go back to the park or for a walk in the neighborhood once we got home. That didn't happen. Instead a went to dinner ... with my husband ... on a Friday night. This was a rare occasion indeed! Time well spent!

Day 10

Okay, I am getting kind of board by my workout already. And after the day I had ... I decided on 15 minutes of yoga. Thought it might be calming. It was a little frustrating. Yoga poses are a reminder of what my body won't do, or how the fat physically gets in the way. But at least I am stretched and slightly more relaxed.

Inconsistent Eater

I wouldn't say Xman is a picky eater, but you never know what he is going to want. Last week he ate spaghetti like it was the best stuff ever. Last night was Mac and cheese, peas and yogurt. But tonight ... club crackers ... only club crackers. I am trying to put weight on him, so I need him to eat, but I do not want a picky eater!

Right now he eats what we eat unless dinner is not ready when he is hungry (tonight). He easts a lot of club crackers, gold fish, graham crackers, yogurt and ice cream (doctors orders). He likes fruit loops, spaghetti, Mac and cheese, fruit smoothies, chicken nuggets, meatloaf, peas, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, applesauce, cuties (new), zucchini spaghetti, and bananas. And I almost forgot ... cakeballs (though it has been a while).

Xman as a tattoo artist?

Another one of my favorite reasons to be a teacher!

Ok today is kicking my butt again today - I need another two weeks off :). But the highlight of my day ... Seeing one of my favorites!!

This student graduated the year that Xman was born and I missed almost the last. Three months of his senior year in AP Bio.

As a freshman he was very impressive and inquisitive and loved biology. We spoke in the hall and he came to visit before and after school during those in between years of chemistry and physics.

During AP Biology just after we were learning about Bryophytes (mosses) he and a friend saw moss growing on a tree branch, broke the branch and brought it into class. Awesome! He actually pouted all of his senior year because I did not allow him to be my teacher's aide. Not because I didn't want him in there, but because he was so super excited about biology I thought he might interrupt class and participate with the freshmen too much, and because I figured I would be distracted by him and talk to him too much too. I felt so bad not having him as my teacher's aide. But I loved having him in my AP Bio class and NHS. He is a quality individual!

He is at A&M and not loving organic Chem but loving college - maybe too much, maybe at the expense of his GPA. I can completely relate to that!

Slacker ... about writing posts! 9 on 10

So I am writing about day 9 on day 10 because 9 kicked my butt. I did the same workout as yesterday and added a 500 yd swim when we took Xman swimming. We were a tired family last night. Today my conference workout was ruined by students who needed help ... and since I teach because I like helping kids, they beat the workout. I will get to it here after bath time and post it then.

A long day

Today was the first day back with kiddos ... I am tired! It doesn't seem like I should have to go back tomorrow. One of the joys of having seniors is they swap classes a lot at semester, so I have a different mix of kids in most of my classes. No problem in the morning ... but in the afternoon ...that is another story. I am sure it will be rectified in the next couple of weeks.

On the upside, I got a gift yesterday! From an ex-student. It was a whatchamacallit! So yummy! He is now my favorite. He is a kid from my first batch of freshmen I taught. I yelled at him in the hallway one day. It is good to see how students change in the four years of high school and after. He has really become an amazing young man, who seems to have excelled and matured into an amazing young man. I was worried he might get trapped in the silliness of his friends, but he has done well. He is my favorite (for a little while:).

Days 7 and 8

Well .... Yesterday was a work day at school, and after climbing on stools and back down the last part of the day, I decided on the 7th day I should ... stretch!!!

Today I completed my little work out during my conference. It took me about 15 minutes which is about 15 minutes more than I like to spend in my room during my conference, but I did feel better and more energized when I was done.

I added 3 sets of 10 bicep curls with a resistance band today.

Day 6

30 air squats (10-10-10)
30 push ups (10-10-10)
3 supermans (15 sec)
10 kicks (15 sec kick, 5sec rest)
70 crunches (20-30-20)

Now the real test - back to work tomorrow!

Crossfit

I have a friend who often posts about her accomplishments in CossFit, but she is very focused on exercise ... We don't have a lot in common. :)

But today I saw a CrossFit competition. It is crazy! Scotty and Chelsea were watching it at Mom's and the competitors were very impressive, and the events were insane.

Apparently it has only been around for about 5 years (or at least the competition), and the competitors do not know the events until they arrive at the competition. The men had to swim, run in sand, do pull ups, push ups, squats and run again in the round I saw. All vey obviously very fit, and all looked like they were going to puke when they finished. Check it out!

Update: I looked at the site for the CrossFit closest to me - $300 for the required Foundations class, then $175 per month!! What? Who has the money to commit to this? Can I have a loan?

New Year Feast

I was raised on ham, cabbage and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. I like the tradition but I don't really like ham, and I only like black-eyed peas and cabbage if they are prepared using a large amount of bacon. So I decided to switch things up a bit.

I made ham and Swiss melts, with lots of spicy brown mustard (to hide the taste of ham), cole slaw and black-eyed pea dip (thank you pioneer woman). All in all items pretty tasty.

I also wouldn't mind the yummy gumboi had at Mom's for lunch becoming a tradition.