Big fat lazy day!

I woke up fairly early for me this morning (9ish on a Saturday). Actually the first one awake. Would have loved to sleep in, except I had worked out so much yesterday my whole core hurt. It was not giving me good rest. So I figured might as well get up and make the most of it. I was too sore to do much, but I still managed to get bored, but I figured I would be mindful of my boredom and use it wisely. I laid down here and there with no intention of naps, read some, watched the beginning of some movies but couldn't stay put all the way through, paced the floor, looked randomly at the internet, and took the family on a brief trip to the nearest gas station for fountain drinks and sour gummy worms. All in all it was a very successful lazy day.

Tomorrow after church our family is going to a swim party/BBQ with Kieran's Sunday School class. It will be at a lady from our church's house. She is also Gage's Sunday School teacher and they had another party last week just for his class. The kids are super excited to go, it will be Kieran's and Ryker's first swimming trip this year. If you don't count the small 2 ft. pool we have. I will be worn out by tomorrow evening.

8 week health nut!

This will be the 8th week for my healthy lifestyle and I think I may be officially hooked. I found that I had to FORCE myself to take a day off of working out on Monday. I went 6 days straight and could have gone a 7th. I have broadened beyond Zumba and I have incorporated Windsor Pilates, The Firm Wave, Slim in 6, and now other workouts off of Netflix (yeas they have watch instantly videos!). I have yet to get bored. Tonight I did a new video from Self magazines Bikini Ready series. It was a strength training video and boy did it kick my butt. I usually think my 5 pound weights are not enough resistance, but by the middle of this workout my arms were screaming and shaking. I figured since I was killing those I might as well keep going with the other body parts. So I did a Pilates buns and thighs workouts and ab routine. I actually feel really good right now, not exhausted. My diet has continued to remain a healthy balance. I have decreased my sugar intake and I am trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup. Despite what the commercial says, that stuff is BAD news. Just ask Dr. Oz. Think about it, anything that starts with "High fructose" and ends with "syrup" can't be good for you. Sadly it's hard finding foods without any. Even my old high fiber bars had it in them. But luckily I have found some good brands that have avoided them. Kashi is one that I love. Their cookies are awesome!

Steven, has joined my healthy kick. Guess it is contagious. Since he does most of the cooking I have been pushing the health stuff. He started running and lifting weights last week. He is even trying to break his regular soda habit. That's a bad one for him. Seems the kids are catching on too. Gage and Kieran occasionally ask me if "so and so" is healthy. I try to teach moderation more so with them. Fast food is fine, as long as it isn't that often. And it's not about getting "fat". Obviously they are no where near that, but I do try to teach them overall body health and food being used for energy and proper growth and development. Even Ryker understands why he needs some form of protein in his lunch of fruit and bread now. Not necessarily an issue now that he loves string white cheese and plain turkey. It also cracks me up when they ask for a banana for dessert. I grew up in house where my Dad always had a cake made, and still does. He now has Type 2 diabetes and I don't see him ever changing the way he eats. I could have easily continued down that road if I didn't do my own education. And it IS years of education, starting when I had to lose baby weight 9 years ago.

I just realized I went on a health rant... oops. My apologies.

P.S. I just love those "Eat this not that!" articles on yahoo!

Vacations over! :(

They are never long enough.

I left with my Mother and sister to Colorado last Friday and got back to Arkansas on Tuesday. My sister had to be back to work on Tuesday so we couldn't stay long. We still got a lot done despite being there a short time, not to mention getting to see the mountains. My aunt had a BBQ on Saturday and invited all my Mom's brothers and sister. 5 in total. 1 uncle I haven't seen in over 15 years. It was awesome, I even almost cried. Got to see 4 out of my 14 cousins on my Mom's side. Yes, I have a big family. I managed to do pretty well with my healthy eating on my trip and even got to utilize the high altitude for staying in shape. I took my sister out one day to do some running and street aerobics. It was a nice change up. The trip back was a long 12 hour trip but over all not to bad.

My husband kept the kiddos as well as my niece and nephew for the few days we were gone, and when I got back they stayed the rest of the week while my Mother went up to Missouri to see her best friend and float the river. We also did this last year. There were 5 kids total all week and sometimes 6 including the next door neighbor girl that came over most nights. It's been relatively quiet since they left on Friday.

Gage went to his Sunday School's teachers house yesterday for a swimming party. I think it was his first. He of coarse had a blast and says she taught him to swim. He was also the only boy there, but didn't complain at all. Kieran's class is supposed to have one next Sunday and the whole family is invited. May be the first time I get to swim all year.

Really not looking forward to work tomorrow. I know the dread is always more than what it is when I get there. All in all it's not bad, but it is stressful at times. I am pretty certain down the road after I get my LPC I will be going into Private Practice, probably at my church. Not really a secret, since I have told my Supervisor this before. The main reason is I won't have to do groups, at least not the kind I am accustomed to at the hospital. Who knows I may stick around and do PRN work at the hospital. It would be somewhat nice not to have to carry a caseload. Either way, I got some time, I am not rushing anything. I should be getting my LPC sometime next year. Another goal I will reach not too far into the future. I love goals. The next will be the Private Practice. :)

Happy 4th of July

Started off not the best. Steven's alarm didn't go off and "I" didn't have time to get ready for church, so he took the kiddos. At least I got some more sleep. So when the sun finally came out from under the clouds we took a short trip to the Dollar Tree, Starbucks, Sonic (drinks for kiddos), and then some fireworks. Steven is currently cooking out some burgers and making some homemade peach ice cream. All American everything. Kieran's next door neighbor friend came and played with her a little and now we are just getting ready to eat.

I did manage to start a blog for the kiddos today.
http://joy-and-wisdom.blogspot.com/

VBS week

Yesterday marked the end of a very long week for me. Steven and the kids of course stay home during the day so it's not such a big thing for them. Steven and I had the nursery kids (including Ryker), the most being on one night was only 4. I also did registration each night. The week went pretty smoothly, Ryker had a couple of bruises on his face from Monday and Tuesday night but had managed to heal by the end of the week. The theme was space, so of course Gage was super excited. He even got a set of blow up planets last night from one of the teachers who knows he is a big space fanatic. It was a fun week. And luckily it was a relatively cool one considering most are scorching. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we had BBQ after wards. I think I managed my healthy eating fairly well. I even had Steven make homemade frozen yogurt with strawberries for last night and it was awesome. Working out was somewhat a problem for this week. I only missed 2 days of it though. Some days I dragged myself out of bed and did it early in the morning, others I left work a tad early and did it then. I even managed to do another last night after we got home near 10:00. That might have been a mistake because now I am super sore.

Next week I only work from Monday - Thursday and then I am on VACATION!