A Deep Breath

Ok ok so I'm sure that everyone could tell that I was a tad upset when I posted last.  Life can get you going pretty good regardless of how hard you might try to ignore it.  We are all striving to get healthy and happy and that above all else is the most important!

I wonder if my daughters have completely abandoned the thought of this blog and no longer are enticed by baring all....it's ok if they are just as long as we all keep trudging along in the fight to be fit! 

I checked out a tandem bike online today and holy cow they are cool, did you know that you can actually have one custom made for 2,4 or even 6 riders!!  What a wonderful past time to develop with a growing family!!  They are spendy though up to 8,000 bucks OUCH!  However, if you take into consideration the amount they could save you in medical bills down the line that 8,000 bucks may not sting quite so much.

1. What's in a weight, freakin everything that's what. Whether we want to acknowledge, believe or mention it that's just the way it is.
   
   From the time we come into this world it's all about weight! We are suppose to fit into that 'healthy category' from the time we arrive and if we don't there are immediately consequences.
   
   We are all humans and as a human we can be pretty damn ugly. And it doesn't matter whether we have been raised in a 'religious' family where our parents and community has drilled into us that being 'religious' is going to church every Sunday, reading our scriptures and saying our prayers. As soon as we leave our homes and our influences and are surrounded by our peers in school many of us leave behind everything our parents have tried to teach us...or do we?
   I have always told my children when they were being picked on at school or work or any where for that matter that the individuals tormenting them weren't taught to be better people, or their circumstances have caused them to be that way.
   Well I want to tell them right now that that is horse crap!! We are all sent into this world with a brain, we all feel, see and experience the same pains when someone says something hurtful.
   But where do the prejudices comes from, are we all born with that seed buried inside of us? Is it always there like a cancer just waiting for the opportunity to rear it's ugly head? And when mom or dad see someone over weight and make that seemingly innocent comment, or cast that look that seems to say 'Oh My Gosh' is that the fuel that causes that ugly seed to sprout?
   I firmly believe that the adversary is the source of all evil and prejudice is as evil as they come, but can a child in elementary school truely be evil??? I find that very hard to believe, rather; I have to believe that the child is sorely misguided by behaviors they see and hear or heaven forbid experience themselves in their home.
   Parents who act as though their children are above all others due to their beauty, talents or economical base need to close their pretty little eyes and like Matthew Mcconaughey said in 'A Time to Kill' "Until we learn to think with our hearts there will always be prejudice" So close your eyes ANYTIME you are being a total freakin idiot and judging ANYONE about ANYTHING whether it's their clothes, hair, vehicle, reputation, mistakes, family, IQ or YEAH their WEIGHT and pretend as if that judgment is being passed on YOU or your CHILD!!
   No one in this world NO ONE wants to be at the bottom of the pile, we don't WANT to be over weight, poor, homeless, addicts or any other negative experience that exists here on this blasted planet!
   Because of these judgments members of my family stuggle and it just quite frankly pisses me off.
   And it makes me even more angry that I can't seem to fix it!!
   I want to be angry at everyone that teased and tormented, that ignored and tolerated, and that simply turned away!! I want to say that they are assholes with no IQ and crappy parents who didn't teach them better. But in the end if I were to do that I would be no better then those who stipped away every single solitary ounce of confidence from one of the most loving caring people I know!!
   So I won't do that, instead I will beg for guidance from my Heavenly Father and pray that he'll forgive me for dropping the ball when I really needed to be the carrier!!

   And I want to say to her you are stonger than this, you are better and you DESERVE to succeed but YOU are the only one that can fix you.  I can support and assist but I can change a bloody dang thing and I wish I could and I'm sorry but that is the way it is...

 

Ashley, meet Kettlebell

Last night we at at Cracker Barrel, I had chicken fried chicken smothered in creamy country gravy with mashed potatoes {also smothered} and carrots.  It was delicious, until it wasn't. {pretty sure I ate to much} A bit later I was lounging on the couch watching infomercials with my dad. {yes its funny - infomercials?!} It was about some Kettle Worx DVDs. 

My mom, dad and I all bought kettle bells about a month ago and havent done a whole ton with em.  Well one of them came with a DVD by Trainer Bob from the biggest loser. So someone {Mom} suggested we pop that sucker in.  Now I would like to say, everything I've read and heard about kettlebells have ensured me that it will be one of the most effective workouts you've ever done.

And let me tell you.

They were not kidding!

At just about ten minutes I was sure that I was gonna lose my dinner. I sat on the floor and after being told my lips were about the color of chalk I crawled into the bathroom. After spending a second hugging the porceline throan I headed back out to try to keep up. 

Thirty minutes from the start of our workout we were done {ten of which I wasn't even part of} and my legs were spent, exausted, numb. I stood to walk across the room and by the time I got to where I wanted to be. I though I might collapse.

This morning, I'm sore. Not I'm gonna die if I move a muscle sore but there is definitely some lactic acid built up in my body. Especially my legs.

I'm writing this to share but also to talk a second about making workouts effective.  After a day at work I have zero interest in spending an hour or more at the gym or even working out at home.  I just can't commit to doing that. Twenty minutes to a half an hour? I'd be willing to bet my thunder thighs on that one!

There isn't any need to work out for hours and hours and hours {MOM} You just have to make every move count which is why the kettle bell is such a great thing. When used correctly it requires the use a multiple muscle groups to do a single move. Every swing requires the cooperation and work of your calves, thighs, butt, core and arms.

My goal? Kettlebell workouts 3 days a week at least thirty minutes a day. And a nice, long walk with my cute energetic puppy on the others.

Oh Man

       Gosh...alright, so usually I love my job, just to reiterate. However, *sigh* on days when it's my time of the month, I can almost loathe it. All I want is to eat everything in sight!! Oreos, peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, all different flavors of icings, cupcakes, cookies, cake pops, aww geez, the list goes on and on. And sometimes it's more than I can handle and I do eat everything in sight, lol...but it doesn't end up being funny at the end of the day when I feel all gross and bloated and disappointed in myself because I ate crap all day... (I decided to write about this not only because it's yet another week for me to struggle through it but because I know I am not the only one who goes through this crap.)
       Anyway...I like the days when I do fight it and I eat the still tasty snacks that I have. The only problem with those days are that at the end of them I have the most annoying sweet tooth that just wants me to eat sugar sugar sugar! Usually it's chocolate that I crave the most, mmmm. Chocolate, with its yummy creaminess and smooth texture. With its peanut butter and crunchies and raspberry and strawberry....oh man! I could eat chocolate all day every day and I tell myself it's okay because it's good for you... ;-). (Granted in small doses but hey, I'm not going around popping your bubbles.)
       Today was sort of eh on the not eating crap scale. We just improved our cupcakes (yes, Ashley, read it and weep, lol, did you think they could get better??) so all I've been wanting to do is eat them anyway...then to make matters worse we just got a bucket of buttercream in. Now, for the cupcakes and the cakes we make at my bakery we make our own buttercream from scratch. We actually cook it and everything. We finally ordered a bucket of pre-made buttercream to use for last minute writing on cupcakes, people who need dairy free, things like that. It's Brill brand and I could eat an entire bucket of it. Not even kidding, entire bucket, no problem. *sigh* Needless to say, I've eaten it on several cupcakes the last few days...know what though? I don't care. Not even a little. I've eaten a good breakfast lunch and dinner all those days as well and I actually went for a walk yesterday with my dog, Lizzie, and tonight Jonah (RJ's son) and I went for a bike ride.
         All in all I feel pretty darn good about my eating habits today.
        

Its Me Again Margaret

So I wanted to take a quick second to post. What do I possibly have to share after a very dull day of work?

Never {ever ever} underestimate the power of a pretty shoe. 

I wore some boots to work today that I love. I have had them for a good bit and they are probably just about to the point of being too beat up to wear out in public.  But I wore them anyway {on a fat day} and what do I hear from a co-worker. 

"Holy Cow! Those shoes make your feet look tiny.  They are really cute!"

Terrible horrible fat day diverted and replaced by not so bad, kinda feel fat, these shoes totally rock day.

Morale of the story, awesome shoes can fix almost anything.