Want to lose weight in Omaha? Get rolling!

Want to lose weight in Omaha? Get rolling!

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Shifting thyroid gears?

Trying to research hypothyroid symptoms and treatments while experiencing one of its most common symptoms (brain fog) is so frustrating.
I did find some information on reverse T3 and T3 resistance. Medical mumbo jumbo is very hard to sort through even on my optimal days but currently I am in such a haze that it makes little to no sense to me. I think I will have to print it out and take it to my doctor at next week's check up. It might not apply to me but it can't hurt to ask. Changing my prescriptions and dosages hasn't helped so far. I feel like my brain is in reverse but maybe it is my thyroid.

Where have I been?

I have been here.

Kind of.

Not really.

Spacey.

Tired.

Lethargic.

My thyroid is out of whack big time and I have had a heck of a time updating my Facebook status coherently much less trying to write .

Sigh.

My kindly doctor straight up doubled my dose of Cytomel so I am hoping that helps bring me out of the fog!

Achieving fitness through faith : Part one

Achieving fitness through faith : Part one

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Leaves - Haiku

falling gently down
swirling colors, season's end
covering the lawn

Extreme Enough Makeover

When I began my foray into the world of freelance writing I knew a few things: it would be difficult, I wouldn't get rich (darn it!), writers block is not a myth and I would face distractions.

I try many remedies for the above thorns in my side and not surprisingly the biggest one is distractions. A husband, two kids and a Great Dane share my house with me and do not respect my ''cone of silence''. That is what I call it when I am on my laptop. Bribery, begging and threats did not make a difference.

Drastic times call for drastic measures right?

That is what I convinced my husband of. I am taking over his weight room. Gasp! I never thought I would see this day but I am thankful that he is willing to give it up to support my writing efforts.

I bought the paint and brushes. Deep red and mustard seed. I am going for a Moroccan/Indian feel. I hope it turns out how I am envisioning but even if it doesn't at least it will be quiet!

The Newest Member of Our Family

Meet Caden! We adopted him through the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue this summer.

I was never a dog person. My kids wanted a dog for years but I was totally against it. The smell of wet dogs, dog food, animals in general made me gag!

My daughter and I were enjoying the Papillion Days parade and a few of the volunteers from the rescue were walking Danes in the parade. Curious about these huge dogs I took my children to a meet and greet at an Omaha bookstore, then the dog show, then the book store again the next month. Soon we were filling out the paperwork and on our way to adopting a gentle giant of our own.

Part of the adoption process includes a home check. We already had the dog picked out on the website that we wanted to adopt but when the volunteers came with their foster dog Caden to do our home check all thoughts about another dog disappeared.

After the home check and the foster parents took Caden back home with them it was an agonizing two weeks before the process was finalized and he came to live with us permanently.

**Check back soon to read how Caden adapted to our home and how we made room in our house and hearts for a 130 lb Great Dane!

Badge of Honor

I put a new badge on my blog today. Blog With Integrity is a movement of the ''mommy bloggers'' (sounds better than ''soccer mom'' doesn't it?) to declare when they are giving positive spin to products they received for free. Gasp! Isn't that the way it is supposed to work? It is but apparently many bloggers weren't disclosing the fact that they were paid or received something for their blog post.Ahhh, there is the difference.

I haven't received free stuff because of my blog but I have received freebies from websites. My favorite is House Party! This is not a sponsored review and I can tell you they give great free stuff.

If I ever do get something for free because of my blog then I am certainly not going to be shy about it. Woo Hoo! I will shout at the notion of people liking this enough to send me freebies!

I like the idea of Blog With Integrity. When I am looking for product reviews I always assumed they were honest reviews but now I know that ''sponsored reviews'' are common place and not a clear,unbiased picture of a product. That is like if I ask my husband if my jeans make my butt look fat. If he knows what is good for him he won't tell the truth. Bloggers don't want to bite the hand that feeds them so they only give a thumbs up to a product. Even with the new ''Integrity'' movement it still remains a case of buyer beware.

Not Everyone Is A Winner

Today I was trying to rush my six year old out the door. For anyone with any experience with a six year old knows this is like trying to rush a turtle. She can't decide what to take with her, dog or doll? Where are her sandals? No, she wants the pink ones not these purple ones. Finally I say loudly and emphatically ''LETS GO'' to which she responds not with speed of course but puts her things down and starts cheering. Oh for heaven's sake I say to myself!

'' LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO TEAM! GO!

LET'S FIGHT! LET'S FIGHT! LET'S FIGHT TEAM FIGHT!

GO! FIGHT! LOSE!''

Chuckling I tell her it is ''go fight win''. She looks at me like only Laramie can and says

''But Mommy, someone has to lose so I am cheering them on."

This makes me grind to a halt. I don't want to rush her anymore. I want her to stay this little and this sweet for as long as I can.

38:49

On a typical day for me in 38 minutes I can vacuum the house or do dishes and clean up the kitchen but this past Saturday I ran 3.1 miles.

(OK jogged interspersed with walking/sweating/praying)

I crossed the finish line in thirty eight minutes forty nine seconds. Shaving my time down from the 5k I did last Summer by nearly SIX minutes. Not to bad for a chunky gal. I need to lose forty pounds, I would be thrilled to lose twenty to tell you the truth.

(sigh)

The next 5k I am considering doing is August 9Th. My goal is to finish that in as close to 38 flat as I can. I am hoping these races help me lose weight but if not at least I will be more fit than if I just sat around moping about my XL butt. Being in a race with people all around makes me push myself a little harder and makes quitting not an option.

Doggone It

Today an older neighbor lady came over and introduced herself. She found a tiny stray dog and wondered if he was ours. My son fell in love with this dog as soon as he laid eyes on her. I told my new neighbor lady we would take care of the dog until we found its owner. Being unfamiliar with our neighborhood still I can remember seeing many people out walking their dogs but haven't figured out which dogs live it which houses.

We don't own a dog. Never have.(We will soon though and are adopting a Dane through the rescue) I didn't know where to start. Maybe she was thirsty? I gave her some water but she didn't seem too interested in it. My son and I took the dog into the backyard and luckily my next door neighbors were out on their patio. Bev saved the day. She whipped out a portable kennel, dog biscuit and some kibble type food. The little puppy liked that. I put out a sign in the front yard that said we have a found dog and then went inside called the Humane Society and then posted a pic of the found pup on Facebook and Craigslist. Bev is a dog person though. She has a shitzu and used to show dogs. She knew the right thing to do. She rode around the neighborhood looking for people who looked like they were looking for someone. She found Gracie's mom. Way to go Bev.

The mom was glad to have her puppy back but I think my son would have been thrilled to keep her.

Walnut Creek Park

Inspired by a new friend who has been doing the three mile loop at Walnut Creek I decided to give it a go. Three miles is not daunting to me since I semi-regularly force myself to do it on the treadmill at the gym. This distance is very different outside. Without my Ipod I have difficulty keeping a steady pace. The trade off though is hearing the birds, ducks and geese as I enjoy the wonderful weather.

I hadn't walked this trail before and was confused by the forks I encountered on the path. I arbitrarily decided to always keep to the right. I walked from 4:22pm to 5:14pm. It sure felt like three miles. It felt like three miles after just thirty minutes! I was confused by the people ''lapping'' me though so I stopped and asked a safe enough looking Dad with his kid. He looked at me with pity (I must have looked worse than I felt!) and he cheerfully told me I was on the right path and I was halfway there! The first person who ''lapped'' me was a shirtless guy on inline skates with a mullet and goofy grin. At first I thought he might have been one of the Bay City Rollers but as he whizzed closer by I decided he was much too young. The second person who ''lapped'' me seemed rather pleased about it. Miss Spandex seemed kind of smug as went by but considering she wasn't breaking a sweat or jogging I was guessing either she was on a different path or employing a Lycra covered time travel device.

I usually prefer airports and post offices for people watching but there was quite a number of people enjoying the path as well. I encountered a jovial, shirtless, sunburned , septuagenarian gentleman as well as several joggers, bicyclers, stroller pushers and dog walkers. One lady I passed was so thin I was surprised her skeletal legs held her up. She seemed to be in her forties and when I said hello she balked and looked at me like I was her worst nightmare coming towards her. Given her anorexic appearance that very well may have been the case. The bicyclists were the friendliest, followed by the dog walkers then the stroller pushers. The joggers seemed to intent on not dying to be very social.

I haven't been to the gym much in the past couple weeks so I was not ready I guess for packing and cleaning all day in anticipation of our move in four days to end the day with a three mile walk in the heat. I had my cell phone in my hand and was ready to call for pick up if I didn't figure out my way off this trail soon. My feet hurt and I was wishing that I was in a pedicure chair getting my toes pampered. Then I was wishing I had water with me. My mind wandered while I finished my walk unsure if I was headed in the right direction. Then I wished I had been looking where I was walking as I stepped in goose poop. Icky.

As I crossed the damn I spotted the parking lot and my car in the distance. I was so happy! So relieved! I wasn't lost after all! The last half mile felt like nothing since I knew I wasn't lost after all.

I enjoyed the walk along the path. The scenery, fresh air and being out in nature was refreshing but there is something to be said for the gym and the trusty treadmill that has a cup holder and no goose poop.

I wonder what she dreams about.

I miss being a kid and playing until I was exhausted.

Does she realize how lucky she is to have a Grandma close by with a comfy couch to nap on?

Praemonitus praemunitus

Translation: FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED.

''BUYER BEWARE'' is another good one.

Why am I thinking of quotes this morning? Well, because yesterday I thought I had a stellar day on my diet. Healthy, low calorie, low fat , high vitamin breakfast, church then out to lunch. I thought we were going to Macaroni Grill so I knew I would order the Pollo Magro which is one of their least calorically offensive offerings. They were not open though so we went to Chili's. I ordered the Quesadilla Explosion Salad. It was good. Rather tasty. Sure it came with a smallish quesadilla but the chicken was grilled and it wasn't drowning in dressing. After lunch we went to the park then hit the gym for 25 minutes on the treadmill, yoga class then swimming with my daughter which isn't actually swimming but just splashing around. Healthy dinner and a good nights sleep. All good stuff for the perpetual dieter.

Back to the quotes, I am meeting a friend at Panera this morning so I looked up the nutritional information so I can order wisely. Panera is the devil's den when it comes to calories! After figuring out what I should order there I decided for the heck of it to look at Chili's website.

Ouch.

1260 calories and 76 grams of fat! For a salad! Of Chili's salads the Quesadilla Explosion is actually the worst one a person could order if they are trying to cut calories.

Next time it is Runza for the Southwest Chicken Salad. That one is tasty and under 600 calories.

I learned a very valuable lesson though. When it comes to going out to eat I am definitely going to look before I leap!

PARTING IS SUCH (ARTIFICIALLY) SWEET SORROW

I gave up pop. For those of you not from Nebraska or the Midwest usually refer to it (incorrectly, I might add) as soda or soda pop and for those who know me know I was rarely seen without a diet pop in my hand. For years it was Diet Pepsi then in an effort to curb this habit of mine I switched to Coke Zero. That didn't help, I loved that stuff even more! The more I read about soft drinks I knew the cans I was chugging down each day were not good for me. One look at the back of the can at the ingredients told me that.

So I did it.

Cold turkey even!

The first few days I was a bit on edge after that it wasn't affecting me physically but habits are hard to break. I had to make an effort to order tea. It has been nearly a month now and I haven't fallen off the pop wagon once. I still miss its bubbly sweetness and pathetically enough I even had a dream that I was drinking a can of cold carbonated bliss. If I was still in high school I probably would be drawing hearts on my notebook with doodles of Coke Zero.

I wish I had this much willpower when it came to dieting but going completely without diet pop is somehow easier than rationing it to a reasonable amount. It wasn't easy and I wish I was drinking one right now but I have to say that I do look and feel better now that I have finally gotten myself off the sauce.

The Things We Do For Love (and out of guilt)

I am afflicted with COULROPHOBIA. For those of you who know me don't panic. It is not fatal (most likely).

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Don't laugh, I can't help it. Those red nosed freaks give me the willies!

Because of this I never took my son to the circus. Yeah, I know, take away my Mother of the Year trophy. My sister took him so at least he got to see it and we discovered that coulrophobia is not hereditary. He is sixteen now and I think he would have ended up to be the same kind of kid whether he went to the circus or not. Now his sister is six and my husband is guilting me into taking her. Ugh! He insists he can't take her alone in case she has to go to the bathroom. Not the best reason to make me face my fears but he does have a point. Last summer we actually got into an argument over this because I would not cave and refused to go.

GUILT GUILT GUILT

Fine, lets get this over with. I bought the tickets online tonight. Here is her one shot of going to the circus. I hope she enjoys it. I hope the cotton candy is ten bucks too because my husband is going to pay for this!!

Quiche Me You Fool

Racking our brains for something nice but different to serve my mother this Mother's Day we finally decided on quiche. A good decision for a chilly Spring day. I printed out a recipe. Well, the ingredients part printed but not the rest of the recipe. I didn't tell my husband that I just sent him to the store for the ingredients. My husband does not bunt well. A very linear (and sometimes annoying) thinker he is. Now he is frazzled. I try to reassure him that it is quiche not nuclear fission and surely it will come out ok. Then we disagree on what to add to the quiche. Now we are making two quiches. His and hers. His has kielbasa, red peppers and cheddar cheese. Mine had onions, spinach and mozzarella cheese. They both turned out good. Well, I assume they did. He wouldn't taste mine and I wouldn't taste his. It is Mother's Day after all so in my opinion he should have conceded. At least he did the dishes though!

Here is MY recipe:

5 whole eggs

1 cup milk

1.5 cups shredded cheese(I used mozzarella)

3/4 package thawed spinach

handful chopped onion

Stir it up. Dump it into a frozen pre-made pie crust in aluminum pan.

Cook at 350 for almost an hour.

Stab it with a butter knife. If it is gooey it needs more time.

Yummola!!!!

Outside the box(es)

Switch day is coming soon!

This is how my six year old views moving. We switch to another house. Playing with boxes and the excitement of a new home to explore is great for a kid. Not so great for a mom who keeps misplacing homeschool supplies in an effort not to pack them, tries to fix a meal realizing she packed some now essential kitchen utensil.

Moving also brings the not so startling revelation that we have too much stuff. Way too much. So far I have sneakily taken five boxes of still usable but unnecessary things to Goodwill.

No one has noticed.

If my family realized what I was doing they would go into ''rescue'' mode. ''NO! Not that! I need that!" came their anguished cries last time we moved. I wasn't smart enough then to get rid of stuff undetected. This time around I am much wiser. While my husband is at work I take my daughter to Grandma's then I go home and get to work. If it is buried in the back of a closet or bottom of the toy box I have no mercy. If it is still in the box since the last move my decision making is even easier.

The stuff left over after packing is either essentials or expendables. Yesterday I found one legged Barbie, three stuffed animals, socks that didn't match and two umbrellas. If no one is here to plead their case for their belongings then its fate rests in my hands. Here in Nebraska I have about as much need for two umbrellas as I do a one legged Barbie.

Goodwill here I come. Again.

LOST AND FOUND

*POOF*

That is apparently what happened to my writer mojo last month. Not just writer's block mind you but full fledged missing in the middle of the night disappearance. Sigh. I spent days staring at my laptop to no avail. Then I moved on to books about writing hoping that would help. It didn't. I decided to read something to distract me so I read the first three of the four Twilight books. Teenage vampires and angst was certainly a distraction and made me very glad that my highschool years are far behind me.

I was going to start looking on the back of milk cartons or Craigslist for my mojo then last night I got a ransom note from my subconscious. "Write" it said. Anything. One word. One crappy sentence. So this post is paying the ransom.

I hope it is enough.

I miss my mojo.

Fight or Flight?

I am not real thrilled with air travel these days. Long security lines, lost baggage, fees for baggage that won't make it to your destination with you and really I could go on and on. Anyone who has flown recently has seen the effect of the airlines charging for the first bag. People try to cram way too much in their carry on bags which overload the overhead compartments and all the readjusting of the bags causes much longer boarding and unboarding time.
I am seriously contemplating driving instead of flying next vacation. Yeah, it is that bad when I would rather be stuck in a vehicle with my chatty six year old, sulking sixteen year old and OCD husband.
To conserve money and my sanity we will probably vacation closer to home. Perhaps if enough consumers do the same the airlines will change some of their practices. Until then I will have to consult a map and see exactly what is within five hours of me because that is about my vehicular sanity limit.