Sunday, September 8, 2013
Treat yo self!!
When I was younger I used to love wearing heels. The more weight I gained the less and less I would wear heels. I eventually got to pretty much wearing just flats and tennis shoes. I do have a boot with about 1 1/2" heels, but they were not very comfortable with my extra weight. Now with losing weight I have found my love of heels again. I can finally wear them again. Now they will not be an everyday thing because chasing 3 kids around in heels no thank you, but I do really enjoy wearing them again. They make me feel good when I wear them. I'm sure most of you ladies can agree with me. I posted the other week about some pretty red heels I treated myself to. I love them they are so comfortable. Well tonight I treated myself again, well really my wonderful hubby did :), to another pair of heels. What makes it even better is I scored them for $16, marked down from $70. Pretty awesome! I am slowly but surely building up that shoe collection again.
Strength Sunday
Todays strength post is not about a specific workout, but rather where you gather your strength from. I think this is very important not only in your fitness/health life, but in your everyday life. We all have those days where we just feel as if we cannot do anything. In those times we need to look inside and see where we get our strength from. What is it that keeps us going?
Everyone has something different that drives them and gives them strength. I have several things. First for me I gain my strength from my faith in God. I know that I am able to do even the things that I find the most difficult through my faith. This makes the impossible seem possible. Things may not always work out exactly how I want and when I want, but they will always work out. When I feel as if I can't go on I turn to God, and then I get my strength to keep going.
I also gain strength from my family. I want to be a good role model for my children, as I have said many times. They need to see that I always have the strength to get up and do it again. I do not want to make promises and then break them. I do not want to disappoint my family. I want to be their inspiration, and help give them strength. I know I can get up and do it because they are all rooting for me to. With my family by my side I know I can achieve anything.
So there are a lot of things that give me strength. Some things that I did not mention, but these are my main three. What gives you strength? How do you keep going when you want to just give up?
Everyone has something different that drives them and gives them strength. I have several things. First for me I gain my strength from my faith in God. I know that I am able to do even the things that I find the most difficult through my faith. This makes the impossible seem possible. Things may not always work out exactly how I want and when I want, but they will always work out. When I feel as if I can't go on I turn to God, and then I get my strength to keep going.
I also gain strength from my family. I want to be a good role model for my children, as I have said many times. They need to see that I always have the strength to get up and do it again. I do not want to make promises and then break them. I do not want to disappoint my family. I want to be their inspiration, and help give them strength. I know I can get up and do it because they are all rooting for me to. With my family by my side I know I can achieve anything.
I also gain strength from myself. I think inner strength is beautiful. You should always believe you can do it, and somehow you will. I have struggled with this for a long time. I am doing this for me. I am getting healthier for me. I have the strength inside me to keep going. Nobody can ever take that away from me. When I feel down I just look inside, and tell myself yes I can do it!
So there are a lot of things that give me strength. Some things that I did not mention, but these are my main three. What gives you strength? How do you keep going when you want to just give up?
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Why??
My husband tells me I am a little obsessed over my fitness journey. The thing with me is that I get hot and heavy in something, and then will fizzle out. I have done it a lot with a lot of different things. I know that if I do not keep it on my mind everyday the same thing will happen. I am not dieting, I hear this a lot from people especially some family members, "oh your on a diet". No I am not on a diet. I chose to cut the unhealthy things from my life. I lost weight I never intend to find the weight again, and I never intend to add those unhealthy things back in my life. To me a diet is a temporary thing where I am depriving myself from certain foods just to lose some weight. Once the weight is off then I go off the diet. Of course when you do that you gain it all back. So no I am not on a diet, no yo-yo fad diets for this gal. I prefer to just eat whole clean foods.
So for me I must keep eating this way everyday. Also it is important for me to keep my motivation to talk about it with others. I get inspired by sharing my story with others, and hearing theirs. Or by motivating others. So why do I want to exercise and eat healthy? I am doing to make myself happy and healthy. I want to be an inspiration to others especially my children. I want them to have me as a positive role model, and have someone to look up to. I want to be healthy to be around for all the important things in their lives. I want to challenge myself everyday to do something to make myself a better person. Yes I am a little obsessed, but I say I would rather be obsessed over being healthy than some of the unhealthy things I was doing before. So why are you doing it? Why is being healthy important to you?
So for me I must keep eating this way everyday. Also it is important for me to keep my motivation to talk about it with others. I get inspired by sharing my story with others, and hearing theirs. Or by motivating others. So why do I want to exercise and eat healthy? I am doing to make myself happy and healthy. I want to be an inspiration to others especially my children. I want them to have me as a positive role model, and have someone to look up to. I want to be healthy to be around for all the important things in their lives. I want to challenge myself everyday to do something to make myself a better person. Yes I am a little obsessed, but I say I would rather be obsessed over being healthy than some of the unhealthy things I was doing before. So why are you doing it? Why is being healthy important to you?
Scrumptious Saturday
Is breakfast the hardest time for you to get in a healthy meal? I know it always has been for me. I was never a breakfast eater until about 6 months ago. Now I always eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up, but there are some mornings where I just do not feel like making anything. So I stick to my quick and easy healthy recipes on those days. Most people love pancakes right? The problem is when you load them down with butter and syrup and use all that white flour in them. They are pretty unhealthy. Well here is a recipe for some healthier pancakes that are delicious and very quick to make.
Protein Pancakes (makes 2-3 pancakes)
1/2 cup oats (or another grain of your choosing)
6oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 scoop vanilla whey isolate protein powder (you can use a different flavor if you prefer and you can also use a different protein whey, soy, rice, pea, hemp etc...)
3 egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk (can use coconut, soy, low-fat milk etc...)
1-2tsp vanilla extract
In a blender or food processer add your oats. They will look like flour once you grind them up. Then add the rest of your ingredients. I use a griddle for my pancakes and spray with a little bit of olive oil. Then add your batter it should make about 2-3 pancakes. If the batter looks to thick for you add a little more milk to it. You of course can double or triple this recipe or more. They will cook quickly so I suggest about 3-4 minutes on each side. Once they are done I usually add a little agave and maybe some fruit.
There are about a million different variations you can do with how to eat serve them. You could add 1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter to the batter and top with some bananas, or you could add the bananas in the batter if you prefer. You could add any kind of berries to the batter. Cut up apple slices and add some cinnamon for a nice fall pancake. Also pumpkin puree and cinnamon would be good. Some dark chocolate chips in the batter would be good as well. You could also do a savory pancake and add shredded zucchini and some onions (of course in this one I would eliminate the vanilla and probably choose an unflavored protein powder and add some black pepper). Try these pancakes out for a quick breakfast or snack. Let me know what your favorite pancake combination is.
Protein Pancakes (makes 2-3 pancakes)
1/2 cup oats (or another grain of your choosing)
6oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 scoop vanilla whey isolate protein powder (you can use a different flavor if you prefer and you can also use a different protein whey, soy, rice, pea, hemp etc...)
3 egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk (can use coconut, soy, low-fat milk etc...)
1-2tsp vanilla extract
In a blender or food processer add your oats. They will look like flour once you grind them up. Then add the rest of your ingredients. I use a griddle for my pancakes and spray with a little bit of olive oil. Then add your batter it should make about 2-3 pancakes. If the batter looks to thick for you add a little more milk to it. You of course can double or triple this recipe or more. They will cook quickly so I suggest about 3-4 minutes on each side. Once they are done I usually add a little agave and maybe some fruit.
There are about a million different variations you can do with how to eat serve them. You could add 1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter to the batter and top with some bananas, or you could add the bananas in the batter if you prefer. You could add any kind of berries to the batter. Cut up apple slices and add some cinnamon for a nice fall pancake. Also pumpkin puree and cinnamon would be good. Some dark chocolate chips in the batter would be good as well. You could also do a savory pancake and add shredded zucchini and some onions (of course in this one I would eliminate the vanilla and probably choose an unflavored protein powder and add some black pepper). Try these pancakes out for a quick breakfast or snack. Let me know what your favorite pancake combination is.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Role Model
I know this is not health/fitness related, but I have been thinking about this a lot. Although I think happiness is a huge part of health. What type of person do you want your children to look up to? I do not know about you, but there are a lot of "role models" out there that I do not want my children to even see let alone look up to. Obviously my ideal role model for our children would be us, their Mommy and Daddy. Right now at such a young age this is true, but what happens when they get older? I most certainly do not want them looking up to Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus. That would be horrifying if they were my children's role models. So what do you look for in a person that makes you think yes he/she would be an excellent role model for my children? I think honesty, hard work, dedication, kindness, loyalty, and fairness are just a few of the qualities I would like in a role model for my children.
I will never force my own beliefs on my children. Yes their Daddy and I are both Christian, and the hope is that they will be as well. However, I cannot force that belief on my own children. I can raise them and teach them the things that their Daddy and I believe in, but in the end it is their own decision to make. Also their Daddy is a Republican (although he says he leans more to a Libertarian) and I am a Democrat (yes I am a Liberal Christian we do exist :) ). So which way is right for our children? Well again that is up to them. All we can do is share with them what our beliefs are and teach them right from wrong. When they are older they can make those decisions for themselves. I think that is one thing that is wrong everyone has their own beliefs and gets so upset when someone else does not believe the same way that they do. Well I am just as entitled to my beliefs as you are, and I am not changing yours so why try to change mine. The same thing is true with my children. I may disagree with some decisions they make in the future, but those are their mistakes to make not mine. I have definitely made some mistakes in my past.
Ok so I got a little off topic there, I tend to do that a lot. So how do I make sure my children are surrounded with the role models I would like them to be. I think first off it starts at home. Their Daddy and I need to make sure we are displaying all the qualities we would want them to be surrounded with. Also the people that are in our lives and have contact with our children should have those same qualities. I can say that I think my husband and I and our family and friends all have those qualities. I would love for any of my family and friends to be a role model for my children. One important thing I must mention here is that I do not have all the same beliefs as all of these people, but I love the fact that our children are surrounded by a diverse group of thinkers. They can be exposed to other views on things, and know that there is nothing wrong with them if they do not agree with us, and that we will still love them. Because we love each and every one of the people that I would love to be their role models. Even the one's we disagree with :)
As far as "famous" people go I honestly cannot think of a lot of people I would want my children to look up to. Can you? Please leave me a comment with someone you would want your kids to look up to. So how do I "protect" them while not sheltering them? I do not want them to live a life where they do not know anything other than what they were raised with. I think it is important that they know about other cultures, religions, lifestyles etc...(Yes that is the liberal in me speaking :) ), but I also do not want them exposed to too much. It is a fine line. Whoever said this parenting thing was easy was a liar. It is tough everyday to keep our kids safe and innocent as long as possible while still trying to teach them right from wrong. Here is an example when the school shooting at Sandy Hook happened my oldest son was in kindergarten. Obviously this terrified me since most of the children were kindergarteners. I vividly remember hysterically crying when I picked my son up from school that day. He said Mommy what is wrong. I could have easily told him nothing Mommy is just upset and shielded him from knowing about that, but I told him what happened. To me with him being in the setting 5 days a week that this happened in I thought it was important that he knew. We explained what happened, and what he should try to do if he ever hears anything like that happen at his school (that is probably one of the hardest sentences I have ever written. I am crying just thinking about that). Yes it may have been too much to tell our 5 year old about, but we thought it was important for him to know. There are lots of things in this world that I shield them from. It is a tough decision everyday to decide what we should expose them to, and what we should not expose them to. In the end only you as parents can make that decision. See I am getting off topic again.
Anyway I think in the end what I am trying to say is try to surround yourself with people you would want your children to be like. If there is a person I would not want them to be like then I do not have them around my children. We cannot control our children's lives, but we can try to make the best positive influences that we possibly can. Raise them with the beliefs and values that you see fit, but in the end realize they are their own person and they should be able to make their own decisions just as you have. I'm not saying those decisions won't break your heart sometimes, but just love them and be there for them when they need you always.
I hope I did not ramble too much for all of you. I would love any insight, tips, comments you may have. I am perfectly fine if you disagree with me. Tell me about it. As I said we are all entitled to our own opinions. I would love to hear yours.
I will never force my own beliefs on my children. Yes their Daddy and I are both Christian, and the hope is that they will be as well. However, I cannot force that belief on my own children. I can raise them and teach them the things that their Daddy and I believe in, but in the end it is their own decision to make. Also their Daddy is a Republican (although he says he leans more to a Libertarian) and I am a Democrat (yes I am a Liberal Christian we do exist :) ). So which way is right for our children? Well again that is up to them. All we can do is share with them what our beliefs are and teach them right from wrong. When they are older they can make those decisions for themselves. I think that is one thing that is wrong everyone has their own beliefs and gets so upset when someone else does not believe the same way that they do. Well I am just as entitled to my beliefs as you are, and I am not changing yours so why try to change mine. The same thing is true with my children. I may disagree with some decisions they make in the future, but those are their mistakes to make not mine. I have definitely made some mistakes in my past.
Ok so I got a little off topic there, I tend to do that a lot. So how do I make sure my children are surrounded with the role models I would like them to be. I think first off it starts at home. Their Daddy and I need to make sure we are displaying all the qualities we would want them to be surrounded with. Also the people that are in our lives and have contact with our children should have those same qualities. I can say that I think my husband and I and our family and friends all have those qualities. I would love for any of my family and friends to be a role model for my children. One important thing I must mention here is that I do not have all the same beliefs as all of these people, but I love the fact that our children are surrounded by a diverse group of thinkers. They can be exposed to other views on things, and know that there is nothing wrong with them if they do not agree with us, and that we will still love them. Because we love each and every one of the people that I would love to be their role models. Even the one's we disagree with :)
As far as "famous" people go I honestly cannot think of a lot of people I would want my children to look up to. Can you? Please leave me a comment with someone you would want your kids to look up to. So how do I "protect" them while not sheltering them? I do not want them to live a life where they do not know anything other than what they were raised with. I think it is important that they know about other cultures, religions, lifestyles etc...(Yes that is the liberal in me speaking :) ), but I also do not want them exposed to too much. It is a fine line. Whoever said this parenting thing was easy was a liar. It is tough everyday to keep our kids safe and innocent as long as possible while still trying to teach them right from wrong. Here is an example when the school shooting at Sandy Hook happened my oldest son was in kindergarten. Obviously this terrified me since most of the children were kindergarteners. I vividly remember hysterically crying when I picked my son up from school that day. He said Mommy what is wrong. I could have easily told him nothing Mommy is just upset and shielded him from knowing about that, but I told him what happened. To me with him being in the setting 5 days a week that this happened in I thought it was important that he knew. We explained what happened, and what he should try to do if he ever hears anything like that happen at his school (that is probably one of the hardest sentences I have ever written. I am crying just thinking about that). Yes it may have been too much to tell our 5 year old about, but we thought it was important for him to know. There are lots of things in this world that I shield them from. It is a tough decision everyday to decide what we should expose them to, and what we should not expose them to. In the end only you as parents can make that decision. See I am getting off topic again.
Anyway I think in the end what I am trying to say is try to surround yourself with people you would want your children to be like. If there is a person I would not want them to be like then I do not have them around my children. We cannot control our children's lives, but we can try to make the best positive influences that we possibly can. Raise them with the beliefs and values that you see fit, but in the end realize they are their own person and they should be able to make their own decisions just as you have. I'm not saying those decisions won't break your heart sometimes, but just love them and be there for them when they need you always.
I hope I did not ramble too much for all of you. I would love any insight, tips, comments you may have. I am perfectly fine if you disagree with me. Tell me about it. As I said we are all entitled to our own opinions. I would love to hear yours.
Fabulous Friday
So today's post is a continuation of yesterday's post. Since it is birthday week this week I thought why not keep it going :) I posted the other day about my daughters birthday. I was so much happier this year with everything. I felt so much better about myself. It was indoors so it was not 100 degrees like last year. Also most importantly my mom was there at the party and not in the hospital!!!! From the moment I found out I was having a girl I knew I was going to name her Callie, I have wanted that name since I was 16. I have also loved the movie Mary Poppins since I was a little girl. I have loved watching it with my own children. My baby girl loves the movie. So a Mary Poppins party was practically perfect in every way. It was honestly one of my favorite parties I have ever done for my kids. My other two favorites were a golf party this year for my oldest son, and a fall festival I put together for my younger sons second birthday. I knew as soon as I found out I was having a girl I was going to do her second birthday as Mary Poppins. I mean what is cuter than a sign that says superCALLIEfradgalisticexpialiTWOcious!! Most importantly she had an amazing time at the party, and I think everyone else did as well. I am so happy looking back on the photos from her party. Here are a few of my favorites.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Throwback Thursday
We just celebrated my daughters 2nd birthday the other day (I wrote a post about it), and I started thinking about her 1st birthday. Her party was one of the worst moments of my life. I was overjoyed that my baby was turning one, and I will forever remember that day for that. I tried my hardest to focus on that, but there was a lot of other stuff going on as well. There was some personal family things happening that made that day miserable for me. I found out in the middle of her party that the doctors thought my mom may have cancer. This was quite possibly the worst time to find this out (as if there is ever a good time to find this out). That moment will forever be burned into my memory as one of the worst moments of my life. I remember standing on the front porch (luckily the party was in the backyard so none of the other party guests knew what was going on). Then I just remember falling to the ground crying and screaming when I was told this. I was finally calmed down some, and slapped a smile on my face to enjoy the rest of the day with my daughter. I had a fake smile on my face for awhile. I tried my hardest to just focus on her and be happy. It was her day after all, and not fair at all what else was going on that day to her. I do not think I will ever tell her everything that happened that day. All I want her to remember and know about is that we all celebrated her and how wonderful she is. Luckily she was 1 and had no idea what was going on. I will always remember my baby's first birthday party as a way to celebrate her and her first year of life, and I try to never remember everything else that went on that day. We later found out that she does not have cancer. Looking back on those pictures I remember the sadness I felt that day, and the happiness for my daughter. The latter is what I try to focus on. I also was very very unhappy with how I looked. It was about 95 degrees that day, which made it even more miserable that day. I was so much happier at her birthday party this year.
I am so glad that I have these pictures so that I can remember her special day celebrating her, but I hate looking at myself in them.
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