Life On The Home Front

Ya ever have one of those days when you look around and realize that it is nice and quiet and you have nothing pressing to do. You can just chill for a while.

I love those days.

But, here in B Manor, those days are usually followed by weeks of crazed schedules and obligations up the wazoo.

Guess where we are right now!!


Hattie is LOVING school, she is hot so hip on waking up early and hates eating breakfast first thing (she likes to take her time with her morning routine!) and being forced to get dressed, but she LOVES to climb up on that big old bus and head off to school.

Sophie, on the other hand, hates to see that bus take her sissie away. Today is the fist time she didn't scream her little head off as the bus drove away. She wasn'y very happy, but she didn't scream. Guess I need to take this in small steps, right?!

She does have the house - and the cats - to herself, so it isn't so bad. The other day she found the leftover birthday hats and had herself a little party! The guest of honor? Kali Cat! She and the cat BOTH wore hats ... oh yeah, Kali LOVED it!!!

Can't ya tell?!



As for me, I am currently in the midst of two Bible Studies. Yes, two. I AM crazy ... crazy indeed! We are doing Beth Moore's study The Inheritance at church on Thursday mornings. And you KNOW I love me some Mama Beth! She IS my PBFF, after all! This one, however, doesn't come with homework, so I figured I had time to do another. Then some of my bloggy buddies (AKA Imaginary Friends) decided to Priscilla Shirer's study One In A Million. Now, I have never done a Priscilla study, but I figure anyone that can get Mama Beth to rap ...

Deeper Still Rap with Beth Moore & Priscilla Shirer from Kris Seidenkranz on Vimeo.

... is worth a try.

She did SOOOOOO not dissapoint! It is kickin my tail ... in the very best way! I am LOVIN it!

I'm also lovin all the Wild Women who are on this adventure with me! I'd be lost without you ladies!

I am also gettin back into the swing of the workout. After the Shin Splint debacle that kept me form the triathlon, I decided to take it easy. I had only planned on laying low until after the 3Day, but the legs flared up again on the event, so I took a little longer off than I had planned.

But I am back now!


And, speaking of "back" - Biggest Loser is back too! Last night was the new season premier.

Oh. My. WORD. This is gonna be a good season! There were some heart wrenching stories to be told. One girl, Tracey - a marine wife, ended up in the hospital after the first challenge and was there the rest of the first week. But, her partner, Coach Mo (who also went to the hospital after the challenge, but was out soon), lost enough weight to keep them both safe for another week! There were also so many of them with young children. One lady, Abby, had a family, but had lost them in a tragic car crash a couple years ago. She says that she must still be here for "something bigger" so she is NOT giving up! They are all so motivational.

But there was a moment last night that woke me up more than ever before.

One of the gentlemen (I think it was Sean, the youth pastor) was talking to the doctor and getting a ginormous wake up call about how close to death he really was. You see, he had filled out the health forms saying that he had "no known health problems". But he quickly learned that he has a MESS of health problems, one of them being Type 2 Diabetes. He immediately began crying because he had not realized what he was doing to himself. He has a very young family at home and the thought of not being there to watch them grow up was too much for him to take. And he said something that I really identified with.

"Am I so selfish that I would take time away from my children just to put a cheeseburger in my mouth?"

And I sat there for the rest of the show asking myself the same question.

I don't have diabetes, that I know of, but my biological father did. He was morbidly obese and, because of that, had Type2 Diabetes ... in fact, it killed him. But only after it took his legs, his eyesight and any quality of life he could've hoped for.

And, lucky me, I took after him. At least as far as my body type goes.

So, after the show ended, I grabbed some paper and a marker and started posting signs around my house.

They are now posted on the cabinets, fridge and shelves where any type of snack food is stored.

And, so far, it is working.

And, I am hopeful for the success it will help me attain.

Because I cannot IMAGINE growing insensitive to the prospect that my children would pay for my selfishness.

For them, I CAN avoid the mindless eating and unhealthy snacking habits that I have attained.

And, for them I will.

I love working out ... well, kind of a love/hate thing ... but have always used it as an excuse to snack - because, hello, I was not chowing on ginormous bowls of cereal ... I was carb loading. There is a HUGE difference. But no more. I am learning new ways to eat and live. And, ya know, they are not at all half bad!

For instance, here is what I had for lunch today:


Now, I really need to go to the store, so there is not a lot of fresh stuff available at the moment. But, I did manage to find a yellow tomato. AND, Hubs made some fresh homemade salsa just the other day. SO, I sliced the tomato, sprinkled it with cheese and smothered it in salsa. Then I heated it just long enough to melt the cheese.

Let me just tell you ... YUM!

I was seriously feelin all Rachael Ray for a minute there.

So, between the salsa and the tomato, it worked out to about 2 veggie servings. The smoothie that I had for breakfast, along with the slice of toast, was my fruit for the day and one of my starches, as well as a dairy serving.

And, yeah, did I mention, I am keeping track? Cause I have learned that that is the ONLY way for me to keep myself accountable. I have to write down EVERY SINGLE THING that goes in my mouth.

EVERY.

SINGLE.

THING.

But, if that is what it takes to be here for my girls, I am soooooo OK with that.