Slice of Life

I wrote this blog post as part of a movement by Weight Watchers to encourage people to remember that loving yourself starts with taking care of your health everyday. Though I was compensated for my time and commitment, all views, positive and negative, are my own.

I’ve been doing something nice for myself every day for the last week along with a bunch of other bloggers to help Weight Watchers promote their Simple Start program. It really can be as easy as doing one little thing a day to take care of yourself and love a healthy you. For me this has mostly involved getting up extra early to make sure I have enough time to exercise and shower before the kids are up. Specifically I’ve been trying to repair my abs that were badly damaged after cramming a bunch of babies in there. My stomach pretty much looks like bread dough that rose over the top of the container and then deflated. Not so pretty. While one week of ab work certainly hasn’t fixed the problem, I feel better about myself knowing that I’m doing everything I can (diet and exercise) to work towards a better me.

I celebrated my new commitment by buying that bright green dumbbell. Ok, so maybe it was an impulse purchase at Target (do they get people, or what?), but it does get me more excited to work out. Obviously I still need to purchase some exercise shoes, but since I don’t currently go outside to work out (I do videos online) it can wait for a while. I only purchased one dumbbell because that is what my current circuit calls for.

It’s amazing how much better I also feel about myself when I get a shower, get dressed, and put a little make up on. I know a lot of moms stay in their yoga pants all day, and I’m not here to say they’re not doing a good job. I’m just saying I feel healthier, stronger, and happier on the days that I take care of myself. This has also been very important for my husband and I since he works from home and I stay home with the kids. Many days can go by where we don’t see another human being. We have chosen to present our best selves to the people we love most in our own home each day, rather than only getting “dolled up” for other people.

So what else have I been up to? I snuck away from the family for a few hours with no real plans other than to have a little “me” time. I ended up at Goodwill where I found David Sedaris’ book When You are Engulfed in Flames. I bought it and took it to my favorite ice cream parlor where I sat and ate the best caramel sundae of my life with the whole place to myself (it was like 5º outside). I’m still less than half way through the book right now but I’m loving it! Sedaris has a great way of telling stories, and his life is ridiculous to begin with. Recipe for hilarity!

It finally warmed up enough here to snow (yeah, that’s a thing) and we really got dumped on. I took the kids out to play despite their pathetic lack of snow apparel. We have the coats and snow pants down, but I’m a little lazy in the waterproof boot and mitten area. It’s just so much work to bundle them up and take them out that I never want to do it, so why invest in the gear?

Lola loves anything outdoors-y and jumped right in. This was great because I had some footsteps to follow in when I had to drag the boys, who were definitely not interested in anything outdoors-y, across our entire front yard in the sled.

Let it be known that those boys must weight a hundred pounds a piece, the snow was almost up to my knees, and our front yard is roughly the size of a football field. Ok, maybe one of those statements is true, but I’ll let you decide which it is. To be fair, I don’t even know how big a football field is. I would commence the pity party but it was actually a really great work out (on top of the one I had already done that day, go me!) and I had to lay down in the snow for like ten minutes when we got to the other side.

My husband lovingly took this picture from the comfort of his home office. Thanks for the help, dear.

Can we talk tv for a minute? The Walking Dead. I don’t want to be a spoiler for anyone, so can I just say that I almost died when a certain someone looked like they were about to kill a certain someone else? If you watched it, then you know what I’m talking about. I was having all sorts of emotions, primarily if that person had actually died I would have had to stop watching the show altogether because, seriously. I can’t handle that kind of pressure. Going back to the week before I loved watching Carl’s western-esque adventures in becoming a man. Chandler Riggs is such a great actor and has made such a transformation over the show. I can’t wait to see what happens to his character next!

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has really been knocking it out of the park this season. I saw the episode where the gang is in a convenience store that gets held up. The animated sequence with Charlie was outrageously well done. I think I really just enjoy watching the show because Charlie reminds me of one of my very favorite friends in the world who I don’t get to see that often any more. And that’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever said about someone I honestly adore.

My husband was terribly sick over the weekend, leaving me with nothing to do but watch tv by myself. I haven’t really been into the olympics and I hate watching a movie or show that I know my husband is going to want to watch later, so that puts me in kind of a tricky place for what to watch. I ended up watching  the movie Admission on demand. It’s Tina Fey and Paul Rudd (huge fan of both) in what I guess turns out to be a romantic comedy? The whole format/premise was weird for me and I could never quite figure out what the story was moving towards in the end. Overall I would say it was enjoyable but not the best.

Here’s a peek at what we’ve been eating lately:

Butternut Squash and Kale Risotto
Skillet Lasagna
Mediterranean Eggs
Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Veggie Tostadas
Potato Tacos
Roasted Vegetable Manicotti

I’m super excited to be planning my first getaway with my husband since our first baby was born almost five years ago. To say it is overdue is an understatement. We’re planning to go to Milwaukee, and I’d love to hear any restaurant/brewery suggestions you may have! Also what have you been up to? Let’s get some group therapy going involving The Walking Dead.