Hello out there

Since allowing my paid-for WordPress account to expire, I’ve had to go back to the freebie version. As such, I lost much all of my sidebar extras. It’s okay though. My blog might not be as glitzy and glamorous as others, but then again, it’s not as active either.

I will be leaving the continent tomorrow night and will not return until Sunday evening. I will be updating my trip with TMB to the Bahamas upon my return. I’ve been instructed to take lots of pictures and I shan’t disappoint.

I have also been selected to host a Playstation 3 Move House Party in September. As part of the agreement, I must blog about it. You can be sure that I will. I hope you’ll come back and read more about the party (as well as the product) as the months progress.

Until next time…

One in a million shot

Confession: I am not a good photographer.

I believe digital cameras were created for people like me. Back in the day of good ol’ 35 mm cameras, I would waste rolls and rolls of film. That’s right – my love/hate relationship with cameras has existed all of my life.

However, that doesn’t keep me from wanting pretty things. I bought myself a Pentax a couple of months ago. It is red (my favorite color) and I love it.

It gives even bad photographers a fighting chance at the discipline.

This is what they call SOC (straight out of camera) meaning there wasn’t any editing done on the photograph.

Not too bad, eh? One day, I’ll grab TMB’s uber Paintshop program and play around with my photographs. But until then, I’m quite pleased with effects.

This was the first picture TMB took with it – also SOC.

Busy? Yes, kind of…

Tomorrow, my friend whom I’ve known since high school is coming with her son for a week-long visit.

When they leave, my days will be filled with dentist appointments and doctors appointments for pets and then…

The Man Beast and I leave on our first cruise ever!

I’m sure to have plenty of material to share when I get back, so please check back often.

***

Summer is slowly winding down for us here in the South. School starts back the first week of August and I don’t think any of us are really ready for it.

The end of summer means back-to-school sales. Do you know when your local stores are hosting their back-to-school sales? It is worth looking into. I read back in April that the tax-free weekends are a thing of the past (at least here in GA). This means, us moms have to get supplies cheap or risk completely breaking the bank.

I usually buy most of my supplies at Staples during their penny sales. Since I work for the school, I get more than the maximum items. Last year, the maximum on loose-leaf notebook paper was 10. I was able to get 25 (and it still only cost me 25 cents!)

Wal-Mart and Kmart are good places to start as is Target.

If times have hit you hard and you can’t afford to buy supplies for your kids, I encourage you to check your local churches, Salvation Army or United Way for help.

Until I “see” you again, stay cool and safe!

Movie Review: Imagine That!

During the summer, my city hosts a Kids Summer Movies program. When I first moved here six years ago, it was free. Now, admission is $1. A kid’s soda and popcorn are a $1.50 each (formerly a dollar each). I guess with the economy the way it is, everybody has to pad the cost some way, right? Last time we went, however, the person controlling the movie popped in a Blu-ray DVD. Interesting. I could have snagged a Redbox code, made homemade popcorn and skipped the soda for a fraction of the cost.

Today, the kids and I saw Imagine That! Eddie Murphy plays a financial executive whose biggest threat at work is an Indian colleague who puts on a show to wow clients. He’s also a single dad who can’t seem to connect with his six-year old daughter, Olivia, who uses a blanket to travel to an imaginary kingdom ruled by a queen and her three daughters. He discovers that the kingdom holds a very real magic than can help him further his career.

The movie is very much a classic kid-friendly Eddie Murphy. While he’s not as “raw” as he has been, certain “nutty” personalities present themselves in the movie.

Would I buy it on Blu-ray (currently, the only format we buy our DVDs)? The answer is now. However, for a flick that cost me $9 for admission plus snacks, it wasn’t half bad.

You can go here to read the review on Dove.org – my go-to site for deciding if movies are too intense for my crew.

By the way, summer is coming to end for us in Georgia, however, you might still be able to get in on the cheap fun. Click here to research movie theaters in your area!

New Beginnings? Perhaps.

I have nine readers according to my RS feeder and if you haven’t given up on me, you are reading a blog post that is long overdue.

The Horizontal Yo-Yo looks a bit different this time around, doesn’t it? My pay-for WordPress account ran out and I figured I didn’t blog enough to warrant the cost – no matter how small.

Free-all-the-way WordPress it is.

How about an update?

I am still working as a parapro at our local middle school and I’m still in school in an attempt to get my BS in Education/Special Education. I’ve been taking educational courses for the past few terms which means my core classes are complete (yay!)

The scale has steadily gone up to the point where, at my highest, I was just 14 lbs away from my highest weight ever. I just couldn’t have that, so I decided that when summer came, I was going to work on myself.

This lasted just over two weeks. Then my dad came for a visit. We had a blast, but after he left, I just couldn’t find the gumption to get back on track. I wasn’t happy with my weight gain but I’d tell myself that I “didn’t look that bad” or that “TMB loves me just the way I am. Why change?” Why indeed.

I am just not happy with how my body looks. Period. I realize that during my journey, I’m going to have to come to terms with how my body looks because even at goal weight, my body will never be perfect. Then again, why should it? Who decides what perfect is? The fact that my body has gotten up every single day for the past 34 years and nourished me and taken care of me as best it could – despite what I fed it and how little I moved it – is perfect enough for me.

I’m letting go of perfection because perfection doesn’t exist this side of Heaven. Instead, I’m going to work little by little, every day, on making better choices for me and my body.

So, would you care to join me as I get on this wagon yet again? It won’t  be a perfect ride, but it’s bound to be an interesting one!

Until next time…

Do You Zumba?

I do!

And it kicked. my. tail!

Notice in the video that everyone has one thing in common – rhythm. Yeah, I don’t have that. You know all the stereotypical things they say about white people? Well, the thing about rhythm happens to be true in my case!

My local Y has free Zumba classes for members Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays are out because of scouts, so Thursdays are the day of choice.

My first class was an experience. Picture twenty women – mostly high school cheerleader-types – and two men (don’t ask me why they were there). Thirty minutes into the class, the glass in the room was steaming up and we were slipping and sliding on the floor! (As if I needed the extra ‘help’!)

I made it through with the help of two friends and I felt good. I realize that I didn’t pop or tootsie roll like everyone else – okay, so I looked a little spastic – but I was moving and sweating and that has to count for something, right?

I enjoyed the class and think that once I get the hang of the moves, I’ll be able to keep up.

And on other news – my fit friend and I are almost up to jogging a full lap around the track! We’ve been walking most of our laps and jogging the last one. Our Y is set up with outside circuit training equipment and we use those as markers. We only have one more piece of equipment to make it past before we will have jogged the whole lap!

Woot!

Until next time…

This post is part of the Mamavation Moms Carnival. 
Be sure to check out how the other ladies' weeks went!

Celebrating Small Victories

This week went well.  Here are a few of the small changes I made this week in order to acheive my goals:

Monday, after posting my Mamavation Monday post, a friend sent me a text and asked me if I wanted to go walking that night. I did and we did – 3 miles!

Tuesday, at the last minute, my friend had to cancel our walk, so I pulled out my Wii. My Wii age: 32!

I ate breakfast all week long!

I discovered something new about my taste buds – a small orange after dinner cleans my palet and curbs my craving for dessert!

Saturday, I went with Baby Gurl’s Girl Scout troop up to Augusta to visit Fort Discovery. We stayed all night and slept in the museum (on a hard floor). Today, I feel like I’ve either been run over by a mac truck or had a killer workout. I ache all over! The spirit is willing, but the body is weak! Nothing reminds you of your age quite like a sleeping bag and a hard floor. But I had a blast and memories were made.

All in all, a pretty good week. Oh and the best part – the scale is moving in the opposite direction! I have lost 7 lbs since starting my Mamavation journey!

And now, I must go make dinner and then meet my friend at the Y for a walk (we’re trying to work our way up to 4 this week!)

Until next time…

To read other mama’s inspiring weeks, be sure to visit the Mamavation Carnival

It Only Takes a Spark

It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;

– Pass It On, Kurt Kaiser

Not too long ago, the founder of SparkPeople, Chris Downie’s book The Spark hit store shelves. I was able to read a few chapters before I decided to buy the book. This morning, I sat down to read them again.

In the first chapter, Chris gives a bit of a background of how the idea for SparkPeople started. Unlike other entrepreneurial ideas, I don’t believe he set out to make millions dollars, but rather “help millions of people” (The Spark, 2010) and he did! Starting out, Chris was a painfully shy adolescent who in any given day wouldn’t speak to anyone other than family. Soccer forced him to become part of a team. In college, he forced himself to take a public speaking class to get comfortable talking in public. After graduating, he got “sucked into” the corporate world  and got too busy to do much of anything besides wolf down some fries and a fast food burger in his car during lunch break.

But he made a change that started with just 10 minutes. Every morning, he would get up and do 10 minutes of exercise. Day after day. Soon, he had created a steak of 100 days, 200 days. He even inspired a co-worker to do the same.

The reason why I’ve gone back and reread the first chapters of The Spark is to remind myself that small, daily actions lead to big changes. Chris didn’t dedicate hours of time in the gym (although eventually he had enough energy to head into one after work). The time he dedicated to his change was small, but it was consistent.

It reminds me that I can make small changes in my life and they will matter. I’m not talking just about weight loss (although this is definitely where I’m starting). Small actions that lead to big changes can affect all areas of my life. I will call it Chunks of 10. If I come home from work and take 10 minutes to straighten up the house, put in a load of clothes or make my bed, at the end of the week, my Saturday chores won’t take so long to complete. If I wake up 10 minutes before I need to, I can sit down and spend time with God. If I take 10 minutes to go through the mail as soon as it comes into the house, I won’t have to deal with it at the end of the week.

10 minutes is all it takes. I plan on incorporating Chunks of 10 to my daily routine.

By the way, if you’d like to read the first two chapters of Chris’ book, The Spark, you can do so by clicking this link.

Until next time…

Do What Works and Stick With It!

A couple of years ago, I lost 40 lbs. I used SparkPeople’s free tools to help me do it.

I counted calories by logging my food.

I measured out my food to help me log it.

I kept track of how many calories I burned by logging my exercise.

And slowly, over time, I stopped doing all that.

But I had a talk with myself. I said, “Self.  You know what works. You need to do it. And you need to continue doing it and never, ever stop.”

Pretty daunting – to do something forever. Especially when what you need to do is hard. Not hard, challenging. To fit in an already busy day. But fit it in you must. Because you deserve it. Because maintaining good health is better than fixing bad.

So I have to go back to basics. I just have to. It worked and while it was challenging at times, it wasn’t impossible.

Today, I printed out a calendar. I have scheduled time for me every day – before I’ve even transferred over the scout meetings, the church activities and the due-dates for my bills. I did it because I knew if I didn’t, I never would.

I also printed out a two-week meal planner. This is not a menu planner that gets posted on the refrigerator so the kids know what’s for dinner. This is a meal planner for me so I know exactly what I’m eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Why? Because planning sets you up for success. Lack of it guarantees failure. I’m living proof of that.

I grabbed my pretty, red measuring cups and my food scale (yes, really) so that I can relearn what a serving size of food actually looks like. People in the US have a really warped sense of what a portion really is; hey, we want to get more for our money, right? We got it: tight pants, jiggly bellies, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

I found what works for me – what works for you? I suggest you find it and stick with it – forever. Because only then will you continue to have success.

The time is now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Already doing something but had a bad week? Put it behind you and look forward. You can’t change the past. Tomorrow isn’t here yet. Don’t worry about it. Worry about today and take it one day at a time.

It is the premise of SparkPeople – creating little streaks, one day at a time.

It’s time to start mine today. What streak are you creating? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

This post is part of the Mamavation Monday Carnival. Be sure to visit the site to read of others successes and struggles!

Six Word Saturday 1/16

Sick, snotty, schooling but snug inside.