Skinny Letters Only

Last night I had a dream that I was back in the pool burning some KCals.  HA! Tonight I am eating m&ms and sitting on my backside.  I've got a problem.  I've been on a workout fast (as in the act of abstaining) since July and an eating splurge since October.  I long since passed the point of blaming my tight jeans on the dryer.

Welcome to the tail-end of my three-week cold.  Me and Mr. Chest Congestion are going to part ways this weekend come hell or high water.  We have to because I might have to buy new pants next week if I don't get moving. 

The good news, everything is in place for me to do what needs to be done.  The brand-new Wii Fit Plus my dad gave me, the freed jogging stroller that has been blocked by the old fridge for months, the now perfectly clean workout room (with mirrors!).  Oh and I found a new favorite Pandora station: ABBA (don't judge).   Two pant sizes.  That's what we need.  A little movement (with the aforementioned strategies) and a little Lindsay Diet and we are good to go.  And so I present you with: the lindsay diet (all skinny lowercase letters)

I don't know that there is a diet for people like me who live to eat. I do know that there is no MD out there who would endorse my eating habits.  This diet is whacked with a side of "heard that line before."  Do it, don't do it. We are all different, this is me, you have to be you. This is the true story of how I lost 4 pant sizes.

I'm going to use my skinny voice and pretend that I am actually implementing the lindsay diet.

1. I stop eating at least 3 hours before going to bed. My rule of thumb is that if I am hungry it must be time for bed. We eat dinner between 5:00 and 5:30 and I rarely eat after dinner is completed.  Generally bedtime is 10:00 pm.
   
2. Which brings me to the next rule, sleep is your friend.  I get 7-8 hours, it really does work.
   
3. No Diet Coke.  ever, well almost see #8.  I kicked my Diet Coke habit not so long ago. I went from two a day to none. Immediately dropped a size.
   
4. Portion control, read the labels. We used to cook a pound of spaghetti for the two of us. Now we divide half a pound between four of us.  I usually serve myself about the same size portion as the boys. 
   
5. If it isn't in the house it is a lot harder to indulge. For me this is mostly alcohol and cake.  I am SO guilty of buying ice cream and other things that don't call my name, torturing my husband or loving my husband? you be the judge.
   
6. During the week I drink my breakfast: it is called half and half in my coffee.  (that is a blog confession.  so embarrassing.)
   
7. And I am usually too busy (and/or stressed) to eat much for lunch.  When I do eat lunch it is after 1:30 which means 5:30 dinner comes way too early to consume thousands of calories.
   
8. I fully commit to indulging in food over the weekend and I never say never. I love Diet Coke, Bread and Butter, Red Wine, Red Meat, Pizza, Chocolate Cake, Mayo and Beer and BUTTER.
   
9. I have always been a 3-squares kind of gal. Now I embrace the snack.  A hundred calories at a time.
   
10. When in doubt I eat more vegetables.  I know, exciting.    It helps with #4.

That's it.  Time to get back on track.  You?

Life change: Daddy Robert Style

Tomorrow I will get the best birthday gift EVER! And I didn't even ask for it... well except for HERE and HERE.

My dad's first day of retirement is April 1, 2009. 32 years after he became my father, 29 years, 7 months after he started his job as Dean of Students, he is hanging up his suspenders and racking his bullhorn for the next great adventure.

The ceremony the college put on for him was called, "The End of an Era." For me it could have been called "A reminder of who you are, where you come from and where you should be going." Every morning before we left for school my dad would make sure he told us, "Always remember you're a Fox." We knew what he meant and what was expected. Listening to all of the accolades from so many people (and I know there were more pouting in the back because there wasn't time for them to speak) drove a lot of things home to me. Not the least of which is that I owe my dad so much. Like so many of the students said and wrote, I would not be where I am today if it was not for the leadership and mentorship my father has provided me my whole life.

Because of my dad I strive to:
Focus on the right things (namely the students!)
Innovate the heck out of everything
Set big, clear goals that are imprinted on everything I own
Expect that high achievement and high expectations always go hand in hand

To say that my father is passionate about students and learning and higher education would of course be an understatement. I don't know how many lives my dad changed during his tenure at Fresno City College but it is easily in the thousands. I think that all of those students would agree that Natalie Merchant said it best in Kind and Generous (this just happens to be the father/daughter dance from my wedding, thank you very much).

You've been so kind and generous
I dont know how you keep on giving
For your kindness, I'm in debt to you
For your selflessness, my admiration
For everything you've done, you know I'm bound
I'm bound to thank you for it


Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave
The love, the tenderness, I wanna thank you
I want to thank you for your generosity, the love
And the honesty that you gave me
I want to thank you show my gratitude
My love, and my respect for you, I want to thank you

Life change, just you wait.

It is Two for Thursday (pretend I started writing this on Tuesday). Or maybe it's BOGO. Whatever it is, I'm giving you two life changing items in one blog post.

1) A Basket, A Friend
The Market Basket changed my life.

My sister put the Market Basket on her Christmas list, my mom liked it so much she bought them for everyone. I would never pick this for myself, I would never put this on my Christmas list (my list included the Sex and the City movie (didn't get it), Seven jeans (didn't get them, thankfully since now that I look, I realize that I was asking for jeans that would have been 3 sizes too big), and a pasta machine-which I got and love. And I absolutely love this basket.

I get so many questions, comments and compliments about my basket. It is great. I use it almost every day.

On schooldays: I usually try to get things organized the night before. This is a good way to localize the chaos (permission slips, show & tell, checks, invites, thank-yous, silkies, tuition checks, etc.). In the morning, I put everything else in the basket, including my odds and ends (planner, cell phone, office keys, coffee). So, as I go about my leisurely morning I plunk more things into my basket (capacity 50 lbs., IMpressive).

Then at the end of the day all the (junk) that comes home from school (art projects, random one-eyed monster renderings, pennies, rocks, sweatshirts, gloves, hats, book orders) goes right in the basket. Then we add mail, stinky milk cups (from the leisurely breakfast the boys have in the car most mornings) and any other item that is trying to set up house in the vehicle of the day. Sometimes it still takes me two trips to unload the car, but this is down from four or five (and I used to give up and leave stuff behind). My cars are so neat!

Then it is Patrick's job (Keith usually helps, monkey see) to unload the basket while I make dinner. Listen to me: CHANGED MY LIFE.

Errands: I tend to be overly ambitious on the rare occasion I have time to run errands. So organization is critical to leveling my mediocrity. I always have something to return, a coupon I have to use, a fabric swatch to be matched and banking to do. As I build up to my errand running my basket serves as Org. Central. I know that I could just stick this all in my purse but I change purses almost every day AND the topless nature of the basket is helpful to remind me where to go next. I'm the one going around and around the roundabout at Riverpark trying to remember what comes next.

Garnet Hill and Sur La Table both carry the Market Tote. buy me, buy me, buy me.

2) An Advisor, A Friend.

The last time I mentioned a FREE and useful online resource that had changed my life the company soon started charging $10 per year for online access! Coincidence? I think not. So run and click on this FREE and useful online resource now. But first, the build-up...

Every Friday night at our house is movie night. Most weeks Patrick asks whether it is movie night, Every Night. Patrick and Keith have their own Netflix queue, reserved for kid-friendly Friday night movies. Maybe I'm overprotective (and proud of it, okay?) but I think a PG rating is an indicator of mild to serious inappropriate content. I don't have the time (or patience) to sort through the content. Lucky for me on one of my Netflix Kid Queue Quests I found COMMON SENSE

Common Sense Media is a non-profit organization dedicated to "improving kids' media lives." CSM provides reviews of family movies on Netflix. On the movie's Netflix page you will see the age in a colored bubble, you can click for more information including violence, language, sexual content, social behavior, even consumerism (yes please!).

On the CSM home page you can get information on movies, books, video games, TV, and music. At first I was excited about the quick and easy age selector. But it is the "Parents need to know" section that is the most informative. Then based on my kids (and my mood) I make a choice about the movie. CSM also provides "discussion topics" for families, which kind of feels like homework but okay whatever.

Patrick goes crazy when I say "butt" or "poop". He says a little prayer everytime someone on tv says "stupid". I love my innocent child who is four and half and doesn't need to see or hear things that are only appropriate for double-digit kids. Keith is 13 (learned how to ride the scooter today at Grandma Carolyn's) and he watches all of the versions of The Real Housewives and DVRs In Treatment.

How "Eat This Not That" changed our lives

A new series: How (fill-in the blank) changed our lives. Aren't you excited?!?! Some bloggers have passion lists, I have life change lists. Thrill a minute.

This morning as the Today Show ran a story about something relevant to a blog post I was thinking about, I was struck by the fact that so many of my blog posts either coincide or are "inspired" by what I see on the morning news (Really people it is a stretch. Let's agree to something closer to "Morning Fluff") shows. This post is no different.

Over the summer I was watching the Today Show or Regis and Kelly or The View (whatever) and they were featuring "Eat This, Not That" Summer Style. I was immediately hooked. The concept started with Men's Health Editor-in-Chief David Zinczenko and Men's Health food and nutrition editor Matt Goulding. Men's Health....Who knew? I thought it was all protein shakes and push-ups. Anyway, they wrote the books as a sort of expose and public information resource. There is also this "Diet" concept that I am going to completely ignore.

The main book features an analysis of chain-restaurant menus with recommendations of what to eat and what not to eat. I don't know what else the book features because I don't own it. I do however frequent the website that features a lot of information including nutritional breakdowns for select items and usually at least three Eat This and three Not That items. This is the first reason I like Eat This, Not That, I can get most of what I need to know off the website.

The second reason this changed my life is that it really does change the way I eat at restaurants. At McDonalds you are better off ordering a Quarter Pounder without cheese than the Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich. A Chipotle Chicken Burrito has over 1,000 calories! The list goes on and on. Sometimes I will sit and read some of the more surprising comparisons to Kevin (our entertainment for the evening).

If you eat fast food you have to read this book and/or visit the website. If you eat at sit-down chains you are now morally obligated to read the book. These restaurants (that I don't visit because I have a 18-month old) have horrible nutritional offerings. Some of it is worse (yes worse) than McDonalds! Calories for the whole day in one sitting!

Since I have to be on the road so much I sometimes don't have a choice but to eat fast food. I like to think of my day trips as an excuse to eat fast food. Eat This, Not That has completely changed the way I eat out. I love the tray of In-N-Out fries but do I really want to eat 400 calories in fries? No, but I'll eat a couple and toss the rest. Or I can just order the fries and a light lemonade. An informed choice can still be a crazy choice. As long as I'm enjoying it, who can argue?

The Dorks and the Popular Girls

This blogging thing has become a surprisingly integral part of my life. I enjoy writing about our life but I also love all of the blogs I stalk on a regular basis. There are the Mommy Blogs (stories, rants and laughs about raising kids), Fashion Blogs (pictures of the latest handbags), Foodie Blogs (recipes and beautiful pictures of food), TV Blogs (running commentary on tv shows) and Decorating Blogs (beautiful homes with decorating tips).

The part of all of this that I find most fascinating is the peer culture that develops within these blogging communities. It is quite a bit like high school. Most of the bloggers stick to their own and you can see the influence they have on one another. I would call it peer pressure but I think it is actually peer influence. We gravitate to those that are like us or are the way we want to be.

Here is why I know that blogging has changed my perspective in so many ways. I discovered this blog Thrifty Chick several weeks ago. My sister also checked it out and we simultaneously committed to the same window covering project (this isn't unheard of, my sister and I tend to do a lot of things simultaneously). Here is where the dorkiness comes in. Somehow, Thrifty Chick found my sister's blog and actually commented on one of her posts. My sister immediately texted me. I immediately went to read the comment and texted back "Wow! Why do I feel like you just met a celebrity and not some mom with a blog? And why am I jealous."

I haven't jumped into the blogging social scene, I'm still lurking. I feel like the kid at school who watches the popular kids and imitates them. I suddenly want to paint everything black! I want to take my kids outside to explore the Fall colors (except it is still 88 degrees here and most of the trees are still green). I want to live life.

This type of imitation isn't the crazy pegged pants, high bangs imitation. This is the good for your soul imitation that challenges you to be a better human, wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend.

Since starting my own blog and reading a lot of Mommy Blogs I have slowed it down a lot. I know that I still work way too much and I forget to take time for myself but my baby steps have made a HUGE difference in my overall disposition. I will never have the kind of time required to take the blogging world by storm (or bake bread everyday), but I will keep blogging as long as it makes my husband laugh out loud.

And I am going to decorate my laundry room.... (Even the dorks need to have inside jokes)