Fitness .... OK so I'm doing it

I’ve been meaning to write about this for about a month but just haven’t had a lot of time to do it.  And to be honest it’s hard to share but I feel it’s time. 

I feel like I have struggled with my weight all my life.  Now in reality this is not true.  When I look back at pictures I was perfectly normal until late high school/early college.  Even then I was maybe max 40-50 pounds overweight.  I’m not sure really why I felt at 8 or 9 years old that I was fat and really I’m not here to point fingers and blame (society, family etc…).  But I did.  It didn’t help I was tall … always taller than 99% of the girls, 100% of the boys until high school and most of my teachers.  I liked being tall but I always weighed more because of it and that was embarrassing during those lovely elementary school presidential fitness award thingies.  I played sports up until high school so I think that majorly affected my initial weight gain.  There are other reasons as well …. As there always are.

I sit here debating even now with myself about if I should list them or not. In the spirit of healing and letting go I will.  The reasons I became overweight.

1.       I stopped playing sports.

2.       I never learned moderation.

Unlike almost all the other kids I knew my mom (I love you don’t take this the wrong way please) kept pretty much all junk food out of our house.  We did have desserts a lot but I didn’t have my first Little Debbie snack cake or Twinkie until I was 16 and that’s because my best friend Jennie made me eat one.  We weren’t allowed to buy a cereal unless sugar wasn’t in the 1^st 3 ingredients.  Now I KNOW this is what should happen but I will tell you I did not learn moderation around junk food.  When I bought sugar cereal in college when I could finally choose what I wanted, I would eat almost the whole box because it was so good and it was the first time I could choose and do what I wanted.  I now believe in moderation.  I buy my kids a crap cereal every once in a while so they can learn moderation around junk because it is everywhere.

3.       Attention makes me uncomfortable. 

I’m fundamentally shy with people I don’t know.  And I like to just be in the background.  You tend to get a whole lot less attention when you’re overweight.  Fat makes a good insulation layer I’ve found against unwanted attention.  I’m working on this ….

4.       I don’t like to be told what to do/I want society to kiss my ass.

As I got larger I heard more and more noise from my mom* and family about my weight and well during those late teenage years/early 20’s I didn’t want to be told what to do OR how to be especially by my family.  I’ve also always gone against the grain or done things my way.  So when society says be skinny, I say fuck you I shouldn’t have to be.  I honestly still feel this way.  I think its bullshit the pressure on women to be thin.  We are all different and as long as you are healthy then who the fuck cares.  Now I’m not saying I was healthy at my largest weight and not that I am completely healthy now.  I was not/am not but part of me never wants to conform to what society thinks I should be.  I am now striving to get healthy NOT solely to lose weight.

5.        I <3 food="">

I enjoy food and cooking and I especially LOVE sweets.  I have issues with portion control and desserts.

6.       I just got lazy.

That’s the honest truth.  Working out is hard and I didn’t want to do it.  Then as my weight got higher it got even harder to do so it just became a bad catch 22.

Those are the reasons I have identified to date.  I’m working on all of them some with a lot more success than others. 

So for those of you that know me and are close to me you know I started on a journey in August to get healthy.  I decided a few months ago that I was tired of always being tired and feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.  I also knew that if I didn’t start to get healthy that my family wouldn’t either.  So I turned 37 in April and decided that I wanted to be fit and healthy by the time I hit 40 (notice I didn’t say skinny or thin or some other acceptable societal norm bullshit).  My good friend Melissa sent me a link to Fitness Motivation and their Project Weight Loss Wilmington mission.  The first round was over and they were doing a second round.  I took the plunge and applied.  Anita the owner/trainer/task master/friend/motivator being the big hearted person she is took all 19 people who applied!  She is doing this out of the goodness of heart and wanting to help and she’s doing it for us for FREE! So I’ve started on this journey.  I learned some important things in the short time I’ve been doing this.  I still don’t like exercise all that much BUT I love the way I feel after.  I’ve become one of those obnoxious workout posters on Facebook.  I actually kinda like to run/jog.  I will one day do a 5k and I might even like it.   A food diary is a MUST.  You have NO idea what you are really eating until you write it (or in my case scan it or type in to MyFintnessPal) down.  It’s fucking eye opening how many calories I was eating before.

This is only a 12 week commitment on my part and hers but I will continue on with my couch to 5k program, food diary and maybe we can figure out a way to squeeze our already tight financials and continue on with Anita for a while (that’s my hope anyway). 

I have my bad days but I will and that’s important to know and accept. The point is, it’s going to be slow and steady and I’m committed to this.  Maybe if I’m brave enough in the future I will post a before and after or really a ‘this is where I am right now’ photo.  I’m not that brave yet.  But I’ve already lost 14 pounds and who knows how many inches (but my shorts and work pants are starting to fall off!) so that’s progress.  And I’ll take it!

*My mom is not sounding great as I read this but PLEASE know my mom is wonderful and supportive and I know all she ever wanted was the best for me.  I just didn’t want to hear it from her in the past! And how I reacted to her is what got me to where I am because I’m stubborn and rebellious!

Movie Monday - The World's End

Yes, I know I didn't post at all last week.  I managed to get sick.  And I mean pretty sick.  As in I was running a 103 degree fever for over 3 days.  So I pretty much just slept for 3 days.  So sorry I was out of commission. But I did manage to see The World's End the Friday before I got sick with Ivy.

The World's End is about a bunch of old high school friends in England who get back together to attempt an epic pub crawl they did as young men in their hometown.  Gary played by Simon Pegg is the aging addict ring leader who rounds up his old school mates who are rather relucant to do this all again.  Gary pretty much cons all his old buddies into heading to their hometown and start their pub crawl.  About 2 or 3 pubs in the old friends along with Sam played by Rosamund Pike (the sister of one of the friends and an old flame of Gary's) discover that their hometown has been take over by alien robots who bleed blue ...... um lube.  Ok anyway they continue on with the pub crawl because if they don't they will be figured out and turned into robots too.  Their mission is to make it to the last pub on the list The World's End.  So as not to spoil the whole movie I will stop there because you don't need to know anymore for this review and it's always good to let the movie actaully tell you the whole story. 

I enjoyed the movie while I was watching it.  I laughed a lot and enjoyed Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Andy.  Once I left I though it seemed more and more silly.  This was way more my kind of movie than Ivy's.  I am a sci fi nerd so this appealed to me more than her and I love Simon Pegg.  It was a fun watch while your in the moment but forgetable.

My rating is 2 1/2 pop corn puckets out of 5.

Movie Monday - The Way Way Back

Did you all notice the cheesy popcorn bucket graphics for my movie ratings last week???  Anyone, anyone?  Oh well if you didn't well it's not earth shattering or anything but it adds a nice visual for the ratings at the end of the review (so stick around and make sure you see it).  Anyway back to the matter at hand The Way Way Back.

The Way Way Back follows a shy, nerdy 14 year old kid named Duncan played by Liam James on a summer trip to the beach with his mom and her boyfriend and his daughter.  The boyfriend Trent played by Steve Carell is a smile wearing asshole, so when he's being an asshole it doesn't quite feel as nasty but it actually feels worse later.  Trent is an asshole to Duncan but never really in front of Duncan's mom Pam played by Toni Collette.  Duncan is naturally having issues fitting in with Trent's daughter who is older and all her friends so Duncan stumbles into and unlikely friendship with Owen played by Sam Rockwell the manager of a aging water park.  That is really the plot right there with some twists thrown in and finally the shy boy comes into his own.  Sam Rockwell makes this movie along with Allison Janney who plays the hysterical drunken neighbor.  I was also impressed at how well Steve Carell plays an asshole, which is against his usual character type.  This movie was funny, sweet and a little sad all at the same time.  Ivy and I both really liked The Way Way Back.  I would even go so far to say it's one of the best movies I've seen this summer.  It's not really typical summer movie fare but I liked the break from the action packed box office stuff that's out.  I am giving The Way Way Back 4 1/2 out of 5 popcorn buckets!

Please Vote

My passion is my business Katiemade Crafts.  I love making and selling my origami and origami inspired products.  But I have struggled with how to reach a bigger audience.  So back in the beginning of August I stumbled upon the Martha Stewart American Made Awards.  There are several catagories and craft is one of them.  I took the leap and entered myself in the craft catagory.  Well the voting is now open.  I need your help.  I would be so thrilled to move onto the next round but I need votes.  You can vote up to 5 times a day EVERYDAY.  So please if you can spare a minute click on the button below and cast a vote or 2 or 3 for me please!!!

Movie Monday - Jobs

Let me first warn you I am an Apple fanatic (check here for a little more background).  So I am extremely biased.  I love Apple always have and they the ONLY computers I will ever own.  I wish I could say use as well but I am forced to use PCs at work.  OK back to the movie, I saw the movie Jobs with Ivy.

Jobs is the condensed history of Steve Jobs one of the founders of Apple Computer.  We meet Steve Jobs played by Ashton Kutcher in the early 70's as a young man who has dropped out of college but still attends classes and aspires to do something great while getting high.  We learn pretty quickly that Steve Jobs is really kind of an asshole but an asshole who has a dream.  While working at Atari he recruits his friends Steve Wozniak played by Josh Gad to help him out and learns that he is building a personal computer in his house.  Jobs loves the idea so much he takes the idea and runs with it. He recruits a bunch of other misfits and nerds to help him build the computers in his parents garage.  Thus the founding of Apple Computers.  Big money then comes in thanks to Mark Markklua played by Dermot Mulroney and Apple starts to become what we know and love.  Jobs is a visionary but again also an asshole and this is made abundantly clear over and over.  Because of this he is eventually ousted out as CEO of Apple which affected him deeply.  He is eventually brought back to Apple after the company gets into trouble and it's stock falls sharply.  Being the visionary he is Jobs turns the company around with the reinvention of the cute little colored Macs and then the iPod.

 I truly enjoyed the movie.  I knew the basic history of Apple because I am such an Apple nerd but this got more in depth and gave a better picture of who Steve Jobs was.  I also thought Ashton Kutcher did a really good job playing Jobs.  But I do have a huge bias so take that into account.  Ivy who is still a relative Apple newbie liked it as well.  My rating is 4 pop corn buckets out of 5.

My Blog's Evolution

When I started this blog way back 2008 I was a stay at home mom period.  I didn't work at all outside the house.  I was cooped up all with two small children.  I needed an outlet and this blog was a place to vent, rant and generally just confess all my mothering sins.  But like all things in life, my life and my blog has evolved into something else.  I am still a mom.  I will always be a mom.  It's the most important job I'll ever have.  But my kids are now 10 and 5 and they just don't need me the way they did 4 years ago.  I've also gone back to work part time teaching adults with disabilities.  On top of that I started my own business Katiemade Crafts.  As I've moved away from being SAHM, my blog has moved away from my venting and ranting and the such.  I've thought about changing the name of the blog since The Mommy Days doesn't exactly describe what this blog is about anymore but I decided I love the name and it's staying.  So if you've stumbled upon my little blog and wonder why it's called The Mommy Days now you know.

Movie Monday - Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Last week was my son's 10th birthday.  How in the world do I have a 10 year old??? I can't believe I've been doing this parent thing for a decade now.  OK back to the point of movie Monday.  My son loves the Percy Jackson novels by Rick Riordan.  We've read them all in my house and seen the first movie installment a few times.  So for his birthday we went to see the 2nd movie installment Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Percy Jackson played by Logan Lerman is a demigod, meaning he's the son of a mortal and Poseidon the God of the sea.  He finds this out in the first book/movie.  He attends Camp Half Blood a magical camp that trains him and all the other demigods.  The tree that protects the camp is dying because the bad guys (Luke introduced in the first book/movie) poisoned it.  The head of Camp Half Blood Mr. D played by Stanley Tucci sends some campers on a quest to retrieve the golden fleece of legend because it will heal the tree and save the camp.  Percy is not picked for quest but feels like he must go so he and his friends Annabeth played by Alexandra Daddario, Grover played by Brandon T. Jackson and his half brother cyclops Tyson played by Douglas Smith head out to the Bermuda Triangle to find the golden fleece in the Sea of Monsters.

I love the Percy Jackson books.  I've read them to my son and I've ready them myself just for fun.  They are great books! They are funny and action packed and you learn all about the Greek gods.  As much as I love the books, I hate the movies.  They do not follow the books at all.  I understand sometimes they can't fit everything in and I get that.  But it seems like the script writers wrote down all the plot points then just threw them out the window.  I also had some issues with the actors they choose for certain characters.  Tyson is not big enough and well Clarisse is waaayyy to pretty in the movie.  I also have to say that I got bored at the end of the movie.  The plot was so different and stupid that I got bored.  Maybe if you've never read the books you might like it.  But I doubt it.  Now I have to say my son loved it.  But he loved Paul Blart Mall Cop too so take that as you will.  I am giving Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 1 pop corn bucket out of 5.

And on a more personal note....

I was cleaning and organizing paperwork in my classroom last week and I came across something I wrote back in April when I attended a workshop for my teaching job. The workshop was about strategies for how to teach writing.   We actually tried out a lot of the strategies in the workshop.  One of things I ended up writing really touched me and I still tear up when I read it.  I really don't remember what the prompt was but we just had to free write on the prompt for a set amount of time.  Here is what I wrote.

"I just lost my Nana. Well really it's almost been a year. She died on Mother's day 2012.  How has it almost been a year already? The house she lived in with my Granddad just sold this month.  I spent 36 years loving to visit that house.  I  hope I always remember the sound of the front door as it slammed shut. The sound of my Nana puttering around in the kitchen late at night or working at her desk while watching TV.  The sound of my Granddad whistling to the birds outside while he worked on his flower beds.  The sound of the train in the middle of the night.  The smell of rain on the prairie through the open windows during the summer.  I miss my Nana and Granddad and I will somehow miss the house on East Beaver almost as much.  I really didn't realize how much until I spent my last day in it last August."

When my Nana passed last year I didn't write about it on here.  It was just too abstract and painful for me to deal with.  I'm still not sure I've really realized that she's gone.  She lived in Hawaii most of the year so I didn't see her very often, so sometimes it still feels like she's here but just on vacation (which she loved to be on).  But she is gone and there is a big hole.... and when I stop and think about it, I realize how much I miss her.  She was hilarious, fun, accepting and loving.

Mark Your Calendar!

I will have a booth at this Artisan Market on August 25th from 11 AM to 5 PM.  Please come out and see me and all the other talented artisans!  Oh and there will be a raffle table (I will be donating a sheet music origami ornament!) that benefits Handmade Wilmington a wonderful group I am part of. 

 

Movie Monday - We're the Millers

My hubby James turned 40 this weekend and part of the celebration was to go out and see a movie.  He had the pick of any movie out in theaters and he choose We're the Millers.  I was slightly surprised because I figured we'd see something like Elysium or Pacific Rim.  But he said he wanted to see something funny so We're the Millers is was.

We're the Millers starts with pot dealer David played by Jason Sudeikis being strong armed into being a drug mule and smuggling a crap load of pot over the boarder from Mexico.  He comes up with the brilliant plan to smuggle the pot as an all American RV vacationing family.  Being that he doesn't have a family this is slightly problematic.  He ends up hiring a dorky kid Kenny played by Will Poulter from his apartment building to be his son, an aging stripper Rose played by Jennifer Aniston from his building to be his wife and a homeless "gutter punk" Casey played by Emma Roberts to be his daughter.  The movie follows this fake family on their screwed up adventure trying to get the shipment of pot across the Mexican border and back into Denver.  They encounter rival drug kingpins, a wholesome home schooling RVing family, and a tarantula all of which bring lots of laughs.  It's not the best comedy I've seen this summer (The Heat was funnier) but it was funny and it was very cool to see all the Wilmington locations used in this film.  Oh I forgot to mention this movie like The Conjuring was filmed here in Wilmington, NC.  There is also the added bonus of the Jennifer Aniston strip tease.  My husband said that was the main reason for his picking this movie ... but she looks AMAZING!!  It's rather sickening how good she looks for her age.  The breakout star of the movie though was Will Poulter who plays Kenny.  He's so goofy and sweet and steals the show with his TLC rap to Waterfalls in once scene.  I would give this 3 1/2 out of 5 pop corn buckets.