I get by with a little help from my friends..

It has been 2 weeks today since my surgery....and I am itching to start working out again. But this time I am going to change it up. While Tony is going to start P90x, I am going to utilize the gym at my apartment complex for some serious cardio and weight training while doing yoga at home. I am sure that there are a billion other fitness guru's out there that will say there are better ways to get in shape, but I have GOT to change it up some or I am going to die of boredom with my past workouts. I am not looking to be the next Ms. Fitness (orange skin) USA..I just want to look decent..and I do look decent now I suppose, but I want to look decent enough that I can wear a bikini and not hear people making fat jokes in the background ya know?

Speaking of bikini's...I bought one. For the first time in 10 years I actually bought and wore a bikini..Did I look hot? Probably not. BUT I didn't look scary or blobbish..I look like I have a kid (thank you hips) and that I have lost a lot of weight recently (thank you loose skin)..Maybe next week I will be brave enough to post a pic...Ain't happening this week =) But I will post a pic that I am quite proud of. I went out this week with some friends and had a blast. I swear this new fun attitude all goes back to the fact that now that I am happier with my body I am happier with my life.

This blog is kind of ramblingish but the bottom line is..come Monday...it is on.. I am ready to work out and feel better and I have great people in my life that inspire me and make me feel that this long battle was not useless!

Learning from the Past

 Food is the centerpiece of our lives sometimes. Think back to your childhood. Where did the family gather? In my family it was always the kitchen. One kitchen in particular holds many memories for me.  My Grandmother's kitchen. Grandmother's kitchen always smelled like warm baked bread to me. I remember waking up in the morning and having a bowl of Post Toasties while grandmother made toast for Papa. Papa would come in whistling a hymn, usually "In the Garden" and we would all sit down and eat breakfast. 


Then come lunch time Grandmother would make Papa and me some Cream of Chicken Soup with pepper and crackers. And again we would all sit down and eat. She would have butterscotch ice cream ready for dessert. And any time anyone showed up she would offer them something to eat.  Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day that I lost the most important and influential man of my life. Papa. It's something I never have to this day gotten a grip on. However, today's blog is a reminder of how we eat now compared to 10-15 years ago.


In today's fast paced world how often can you say that your family sits down at the kitchen table and has a meal? I will be the first to tell you that I rarely do it. It's always grab and go or in front of the tv or in the car on the way to something else. This is something I want to change. I think that if our meals were planned out and we took the time to sit down and just eat, take our time, that we would see a significant change in not only our waist line, but in our life.


  I want my son to have the memories that I had of a family that enjoyed the break in the busy day to take time to spend with each other. And I want him to make good healthy food choices and that is not something he will learn if Mommy pulls in to McDonald's real fast every night instead of taking the time to cook and make sure that he is eating right. 


Today I am sitting here. Healing from my laproscoptic surgery that removed my gallbladder, thinking that now there is nothing holding me back from cooking for my family and making sure we all eat properly. It all comes down to making the time. Just like we make time to exercise and to watch our favorite tv show and so on and so on. 


Starting next week I am going to teach myself how to cook a new recipe twice a week. Something that is healthy and that stays within the guidelines of the final phase of my "lifestyle change" I will be blogging about these concoctions as I learn them on this blog. And you can bet your sweet patootie they will have carbs in them. 


RIP Papa
May 4th, 1999