balance

so i'm at that point during summer vacation where my liver and waistline are screaming. not having a normal (healthy) routine each day leads to lackidaisical meals...such as wine and popcorn for dinner. i always hit a wall at some point...and sunday is when i was wacked with the will do better for myself. summer always offers options of the best fruits and vegetables...and also extra time to work out. after a week hiatus from my children, they burst through the doors of my (clean, for once) house and started immediately wrecking shit. i don't really allow technology in my house and i also turn the television off when i think they have been staring too long. i don't judge other moms who placate their children this way...you do what you have to do to survive. however, as a kindergarten teacher, i've seen children figure out what to do with their "free time" sans technology. i read somewhere that kids don't know how to be bored anymore because they are constantly being bombarded with stuff. when kids get bored their imagination goes into overtime and excellent things happen. i've seen it with my own eyeballs time and time again. so while i prepared my first healthy dinner for the week, salmon with mango salsa, they got busy making a blanket fort. did they make a shit mess of my living room? yes. were they a pain in the ass for part of the time? yes. did i still get dinner done? yes. here's a visual:

so monday morning i stepped on the scale for the first time in a LONG time...and i was startled by my discovery. i gained approximately 8 pounds since summer started. 8 pounds might not sound like a lot in your book...but i know how weight gain goes. 5 turns into 8, 8 turns into 10, 10 turns into 24 and suddenly you are sitting on your dorm room floor eating a can of ravioli and washing it down with a natty ice with your college roommate wondering why all your clothes don't fit. (i may or may not be speaking from experience.) anyway, i was blown away by the number on the scale which made me realize my campaign for healthy food was in order. i also went to the gym that morning and did not only interval training on the treadmill, but a HIIT workout as well. i knew very well i may not be able to walk the next morning, but it was much needed. moreover, sweating like a moose makes you feel much better both physically and mentally no matter what. i prepared clean food choices for myself all day, and then for dinner i made sauteed shrimp with cherry tomatoes, which was delicious. when fen called and said she'd be staying around the corner in her pre-marital home that night...it took everything in my power not to slug a box of wine with her. i decided against it, cause i had already made the choice to do an early yoga session the next morning. (namaste means not mass amounts of wine.)

yoga was a game changer. a complete game changer i tell you. i used to do the occasional yoga class prekids and it only took me 6 years to take another class. now let me tell you...i'm no gumby and it wasn't pretty. plus, i was pretty sore from my workout from the previous day so my mobility was waning even further. BUT, when i walked out of there it felt like chatum tanning just had his way with me. i felt so freakin good that i wondered why it took me so long to get back into it. i went to another morning power yoga class today and it was awesome. (winning!) after a walk later in the day with a friend, i got crackin on dinner which was bacon wrapped asparagus, sauteed mushrooms...and i left the steak up to butch on the grill. (it was all delicious.) so fast forward to wednesday morning i woke up and felt like a walking asshole. i made an attempt to get out of the bed to go to the gym early and it just didn't happen. i laid there until i had 4 eyeballs staring at me...and two mouths asking me for food. i swear all i am these days is a glorified waitress. all these kids do is eat! anyways, my body was all like, "yo, rocky...take a rest." so i listened. i packed the kids up for a pool playdate, came home later and made dinner...which consisted of chicken kale sausage and mashed cauliflower. don't get me wrong...i'm a sucker for a good mashed potato, but this is an excellent substitute if you don't want to grow a second set of ass cheeks. (so good!)

this morning i woke up and lo and behold...i didn't feel like ass. actually, i felt the opposite of ass and laced up my shoes for a 4 mile run at 5am in the morning (i know, wtf.) there is only one thing i hate more than running on the treadmill...and that is running in the heat. it was supposed to hit 90 later and the humidity in maryland is fierce. even at 5am, it was so high that i felt like i was running through a bowl of soup! as i channeled my inner rocky in that moment, i had dreams of coming home and having a cup of coffee before the kids woke up. (no dice.) when i came in the door i was met by a "hi, mommy! how was yours WUN?!" from my second born. this was shortly followed by an argument about why she couldn't have pizza at 6:17am for breakfast. if you haven't argued about such a thing so early in the morning...you really haven't lived. so what are some things i learned this week? trying new recipes is good. so is trying a new exercise routine. if you are like me you get stuck doing (and eating) the same things over and over when it really doesn't take much to shake it up. maybe i'm the only person on the planet to gain weight in the summer rather than the winter...but i'm glad i can recognize it. luckily i've come a long way from the girl that was sitting on the floor of her dorm room eating ravioli from a can. tonight i will go boating with friends and then imbibe in some wine with fen...but maybe like 3 glasses instead of half a box? (balance!). get busy livin or get busy dyin, people. we only get this one life. above all...treat yourself well.