Howdy From Houston

We're havin' fun in the great land of Texas. We arrived on Saturday and headed toward the beach, because in John's logic, if it's raining in Houston, no one would be at the beach. And he was right. Oh, it wasn't that bad. The sky cleared as we headed to Galveston, but the surf was really pounding the beach. The kids and John played in it for a couple of hours while I took pictures and kept the sandy kids off the beach towels, and it was nice that we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. The water was warm, and the weather was warm too, but not hot. John is still gloating that he was right.

On Sunday, we all went to see a Shrek 3 matinee, and then: surprise! We were on our way here on Friday afternoon when Connie called and said, "Hey, I read on your blog that you were headed to Texas... Texas is next to Louisiana... can we come see you?" Well, OF COURSE! So we've been hanging out with old friends for the past couple of days. John commented "That's blog power for you!" And the power of good friends.

Today we all went to the NASA Space Center, where we got totally drenched by rain on the tram tour first thing. Becca and I had to go back to the hotel to change- my clothes couldn't have been any wetter if I had stood in a shower. The wonders of the Astronaut training center and Saturn rocketry were totally lost on us as we huddled together trying to keep warm in the air-conditioned buildings on the tour. Afterward, the kids spent the rest of the day running around the museum and we are exhausted tonight... but it was lots of fun. Connie and family have moved on to another adventure and tomorrow, the kids are I are going to the Museum of Natural Science while John is at work. Houston has lots of free things to do, and many of the museums offer free admission on certain days and hours during the week. So we are going to mooch our way through Houston. (And, if any other friends feel like joining us...)

Texas Bound

Tomorrow, John leaves for Texas again, but this time he is taking us with him! A year ago, we were traveling through the northeast wondering whether our van was going to make the trip. This time, we're going south and we're wondering if the van will make the trip. Hang in there, van!

See you in a few...

The Challenge: Week 2

Well, ok then... it's that day again. By the time I realized I was supposed to weigh myself, it was 3:00 in the afternoon, and we all know that's way too late in the day to weigh yourself, because, you know, you're fully dressed, you've eaten, and you might even have to pee or something... all of which adds at least 10 pounds to your real weight. So I have not weighed myself. Maybe I'll give it a go tomorrow. Maybe.

On the bright side, she's getting in the exercise groove again, and she likes it! I just feel better when I work out, and when you have no where to go but up (or maybe down is more appropriate here), you make progress quickly. This is a good thing. And I'm also becoming much more conscious of all the vegetables I'm not eating every day... I love diets: they're a constant guilt trip. And speaking of, here are some tips from one of my favorite all-time fitness authors, Covert Bailey. If you are at all interested in the physiology behind exercise, you gotta get his book Smart Exercise. But even if you could care less about physiology, enjoy the following common-sense tips:

Covert Bailey’s Fit or Fat
TOP 25 FITNESS TIPS
1. Exercise. If exercise were a pill, it would be the most widely prescribed medicine in the world.
2. Eat a balanced diet, lower in fat, lower in sugar and higher in fiber.
3. Diets don’t work. Exercise is the bottom line behavior for weight management.
4. Throw away your scales. Measuring your body fat is a better indicator of health than your weight.
5. When trying to lose fat, aim for a maximum of 2 pounds a week.
6. If spot reducing worked, people who chew gum would have skinny faces.
7. Crash dieting, over exercising and fasting will slow down your metabolism.
8. People don’t stop exercising because they grow old, they grow old because they stop exercising.
9. It’s easy to lose weight. The challenge is to keep it off. Exercise works.
10. Don’t worry so much about your heart rate when you exercise. Use common sense and pace yourself so you can talk.
11. When you exercise, remind yourself, “I’m building fat-burning enzymes.”
12. If you get out of breath when you exercise, you’re going too fast.
13. One of the best ways to reduce stress is to exercise.
14. The older you are, the more important it is that you exercise. Exercise makes bones denser. Exercise helps maintain mobility.
15. Labels don’t lie, but liars write labels.
16. Statistics are like bikinis. They only reveal half the truth.
17. Upper-body weight training will help women maintain lean body mass.
18. More muscle equals less workout time.
19. Don’t say, “I don’t eat red meat.” Say, “I don’t eat greasy meats.”
20. There’s no such thing as cellulite. The word was dreamed up by people with products to market to describe skin with texture that shows underlying fat on some women more than others.
21. The best aerobic exercise is the one you’ll do every day.
22. The best time to exercise is when you will do it.
23. If you don’t seem to be getting more fit, you may be exercising too hard.
24. If you exercise more than 45 minutes 5 days a week, you aren’t doing it for fitness sake.
25. Beware of medically monitored diet programs. If you need a doctor, there must be something wrong.

Homeschool Heaven

Last Friday three of the other co-op moms and I spent several hours in homeschool heaven: the Nashville Curriculum Fair. Now, as far as Curriculum Fairs go, Nashville really isn't quite heaven, but when you're a mom on a mission, it's pretty close. We browsed and shopped to our heart's content in the morning and went out for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where we compared notes and regrouped for the afternoon. I was very good and only bought three inexpensive things which were not on my list (the expensive stuff was on my list :-). I was fortunate to have Science Mom there to help me choose Biology lab specimens which were "big and juicy". Gross! On the way home, the three of us debated curricula choices, provided book therapy for each other, and laughed our heads off. We stopped at Applebees for salads and of course, dessert. Books, shopping, dessert and an outing with the gals all rolled up into one fabulous day: Homeschool Heaven.

The Challenge: Week 1

So the first week has been a mixed bag... I made improvements to my diet, but I also went to the youth retreat, where food was provided by Chef Ted (very good in all respects... unless you are trying to cut calories!) I was also ambushed by the fabuloso Mother's Day Buffet. Oh well. I got over my Slimfast snobbery to give it a try, based on the Consumer Reports Review. I was surprised to find that I enjoy the milk chocolate shake mix. This provides the dual benefit of giving me the fast breakfast that I need and the chocolate fix that I want! It also keeps me from being hungry until lunchtime. I tried one of their meal replacement bars and it was pretty yucky, so the shake is probably as far as I'm going with Slimfast.

Some of the articles I've read said that those who do best with weight loss are those who eat a fairly monotonous diet. I can see that. I've been on a search for a few things I really like to eat, and lunch has become turkey on whole grain toast with FF mayo, lettuce and pickle...mmmm. Still working on dinner, but I tried a recipe out of Volumetrics that John and I both really liked:

Stir-Fried Green Beans

1 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
1 1/2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or wok. Add green beans and stir-fry 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the sugar and stir-fry 30 seconds.

Yield: 4 servings of 1 1/4 cups each.
Per serving: 65 calories, 12 g Carbohydrate, 2 g fat, 3 g Protein, 5 g Fiber

You can also substitute asparagus for the green beans. I'm going to work on tweaking this a little because we like our beans a little softer than this... maybe steaming them in the microwave for a couple of minutes before stir-frying.

As far as weight loss, no buttons this week! I forgot to weigh myself at the beginning and finally did it half-way through the week. Then I was ambushed by Chef Ted and the Buffet. I finally made it back to the gym yesterday though, so I've still made good forward progress. Maybe next week.

I still cannot believe I am blogging about this.

Today was a Joy Day, just a plain ol' happy day. The sun was shining and summer seemed spread before me like a picnic on a hillside. After John left for Texas, I headed off to the gym in spite of the guilt complex (and extra 10 pounds) I've gained over the winter months. And they were happy to see me! The lady at the front desk was glad to see me; she wondered if we had gone on an extended vacation. Don't I wish. George, the elderly man in my yoga class was glad to see me, and my yoga teacher was too. I was happy to be back among all my yoga ladies, even though my cardio workout left me winded. That's ok. I have no where else to be, because it is summer now! I stopped at the nursery on the way home and picked up a hanging basket of red Verbena for the back porch and red Impatiens for the front porch. To quote Alexander Pope, hope springs eternal, and perhaps this Verbena has a chance of making it through the summer. As I strolled leisurely through Walmart, I remembered that we had a 4-H meeting today at the ceramics shop- run home fast! We made it in time. The kids made plaques, bowls, boats, cats, lizards and horses out of clay and we return to paint them next week. All was well, and Joy Day was still on.

I decided to stop at Lowe's to buy ferns and look at wallpaper books (with all five kids) and almost ruined my Joy Day, but we survived. After a quick bite at Wendy's and a stop at PetSmart, we are home again and happy. All the kids are outside playing, except for John Mark. He is playing piano. He began with his standards from The Lord of the Rings. And then I heard something new... he is trying to play my music! I decided that this summer I would sit down and learn some of the music I've been piddling over from time to time, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy the challenge of digging into a new piece. I've been working up Solid Colors by Liz Story, and I smiled when I heard John Mark attempt a few hesitant measures. He has a way to go before he's up to this one, but I'm glad he likes it- and more power to him!

I believe Joy Day will end with watching 24 and a chick flick- after all, I don't have to share the remote tonight!- and the kitchen's still clean. It's been a good day.

Mother's Day 2007

It's Mother's Day, and I suppose it should be a natural thing that I'm exhausted... but I don't guess I can blame this on motherhood... ok, yes I can. We've been at a Youth Retreat at Reelfoot Lake this weekend, and we had a really good time. My friend Penny lost her pants during a relay race, giving us all a conversation topic for the rest of the weekend and demonstrating why teens and not moms-of-teens should be doing these relays. John introduced the camp to "The Order of the Fork", probably ensuring that we never get invited to anyone else's home for dinner again. Terry shared his wonderful testimony, and I made good headway into The History of the Ancient World, which I am reading to determine if it is a suitable spine book for the high schoolers in co-op next year. We also had wonderful weather and lots of "down" time with the other families. Unforunately, the kids did not need "down" time- even at night! So now we are all wiped out. We rushed back home this morning to be at church- three of us at the retreat were on the Praise Team this morning. Afterwards, our family went out to eat at one of my favorite places; I felt a little odd in my camp overalls, surrounded by moms in fancy clothes and corsages. But I had my kids, who were all dressed for camp as well. We were hillbillies today, but we did it together.

Tonight we have CARE group at our house, so momentarily I must go and pick up the baggage scattered from our front door across the rest of the house, and see what else I can do to make it seem as though I am much more put-together than I really am (story of my life!)

Happy Mother's Day!

The Challenge

Ok... I'm in! I'm joining the May Day Weight Loss Challenge. I've been contemplating new goals for a while, since I fell off the bandwagon this schoolyear with all the new Latin and Algebra we had happening in our house. It was just too much for my frazzled mind to take- I needed chocolate! Tales From the Scales is hosting the challenge, and you get cute little buttons every time you lose another five pounds. I like cute little buttons, so for this reason, I am breaking my blog vow of silence regarding weight loss, because generally, I do not like to talk about it! But for a button, I will do it. If you don't care about my weight loss issues, you'll just have to bear with me. I want buttons!

I have quite a lot to lose, but my immediate goal is 10 pounds. And I'd really like to lose it before we go to Houston for Memorial Day week. So I'll be heading back to the gym and my wonderful yoga-mama instructor... As for eating, in this month's Consumer Reports, they ranked the top diet books and the top diet plans. In Diet Plans, Volumetrics ranked #1, and Weight Watchers and Slim Fast were close. Slim Fast??? Who woulda thunk? I have the Volumetrics book, which I picked up on deep discount last year at Surplus City, and it looks do-able. Lots of good food. The thinking behind Volumetrics is that you can eat a lot more food- and feel satisfied- if you are eating foods that are not calorie dense. I've also had success in the past with Body For Life, and I really like the cookbook, Eating For Life. It has "normal" food, with easy-to-find ingredients and recipes that are easy to make. But I'll take a look at all of Consumer Reports suggestions. Weight Watchers Online is offering a free trial this week. I know that low-carb will not work for me- I feel too deprived. I need to make a plan with a lot of "grab-and-go" foods... I don't like cooking to start with, and cooking three meals a day, which is what most diet books seem to have you doing, is enough to make me throw up my hands in despair. So I'll be exploring this next week. Wish me luck!

Derby Day

Another busy Saturday here... Becca modeled her skirt at the 4-H Area Fashion Revue this morning and won, meaning she is eligible to model her outfit at the State Fair. John arrived home from Texas while we were gone, and then this afternoon, the kids performed in their spring piano recital. They each played two songs, one from memory and one for fun. Miss Kim, their teacher made it a really special time. They all received corsages or boutonnieres (which the boys discarded at the first opportunity), medals, Achievement certificates and goody bags. John Mark also received the Excellence Award, for consistent "above and beyond" performance throughout the year. That's a good thing to be recognized for! None of this has anything whatsoever to do with Derby Day, except that John is trying to figure out how to make a Mint Julep. I told him I heard they were disgusting, but he remains unfazed in his efforts. The rest of us are going to have family movie night, and "Night at the Museum" is on the playlist!

The World According to Philip

Last week when the co-op was cleaning out before summer break, Philip's writing teacher brought me some of his work from the poetry class last semester. I stuck it in my notebook and forgot about it until the other night. I pulled it out and showed it John, and we both laughed our heads off! Philip definitely has an interesting take on the world around him, and it's funny because his observations are usually dead-on. Here, for your reading pleasure, are two illustrated poems by Philip, reflecting life with three brothers:

(editor's note: Senryu is a poetic form similar to Haiku, but while Haiku focus on nature, Senryu tend to be about human foibles and are often humorous or satirical.)

Senryu

When I try to go to sleep

I hear a squeak-squeak

My brothers, jumping on my bed

I try to stay asleep

but I hear an annoying beep-beep

John Mark!! Turn off the alarm clock!!

(editor's note: anyone living in our house would immediately be able to identify the scatterbrained subject of this poem as none other than John Mark!)

The Brother (a blues poem)

My brother has the blues

'cause he can't find his shoes

O, my brother has the blues

Because he can't find his shoes

He walks around all day

And all that he can say is....

FIND MY SHOES!!!

(In the illustration, notice that the younger brother is thinking where the shoes are, but he is saying HA-HA! And notice the oh-so-realistic frustration on the elder brother's face... brotherly love at its finest!)