Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Things Us Gals Do

Yesterday was another boring day at work followed by an equally boring evening.  I love those days!  My life pre-Hubbs was a bit slanted towards the dramatic.  I've always wanted a life lacking drama and now I have it and I love it.  I don't usually expect much of myself on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays and yesterday was no exception.  I commute an hour and a half each way to work on those days so my evenings are spent curled up on the couch rocking and sucking my thumb trying to forget the terrible drivers that torment me three times a week. 

Today was a different story.  Hubbs was actually awake during the daytime hours instead of pulling his normal vampire routine so we ran errands.  We hit up the winter farmer's market here in town and dropped a few bucks.  While Hubbs and Bugga looked at video games, I ran into the nail salon and got my eyebrows waxed.  I love getting that done because it makes me feel like my face is a better canvas to work on now.  After getting home I decided to keep doing those crazy things us girls do to improve our looks and applied a generous amount of Nair to my upper lip.  I'm pretty sure most Stepfords don't sport unruly caterpillars on top of their eyes and mustaches above their collagen-injected lips.  So on my to-do list for next week I've added making a hair appointment and getting a manicure. 

Stepford-ness.. here I come!

Friday, January 28, 2011

And she got up!

Yes, you read that right.  Today I got off the couch!  HALLELUJAH!

I think I've found the key to making the most of my Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Make plans.  Yep, it seems to be that easy.  As long as I have a reason to get up and get going in the morning I remain upright.

Today's excuse was the wonderful Culligan Man who came to install our new water softener.  He was due to arrive between 11a & 1p so I had to get up and get breakfast for everyone (this entails me sitting at the computer eating cereal) and get ready for the day because we had some plans, yo.  My goal was to clean this morning because we had a play date scheduled for the afternoon at our house.  That didn't quite happen.  Hubbs let  me sleep in and by the time I got ready (wet hair, no makeup but clean!) the Culligan Man was ringing our doorbell.  So I figured I would clean while he was doing the install.  No dice.  They had our water shut off most of the time so I just picked up as best I could and resorted to using my Ready Mop instead of the real thing.   And it was fantabulous because snoozing on the couch with the Culligan guy there just wasn't a possibility.  No sooner had he left than our friends arrived and I was busy with that until nearly Bugga's bedtime.  It felt great!  I actually have more energy now (past midnight!) then I have for days.  I guess it is true; laziness totally leads to more laziness. 

Also, hosting play dates at my house means I have to clean.  Public shaming is an excellent motivator.  Anytime I clean Bugga asks who's coming over.  Sad, huh?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Monday Morning Results - 1.24

Scale reads: 214.4

Yeah, I know it's Tuesday but I spent Monday watching Bugga playing in the snow and then enjoying my two guys for the evening. 

Monday's results did not go as planned.  The scale was down almost each day last week and then we hit the weekend.   This is why I weigh-in first thing Monday morning (officially) because I have no choice but to see the damage the weekend has caused.  Friday night Hubs and I went to see Brad Paisley in concert.  It. Was. UH-mazing!  Before the show we treated my sister to some Mexican goodness (margaritas and burritos and chips and salsa and extra poundage apparently).  I love me some Mexican food!  Afterwards, Hubs and I met up with friends for more drinks and (dun, dun, dun) bar food.  Combine that with snacking all weekend and you get a gain of one pound. 

I'd like to say that I've kicked it into high gear, but that would be a lie.  I'm really struggling with getting off the couch and being productive at all.  My family has suggested I might be depressed, but other than the lack of energy I"m happy as hell!  And I don't think it's seasonal because I'm a lazy lump all year round.  I've had a full blood workup done too and nada.  Maybe I am just that lazy.  I HATE IT!  I only work 3 full days a week so I feel it's my job to do the majority of the housework.  Forget my Hubs being mad at me, I'm pissed at myself for the condition of our house. 

I think I'm going to do my darnedest to get back into FLYing.  Oh, you don't know what FLYing is?  Well let me direct you here good readers!  The name of the game is adding in good habits one day at a time and once you've mastered that you move on to cleaning zones in your home each day or week.  They've even partnered up with Cozi to bring you downloadable calendars of their cleaning schedules.  I always make the same mistake though (one they warn everyone about) and try to jump ahead without laying the proper foundation.  So I will start this week with shining my sink.  To be honest, it won't begin until Thursday at the earliest because that's when we get our new water softener installed.  Once that happens, I plan to clean out the dishwasher of all of the hard water and lime buildup so that we can FINALLY use our dishwasher in this house.  Procrastinate much??

I'd love to say that I'm ready to jump right in, but I know that I'm really not.  So for now I'll start downloading the schedules and reading my daily e-mails from FLYlady and try make myself get in the right frame of mind. 

I know this greatly veered of course from my Monday Morning Results, but I think it all ties in together and when my life and home are cluttered, my mind feels cluttered and it's hard to get my shit together on the weight loss front.  One step at a time right?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Baby steps

Well I was right.  I didn't get much done in the way of cleaning but the meals and laundry have been kept up, at least to my standards.  Damn those standards are low...

Anyho, for dinner last night I fixed potato soup and it was MMMMmmmm good!  The boys inhaled it all.  So now I have a large stock pot on my fantasy wish list so I can start doubling or tripling soup recipes.  I imagine that a good Stepford has a supply of belly warming soup on constant rotation in her fridge.  Yes, please!  Tonight was a smorgasbord of leftovers and sammiches.  WHICH WAS ON THE MENU!  *Fist pump*

As I explained the other day, my parents are coming to stay the night tomorrow night.  Hubs and I are going to see Brad Paisley with my sister and then out for drinks with friends.  The parentals were going to keep the little one at their house (an hour away) but I'm always begging them to come up here and spend time with us, so now they are coming here to watch Bugga and spend time with us Saturday.  The kicker?  We are just now trying to develop some sort of guest bedroom.  We moved into our house in late July and then had our wedding in October.  After that it was a whirlwind of holidays and now we're finally back to focusing on the house. 

So... the guest bedroom.  We have 4 bedrooms on the second floor of our house.  So far we had designated them as Master bedroom, Bugga's bedroom, an office (I work from home 2 days a week) and then decided to use the last one as a playroom until any more "lil C's" decide to make an appearance.  Ideally, what I would like to see happen is to purchase a nice contemporary daybed to put in the office along with a trundle that can be pulled out to make the daybed a nice full size bed for guests.  Well I think we all know that what you want isn't necessarily what you get.  My parents (and us) always stayed with my sister when they come to town but now that we've moved here too my son, who adores his grandparents, always wants them here.  For Christmas they slept on an air matress in our basement and while they didn't complain, I knew I wanted them to be much more comfortable when staying here.  Then lady luck threw a couch with a hide-a-bed our way!  Ok, lady luck was actually my mom's friend, but either way we now have a couch in our office and it is in great condition too.  So tonight Bugga and I went to Walmart (oh I loathe thee) and came home with some goodies for the room.  After we put  down mattress topper on it with t-shirt sheets and a fleece blanket, I may start sleeping in here!  I also got them a nice down throw because my madre always gets cold.  Since I know it will be a few years before I can set everything up the way I truly want it, this a fantastic solution in the meantime. 

The next step will be to go all Stepford and get a nice nightstand all set up with guest amenities in a cute basket.  Oh yeah, and finish unpacking in here and get all our boxes sorted and sell the pile of e-bay stuff in the corner and put up a curtain... AND HAVE YOU SEEN THE CUTE NEW BEDDING??  That's all they're gonna pay attention to... right?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Already?!?

I feel like I just began my search for "perfection" and I'm already sucking at it.  My parents are coming to stay with us Friday night and I just looked around my house and literally had a panic attack.  Woe is me and my ready-to-be-condemned home!  It seems that I can focus on or two areas of improvement and any more than that sends me reeling for the closest bottle of liquor.  (Or Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss as the case may be tonight.) 

Oddly enough I'm doing really well with the menu planning AND executing.  That's a first.  Normally I can plan the hell out of something and then promptly lose all interest in actually making it, you know, HAPPEN!   So I did my meal plan, went to Sam's Club and Wal-mart to secure all needed ingredients, and then (get this) actually have made the planned dinner for the last three nights!  Go me!!  And yes, I feel that this deserves a large pat on the back seeing as how I am one lazy-ass mo'fo' (see also; whole blog for reference).  AND tonights dinner was even healthy.... O.M.G  AND, and... I exercised tonight.  OK, I kicked my 5 year old's ass on Dance Central and Just Dance, but I was moving dammit!

So with the focus on meal planning and execution as well as trying to throw some healthy shit in the mix... my house has fallen into disrepair.  So I'm torn.  Do I a) just focus on keeping up momentum in the aforementioned areas or b) slack back down to mediocre and add household management skills into the ringer?  I'm leaning towards keeping up my good works so far and making them habit before adding in anything else.  I'll have to have an all-night-power-clean before the parentals arrive which will probably shred the last of my sanity... but HEY, dinner will be served!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Monday Morning Results -1.17

So my weight... yeah...  Here's the drawn out story of my climb to over 200 lbs.

From birth through high school I was tiny with an enormous metabolism and appetite to boot.  I graduated high school weighing 98 lbs.  I was T-I-N-Y!  Got to college and maxed out at about 145 lbs.  Then I turned 21, began working full-time and lived on my own.  I ballooned, y'all!  When I got preggo with Bugga at the age of 23 I weighed about 205 lbs.  I lost 20 lbs. in my first trimester due to the insufferable condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum.  By the time Bugga entered this great world, I weighed about the same I started out at; just over 200 lbs. 

When he was 3 months old I said enough was enough and used Weight Watchers to lose about 50 pounds.  I hovered between 155 and 165 for several years until I met Hubs.  Up until that time I had never had a problem with "happy eating", but boy did we eat!  We would have ice cream while laying on the couch watching tv, buttery popcorn on all of our movie theater dates and we loved to cook meals together.  Combine that with the fact that I loved the man so much I gave up smoking for him and we have ourselves a bad sitchy-ation! 

Once we got engage I promised myself that I would get back to a svelte looking JC before the big day, but as anyone planning a wedding knows, nothing goes according to plan.  Next thing I knew we were buying a house, moving an hour away and had 3 month until the big day.  Weight loss was the last priority on my list but I don't think I'll ever forget the disappointment over being overweight for our wedding day. 

Last weekend one of my best friend's had her 30th birthday party and looking at the photos from that night was just the motivation I needed.  I don't pretend it will be easy or happen overnight, but I've hit the bottom and the only way to go from here is up... but down on the scale, duh!

So this morning's weigh-in showed 213.4 on the scale.  I always weigh on Monday mornings because I feel it's the most realistic number I'm going to see.  If I've spent the weekend inhaling everything not nailed down, it will show.  I can't hop on the scale Friday, eat all I want all weekend and then give myself 5 days to get back on the wagon.  I also check my weight daily.  I'm one of the lucky ones that can check everyday not get discouraged.  If the number goes down, I'm motivated to keep up the good work.  If that number is creeping up, I know I need to reign it in and get back on track. 

So Monday's are when I'll report in on this.  We've got our first family vacation in years coming up in May.  My parents, my sis and BIL and Hubs, Bugga and I will be heading to the happiest place on earth and dammit I WILL be happy there!!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Run JC, Run

Yesterday was spent doing a whole lot of running and somehow not being very productive.  I love days where Hubs is off (and awake) and we decide to hit the town.  We got lunch at the mall food court (soup and green tea for yours truly!) and hit up Barnes & Noble.  Bugga is currently learning to read using the Hooked on Phonics system and we thought we might be able to get him some level 1 early reader books.  Nope!  We're still on "cat" and "hat" and only 2 sight words.  We told  him when he finishes the Kindergarten Level 1 we'll take him on a book shopping spree. 

Then we had the most fun shopping assignment ever... buy something pink for our best friends that are expecting their first girl after two boys.  Very special and close to our hearts since they got knocked up on our wedding night!  It was so difficult to pick just one adorable pink outfit but we managed. 

Followed that up with a few more random stores and a Starbucks treat.  The most productive part of our day was getting a Sam's Club membership. I was like a kid in a candy store!  We stocked up on some pre-packaged treats for Hubs and Bugga to pack in their lunches and we filled our freezer chest halfway.

By the time we got home and put everything away it was bedtime for Bugga and beer time for mommy and daddy.  Tried Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss for the first time.  Not as berry-licious as Frambiose but cheaper and pretty tasty. 

This weekend was probably the exact opposite of a Stepford weekend, but we enjoyed the hell out of it!  Tomorrow starts a new week for us and I'll get a post up about a major area of improvement, my body.  Stay tuned...

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Two out of three

Well the family room got picked up and I got 2 loads of laundry done (not put away yet cause that would mean finishing something I start).  Unfortunately the dishes were left to continue fighting the good fight until Hubs and I get to them tonight.  So 2 outta 3 ain't bad! 

Tonight's goals:
  • Finish meal plan and associated grocery list
  • Put away laundry
  • Finish 2 loads of laundry and PUT THEM AWAY!
********************************************

That's as far as I got with this post yesterday.  I had to run out of work after I realized I was already 10 minutes late starting my commute.  I did manage to relax all night!  Wait, you mean that wasn't on my list of things to do?  Oh well!  Maybe I need to start scheduling that in also. Do Stepfords do that?  Schedule the time needed to just breathe and take in life around you?  Probably not but dammit I NEEDED to watch 'Beauty and the Beast' with Hubs and Bugga.  So there!

Today has gotten off to a rocky start because Bugga decided to sleep in until 10 am.  Since he's my alarm clock that means we all got started a bit late.  We're catching up now.  Just got done throwing a load of laundry in and will put the finishing touches on my grocery list.  I'll try to work on uploading our meal plan for the next 2 weeks so I can keep myself accountable. 

Today we've got a ton of running around to do so I'm hoping tomorrow can be a cleaning day around the house.  Knowing us though we'll get sidetracked by something more fun and I'll spend the week playing catch up and wishing Hubs was home to help.  That's always the hard part.  Wanting to enjoy his time off with him but also making it a productive time.  We're still working on that balance.  Any tips?

Thursday, January 13, 2011

While I'm thinking about it

I just threw the whites in the washer and Bugga is putting his toys away in his playroom.  I'm totally going to win this!  And yes, I'm the only one competing in the housekeeping division and probably the only one that cares.  Wait... my boy will probably like wearing underwear to school tomorrow so I bet he's rooting for me.  ANYWHOS!

I sat down here to get a blog fix and wasn't sure which category I should start checking first.  There are so many to choose from and I listed out most of of them in my first post.  It got me thinking about how overwhelming this whole Stepford journey is right now because there really aren't too many areas of my life that don't need to be overhauled.  Hubs would probably disagree because he thinks I'm perfect but I pay him to say that.  So here's my list of very vague life topics that I gots to get goin' on!

  • Housekeeping - This includes the cleanliness of the house overall, laundry and dishes.
  • Remodeling - We bought a house in July 2010 and still haven't finished upacking, let alone decorated or remodeled.  My butt (fat as it may be) needs to get a move on!
  • Organization - With a little one and a big one (I'm talking about my boys!), a house and job, there is alot that goes on in our tiny corner of the world.  I feel like organizing our belongings and planning for things like meals will help organize our schedules by default.
  • Weight - This is a big one... both my body and the goal.  This will probably deserve a weekly post dedicated solely to this battle.
  • Hobbies - I need to work on getting a life and doing things I enjoy. Two things I'd like to focus on are learning to use my pretty DSLR camera and becoming a crafting fool.
I'm sure I've left things out, but as I said, these are just broad areas to focus on.  What else does a Stepford wife/ mom need to be perfect at?

We'll call it a draw...

... Today that is!  Some hits, some misses.

Bugga woke up at 8:30 am and I got him breakfast and then fell back asleep on the couch. FAIL!

Then I woke up at 10 am, ate me Lucky Charms, answered work e-mails, did a load of laundry and then got us both moving.  WIN!

Then we had the best part of the day which was a 4 hour playdate.  I love those because I get to gossip and Bugga gets to play.  Especially during the winter, it's nice to get out of the house and try to alleviate some of that cabin fever that affects very active 5 year olds.  So of course all of that was a nice big WIN!

We got home in time for me to check my work e-mail and start another load of laundry.  Hells yeah on the productiveness!  (Don't worry, it didn't last long.) Then it was Hubby's turn to wake up and we went out for pizza.  I'm going to call that one a fail because going out for pizza does not help the waistline or wallet.  Dinner itself was also a draw because I caved on the cheesy bread, but got the thin crust garden pizza and water.  Yes, water!!  I'm going to make it my best friend even though we've had a checkered past. 

Now it's Bugga and I home alone looking forward to his return when we wake up.  Yep, my hubby is an overnight, 12-hour shifter.  He's off this weekend so my big goal is to clean up really well tonight so that we don't have to deal with it over the next three days. 

If I can do some dishes tonight, another load of laundry and pick up the family room I'm gonna pat myself on the back and then put today firmly in the WIN column.  Otherwise I'll come here tomorrow to make a ridiculous excuse for why it didn't get done.  And none of us like that, do we??

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Scheduling my day

If I was left to my own devices I would lay around and nap most of the day and then be productive from dinner to bedtime.  This isn't such a problem 3 days a week when I work at my office, but the other days I'm home with Bugga and he requires a bit more structure.  Does this happen?  Nope, hardly ever.  To be honest, Tuesdays and Thursdays usually turn out exactly how I described above.  Result?  I feel like a lazy fat-ass (which I am!) and Bugga watches too much tv and gets cabin fever.  Something has got to give!  So here is my ideal day at home with the kid:
  • Breakfast (with one tv show)
  • Get ready and go run errands.  The sooner we're on the move, the less likely I'll curl up on the couch and hibernate!
  • Come home for lunch (with one tv show)
  • Chores around the house.  I like to use a 15 on / 15 off method with Bugga.  I set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes and during that time he needs to be picking up.  When the time goes off he can play for 15 minutes.  Rinse and Repeat!
  • Next would be outdoor play or fitness time.  Basically anything but laying on the couch!  Playdates would fall in here too.
  • Dinner bell ringin'!
  • Relax with my boys and make Hubs help me with tasks around the house
See how productive that day could be?  And I would be even more useful if I stole the 15 minute rule for Bugga and used it on myself.  Laundry?  Easy to swap a load to the dryer and put a new load in the washer in 15 minutes.  Clutter?  Just 15 minutes spent in the family room could result in all of the blankets we use folded and put away and all of our crap hidden away!  (Alright, FINE!  I could spend 15 minutes actually putting the crap where it belongs.)

I'm going to give this schedule a shot tomorrow.  I'll be home with Bugga all day and I might as well dive into my first step on the way to Stepford-dom!  Keep me accountable y'all!!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

What's for dinner beeyotch?

Normally I consider a frozen pizza or maybe some McD's a satisfying dinner.  Unfortunately my wallet, waistline and boys tend to disagree. 

Some of my favorite types of blogs right now are those that focus on organizing one's life.  It is the first of the year and I'm usually a follower... so yeah.  These are some of the blogs I referred to in my last post as making me feel a wee bit ashamed. 

I'm trying to get started on these "menu plans" everybody is always recommending, but it's slow going.  I tend to take my time getting things set up in Excel and little time actually using them. So I've put in plenty of "laptop-on-the-couch" getting these menus set up, but still haven't really used it.  For now I'm doing things the easy way and planning out two weeks at a time, but taking a note from Little Birdie Secrets and not assigning a specific meal each day.  I'm making a list of 10 meals for 14 days time assuming that we will eat out, have leftovers and at least one night I can guarantee I will make my husband and child forage for crackers or ramen noodles in the pantry because Mommy wants to read blogs so please go away!  Starting off we'll just do our tried and true family favorites and maybe I'll experiment on the extra nights with new recipes.  Don't get me started on all of the food and recipe blogs I follow...

Tonight we're experiencing a snowpocalypse and I had no desire to venture out to the grocery store or Taco Bell so I pulled out our usual standby, Broiled Tilapia Parmesan.  All three of us LOVE this recipe.  It's so easy to pull together and I always eyeball the ingredients and change up the spices and somehow it turns out great every time.  We always keep a box of frozen tilapia in our freezer chest and I'm betting most people have parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and butter in their fridge.  I also misread the recipe the first time I made it and added mustard and now I always include it. 

If I can pull this off for dinner, everyone else certainly can too.  Once I'm done with my menu planning escapade I'll let you guys know what approach I decided to go with.

JC, OUT!

Hello? Is this thing on?

Hi I'm JC and I'm a slob! 
(Welcome, JC!)
I was reading one of the 105 blogs I follow in my Google reader, sipping my can of pop (Pepsi if you must know!) and munching on some Cool Ranch Doritos when it hit me...
I need to stop being inspired shamed by these people and get the hell off the internet and DO something!
So I decided to start a blog.  I never said my logic made sense...
I am overweight, lazy and borderline depressed with myself.  Not my life, because that's pretty frackin great right now, but with me, myself and I.  I can do better than this. And I know my two favorite guys want better for me too.  So here I am.
I'm mom to a 5 year old boy and newlywed to my awesome-sauce hubby.  We bought a house, moved cities and got married last year.  I don't give details on the first date so you'll have to stick with me to hear how all of that came about.  Needless to say, I spent the rest of 2010 "relaxing" because I "deserved a break" and basically got lost in my couch.  I need accountability folks and this little blog will hopefully provide that.
My goal is to go from super slob to stepford-like mom/wife.  Everyone else seems to have their shit together way better than I do and I want in on the action.  I read cooking blogs, crafting blogs, home remodeling blogs, daily fashion blogs and even shopping blogs.  I bookmark things and think "Gosh, I could totally do that and will when (insert every lazy excuse you can think of)." 
NO MORE peeps!
I'm going to get off my lazy ass, get in shape, do laundry, cook a few meals and maybe even throw in a craft or three.  Also... try to look good while doing it all.
Will this blog be another thing I don't do well?  Probably.  I'm nothing if not consistent in my laziness.