5 randoms...

1.

This is my handsome husband at the ripe age of 18.

I think he is the epitomy of a "late bloomer." He was 5'8" here and is now 210 lbs and 6'2".

Crazy how much 10 years can change a person...but mostly,

Hilarious. 

2.

notice the bags.

no wasteful plastic in my shoppin' cart!!

i have found that i am MUCH more likely to remember to use my "forever bags" when they are already IN my car...

 3.

 i used to have cute decor where the toys have taken over...

G hates this as a toy storage area but until i find that "perfect" piece of furniture (with drawers/bins for toys) this will just have to do!

just one of the many changes that came with the arrival of little Red...

4.

i heart yardsales!!

there was a GEM of a yardsale down the street today. TONS of great kiddo books an toys...and some awesome furniture. i came away with Kai's first tee-ball mitt, a handful of books (i buy children's books like they are going out of style...for Kai and my students!) and a beat-up mini-basketball he would NOT put down.

all for $1.25, thank you.

5.

my little quarterback.

he rolled his football to the couch, pulled himself up and literally threw it right in my face.

we play lots of "catch."

device detox: a challenge for a technology dependant, socially unsatisfied generation.

[sound of fingers tapping keys]

We've all had it happen to us. Somebody texting or scrolling through email or Facebook during conversation/dinner/meetings/church/a movie/[insert your own instance].

I don't really mind this if it's sparce and done at random, but there are people who do this every 10-15 minutes (or less!) and it DRIVES ME CRAZY!

If you can't get through a movie without looking at your phone/texting you need a device detox!

Cell phone addiction is just as rampant as Ipod addiction, and both are equally harmful to the innate human ability to COMMUNICATE. Once one becomes so reliant upon technology to make them feel "normal" they are unable to properly or comfortably function in a social setting, which is really quite unfortunate and something that I see all too often in mine and (especially) younger generations.

Many of us struggle with technology vices. Maybe you constantly check your email. Maybe your always on Facebook. Maybe you spend hours surfing the web. Maybe you send hundreds of texts a day. Maybe you can't seem to stop working via email received on your phone...

Daniel Sieberg, author of The Digital Diet writes that "constantly checking your BlackBerry, Facebook, and Twitter can be addictive--when you aren't online you worry somebody needs you or that fun things are happening without you. This habit can stress you out and damage real-life relationships. It's tough to conect with someone stitting next to you when you keep checking for texts." Sieberg suggests going a day without using your phone or a day without logging in and instead "HANG OUT with friends, read a book, enjoy nature and you'll begin to see things you never did before when you were always looking at a screen."

I'm not going to lie.  I have three active email accounts (1 personal, 1 school, 1 work) and I receive all of them via BlackBerry. I check my FB, I text, I surf the web and sometimes play games on my BlackBerry. I check my BlackBerry frequently, but once I noticed myself reaching for it during frequent lulls in conversation or caught myself messing around on my phone mid-convo I knew I needed some distance.

After re-evaluating my device-dependance my realizations were:

1. The world will not end if the blinking light on my phone flashes for an hour or two unnoticed.

2. There is no email that can't wait. Really.

3. Facebook is more fun and interesting when you limit your checking to once or twice a day (if that!).

4. There is a great deal of real-life CONNECTION to others that is missed when you are slave to the screen (addicted to the constant checking).

5. Less is more. Balance is best.

I began to leave my phone in the car during social events, dinner dates, hang outs, etc. If I felt like I needed to have it with me (like if Kai was with a babysitter) I would silence everything BUT phone calls and keep it zipped in my purse until I heard a ring. I have also begun to make a point to NOT carry my phone around with me everywhere I go. I have so much more to do than pounce on my phone at it's demanding alerts, not to mention a pair of little blue eyes that want MY FULL attention and love.

Are you slave to you phone? Your laptop? Your IPod?

I challenge you to break free. Take a technology fast and walk on the wild side:

Listen to the breeze blow through the open window. Hear the birds chirp in the trees. Spend a solid hour playing with your niece or nephew. TALK and take interest in the lives of your kids. Your spouse. Pick up an old, perhaps forgotten hobby. CALL an old friend or even better, write a letter.

Just think of all of the hours you've spent staring at a screen or drowning out the world...what if you had devoted all of that time to something else? Your life may look a bit different...you may be happier...you may feel more fulfilled, you may find a renewed sense of purpose...

LIVE.



three things for thursday.

1.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to pick up my interlibrary loaners today. If I'm missing from the blogosphere for awhile this is why:

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (the sequel to The Hunger Games).

I'm not a big fan of genre, nor was I very happy about the ending of The Hunger Games (an interlude to the next book) but I obviously got sucked in because I automatically went for it at the library...and it's the one I'll probably start in on first. SO different from what I typically read. A refreshing chance, perhaps?!

2. Night Road by (who else?) Kristin Hannah.

THIS is her brand new book and I'm VERY happy to have my hands on it. I can't wait to devour every word.

3. I can't believe I haven't read this yet, but I WILL finish it before I watch the movie:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

 2.

I caught Kai indulging in his FAVORITE, FAVORITE treat:

Blackberry.

3.

DIVA?

Pouting in purple.

 (cousin Jude's bib).

Mommy: "Kai, quit acting like what your bib says and eat your peas..."

Tommorow I will post some pics of my brand new niece, Parker Jo!

I get to hold her for the very first time and

I CAN'T WAIT!

Goodnight friends! (I'm gonna go READ!)

maintaining balance: reading for pleasure, taking exercise outdoors & (of course) food

all throughout my Masters program, i kept a running "reading for pleasure" list, as i will admit that i did NOT keep a "balance" between school/work-related reading and personal "for fun" reading (who does can?) much of my grad school reading was compelling, interesting and very relevant, so it wasn't like i was stuck reading the DSM (well, sometimes i was) or pouring over case studies (well, sometimes i was) but for the most part it was all good (i'll admit right now that i actually miss being in school--i could honest-to-God be a lifetime student. i love school. sick? maybe, but very true).

well, i'm done with grad school, and am not planning on going back for the good ol' Doctorate for awhile. someday, perhaps, but not now...

so, i'm reading for pleasure (finally!)

i've been burning through books like crazy, like i'm making up for lost time.

i read mostly at night. after Kai's in bed and i've somewhat put the house back together i look forward to nothing more than making a cup of tea and crawling into bed or into a big fleece blanket on the couch with a book. the problem with this is many times, i can't stop. i keep reading and reading and reading and before i know it, it's 1am...but i'm back at it the next night.

i remember when G and i were first married and i felt guilty asking if i could have my bedside table light on because he had to get up early for work...so i would bribe him with the promise of tickling his back/scratching his head while i read to offset the light being on.

this bit me in the butt.

now EVERYTIME i read in bed, G rolls over (practially across my lap) and says "you know the deal..."

so not only have i been doing a lot of reading, i've been doing a lot of tickling and scratching (sigh).

i've been, like, WAY obsessed with Kristen Hannah. she has 18 novels published, and so far i've read 10. they are pretty good sized, too. but to keep me well versed and balanced, i've started offsetting her novels with non-fiction to kind of give me a bit of variety.

so yesterday, i started (and finished!) Portia De Rossi's Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain

i remembered watching her on Oprah, GMA, the Today Show and, of course Ellen (her wife) promoting the book. She struggled for over twenty years of her life with extreme dieting/bulimia/anorexia (dropping below 90 lbs. at her lowest point), and tells her story with unflinching honesty. i enjoy reading memoirs about real-life people who have triumphed over life's obstacles...especially when they write with such breathtaking, raw courage.

while i have never struggled with an eating disorder i have battled with the pressure to be thin from a society that glorifies skin and bone. i have a naturally very athletic build, and have always had thick legs and been able to put on muscle quite easily. i love food too much to deprive myself, but i have definitely attempted (and failed) some pretty crazy diets/exercise regimes.

i've concluded that no supplement, program, club, class, diet, drink or pill will do the trick.

if something does cause you to lose weight rapidly or drastically, you will inevitably gain it all back (or more!) once you stop. your body will always return to it's natural, "healthy" weight.

with that being said, i'm going to share some of my favorite excerpts from the book (Unbearable Lightness) that i believe everyone can relate to, and should hear. take it for what you will, but i believe it packs a powerful punch:

• I hate the word exercise. I am allergic to gyms. But I don't think that "formal" exercise in a gym is the only way to achieve a healthy, toned body. I have discovered that enjoyable daily activites that are easy, like walking, can be equally beneficial. I have noticed on my daily walk with my dogs that I rarely see an overweight person walking a dog, whereas I see many overweight people walking on treadmills in a gym. I attribute this not only to the frequency of having to walk your dog, but also the good feeling one has when doing something good for another being. Seeing my dogs' excitement as I walk them around my nighborhood every day makes me happy, and when I'm happy I walk a little taller and a little more briskly. I can only imagine the enjoyment parents must experience when seeing the joy on their kids' faces as they play tag football or shoot hoops with them.

• I also enjoy being outdoors. I like breathing the cold night air deeply into my lungs as I walk up the hills in my nieghborhood and smelling the forest air as I walk on hiking trails after a morning rain.

• Another way for me to stay fit is to do activities where I can learn a skill, like horse riding or tennis or dancing. I find that if I can concentrate on getting better at something, rather than getting fitter or looking better, I accomplish all three things- the latter two bieng happy by-products of the original goal. Doing an activity to relax is also important for me. I swim to clear my head rather than count laps and burn calories. Swimming slowly is a form of meditation for me.

• I have found ways to increase my heart rate, stretch my muscles, and breathe deeply every day in an enjoyable way that I would never label as exercise.

• I eat every kind of food that I like, moderating the portions using my appetite and not a calorie counter. I love fat and I love carbs. Nothing fills you up and feels more satisfying than a mashed potato or pasta and olive oil. There are days when I eat a large bag of potato chips for lunch and I feel too full and greasy to eat anything else until dinner. It may not be the healthest, most balanced day in a lifetime of days, but I more than likely won't repeat it in the following day.

• The diet industry is making a lot of money selling us fad diets, nonfat and sugar-free foods full of chemicals, gym memberships, and pills while we lose a little of our self-esteem everytime we fail another diet or neglect to use the gym membership we could barely afford. Restriction genereates yearning.

• You don't have to be emaciated or vomiting to be suffering. All people who live their lives on a diet are suffering. If you can accept your natural body weight-the weight that is easy for you to maintain, or your "set point"--and not force it to beneath your body's natural, healthy weight, then you can live your life free of dieting, of restriction, of feeling guilty every time you eat a slice of your kid's birthday cake. But the key is to accept your body just as it is. Just as I have had to learn to accept that I have thighs that are a little bigger than I'd like, you may have to accept that your arms are naturally a little thicker or your hips are a little wider. In other words, accept yourself.  Love your body the way it is and feel grateful toward it. Most improratant, in order to find real happiness, you must learn to love yourself for the totality of who you are and not just what you look like.

Pretty thought-provoking and inspiring if you ask me.

It really is all about maintaining a healthy balance and accepting and loving and taking care of the bodies that we have been given. Too often we get lost in the lies our culture shoves down our throat that make us believe our attractiveness is directly correlated with our jean size, but I call B.S. on that notion. I'm not as "thin" as I once was, but you know what? I'm happy. I'm healthy. I LOVE getting out and enjoying the sunshine with my baby and puppy dog, and taking (and teaching!) fun classes at my gym. I've lost the pregnancy pounds and am currently sitting at my bodies natural, healthy weight of 150 pounds--not the 125 that I once maintained with such discipline. I've traded size 2's for size 8's but ya know what?

I'm smiling.