Week 3: Unplugged togetherness

Good morning! This will probably be the last leisurely Monday morning that I have for a while. School starts this week, and while I'm really excited to get things going, I dread the study in logistics that goes along with it.

I have two shout-outs to give this morning.

1) Happy Birthday Dr. King. You are missed. You are loved. You helped shape our world and we will be forever grateful.

2) To Dance Central, the amazing xbox kinect game. You are awesome. You helped me get my booty off the couch and into the groove this week.

This last week's assignment/new habit was a bit of a challenge. Getting exercise in every single day takes some sincere effort. That being said, I think I only missed one day. I started the week with a 5.6 mile walk with a friend. That was a good way to start. During the week, Shaun and I just played Dance Central with the kids. I should take some video next time because both Beckett and Ev were shakin' their rears to Lady Gaga. It was pretty awesome. Yesterday I went with a group of ladies to do 6 miles. I brought up the rear the entire run, but it was fun!!

On the organization front, I should first thank Lexi King. My sweet stepdaughter was here this last week and during her stay with us she introduced me to the United States of Tara. OMG. I know I said the assignment was a closet, any closet, so I chose the pantry. Why? It's simple. The pantry (and my entire kitchen) are in view of the living room TV. So, as episode after episode of Tara played, I not only cleaned and reorganized the pantry, I did the whole kitchen! I know have my entire kitchen organized the way it should be, and I have Lexi and Tara to thank for it.

Since this is the week that school starts back for me we are keeping it very, very simple - yet incredibly important. Make 1 night family night. AND on said family night do your best to unplug at the door. No phones, no computers, no television, no ipads, no ipods. You get the idea, and here's what I'm getting at just in case you didn't. Take some time to focus on eachother. Make dinner together. Play a board game. Actually talk about your day. Take a minute to look at your kids or spouse and be completely present. You won't regret it.

We have a dinnertime tradition that we started about a year ago that I look forward to every night. In order to make this work your whole family has to be at the table (be it at your house or restaurant). Our kids are small, so this makes it a lot more accessible for us. During dinner, we each take a second to talk about our favorite part of the day. It is a simple, amazing thing. Sometimes the kids talk about playing with their friends or P.E. at school. Other times they tell us how much they love us, or how sweet we were for getting them a bandaid when they got hurt. I also love hearing from Shaun after a long day at work, "Right now. Right now is the best part of my day." I dare you to try this sometime this week. You might laugh or tear up at what you hear, and you'll be so happy that you heard it.

For this week's organization challenge, take on the bathroom. Get rid of expired OTC medicines (you know you have them). Find a designated place for the Towels, T.P., and hair products. And clean it. For Pete's sake, clean it. I know mine needs it.

To recap:
1) 1 unplugged family night each week. I suggest making it the same night each week to keep everyone on board.
2) Organize a bathroom.

No extra challenges this week. Let's just get through the week as is, shall we?

On the "Kate tries a vegan diet for 2 weeks" front, I have to say that it's been easier than I thought. I have not lost any weight (yes, portion control is ALWAYS important). I have gotten rid of my "2 o'clock tireds". AND I ate some dairy for the first time all week yesterday afternoon at lunch. Once on accident, and once on purpose. I regretted it last night and this morning. It is not doing nice things to my tummy. ALSO, if you are interested in trying the BEST FREAKING CUPCAKES OF YOUR LIFE, I highly recommend the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I served a batch of coconut lime cupcakes with lime buttercream frosting to a group of omnivores this week with incredible results. They were AMAZING. I never thought that dairy/egg free baking could taste so good. It IS possible!

Have a great week, everybody!!

This is why organization is good.....

This used to be a piece of bread. I found it at the very back of the bottom shelf of the pantry. The 'use by'  date says 06/06/2011. WOW.

Wk 2: The Couch Potato becomes a Pavement Potato

Let's start with an apology. I should have written this post yesterday, but time got away from me so here I am.

To recap, last week our household was successful in eating breakfast every day and the cereal box did not come out of the pantry once! That is a small victory! We had peanut butter toast, oatmeal, eggs with ham and toast, fruit, yogurt, and much more! As for our documentary- it was Forks over Knives and it was really fantastic and scary. I would recommend it to anyone concerned about their health and the health of their family. Also a good watch if you think that what you eat (regardless of your weight) doesn't really matter all that much. (Hint: It does!!!)

Also, I challenged you to get out and walk for a bit. I honestly haven't asked the husband if he made it out, but I walked 3 miles on Thursday! Kids walked with their sister on Thursday (?) night.

B You see that B? That has been appearing all over our house. On shelves. Cabinet doors. Granite. Windows. We have our very own tagging thing going on in our house courtesy of Beckett. He has a mysterious blue crayon that I cannot find which he uses to write a B on anything he sees. Every time I'm at the computer, he types a B. So, there you go. The story of the B. If you happen to be at our house, look for them. It's like finding Waldo. But easier.

What's the new thing for this week, you ask? Well. Get off your duff! 10 minutes of activity outside your normal routine every day. Let me repeat. 10 minutes outside your normal activity every single day of the week. If you go to the grocery store - you cannot count the time you are walking around the store. If you go to the mall and park a 1/2 mile from the door on purpose - you can count that. Now, I should also say that this 10 minutes does not have to be walking. It could be anything you want it to be.

Further, we all know how good exercise is for us. I'm not going to talk about it here. Google it if you don't believe me. But you should believe me.

The organization thing this week? Pick 1 closet. Any closet in your home. And make it right. I will do the same and try to remember to take a 'before' picture.


One more thing. Over the last few weeks I have strongly considered becoming a vegetarian. Watching Forks over Knives sealed the deal. Only now I am STRONGLY considering eliminating animal products from my diet. As an experiment I will try in earnest to eat vegan for 2 weeks. I keep hearing and reading about all these miraculous things that will happen to my body if I do. I can try anything for two weeks. I am a big skeptic right now, but I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Just a reminder:
Wk 2: Be active outside your normal routine for 10 minutes every stinkin' day.
Find one closet in your house and undo the madness that is held within it.

AND

Challenge #1 Drink an extra 16 oz of water each day.
Challenge #2 Do something artsy fartsy. Make a craft. Go to the OKCMOA. Take a dance class. Watch a musical on TV. I don't care. Just indulge your creative side.


Have a great week!

Wk 1 organization= Done!

We created a snack shelf for kids and cleaned everything out. woohoo!

Husbands, rejoice!

I have to start by saying that I am, in most ways, not a very organized person. I once had a voice teacher tell me that peace can be found in order/organization (this was said as I was complaining about not having time to practice when really I just didn't want to practice what she wanted me to sing...but that's another story alltogether....)

I have been so caught up and excited about getting our family in a healthier position that I was sort of locked into my own definitions of health and 'fitness'. This takes us over to my husband, Shaun. Where I thrive in a state of "organized" chaos, he festers. Where I love "wait until the last minute and then get my sh!t together" kind of living, it makes him crazy. So, yesterday he made the assertion that I am demanding that he go out/over/beyond his typical comfort zone with these new family initiatives, but that I was not doing the same for myself. His argument was that for him (for his mental health) he needed organization. I should mention that this whole discussion was prompted by his quick glance into our refrigerator to find something to eat. Apparently seeing the two-week-old cauliflower gratin was just too much. Oh, and seeing the pile of laundry waiting not-so-patiently to be washed, folded, and put away. That definitely played a part......

So, this morning, very, very hesitantly, I agreed to incorporate organization into our weekly habits/goals. And that is how I was assigned the task of organizing the refrigerator. My first response was "two can play at this game, babe... You want me to clean the fridge? fine. I can have you eating vegan next week." (insert evil laugh here)

So for our house, I will add in a WK 1 addendum: Organize the fridge. Do it if you want. It's late in the game for this week so no pressure.

In other news, breakfast so far this week has been good, actually. I have yet to get the documentary done. I plan on watching Waiting for Superman or Forks Over Knives (?). I haven't done the walk yet either, but I did take down and drag our 9ft Christmas tree outside...that counts for something, right?

Putting it Out There

I didn't make it to an open mic night last year, but somehow this is much, much scarier. Here it is, either way. When you click on the link below, you get a chance to hear what I do when I've got the time. Music is very important to me, and I hope you like it. =) k8musik

Week 1: Breakfast Makes a Comeback

Happy New Year! My day started with a sore throat and a trip to work at 3am. After work I was greeted with the reality that I have strep yet again. &#!&*! If I was looking to the universe for a sign that I needed to take better charge of my health, it was handed to me this afternoon. I have really, really, really allowed myself to indulge this holiday season. It's taken its toll. Several years ago I was successful in losing about 30 lbs on weight watchers and it is definitely my "get real" method of choice when it comes to my eating habits. I attempted to reapply myself to this weight watching in November. Yeah. I've had better ideas. Needless to say, the holidays went by with a great deal of sweets, candy, fried business, good cheese, and many, many more things in excess. When I allow myself to really go for it and eat (or drink) anything that my sweet little heart desires, I certainly suffer for it - on several levels. I had vowed that the end of my festive feasting would come today; it's been hard already. BUT, it's a new day, and a new year. And we're all about new habits replacing the old ones. So here's our new habit for the week. EAT BREAKFAST! Why you ask? Why is this the first new habit of the year??? Well, for starters, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is also the most neglected. I tend to have a breakfast of coffee and milk everyday. I guess it could be worse, but it's time to give breakfast it's due. So, what exactly does this mean? Make breakfast a meal. Ideally, a good, hearty one is best, but you can start small. Today, mine was egg whites, a banana, some skim milk, and (of course) coffee. I could say that it took some effort, but really it just meant a trip to the hospital cafeteria at around 6:30. My suggestion, and what I plan to do at home, is to try hard to work breakfast into my meal planning. I'm gonna try to close the door on the box of cereal. Making breakfast a priority can reduce hunger later in the day and can get the day started on a healthy track if you've made healthy choices in the morning. It also gives you energy (and who doesn't need more of that?!). In addition to the new habit this week, I've got a few challenges for you. 1) Watch a documentary. It's just a good idea to learn something new. Netflix has a ton of good ones available, so that's a good place to start. 2) Go for a walk. I'll include exercise habits into this madness later, but for now - at least one time this week- go for at least a 10-15 minute walk. Get some fresh air. Do some window shopping. Be mindful. And get moving.