Category Archives: Life

Mama got her cardio today!! The bright side of a breakdown…..

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I came home for lunch yesterday for a Skype meeting (more on that later, but it was AWESOME) and after the meeting was over I left to go back to work.  Or so I thought.  I got in the car and vroo…nothing.  vrooo…nothing.  vrooooo….NOTHING.  UGH!  After calling my step-dad to come over and jumpstart me, because surely THAT’S the problem, still….nothing.  Grrrrrrr.

Suddenly remembering that AAA had been sending me renewal stuff and hoping , HOPING, that only meant they were merely beginning their four-month-early renewal routine and that my card was still in effect.  Checking my number online and….PHEW…still in effect, (apparently I had not put the updated card in my wallet for some reason).

30 minutes later, my friendly tow truck driver arrives and my baby was put on the flatbed.  Fortunately, I realized that the likelihood of the truck actually being fixed today was low, so I put my bike on the back of the truck for later transpo..

Then the flurry of texting and phone calls to arrange pick up for the kiddos since hubby was working late and then back to work where now my poor friend is knee-deep in alligators since I took the three-hour tour at lunch!

Riding my bike home from work (thankfully I live close!) I was trying to look at the bright side that at least I was getting in my 30 minutes of cardio, right?!?!  Once home,  our youngest son asked me to walk the neighbor’s dog with him (and who am I to turn down a little quality time with my boy?!?)….after our walk he wanted to get in his “off day” run for his football homework and asked me to ride my bike with him since it was getting dark (again with the QT)….he wrapped up his two laps (a mile)–at a good pace, mind you–and as I pulled in to the driveway he decided to go for a third lap–since he  was feeling so good–at this point my rear end had to draw the line.  “Have a good run, bud!  Be safe and I’ll see you in a few.”  Mother-0f-the-year.  I know.  Don’t judge.  He’s a smart boy and he made it home safe and I helped him stretch afterward……

Hopefully we get the green machine back today.  However, God’s timing is perfect.  Sometimes He reveals to me WHY stuff happens and sometimes not so much, but at least the timing was pretty good for a “breakdown”:  Lunchtime.  Not on the way to school/work OR on the way home.  Hubby is working from home today so he can taxi us all around until the truck is finished.  Our little life is a 4 mile radius, which is do-able.  Why complain?  I just laughed.  It’s always something.  It makes life spicy.  and hey, it’s only money, right?  This too, will pass and it’s not the end of the world.  It’s just a little soreness on my posterior which means I need to mix in the bike for some cardio and toughen up!

Have a great weekend!

1 Thessalonians 5:18   give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

GOALS: Week Two and counting

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Second week of January.  Typically “resolutions” wax and wane about 3-4 wks in and by mid-February the gym is back to its regular clientele.  Since adopting the “GOAL” method rather than resolutions, my mental outlook is far less stressed and overwhelmed.  I don’t feel the need to do it all at once, but rather slowly and methodically approach my goals in a fashion that I can reasonably and realistically weave into my life routine.

And thus far, here’s the update:

  • Finances.  Moving along nicely.  Paid bills the other day without all the general anxiety that accompanies that task.  Hubby and I are going to look into Yodlee or Mint to have everything in one place and have a snapshot “real-time” look-at-a-glance rather than update the Excel sheet monthly.
  • Quiet time in prayer.  Continuing with my Daily Readings, however, that’s a several-years-old habit; more attention to working toward picking which spiritual book I’d like to work on in addition to my Reading time in the morning.  This week I have an interview with Pat Gohn on Among Women and have some retrospective digging to do prior to the interview; THAT will be some intense mediation time!!   So this week is covered.  Moving on.  One day at a time.
  • Healthy eating/exercise.  I’ve hit the gym twice this week.  Hard.  So sore.  Walked twice.  Pilates video for an hour with sore core following.  Incorporating oatmeal and fruit (working on protein) for breakfast, and additional fruit/vegs during the day.  (Taking this Clean Eating slowly…)  Not rocket science and I’m not dropping lbs like crazy, however, these are good solid habits that I can live with and that’s really the important thing.  If I can see some progress over the next few weeks and definitely by my annual check-up in February that will be motivating.  Baby steps.  One day at a time.

Last night we went to 6 p.m. Mass followed by a concert by Steve Angrisano with the kids.  What a tremendous family time.  Even our “very-14”, 14 year old was enjoying himself within 15 minutes much to his surprise.  (The only downside was, in hindsight, perhaps we should have either left the girls home or saved Mass for this morning…they were absolutely melting down by the end…WAY too tired.  Wish I could say I was gracious about it, but not so much……) Either way.  Great show and bed time was a breeze!

Off to take the girls to church and their Faith Formation class and I’ll be walking, catching up on podcasts, and praying.

***images from the web

Somehow we end up with a cat…..WTHeck?!?!?!?

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For the past two weeks we’ve had an influx of cats in the neighborhood.  We have SEVERAL neighbors who have outside cats and with some new neighbors they apparently brought new cats.  great.  Did I mention I’m not a cat person?  After college, my roommate had two cats and they were pretty cool.  Just did their own deal and once in a while they’d snuggle.  That was it.  No commitment on my part and it was a peaceful coexistence.  Unfortunately, as I’ve gotten older, I have noticed a propensity to sneezing and itchy eyes after prolonged exposure to cats.  Which made it easy to rebuff the kids as they know “Mom is allergic”.  Instead they’ve begged for dogs, rabbits, hamsters…..even fish.  For the last few years I’ve had my hands full enough with kid-business, never mind adding in a pet, regardless of the variety.  Now with Daddi-O home, the requests have doubled.  tripled.  quadrupled.  ugh.  they.  are.  relentless.  I sometimes have to resort to feigning confusion to their requests, not understanding English.  whatever it takes.

And then.  This cat showed up.  Shoo.  Shoo.  Go home, kitty.

The other cats left us alone.  But this one, named Caramel by the little girl who visits the neighbors occasionally, came over, ALL THE TIME .  (Interestingly enough, we asked around and no one claimed her.  she belonged to no one.  yet several neighbors fed her.  it’s a total mystery where she came from).  She stared us down from the storm door.  Stretched on the windowsill.  Mewed.  Purred.  Basically captured the kid’s hearts one by one, hook, line and sinker.  Shoo. Shoo.  Go home, kitty.

She started sneaking in the house if the door was left open.  I had to pick her up one day and scoot her back out.  That furry body.  That swishy tail.  The ginger and white coloring (in a house FULL of redheads, we notice these things…)  Those big hazel eyes.  Puss-in-boots.  Without the boots.  Then I realized she’s not a cat yet, but that kitten/cat.  Dang it.  She reeled me in, too.  And I didn’t sneeze.  Hmmmmmm.  Nevertheless, I was NOT taking this kitty.  Shoo.  Shoo.  Go home, kitty.

I compromised, she became my mission to find a “No-kill” rescue home for her.  My good friend, whom I affectionately refer to as “Cat Lady”, steered me toward a group who did this.  The gal was super receptive and had contacts to get her to a vet and update shots and spay her on the cheap.  But…….with adoptions “in the tank” according to her, she’d see what she could do. It’s a conundrum of what to do in the meantime.

Hubby and I talked about my conversation with the rescue group gal and agreed to donate to her shots/spay, but then I realized I was willing to give it a go.  If he would.  I had to give him the hard sell:  cats are independent, she’s very social, the kids love her, it would TOTALLY get us off the hook for a pet.  Quite honestly it was an easy sell.  We agreed if the allergies got out of hand, we’d find her a new home….which would be excruciating, but we agreed to take it one day at a time.  A quick trip to Wally-world and we were supplied up.  Her vet appointment is this coming week.

For now, I am washing my hands and not touching my face.  harder than you think.  She is cuddled up and purring.  In my lap while I work on my laptop.  In Hubby’s lap while he works.  Sleeping soundly while we watch a movie.  Chasing her catnip mouse and feather stick.

Goals. Part 1: Those pesky finances

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In a recent post of mine, I outlined a set of resolutions goals that I want to focus on for this coming year.  After reading my friend’s post on GOALS, I loved that term and along with the original blog I read HERE on how to successfully manage and keep resolutions goals, I have begun to attack them.

Having had the house purse strings in my total control for 7+ years I am happy to hand them back to my hubby.  And I am reluctant. As we navigated those dark and murky waters of change several years ago and I went from a happy-go-lucky, stay-at-home mama to a night shift, full-time worker balancing family, sleep and work (in that order) I also had to have a quick lesson on family finances.  ICK!  Despising the checkbook and the whole organizing of bills, it was a chore I was thrilled to have nothing to do with for most of our marriage, happily acquiescing to my hubby all financial decisions–it’s his strong point, not mine.  However, once it was necessary, I realized how foolish I was to have kept my head in the sand for so long.  What a burden for one person to carry alone.  It was a conversation we never had with small children running around, one I never found important nor interesting.  Stupid girl.  Until it was important.  It occurred to me how many friends I had/have in this  situation and it was one I vow to not find myself in again.  It’s crucial to running a household and marriage, to be on the same page; balancing the budget sucks, however, to live within one’s means it’s imperative to know what’s coming in and what goes out.  In these past years of economic downturn, I am sure many, many people have learned this lesson the hard way.  Like me.  The left hand MUST know what the right hand is doing.

I did an OK job for the first 5 years of hubby’s incarceration.  We were with my parents and I was able to keep debt to a minimum or nil.  After buying our house a couple of years ago, expenses began to creep up and in and while nothing was ever late or unpaid, the debt grew.  Extravagance wasn’t an issue, just 4 kiddos and LIFE.   It is what it is.   And now it’s time to dig out.

Fast forward to 2012, and after having hubby home for 6 months and working, we are both in a good spiritual and mental place to discuss finances.  Lay it all open.  Full disclosure.  I looked forward to it as much as pulling off a band-aid.  But it is necessary to be united in this area.  Finances are widely known to be a MAJOR factor in marital discord and we’ve had enough of that for a long while, thank you.  Time to address the elephant in the room:

Luke 8:17  For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

So we laid it out, put it on an Excel sheet (TypeA hubby), and have the beginnings of our “plan” to start chipping away.  It won’t be overnight.  It’s going to take some discipline.  I’ll tell you what though, it is an enormous weight off my shoulders to have faced that beast and shared that burden.  I know everyone has their own system and you do what works.  For us though, we share it all: income and expense.  For us, that’s what works.  And we march forward.   How about you?  Head in the sand or fully aware?  It’s a difficult topic and generally finances are off-limits as a discussion.  Unfortunately, I think that’s one of the reasons our economy got to be where it is, no one discusses finances.

Now onto tackling the remainder of the resolutions goals.  Quiet time in prayer and Health. To be continued…..

Winding down and gearing up…

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As we wind down Christmas and our tree accelerates the dropping of the needles daily as ornaments desperately cling to crunchy branches, my mind turns to the coming of the new year.  While I’m not big on making/keeping “Resolutions”, I DO always seem to become reflective on things I’d like to improve upon in the coming year.  The New Year is always full of promise and hope, like new school supplies….unsharpened pencils, reams of paper, crisp folders; ready, willing and able to be molded to our choices.

Even though I am quick to claim I don’t make “Resolutions”, the truth is, of COURSE I do.  I just realize that I am only good at keeping them for a couple of weeks.  Since the gym is generally crowed until about February, I also know I have a lot of company in short-lived resolutions.  However, in the blissful, wide-eyed moments of promise and hope to come in the New Year, I feel propelled and motivated, especially after reading “5 Keys to Making and Keeping Your New Year Resolutions” @ The Hill House.  

My course of action for 2012 includes a few things:

  • Eating more healthy and exercising.  Quite the popular one.  Of course I’d like to lose weight, but the reality is that I’m not getting any younger and as my patients tell me daily, “It’s a B**** getting old!” I want to be in a good place to face those physical challenges getting older brings.  I want to run and bike and play with my kids and BEAT THEM in their games–yes, sometimes I AM competitive!  Therefore, in keeping with “defining the win”, my workouts will primarily occur at lunchtime, 3X a week and my eating will consist primarily of clean-er eating and learning how to ditch the processed stuff AND incorporate that into my family’s diet as well.  A HUGE task for sure, but some truly astounding payoffs as well. 
 Just as the story of Daniel (Daniel 1:8-15)  shows how eating clean makes for stronger, better, faster, it’s also indicative of the fact that everything we need to be properly nourished and strengthened is provided by nature, not Publix. 
  • More focused “Quiet time” in prayer and seeking time with Christ.  While my morning routine begins with The Daily Readings, it often ends there as well.  Since I am trying to cram EVERYTHING into my mornings (Quiet time, Exercise, Writing….) there is no singular focus on any one of them.  My quiet time has long sustained me, given me strength, peace, clarity and guidance; it’s time to return, focused and un-hurried to that precious time.  When I begin my day in prayer and focused on His will for me, everything else seems to fall in place.
Matthew 6:33  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
  • Reintroducing hubby to the finance side of the family and tightening up.  As we can finally begin to dig out of debt with his job adding to the household income, his TypeA personality will be crucial to my tendency to slide…..it’s a team effort for certain and certain to experience growing pains, but  we will be able to balance each other  as well as the budget along with becoming better stewards of all that God sees fit to bless us with, and bless us He has.  Abundantly.

Luke 6:38  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

In reaching for my main goals this coming year, my writing may or may not blossom.  Time will tell.  However, as this has always been more about keeping in touch and therapy for my heart, I’m sure I can always find time to bang out a post now and then; it’s just not a huge priority.  Yet.