Time for Change

I'm rebellious, did you know that?  Terribly, terribly rebellious.  It is one of my character traits that I alternately embrace and dislike.  I am overweight.  I have been overweight for the last 12 years.  That is very hard to write.  I have never been skinny.  People used words like "big boned" for me, but I am fat.  I am cursed to have two naturally thin siblings.  Bony.  Little.  They can eat any darn thing they want.  To be honest, skinny people I am not related to do not bother me at all.  The ones I am related to irk the heck out of me.  It doesn't help that even when I was at the low end of my healthy weight, these same folks were telling me I needed to cut back on what I ate.  I lived on Sundrop, (and almost Sundrop alone) and they thought I should eat LESS? (if you've never had Sundrop-A. you're missing out, B. tangier version of Mountain Dew with just as much sugar and caffeine)

Because of my rebellious nature, I sort of wanted to prove that I was okay even though I was overweight.  For years I was.  I saw my doctor regularly, good cholesterol, good blood pressure, everything was okay.  Lately my blood pressure has been creeping up.  I tried to pretend that I was okay.  I was OKAY.  But the day came when I wanted to be more than okay.  I want to be healthier and I want to have more energy.  I want my kids to see me making healthy choices.  It's risky to be putting all of this in a blog when I have just started on this path.  Some of you are going to see me at a conference next weekend, and guess what?  I'm not strictly following the food plan when I am there.  (I'm stressed enough about the conference, can't even think about tracking points!)

There is another part to this equation, my wonderful husband of fifteen years.  He has his own story to tell, but he has also gained weight that he is ready to lose.  We have decided to try Weight Watchers together to see if we can become healthier.  We hope that by doing this together, we will be able to stick with it and support each other.  I feel like we are at the beginning of a very long journey.  However it is not a journey that I dread, I am excited to see what's going to happen.  I'll let you know how it goes, and if you have any suggestions or hints, I would LOVE to hear them!

 

Getting Out of the way of a Good Time

I am frantic.  I am so far behind.  I started my new blog.  I am trying to do the "31 Days to Build a Better Blog" challenge and am woefully behind.  I leave for New York City for the first time for the Blogher Conference NEXT WEEK!  So what do I do?  I go out of town for 3 days.  Then my sister's children are in town so my children want to spend every waking moment with them.  I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO!  I guess it should be referred to as "every woman's lament."  We all have so much that we need to do, and so much that we want to do.  There is never enough time in the day.

So yesterday when I was thinking that I could get caught up a little in my own little blog world, my children wanted to meet their cousins at the beach.  I was irritated.  I started to climb up on my martyr pedestal and list all of the things I was doing for everyone else and is it too much to ask for a little bit of time.   One major problem with being a martyr is that everyone misses out.  I pulled myself together and grabbed our beach bag.  It was a beautiful day at the beach.  The tide was out, the water was somewhat calm but waves were breaking enough on the sandbar for some boogie boarding.  The blog is still here.  I still have so much I want to write and so much I need to do to be ready for the conference BUT I had a beautiful afternoon watching my kids and their cousins splash, laugh, and ride the waves.  I cannot do it all, therefore I to choose to play when I can. 

This was our crowd heading over to the beach.

And just a few of the waves that were caught!

What IS in a woman's purse?

It's the age old question.  Of course, my husband never knows what to call my purse.  He usually asks something like this "Do you have your purse/pocketbook/wallet thing?"  I admit that I contribute to the confusion because sometimes I only carry a large wallet, then other times I have a much larger bag that the wallet goes into.  I still think it's funny that he can never figure out what to call it, and I just think pocketbook is a funny word. 

This month I am taking part in the SITS/Problogger 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge.
Today's challenge was to write a list post.  Today has been a ridiculously long day for me and my creativity has flown the coop.  As such, I decided to list what is in my purse/pocketbook/wallet thingie.  You, lucky reader, are in luck because I am carrying a BIG bag today. 

• empty eyeglass case
• yellow plastic case with neosporin and two bandaids
• blink n clean eyedrops
• Benadryl readymist
• nail clippers
• 2 nail files
• inhaler (had bad bronchitis early summer)
• saline solution
• contact lens case
• appointment cards for orthodontist (if you are in the area, Dr. Gierie is great!)
• small wallet with business cards and inexplicably a pair of earrings
• another small first aid kit (I promise we aren't accident prone)
• reading glasses
• small baggie of soft peppermints from Fresh Market
• 7 small hair clips
• 1 Almay lip gloss
• 2 Philosophy lip glosses
• eyes lips face travel mirror
• small flashlight
• Splenda
• antibacterial hand gel
• car charger for my cell phone
• 3 Sharpie clickable pens (seriously one of my favorite things right now!) 
• headphones
• extra key ring (disney of course) with customer loyalty cards
• Ipod nano
• extra microphone for my Kodak Zi8 video camera
• actual wallet with driver's license, credit cards, small amount of cash, insurance card and Disney Annual Pass (valid through next July, wanna go?)
• small Vera Bradley cosmetic bag with tylenol, advil, benadryl and tweezers
• last but not least, and Oscar Mayer weenie whistle (no, I don't know why)

That is my list of what's in my bag, I want to know what's in yours.  (I really want to know if anyone can tell me why there is a weenie whistle in my bag!)

I have not been compensated for mentioning any of these products, this is truly what I found in my purse!

Why a new Blog?

I have spent the last two weeks going over my goals from January and February of this year.  I have actually done more towards reaching them than I realized (that deserves its own post!!)  One area that I was lacking in was posting to my blog.  I looked through my posts, and several that I had written I never posted on the blog.  Why?  They didn't seem to fit.  Weird, huh? My blog, my rules, right?  I took this past weekend and spent very little time on the computer ~now I'm just talking crazy~ and the idea for a complete blog makeover took root.

So why "A Million Boxes?"  You know that habit we all have of putting people in box?  This is my own small protest.  For the last 17 years I have either been employed by a church or my spouse has been.  Do you want to know how to stop conversation at a party?  Even quicker than playing "the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?" Just mention that you work at a church.  Crickets, people.  You will only hear the sound of crickets.  Just because you might believe differently than me, it doesn't mean I am going to evangelize you at every opportunity.  (anymore than the fact that I am overweight means I am going to try to steal your dessert){okay, I might try to steal your dessert, or -even better- get another for us to share!}

I want to be clear.  I am not, nor have I ever been, ashamed of my faith.  That is just my best example of a box I am put in.  I am also put in a "mommy" box.  I've been to parties and events where there were not many parents in attendance.  I was looked at like a relic.  I am overweight.  I've been in crowds where this is a crime worse than kicking puppies.  All of these things are a part of who I am.  My faith, being a mom, being overweight, it all comes together and colors who I am.  I just don't like being put in a box.  I know that I have been guilty of this as well.  It's too easy to make a snap judgment about someone.  Except there is so much to every person that to minimize them does them an injustice.  So throw the boxes out people.  OR put those boxes to good use!

The other reason I love "A Million Boxes?"  At this moment we have hundreds of boxes.  Not kidding.  Between my house and my parents we have a ridiculous amount of boxes.  We are all pack rats and we are learning to let go.  When I am not taking care of my children, or doing laundry, or attempting to clean, I spend my time trying to get rid of boxes.  We are making giant leaps towards getting rid of clutter, but we have so far to go.

So here I am.  It's not quite as pretty as my first blog.  That feels more like me, too.  I'm curious about you and what box you're in?

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Ten Things to Pack When staying in a Vacation Rental

 

I love the Top Ten Tuesday because I seriously love me some lists.  Head on over to the lovely Amanda's blog at www.ohamanda.com and check out some more of the fun lists!! Even better than that?  Come up with your own top ten!! Just be sure to link up at Amanda's so everyone can find you!  My list is Ten Things to pack when you are staying in a vacation rental.  We have done this a lot as an extended family and found a few things that really can make a difference in your stay.  Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Mingle 7/5/2010

Holy Cow!  With all the 4th of July hoopla, I almost forgot that today was Monday which means, MONDAY MINGLE TIME!!!  I love the Monday Mingle, big thanks to Jennifer at www.eightymphmom.com for hosting.  If you want to join in, put up your own vlog and go to her site and link up.  Every week a lot of fun people do the Monday Mingle and it's a great way to get to know some of your fellow vloggers/bloggers.  Hope you all have a great week!

Fourth of July Fireworks

My family has had a love/hate relationship with fireworks ever since our children came along.  I love fireworks, love to watch them and ooh and aah.  My children, on the other hand, have abhorred fireworks for a long time.  When we go to Disney World we still find places outside of the park to watch the fireworks so the kids won't complain.    I keep waiting for them to get old enough to appreciate them.  Part of the problem comes with the "fire" part of the equation.  They have not been "play with fire" kind of kids.  We have a fireplace and have fires all winter and neither of my children will light the fire.  They don't even like to light birthday candles!!  Last year my son got braver and started lighting some of the small fireworks that we buy for the Fourth.  This year my daughter asked if she could light some of the fireworks. 

I think we're over the fireworks aversion!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Thanks to all who have served or are serving our great nation to protect our freedom!