May 25, 2011

Moving is stressful. I know it, you know it, every member of the United States military knows it. But, you know what happens when you’re under that stress? You have to find ways to deal with it, find ways to work through it. Find ways to get rid of whatever’s causing you stress.

Moving stress requires a lot of work and attention. We have moved not once, but twice in the last four months. That takes a lot out of a person. Or people. Especially people that have been forced to leave the lifestyle they’ve known for the last four years.

Not only have we moved back to a life we haven’t known for years, we’ve moved into a house that needs a lot of TLC. When you’re the mom, all the T and the L come from you. I’ve been spending the last four months giving everything that I’ve had to my husband, kids, dogs, and then the house. When one o’clock in the morning rolls around, I don’t have anything left for myself. It’s a sad feeling.

I finally decided that even if I am exhausted, I am going to give to myself. I may be a little extra tired in the morning, but I will feel better that I took some time to do something that I wanted to do.

That thing that I’m wanting to do is write. My brain aches when I don’t get to stick pen to paper, or fingers to keys. I love my family, but writing is my passion. I know, I may not be that great at it, but I do not write for you (not yet, anyway). I write for me. Spending a couple hours with my music and my blog are even better than a glass of wine and a book. But, come to think of it, that glass of wine is sounding pretty good, too.

Barefoot and Planting

70 degrees, sunny, a light breeze. Perfect conditions to walk barefoot through the garden. Two gardens, to be exact. Two plots in our lower yard were tilled last week. Which means, for the past week, my husband has been harping on his mother and me to get something in the ground.

Today was that day. It couldn’t have been nicer outside. It was a family effort, which made the planting even sweeter. Grandma, the grandkids and I stuck so many fun seeds in the dirt. Rows were crooked. Mounds for vining fruits and veggies were uneven. Names of plants were written sideways on the plant stakes after seeds were sown, making for some very interesting handwriting.

My husband is going to look at the garden in a few days, and wonder what we were thinking. You know what? We weren’t really thinking. We stuck our fingers and toes in the earth and put things where they felt best. You don’t get much more organic than that. And that, is what summertime memories are made of.

“In the garden, my soul is sunshine.”

Mother Nature needs to make up her mind. Three days ago it was in the 90s here, and this morning it was 43deg when I woke up. For a while, I was worried that my plants wouldn't make it into the ground on time. Today I freaked out because I left my citrus fruits outside overnight.

I can't keep up w/ MN's mood swings! My sinuses are killing me. That is, when I'm not sneezing so hard I'm afraid my brains are going to fly out of my nose. Benadryl is my new favorite candy flavor~I'm popping them like Tic Tacs.

Hopefully summer is around the corner, so that Mother Nature's hormones will be on a more even keel. Then all the beautiful flowers will make the sinus pain worthwhile.

Today my husband spent the entire day working in my kitchen. No, he wasn't making an elaborate meal. It was something even better ... He was remodeling. He moved my stove and refrigerator; installed a dishwasher, counter and sink, and even cleaned up after himself.

This entire day of work was his Mothers' Day gift to me. I kind of missed breakfast in bed, but I'll take a remodel that will make my life easier any day! Unfortunately he wasn't able to complete the whole thing, but he's finishing up tomorrow. So technically, I'm getting TWO days of remodel from him!

My husband is a man of few words, especially those expressing emotions. But he does still show love-by trying to make my life as a stay at home mom as easy and stress free as possible. I'm getting the message loud and clear today, Babe. I love you, too!

Wear Proper Shoes! a public service announcement

I have a charlie horse. It’s in the arch of my foot. I am learning the hard way, when they say wear proper workout shoes, you should listen.

Last summer when I was on vacation for a week, my husband’s dog ate one of my good athletic shoes while her sitter was in the shower. In hopes of not missing out on workout days, I bought some very cheap sneaks to hold me over until I could make it to a sports store.

Shortly after that purchase, my girlfriend and I stopped working out. Life just took over. Our husbands were home, our kids got sick, we provided childcare into the late hours of the evening. By the time we could get away for a little exercise, we both fell asleep instead.

Fast forward about eight months. (Yeah, I know, eight months is a long time to go without exercising.) New home, new state, new life. My husband is the heaviest he’s ever been, and I’m not far behind. Two of our dearest friends are getting married in about three weeks. My lovely husband decides we should do the Insanity Workout to slim down.

All that jumping around gets painful when your shoes don’t fit correctly. My feet were sliding around within them. There is no support for my arches. Since my feet were not comfortable, I was over compensating with my other muscles. My back is killing me, my calves are clenched tighter than Hank Hill’s butt cheeks, and it hurts just to breathe!

Moral of the story? I’m going to be hoofing it to a Lady Foot Locker as soon as possible. I will not settle for less than awesome in workout shoes. My ploy to get a foot rub from the husband didn’t work last night. And, I will never go this long without exercise again. My abs of steel have turned to flabs of j-ello.