Jen's Post W30 Log

[pjena]

Confession time.  I've been dipping into the AB this week.  I think it's my way of having trouble getting back on track after offroading last weekend.  I am going to nip it in the bud now.  Need to get fully back on track. 

 

I'm tired.  I was up just a bit later than normal, but I'm just tired.  I was in all day meeting yesterday and will be again today. I think that is part of it.  I miss my lunchtime walk and thoe little bits of downtime between tasks.  Tomorrow should be normalish again and then I'm off Friday to get ready to go to the cabin. 

Speaking of cabin, I WILL NOT use it as an exucuse to eat junk (like I usually do...).  I will use it as an opportunity to eat very clean and to relax and to fully recharge after last weekend. 

[LadyM]

AB is that for me, too, and the good news is dipping into it clearly communicates something very useful! Now you're listening! For me, I think of it as sugar substitute and a less-than-desirable, which means it's a once every four days food max. I wish I didn't have to make all these rules for myself, but alas. My free spirit requires structure so as not to take me down!

 

So happy you've got the cabin to look forward to. I hope you do give yourself a couple of unusual things to look forward to--maybe that will help curb the impulse to let loose and go wild? Or maybe it will have the opposite effect. I remember you talking about some kind of bread or something that you always look forward to having only at the cabin? Could you allow yourself to savor something really special and eat compliant the rest of the time? I'm always striving to learn the middle way for myself, to balance the rigidity with freedom in a way that is healthy both physically and emotionally. I hope you find that for yourself at the cabin, especially since it seems like perfect timing for a getaway to help you recharge and revive!

[SaraRuns]

All day meetings exhaust me.  Especially if it is a mostly listening experience for me. I hope it goes quickly for you today.

 

Awareness is a good thing.  For the cabin, make sure you have lots of great options, I know that helps me when I want to jump into some less good.

 

Is this a weekend trip or a longer get away?

[pjena]

The cabin is just a quick weekend this time. 

 

Good memory, M!  The cinnamon bread is a cabin treat.  A bakery near the cabin created dairy free cinnamon bread for my son and named it after him!  He LOVES that his name is on the menu board. LOL  We'll be going up too late in the day to get any for this trip, which is probably good.  I'm planning on just eatnig what I eat this trip.  I need to recover my rhythm after last weekend's off-roading, so I don't want to plan any treats.  And the AB is not coming along!  I will be very happy with eggs, kale, sweet potatoes, salads, tuna and avocados. 

[SaraRuns]

Sometimes a quick weekend away is all you need.

[pjena]

No dipping into AB yesterday.  On my way to getting my rhythm back! 

 

NS34-1 today. 

 

Not getting enough sleep.  I need to get to bed a bit earlier.  We're just so darned busy right now with soccer and the end of school.  Last night I was up late emptying 9yos backpack and sorting out the garbage from the supplies we can keep and the papers to keep from those to recycle.  It could have waited, but I just wanted to get it done so I didn't hae a huge pile of junk on my kitchen table.  I will likely be doing the same with 12yos stuff tonight.  Tomorrow is the last day of school.  The kids are so excited.  Next week is summer!

[SaraRuns]

Great work on the AB!

 

I haven't been getting enough sleep either.  This morning was a hard wake up. Yay for summer!  My son has two half days next week, but then he's free.    I'm waiting for them to tell us we don't need to send in bookbags anymore.

 

ETA: Enjoy your weekend at the cabin!

[LadyM]

Isn't it funny how NOT doing something has to be practiced as a habit, too. But it gets easier the more you practice it. Good for you!

 

Yes, yes, yes to sweet sleep. I don't know how you moms do it without utterly cracking. All the years of compromised sleep. I mean, that was grad school for me, but now that that's behind me I don't have anyone but me (and work) making me wake up before I want to. I do think it's especially difficult and important to get ourselves to bed at a reasonable time in the summer. I'm on the Central/Eastern time zone border, so we have especially glorious long bright days. It's tough to go to bed when it's still light out, but worth it. Thank God for blackout curtains!

[Beets]

The cinnamon bread named after your son. Yes I remember that too!

I also need some kind of rule for myself when it comes to chocolate. Just having it in the house is too tempting when, like today, I got too busy for lunch and am still majorly stressing.

I don't want to make it all or nothing but I need a rule.

Quick weekend getaway sounds perfect! My sister, who lives at the beach, is letting us use her house next week while she's away. I cannot wait, but my first thought was to the bakery on her corner that's a beach-associated guilty pleasure for me.

[Physibeth]

I've been pondering rules like that for myself too as I'm quickly approaching the end of this Whole30 round. I have been thinking of trying a rule of 1 serving of 1 item with added sugar per day for the next 30 day period to see how that affects me. So in the context of chocolate that would be 1 square.

[pjena]

NS39!  One dessert in 39 days is amazing for me and my huge sweet tooth.  I'm getting plenty of sweet from the delicious fruit that is in season right now and I'm much happier for it. 

 

The cabin was pretty good.  Not perfect, but much improved from other years.

 

In the past, the cabin was an excuse to eat tons of treats.  When the boys went out fishing, I'd end up grazing on sugar until I was very mad at myself. 

 

This weekend, was MUCH better.  I did some dipping of carrots into AB.  Not the best habit.  But, if my biggest "sin" of the cabin weekend was too many carrots and nutbutter, I'm doing pretty great.  No sweets or desserts of any kind.  Yay me!  Besides the AB dipping, we ate at a grad party where I did the best I could.  They had a taco bar.  I had some taco meat, some salsa and some lettuce.  I did not have any cake or chocolate dipped pretzels (which I remember diving into face first at their older kid's party a couple years ago!).  It wasn't particularly satisfying.  No guac or olives or other fat.  That is probably why I was hungry later that night and ended up getting my fat via the AB jar.  My 9yo and I declared that not only is it not a taco bar without guac, it's hardly even a MEAL without guac. LOL  We did end up getting cinnamon bread.  I had one thin slice each morning with my eggs and kale and that was it.  I'm ok with that.  I also had too much coffee (waking at 5 for fishing is rough) and too little water.  But, overall, I felt so much better coming home from the cabin that in past years.  And, despite the AB dipping this past week, weight and clothes fitting is back to where it was before the date night dinner last weekend. It took all week to get back to normal.  It might have been quicker without the other little offroads (AB - I'm talking to you!).  Good info to have, though. 

 

We came home Sunday night because 9yo has a day camp this week.  But, I left my Monday vacation day on the schedule.  I managed to fit in TWO yoga classes with my favorite teacher.  One in the morning and one in the evening.  I was WIPED out by the end of the 2nd class.  It was great!  We also met with three contractors.  We're hoping to do a serious remodel of our kitchen this fall and are in the process of figuring out if we can stomach the cost of hiring a contractor or if we have to be our own general contractor with all the delays and headaches that brings.  Fingers crossed that we go the contractor route.  I'm not sure I have the energy to remodel my own kitchen.  In between meetings, I managed to cook a big chicken dinner and make the leftovers into a broc/chicken salad for tonight's dinner.  I love making two dinners at once. 

 

Hope all had a great weekend!

[SaraRuns]

Great job at the cabin, and 39 days No Sweets is great!  I love the conversation you had with your son about guac.

 

A vacation day with nothing planned, isn't that a great feeling, glad you got to do the two yoga classes.

 

Renovating your kitchen is one of those exciting/scary prospects.  I hope you can fit a contractor into your budget, it will definitely take out some of the scariness.  Trying to manage that while working full time is not something I would relish.

[LadyM]

Hooray for a wonderful weekend, yoga, yummy bread in moderation, happy talk about guac and NS39!

[pjena]

Yeah, it's a BIG project.  We're taking down a bunch of walls and moving things around, not just in the kitchen, but laundry room, mudroom and bathroom.  Basically, we're gutting half the main floor.  I think a general contractor is a good idea.  We've done it ourselves for other projects - a bathroom, a basement bedroom, etc, but this is way too big and way too much could go wrong.

 

NS40! 

 

Big excitement for us last night was my back car window being shattered by a foul ball while we were watching a soccer game.  I was pretty upset (thought about a glass of wine, but didn't - yay me).  Once the shock wore off, I realized it's really not a big deal.  It's much better than body damage.  I'm just working at home and the glass people will come fix it today.  No big deal. 

[LadyM]

Fabulous attitude!

I am convinced that balanced hormones from true nourishment and avoiding the bad guys (I'm looking at you, sugar and alcohol especially) W9 style really helps facilitate this kind of calm removed approach to the shit that befalls us. The shit will never end, but how we respond to it certainly can. And that changes everything!

Good for you, lady!

[SaraRuns]

That is a huge project, but I'm sure it will make such a difference when completed.

 

Yikes!  Glad there was no body damage.  And I'm impressed with your way to rework this into seeing the positive.  I'm surprised they can fix the car so quickly.

[Physibeth]

Yikes about the window but you handled it with grace and that is amazing! Hope your remodel goes forward well! I agree that hiring a contractor might be the way to go and take much more stress off the project for you all.

[pjena]

The window is all fixed. 

 

Tummy is a little off this week - kind of bloaty and just off.  And weight is up again.  I'm blaming the broccoli chicken salad (healthy foodie blog) I've been eating.  It's delicious, but in the past we've theorized that broccoli may cause me to bloat.  Not that I'll stop eating broccoli.  Just good to note.  Having a reason keeps me from freaking out.   I know that now that the salad is gone, I'll feel normal again soon, so no need to worry.  And maybe not have broccoli too often.  The slightly wonky tummy also makes me feel like eating.  It's annoying that when my tummy is "active" I want to feed it.  I had to try very hard to resist knowing that it wouldn't help.

 

9yo is a terror this week!  I think he's exhausted after a weekend at the cabin (very early mornings for fishing) and then going right into a week of day camp.  Yesterday, he cried when I woke him up and cried again as soon as he got home.  So, last night, I canceled yoga, had husband do the soccer driving for 12yo, and stayed home.  I got 9yo a bath and dinner and in bed by 6:45!  He is much better today. I think the down night was good for me, too.  I got a good night sleep and feel pretty good today (except for the slightly wonky tummy).  Tonight is a soccer game (I will park on the other side of the parking lot this time!!!!) and then packing the kids for scout camp.  I apparently have to put all new patches on a new shirt for 9yo.  Grrrr.  Husband's lack of planning ahead drives me nuts.  At least I thought to ask about it yesterday so he will get the patches today.  Otherwise, I would have been doing it Friday afternoon in a panic before they had to leave. 

[SaraRuns]

Sorry about the wonky tummy.  One of the positives about all this introspection is understanding what causes issues, even if you are still choosing to engage in the activity (eating broccoli).

 

Glad the window is fixed!

 

Sounds like you made the smart move with your 9yo.  I know my son gets out of whack very easily when he doesn't get enough rest.  Lots of crying and even more whining!  And my husband promised him he could stay up until midnight one weekend night as a treat for being done with school.     I was not consulted on that decision.  Worst of all, my husband does not deal well with said crying/whining.  Can't wait for the day after that late night!

 

So does this mean you are getting a weekend alone???

[LadyM]

You are such a good mama!

[pjena]

I will get some time alone, but I'm acutally going to go see my grandma, too.  I have a ton to do, so I'm hoping to have plenty of time at home, too.  I need to make strawberry rhubarb jam before the rhubarb is done for the season.  I also have some scout banking stuff to sort through.  And I need to dye my hair. LOL

 

Tummy feels ok today.  I need to be mindful this weekend to eat in a way that makes my tummy happy.  Just to get myself / keep myself on track.  When I'm not guided by the structure of feeding my kids, I can tend to get of track.  The NS goal will help a ton.  The worst I can do is eat too many carrots and AB (which I'll try not to do, but still, compared to what I could do, it's really not so bad).  Gma doesn't drink, so I'm good there.  She does, though, like to offer sweets.  I'll have to politely decline. 

 

I have plenty of yoga planned, too.

[LadyM]

Sounds like you got this, lady. I've found good success distracting sweets and bad food offerers by politely declining and then quickly changing the subject. Steering the conversation elsewhere right away tends to head off the persistent and well-meaning food pushers.

 

Good luck, and I hope you can luxuriate in the self-care items on your list!

[Beets]

You are doing amazingly on the NS front! Bravo. And yeah carrots and AB is really a minor vice compared with all day sugar grazing.

Since my husband has done residential remodeling and is starting up a general contracting biz I cannot imagine doing that yourself. I mean, eek, people run into huge over budgeting issues with a contractor. (Some ppl blame the contractor, and sometimes prob fairly.)

A new kitchen sounds fab though!

Ditto LM on luxuriating in self-care. I often feel too rushed or like I'm wasting time when I'm getting my hair done. But I'm trying lately to enjoy that time.

[SaraRuns]

I hope you were able to accomplish all you were hoping over the weekend.  And I know you resisted the sweets temptation. 

[pjena]

Hi - So much to talk about today! 

 

The weekend was good.  The poor boys had to camp in the rain, but they still had a good time.  I got a ton done.  Lunch with Grandma, 2 yoga sessions, jam making, tons of laundry and cookup, some bills and banking stuff and I dyed my hair.  

 

On Friday night, at yoga class (I would never try it on my own at home, M!  Promise), I fell out of handstand and landed on my head HARD!  It hurt!  But, I am ok.  The top of my head hurts.  I probably bruised my head.  But, I never had a headache or any signs of concussion or anything like that.  I iced my neck and shoulders and head that night, took an epsom salt bath and took some ibuprofen.  I was sure I'd be sore Saturday morning, but I was not.  I felt well enough to go to yoga again and even did handstand again, but this time did not attempt to take my feet off the wall without a spotter.  That was dumb.

 

For Father's Day, I made a strawberry rhubarb crisp dessert.  It was SO hard to resist, but I didn't have any.  Didn't even lick the spoon.  I was very full from a huge dinner and dessert wouldn't have made me feel better and so it wasn't worth using up one of my few exceptions for my NS summer.  So, yay me!

 

Now the bad part, I got a cold sore.    So sad.  I haven't had one since Vegas in January (and this is a tiny one compared to that massive outbreak).  My working theory was that sugar (or alcohol in the case of Vegas) suppresses my immune system which allows the virus to flare up, so when I'm eating clean (i.e. limited sugar), I don't get cold sores.  Getting one now, after all this time of having barely any sugar, is disappointing.  I'm wondering, though, could a physical injury affect the immune system?  Could falling on my head have distracted my immune system enough to let the virus get through?