Spring Colds

I stayed healthy all winter, no flu, no colds.  Nope, my body decided to wait til Memorial Day weekend to bring on a full-blown (and I use that word because I'm doing a lot of it) cold.  Headache, sore throat, runny nose and eyes.  Blech.  I carried a bunch of tissues in my pocket all day.  I used the hand sanitizer every 10 minutes.  I've taken tylenol and drank plenty of fluids.  And I still feel crappy.  I don't have time for this, I have things to do - important things!  Like get my hair highlighted and trimmed and enjoy the warm weather that's headed our way.

I am a big baby when I have a cold.  But this time, I'm not going to give in.  I worked today.  I'm doing laundry and trying to take care of business here at home.  This cold is not going to get the better of me!

Grown Up Stuff

B and I are being adults and finalizing our will this week.  It hasn't been fun or easy, but it is necessary.  We have been discussing this will for months, probably years.  We would put thoughts down on paper and then change our minds or throw the paper away and time would slip away.  In April this year, Dad asked for about the 100th time if we'd completed our wills and so we bit the bullet and did it.

I do feel like this is something, as a couple, we needed to get done and put behind us.   As an aside, if you don't have a will - please, for the sakes of your families, make one so your loved ones will know what you want!   I think we've learned things about each other during this process.   I have a new respect for my husband and the things that are important to him and I wouldn't want to be traveling through life with anyone but him.

Hot Chips!

When you were growing up did you call barbecue flavored chips "hot chips"?  I'm just wondering if we were the only family that did and still do.  If my brother asked me to get him some hot chips, I'd come home with barbecue every time.  In this world of every and any flavor you can imagine for potato chips - hot chips are still my favorite.

If you've never heard of a little brand call "Fox Family" chips, please try to find them and check them out.  They are made locally in the area I grew up and sold throughout New England.    They have 3 flavors - plain, salt & pepper, and barbecue.   For some reason, I can't find them anywhere near where I live.  I'm hooked on the barbecue and every time I visit my family, I bring a few bags back. 

These chips give a whole new meaning to "Hot Chips!"  They are spicy and you definitely need something to drink when you eat them.  They burn your lips, tongue, gums and throat...and yet I can't stop eating them.  I figure they are hot enough that they are burning right though me and not stopping to make any fat on the way out.

Sadly, I just ate the last of my hot chips from home and I've got to wait several weeks to get more.

Water vs. Diet Coke

One of my facebook friends started a page to help motivate herself and others.  She is issuing challenges to do with the way you eat, drink, etc.  She just started it 2 days ago and her first challenge for yesterday was to double the amount of water you drink in a day.  Well, swallowing my spit would be doubling the amount since I am not a water drinker.  I love my Diet Coke.  I start drinking it at 8 a.m. on a work day and take a sip before I go to bed.  Water, usually, just doesn't fit into my daily intake, but yesterday I decided to take on the challenge.  I drank water all day at work, topping out at 48 ounces.  That's a lot of water for me and a lot of trips to the ladies room.  Bonus - exercise and water! 

The good news, I was down a pound this morning.  The other good news, I felt better about myself knowing that I could do it, and that it was something good for me.  The bad news - man, did I have a headache by about 3 p.m.  I came home and did have a glass of Diet Coke, and then another with supper.  But that's a lot less then I would have had in a normal day.

Today I have had 24 ounces of water so far.  I even took some with me when I went to town!  Oh my, could there be a lifestyle change on the horizon?  Well, right now I have  a glass of soda sitting in front of me as I type.  So maybe I'm mixing it up - more water, less soda, better for me all around.

I don't think I could or want to give up my Diet Coke, but I do think that more water on a daily basis is something that I'm going to work on.

What I did for ice cream.

If you've read this blog, you know I struggle with me weight and it usually wins.  So, I've been on a kick of trying to record what I eat every day and stay under my calories.  We've been hiking and trying to get some exercise in on the weekends and during the week when we can.  It's helping, I've dropped a few ounces and I do feel better about myself. 

Today was a good day.  I didn't snack on things I shouldn't snack on.  I ate healthy.  But when I put in my food for day, I only had 110 calories left for the day and I wanted a sugar free Klondike Bar for 160 calories.  So....I got on the treadmill and walked enough minutes to burn the 50 calories...then I walked a few extra minutes just in case I hadn't been completely truthful or forgot something during the day.  Yeah, I earned my ice cream, the old fashioned way.

I've shocked myself today.  I had been letting things slide, hadn't been paying attention to what I'd been eating and really hadn't cared if I was over on my calories.  Maybe I've turned over a new leaf.  Maybe I've realized that swimsuit and short weather is right around the corner and I don't want to be as flabby as I am right now.  A little less of me would be nice!

So, I exercised for ice cream.  And I'll probably do it again.

Mother's Day Isn't My Favorite Holiday

First, let me say Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms, Aunts, Grandmothers, Foster Moms and Friends out there.  If you have a part in a child's life and provide a positive influence - then you deserve a huge thank you!

Mother's Day as a kid, is a chance to treat your mom special, give her a gift, tell and show her how much you love her.  It's really something that should be done every day of the year.  I lost my mom 2 years ago to ovarian cancer, so Mother's Day is reminder of what I had in my live and what I miss every day.  I am so thankful that I had my mom for almost 48 years.  She was simply the best.  My sister and I went and got a sweet little basket of pansies yesterday and put them on her grave.  She would have loved them and talked about their pretty little faces.

B and I were foster parents, hoping to adopt.  That didn't happen and we only spent about 6 months parenting.  All my adult life, I've dreaded mother's day because I wasn't a mom.  But in my heart, I know I would have been a great mother and that I was not less of a person because that didn't happen.    I grew up in a little country church where the moms are honored, brought up front, given gifts.  And every year, I dreaded it.  I never got to stand up front.  I got to set in the pew.  There isn't an Aunts Day or a Mentor Day or a Special Friend Day but there should be.

Today I was heading home from a whirlwind weekend of visiting with family and I stopped to gas up the vehicle and get a soda.  The gentleman behind the counter gave me my change and wished me a Happy Mothers Day.  I smiled and thanked him.  It made me feel good to think that I looked like I could be a mom.  

I'm glad that I got to be part of a special day for the mom's in my life - my mother-in-law, sister and sister-in-law.  They are 3 beautiful women, inside and out.

So, I've made it through another Mother's Day, waiting for Aunts Day!