Memorial Day 2012 - Thank you

First and foremost, THANK YOU to all the men and women in the military for everything you have done and will do. So that I might be able to believe what I choose to believe, dream any dream and love my family. I appreciate all of you so that  across the country we may all have different opinions and belief systems. I nothing but the utmost respect for the sacrifices many of you have made and may have to make in the future. My parting thought is that may you and yours be blessed.

(image available through clker.com)

Finding my rhythm

Sleep is one of those consistent past times in my life that I have always loved. However, how much is too much and how much is not enough? Those mornings I wake up and feel completely rested leads to a day I feel on top my game. I love those days. However, sometimes I do things that get in the way of a good nights rest. That is why I did a little looking around and found what helps getting a better nights rest.

I'm a list person, but I found this information through the following article from the National Sleep Foundation.
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/healthy-sleep-tips
Because I like lists, here are the pointers -
1. Have a specific time to get up and go to bed, keep it consistent even on weekends. - your body relies on consistency
2. Do the same relaxing activity the hour before you go to bed. - helps you wind down
3. Keep the bedroom - dim, quiet and comfy. - promotes peaceful sleep
4. Don't sleep with a lumpy pillow, or bed. - your body can't relax if is in an awkward position
5. Only water 2-3 hours before bed. - digesting food is work, make sure your body is done working for the day.
6. Exercise regularly, avoid right before bed.
7. Stay away from nicotine or caffeine. - revving your engine before bed is a bad idea.
8. Avoid alcohol before bed. - it's recommended however, even 1 beer sometimes makes me sleepy.

These are just general tips. I've already started working on the first one, and been doing pretty well (except for Friday movie nights). That along with the fact that 3 and 4 are automatics for me. I will have to work on numbers 2, 5, and 6. I can say with confidence that when I woke up early in the mornings to exercise I did feel like I slept better.

I'm hoping that finding this rhythm will help me get into other ones also. It's all about putting one foot in front of the other. Healthy living doesn't happen overnight.

For now, though, sweet dreams!

Resurfacing

Yikes. It's been awhile. Sorry folks.

I won't recap everything but I did veer away from my goals - who has not come across a time like that? - Time to come back. This is for food, which can be so much fun and challenging at the same time. I spent 4 weeks exercising was not seeing anything. 5lbs water weight sure. But I was discouraged, until I realized (after that sad phase) I hadn't looked at what and how I was eating. Rookie mistake. Working on it.

Nutrition is not something I studied or even really paid that much attention to when in school. I should have as I know the basics, i.e. bread = carbs = starch. I am lacking in knowledge on the stuff in the middle, application, etc. However, I do know the basic idea that chocolate is not an all important food group and my closet addiction to Diet Coke (don't go there, I know) does not help. Thus, I will try to improve on when I crave a Dt. Coke to grab water instead. I'm keeping it simple. Also, you can have my Dt. Coke but nobody touches my chocolate. Ever.

I am really stoked about how to find alternative ways to satisfy my cravings. Because when THAT time of month rolls around this chic will turn into a three headed Hydra if there is no intake of chocolate. Honestly, many have tried and many have fallen. The alternative, which is where the "stoked" part comes in is this wonderful blog spot!  Two Peas & Their Pod - many many kudos for 2 Ingredient Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I tried it, and am use this as my base. My current concoction is the base from the blog with unsweetened cocoa, a few drops of vanilla extract and vanilla yogurt. The reason I added the yogurt is mainly because once I have one serving I tend to want another. Not sure why but I rarely buy it. When I do buy vanilla yogurt, it does not stick around for long. I will have to follow up with another post or edit so stay tuned.

Currently I am sticking with aerobics, and I do count when I do a deep clean. Deep clean for me is removing almost anything that I can lift or move by myself then wiping/cleaning every surface. This mainly applies to kitchen and living room but trust me when I say "feel the burn baby!"

Tata for now!