You're My Inspiration

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

Another post about women in my life who inspire me. This person I met when I was fourteen years old, and we have been best friends ever since. Our friendship has endured the past sixteen years - years of our life that have seen many dramatic changes from becoming adults, to living on our own, to starting careers, getting married, having children. Our relationship is easy and we've never had to question how strong it is because we have just always known that we were going to be sisters for life. We have not always agreed on things, we have sometimes been in different places in our lives, but our respect and loyalty for one another has always remained constant. We have been there for everything in each other's lives and have shared many happy memories together. This person is an inspiration to me because she presses on. Lazy is not an option for her. It doesn't even occur to her to give up on things. She is a very giving person and is always doing for others. She remains active in her day to day life, whether it be going to dance class, putting together a volleyball team, going to the gym, getting up at 8am for soccer, or signing up for a race.  She also has an artistic side that not everyone knows about. She does everything with her whole heart and loves everyone with her whole being. Is she perfect? Heck no! But she always has good intentions in everything that she does. Her husband and step-daughter are lucky to have her. She is the centre of their household, the one who keeps it all together. She is one of the most selfless people I know.  She's not afraid to demonstrate her emotions. Despite being a grown up, she is not too proud to call her Mom for advice. Despite being a chick, she's not too good to get her hands dirty. Despite having a kind heart, she is not afraid to say it how it is. She genuinely is a lover of life. But the thing that inspires me the most is the fact that she always presses on in the face of challenges. When life doesn't go as planned, she keeps moving, keeps striving, doesn't give up. So that is what I am going to remember today - my friend's ability to endure, withstand, and keep doing, no matter what.

Other people who inspire me:

triplet lady, mountain climber, wise one

RANT OR RAVE

Another collection of beautiful things. These bring back good memories from a cottage vacation. 

Other beautiful things:

backyard creatures, island get-away, old french city

NOTE TO SELF

Date Night

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

Well last night my hubby and I went on our first date night since Maya has been born. We've got out a few times before with friends, but nothing with just the two of us. We did the standard dinner and a movie. We received a gift card from Chris' co-workers when Maya was born so we used that to pick our restaurant. It was wonderful reconnecting and spending time with each other and the movie we saw was actually entertaining. 

Before the grandparents came over to baby sit, I took a few pictures of Maya and I, since I actually was wearing make up and since I actually took the time to blow dry my hair. Both of these things have not really been a regular occurrence lately and I don't want Maya to look back on pictures of her childhood and have no nice ones of us together.

And then of course the geeky part of me decided to take one of those pictures with the timer feature on our camera. I was getting all sentimental about this being our first date as parents - especially since our first date was a dinner and a movie when I was sixteen years old and Chris was eighteen. We were just two naive teenagers talking about our futures and now we are grown adults, with our twenties behind us, and parents of a beautiful baby girl. My how things change!

So before I get carried away with the nostalgia of it all, I will get to the point of what motivates me today. Before our date I was a bit anxious about eating out at a restaurant that didn't have menu items which would meet the eating guidelines I have been following. I was also worried that straying from my diet would cause me to fall off the wagon so to speak.  My hubby reminded me that it is ok to indulge once in a while and so I just ordered whatever appealed to me without thinking about how unhealthy it may be. It was nice to have white bread, and a salad with creamy dressing, and a potato with regular sour cream, etc. However, by the end of the meal I was feeling kind of sick, uncomfortably full, and tired.  I was bloated and my head hurt. Both of us realized that going out to dinner and adding on all these unhealthy things to our food just isn't that appealing anymore.  It didn't seem worth the uncomfortableness we experienced afterwards. After the movie we also went and got some ice cream, which used to be my favourite thing, but even that just reinforced the feelings of ickiness we had after dinner. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable to eat all of these things at the time, but immediately afterwards it was replaced by feelings of regret (for lack of a better word).  So it made me realize that we have come a long way from our old habits - we now know that going out and eating bad once in a while is a nice treat, but it will never be the norm for us.  We used to eat out quite a bit before Maya was born, usually one to two times a week. Now it will probably be more like once a month and when we do go out, we will likely choose healthier options. What motivates me today is the thought that if I keep eating healthier I will always feel good afterwards and I won't have to worry about regret and guilt. Those days of heart burn and bloating are over!

RANT OR RAVE

Can I just say that ear plugs are my new best friend?  In yesterday's post I talked about how sleep is important to your overall health. Well this morning my hubby let me go back to sleep after feeding my little itty bitty for some much deserved sleep catch up. Now normally in the past when I have tried to do this I never get any sleep because as soon as Maya starts crying for whatever reason I wake up. I can't stand to lay in bed and try to sleep when I can hear her downstairs, even when her daddy has got it covered. So this morning I put in some ear plugs, and viola, I slept for an hour and a half! 

NOTE TO SELF

Sleep!

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

Sleep. It does a body good. The more I read about eating healthy the more I hear about sleep and how both impact one another. It's no major revelation that sleep, diet, and exercise are the three main pillars to good health, and of course all need to be in good balance in order to feel good. I know right now I am kinda screwed in the sleep department having an infant and all, but I would have to say that I can already see the benefits of eating healthy on my sleep as well as my overall health. For example, I can pretty much get up twice a night with Maya or be up for the day at 4am and not go back to sleep and still function the rest of the day. Yes I always feel tired, but not the kind where you feel like you are going to die if you don't have a nap. There have been periods where it felt like torture when Maya would get up every hour due to gas or ear infection. But for the most part, on a day to day basis, I can honestly say that when I get up with Maya I can cope rather well. I strongly feel that this is in large part due to the fact that I am eating better and exercising. If I was not taking care of myself, it would be a much bumpier ride.

I also have seen benefits when I was pregnant. During my pregnancy I was taking vitamins and getting my servings of fruits and vegetables in, etc.  I also wasn't "over doing it" with other things like work and projects at home, etc. As a result I was way less sick when I was pregnant than before. I know that the hormones alone  change so much of the make up in your body, but I only ever got one chest cold the whole nine months. Other than the crazy morning sickness, I was pretty healthy. Prior to my pregnancy I had multiple sinus infections, allergies, the flu, chest congestion. Since having Maya and taking care of myself I have not gotten sick once!  Coincidence? I think not! I know there are actual studies to prove or disprove my ideas but this is my theory and I'm sticking to it! So today I am going to think about this if I feel the urge to sway from my eating plan. I am going to think about how eating healthy and taking care of yourself really does have a huge impact in your overall day to day functioning. And eventually when Maya is 18 years old maybe I will sleep again :)

RANT OR RAVE

Remember me talking about how frozen bananas become the texture of ice cream when blended?  Well, did you also know that blending regular bananas also gives the texture of a milk shake! I blended half a cup of blueberries, one banana, and one cup of milk and voila, I instantly had a milkshake. You have to make sure to put it on the "whip" setting on your blender (you have to experiment to get the right texture - too little blending is too thin, too much blending is too thick).  I like to put mine in the fridge to chill and then drink with a straw for the full effect. I may even experiment with using ice next time to see if that does anything for it. 

Anyhow, give it a try. It's a creative way to get some of your fruits in and it is more fun than a smoothie (although very similar in taste, but different in texture). 

NOTE TO SELF

Family Day

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

I love fresh blueberries. Yesterday we went blueberry picking. It is the end of the season and it took twice as long to get a bucket full of sweet nature's candy because most of the big juicy ones were already taken. It was hot and tiring on the body. Maya and I had to go in to cool off way before her Dad was done. Babies and heat don't mix. Nonetheless it was fun to get out of the house. 

Here are some pictures I took from my phone. 

Since it was so hot we decided to take a last minute detour to the grandparents' house for a dip in the pool to cool off.  The pool was cold and it took Maya a while to get used to the water, but she loved it anyway. It was a great family day. 

On the way home we were able to see the sunset and it was the biggest sun ever. You know the one that signals that fall is pretty much here? I tried to take a picture but my phone camera just didn't do it justice at all. 

Watching the sun with Maya sleeping in the back, and us on our way home, I started reflecting on the day as it ended.  It really got me thinking to just how lucky I am that I can do these things with Maya. Not everyone is as able bodied and fortunate. It made me realize that the saying "your body is your temple" really rings true. I really want to take care of myself so that we can create many family memories together and be active as a family. I want to be able to be right in there, part of the action with Maya, and still be active way into my senior years to do things with my grandkids too when I get older. So today I am motivated to take care of myself and never take my able bodied self for granted. 

RANT OR RAVE

Just my opinion. It somewhat bothers me when people say that others should accept themselves for who they are even if they are overweight. Yes I agree that you have to love yourself on the inside and there is more to life than looking great in a bikini. Yes, life would be a lot less stressful if some could achieve a level of acceptance of who they are inside and out. Losing weight is not about calories, but about changing your perspective on yourself and the world. But they also don't understand that most people want to lose weight so they can feel better, be healthy, and be able to do more things. If anyone has ever been pregnant, they know how limited they become towards the end with not being able to go up the stairs without getting out of breath, or not being able to bend over to tie their shoe. Well that's what it is like for some overweight people, only it's all the time. Being pregnant gave me insight into that and I don't want to ever get like that in my life. So yes, I would like to get rid of nasty sausage arms and neck blob. I don't like my back fat. But really when it comes down to it I am not aiming for perfect body, I am aiming to look healthy and feel healthy. And I'm sorry, but having neck blob is just not healthy.  I am learning to have a deeper love for myself and that means taking care of myself as mentioned above. 

NOTE TO SELF

Lovely Bridesmaid Part Two

TODAY'S MOTIVATION

You may remember me talking about the lovely bridesmaid dresses that I have worn over the years, each one bigger than the other. Well I have started the slow progression downwards to fitting into one of them again. 

Here is the one that I recently wore to my sister's wedding at the end of July. It fit me perfectly at the wedding but now it is too big. 

Here is the one I wore to my best friend's wedding last spring. It fits and is a bit loose on me!

And my wedding ring is slowly getting less snug....

So basically at this point I have gotten rid of all the baby weight that was still lingering plus a few lbs, which explains why the blue dress fits cause that is what I wore only a few months before I was pregnant with Maya.  This is good news since I was worried about putting on extra pounds with each subsequent pregnancy that I may have in the future.  

Still a long ways to go, but it's a baby step, and it's progress!

RANT OR RAVE

Ok I am addicted to popcorn. It's getting ridiculous. I eat it for a snack almost every day.  I think I come by it honestly as I have fond memories of smelling popcorn being cooked by my parents after I went to bed when I was a kid. Popcorn is not that bad for you diet wise if you don't load on the butter, however, it has little nutrients once it is popped and really I have gotten in the habit of putting that cheese seasoning on it.  I also have been starting to eat it before bed and eating before bed is a no no for me. 

So I am just going to give it up cold turkey. I think it's about time to move on. Well maybe I will allow myself an indulgence once a week :)

NOTE TO SELF