I had Friday off again due to conferences as the high school where I work. Husband and I took my van in to be serviced so I was home all day with no mode of transportation, other than my legs. It was cold and narsty outside, so my best bet was to just stay in and get some housework done.
You have met me, right? You know that housework is the LAST thing on the planet that I ever want to do. So I stifled the urge to at least throw one load of laundry in or do the dishes (it is hard for me to repeatedly walk by the mess) and I opted for just laying on the couch. It was my day off after all.
I watched a lot of Foodnetwork and in so, caught a new trick in boiling and peeling eggs. For those who don't know the first thing about making hard boiled eggs, here are some tricks and basics:
1) If you think about it, the night before you make the eggs, turn the carton upside down. This makes the yolks settle in the middle instead of close to one end or the other.
2) Put the eggs in a pot, cover with cold water, at least an inch over the eggs, put a lid on them and boil them.
3) When they start to boil, take the pot off the heat and set a timer for 10 minutes.
4) When the ten minutes are up, rinse them under cold water, then crack them (this is the new thing I learned! I just banged them against the colander and put them in a bowl of cold water.) Cracking them will help the shells come off easier. Whaaa?? Who knew??? Rachel Ray did, that's who.
I have been having some weird allergic reactions to stuff lately that is causing various parts of my face to swell up. A couple weeks ago at work, I was sauteing onions, celery and carrots for soup. A little splattered in my face and next thing I know, my eye is swelling shut. Last night, I sauteed the same combo for the chicken and noodles I was making at home and my lip started swelling up a couple hours after. I also tend to have these issues when I am really stressed. I would say I qualify as mildly stressed lately (aren't we all?) but with this stupid Sandy storm threatening my parents again, I am really stressed. So I am not sure if it is something in the onions or stress causing my faux Botox look.
Now I am sure they are reading this and willing me not to be stressed, but I can't help it. It is like telling them not to worry about me. We worry about each other, that's what we do. They were supposed to come here next weekend and have to postpone because of the clean up they will inevitably have to do. Wish we could be closer to help, seems like they just went thru this with Irene.
Anyway, between the weird sauteing incident and being stressed, I realize that at my upcoming birthday, I will NOT be able to say I am in the best shape of my life. For the last 5 years, I have been able to say that, this year, I don't think I can. I have taken a serious hiatus to all things good for me and have become a slug.
With that realization, I sent a plea to my fellow Sparkpeople team that not only am I going to be at my goal weight of 145 by Christmas, I will work out more , eat better and reduce stress. They are on board and I am also excited that my Fitbit pedometer syncs with Sparkpeople now. Nice to have all my exercise info in one place.
It is only going to get harder for us to keep in shape, let alone lose weight. I am actually ok with the weight I am now (151) but it is the shape, or lack there of ,that makes me mad. One of my favorite quotes is "If you don't want to start over, don't STOP". No crap. I need that tatooed on my hand. I did 45 minutes of aerobics today and nearly died. This time two years ago, I was doing 75 minutes each day on the weekend and running like a madwoman during the week and weekends.
With renewed spirit and weird allergic reactions to consider, I am cleaning up my diet, taking more time for me (I checked out two books from the library today, haven't done that in months), making workouts a priority again and making sure I am healthy for my family. 43 isn't old, but it sure ain't 23!
Off to peel some eggs, effortlessly.
Thanks for listening and for any of you being affected or have family affected by the storm, my thoughts and prayers are with you. This crap is getting old!
Cat
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