Getting Over Grumpy

After a medium sized fight, it turns out that the family is going to see "The Artist" late this afternoon, followed by a diner dinner. (For the record, I voted against it. The kid has no time at home this weekend, and I'm not sure that she'll like the movie. And I'm generally a stick in the mud.) Since it's going to happen, I'm going to commit to having fun.

So this morning is dedicated to getting things done. After lunch, we visit my mom. Then the movie/dinner. I am going to have a fabulous time today! I refuse to let my initial grumpiness get the best of me.

The Diet--Ha!

The diet has been so hit or miss. (Which means mainly miss, I suppose.) What has been working in my life has been HabitForge. (I'm nicely into good dental habits before bed. I've never been a serious flosser before.) So I'm adding a new habit, with a twist. The habit is no dessert type things at home. (Unless we're entertaining.) And no cheese as a snack food. I think 21 days of that will make a significant difference. As for the twist--if I do not make it, I will make a $500 contribution to a certain political candidate whom I despise. (And in addition to the disgust I would feel, the chaos it would bring into my household when I started getting mail from him is unthinkable!)

Good Parenting Through Bad Hair

Yesterday I was a good mom. I let the kid get the haircut she wanted--a sort of pageboy. She loves it. I think she's much less pretty. But that's fine. I was forced into perpetual short hair (it was curly) and I never felt pretty...and that's the general story with many of my friends. I don't want to be "that mom" and it turns out that I'm not!

The basement plus the need for coffeecake

Cranky and sniffly this morning. Happiness, where are thou? I think I need to get something done to feel better, and something beyond more usual morning tidying up. So I'll finish this post, leave a note for the daughter on the kitchen counter (it's 6:30) and head to the basement for an hour of cleaning.

Read a good piece at Dumb Little Man about mindset and realized that yeah, if I think I suck at something I pretty much throw my hands up in the air and call it a day. I used to be braver about stupid things--like cooking. Now I get all "oooooh...what if it's bad?" I need to think about this every day...what would I like to do if only I could? Because probably 95% of the time I could, if I wanted to put in the time. (My window of opportunity for cartwheels has probably passed. But bowling? Still on the table.)

Here's one of the things which makes me particularly crazy: driving in bad weather. I'm trying to stay more in the moment: not check out the weekly forecast in a sick and crazy way. It doesn't help that some local kids were killed just north of here a couple of nights ago--ran off the road and hit a tree. But that wasn't weather. Accuweather is calling for ice tonight and tomorrow morning. If that happens--and school isn't cancelled/delayed I can have my partner drive the girl to school OR put her on the bus. No need for massive craziness.

Oh, the coffeecake. Having some would make me happy. I need to make some, and figure out how to work it into my losing weight plan. Off to clean and make this a good day!

It's like crack

One of my favorite TV moments in recent years was on "The Office" when Ryan claims "I love when people say 'like crack' who have obviously never done crack." I had a moment of my own this morning...I was doing a fast errand run with my daughter and I thought about stopping at the local convenience store and buying a box of PopTarts. You know...because it seemed like a cheering thing to do. And then I'd eat the one I wanted, followed by the next one that I sorta wanted, followed by the rest of the box--so they'd be gone and I could start in fresh the next day. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I got to be obese.

Oh...getting back to the crack. I decided that instead of PopTarts I'd think crack. So I laughed at the notion that I'd stop in for just a little crack...that wouldn't hurt anything...and drove on by.

Part of my plan is to only watch TV while I'm on the elliptical. Day two was fine: watched The Office. Very slightly sore but nothing terrible. And quite proud of myself.

Downsizing My Goals

Every year I make many, many resolutions and most of them don't last a week. (Who am I kidding? Most of them don't last 48 hours.) This year I've reduced them to two biggies: lose weight and declutter. Today I get my elliptical delivered. Whee! And the weather gods are cooperating, so the truck can likely get both in and out of my driveway. Oh--in addition to my two major projects, I'm doing one thing at a time at HabitForge. This cycle I take on the ever-popular flossing my teeth every night.

Trying something new with my second grade daughter--I'm bribing her with Squinkies. (I know...you're not supposed to do that. But I am.) She gets a Post-It note with her after school To Do list and if she does everything, she gets a Squinkie. Yesterday all she had was homework, wash hair, 3 minutes of extra math, 10 minutes of piano and one thank you note. She pretty much zipped through it all--she rides horses after school on Wednesday and gets home late--and still had a little time to play before dinner. I'm learning that doing something every day is worthwhile...even if it's just 10 minutes of piano, it's much better than none at all.

Gearing up for the beginning

Yes, I *do* need a happiness project.