Gratitude Attitude Week 2

For the past few days, I have been reading a book called War Brides (by Helen Bryan). It's the story of five very different young women who are thrown together in a small village in England during World War II.  It's quite a moving story, not only because it tells the tale of unlikely friends banding together and supporting one another, but also it offers a view into what people endured, especially in England and Europe, during such a horrific time in our world's history.

Reading about the hardships and grief that the WWII generation lived through, I decided that during this presidential election I would refrain from my usual behavior -- i.e., complaining about, and being completely annoyed by, all the political rhetoric -- especially on Facebook. If you followed my blog during the last election, you know how I feel about that!  Instead, I'm trying very hard to practice the gratitude attitude.  Rather than be consumed by the finger wagging and political spin swirling on both sides of the aisle, I'm choosing to be grateful that I am a citizen of a country where we, the people, have the power to choose our leadership.  I'm grateful that whichever political party's candidate is elected, he will be held accountable to and by his country's citizens. Also, despite my dislike of using Facebook as one's own personal political soap box, I am grateful that we are free to express our opinions without the threat of prison or worse.  Most of all, I am deeply grateful to all the people from generations past who sacrificed and persevered to defy all odds and squash one of the greatest evils of all time.  If it weren't for them, we might be living in a very different world today.

xoxo,
K

Gratitude Attitude

I have a lot in my life for which I am - and should be - grateful.  I've been given so many blessings, but I have to admit, I am not very good at taking a moment each day to acknowledge my gratitude.  Now, I'm not saying that my heart doesn't swell with thanks when I look at my healthy, well-balanced children, or that I don't thank my lucky stars that I have a nice roof over my head, but I do tend to sprinkle my days with a bit of negativity.  My way of thinking about something can, at times, be pretty skewed to see only what annoys me or frustrates me or scares me, not what is wonderful about my time here on this earth.

This morning I attended a cycling class at my gym.  I haven't been to a cycling class in almost a year. Now that I'm in between jobs for a few weeks, I'm trying to get back into shape.  I love cycling classes. They're challenging but empowering, and it doesn't hurt that the instructor played Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" this morning. (Yes, I'm a Gaga fan - my husband and sons just roll their eyes and shake their heads.)  Halfway through the class, I was completely winded and dripping with sweat. My legs burned on the climbs, and I won't even talk about sitting on that bike seat without padded shorts! But despite all of this, it suddenly hit me as I pedaled away: I was so grateful to be there! I was grateful to have the time to focus on my health and fitness again. I was grateful to my legs for their growing strength and ability - especially when there are many people in this world who can't even use their legs.  I was grateful to my body for hanging in there despite my neglect over the past year and despite my *ahem* advancing age.

That moment got me thinking about gratitude and how I need to practice it more often. I've tried to keep a gratitude journal in the past, but I tend to always let it fall by the wayside.  So, as a little experiment, I'm going to do a gratitude series on this blog.  Even if I only post one sentence, it's better than nothing.  I want to regularly express gratitude for all the wonderful things in this life, and what better place to do it than on a blog!

It's time to stop looking at the glass half empty and to start giving thanks and focus to the positive.

Today, instead of focusing on the fifteen pounds I'd like to lose, I choose to focus on how grateful I am for my body's abilities - and for its kick ass performance in cycling class today!

More gratitude to come...  In the mean time, share your own Gratitude Attitude by leaving a comment below.

xoxo,

K

Endings & Beginnings

Summer is over and today was the first day back to school for the boys. One period in time ending and another beginning.

The end of summer is always a little bittersweet, but for me, this time it seemed more so. After 10 years as a SAHM, this was the first time I spent the summer working rather than spending it all with my boys. I have to admit (regardless of how it sounds and regardless of the fact that I work part time) I felt like I missed out on so much I'd normally do with them. The babysitter took them to the pool. The babysitter took them bowling and to tennis lessons. The babysitter played board games with them (OK, so I probably wouldn't have done that, but you get my point.) I merely grumbled at them each workday morning, mad at myself for choosing a job that is so wrong for me, dreading the day ahead of me, dreading leaving them. Before I knew it, I'd dreaded and grumbled my way through the summer only to find it over before, it seems, it truly began.

 But where there is an ending, one can usually find a beginning. The boys had a great first day today, and I believe, they're truly looking forward to their (2nd and 5th grade) year. I'm looking forward to making better choices and creating some endings and beginnings for myself this fall. Summer may have gone a bit too soon, but I have to remember that fall is the season of learning new things and looking to the future. So no more grumbling and dreading that which is ending. Only embracing all that is beginning!

Where Does the Time Go?

Tomorrow, my Boogah turns 11 years old. 11 years old! I can't quite believe it. It's so cliche, but it truly does seem like yesterday when this picture was taken. It was his first birthday, and the poor little guy had a fever (hence his slightly fussy expression) that day. He was a trooper though. He ate his birthday cupcake despite not feeling well. Goodness was he a sweet baby! He's still my sweet little baby - even when he gives me what I like to call 'Tweenitude.' (Would you be surprised to find out that he hates it when I say that? ;-) I swear it seems like I blinked and he became a Tween! When I blink again, he'll be a teenager and then with another blink, he'll be off to college and on his own. It makes me want to give up blinking. I want to just grab hold of him with eyes closed to stop time from spinning away. But I can't. It doesn't work that way. I can only continue to treasure this brief moment in time called childhood - while it lasts. Happy Birthday to my sweet Baby/Tween!

Food Fight

I'm on a healthy cooking kick lately. It's time to stop the slow, continuous 'spread' that seems to be happening to my backside, and it's time to put a limit on the endless chain restaurant dining in which my family has been partaking over the last few month I was inspired by this great blog: skinnytaste.com, which I originally found on Pinterest (one of my other current obsessions, but that is a post for another time). The blogger of skinnytaste.com, Gina, has amazing recipes that are easy to make, yummy and actually good for you! I made her Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp last night, and at first bite, the hubs fell instantly in love with me all over again! (It was that good!) Tonight I made Gina's skinny Cream of Zucchini Soup recipe. Hubs was giddy once more because it reminded him of a soup his mom used to make 'back in the day.' I was giddy because he was eating zucchini -- and smiling! The boys? Well, that was a whole other story. You see, my boys, to put it nicely, have never been adventurous eaters. And by not adventurous, I mean they refuse to eat anything with a green hue (or anything in a sauce, or anything too hot or anything that doesn't resemble a chicken nugget). I have to say, Boogah has improved over the past couple of years. He will at least try things now. Like last night, I gave both of them some sugar snap peas on their plates. Who doesn't like sugar snap peas? They're crunchy, slightly sweet -- quite refreshing actually. Boogah gave them a try. Well, he gave two pods a try, dissected a third one and left the remaining pea pods on his plate. Blue, on the other hand, 'tried' them by taking one look, observing their color, and concluding that he couldn't possibly be asked to put that in his mouth! They say you must choose your battles. Well, I've been in the heat of the food battle for so long that I rarely have the energy for it anymore. I tend to throw my hands up in surrender and give them what they will eat: hot dog with smiley face fries . And by the way, those who claim it's easy to get picky eaters to eat --'just continue to introduce your picky eater to a variety of healthy foods and eventually they will stop being picky'-- need to be punched, frankly. However, my worry about the boy's current and future health prods me to muster up the energy every once in a while to don the battle fatigues and jump back into the trenches. Tonight, due to my healthy cooking kick, was one of those times when I was geared up and determined to get a vegetable in them. I thought to myself, 'wouldn't it be great if the kids would actually eat some of this zucchini soup?' Bahahaha! Yeah right! I knew that to make this happen, I'd have to get creative. Now, I'm not particularly proud of the strategy I chose, but all's fair in love and war. So, I bribed my children. Yes, I flat out offered to pay them each $5 if they ate a cup of the soup. There. It's out in the open. Like I said, I'm not proud, but it worked! My sweet, materialistic angels actually ate zucchini soup! For money. I'm sure this shows my extreme lack of parenting skills -- on many levels -- but I experienced the sweet taste of victory nonetheless. It took Blue over an hour to choke down his soup, periodically feigning bouts of nausea, but with cold, hard cash at stake, he stuck it out and finished every drop. By the end, he had named it 'Crap Soup.' Oh well. He says the word crap and accepts bribes, but he ate a green vegetable! And in soup-form no less! Hallelujah! One more battle down, many more (I'm sure) to go, but they're worth the fight. Now, I wonder how much roasted cauliflower will cost me...

Breaking News

This just in...Ann Curry is (possibly) being sent packing from the Today Show! I'd like to say that I'm shocked, but let's face it, she was on borrowed time. We knew this day would come. Those Big Wigs at NBC had to throw her a bone once Meredith left, but we all knew they weren't serious. I bet they were all sniggering behind their hands as they told her the good news those (few) months ago. Poor Ann probably thought their smiles were so wide because they were happy for her. The truth was, however, that they would look like Big Wig T.V. Executive Asses if they passed her over AGAIN, so they decided to make it look like she got the gig -- they certainly weren't going to let her actually stay! After all, they couldn't ask Matt Lauer, The King of All That is Talk Show-y, to mask his intense annoyance for very long! I actually feel sorry for Ann. The other Today Show 'talent' have never truly accepted her. She's been tolerated but not accepted. Matt and Al act like the 'cool kids' who have been told by Mom to be nice to the 'awkward girl.' How I'd love to be a fly on the wall during Matt's time in the morning make-up chair. You know he's got a few choice comments about Ann's most recent 'touching' interview or her 'interesting' outfit choice from the previous day. I bet after the show, he and Al go back to Matt's office (and it would be Matt's office because I'm sure refuses to go in Al's office because he claims it smells like cheese) and do a full on pantomime of the morning's Ann highlights. Can't you just picture them laughing and carrying on about how Martha Stewart bullied Ann yet again during her segment on gold leafing your pet. "No, Ann...(giggle) you do NOT dip the dog... (giggle) in the leafing medium...(snort) you dip the brush...(bahahaha). Oh the ripples of laughter one must hear from behind closed Today Show doors! And all at poor Ann's expense, I'm sure. Yes, Ann can be slightly cloying, and you do kind of wonder who dressed her that day, but she seems like a nice person. I wish her the best in whatever she does next -- although, except for Barbara Walters, I'm not sure if there is much of a future for ex Today Show anchors. We'll see where she ends up -- I hope, for her sake, she lands a fabulous new gig -- because sometimes it's fun to see the awkward girl finally get to stick it to the cool kids!

She's Baaaaaack!

Yes, here I am! I'm back posting on my long (very long) neglected blog. It's been a lifetime since I posted on this blog - well, actually only three years, but so many things have changed since my last post, it sure seems like a lifetime! Since my last post: 1) My cat has gained 4 pounds -- I won't say how many pounds I've gained; 2) I've started and stopped a small home business or two; 3) My family and I moved further into the bowels of suburbia; 4) I turned 40, then 41 - how did that happen?!; 5) Boogah turned double digits and has mastered the pre-teen art of eye rolling; 6) Blue finished first grade and learned to read, and 7) I've gone back to work part time. Over these past few years, I've learned a few things: 1) That going back to work (even part time) after being home for 10 years with your kids is hard, but it makes you appreciate your time home with them much more deeply. 2) That you will not find your perfect job (after 10 years at home) the first time out of the gate. Managing other people's real estate closings has NOT turned out to be my dream job -- just sayin'! 3) That I fear (wake up in a cold sweat kind of fear) the impending teenage years; 4) And that I missed blogging! So, for better or worse, I'm back to jotting down all my inane ramblings - bet you're excited! Awww come on - you know you missed me! TTFN peeps!