Does Redecorating Count As Exercise?

Ah, summer. A time for flip flops, beach trips, hot weather, cool drinks, and home improvement projects. At least that’s what’s happening in my house.

Michael and I promised the kids we’d repaint their rooms and now seemed like a good  time. Amanda, tired of her headache-producing neon green and blue color scheme, would like a more peaceful blue. Yeah, no kidding. Grant has outgrown the adorable, but babyish spaceship themed wallpaper. And Janelle would, of course, like something pink.

So far we’ve moved furniture, vacuumed, washed walls and baseboards, stripped wallpaper, and scraped wallpaper adhesive off the ceiling. Yes, the ceiling. The previous owners put a blue, starry wallpaper on the ceiling. It looked really cute, until we decided to remove it. I have plenty of words to describe it now and “cute” is not one of them.

Fruit Rollups Are Not Fruit

A few years ago I remember having an argument with my daughter Amanda about the nutritional value of Fruit Roll Ups.

“It’s got fruit in it Mom. It’s a healthy snack. Can’t we please get them?” she begged me.

Reading the ingredient list, I felt otherwise.

“Amanda, it’s not really fruit. It has a tiny bit of fruit concentrate and the next three ingredients are different types of sugar.” I responded. “It’s sugar masquerading as fruit.”

“But there’s some fruit in there,” she reasoned, “It’s not all bad.”

I paused for a moment, got out my soapbox and adhered my Nutrition Nazi badge to my shirt. Clearly she had forgotten whom she was addressing. Secure atop my platform, I proceeded with my lecture.

Father's Day a/k/a Excuses Day

For some reason I convinced myself that I couldn’t exercise on Father’s Day. My excuses were varied, creative, and highly effective. The mind is a powerful thing and I put it toward evil purposes on Sunday. Take a gander at some of these beautiful reasons for not working out.

Excuse #1: I needed to be around in case Michael wanted to go somewhere.

Even though Michael told me his plan was to watch the U.S. Open all day, I felt it necessary to be at home to take over parenting responsibilities on the off chance he changed his mind and wanted to, I don’t know, go to Taco Bell or something. So I was at DEFCON 1—on high alert all day, prepared to handle the children while he went out to enjoy a Volcano Burrito. But no parenting/Mexican food emergency arose. (Big surprise.)

I Think I’m Growing Up. Bummer.

Broken glass littered the dance floor. Adults and children crammed onto a small patio, pulsating wildly to Play That Funky Music, Shout, and other classics.  Beer bottles and wine glasses clinked in the background as toasts to the bride and groom resonated throughout the crowd.

It was your typical non-Baptist southern wedding—plenty of dancing, drinking, eating, merriment, and stuff breaking. At least it felt familiar to me, but I’m from Georgia. We invented the phrase, “It ain’t a party until sometin’ got broke.”

I'm a Rock Star. Well, At Least in My Own Mind.

Under duress from Lee Ann Magnus at the Advanced Wellness Centre, I agreed to run the Connect Corporate 4-Miler last night as part of their team.

She caught me in a weak moment. Actually she approached me in the waiting area of the Centre, in front of the office staff and several patients. Talking loudly and with great enthusiasm, she asked me to participate in the race. It was like getting caught on the Kiss-Me-Cam at a sporting event. With everyone’s eyes on me, of course I agreed. I’ve never been able to effectively handle peer pressure. (I hope my kids aren’t reading this. If you are, I expect better from you. Now go read a book or cure cancer or something!)

Control Issues

The debt crisis in Europe, the war in Iraq, the economic woes across America. Today’s headlines read like doomsday is coming. It’s enough to send this girl running for the hills, or, to the nearest Bruster’s for a large Brownie Blast. (With extra brownie, of course.)

I worry about all of those issues and their ramifications on my little life. For example, the debt crisis in Greece sent my 401k plummeting. The war in Iraq reminds me of my godson who recently joined the Navy and will one day be put in harm’s way. And the recession, well, that makes me question the validity of the phrase “financial security.” Is there really such a thing? Or is it just a myth?

Knowing that these things are out of my control doesn’t stop me from worrying about them. You see, I’m a worrier. I just am. Which is exactly why I should be meditating more. (I know, I KNOW!)

The Eye of the Tiger

I can’t believe it, but I’m beginning to like cardio interval training. Mostly because I can now do it without collapsing. I’ve even increased the speed of the treadmill and managed to stay on the thing. Sweating doesn’t bother me anymore either. In fact, it reminds me that I’m working at the right intensity.

The other day a light rain was falling as I left the gym. I relished the cool drizzle on my hot skin. Tilting my head up toward the sky I stopped for a moment to feel the rain. In my mind’s eye, it would’ve been the perfect scene for the movie Rocky. And lately, I definitely feel like I have a bit of the eye of the tiger. With my eight favorite songs loaded on my ipod and Marq’s words echoing in my brain, “You’re doing awesome Dianna,” I push myself to run faster, to work harder. And the cool thing is, the training is working. I can accomplish physical tasks I previously thought I couldn’t.