Archives for August 2010

Aug 19, 2010

Karma Has A Sense of Humor. A Dark, Twisted Sense of Humor.

After BlogHer, I was a sloth. This isn’t a new thing, though – I usually come home from BlogHer so mentally, emotionally, physically and any other -ally exhausted that even falling into bed takes effort.

A week and a half later, I’m starting to emerge from the fog, only this time I have the reminder of hey you, you’re supposed to be getting healthier, remember? You’ve done your best imitation of a rock all week – it’s time to get moving again.

So after three nights of telling myself I will run tonight – no excuses! – only to then find excuses, I tugged on my sports bra, laced up my shoes and went outside for a run. I wasn’t ambitious, choosing to go back a week on the Couch to 5K program and do the Week 6 Day 1 intervals.

Starting my first run, my body seemed to click back into sync, and soon I was gliding along at a steady jog. But my brain then got cocky and decided oh yeah, this is a breeze! and my pace immediately sped up as I ran past neighbors, smiling and waving as if I was the freakin’ queen of running.

It took about a minute and a half for my body to realize it couldn’t keep this pace up, and the last three minutes of the first interval were agony as I slowed down, gasped for breath to get oxygen to my pissed off muscles, and tried to remember I like running, right? RIGHT?

I used the first walk interval to catch my breath and reevaluate my strategy. When it was time to run again, I forced myself into a slower pace with far better results. Finishing the entire run, I felt good. Still tired, still dripping sweat, but I didn’t feel like I used my last ounce of energy.

I’m going to try jumping back into week 7 next time and see if I can get back to a 25 minute run again. And I know that I need a goal to keep myself motivated, so I’m scouting out new 5K races in my area to sign up for. If any locals want to join in, let me know!

—

But wait – here’s the really insane part of the story this week. For a week and a half, I didn’t exercise, I slept a lot and watched a lot of TV, and despite efforts to eat well, still ate a lot of junk during that time, including a steak from Outback (yum), a bowl of ice cream, a slice of Bob Evans’ Strawberry Supreme Pie (yummmm….) and at least two fast food trips.

Normally, this behavior would result in a 3-4 pound weight gain, as my body usually sees any slip as a chance to jack up the number on the scale. But after a week and a half of slip ups, I somehow LOST TWO POUNDS. I’ll gladly accept the loss, but after working so hard to force that number down for months, a week of no exercise and delicious treats takes it down effortlessly? How is that possible?

So here’s to being two pounds lighter and running again. Let’s keep it going.

Filed Under: c25k · Tagged: defeating the sloth

Aug 16, 2010

Heaven Help Us When She’s Sixteen. Or Four.

By Christina ·

You’d think that with a second child I’d feel like less of a novice mother. I’ve been through it all once, so the second time through is just a refresher, only this time I know what mistakes not to make, right?

Right?

Ha.

Miranda is a child so different from Cordelia that I often find myself wondering if Cordy is really mine and I imagined the whole idea of raising her from a baby. Because Mira makes me doubt all of my parenting knowledge on a daily – hourly – basis.

When Cordy was three years old my primary concern was keeping her from completely losing it and slipping into a violent meltdown. Oh sure, I also had to deal with feeding her because she wouldn’t use a spoon, and changing diapers because she had no interest in potty training, but the goal of each day was to get to the end of it without having to restrain her so she didn’t crack her head open from banging it into the floor. The biggest fight we had was keeping the TV on Noggin versus some non-kiddie-crack TV.

Sounds tough, right? I had no idea how easy I had it.

Because with Mira, three years old is totally different. Now I have to deal with refusing to get dressed because she wanted to wear the PINK shirt, not the blue one. And attitude because I dared help her take off her pull-up when she could clearly do it all herself. And refusing to eat her yogurt because I had the nerve to try to help her with her spoon. And dinnertime cries of, “No! I wan appasace not yogut! I change mah miiiiiind!”

And making me go back into the house to find her damn sunglasses, because the sun is in her darling eyes and we wouldn’t want her to go blind, right? And insisting on buying only PINK clothing when we go clothes shopping, a task that she insists on joining me for and during which I endure the semi-incoherent Mira babble of how those leggings match that dress and how she LOOOOVES those PINK shoes.

It’s exhausting.

But now we’re truly heading into uncharted waters, as she’s decided to go exploring her surroundings in ways that Cordy never attempted, either because she wasn’t interested or because she didn’t notice.

Two weeks ago I noticed Mira’s Thomas the Tank Engine pajama top had a couple of holes in it. When I asked her what happened to her shirt, she said, “Da kitdie did it.” It seemed odd that a claw hooked in a shirt would cause so much damage, but I shrugged and chalked it up to cheap manufacturing.

Then a few days later I found Aaron’s beard trimming scissors on the floor of the bathroom. And new holes in her shirt. It would seem the cats had somehow developed opposable thumbs and exacted their revenge on Mira – who never lets them into her room – by sneaking in at night and cutting holes in her shirt with the scissors.

Or Mira just didn’t want to tell us she experimented with scissors. I’m just thankful she didn’t cut her hair.

And then today, Aaron came downstairs with a puzzled look on his face and asked, “OK, which little girl has been using my toothpaste?”

Cordy immediately answered, “Not me!” and Mira copied her with the same response, trying her best to look like she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Well, one of you has been into it, because you forgot to put the cap back on. Now who did it?”

Cordy again proclaimed her innocence, and Mira then looked at the ground, hands behind her back as she kicked at nothing in front of her and quietly replied, “I di-it.”

“Why were you playing with the toothpaste?”

“I bwush my teeh,” she replied, as if to say duh, what did you think I’d do with it? Only she had no toothbrush in that bathroom. It soon came out that she was sneaking into the bathroom in the early morning and putting toothpaste on her finger and pretending to brush her teeth. You know, since we locked up the scissors already.

Then this afternoon, I walked into the living room and sat down, and Mira quickly climbed into my lap. I immediately smelled something odd, but couldn’t quite place it. I knew it was coming from Mira, but couldn’t figure out what the strong, chemical-like smell was.

And then I saw the travel size bottle of Downy Wrinkle Releaser on the floor. The scent suddenly had a name.

“What did you do?” I demanded to know.

Mira immediately started her – now routine – answer of, “I sowwy, I sowwy, I sowwy!” She’s learned to begin with a flurry of sad-voiced apologies and hope her cuteness will keep her out of time out. I then discovered through interrogation that she thought the small spray bottle was just like my “soap” (aka the spray hand sanitizer I often use) and had decided to spray herself with it during the 5 minutes no one was looking. At least her dress no longer had any wrinkles in it.

The worst part of all of this is that we had no idea Mira could reach or would even be interested in this stuff, and how she gets into it without us seeing her. She’s like a ninja. The bathroom items were far back on the counter, beyond her reach and likely beyond her site without a step stool. The wrinkle releaser was in a drawer. Now I’m forced to look at everything and wonder how long until she figures out the childproof lock on the cabinets under the sink? Would she want the pack of matches next to the candle on the fireplace mantle? Could two step stools stacked on each other be enough to reach that high? What if she got a stick to knock them down while balancing on two step stools?

Maybe I baby-proofed the house better with Cordy? I don’t remember it being any different than now. Or maybe I just had no idea what to expect when raising a typical child? When your first child has autism, you come to accept her quirks and different path of development as your own personal norm. So then a neurotypical second child comes along and suddenly you’re not feeling so smug when your friend complains about her child giving her dolls a haircut and coloring on the walls with crayons, because your second child is now decorating her skin with permanent marker and trying to shave the cat with your razor.

I don’t remember this chapter in the parenting handbooks.

“I gonna gwow up biiig wike mommy an daddy an go to work as a supahewo and dwive a biiiig PINK car!”

– actual life/career planning quote from Mira

Filed Under: being a mom, daily life, family time, growing up, kid logic, Mira · Tagged: ninja toddler

Aug 16, 2010

My Lunch With Healthy Choice & Tara Gidus

By Christina ·

As part of the Healthy Choice Better for BlogHer Challenge, I had the opportunity to have lunch with representatives of Healthy Choice and the Diet Diva, Tara Gidus, while at BlogHer.

During lunch, we got a sneak peak at all of the new Healthy Choice meals that will be hitting the grocery very soon. Just like their Cafe Steamers, these new entrees are designed to be steam cooked, locking in the flavor and nutrition of each ingredient. They pulled a few of the entrees out of their boxes, and you could see how brightly colored the vegetables were. It screamed FRESH!

While we ate our Hilton-provided box lunches, they passed around boxes of the new entrees, and suddenly my turkey sandwich and chips didn’t look so appetizing. I mean, which would you rather have – turkey on wheat and some generic salty chips, or Garlic Herb Shrimp, with big pieces of dark green asparagus and whole grain pasta. I started to wonder if the microwave in the corner of the room was functional, because I wanted to ditch the boxed lunch and warm up a Healthy Choice meal.

After lunch we each were given a private consultation with Tara. We had filled out health surveys ahead of time so she could customize her advice for each of us, and I wondered what advice she would have for me. I mean, she’s a dietitian and I’m a registered nurse – we’re essentially professional colleagues who both understand the challenges of staying healthy and the consequences of ignoring our health.

But my talk with Tara still provided me with useful information and insight. (After all, I spend all night worrying about the health of others – it’s too easy to overlook my own health.) She started by applauding my efforts so far, both in diet and in fitness. Losing nearly 30 pounds in a year and a half IS a big accomplishment, and a trend I want to continue. We then got down to the business of studying where I could make improvements.

Tara focused on my insane third shift schedule. Because I work while most people sleep, my scheduled meal times need a little adjusting. Tara pointed out that it’s best to eat something – even something small – within one hour of waking up, and then schedule my eating so that I’m never going longer than 2-4 hours without food. That way my hunger is kept at bay, preventing me from binging in a hungry frenzy or letting my blood sugar fall too low so that my energy levels drop and I get shaky.

Here’s my schedule: I wake around 4:30pm. I then usually eat dinner with my family between 5:30-6:30pm. Around 10 or 11pm, I usually have a small snack. Then I eat “lunch” at 1:30am. My other break is scheduled at 4am, when I usually have another small snack, and then I eat a little more when I get home at 8am, right before I go to bed for the day.

The emphasis here is on feeling satisfied. She pointed out that each meal should be just enough food to get you through until you eat again, not enough to create a “full” feeling. I believe her exact words were “Eat until satisfied, not until full.” Eating small, frequent meals and snacks keeps your body from reaching those extreme peaks and troughs with blood sugar and instead creates a more stable system, giving you more energy and helping your metabolism work better.

My goal, of course, is to continue losing weight. I’m no longer in the “obese” BMI range, but I still have a long way to go before exiting the “overweight” BMI range. Still, thanks to the Healthy Choice Better for BlogHer challenge as well as my own determination, I’ve finally broken through my plateau, and I plan to continue eating Healthy Choice meals to help me reach that goal. They’re simple to make for someone like me with no time to spare and each meal is so full of flavor – I’m loving how easy this is!

And the results so far? I’m going to brag a little and say I looked pretty good at BlogHer:

Size 10, baby!

(Although none of my other clothing is size 10 yet. Still.)

Full disclosure: I’m participating in Healthy Choice’s Better for BlogHer challenge, and as a participant I have been provided compensation as well as coupons for many Healthy Choice meals. All opinions I express about Healthy Choice are my own and are genuine. Also, the scale doesn’t lie, even when I wish it would.

Filed Under: success · Tagged: better for blogher, what works

Aug 14, 2010

Bump on a Log

By Christina ·

So BlogHer is over. And it’s a million degrees outside.

And I haven’t run in a week.

I need to shake off this lack of energy and get back at it. Or find another 5K to sign up for to motivate myself to train again. Or both.

Must. get. back. on. track.

Filed Under: c25k · Tagged: off-track

Aug 13, 2010

Social Media Introduces, BlogHer Unites

By Christina ·

Disclaimer: if you didn’t attend BlogHer, I apologize in advance for the love fest about to follow. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t special to me, too. You just need to live closer.
—

I think that not only do I need a disclaimer to my BlogHer recap every year, but I also need my own personal disclaimer when I return from BlogHer. Something like Disclaimer: Expect me to be moody, pouty, low-energy and have at least one explosive crying fit post-BlogHer. Placate with kind words and chocolates for one week until back to normal.

Because honestly? After spending several days with friends – many of whom I only get to see once a year – I’m often hit with a mild depression when it’s over and I have to return to my normal life.

This year, on the last day of BlogHer, I sent out a tweet that simply stated: “I don’t want to go back to my real life tomorrow. I like my virtual life & friends too much. #BlogHer10”

Soon after, one of my twitter followers responded with, “@mommystory That’s kind of a sad commentary on social media.”

I was puzzled. Clearly he didn’t get it, and it forced me to think about what I had written and why I felt that way.

It wasn’t a sad commentary on social media at all. Instead, it was a sparkly, shining example of the good that can be found in social media, all brought together in one conference.

My “real life” is filled with a lot of ordinary, with a smattering of extraordinary here and there. I do a lot of mundane tasks each day: I go to work, I do chores, I drive my kids to and from activities, I buy groceries, etc. I don’t get the chance to talk to representatives of major corporations or government agencies on a regular basis. When I buy my groceries at Kroger, the cashier doesn’t care what I think of the store’s expansion of their organic section. I doubt my daughter’s school principal will want to make a video of me sharing my views of the district’s special needs program to then present to the superintendant.

But with social media, my little voice is given a megaphone to be heard loud and clear, and no louder than at BlogHer, where companies and bloggers come together. I was interviewed by three huge companies at BlogHer this year (two of the videos are online), and had the chance to speak with several more. My feedback (along with that of other bloggers) a few years ago helped guide a company to create a better product that they presented to us last year at BlogHer. When Aaron was laid off in 2008 and we found ourselves without health insurance, CNN contacted me and our story was one of several that would be an early warning of what was to become the recession.

Our voices do have power, especially when used together. At home I may be a shy nurse, going back and forth to work and quietly raising my daughters in Columbus, Ohio, but with social media I have the opportunity to yell and be heard around the world. I am a smart person with good ideas (not trying to brag, I swear) and my voice shouldn’t be limited to Columbus, Ohio. With social media, it doesn’t have to be.

As for missing my “virtual” friends, I’ll just say that it’s very possible to miss someone you see once a year just as much as someone you see every day. In my “real life” I do have a few best friends and several other good friends that I share many interests with. But the majority of my real life connections are based primarily on geography. The pool of potential friends and acquaintances is limited by distance and location.

I grew up in a small Ohio town and making friends in my early years was terribly hard. I had little in common with my classmates and just didn’t fit in. But what could I do? There weren’t that many other kids my age, leaving me with a couple of friends who had some shared interests and otherwise a class full of people who simply didn’t understand me.

Online, though? My social net is so, so wide. You can bet that I’m going to find other moms who understand what it’s like to have a child on the spectrum and who also have a love of showtunes and Lady Gaga. (And maybe have even dressed up in renaissance clothing, too.) The pool of like-minded (or at least complimentary) individuals is exponentially larger. I can find my tribe beyond the boundaries of city limits and miles.I now have friends in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Canada and everywhere in-between.

When I’m at BlogHer and can’t make it across the lobby of the hotel in under an hour because I keep running into people I love, I’m reminded of how thankful I am to social media for introducing me to these intelligent, interesting and strong women (and a few men). The hugs I gave out were absolutely genuine and from the heart. I treasured each spontaneous conversation I participated in, soaked in my time strolling New York with women I usually only see through a computer screen. When my schedule forced me elsewhere, I felt awful saying goodbye to whoever I was with, worried that we wouldn’t get another chance to chat that weekend.

It didn’t matter that we met online – in person we were like old friends, completely comfortable with each other with no pretense of formality. After all – we’ve already bared our souls on our blogs, right? If anything, this was a chance to deepen friendships, sharing personal stories that are too personal even for our blogs. And once those connections are made – sharing love, heartache, tragedy, hopes, fears – you don’t want to let go.

So yeah, I didn’t want to leave BlogHer. I didn’t want to put down that megaphone. And I didn’t want to leave good friends behind with only the hope that we would see each other again soon – maybe next month if they live in or near Ohio, maybe at another conference, maybe next year or longer.

I only wish I could find a way to merge my virtual life into my real life, but I doubt I can put up a good enough argument for everyone to move to Ohio. These voices, these personalities – who would want to leave them all behind?

So maybe my twitter follower misunderstood me. I do love my friends and family in my “real life” and I’m glad to be back to some of my routine (not the chores, that’s for sure), but four days is not enough time to cram a year’s worth of opportunity and friendship into face-time.

It was an awesome BlogHer. And I can’t wait to see all of you again soon.