Whaaaaaa!!!

I feel like a big baby going to the ER for back pain but O M G!!! I've had a baby and didn't feel anything like this.

I picked up Sprout in the middle of the night and walked in to the living room.  I was just about to put Sprout down when my middle of the back completely seized up.  I felt like I couldn't breathe and was utterly paralyzed--probably from the excruciating pain and because I was terrified I would drop the baby.

Jake rushed out after I screamed and quickly grabbed Sprout.  I was a blubbering mess and in total denial about what was happening. 

After arguing that a heat pad would miraculously cure the pain for about a half hour, I gave in and went to the ER.  

I just hate going to the ER.  I guess I feel silly, but the doctor was great.  He made me feel better and said that people don't realize how severe back pain can be and that I would only get better with medication.  

So, here is my diagnosis--thoracic spine strain.  Hurts like a son of a bitch and I hope I feel better ASAP so I can get back to jogging and most of all, hold my baby!!  

Anyone else throw out their back?  How long to recover?  Any spiffy tricks on how to get it to relax and stop the spasms?  

I feel so lame!  I was supposed to do day 2 of week 4 of Couch to 5K.  That's definitely a no go today!

I was born a travelin' gal!

In just a few days I am about to travel to Hotlanta!  Haha, okay, okay, Atlanta, GA.

And guess who's going with me?

Mr. Sprout!  

Well and the hubs, of course :o)

We are going to watch my husband's best friend get hitched and hopefully visit a few sites.

I'm super pumped about it.

The hubs....ehh....

He's nervous.  After all, we are traveling with a 5 1/2 month baby who could get cranky and start crying on a plane.

On a plane where you can't escape.

On a plane where everyone will look at you and point at you and laugh at you and well, you get the point.

I was once one of those childless travelers.  

I'd think "UGH!  A baby on a plane?!?!  Are they nuts!!??"

And then of course, "Shit, hope they don't sit close to me!"

So, I know as soon as Drake giggles with glee or screams for food, someone is going to roll their eyes and want to change flights ASAP.  I was totally THAT person.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!!!

But now, I have a kid and quite frankly, will NOT let having a kid keep me at home.  Sprout has been out and about since he was about 2 weeks old and once he was 2 months old, we started going out a lot more.  I'm sure someone out there just gasped and is calling me a bad mother.  Oh well!  Your opinion!

I have a theory that the more you have your kids out and about, the more they will get used to it, understand what it's all about, blah, blah, blah.  And as they get older, it will be increasingly more FUN to go and do things!  

I have cousins in Las Vegas and they take their kids EVERYWHERE.  I want to to do that.  

Do their kids have melt downs?  Absolutely.

Do their kids make a stink over nothing?  Totally.

Didn't we all do that at some point when we were a kid?  Of course.

So I don't really fret.  If anything, I make a joke about it and carry on with taking care of my kid.

Sprout, Jake and I are headed to the South!!  Can't wait to be in Georgia and can't wait to go to what will undoubtedly be a beautiful wedding!  It's going to be a blast and I get to put my 'travel agent' skillz to work :o)

Oh and holla!  I cut my hair for those of you who don't follow me on Facebook.

More than just getting healthy...

This blog is more than just all about me getting fit and healthy so I can keep up with the totally cute, adorable, fantastic, awesome, beyond amazing Sprout.

It's also about making the RIGHT decisions in my life.

My husband is going to college to get his BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing).  

It's a HUGE deal, but it also means we are gobbling up more debt.

It's not fun, but we feel it's necessary so he'll be more satisfied at a job.  He's passionate about the field and I think he'll be great in it.

I've hinted on Facebook that I am truly excited about some changes.  So I'm finally getting around to writing about it ;o)

Well, not only are we getting healthy in a nutritious way, but we are getting healthy financially.

I stumbled upon Dave Ramsey - google him now! - and wow!  Just in a few days I already feel like our lives have changed.

 

I read his book and sat down with the hubs and we made our first REAL budget.

I feel kinda stupid because I always did have a budget, or so I thought, but my eyes were opened when I had to allocate every single dime in Ramsey's Zero Budget.  Holy crap we wasted money on stupid shit.

Needless to say, it's going to be tough.  But it's going to be worth it.  It's going to suck come Christmas time when I can't buy everything in the world for the people I love, but they will love it when in a few years, I'll be able to treat them to some nice things because I won't have to rob Peter to pay Paul.

I'm just looking forward to seeing my very first student loan ever be paid off vs. waiting until 2030 as it suggests.  I would be 48 years old if I kept paying on my student loans as I am today.  Dude - that's 'old'!  

So long story short, I'm pumped!!  I've already had a challenge by going to Costco and NOT buying Sprout clothes or trying something scrumptious from the freezer aisle.  It was hard to say NO, but I did it!  I'll have to post more about this as we go through the steps Ramsey sets out in his book.  Just like losing weight, there will be some fails, maybe even epic fails, but as the saying goes 'fall 7 times, get back up 8'.

Cancer is a Bitch

Of all the places it could have happened, my Mom told me she had lung cancer inside a Wal-Mart.

I still have the image of my hands fiddling with the hangers burned inside my mind.  I can see the checkouts and fluorescent lights beating down on me.  I could feel the anger bubbling, trying to escape.  After all, I had tried to get my parents to quit smoking multiple times to no avail. I wanted to BLAME someone, something!!

That was nearly 15 years ago.

After undergoing both aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatments at same time, I'm happy to report that she annihilated that lung cancer and made it her 'bitch'.  At the same time, I was a pretty awful teenager and tried to drown out her treatment side-effects by yelling at my Dad and since he was still smoking, I told him that he was in fact killing her.  

Yeah, I actually said that to my dad.  And I regret it to this very day. 

Since then, people I've known have continued to be affected by cancer.  And honestly, I think once someone is diagnosed with cancer, they constantly have it in the back of their mind that it might come back - maybe not in the same form, but somehow, cancer will strike again.

And that's how I'm feeling right now.

I was recently told that someone close to me found a lump in their breast and has to undergo a biopsy.  This person has had cancer before and I could tell that they were scared or at least considerably anxious about what the results will be.

After they told me, I was numb.  

What should a person feel when they are told this?  Angry?  Sad?  

The eternal optimist inside me says 'Well, no sense in worrying until we actually know what the lump is....afterall, people get cysts and all sorts of weird things that grow in their body harmlessly.'  <Insert plastic smile here>

But in all honestly, I'm scared.   I'm scared that it might actually be cancer and it might take this person's life.  And I'm also mad as hell!

Mad that yet again, I am back thinking about how it will affect ME and I'm not even the person that may/may not have to have cancer treatments.  I'm all worried about how MY life will be changed.

Uhhh...hello!  It's going to change their life more than anyone's!!!  

Cancer is selfish.

Cancer makes me feel selfish.

Cancer is...

Hopefully, all is well and the lump is just that - a lump.  Nothing malicious about it and worse-case scenario, it can be safely removed, end of story.  

But until we know the results, Cancer is there, lurking in the back our minds.  

Weigh-In Wednesday #2

Linking up with Heather from Pretty Strong Medicine and her gals, Amy, Bailey and Ash!

HOT DOG!!

I was pretty happy with what the scale said this morning!

Here are my stats:

Current Weight:  271.6
Previous Weigh-In:  274.4
Week's Loss:  2.8 lbs!
Total Loss:  6.6 lbs!

My little mini-goal in my head was to get out of the 270's by the time I head to Atlanta which is next week Friday.  I am hoping I can drop at least 1.7lbs so I'll at least be 269.9.

I don't know why the 270's bother me so much since I've actually been heavier.  I lost weight before my pregnancy because I nearly got to 290 - very scary as that meant if I did get pregnant at that point, I'd 100% be over 300 lbs by the time I had Sprout.  It wasn't going to happen, hence my call to action.  

So what am I doing right and what am I still needing to work on?

Portion Control - Guess what ya'll - I.  Eat.  Out.  Not a lot, but it happens, especially on the weekends.  I know I'm not great at picking the most healthy thing at a restaurant so I always challenge myself to NOT eat it ALL.  Even if that means just eat half my sandwich or cut down the number of slices of pizza I would normally eat.  Every little change helps in my book and as I become comfortable, I will stretch myself to try healthier choices.

Working Out - Dude, I am rocking this!  I'm uber committed to this Couch to 5K thing.  I am repeating week 3 as I was feeling very uncomfortable jogging a full 3 minutes and week 4 has me jogging 5.  I've realized the heat and humidity does have something to do with my endurance so looking to try to work out when it's cooler.  Unfortunately, Missouri weather is highly unpredictable.  This morning it is GORGEOUS - nice and cool with a wonderful breeze.  Yesterday - hot, sticky, gross, but very pretty.  I can never tell if I should workout in the morning or in the evening.  For now, I'm sticking with the AM.  I feel better the rest of the day when I get a morning workout in.

Dude - I'm a sweaty mess right here.  I always feel so ugly when working out :o(

Weekends - This is where I struggle.  Every weekend we have something going on that involves eating out.  Yes, I am portion controlling, but I'd really like to learn how to make healthier choices and avoid eating out when it's not an absolute must.  Sunday we went shopping and it happened to fall into lunch time.  Instead of just waiting an extra 20 minutes to get home, we stopped and got some fast food.  Granted, smaller portions so a minor win, but still--fast food!  Ick!  Trying to get away from that!!  

Meal Plans - I'm totally sucking here.  I was reading Pretty Strong Medince's post on food wasting and I am a total food waster!!!  It's got to stop.  Not only is it good money going down the drain, but by not having a solid meal plan, it's causing us to fall back into old ways when we are in a pinch.  Not good!

So here's my goals this next week:

#1 - Eat out only once for Father-in-law's Bday Party at an awesome Mexican Place!  Yum!

#2 - Make a meal plan and stick to it.  I've been considering challenging myself to only spend like $30-40 a week on groceries - does not include diapers/formula.  Anyone do this before?  I've been pinning like mad trying to come up with recipes I could do this with....

#3 - Try a new food!  I've been eating Whips! Strawberry Mist yogurt and I think it's time I try the real fruit.  Yes, that's right, I don't eat Strawberries.  I remember my grandma trying to get me to eat them by dipping them in sugar, but I was such a picky eater when I was a kid that it was a no go.  Well, it's time to give them a whirl!

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry

Hit me up with some food ideas everyone - how do you save on your grocery bills?  Any tips/tricks to creating a meal plan for the week?  

A funny thing happened this weekend...

I'm so pumped to write about this weekend!

A few things happened that seriously rocked my world!

#1 - I had my best workout in the Couch to 5K program yet.  Sad thing is that my dang phone died about midway through...whomp, whomp...  So I have no idea what my actual stats were.  However, I still completed workout 3 of week 3 because I knew the distances I was supposed to be able to achieve during the time intervals.  And guess what?!?!  I ROCKED IT!  

Like, I seriously did!  (Okay, valley girl, settle down!)  I don't think I've jogged a full 1/4 mile since probably high school or roughly 13 years ago.  So for me to be able to do it not just once, but twice was freaking fantastic.  

I've also totally realized that I am scared shitless of jogging more than a quarter of a mile at one time.  My head is already telling me that I won't make it and that I'll fail, my ankle will give out, blah blah blah.  Well guess what!  I probably will suck it up the first few times, but that's OKAY.  I realize now that the Couch to 5K program isn't about mastering every workout, it's about seeing improvement.  If you struggle with one week, do it again!  

My awesome view working out early Saturday

#2 - Even though I'm not seeing a big poundage loss (I've actually been trying since June to lose weight so that's why 3.8lbs isn't really blowing up my skirt if you know what I mean), I'm finally seeing it in my clothes.

Saturday we were off to visit my friends and visit my college alma mater.  I, of course, was stressing over clothes cause I didn't want to feel super fat, especially since it might be pretty ripe with humidity that day.  And I tried on some pants that had previously been snug and they were...wait for it....wait for it....LOOSE!  Not like falling down loose, but loose enough I had to wear super cute underwear so if I bent over in public they wouldn't see plain whitey tighties.  Yes, that's how my mind thinks....

This totally made my day and boosted my confidence.  I'm really enjoying these tiny victories that will lead up to the BIG victory.

#3 - I always swore that when I had children that I would still have my own 'life'.  I didn't want my child to be all consuming and therefore I forget who I am, I lose all my friends, my marriage goes in the tank, etc etc etc....

And having lunch with some girlfriends on Friday made me realize my child is the center of my world right now and that does NOT mean that everything else goes down the drain.  

I'm still me :o)  I still love my husband and make time for 'us'.  I still go out with my friends and visit people.  And I'm quite content and actually pretty dang happy about it all.  

I think what's helping me, is that:

A) I pack pretty light compared to other parents. 

B)  I've always told myself that I'd include my child in whatever I could - hence him flying to Atlanta, GA with us in a couple of weeks.  He LOVES visiting people right now and seeing different things.  Granted, this will eventually change and he'll want to cling to Mom and Dad - every kid goes through that stage, but we'll deal with it and he'll be better for being so out and about.  

C)  Even though Sprout is pretty much the center of my world, he's the center of my world WITH my husband.  We both love watching him, interacting with him and sharing those private moments away from everyone where he looks up and you know he just KNOWS you are his Mommy.  LOVE!

But having lunch with my friends did open my eyes to the fact that DUH! - I'm not single any more and I have a family.  It still hasn't sunk in.....

I love it when he falls asleep on me!

Thanks for reading!

Spoonful of Sarah

Goodbye TV! I shall miss you! Sorta...

Having a kid can suck you dry - financially that is!

Before having Sprout, I used to think, man we don't have money just laying around.  How are we going to afford childcare?

Well, let me tell you, we can afford it and it AMAZES me how much money we just wasted before having him.  Ugh...the things we could have saved up for or paid off!  Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20, eh?

Sprout has definitely made me re-evaluate my health and happiness, which also included my finances.

My parents struggled when I was growing up, but they were still able to have a savings account.  My Mom always said 'Pay yourself first!' even if it was only $5 a week.  It adds up overtime if you leave it alone.  They sacrificed a lot so I could have things they didn't have growing up.  

I'd of course, like to do the same--give things I didn't have while growing up (without becoming a spoiled brat!).

So that leads me to saying goodbye to TV.  I said goodbye on June 11, 2013.  A month later and guess what??  

I don't miss it.  

Sure, it was nice to watch marathons of HGTV shows and getting lost in some of my guilty pleasure like re-runs of America's Next Top Model.  SMIZE!!  My husband will say he doesn't like these shows yet somehow he would manage to learn the names of the hosts or models...

But it also led to me sitting for hours, avoiding working out, cooking a healthy meal, the list goes on and on.  

Now, I will admit we do subscribe to Hulu and Netflix, but I really only find myself catching up on Supernatural occasionally.  Sorry hubs - I love me some Jensen Ackles!  

Pic from doblelol.com

Just look at those perfect teeth!  I know, I'm weird - who freaking obsesses over teeth?!?!

Anyway, other than sneaking in the occasional Supernatural episode, I find myself thinking "Hmmmm, what's a gal to do with herself?"

I finally am nesting in my own damn house, 2 years after moving in...

It feels good!

I feel like I MOVE more!

I feel like I'm not SITTING constantly!  

I just feel FREE from the damn couch and the damn TV!  I do NOT miss it!

I feel LIBERATED!  

I also feel really stupid for not realizing just how much time TV took up part of my life.  I don't want my child glued to the TV and it seems as people get older, the only thing they do is watch even more TV.  I don't want to be that person.  I want to be out and about, rocking my wrinkly butt to concerts, parks, malls, whatever.

So in the end, not only did ending TV free up some $$ for diapers/formula (oh the delusions I had about breast feeding!), but it's freeing up time for me to spend with Sprout, the Hubs, friends and other family.  And more importantly, it's freeing me from the couch.