Week 34 Weigh-in

August 23, 2013August 23, 2013 Nina Chapman5 Comments

The worst part about writing a brutally honest blog is that you have to be brutally honest.

Insightful… I know.

Looking back at it I kind of wished I would have started a fake “My Life Is Perfect” blog because then I wouldn’t have to share the bad news.

But… I didn’t, so now I have to confess that this week sucked.

I hate to break it to you because there’s something about the Debbie Downer attitude that really gets on my nerves. This makes me go out of my way to look for the good in crappy situations but sometimes life just sucks and there’s nothing you can really do about it but acknowledge it and move on.

To go along with that theme I’m up at two o’clock in the morning writing my weigh-in post, a task I usually save for when I’m up for the day. I went to bed at 11 and was fast asleep but Penelope woke up three times in the one o’clock hour. After the third trip to her room I was left lying in my bed blinking up at the ceiling.

It’s not entirely Penelope’s fault that I can’t sleep, I think I’m in mourning… It’s stupid really, but I couldn’t stop thinking about my garden that got pulverized during a freak hail storm that took place yesterday afternoon. Once it was determined that I wasn’t going to sleep I lied in bed and started instagramming pictures of my garden.

I feel like a dejected ex-girlfriend who can’t get over a breakup so instead she obsessively posts pictures of the “good times” and then slowly starts posting angry images of what went wrong.

The good old days (last week)…

I was so looking forward to Fall because Penelope and Bridget were going to have their own personal pumpkin patch. Penelope and I spent every morning watering the plants together. It was one of my crowning moments as a mother…

I spent the day yesterday doing everything right. I ate a healthy breakfast with the girls, went to the gym and played with Penelope at the park. But for some reason I felt really off. I didn’t know what my problem was as I struggled to fight off another migraine headache. Just like on my birthday I was feeling nauseous and my head was pounding. What I didn’t know was that my body was reacting to the barometric pressure of that impending storm.

As I stood in my kitchen choking down another hand full of ibuprofen I could hear the pounding of hail start to hit my roof. Before I knew it the hail was coming down so hard it sounded like our house was under attack.

It came on so fast! I was glad we weren’t out for a walk or playing at the park when it took place. Within fifteen minutes the creek by our house was flooded.

When we first moved into this neighborhood Bridget and I called this bridge our “Bridge to Terabithia”. (We are such book nerds.) It never quite fit the part until that storm rolled through.

After we looked at the creek with all of our neighbors we headed back to our own backyard to survey the damage.

My garden was gone…

I was so bummed but I kept trying to remind myself that it was just a bunch of plants, no biggie. Plenty of people have bigger problems. I just needed to get over it.

Yet, here I am now at three o’clock in the morning, writing a blog post about it. Seriously? To make matters worse when I weighed myself I weighed in 196. WHAT THE CRAP?! I even spent an entire day being involuntarily bulimic!

This week was supposed to be the week that everything fell into place. Ohhh the irony!

Brent is leaving for St. Louis tomorrow to go see our new baby nephew and he was going to take Penelope with him since she flies free. At first I was hesitant about being separated from her but as the migraines piled on through out the week I started to look forward to having a mini mommy vacation. I started to look forward to not having to worry about nap time or the wretched hour before bed time. Three days of freedom… what a treat!

Then, we found out that one of the cousins that they would be visiting is sick so we decided Penelope should stay home with me after all. We don’t want her to get sick too. I can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment at the thought of all of that thwarted freedom and that disappointment brings on a whole level of “mommy guilt”.

Brent get’s off of work tomorrow morning (this morning) and I have to drive him to the airport during Penelope’s nap time and then when he returns he goes back to work so that adds another two days of single mommyhood. I’m trying to rally myself so that I can have a better attitude about it but I need some space to throw an internal pep rally.

I’ve gotta get pumped up for next week because it’s gotta be better than the one I just went through!

Week 33 Weigh-in

August 16, 2013August 16, 2013 Nina Chapman3 Comments

Good Morning!!! This morning’s weigh-in is a little late because I was busy doing mom stuff.

Bridget’s school “Meet and Greet” was at 7:30 this morning. So of course I had to take her and her friend for a 6th grade makeover last night…

Before:

After:

A few years ago feathers were all the rage now it’s all about Rainbow Bright hair.

Once we found out who Bridget’s teacher was and who was in her class we had donuts while I watched all of the awkward social graces of 6th grade unfold around me.

Now Bridget and I are at home planning our mass organizational overhaul. We do this every year with the intentions of starting the school year off fresh. I always convince myself that I will be that mom that has her shit together so that I have that kid who is also organized and tidy. But it never happens, neither one of us are very good at it. I think it might be a genetic defect.

Since I have a lot of things on my to-do list I did what I always do… I procrastinated. I did this in the form of admiring my garden.

I think I just had to spend a moment with something that I managed to be successful at (sort of). This was the first year that I actually accomplished my goal of having a garden. I was hoping spending some time with it would inspire me to move towards the rest of my goals. So I took the time to pick some flowers and harvest more of that blasted zucchini.

I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. I have thirty pounds to lose before Thanksgiving, the second half of a book to write, a graduate degree to finish and a house to organize along with making sure my kids don’t end up like me and are so much better at this life business than I am. I’m also hoping to land a freelance writing job… the ticket to my sanity.

This past week has been a free week of sorts. I got caught up in the whole “I’m going to start on Monday” trap that a lot of chubby people get caught up in.

But seriously, I’m starting on Monday… even though my birthday is on Tuesday and my anniversary is on Wednesday. I’ve been celebrating my birthday all this week because that’s how I roll and Brent and I are going to have a date on Sunday since he works on our anniversary.

This leaves me clear to start this new school year off fresh. The first day of school is Monday and I always find that the first day of any new routine is the perfect time to set a precedent for habits. I know when I’m going to grocery shop and plan my meals for the week. I’ve got Penelope’s schedule dialed in. I also have my workout times planned around school and extra curricular activities.

That being said, all of that self celebrating has caused the scale to go up to 193.4. Margaritas and cupcakes will tend to do that to you… even if you do work out like crazy.

It has become blatantly clear that I need to work on my lifting face because that’s just not cute… but it does make me laugh.

Anyway, I’ll be spending the weekend nursing my sore muscles and celebrating ME some more in preparation for the lifestyle overhaul that comes with school starting up again.

(Am I the only mom who is super excited about this?)

Hope you guys have a great weekend. Get ready for weight loss round 2 to commence!

Coco Robicheaux

July 24, 2013July 25, 2013 Nina Chapman18 Comments

Today was one of those days that I actually did everything that I set out to do… It wasn’t easy but I did it.

You see I have this bratty alter ego whose name is Coco Robicheaux. She’s always getting me into precarious situations by giving me crazy ideas. When I was younger it started out innocent enough. She would say things like, “I wonder what happens when you stick gum in the microwave?”

Then she moved on to, “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun if you convince your room-mate to push you home in a shopping cart? The eggs won’t break… Scout’s honor.” FYI, the eggs always break. Especially when you get in a shopping cart wreck. Then you end up bleeding in the middle of the street with a shopping cart laying on top of you while your room-mate goes to find money for more eggs… but I digress.

Lately she’s been saying stuff like, “Hey you should eat that cookie.” or “You should drink 5 margaritas and try to dance like Beyonce.” That’s ~~never~~ actually happened.

Oh that reminds me… I need to look up that video of Beyonce getting her hair stuck in a fan. Coco tried to get me to watch it instead of going out for a run this morning but I didn’t listen to her. I forgot all about it until now.

Beyonce’s alter ego must have been like. “Hey, go stand in front of that fan while you sing this song… it’ll be fun.”

Oh Sasha, why do you have to be so mean? Sasha is Beyonce’s alter ego, just in case you didn’t know… true story.

Anyway, today was the first day that I actually regret not taking Coco’s advice. After my run this morning I felt bad for leaving Scout behind. I just couldn’t handle him and the stroller at the same time. So when I was done with my run I swung back around and picked him and Bridget up so that we could go for a walk. He was SO happy!

Unfortunately, Coco Robicheaux thought we should go to Starbucks even though I had some of my homemade iced coffee before the run. (For the record I didn’t listen to her, instead of getting a venti iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel I got a venti unsweetened iced tea. Thankyouverymuch.)

Once we arrived several people were sitting outside chatting with friends while they had their coffee. Among them was a man reading his newspaper while his toy poodle lounged next to his chair. As we walked past Scout decided that he should give that poodle a little sniff. He started to lean his head over in that direction and the man swatted at him with his newspaper.

I was in shock. Did that guy just hit my dog with his newspaper? It wasn’t rolled up but it was rude all the same.

Coco told me to snatch that newspaper from that man’s sweaty pudgy fingers and whack him over the head with it and see how he likes it!

I didn’t do that.

So then she told me to give him a dirty look, “Make it good” and I did. Only I was wearing sunglasses so he didn’t see it. I strode past him to get my drink fuming all the same. By the time I had walked back out with my drink in hand to give him the dirty look he deserves, sans the sunglasses, he was gone. I had missed my opportunity to fight for my dog’s honor… I had let him down.

It’s been bugging me all day. Why is it that my first instinct is to be polite?

Brent tells me I’m a weirdo magnet because I smile at everyone… EVERYONE. I can’t help it. I don’t want to waste this dimple on not smiling! But I should be able to be rude to a man who hit my dog. Should I not?

Coco wouldn’t let me hear the end of it for the rest of the day. She tempted me with all kinds of bad ideas because I ignored her one good suggestion. But I stayed strong…

I cleaned the house.

I made zucchini lasagna.

~~I stayed out of the wine…~~ oh wait, no I didn’t.

I made healthy zucchini muffins.

Then I gave half of them to my neighbor because they tasted too good.

I threw in a few zucchini while I was at it because I sprayed her wiener dogs with the water hose… all five of them. What?! They wouldn’t shut up on the other side of the fence. Besides, Coco made me do it.

I walked around the garden where Coco and I had a good laugh at the pepper plant that only has one pepper on it making the plant look like it has a wiener…

Then we laughed at the word wiener. You know because of the wiener dogs and the…

Ahem, anyway. Doesn’t my garden look good?

And with that I leave you with a give-a-way from Purina Dog Chow. They have offered to send one of my loyal dog loving readers a kit that is very similar to the one that I received. It includes the following:

One 4-pound bag of Purina Dog Chow Light & Healthy
10 Samples of Purina Dog Chow Light & Healthy to share with your friends, family
Product Brochure
Leash
Dog bowl
Doggie water bottle
Pet pedometer
Bandana

To enter this giveaway respond to this post in the comments section by telling me what kind of dog you have. Also, please share your thoughts on what you would have done if a weirdo hit your dog with a newspaper. It can happen to you!

You have until Thursday at midnight. I will announce who the winner is on Friday during this week’s weigh-in so be sure to stay tuned.

Gardening Sucks… Except When It Doesn’t

July 7, 2013July 7, 2013 Nina Chapman4 Comments

I see a lot of parallels between gardening and weight loss. When you first start out you only see the end result in your imagination…

A hot body.

A beautiful garden.

Then when it starts to get down to the nitty gritty and you actually have to work at it you decide that the whole process just sucks. You question whether or not all of the effort you’ve put in is going to actually yield any results and you wonder whether it’s worth it or not.

Then something beautiful happens and unexpectedly you are rewarded for your tenacity. It could be something simple like a budding flower or squeezing into a pair of pants. Suddenly, you’re ready to stick to it for the long haul because you’ve gotten the renewed faith that you can do it!

I had a moment like that as I was watering my garden this morning. Upon inspection I found something quite spectacular…

My dinner plate dahlias are blooming even though they got eaten by an extremely hungry bug, then burned by an insecticide… then eaten some more. Every time I step foot into my garden I wonder if all gardeners curse like pirates while they tend to their garden… or was that just me? Things kept going wrong and it was really pissing me off! (See?) It didn’t look like these flowers even had a chance but lo and behold most of them are trying to bloom!

At that moment I stopped to look past all of my dead grass and half eaten basil to see the progress I’ve actually made…

I’m not doing half as bad as I thought I was! The same can be said for my weight loss as well. The key is to focus on your success not your failure. It’s all about perspective right?

I think I had a sunnier disposition today than had in weeks because somebody finally made it home from his wildland fire deployment…

I can’t even begin to tell you how much we missed this guy!

He came home with some amazing pictures and a scruffy beard. I didn’t know just how stressed out I was about it until he got home. As he walked through that door it felt like I could finally exhale for the first time since he had left. I was able to relax for the first time in weeks!

Everything was finally back to normal now and I couldn’t be happier about it 🙂

All of you military wives out there I give you mega props because you make me look like the wimpiest woman on the planet!

P.S. Here is a link to thirty five pest and disease remedies for your garden.

Cheers You Slimy Suckers

June 25, 2013June 25, 2013 Nina Chapman2 Comments

So I have a little confession to make… I’ve been a little stressed out.

I was in denial because I wanted my cousin to have fun while she was here. By the end of her trip the window company we bought our new windows from informed me that they would be installing them the day she left. At first I was really excited but then I started to take down the blinds and found myself completely overwhelmed by just how ghetto fabulous the previous owners of our house were.

I mean seriously, who glues match boxes from Vegas to their blinds???

It took forever to get those suckers down! Once I finally got the job done I was coated in dust and silently reprimanding myself for not being a tidier homeowner.

I don’t really think it was the windows that had me stressed out but more the fact that my husband is away for so long. I’m not normally clingy but I was nowhere near mentally prepared to have him be deployed to fight a wild-fire for two weeks. Deployments aren’t always so spur of the moment. I’m still kicking myself for not giving him a kiss before he left for work.

In the mean time while I complain about how stressed out I am about dusty blinds he’s off fighting something that looks like this…

(He sent me this picture from his phone upon arrival.)

Since then the West Fork Complex Fire has grown significantly. When I got to talk to him he told me that his crew was supposed to be assigned to where the brunt of the action was but for some strange reason the starter in their rig went out before they could get there. While he went on and on about how ticked he was to be missing out on all of the good stuff I was secretly counting my blessings that the starter didn’t go out on them while the fire was bearing down on them. I was really glad that he had a boring day waiting for it to be repaired.

In other news, I have decided to see if I can get a bunch of slugs drunk…

My garden is a disaster. Over the past week and a half something has eaten the majority of my plants. When I found huge gaping holes I sprayed an organic insecticide that I had on hand all over my plants. Guess what…

I burned the shit out of them. So now not only do I have holy plants but they are crispy to boot. Check it out…

Crusty zucchini… yum.

Dinner plate dahlias.

This was a dinner plate dahlia too… before it got eaten.

I freaked out and went to the nursery and had the professionals pick an organic insecticide that was supposed to be used on plants and I immediately came home and sprayed them. I felt happy with myself until the next morning when I found more holes.

(I don’t think I’ll ever be able to read The Hungry Caterpillar again. I’ve come to realize that this is not a cute children’s book… it’s a tragedy.)

I was starting to become desperate. What was I going to do? Every time I woke up in the morning a little more of my garden was gone! I finally went to another nursery and they told me that I was either dealing with slugs or a worm of some sort. They told me to put out some beer because slugs love beer. If I wake up to find slugs passed out in the beer then I know who the culprit is. So I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot…

(Cheers you slimy little suckers.)

I really hope I find a bunch of drunk slugs in the morning. That way I know who the culprit is. Otherwise I’ll just keep on living the most boring murder mystery there ever was.

In the mean time I’m going to have to remember that I have not replaced my blinds just yet while I get dressed for bed tonight. I don’t need the whole neighborhood looking at my goodies. Especially the weirdo who lives a block away and insists that I keep my porch light off so he can search for comets in the sky with his telescope. That’s right buddy I’ve got my eye on you too. (But that’s another tale for another day.)

I will say that I love the way the windows came out so he can feel free to admire those… during the day… minus the telescope.

I’ll let you know how my slug experiment pans out… I’m sure you’ll be waiting on the edge of your seats 😉

Nina in the Now

Tag: gardening

Week 34 Weigh-in

Week 33 Weigh-in

Coco Robicheaux

Gardening Sucks… Except When It Doesn’t

Cheers You Slimy Suckers

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