Posting Failure (and Tri My Way Thursday Update)

Posted by Missy in Fitness, Whatever | 3 comments

Hmmm. I scheduled a post for the first time ever. Not only did it not post at the requested hour, it has now turned into gibberish and refuses to let me anywhere near the “post” button.

Internet Technology Thingy That Makes My Blog Work, we should talk. I do think if we spent a little time together, one-on-one, we could be friends. As it stands now, I’m kind of tired of the technical difficulties you throw my way. Oh, don’t start up with your “user error” bullshit* again. I realize I don’t know everything about you or how to make you happy, but this process takes two. I would appreciate it if you do your part.

Real people readers? Are you still here?

Thanks for hanging around. I’ll repost today’s previously scheduled programming soon. Who knows, maybe my Internet Technology Thingy That Makes My Blog Work knew the post was drively crap written late at night after two sangrias with some fun new friends (here’s where I give a shout out to Christina at A Closet Writer and Gigi at Kludgy Mom). Yes, you read that right – two sangrias and I’m done for. I’m officially old and lame.

A quick Tri My Way update. You may have seen that the gym landed on my head this week. This did nothing to dampen my spirits, although it thoroughly dampened the gym. This week, I also learned the following:

1. I don’t posses the inner strength and will power required to do much more than the bare minimum. I am seeking outside motivation and trying some new tricks. I have a little contest going on with The Churchill Family. We haven’t done our weekly check-in yet, but she’s winning. For sure.

2. I didn’t want to count calories, but I am going to have to. I tend to get crazy obsessive once I start and spend half my day writing down my food intake. As I currently spend half my day on Twitter, I’m running out of hours left to care for my children. They are really particular about the whole food, clothing, love and attention deal. So in my continued efforts to be a real grown up, I am going to use my time more wisely. Writing down my daily caloric intake is now a non-optional activity.

3. I am really, really good at making excuses. I might turn it into a business. Excuses by Missy: You Don’t Wanna Go, I’ll Get You Out of It.

4. I still have a long road ahead to get my IT bands and knees in good working order. I need to slap my ego out of the way and accept that I’m not doing any triathlons in 2010. My husband so kindly pointed out that “at your age, you shouldn’t expect to see results so quickly.” I asked him how it feels to sleep alone. At his age.

So there you go. Summary: I ate well. But I also had two big slip-ups in the food department. I exercised and was very active. But I also talked myself out of going to the gym. Twice. One step forward, two steps back. This week’s goal: no back-stepping.

*Did you catch the movie reference? It’s not an exact quote, but it’s clearly borrowed from one of the most quotable movies ever. If you can tell me what it is, we will be good friends. How’s that for a motivating prize?!

3 comments

Wonder Why Wednesday: I’m Hungry Edition

Posted by Missy in Fitness, Food | 4 comments

Remember how last week I had nothing for Wonder Why Wednesday? This week I’m full of ‘em. Questions, that is. It was hard to decide what to write about. So I wrote down all my ideas on little strips of paper and drew one out of a hat.

No I didn’t.

Don’t be ridiculous.

I picked one, right out of my head. I should, however, write down the others somewhere or I’ll forget them. You know I will.

So. This week, I want to talk about eating. One of my favorite subjects. A few days ago I mentioned that I’m working on some things in my life. Some of the things are what you might call deep and introspective. Some others are easier to think about and easier to talk about. We’re starting with easy. Don’t judge me.

Food. Eating. Nutrition. These are all passions of mine. I’m not so much into the cooking of food, though. I enjoy cooking, sometimes, but it’s not a passion. I’m more interested in the talking about and the eating of food. I happen to have a lot of knowledge about healthy eating (when I don’t know something, I have access to a great nutritionist, who will probably appear here soon; she’s been helping me with the makings of a post).

My issue, you see, is not what I know. It’s what I do. A classic, right? Do as I say, not as I do.

As a rule of thumb we buy organic. The following items do not land in my shopping cart: partially hydrogenated anything, food dyes, GMO’s. Where staples are concerned, we eat healthfully around here. I shop the perimeter of the store way more than the aisles. We eat lots of whole foods at our house. I try not to overcook things and deplete them of nutritional value (I’m no raw-diet-vegan-Gwyneth-Paltrow or anything, don’t get any crazy ideas).

I’m not saying we never have a processed snack or junk food. I’m all about moderation. I’m totally against deprivation. I try to focus on controlling what I can, but not freaking out about every little bite that goes in my kids’ mouths. Or mine.

So here’s my problem:

I make good choices for meals, and good choices about what I put in my shopping cart. Mostly, anyway.

Somehow, though, I manage to find ways to indulge way too often. When presented with an opportunity to eat badly, I will. Every time. Junk food, comfort food… I cannot quit you.

I have NO WILL POWER. Sorry for screaming at you there. It’s just that I find this so frustrating.

I know what I need to do. I know what I want to do. But I keep failing. That leads me to my Wonder Why Wednesday question:

*********************************************************************************

Once again, I leave you with some housekeeping. I won’t include this in every post for the rest of our lives, but I’ll probably include it a few more times:

1. You can now subscribe to Wonder, Friend by email! This makes me inexplicably excited. If you’re anything like me, you sometimes forget to check your reader. You may have favorite blogs (ahem) that you love reading, but you get busy and forget to check for new posts. So go ahead, subscribe. Over there, on the right, near the top. The Feedburner thingy. Thank you!

2. If you do read Wonder, Friend on a regular basis, you have my heart. Really. When I started this I said I would write even if nobody was reading, and I meant that. I mean that still. I write this for me, but lately it’s occurred to me that I also write this for you. Thank you for reading! If you leave a comment, you’re on my list of suitable mates should my husband ever meet an untimely demise. I sincerely appreciate your comments. Here’s the housekeeping part - I am now responding to comments within the comment thread, not via email. It just makes things more consistent. I’m working on setting up a comment platform that will send you an email when I respond to your comment. If you have recommendations for a good comment platform, send them my way.

4 comments

I'm Here, But Not Really

Posted by Missy in Whatever | 10 comments

Check back in roughly a month. Wonder, Friend should be up and running by then.  Until then, I offer you the following:

What on earth is Wonder, Friend?

I’ll tell you.  About, oh, 80 times each day I find myself muttering, “I wonder…”  As in:

I wonder if it’s too early to plant herbs?

I wonder if I should take the baby to the doctor or just let this run its course?

I wonder what the nutritional value of a sesame seed is?

And I know – really, I do – that I can look all of this stuff up out there somewhere. But the truth is, the information has more value to me if I know the source. I go to my friends and family, particularly those who have some knowledge on the subject, and ask them first. I have connections. I know people. People who are a lot smarter than I am.

So… some of what you’ll find here will be standard blog entries, like my thoughts on whatever happens to be on my mind. Lucky you. But you’ll also find answers to questions big and small. A lot of the content here will come from my friends and family who happen to be experts – at least in my eyes – in a particular area.

Have a question? Send it to me. Maybe I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who can answer it for you.

This is NOT:

• An advice column.
• A definitive guide to, well, anything.
• To be your only source for answers to your life’s questions.
• Legally binding in any way, shape or form.

This IS:

• Kind of like talking to your friends. We’ll discuss, ponder, offer suggestions, and generally have a great time.

If you have a big question, big problem, big issue, we can talk about it here. In fact, I really want to talk about it. Just you, me and all of the Internet. But I insist, absolutely insist, that you seek the wise counsel of actual professionals who are not connected with this blog before you settle on a plan of action.

What you find here may point you in the right direction (or the wrong one – I make no guarantees aside from good conversation and friendly ears – and eyes – to lean on). It may inspire you. It might even answer your question and solve your problem. The possibilities are endless.

Check back soon. I can’t wait to get started!

10 comments