Thank*full Thursday

Melody, the woman who owns my beloved boot camp, reminded me today with a sweet message that it is, indeed, Thursday, and I haven't written a Thank*full Thursday post in ages.  There is no better time than the present, so.

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  My alarm clock, my friend Laura, and a warm coat - all of which get me out of bed and out to boot camp in the morning.  I might not go if not for these things, and then I would not feel so very fabulous as I do when I do.  You got that, right?

2.  The warning light on my vehicle, which informed me this morning that I had low pressure in one of my tires.  One of my great fears is that I will have a tire blow out on the expressway.  I did not, and I got my car to the shop, and a new tire, as there was a piece of metal in one of them.  Thank you, Chrysler designers.

3.  Postmodern Jukebox.  How have I never heard of these people? A posted a video of their cover of "All About That Bass" last week, and it is better than the original.  And check this:

Oh yeah. That's "Sweet Child O' Mine" done as New Orleans style.  Fantastic.  

4.  My friend Deanna.  It's gotten pretty cold around here, as in, it's been snowing today.  And last week she said something about how we choose to look at the weather - enjoy it, or whine.  I've decided to enjoy this cold.  I've decided to wear warm clothes and socks, drink hot tea, and burrow.  And I am kind of loving it.

5.  My son has suggested I be thankful for Eddy.  So, here we are.  I am so thankful for my Eddy.  He keeps my legs warm, and he purrs very loudly, and he loves biscuits.  

I think I will go snuggle my Eddy.  

Happy Happy November.

I know.I know! I just posted the other day, but just so much awesomeness has happened this weekend, including some much-needed kick in the rear-type motivation, I just had to post again.

Let's start with the fact that it is my husband's and my 18th anniversary.  Which is, of course, a ridiculously long time, no matter how you slice it, but to quote Cam from Modern Family, "we have fun."  We had a good portion of he weekend to ourselves, which rarely happens, and was doubly enjoyed since we know next Saturday night we will have several giggly preteen females in the house, so, there we go.  Several people asked what our plans were.  They don't understand how we treasure this time at home alone - we do not go out, we do not see other people if at all possible.  We stay home, eat something delicious, and watch whatever the heck we want.  That usually means some form of sporting event for him, while I read.  We did watch the new Doctor Who.  Is anyone else totally over Clara and Mr. Pink?  Ditch the romantic crap and get back to the adventures.  Kind of digging this dark new Doctor, and last night's twist...gasp! No Spoilers, I promise.  Anyway, today is the actual anniversary, and while I was taking the Girl to volleyball, the husband made good chicken parmesan and apparently bought me a laptop!  On which I am typing this, right now!  Yay!  I have been using a Dell from 2002, so you can see why I am excited. 

Inspired by Organize Yourself Skinny, to which I have referred in the past, I would like to start posting my healthy plans each week.  This doesn't mean I will do away with my completely meaningless babble, oh good heavens, no!  Simply, that I will have opportunity for more, plus, maybe I will feel a bit more compelled to stay on track if I post about it.  Melody, from the famed boot camp, often says "your failure to plan is not my problem."  And that cracks me up, and speaks to me, as  I find I am so much more on top of things if I plan, and prepare.  Not rocket science, I know, shush.  But I need more than the usual dose of motivation, and this may just help.  So here is something fun:

I did this today - made the menu plan, chopped many veggies, made up mason jar salads (love!), prepared snacks, got some stuff together for smoothies and for dinners (there is not really as much dressing as it looks like there is in the salad on the left, just tilted some.)  Also did a buttload of laundry, but that is not part of this.  Went through the boot camp schedule and figured out my exercise for the week.  I'm ready to kick butt and take names, and it couldn't come sooner, I'll tell you, because this past week I have been one lazy Missy. 

What prompted this hysterical rush of healthy prep work, you ask?  Scary story:
Last night, I dreamed I went back to school.  I had several papers to write, and I had no freaking clue how to do the math I apparently learned last year.  So I had to reteach myself the math from last year, study for tests, and write papers, and then I realized I hadn't been in to work in several days, and they really wanted me to be there.  Plus, my kids had school work and several of their assignments required me to take them to Indiana.  I was extremely stressed out.  In my freaking sleep, I was stressed out.  I woke up very angry - if I can't relax in my sleep, where can I relax, for crying out loud!  I realized, I filled in my November calendar last night before going to bed, and the Girl recently made a select volleyball team, which is going to require more driving around, and if we are not going to live off fast food (and I haven't had fast food in awhile,) I'd better start preparing things ahead of time. 

Since I've babbled on for a while tonight, I'm not going to give you the nitty gritty of the week's plans, maybe next week.  I do plan on 5AM boot camp, 5 days this week, plus a definite 8:30 yoga class on Saturday.  I'm feeling pretty good and on top of things for this week.

Ooh, also, have you checked out the Dia De Los Muertos Google banner today?  Very cool. 

I think this is done by MisNopalesArt on Etsy- she does a lot of this very cool stuff.  Google didn't tell me for sure.

 

Doesn't the stormtrooper helmet lend itself well to the Calaveras treatment?

Getting comfy

It's been months. When I have the time, I don't feel inspired, and when I feel inspired, I don't have the time. But today's weather is inspiring, and I have the time, so it is all falling into place.

Don't get me wrong, I love warm weather, and swimming, and sunshine, and all of that, but nothing is more comforting than the things we do to make ourselves warm in cold weather. Sweaters and blankets and warm socks, hot tea and soup and oatmeal for breakfast. An extra cup of coffee and hot pumpkin bread just out of the oven. I wish I had a fireplace, which is funny, as I had a fireplace in our condo in Illinois, and rarely lit it. But now, all I want to do is snuggle up by the fireplace with my book and my tea.

I've been posting a lot of photos to Facebook lately since I got my nifty new phone (with a better camera than my "good" camera.) Here's a fun one of my two guys - see how they are pretty much the same person? They were not posing.

Still working the boot camp. This past week was a wash - it was an off week, although several of the instructors still led classes. But the first two days my family was in town, and then I just kept not going. I have no excuses, and Monday is going to be tough because of my lazy, but I am not going to let this go again. I've been feeling way too good to let it all slip away. Cooler packing has been a big part of the "Let's get Missy healthy" movement:

When I take the time to plan my meals and snacks on Sunday, the week goes well. Otherwise, hello white cheddar popcorn and Pepsi. I don't pack my dinners (although I did on this day), but as long as I plan for the dinner, I do fine. I have to credit Tammy from for the help with this - planning and organizing is so crucial to success with everything, and health is no different.

The kids are fine - the Boy is applying for colleges, and the girl is playing sports and doing very well in school, and singing in choir, and playing clarinet, and all the other things a girl who enjoys being active in school does. My job is going well, although I really need more hours in the day, but don't we all?

I will try my darndest to get on here and say something fascinating a little more often, but for now, I hope you all enjoy your weekend.