Coming Up for Air

Alas, it has been a long time since I have blogged. So long that it is almost intimidating and overwhelming to start again. I stopped because I felt like I had strayed from my reasons for starting this blog and that I wasn't really putting anything out there that was fascinating. And then, I tasked myself with trying to be fascinating and thus not writing at all. But here I am, not fascinating, but coming up for air and blogging about it.

The past two months have actually been really great. I have been so content that I haven't wanted to break the peace and fulfill an "obligation" to sit down and blog. I have been reading a lot - books, magazines, blogs and also catching up on movies in our theater room. It helps that DrRuckus has been around a lot more as he has fulfilled his promise to work fewer shifts and have more family time. This has been fantastic for all of us and we have had more time to enjoy one another as a couple and as a family. We had a wonderful little getaway to Austin sans kids (if you haven't been to Frank's for sausages or Uchi for sushi, GO! NOW!) He and I both had Lasik eye surgery, which is miraculous and something we should have done years ago. I have spent time with old friends and made some new friends, all of whom enrich my life. Also, I have been cooking tons of new recipes, mostly soups and vegetarian meals, and have been getting much more adventurous about creating recipes.

Also, I have been adhering to my resolution to be more patient with my children and that has made all of us much happier. As I promised myself, I have been trying to live in the present, to let things roll off my back, and to try to be as calm and relaxed as possible. Most of the time, I have actually been succeeding! At times, this has been especially challenging, and at times I fail miserably, but mostly I am doing it and I am proud of myself.

Admittedly, I am addicted to my exercise routine, so when I had some bad hamstring tendonitis in January that prevented me from doing most of my regular activities, it could have thrown me off and made me miserable. And, it could have sabotaged all of my efforts to be patient and present. Instead, I took it in stride and attempted to figure out how to still work out and thus be the happier Mommy I am learning to be.

I used the "arm bike" for some cardio, I did a lot of resistance training with my upper body only, and I took up swimming. I was so hesitant to start swimming for fitness because of bad experiences on the swim team as a child, but it came at the perfect time for me. I was just starting to re-learn how to swim when I re-injured my hamstring. But, using a pool buoy, I was able to swim by just using my upper body and concentrate on form that way. When I was somewhat healed, I was able to add back in the kicking without affecting my tendonitis. Now I almost fully healed and pretty much able to do everything I was doing a few months ago, but swimming has become an important part of my week.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I take an Adult Swim Conditioning class with a group of wonderful women, friends both old and new. We have a great teacher and true camaraderie in the class and are learning to be good swimmers while having a great time encouraging each other. Those two days have been so fantastic that I try to swim one other day of the week by myself and this has been one of my favorite workouts of the week. I go early on Fridays, get in the pool and swim (slow) lap after (slow) lap enjoying the sound of the water, the feel of my body gliding through it by my own power. When it was suggested that I get some music to listen to while swimming, I was aghast! I have enough noise in my life. Swimming is meditative, contemplative, quiet while still being a kick ass workout! It challenges me with every lap but I emerge from the water feeling wonderful: tired, accomplished, clear headed, and somehow, just satisfied.

See, coming up for air!

yogaFLIGHT

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Lululemon here in The Woodlands to participate in a yogaFLIGHT workshop. Sky and Slade are a married couple from Ottawa, Ontario who are currently traveling in their Airstream trailer to Lululemon stores across the US and Canada to share their unique approach to yoga. They are endeavoring to "teach you how to stay grounded amidst the hustle and bustle and the stressors of modern life whilst enjoying the bliss of having your world turned upside down." Yoga Flight is based on the feeling of pure joy you got as a kid when your dad would fly you on his feet while he was lying on his back. It is about being playful and adventurous while building confidence and strength.

This was one of the coolest experiences of my life! The class was held in the middle of our local Lululemon store (a.k.a. my favorite store) in the middle of a busy Saturday. The group of us spread out our yoga mats while others were shopping and began with a series of sun salutations to warm up our bodies. Then Sky and Slade demonstrated some of the moves and poses we would be doing. Well, Slade is 6 feet tall and made of muscle and Sky is a small (albeit strong) woman not much over 5 feet. So, he "played base" while she was the flyer. They did all kinds of crazy moves and asanas, flowing from one to the other, Sky suspended on Slade's feet. Then it was our turn to play. I partnered with Tiffany, my yoga instructor and another small, strong woman. We surprised ourselves and were able to hold each other up and do some of the moves without much difficulty. However, we were not strong or brave enough to try the more advanced stuff.

Later I got a chance to work with one of the guys who works at Lulu and he was able to "fly" me pretty well. It was really cool to be able to get into the "hanging bat" pose where my legs were butterflied and I was holding my ankles suspended from his feet. But then I had a chance to "fly" with Slade and it was a whole new world! I had so much fun and felt so powerful and so graceful. He was so supportive both physically and mentally, that I felt like I could do anything! Moving me around was like nothing for him and this made me feel secure enough to try lots of different moves. Slade was even able to fly the guy who had "played base" for me and was pretty much the same size as Slade!

I wish that there was a place to practice Yoga Flight nearby because I would love to repeat this experience. I might have to get Tiffany to try some of the moves in her Thursday class!

New Year's Resolutions

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions; they just kind of occur to me some time in the new year and I am off and running. (Oftentimes literally.) Last year, on a whim early in January I decided to start doing Weight Watchers. Little Ladybug was just four months old and I had started Pilates and begun to get back in shape but knew that for me, the accountability in recording my points worked. With Weight Watchers, Pilates, and a dedication to healthy living and eating, I far surpassed the "goal" that I set for myself. In a year, I have lost 35 pounds, gone from a size 12 to a size 2, and am in by far the best shape of my life. I have been on the maintenance plan for 6 months and still use WW as a tool for holding myself accountable. I run faster than I ever thought that I could and feel great doing so. My heart and my body are strong, and I am so much more flexible and than I ever imagined that I could be. I am even more coordinated and graceful than before (but that isn't saying much!) In 2009, I dedicated myself to this goal of total fitness and I have accomplished it.

However, somewhere along the line, I became so focused on myself and what I needed to do to attain my goals that I stopped focusing on those two little people who are my heart's joy. I have always subscribed to the "put your own mask on first" theory of mothering, but lately I haven't been ensuring that theirs are on right at all. Over the past few months I have found myself being increasingly short tempered and exasperated with the two of them, and they do not deserve that. They are great kids, magical even, and it is my job to nurture them at every stage and help them to grow into incredible people. Christmas week really made it clear that my patience for my two amazing children has been in short supply and that it was making us all miserable. Yet, I didn't know that I was going to make a change until I just up and did it.

At some point on January 1, I had a lightbulb moment! I realized that if I could transform my body, my eating habits, my health and my fitness just by focusing really hard, I could certainly put that much effort into having patience for my kids. So, all of a sudden, I slowed down. I have been feeling for months like I am a bouncy ball going in every direction and not able to control my energy or focus my attention. Well, I am now making a conscious effort to be more still, more present in everything, but especially in my parenting. I keep taking a deep breath before reacting instead of flying off the handle. I am trying to not sweat the small stuff. When my kids need my attention, I am giving it to them instead of saying, "one minute." When they spill something, I am saying, "no big deal, let's get a towel" instead of flying off the handle. I am trying to put the computer down when they are up. More than anything, I am trying to be more present.

Some of this, I believe, comes from expanding my yoga practice lately and concentrating on meditating and breathing. And, some of this, I truly think, comes from the chia. I have always gotten bitchy when my blood sugar got low, and the chia is helping me to avoid those blood sugar dips. Mean Mommy does not come out as often when her tank is not on empty.

Another resolution actually came to me a few months ago when I went to an amazing U2 concert. For that concert, I ate some "special brownies" and had a fantastic night. During the concert, I sent myself an email that said, "I don't need Lexapro; I just need music". With little kids around, I am so used to having the TV tuned to Noggin in the background or to talking on the phone in the car. However, rock and roll has always been a huge part of my life and makes me truly happy! So, I am trying to play music, introduce my kids to the songs that I love, and feel the joy that it brings.

Now I am trying to figure out my BHAG. I have been toying with the idea of doing Pilates teacher certification. Lately, I have considered doing yoga teacher certification as well. Also, I am in the lottery for the 2010 NYC marathon and there is a part of me that wants to do some great runs and has the dream of qualifying for Boston. Some friends have suggested that I do some tris, but they scare the shit out of me. . . which makes me think that I should do them.

And then, and then . . . I was thinking the other day that I should find a way to combine my passion for cooking and eating with my dedication to health and fitness. I have learned to cook healthy, fresh and truly delicious food with ingredients that I had never used before this year. Things like beets, fennel, quinoa, chia are brand new to me and so exciting. I want to share my enthusiasm with others. I have done so much baking in the past few months, but then I have given it away. Great, so I didn't eat it, but I was contributing to making others unhealthy, (especially my husband who eats at least two portions of everything I make.) I want people to be more healthy and help them feel good; baked goods will have to be for special occasions, not a weekly occurance. So, I am trying to figure out a way to bring my passion for healthy living to others. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I will be putting more healthy recipes and fewer baked goods on my blog. Everyone needs a treat sometime, so while I am not swearing off baking by any means, sweets will no longer be the be all and end all of this blog.

Breathe . . .

Where I've Been (or "What I did Over Christmas Vacation")

The answer to is a long winded one, but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to make this blog more succinct and more pertinent to what is really important to me. It has lately become all about baking, and it is even beginning to bore me.

I actually haven't been anywhere physically but have been all over the place mentally. Though we travel more than any other young family that I know, we do not travel over Christmas week because DrRuckus always tries to be the good Jewish doctor and let everyone else get some time off to be with their families. Great for them, just sucks for us. I am always miserable during Christmas week because everyone is busy with their families and my husband is busy working and I feel housebound and lonely, like the only Jew in Texas. This year was worse than ever because we were all sick at various times, and were even more confined to the house. To exacerbate the torture, I was nursing a hamstring injury and so was not able to get the release and endorphin rush that I am so addicted to. I don't really know what we did except count the hours until Daddy got home, but we made it, one hour at a time!

On the positive side, we caught up on some of our recorded TV shows, watched and returned some of our Netflix movies and I read some great books. One of these, "A Homemade Life" by superstar food blogger, Molly Wizenberg of Orangette fame was really well written and contains some fantastic recipes (yes, I tried a bunch of them and just took some of her bread out of the oven). If you want to read a baking blog, go to her site because she is the real deal. And if you live in, or travel to Seattle, go to her new restaurant and report back to me!

One of the other books, "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall, has truly inspired me and helped me ring in 2010 with a whole new brighter outlook. I have been meaning to do a post about all of the books I have read on my Kindle and hopefully will get to that soon. But this one just came at the right time and is making my life so much better!

This book is part adventure story, part anthropology lesson, part history text, part manual and ALL inspiration! McDougall discusses an epic ultramarathon in the savage Copper Canyon in Mexico with the hidden tribe of Tarahumara Indians. He teaches us why we as an animal have evolved to run long distances and makes doing so seem like it can be pure joy. As someone who has slogged through countless long runs, the idea of doing so with much less work and much more joy is very appealing.

He also posits that the reason why there are so many injuries from running is that our modern, high tech shoes are forcing our feet and legs to move in a way that is unnatural to them and not allowing our bodies to do the work for which they were designed. The trend towards barefoot or minimal running is taking off and there is a great deal of evidence as to why this is ultimately better for us and will keep us running injury free. Since I was nursing an injury at the time that I read it, I was willing to jump on board. I cannot fathom going all the way to barefoot because I like having pretty feet way too much. However, I did buy a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes and have been learning how to run in them with a natural, short, easy stride. Crazy thing is, all of my leg pain is gone and my legs feel better each day that I walk around barefoot and workout in these. They look like gorilla feet, but they are fantastic!

One of the other secrets to the Tarahumara runners that McDougall discusses in his book is Chia. This ancient grain, consumed by the Tarahumara and other natives of the Southwest including the Aztecs, has incredible properties for overall health as well as for endurance. It contains tons of antioxidants, fiber, Omega-3 and Omega-6, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium AND is a complete protein. As if all of that is not enough, eating it also slows the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar, prolonging their fueling effects. It also has hydrophilic properties that help the body to retain moisture and thus prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

I've been eating it for a few days now and the difference is incredible! Besides going from injury to recovery, which can be attributed to many factors, the biggest difference that I have found is in my energy level. I mix the chia with my oatmeal in the morning and have plenty of energy to get my kids going, get to the gym, do an intense workout, do something afterwards and not eat until about 1 p.m. I usually need some type of snack in the morning and then have to feed myself before I feed my kids in order to bite their heads off! Over the past few days, we have had some late dinners and I have not had the need to have a pre dinner snack (which I would normally have to do because I am used to eating dinner at toddler time) because I had a chia drink in the afternoon. Amazing stuff!

So much for succinct!

VillaSport Athletic Club

Yesterday, our family decided to join the new gym in town, VillaSport Athletic Club.  We had been getting mailings from them for months and I thought about joining back when they were offering 50% off the enrollment fee, but it is hard to commit to a new gym without seeing it.  Before opening, the discount on the enrollment fee was only 20% off, so I thought that I should at least get that savings if I was going to do it.  I toured last week and was really impressed, but just wasn't ready to pull the trigger because I have been getting back into Bikram and have been doing a ton of Pilates in addition to cardio.  My three year old was all set to join; he loved everything about it, but back and forth I went, should I or shouldn't I?  So I brought MrRuckus with me yesterday to help me decide.  I didn't think that he was going to join with me because he has such limited free time and never comes to the gym.

Well, all it took was a tour for MrRuckus to decide that this is the place that will change his habits and make him "want to work out".   Today was the opening day so we were there!  This place really is fantastic.  It is like belonging to a great resort.  First of all, it is HUGE so there is plenty of space for everything.  The VillaKids area is really innovative.  They separate the kids by ages, so that there is a dedicated baby room complete with cribs, swings and toys. Then there is a toddler area, a pre-school area, a school age area, a computer lab, a "gym", an art studio, an enormous indoor play structure, an outdoor area, and a movie theater.  The kids switch around every half hour and get to do lots of different activities.  I didn't bring my son yet, but my daughter did great in the baby room playing with all of the toys.  The woman in there gave me a written report of what she did.  Impressive.

The gyms for volleyball and basketball are downstairs as well as all of the weight and resistance equipment.  Every kind of weight equipment you could want is there, and there is lots of room to move around.  Upstairs are all of the studios as well as dozens of every kind of cardio equipment you could want.  There is a dedicated Pilates studio with reformer/tower combinations as well as pilates chairs (yay! can't wait).  Next to that is a lovely yoga studio, a spin studio and another multipurpose studio, which I was in today for Body Pump.

Downstairs is a full service spa, which is really lovely.  Members receive discounted rates for spa services.  I can't wait to have a facial and a mani/pedi without having to arrange for childcare.  The locker rooms are like spa locker rooms.  There is a lounge area with tons of magazines and a large plasma TV as well as a beautiful sauna and a large steam room.  (The men's sauna has a plamsa in it.  How come the ladies don't get that?) You don't have to bring your towel or your products, as these are all stocked.  Each locker room has a huge saltwater jacuzzi and then leads out to the pool areas.

There are indoor and outdoor pool areas.  Inside, there is a zero entry kids' pool with two waterslides, a large jacuzzi, and a lap pool.  Outside is a huge waterpark pool with enormous waterslides and a kids' play structure and an adult area with a lap pool and enormous jacuzzi.  After our workouts, my husband and I sat in the jacuzzi and remarked that it was like belonging to a great resort.  Oh, there is a snack bar outside that has a good menu as well as smoothies and "real drinks".  There is another snack bar inside with all of that PLUS a Starbucks.  

I might go back later today just to take the kids in the pools.  Will definitely be back tomorrow.  Color me happy!