WHEW!!! What a CraZy few days!!

I hope everyone is enjoying this fabulous holiday weekend - and I hope you don't have to work on Monday! I have tried to sit down so many times to write and just haven't found the time! It's the good and bad of being a business owner! :)

So....after much conversation on Thursday in my house (especially between me and the bestie) we decided to cut out a lot of the fatty meats we have been eating (largely due watching our pennies) and cutting out all the white food in our diets and eating more fruits and veggies! I am glad to say I woke up Friday feeling really pumped and it has only gotten better since then!

I had two little ones with me - JJ and Mya - and many errands to run. We were all super hungry and I needed gas so I stopped at QT. Normally I would get a super sugar-laden latte and an apple fritter. Instead, I had a diet Coke, pineapple wedges and a protein bar!

Sooooo proud of myself, if I do say so myself (but that fritter was calling my name as I walked all the way out the door!!)!

After many errands, we got home to have some lunch and hang out by the pool. Afterall, that's what summer is all about, right?? I made myself a salad with tomato, sliced strawberries, feta cheese, a little bacon (there's that fatty meat - oops!!), some balsamic vinegar and EVOO. It was delish!!!

Later in the evening, me and my bestie had some yummy cocktails, a delicious grilled fish dinner and our own version of karaoke on the patio with the girls:

Mmmmm...grilled fish on brown rice with a black bean/corn salsa and a side of grilled veggies!

Saturday morning came waaaayyy too early (remember, we had cocktails and karaoke!!!). I had a cleaning job to do so I had some peanut butter on a slice of whole wheat toast, mixed fruit and coffee with my NEW soy milk!! YUM-O!

I skipped lunch and came home so tired and hungry I took the girls out for dinner at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. I just wanted to be waited on after a long day!!! I ordered veggie fajitas, which I've never had, and LOVED them!! Lots of delicious grilled onions, peppers and squash! The girls had cheese quesadillas so we had an all-around veggie dinner!

Today I had my last cleaning job of the holiday weekend - whew! I had some peanut butter on whole wheat in the morning but didn't have any lunch as it was soooo hot and I can't stand the thought of hot food when I'm hot! When I got home from the job I had some hummus on pita chips and then decided to mow the lawn - for my workout of the day!! Needless to say, I'm very sore but very happy with the yard and with my diligence over the last few days!

After a long, hot shower, we made pasta primavera with squash, zucchini, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. It was very fresh and light - loved it! Even the girls ate theirs - veggies and all!

Well, I'm off to find myself some watermelon for a "night cap"! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Memorial Day! Thank you to all of those who have fought for us and to those who are still keeping us safe.

What are your plans for Memorial Day? Are you planning ahead to stay on track?

Stay True to You!

Hugs,

Heather

Need some simple competition??

There are times when life just simply gets away from us...the last week has been that way for me. I'm so sorry I haven't been on here for almost a week! So much has been going on - all for the good - but I'll get to that later.

I've been a bit laxidasical about my new health regimen since I started my blog. Why? I'm not sure...I think the typical woman thing of putting everyone and everything first. I'm not laying blame on anyone but myself. But a strange thing has happened! My hubby, who has gained about 40 pounds since the beginning of the year, has suddenly started eating healthy: watching his caloric intake, his carbs, fat - EVERYTHING! And I say WTH??? Then, to top it all off (with a cherry on top!) he started riding a bike yesterday. And I don't mean a stationary bike and I don't mean around the block. We're talking a real bike with 2 wheels and he rode 2 miles yesterday! He's also cut out all sodas and sweet tea (which is unheard of for him!) and drinks water all the time (strange all in itself!). So I say to myself: Self....get on that band wagon and ride it like there's no tomorrow!!!

So....I wake up this morning, after doing much research on foods, health, etc. (my obsession) and ate oatmeal and fruit this morning, had an appointment at lunch so I had some leftovers when I got home. But on my way home I stopped at Publix and picked up spinach leaves, strawberries, carrots, brown rice, portabella mushrooms and soy milk...yes, soy milk. Why? Because it's better for me, has more protein, less fat, less calories and "they" say I should. So what the hell? Might as well try it, huh??





I visited with some friends tonight - with JJ and Mya in tow.....had a glass of wine to unwind and then headed home. Made the girls some "kid" food, got them in bed and then made my dinner: leftover veggies, brown rice and grilled fish with a corn/black bean relish - delish!! Tonight I'll be doing a power yoga video - after I meet my hubby out for a beer (light, that is!).








So when you're not doing what you "think" you should be doing, do you need a little competition to get you motivated? What excites you and gets you moving?



Love to all!

Hugs,

Heather

Do something new and exciting!

On this day, in 1967, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" debuted on NET (now PBS). I know, I know....how random and what does this have to do with anything? Well, there is always a method to my madness, my Friend! Do you remeber when you were the age when you watched "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"? Life was so simple. The biggest "issue" in life was losing your blankie!!! Oh, if only life could be so simple again!!

As I've mentioned before, we have a friend (my BFF) and her two small daughters living with us and they are so much fun to have around! "JJ" has autism and "Mya" has Fragile-X syndrome, which often makes learning "simple" things more complicated for them both. Mya & JJ's parents are going through a divorce right now, but with all of this they are the happiest, most delightful little girls you could ever be around! I even said to my BFF today "I hope Mya always sees the humor in everything as she gets older" - this was after she laughed hysterically at herself because her t-shirt got stuck on her pigtails while getting undressed for her bath, making her shirt seem like a "head wrap" of sorts!!! LMAO! It was so funny that she thought it was so funny!

Oh - and I forgot she got a hold of one of my MIL's wigs earlier in the week:

Watching these sweet little girls seeing the fun in life makes me step back and look at my life for the last few months. I have been a bit down as we have been very unemployeed and with that, broke. Because of this, we have all had to look outside the box, so to speak, and find other forms of income/jobs than we would normally take or do. Because of a lot of praying, our lives have taken a very positive turn in the last week and I know with all of my heart it is due to our hard work, love and support for one another. And I know June will be an amazing month!!!

Life is tough right now for a lot of folks, with the economy being in a slump. Use this time to do something different and exciting - something you wouldn't normally do! What did I do, you ask?? Well.....I dragged the whole gang to a farm today!!! That's right! Me - Little Miss City Girl at a farm - and LOVING every minute of it!!! :)

We got there super late (as usual for me) so we missed out on the farmer's market portion of it (which I will go back for next Saturday) but it was just nice to being out together and doing something different, teaching the girls about the animals - and it was FREE!!!

Mya was SUPER excited that I found her "farmer clothes" (overalls) so she could dress like my hubby! He is her new BFF afterall!! :)

Above Left: BFF, Me, JJ (in the red), Mya (in the "Farmers Clothes")

Above Right: Hubby and Mya in their "Farmers Clothes"

**NOTE: The picture above of me has also made me realize why I want to eat healthier, get heart healthy (yes...quit smoking), train for a marathon and be the best I can be as a wife, stepmom, BFF and a nurse.

I don't think anyone was quite as excited as me and Mya were! I felt like a 6 year old with her last night talking about it!!! I think I will find me some farmers clothes for my next visit too!

What excites you? What will make you step outside your comfort zone and think outside the box?

Good Luck to everyone in June!

Hugs,

Heather

Super Sunday!

Monday was such a beautiful day here in sunny Georgia that I decided to take full advantage of it and I mowed the lawn!!! What great exercise! I got to be outside, sweat like crazy (I've decided I should sweat at least once a day - really get the blood pumping!), did something productive, and I got a HORRIBLE sunburn in my haste to get up and get moving attitude!! :-)

Well, regardless of my sunburn - which is starting to feel much better - I am very proud of myself that I got up and moving and it felt good to look at my beautiful yard when I was done! My exercise even prompted my hubby to mow the back yard! ;)


So, as I mentioned above, my new motto is "sweat everyday"!! I have found it feels good to get your blood pumping and you feel as if you've accomplished something really good when sweating is involved!


I watched an Oprah show about the new book "Women Food and God" by Geneen Roth. WOW! What a powerful message this book has! As I've mentioned before, I am an emotional eater. This book teaches us how to overcome that and look deep within ourselves to find what it is we are trying to squash down with food, all the while we're making food our enemy. I am going out today to buy it!


This is the Product Review on Yahoo:

If you suffer about your relationship with food - you eat too much or too little, think about what you will eat constantly or try not to think about it at all - you can be free. Just look down at your plate. The answers are there. Don't run. Look. Because when we welcome what we want most to avoid, we contact the part of ourselves that is fresh and alive. We touch the life we truly want evoke divinty itself.


Your relationship with food, no matter how conflicted, is the doorway to freedom, says Roth. What you want to get rid of is itself the doorway to what you want most: the demystification of weight loss and the luminous presence that so many of us call "God".




I'm not an Oprah follower but this show was amazing! I have felt - and do feel - the way many of these women do and did on the show! Know what the difference is? I'm 20 years younger than many of the women they talked to on the show - so I have a head start to win my body back!

There was a girl about my age (early 30's) who lost 100+ pounds after going to some of Geneen's workshops and reading her book - that's it! No dieting - nothing - just reading, looking within herself and learning!!! Are you riding this train with me or what??

So....that's it for now! I'm off to Borders to get this book, enjoy the sunshine of the summer, do some reading and then find a way to sweat later! Maybe a brisk walk at the park with Twisty, my loyal companion???


Listen to your body! Are you worth the $20 for this book - to finally face your inner demons, lose the weight and stop the yo-yo dieting forever??


Hugs to all - and keep on sweating,
~Heather

I had an epiphany!!!!!

I finally learned a lesson today that my Father has worked so hard to teach me my entire life: get an education so that you don't have to do something you don't like for the rest of your life; if you do something you enjoy, it's not a job. While I am a proud business owner, I also work my butt off several times a week cleaning homes and offices for others. It is an honest way to make a living and I am happy to be helping my family stay afloat during a rough time, but I can honestly say that being a housekeeper is not something I want to do for the rest of my life.

While I have many clients who have "run-of-the-mill" dirt in a two week period, it is amazing what you can find in other houses sometimes. I have a client who is from another country. The family is very well-to-do. They live in a beautiful home, drive luxury cars, and attend highly-sought after schools (both high school and college). Now I know we all have different customs but the way this family lives is AMAZING. The filth that is created in a two week period is truly indescribable! The wife/mother of the family calls me - on the top of her lungs in her thick accent - about every 20 minutes for her next bizarre cleaning request or decorating opinion (yes....she wants my opinion on the decor of her home on a continual basis).

Now understand, I'm not complaining....just painting a picture. I realized today - as I was scrubbing a toilet - that this is why I am going to school to become a nurse. This is why I have goals and passion. I am not complacent, I am not lazy and I will not be a housekeeper for the rest of my life - and that's a great thing! It truly is refreshing when you have an epiphany like this! It made scrubbing the filthy floors next that much better!!! :)

I smoked less today as I am working towards quitting. Why, oh why is something so enjoyable so bad for me? And why is something as simple as cleaning someone's house so unenjoyable?

What are you doing to better yourself and your future?

Hugs to all,

Heather

God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle

This is an expression I have heard a lot from people throughout the last few days and I do believe in it. But I sometimes wonder "can I really handle more?" when I feel like more and more is piling on.

While I haven't been journaling what I've eaten for the last two days, I have been much more conscious of what I am putting in my mouth. And do you know what I have learned from the last few days? I've become very aware of my emotional eating and I am starting to learn what "triggers" it as well. I'm not sure if writing here and thinking about topics to write about each day is helping that or what it is but I can tell you it is much more beneficial in the long run! Last night, I wanted a caramel sundae more than anything and opted for sugar-free white chocolate pudding and was quite satisfied!

I had a delicious tuna salad stuffed tomato yesterday for lunch and it was absolutely delicious! I had some whole wheat crackers on the side for a little crunch.

Not only am I learning what my triggers are for my emotional eating, I have also learned that I am only as strong as those around me. For this, I am very thankful for those who are close to me in my world. I have also learned that my marriage has become stronger than ever because we are such a great team and we truly are best friends!

Do you have a person you can go to for anything and everything in your life, whether good, bad or ugly?

Be tall, be strong and most of all (as my Mother would always say): Put your Big Girl Panties on and deal with it!!

Hugs to all,

Heather

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Eating?

It's been a rough couple of days around the Parker casa and being an emotional eater, all I've thought about is food - and not food that is good for me. Luckily I have the emotional strength of my wonderful MIL (mother-in-law), the healthy-eating strength of my BFF and the mental strength of my hubby. But all of this makes me wonder: what do others do without those important "people" in their lives? The people who mean the most to us? The people who know all of our darkest, deepest secrets? I have always been lucky enough to have a close-knit group of strong people that surround me, but I am also unfortunate enough to be an emotional eater who is by myself enough to eat things I shouldn't - and in secret.

What's the big deal with a little cookie here, a spoonful of ice cream there, a small order of fries on the way to an appointment, a sweet tea on occasion? I'll tell you what the problem is: I don't do anything half-way. I do everything full on or not at all. With that being said, I want and crave a sundae with caramel sauce, chopped nuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top! I want a "Biggie" sweet tea, a handful of cookies and an entire plate of french fries....ugh. It's so hard to break through the emotional eating dilemma. But that's why I'm here - to do just that! I am now accountable to more than just myself by blogging!

Just so you know, I have not gone off the deep end and eaten my way into next week but I have had some potatoes I probably shouldn't have had. I don't have any pics to post today as I've been a bit preoccupied with other stuff and kind of eating on the fly but we have some delicious meals planned for the next day or two so you will have plenty of pictures to peek at!!!

What makes you react emotionally? Do you eat for comfort? How do you plan to get out of this viscious cycle?

Hugs to all,
Heather

PS - Congrats BFF on your new job! You'll ROCK it! :)

That's it - No More Excuses!

While driving to school yesterday for my last final of the semester - whoo hoo!!!!!! - I felt like I was going to fall asleep - literally! Why, you ask?? Because I was sitting dead still in this:

Ugh....Atlanta traffic! It's the worst, isn't it?? I look forward to either moving somewhere lovely and coastal or a laid back sleepy town where we own a nice piece of land that's our own little slice of heaven!

When I got to school, I had some time to kill so I had a banana (good brain food) and a large water! Did you know bananas have 105 calories?? Amazing, huh??

Have you ever had an out-of-body experience where you can hear yourself saying something and can hardly believe the words coming out of your mouth? I'm not talking about when you've drank too much and have become a Chatty Cathy - I'm talking about a regular ol' day.

Well....I found myself in this situation yesterday while having a conversation with my hubby about school. My grades aren't going to be the best this semester and I'm realizing that I have more pre-requisite classes to take than I had initially thought! In light of this (and more) I am going to spread out my classes a bit longer and will graduate a year later than we had originally thought - no biggie - just a pain!

Anywho, as I'm discussing this topic with him, I realize I am shifting some of the blame on him for my less-than-stellar grades this semester: "you take up a lot of my time; you always want me to go somewhere with you; you get upset when I'm not home, blah, blah, blah"....as the words were coming out of my mouth they made sense until he said to me "I'm not accepting the blame for your grades so don't even try that on me" and that's when it hit me: I have allowed him to make me feel this way - and what woman wouldn't want her hubby to want to spend time with her??? What the hell is wrong with me, I wonder? I guess I put this extra pressure on myself so I could procrastinate? It certainly hasn't been something I've done consciously, it simply just happened.

I am not the best student in the world but I will give something my all - especially if I want it bad enough - and I want this so bad, and I'm so good at the caretaking part of it! Yet on the other hand, I have found in my older age that I will self-sabotage before I let myself fail at something. So with that being said, I am going to give school everything I have - no excuses! Why make excuses? It just makes us feel crappy later. And I know I can do this - I know I can get accepted to the school of my dreams (Emory....Mercer...do you hear me??) and I'm not going to let anything stand in the way - not even myself.

So this leads me to wonder....is this why so many of us have trouble staying focused on ourselves, our workout regimens and a healthy way of eating? Do you self-sabotage? Do you make excuses? If you had to pick one thing in your life to change - no excuses - what would it be?

Hugs,

Heather

Goals Change with Age

I have asked myself this question several times today and have realized something in my old age and wisdom (ha! ha!)....my health goals are not what they used to be. In my younger years, I wanted to exercise and eat well to lose weight, tone up and look great in a 2-piece! These days, I want to eat healthier for more fiber, less sodium and a balance of fats and lean proteins. I want to walk to help my cardiovascular health, weight lifts to increase my muscle mass, and take yoga classes to help with my balance and stress.

I wonder to myself "what happened?" My "goals" used to be so much easier! Now I take supplements, vitamins and eat certain foods based on their color! Regardless, I feel more in control on my life - now that I'm in my 30's - than ever before. I may be smoking again (something I can honestly say I truly love), I may be the heaviest I've been in 2 years, and I am now the housekeeper for others (when I used to have a housekeeper myself), but I'm also the happiest I've been in many years.

Why, you may ask? Because I have complete control of my life. I am back in school to better my life. I am married to a man who I truly love and adore. I have a car that's paid off, a beautifully decorated home with a lovely pool and a dog who is my best companion. In addition to all of this, I have made peace with my weight, my body and my clothing size. I am now in the mindset to exercise and "eat right" for longevity - not for vanity! WOW!!! I feel so mature these days! :)

OK, OK....I'm off my soap box. But, I am working towards giving up my favorite hobby (smoking ciggies) and training for a half-marathon (yay!). It's something I've wanted to do for some time and I've decided I'm just going to push through the pain and DO IT!! BFF - get prepared because I will be recruiting you to train with me and run this with me (October anyone??)! ;)

I started eating better today - I have not tallied my calories yet, which I will do as soon as I'm done writing. But I'm pretty sure I'm within my alotted 1200 calories I am allowing myself per day....I may even have enough left for a little ice cream!!

I will be posting pics of my day, food, training, etc....but for those of you who know me, I am a bit of a procrastinator as I do have a LOT of things going on in my world! Thank God for BFF's!!! What would I do without you!?!

How have your goals changed through the years?

Hugs to all,
Heather

Guilty Pleasure Sunday

Well....I have been poked and prodded about starting a blog for some time by friends so I here I am! While I'm not sure what to write about, I do know that I want to start with:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all Mama's out there!!!

As most know, I don't have any children but I do have a busy life all the same! I am a full-time student, working on getting into the nursing school of my dreams, I own and run a cleaning company, I keep up with my family, friends and full-time hubby - and usually feel like I need 10 more hours in each and every day.

My hubby and I have a friend (my bff) who lives with us - along with her 2 young girls, A and J. They are adorable and a big part of our lives! So....add this to the rest of my schedule and you will realize how crazy it all is - but it works (most of the time).

I think the biggest part of this blog will help me become accountable for the healthier lifestyle I am looking to adopt....aren't we all, ladies? I am a smoker (again) and want to quit (again and for the final time), I want to get active (again) and I would like to get back into a more healthful way of eating again. My bff has just recently started counting her calories and journals EVERYTHING. I think this might be a good launching point - so I will start on it tomorrow (why start today what you can do tomorrow, right??)!

I am going to really try to document all that I do - good, bad and ugly. Hopefully I can be inspiring, I can find some accountability and also give you all something humorous to read each and every day.

What makes you accountable?

Hugs,

Heather