Healthy Body Image Challenge Day 11: "Good Healthy Fun"

Tonight for Young Women's we combined with the Young Men. We were going to go bowling, which is a normal activity, but we added a little bit of a twist. Stephanie, the second counselor, had the idea of drawing UNO cards before we bowled to tell us how we were going to bowl. Some of them were pretty hard such as bowling backwards; with your opposite hand; granny style; your choice; regular; slow; awesome approach; skip approach; awesome stance; etc.

It was so much fun and it was a little easy twist on a very common game. Yes, we may have looked a little bit silly, but we had fun and the Young Men and Women loved it! It was so much fun for them. We only have two girls in our program that are active, but they are so much fun. There are about 5 active Young Men and it was good to learn about their personalities. These youth are so strong and a great example of good that is still in the world. They are so clean, innocent, and just want to do what is right.

It was so fun to go and play as a kid again. My nickname that night was the "Great Turkey". (I was hoping it would be some luck for me to get 3 strikes in a row. Now 3 strikes, but I did get one strike and I think it was while bowling backwards. (I just threw it in between my legs). We did get to bowl regularly on our second turn, so we got a chance to redeem ourselves.

It's good to remember to let loose and have fun. I'm glad that even though I had a lot to do, I got the chance to go out and have some fun. That can be the best for your body. Also being around youth. They are so wonderful and fun to be around. It makes me remember that I have one of the best jobs in the world. It may be very trying at times, but it is very rewarding.

Healthy Body Image Challenge Day 10: "Detox" (Bath)

I have done this bath before, but I like it more and more each time. The hotter the water, the more relaxing it feels. I tried putting in ginger with the epsom salts and baking soda. It felt wonderful. The one problem is that I need to really drink A LOT of water for the next couple of days or I get a massive headache. That is probably why it's a good detox. It makes you drink more water.

I'm so grateful that I had this to come home to rather than treats. It was such a crazy day at work. I got to eat most of my breakfast (3/4 of my oatmeal) and then 2 spoonfuls of my soup for lunch. I told Ryan that he needed to hide the treats so that I would not be tempted and to have something good ready for dinner so I didn't just eat whatever. I don't know if this was healthy, but it was healthier than the pizza I would've ordered if there wasn't something there. He got me an XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito (Chicken) from Taco Bell. It hit the spot and it filled me up along with the V8 Fusion (Pomegranate and Blueberry).

Here is the link for the detox bath if you want to try it. Comment if you have one that you like as well and would like to share!

Healthy Body Image Challenge Day 7: "Eating Healthy"

Is there a way to eat healthy when out with friends or family? Such as going out to eat. I know that there are a lot of places that offer lower calorie options, but what about when eating at a family function? Or at a place where those lower calorie options are not there?

I guess I could just plan on not worrying about it. When it's a celebration, just relax. If I really want to watch it, then it's all about proportions. I don't need to eat everything in sight. I can eat lots of different things, but in smaller proportions. It's just hard when there are so many great things.

Eating out is the same way. Buffets are the worst! I guess I just need to be better during the rest of the week. I need to watch what I eat the other times so that it can really be a celebration when I go out with family or friends.

So really it comes to healthy eating the rest of the time. I guess that is not too bad because I have more control over what I eat at home. In the end, it's all up to me. That can be the hardest part. :) Good thing Ryan is a good protector and supporter of healthy eating. It helps me to stay closer to my goals.

Healthy Body Image Challenge Day 3: "Healthy Balance: Moderation in All Things"

Sometimes I forget about how wonderful something is until it's gone. Monster Ballad comes in (enjoy the 80's rock band hair) Cinderella song "Don't know what you got, 'til it's gone. . ." or Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" (remake by Counting Crows) "don't know what you got 'til it's gone, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot"

Having pneumonia has been a real trying time for me. I haven't been able to go running; walking just makes me tired; and I need to relax more when I come home. On the other side, it's taught me some things that I should keep doing. I need to relax more. My husband and I were talking about this with a couple of friends the other day (our home teachers).  We were talking about how it is important to take a good long break. This makes it so we are more productive. I know I try to cram in a lot during the day. Being a school teacher, there is a lot to do! You also want to get as much done because you never know when you will have to spend your time doing something unexpected. (Such as dealing with students that were disrespectful to another teacher or a class that is not doing what they are supposed to when the student teacher asks.)

But really, I know that I try to cram a lot of stuff in, sometimes too much. Then I get way overwhelmed and just don't know where to start. I become this crazed person who is trying to get everything done at once, but really getting nothing done at all.

I need to have a healthy attitude about what needs to be done. At school, we have been working on the Steven Covey: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of them talks about first things first. (He dedicated a whole book to this). I know that I have a problem with this. I have a task that should be done first, but for some reason I will do something else that is important, but less important than what I should be doing right then.

For example, it would be good for me to prepare my lesson for tomorrow. Instead, I decided to get the quizzes ready for the end of the week. Still very important, but it's not going to help me for tomorrow's lessons. It has been helpful with my sickness to step back and realize what really needs to be done. I don't have oodles of time just to get everything done. I should really just get the most important thing done and then move on to the next important thing. This is going to be a long time working on this.

How does this work with my body image? I am very good at coming up with plans for exercise and how I'm going to eat, but I will usually overload what I need to do to accomplish it. Since I cannot exercise right now, I am stepping back and focusing on one thing at a time. I am working on finding meals that are simple, weight watcher crock pot meals that I can do. If my sister-in-law Leia is reading this, I decided to re-start my goals by being vegetarian for the week. :) We've had vegetarian 3 bean chili tonight and I just finished making a yummy spinach and broccoli soup. This has been good for me to help get better as well.  Next is baked macaroni and cheese and sweet potato cauliflower soup.

3 Bean Chili

Broccoli and Spinach Soup

I have also been taking more breaks at school. It has been helpful having a student teacher right now, because I can step back and see how I can make things more efficient and prepare in advance while she is doing the day to day things. I have learned to come home earlier (being home by 5:30 is early for me when I was staying until 8 or 9) and not going in until 8 or 8:30 in the morning (contract time is at 8:30). I used to be "burning the candle at both ends" and I think that's why I was run down and got sick.

It has been so nice coming home and preparing meals. It doesn't seem so daunting because we do crock pot meals and they are set up before I get home. By preparing the meals ahead of time, I'm not so starving that I eat whatever is easiest to grab. I really do feel better about myself, I feel like I have more time, and it's been refreshing to take more time to myself. I still feel like I have plenty of time to get things done. The difference is I am more focused and efficient with my time.

Right after our home teachers left on Sunday, Ryan and I decided to apply what we had learned right then. We decided that we would take more breaks and play games in between those breaks. It was actually a lot of fun. We would play two rounds of Scattegories and then go back to what we needed to do that day. I felt like I got a lot more accomplished.

I am so grateful for little setbacks in life that help me to reflect on what I am doing. I realized that another one of the Covey Habits: "Sharpen the Saw" is something I need to work on. I need to not focus on just one thing, but step back and focus on a lot of things that will help me to stay more focused when it's most important. With that being said, I need to get to bed. Good night!

WOOHOOO! We have now been married 1 year!

For our one year anniversary, Ryan had a vacation package that he had bought before we even met to the Bahamas. It was going to be awesome. We were going to be staying in Florida for 5 days and then get on the cruise ship to the Bahamas for one night passage. Stay in the Bahamas for 3 nights and then get back on the cruise ship for another one night passage. I had never been on a cruise ship, so I was a little nervous and excited at the same time. I'll just explain it as you see the pictures.

Here we are at the Marriott Hotel we stayed in Florida. We were in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for 5 days.

This is the view from our hotel.

Favorite thing that we did!! We went to Islands of Adventure where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located. So much fun!!  

We spent most of the time in Harry Potter World, but there was Seuss Land, Ancient Lands, Marvel World, Comics World, etc. Our favorite was the Hogwarts Castle ride, but loved the Dragon Ride, Jurassic Park Ride, Amazing Spider-Man, and the Hulk. (The Hulk has a cobra head, I think it's the craziest ride I have ever been on.) We spent most of the day there, long enough that we couldn't drive all the way back to Ft. Lauderdale. At first we were going to just sleep in the car, but I had nightmares of an alligator coming out of the swamp and attacking our car. So we went and found a place to stay for the night and then drove the rest of the way the next day. Better to not drive drowsy. We were super tired after a fun day at the park, so it was best to sleep. My feet hurt so bad!! 


The next day was horrible!! We wish we could have just skipped over this part. The reason Ryan got the vacation package was to of course from Ramada, so they wanted us to listen to their sales pitch on why we should buy into one of their timeshares.  We knew this ahead of time so we knew that we were not going to buy, but the guy was persistent and wouldn't give up. He kept taking us to all of these places. I think we met with him at 10 AM and we weren't done until 3:30. When he found out that I already had a timeshare (that I'm still trying to get rid of), then he tried to change tactics and we still said no. We could tell he was upset, but we had told him all day that we were not going to buy anything. We were so glad when that day was finally over. We stayed on the beach we visited that day for a while longer and then left. We tried to be honest, he just didn't want to listen.

This was apparently where a lot of celebrities keep their private boats. :)

Another view. I can't remember who's boat was behind us. Someone famous. :)

Different pictures while we were on the pier.

The bridge that goes back to the main land.

There is an island out there.

This was just funny! I used the bathroom and this was the soap that the gas station had for us to use in the bathroom.

On to another good day. We actually hadn't even planned on doing this one until we talked to my mom on the phone. I didn't even know about the Everglades and how cool it was to go visit it, so when she suggested it, we were totally excited to go. These pictures show what we saw there. Lots of alligators of course.

This is called the chocking tree.

This was where we went to dinner for the day of our actual anniversary (Aug. 6, 2011). It was called the Fish House. It was raining so much! We originally were going out to Key Largo (like in the Beach Boys song Kokomo) for the beach, but it was too wet. As we left, the sun eventually came out, but it was too late.

Ryan running out to the car while it's raining.

Now we are packing up to leave the Marriott Hotel and get on our Cruise Ship.

Here is our tiny cruise cabin. It is on the top deck, so in case there are any problems we can get out easily. Ryan understands my fear of water and drowning. So grateful for his thoughtfulness. I was already nervous enough being out on the water in the middle with no land around us.

Ryan's been on a cruise before, so he knew what to do and was totally at ease.

All you can eat food! However, according to Ryan it was not as good as the other cruise he had been on.

The buffet (it's closed now) but this is where we get to sit and eat. The pool for kids is behind Ryan in the above picture.

No land on the horizon! Only other time this happened was when I was on a bus crossing a bridge from Sweden to Denmark. That was pretty crazy to see water forever in both directions. This time it's a boat and not a bus.

Enjoying the sea breeze. It really was breathtaking and beautiful!

The sunset. Sorry it's blurry.

The ship.

Ryan showing me the safety gear on the boat. He just wanted me to know we were protected. :)

The name of our cruise line. Bahamas Celebration. (We later found out that it was a pretty crazy party Cruise) Ryan and I were pretty tame compared to the rest of the occupants.

At nighttime.

We stayed up pretty late.

Changed to leave the next day. It was just a night thing on the Cruise. I learned that we actually stopped for some part of the night. I didn't know that was what happened until Ryan pointed it out.

Getting off on the island. We are now in the Bahamas! This was why I needed my passport. That was a funny story.

We couldn't check in to the hotel yet, so where did we go? THE BEACH!! We learned very quickly that the sun in the Bahamas is a lot stronger than anywhere else we had been. We needed to put on sunscreen a lot more than normally. (We still got a bit red)

The beach is so beautiful! Love the white sands and the clear ocean.

Ryan was loving it

My model poses. :)

Ryan relaxing in the water. He loves to relax laying on his back in the water. One of his favorite things to do.

I think Ryan snuck in a picture here. :)

This is the Radisson Hotel that we stayed at on the island.

The view from our hotel room in the Bahamas.

Look a lazy river!

A blurry picture. Lots of palm trees. Love it!

Ryan decided to not shave during our trip. He said he was on vacation so he didn't want to think about it. He shaved it into a goatee in the end for fun. The sign below is to go with this picture. It was at the hotel because they were doing some construction, but we thought it was pretty funny.

They had a luau we could go to that we paid for. In the end it was another excuse for people to party, so we just stayed on the beach for most of the time. It was really a bonfire.

Ryan was excited at first for the bonfire.

Both of us relaxing. We were kind of laughing at the party girls trying to take model poses in their bikini's in the ocean.

Yes, we took a selfie of us relaxing on the beach.

Sitting in front of the bonfire. (Not really a great bonfire). I've seen better. The best yet, was in Sweden. :)

We stayed on the beach while the others partied.

This is a collage of when we went to Ben's Cave. It is the same cave that they used in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. It was pretty cool to go there. The bad thing was that it started to rain while we were there. Our camera got soaked and started to not work. It was such a sad thing, but these were some of the pictures we got.

We had a little bit of time before we got on the plane. (We had already come back on the cruise ship). So we took some crazy pictures by this park.

Oh my cute husband!

So we didn't take any more pictures after this since we thought that we were getting on the plane to go home. Nope! The plane was delayed because of weather in Texas and some mechanical difficulties (You never want to hear that), so it was just cancelled. They changed our flight to the next day and gave us a free stay at a hotel nearby. They even called a shuttle for us and paid for it. We also had a dinner voucher at the place we stayed. I had to call and tell my 6th grade team that I would not be there for a meeting we were supposed to have with our principal (he was moving some kids around). There's not much you can do when your plane is cancelled.

We had to get up early the next day and leave. At least we got to sleep on a Sleep Number Bed. That was pretty cool. I can never sleep on the plane, so it wasn't really relaxing. Of course Ryan slept. Eventually we got home and it was great to be there. I'll post later about us eating the wedding cake(s) from a year ago. Happy Anniversary Ryan! It's been a wonderful first year!