Friday, April 22, 2011

Taking Care of Myself (Or Not)

Hello!  Long time no “see”, eh?  My life got a little out of control there for a week or two, which I admit is totally my fault.  I let myself get stressed out about something I have no control over and as a result haven’t been paying enough attention to “ME”.   April is an extremely hectic month because Noah’s (yes, I’ll be using their “real” names now) soccer and hockey overlap.  We are in the midst of hockey tryouts for next season and his soccer team is ramping up for their season which starts May 1.  I’ve either been here:IMG_5569 He’s the one with the orange cleats.  Or I’ve been here:IMG_5602 He’s on the right.  While I LOVE watching him play, both sports are rather cold at this point which doesn’t help matters!  HA!  There hasn’t been near enough of this:IMG_5371 IMG_5347 IMG_5369 RELAXATION!!  Although, Noah has no interest in chilling out.  He’s quite the energetic kid which is why we put him into sports.  The extra activity has done wonders for him.  I, on the other hand, need a sense of “balance” in my life and running from rink to soccer field 6 days a week, having zero time to clean my house, sacrificing my gym time over my lunch hour to run home and get something done at the house, meals on the go, not getting enough water into me and not getting enough sleep due to worrying about everything that’s NOT getting done has (had) me feeling anything but.  Thankfully, hockey will be done until September by this time next week.  That and I gave myself a real kick in the ass Wednesday night for not dealing better.  So even though we had a soccer game last night I committed myself to drinking lots of lemon water, preparing a decent meal for everyone and turning a blind eye to the house.  And you know what?  I slept GREAT last night!  And it’s great to be home today for Good Friday with everything closed because it forced me to just sit for a few hours.  Between my hubby and I, the laundry has been done, bedding is changed, the dishwasher has been run.  Vacuuming will wait until tomorrow.  This afternoon we left the kids at home and walked down to our favourite “hotspot”, The Red Brick Cafe:IMG_5608 It’s a 3 mile walk, round trip with loads of hills….AKA, just what the doctor ordered!    My hubby got his standard; a vanilla latte and I rolled with a soy chai tea latte:IMG_5611 We stopped atop a bridge to take a few pictures of ourselves…..so vain, I know!  :) IMG_5609 Even though I look exhausted, the fresh air felt so. damn. good!  And I know it did me good, too!  I took a few more pics along the way to test out my point and shoot camera, a Canon Power Shot SD980 IS Elph.  We may have bought a new little surprise that I hope to share with you all very soon!  IMG_5614 IMG_5615 IMG_5616 PURDY!!!  :)
And now for some eats.  These are pretty much all a week old b/c as I said, I haven’t been eating well the past 5 days or so…. IMG_5590 IMG_5593 IMG_5592 That pancake was GOOD!  It was from last Friday morning.  The kids had asked for pancakes for breakfast so I decided to get decadent with mine.  It’s topped with whipped cream cheese, dark chocolate chunks and agave ample syrup.  Looking at this makes me really want another! IMG_5582 IMG_5535 IMG_5600 IMG_5606
The above stir fry was today’s lunch.  I tossed together cooked wild rice, broccoli, avocado and tofu then mixed in some mango chipotle dressing and this Tabasco that I’m addicted to these days:IMG_5604
As the commercial goes; “I put that sh*t on EVERYTHING”!!!!!  Has anyone tried this??  IMG_5607   IMG_5506 IMG_5587 IMG_5507 IMG_5533
I haven’t really been eating a lot of oats for breakfast lately.  Instead, I’ve been inhaling this cereal like it’s my job:IMG_5605 LURVE!!!  One lunch I did enjoy last week was one with my hubby.  We met at another Red Brick location closer to our jobs one day and I ordered a roasted red pepper and goat cheese panini with a side salad:IMG_5596 And my hubby had a salami/provolone/apple panini with a pasta salad:IMG_5597 We both enjoyed French vanilla coffees on the side:IMG_5595 AND, we blew through a pack of this gum in no time at all!IMG_5594 Well, I think that’s all I’ve got for now.  Thanks for letting me vent!!  I’m positive things are on an upward swing so I expect life to settle down somewhat sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, what are your top 3 stress busting “do’s”??  I’ll sign off with a photo that never fails to make me smile.  Pepper LOVES chasing leaves out on the deck and insists on trying to bring them in the house once he catches them.IMG_5585 BABY!!!
Bye for now!!

16 comments:

  1. It's so great to see you provide Noah with all these opportunities...but I do hope you find some time to relax amidst all the chaos! You look great and so do your photos with the new cam!!

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  2. Don't feel bad for being busy lately, I think we've all been a bit overwhelmed lately!! It's cute that Pepper chases leaves and wants to bring them into the house. That;s WAY better than chasing mice and wanting to bring them in!

    Can't wait to see that surprise purchase, too!

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  3. You're a great mom and I can imagine how hard is to work, be with your kids for their activities and ALL the house work! It's a tremendous work! I really admire you Krista! I wish I can manage all these so well!
    And I agree with you about the "me" time and shut an eye to the messy home when you really need some rest! Health and stress free come before a clean house! ;)

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  4. Ah, I'm sure you're doing a great job Krista! I think taking the me time and that walk with your hubs was just what you needed, as that's what i do when i need some me time. i either go run or walk to the local bakery for something or other! hugs lady!

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  5. It's so hard to take care of yourself when life gets busy and stressful. A few years ago, I let stress take over my life with seriously negative (health and emotional) consequences and ever since, I do the following when life gets hectic:

    1. Plan super easy but healthy meals for the week. If I don't feed us all well, I feel terrible... At the same time, there is no reason to take a few shortcuts and simplify things.
    2. Work out in one way or another every day. When things get stressful, I usually move my workouts to before work at home. I often do a 30 minute DVD before everyone gets up. That way my workout is done before things get hectic.
    3. I take some me time every day, even if it's just 10 - 15 minutes.

    Hope things will slow down soon! Have a great weekend!

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  6. oh my goodness Krista! You have been one ridiculously busy Mama!You definitely need some more "you" time!! Meals look yummy to me. Love a good pancake!! And that plate of fresh cantaloupe? Droooool! I'm still in my shrimpy addiction phase ;). Glad you and the husband enjoyed your walk & coffee. Top three stress busters: 1. working out!!! 2. coffee with friends 3. baking :)

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  7. You are a amazing mom, and Noah is VERY lucky that he has a great mom, some mom's don't do anything for their kids, let alone put them in sports, and I know both of your kids appreciate you so much and so does your husband ! I think hubby needs to take you out to a nice dinner, with a bottle of wine, and just you two! You deserve it love!

    Love you!!

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  8. I'm happy to hear your stress is subsiding. I have several "Stress busters"; breathing deep (only works for so long!), exercising (always does the trick) and reminding myself to live in the moment (I'm getting better at this...). I've always been diving into a lot of great books lately, which is a great way to de-stress.

    It looks like you've been enjoying lots of great food! I've been straying from oats in the morning too, and eating eggs instead. I have seen Bob's commercials with the Great Grains cereal though. I'll have to try it!

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  9. You are sooo busy...just like me! Glad that you know you have to take care of YOU, too, and not just everyone else around you :)

    Gum, yes, love that one.
    The pancakes...omg, beautiful!

    The pic of you and hubs...adorable!

    :)

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  10. Wow, have you been busy, Krista! Hope you get some time to relax! Love your eats though...the roasted red pepper and goat cheese panini sounds really delish!

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  11. (((Krista))) I totally understand where you're coming from, I get like that too. And April is crazy insane here, so I feel like I've been flying by the seat of my pants lately. :/ It stresses me out to no end too! You just need to find some YOU time to recharge & regroup!! Hang in there!

    Ps - I think you need (and deserve) a little "pick-me up"... Email me with your fave colours & I want to send you a little something just for you! :)

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  12. Pepper is adorable! He reminds me of my little kitty that died of cancer, lovely to have the memory :)

    I'm so sorry to hear that you have such a stressful schedule. I am also guilty of letting sleep etc fall by the wayside when I'm busy in fact it's happening right now so I'm a little worried about my half marathon on Sunday!

    The main thing I try to do is just drop any activity I can outside of the required activities/work, a quick workout, eating well, and sleep. Everything else can be dropped and done later. Of course for me that always means no cleaning!

    Also when I'm super busy i let Trader Joe's do the cooking for me a few nights a week. They have really healthy frozen dinner that I just add some raw veggie to.

    You'll be back on track soon, keep it up! :)

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  13. I totally put Sriracha on everything (or Frank's Red Hot, if I'm eating Mexican food, which is the only exception to my Sriracha rule)! Your eats look delicious, and I'm glad you're taking some time to relax! I think a good walk is one of the best ways to do that!

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  14. Krista! I am struck by how you are eve hard on yourself for being hard on yourself! I'm so glad you took a much needed break and gained some perspective. That is so important and you absolutely deserve it. Being super mom, wife, and woman can't possibly be sustainable all the time. I care about you and hope you remember how good it felt to let go and take care of you! xo
    P.S. PEPPER!

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  15. It can definitely be easy to forget to have "me" time but it's SO essential to functioning for me! Alot of the times you feel pulled in so many directions, but some down time really helps to bring things into perspective! :-)

    All the food looks delicious as usual..I am a huge fan of wild rice too, but I don't eat it near as much as I should. Actually, the city that I am in for college is surrounded by Indian reservations where they harvest the wild rice!

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