Timing

Timing is an interesting thing.

For instance: tonight, I had Superman and Batman change their bedding (it didn't happen over the weekend due to my being sick with one ferocious cold!). They were determined to impress me with their bed-making skills, and when they were done, Batman asked me if his was the best made bed ever, in the whole wide world. Not to be outdone, Superman asked if his was the best in all the planets of all the galaxies in all the universe. (No lie! His exact words!) Part of me beamed with pride and wondered if maybe I could introduce him to Doctor Who. The other part of me, the part that cringed at the competitiveness that was sure to get a rise out of his brother, knows that he is not quite ready for the good Doctor, as I'm fairly certain it would give him nightmares of Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels. But I'm almost certain that in a few years, he will be my fellow Whovian, watching the new episodes with bated breath.

I'm not known for being a patient person. (Mostly because I'm not. LOL) My whole life, timing has been a thorn in my side (not to mention the cause for tantrums thrown that would put toddlers to shame) more times than I care to admit. I want things to be done when I want them done. I don't want to wait. This tends to make me a difficult person to work with. (Obviously.) However, I think marrying into the military (which I was dead-set against for as long as I can remember...mostly because I didn't want someone else dictating my life and being in control of...you guessed it...timing) was about one of the best things that has happened to me in my life. Not only because I would have passed by a man that is an amazing father and wonderful husband, but because it has taught me a few things.

Let me tell you, me learning from life lessons takes nothing short of a brick wall to stop my forward progress and change my course. I honestly don't think that I would have learned these things without my husband's career being military. I know there's no arguing with the rules. For as bull-headed as I am, I do generally have respect for authority. And rules. So learning to be flexible and plan for things without set dates, and moving internationally, and dealing with Superman's challenges...even though I'm an independent spirit, it was NOT the right time for me to be working outside the home. And I wanted to be home with my boys. I am so very grateful that I was able to stay home and be a mom and homemaker full time. And I think I needed the time the boys were in school to just be with myself. Last year, when Batman started Kindergarten, I wanted to throw a party. I may not have made the emotional progress I wanted to in the course of that year (my goals also tend to be quite lofty...they probably weren't realistic...), it was enough. And now, with having made the diet changes over the summer that I did in addition to joining a workout challenge with Elphie, I am feeling more like my old self than I have in a loooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

I started to see signs of my restlessness of being at home all the time pretty soon after the boys started school. The first week, I relaxed, knit, and caught up on some household duties that I slacked on during the Ravellenic Games (my butt was planted in front of my computer, knitting and watching the Olympics!). Then I started to get active with working out, and it all went from there. I signed up to volunteer at the school to escort kids around for health screenings and special "briefings" (bus safety, the gifted ed program, library, etc.) while the teachers do evaluations on the students in a one-on-one setting. I volunteered for all three weeks. Last week was 3rd & 4th graders. This week (starting tomorrow!) is 2nd graders. Next week is 1st grade. So when I had the car last week, I made good use of my time. I didn't stay cooped up in the house. I went to the craft store on base and got set up to be the new knitting instructor (for the last year or so we're here). I went to a "career fair" at the lame BX we currently have to see about getting hired at the new BX that is nearly finished being built. And as of today, the contract has gone through for the knitting classes (so tomorrow I will go finalize all that paperwork), the background check to move forward with being officially hired with AAFES has been started (I should be able to get into the "new employee" class the first Tuesday of October!), and I'm finally over this nasty head cold and was able to get back to working out.

I'm not sure what it was that clicked into place, but I am feeling better about myself than I have in quite a while, I have more energy (I know that's a combination of dietary and exercise changes), and I am super excited to start making my own small paycheck to cover my yarn addiction (which I will have significantly less time for, lol) and gift shopping for The Instigator! :D I think I'm finally learning to sit back let things work out to God's timing instead of pushing my own agenda. It really takes so much less fighting that way. LOL

Happy Monday!

Gettin' My Craft On!

So I have been home from the States for over a month, and I still haven't blogged about my BFF's wedding, nor have I finished blogging about my trip to Paris with Elphie, not to say mentioning my amazing birthday weekend! But I will get there, I promise. And those are not just empty words. I just have...issues...with finding a balance. There tends to be a lot of extreme behaviors one way, and then the complete opposite (and many times back and forth a time or two more!) before I get back into my "groove." And the past few months have been anything but regular!

And in the "extreme behavior" toward the negative, for a week or two, I was completely ensconced in the silly Facebook games. Frontierville/Pioneer Trail, Mafia Wars 2, Cafe World...all that crap. It was like a trance I couldn't be pulled out of. But Monday, I finally reached a decision that I had been mulling over. I decided to stop playing them. All of them. (Well, okay, I still have Words with Friends and Scrabble, but those only take, like, 2 minutes to make your move and then you wait on your opponent to go. No big.) And in the time that I have not been playing those time-sucking games, I have done the following:

Completed the WestKnits Mystery KAL:

Started and completed a stitchmarker Lariat:

Started and completed a pair of Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Wristers:

 

Started and completed a hat for The Instigator's aunt:

Made my own mitten blockers:

Blocked the Bella mittens for Tara:

 Baked a batch of zucchini muffins and 2 loaves of zucchini bread (this is all that was left of the muffins after 24 hours...they were completely gone in less than 48! LOL):

Started and completed a cowl (for trading for an apron from a fellow crafter!):

Finally finished a blanket to donate to a patient of Nephrotic Syndrome 

that has been a long time in coming!:

And have done some super-top-secret HSKS swappy items. Plus,that's to say nothing of finally getting my crafting supplies slowly migrating upstairs to my new craft room (used to be the boys' toy room, but we moved those upstairs to the large closet and their bedroom), catching up on housework, participating in running a knitting swap, and actually cooking meals! I have really been on fire! LOL I'm really hoping that this is less of a swing of the pendulum in the productive segment of my balance and more of a trend leading to habit. :) I guess only time will tell, but all in all, not bad for a week's worth of effort. :)

Strawberries, Pineapple and Grapes...Oh my! (And OH, YUM!!!)

I'm sitting here with a bowl of mini-fruit salad in front of me. (Although, I suppose since there are 3 different types of fruit, it constitutes an actual fruit salad...I just made a personal portion, instead of a large bowl, and without it getting all mushy from sitting in it's own juices.)

Why is this blog-worthy? Because a) it comes on the heels of Day 2 of a P90X workout and b) because I tend to be the one that reaches for the prepackaged junk that is so unhealthy. Like poptarts. Or cereal that has thick coatings of sugar.

This past weekend, Misha and her boys came up again (which was a nice reprieve in many ways, after last week), and she and The Instigator "made" me do P90X. Plyometrics. Can we say "OWWWWWWWW!!!!!"? Because it took me forever to clean the boys' toy room the other day, with a lot of bending and squatting and lifting and moving, my legs were so sore for at least 3 days, and I did Pilates on Friday. So doing a high-impact, hardcore aerobic exercise dvd for an hour....I was exhausted and in pain!

Today, I was unsure if I should do Pilates of P90X again. Misha convinced me to do P90. This time, though, I was determined to keep up with the dvd and do the same number reps they did and to have better form in the exercises instead of doing only all the modified ones. As a result, I only made it 45 minutes through. I just could not keep going. But I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I didn't have breakfast this morning (I must remember to start eating when the boys do!), and I tend to pass out from low blood sugar when I skip meals and exert myself.

So here I am, eating my fruit. :) I am determined to lose weight, even if it kills me! (And the irony in that statement would be that losing weight would actually prolong my life...LOL) I'm going to London in May, and I would like to feel confident in standing in front of the camera instead of always behind it. And as if that weren't enough, my BFF is getting married this fall (I'm flying back to the States to be her maid/matron of honor!), and I want to look good! It's amazing how weight manages to stick around after having 2 boys 15 months apart...

Different kind of To-Do list

Things I am going to do (or at least attempt to do!) while I am kid-less during the day this week:

1. Add the ribbon to the Tiramisu Blanket I started back in June of last year for a baby that is now about 3 months old...

2. Finish the chemo cap for the friend of a friend (I'm approaching halfway done!)

3. Actually catch up on laundry! (Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is possible!....for a few hours, at least! LOL)

4. Begin on the next hooded scarf that I have been commissioned to make

5. Blog (I'm going to aim to post daily...I still have a bunch of those 30 Days of Letters to write!)

6. Read (I have a book I just started last night that I want to finish!)

7. Play my music as loudly as I can while doing housework (I won't be interrupting any little ones from their movies or playtime!!!) and sing along obnoxiously!

8. Enjoy the silence while blogging and reading

9. Explore the town I live in a little bit!

10. Make (and document) at least one item of a crafting nature (and I'm talking thinking outside the yarn box!)

11. And if I have time....level one of my World of Warcraft characters to level 40! LOL

So ambitious of me...I guess I'd better get to it!!!

Determination

Dora the Explorer: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: I want to be a teacher when I grow up!
C: I want to be a mad scientist when I grow up!

Both of my boys made those proclamations with the same level of enthusiasm and excitement, jumping up and down as they did, unable to contain themselves at the thought of being whatever they put their minds to.

Really? A mad scientist?....Hmmm. Well, C is just far too cute, so I think we'll have to get him a wild wig and work on that cackle before he achieves that dream...

My boys cannot (accurately!) be described as having no imaginations. From sun up to sun down (and often times outside of those boundaries, too!), they are constantly fighting off bad guys with Kame-Hame-Ha waves and "mastery" of martial arts, not to mention the "superpowers" that seem to manifest themselves at will. Raising two boys is nothing short of an adventure in and of itself. In fact, just this morning, while A was awake (and waiting for Mommy's alarm to go off to wake up to get him off to school), I laid in bed and kept hearing a "run, run, run, THUMP" noise.

Me: "What are you doing?"

A: (exasperated at my lack of observance skills) "I'm trying to fly, Mama!"

Oh, what a world he lives in...he knows he can do whatever he sets his will to, and he often reminds me of that! ("I can do anything, Mama!") What a sad day it will be for me, though, when he realizes that he can't just take off into flight like a bird on a whim...