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Mar 8, 2013

Ten Years

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It was on this day, ten years ago, that I stood in front of our friends and family and said “I do” to joining in marriage with Aaron.

Ten years. Wow.

Some things have changed since that time, while others stay the same. We have a house now, and a dog, although two of our cats have been with us all along. The only blogging I did at the time was on LiveJournal, but now blogging is a much bigger deal. Aaron still makes his weekly pilgrimage to the comic book store, and ten years of added comics makes me glad we bought a house larger than needed at the time.

And of course we are now parents to two beautiful daughters. That’s a big change.

 (They can be a little silly, too.)

The past ten years have been…interesting. I can’t say they’ve been totally awesome, because there have been a lot of painful moments mixed in with the happy ones. Our life together was nearly ripped apart at one point. But that’s real life, isn’t it? The vows say “for better or worse” but many people don’t think about the “worse” that could come their way, because it’s a happy day full of promise for the future.

The biggest myth about marriage is expecting it to be effortless like the media prefers to portray it. It’s not. It takes effort and determination and work, the levels of which can vary from day to day. You occasionally have to be utterly selfless, painfully swallowing your ego and setting aside your wants for the sake of the other person and for the sake of your partnership. However, it IS a partnership, and your partner will (should?) do the same for you when needed as well. And the rewards from each person making those small sacrifices are exponentially greater than what was given up.

(Kinda like a rehearsal for parenting, eh?)

We’ve been through ten years of absolute joy and plenty of struggle, and we’re still together. We learned how to be partners, how to work through our problems, and how to keep love going even when the newness starts to fade. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s not always hard either.

I can look back at our first ten years of marriage and say we’ve learned a great deal about how to make a life together. I doubt we’ve figured it all out, but I don’t think that happens for a long, long time. If ever! But that’s OK, it gives us something to work towards.

Today on our tenth anniversary, I hope for many more years together for Aaron and I, and I hope our family will prosper in the years ahead. As cliche as it sounds, I’m so thankful to have married my best friend. I love you, dear, and I love our geeky little family.

Ready to take on the world together. (Yes, I had to throw another Disney picture in.)
Filed Under: Aaron, daily life, love, me me me, memories, more than parents ·


Jan 24, 2013

How Many Steps Do You Take Each Day? (FitBit Zip Review)

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Now that the holidays are long over and we start edging ever closer to longer, warmer days (although you wouldn’t know that at the moment), my mind has already clicked over into shaking off the holiday hibernation and getting back into shape. Every year I give myself time off from calorie counting and workouts between Thanksgiving and the new year. It’s a time of food, family gatherings and holiday parties, and I enjoy the time a lot more if I’m not thinking about my weight.

But now. Now it’s time to get back on track. I willingly accept a little weight gain during the holidays, but apparently my new-found love of Nutella added a little more than I had planned. The scale was a bit of a shock.

I’m back to carefully tracking my food intake again, but getting started with exercising at the beginning of the year seemed more difficult than usual. I have a treadmill and know I don’t need to necessarily run – even walking would be better than nothing. The key is always motivation – how do I make it fun?

I’ve been eying the FitBit Zip for several months, and recently was offered the opportunity to give it a try from Best Buy. I’m a gadget person, so any new gadget that can get me excited about exercising and learning more about my habits is perfect for me.

If you haven’t heard of it, the FitBit Zip is like a pedometer on steroids – in function, not size. Not only does it track every step you take (along with estimated distance and calories burned during the day), but it wirelessly transmits the data to your FitBit dashboard so you can compare your current data to any goals you’ve set for yourself.

The medical community recommends that most people walk 10,000 steps each day for optimal health. (Obviously check with your doctor first to make sure you’re healthy enough for exercise.) Before I received the FitBit, I tried to estimate how many steps I took in an average day. I figured I probably walked 5-6,000 a day on non-active days, but wasn’t really sure. I knew it needed to be more, but still thought I was semi-active in my daily life.

Setting up the FitBit was a breeze, which was good because I was in a hurry to try it out. Once it was ready to go, I clipped it onto the waist of my pants and took a walk around my house, then after a few minutes ran back to the computer to sync the device and see how many steps I’d taken. (Oh c’mon, you know you’d do it, too.) It registered 58 steps on my online Dashboard, a tiny amount compared to the recommended steps per day, but proof it was working like it should.

The clip on the FitBit is very secure, even for such a small device. I worried at first that it might come unclipped from my waistband or pocket, but it’s a strong grip. Women can also wear it clipped to our bras, which I often prefer because it’s completely hidden and it adds that extra security from losing it that someone as clumsy as me worries about.

Your stats can be checked by tapping on the FitBit Zip. It’ll display the current time, the number of steps you’ve taken, the estimated distance you’ve traveled for the day (based on average stride length for your height) and average calories burned for the day. It’ll also show a little face with an expression that changes based on how well you’re doing for the day. Mine is usually sticking it’s tongue out at me.

Note: If you wear your FitBit Zip strapped to your bra, you can’t check your stats for the day from the FitBit as easily. Reaching down your shirt to unclip it and check your steps might be a little awkward in public. Be aware of that when choosing where to clip it.

Since I’m rarely away from my computer, I can check it on my Dashboard instead. It syncs automatically if the wireless unit is plugged in to your computer, and you can manually sync it if you’re too impatient to wait for the next sync. iPhone 4s and 5 users can also check their stats from the iPhone app. And you can link up with other FitBit users to motivate each other.

So how’s it going, you ask? Well, the FitBit Zip has revealed to me that I’m a lazy slob. OK, not exactly. With my first full day of using it, I made it a point to get out and walk around as much as possible, including walking the dog and taking the kids out for the day. After a full Saturday, I couldn’t wait to see what my results were:

Only 5300 steps? Hmmm…I thought it might be more. Still, that was over halfway to the 10,000 step goal promoted everywhere, so I patted myself on the back for a good start.

However, I soon realized finding a way to get more movement in would be harder than I thought. On work days, my typical day looked a lot more like this:

Ouch. Only a quarter of the recommended steps per day. It’s true I don’t get to move around as much when I’m working at my computer all day, and it’s been a strong reminder to get up and move around more.

Tracking my steps has been an eye-opening experience. Not only has it shown me that I’m not walking enough, but it’s also helping me visualize just how much of a difference 10 minutes can make.

Seeing how low my numbers were, I decided to try walking just 10 minutes on the treadmill at 3.0 mph – which is slow enough for me to check my email and Facebook on my phone while I walked. I looked at my FitBit stats right after that and suddenly I had nearly 1000 steps more just from one 10 minute walk.

Anyone can find 10 minutes in the day, right? (And that’s 10 minutes that don’t even work up a sweat or require another 20 minutes to shower and change clothing!) I’m now squeezing in two 10 minute walks in-between work and kids and everything else in my life, and my stats are starting to look a lot better. I like the instant gratification of seeing my stats right after I make each small effort. It provides a mental reward to encourage me to find new ways to sneak more movement into my day.

I love that the Zip is so small and doesn’t get in my way all day. Clipped to a waistband or my bra, I rarely notice it’s there and it doesn’t show under my clothing.

Size reference: that’s my 95-pound-dog’s paw.

The only downside to the FitBit Zip is – like any other gadget or workout device – you have to use it for it to help you. I take it off at night and put it on my nightstand and then put it right back on in the morning. I’ve only forgotten to put it on once so far.

You still have to do the work – it only holds a mirror up to your activity level for accountability. But if you like seeing numbers and stats about yourself, and you enjoy the challenge of forcing those numbers higher, you’ll love the FitBit Zip. For me, I’ve combined the FitBit with logging all of my foods again, and I’ve already lost four pounds in two and a half weeks.

Big thanks to Best Buy for giving me the chance to try out the FitBit Zip. You can find it in stores in several different colors for $59.99. Mine is the neutral charcoal color, but the magenta one is really cute!

And if you think the FitBit Zip might be right for you, Best Buy provided me with a printable coupon for 20% off of any health & fitness product! (Good through 2/13/13.) If you’re not ready to get moving yet, but want a new juicer or some other small appliance to start new healthy eating habits, I also have a printable coupon for 20% off small kitchen appliances at Best Buy.

If you already use a FitBit, let me know your profile URL and we’ll link up! You can also join in using the #MillionSteps and #BestBuy hashtags on Twitter to find even more people tracking their steps together.

Full disclosure: I was provided with a FitBit Zip by Best Buy for the purposes of this review and no further compensation was received. Screen shots above are from my actual dashboard, all opinions are my own and your results may vary. And yes, I’m aware I’d walk a lot more if I didn’t live in a city that relied on cars so much to get anywhere.

Filed Under: daily life, healthy living, me me me, reviews ·


Nov 22, 2012

Thankful for Seven Years

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It was seven years ago on this day that I created a blog on Blogger and typed out my first post as A Mommy Story. It was definitely nothing for the memory books, just a “hey, I’m here!” post, my first time with a fully public blog after spending a few years with a LiveJournal account that was semi-private.

I’m still here. Things have changed dramatically from where they were seven years ago, but I still keep coming back here and writing my thoughts when I get the chance.

Seven years ago I was a first time mom with a 14 month old who was my world. I was still caught up in the honeymoon of parenting, still swooning over all the firsts and panicked over every little detail that could affect her health, safety and happiness.

Blogs at the time were my source of commiseration and education – I found others who shared similar parenting philosophies, those who were in the same stage that I was, and those who were beyond my stage but were models to aspire to. After commenting on many blogs, I decided it was time to start my own, to share my stories in my space going forward that might help or inspire others. Or maybe just make them laugh every now and then, sometimes not intentionally.

Now, of course, I’m a more…ummm…seasoned mother. The story has changed through the years, and my available time has diminished, but I’m still here. I couldn’t imaging stepping away and cutting myself off from the friends and community I’ve found through this blog. 

So today, on my seven year blogiversary (it’s totally a real word), and also being Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for all of the people who have shared this space with me. Thank you for reading, for sharing your thoughts in return, for the occasional emails, and for sticking with me even when the story goes through a slow period. Thank you for being so friendly and kind when we’ve had the chance to meet in person, for helping me when I’ve reached out to some of you for help or advice, and for looking past my flaws and my serious lack of attention.

I’m also so thankful for all of the opportunities this blog has given me. Without my little corner of the internet, I never would have been on local TV a few times, never would have worked for Disney for a little over a year, never would have traveled to so many cities for conferences, never would have walked in a fashion show, never would have fallen into the amazing job I have now, and I would have been completely lost when Cordy was diagnosed with autism.

Most importantly, this blog has helped introduce me to so many amazing people, both via our blogs and in person, some of whom I’m honored to call friends.

So happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thank you for being a part of my life via this little blog. Today I’m thankful for these seven years and for all of you.

Except spammers. I’m not so thankful for you. Although the latest spam comment of “Hello, all is going nicely here and of course every one is sharing information, that’s in fact excellent, keep up writing.” kinda makes me feel all warm inside, in a bad-grammar-compliment kind of way.

Here’s to another seven years. That is, in fact, excellent.

Filed Under: holidays, me me me, memories · Tagged:


Nov 15, 2012

Wedding Ring Panic Attack

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Last night was a fairly normal night of putting the kids to bed and then coming back downstairs to get a little more work done and watch TV.

About half an hour into our child-free time, I suddenly realized something was missing. My left thumb reached across my palm to brush my ring finger, like I do absentmindedly several times a day to adjust my wedding ring, only to realize there was no ring to play with.

Looking down at my hand, I could see it was bare. Where did my ring go?

I’ve been complaining for months that I needed my wedding ring resized. I had to make it larger several years ago to continue wearing it through extra weight and pregnancies. But since losing weight my ring has lost that snug fit, going from tight to comfortable to seeing light between finger and ring.

The ring has far more personal meaning to it than monetary value. We were young and just starting out when we were married, so the rings we selected were nice, but inexpensive. I thought I might upgrade it someday to something a little more fancy,  but this wasn’t the way I wanted to go about doing so.

At first I figured it must have slipped off as I sat on the couch. So I casually started reaching down into the couch cushions to feel for the smooth metal band. Nothing. I then told Aaron that I had lost it as I stood up and began checking my pockets and the floor around me.

We tore apart the couch looking for it as I tried to mentally retrace my steps. I knew it was on earlier in the day, and the backyard was as far as I had gone that day, so at least it had to be somewhere in the house or yard.

I searched the dining room table and kitchen counters before continuing to progress backwards through my evening. I had tucked Mira in and reached under her to give her a hug – maybe it slipped off then? I was like a jewel thief in her room, carefully reaching under her pillow and blankets, trying to not wake the recently asleep child. No good.

And then I heard Aaron say “Found it!” He was in Cordy’s room, where earlier I was straightening out her comforter before bed. The ring had somehow come off as I was smoothing out her sheets.

Whew.

That was a wake up call to get the ring resized, though. So today we went to a jewelers and handed over my wedding ring – a ring I never take off – to be made smaller. It was a size 7. It will now be a size 5.5. Even my pinky wasn’t that small when I was younger – how is it I’m losing more weight from my fingers than anywhere else?

I’m hoping to have my ring back just before Thanksgiving. But I admit I feel naked without it.

naked hand

It’s the one piece of jewelry I always have on, and the one with the most significance. I keep having moments of panic, wondering where it went, before I remember that it’s with the jeweler. At least when it returns it’ll be much smaller, with less risk of it going astray.

Do other people feel naked without their wedding rings (or other important piece of jewelry or accessory), or am I the oddball? Have you ever lost something of significant personal value by accident?

Filed Under: daily life, me me me, memories ·


Nov 12, 2012

Making A Home Out Of Our House

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We’ve lived in this house for over eight years now. It’s our first house, and the only home our two daughters have ever known.

So why, after eight years, do we have only ONE room painted, and still have nothing hung on walls? Remove the furniture and it’s builder’s standard white through most of the house.

I have no actual answer for that question. We were in such a rush to move in once the house was ready that we didn’t take the time to paint before we moved everything in. So the only room that was painted was Cordy’s room, since I was pregnant at the time and it was the one room that had no furniture at first. I also didn’t want to hang anything on the walls until they were painted.

We also never planned to stay here this long. During the big housing boom, it was common to buy a house and sell it for a profit within four to five years. We bought a house that fit our modest budget, expecting our salaries to go up, and to make a profit on the house, so we could trade up to a better neighborhood.

Ha. Sometimes fate likes to kick you down a notch. Four years after we signed the mortgage agreement, instead of looking for our next home, we were struggling to make payments for this home and keep our family together.

And now four years later, we’re still here. We didn’t lose the house (thank goodness!) but at the moment we also have no ability to sell it without taking a loss. Most homes in our neighborhood are selling for far less than their original prices. To make it worse, there’s this immediately behind us:

Still getting uglier every day!

I think we still haven’t made any changes over bitterness at not being able to leave. The house has become a prison, reminding us every day that we’re stuck here and not going anywhere anytime soon. We were lucky enough to not lose it through the recession, but now we find it also won’t let us go.

I’ve gone through the stages of grief over being stuck in this house, and I may have finally reached acceptance, or at least a temporary acceptance. I still have no intention of staying here beyond another few years, but I’ve also hit the point where I’m ready to live here, not just subsist here.

All of our walls are still white (except for Cordy’s room). Nothing has been hung on the walls. The house still looks like we’re apartment dwellers afraid to do anything to the standard built-ins for fear of losing our security deposit. But this is our home. It’s time to start treating it as such. There’s no need to keep it neutral in decor unless that’s what we want.

We’re refinancing the house using a new refinance option to cut down our monthly mortgage, freeing up a little more money each month. We’re no longer in that dire situation from four years ago, so we can spend a little money on simple updates to the house.

And now I have home remodel fever.

I want to paint, to hang cabinets, to install a backsplash in the kitchen, to put in new faucets…the list goes on and on. Pinterest DIY boards are now my unhealthy obsession.

There’s only one teensy-tiny problem: I have no talent or skill in home remodeling.

I also can’t seem to find anywhere to learn these skills. Some of the home superstores offer workshops on limited projects, but I need the absolute basics.

I guess I have a little time before I need to figure out how to use power tools. Because before we can begin many of these projects, we also have to clear out a LOT of clutter. About eight years worth of apathy clutter in this house. Starting with the garage.
 

 That’s the real, unedited, garage mess. And that’s also after several hours of clearing out a large part of it and sending six boxes to Goodwill.
I’m writing all of this out here to hold myself accountable to begin these changes in our house. It’s time to make this place a home.
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Filed Under: daily life, domestic zero, me me me, money ·