Everybody's NOT Fine!

Do not be deceived by the happiness on everyone's faces!

I just watched the most horribly terrible movie ever.  It was not a BAD movie.  It wasn't written poorly or bad in the sense of a review, but it was terrible in a sense of, I-never-want-to-see-it-again-because-of-how-it-made-me-feel terrible.  If that makes sense...

The movie was/is "Everybody's Fine".  If you haven't heard of it, it stars Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale & Sam Rockwell.  It's about an older gentleman (DeNiro) who travels across the country to see his children.

The movie literally upset me from the very beginning.  SPOILER ALERT:  I have no intention of ruining the movie for anyone; you just will go in with more of a knowledge about the movie than I had going in (which was nil).

It starts out with a scene where DeNiro is shopping and is trying to spiffy up his home because all four of his kids will finally be coming to visit at the same time.  He buys wine, a grill, cleans the place up and is clearly looking forward to it.  Of course, everyone cancels.  Immediately I am upset because I have to see him all disappointed.

Moving forward, he decides to go visit them on his own.  Upon visiting, everyone shoves him back out the door because they don't want to discuss a certain event that is happening with one of his sons.  SO, I am constantly devastated by this because I can not handle seeing him get shoved out the door.  (It also makes you think about all of the times that you didn't make time for your family... but more about that in a little bit.)

Meanwhile, at one of the bus stations, the kid from "Empire Records", (you know him... "Stop calling me 'Warren'.  My name's not f*ckin' 'Warren'!"), jumps him and smashes his medication which he needs, because OF COURSE he has a health concern.  (That's not a MAJOR part of the movie but it's still upsetting.)

Then there is the climax.  I shall go no further as to not give too much away in case anyone wants to see it.

I found myself overly upset throughout the entire movie.  Like I said, the opening scene had me upset and I was sad (and bawling like a baby) throughout the entire movie; partially because of the movie's content, but more so because of how it made me reflect on my own life.

It really made me think about all of the times in my life when I haven't made time for someone, or have avoided a person just to avoid having to talk about a certain topic or event.  It made me think about all of the times I've cancelled plans because I was feeling lazy or didn't feel like talking to people.  You think, yeah, they'll be upset, but it's not a big deal if I'm not there.  The truth is, sometimes it IS a big deal.  Just because someone tells you that it's okay that you didn't make it; it doesn't mean that they weren't disappointed or upset by it.

We've all been disappointed and we've all had our feelings hurt.  Yes, you can't be there for everything.  You can't always make everyone happy (no matter how hard you try).  Yes, sometimes you do have to think about you and making time for yourself... but at what cost?  Is it better for you to sit around and watch a movie instead of going and playing cards with your grandparents for an afternoon?  Is it better for you to browse the Internet instead of picking up the phone and calling to chat with your mom or dad?   Yes, everyone needs "alone time", but think about all of the people that you know that have nothing but "alone time" and would love nothing more than to hear a loved one's voice on the other end of the phone.

As you can see, this movie really made me reflect on my life and decisions I've made in the past.  Sorry for being a sap today.

Get in touch with someone who loves you today.  You never know how much it will truly be appreciated.  It could make someone's day.  It doesn't cost any money; just a little bit of your time. 

Wine and and a good book?

I feel like kind of a loser sitting at home drinking a glass of red and reading a little of "The Catcher in the Rye", but you know what? I'm perfectly at peace with that. :)

Week One: Done!

Just a foreward:  If you don't care about my P90X adventure; skip this blog entry!  :)

I'm officially done with week one of P90X.  Well, that is unless you count tomorrow, which is either a rest day or a stretch day.  I believe it will be a stretch day for me even though at the beginning of the week I was SURE it was going to be a rest day.  (Yes, I'd planned it that far in advance.)  My muscles are feeling it today.  After doing Legs & Back & Ab Ripper X yesterday and then doing KenpoX today, my legs are like jello.  I think that stretch will do them wonders tomorrow.

All of that being said, I'm feeling good about this.  I am sore in the best ways possible, but all ready I can feel myself having more energy.  Jack claims that he can already SEE a difference, but it's only been one week, so I'm not sure I believe that noise.  I won't do my weigh in until Monday morning though, so we'll see how I have done weight-wise.

One area that I AM failing at is the diet plan.  P90X has a wonderful diet plan, but this girl can not afford to eat their meal plan.  That aside, I thought I would attempt to eat some of their meals, follow some of their guidelines, and follow some of those other random tips and recipes that I've found for dieting throughout the years.  Do you want to know which food tastes the best?  The P90X recipes.  Oh.  Mon.  Dieu.  They are heavenly.

Honestly, I wish I would have taken pictures for you all to enjoy because not only are they delicious, but they are absolutely beautiful as well.  I will keep that in mind in the future, as I am 100% certain I will be re-creating these meals in the near future.  The Salmon w/ Lemon Dill Sauce was absolutely to die for.  Of course, everything is from scratch with no short-cuts, but that is why it tastes so wonderful!  Unfortunately that makes for a not-so-cheap meal for my broke ass.  Other favorites of the week:  Island Pork Tenderloin Salad & Greek Feta Chicken.  YUM!

Anyway, the reason I say that I am failing is because I am such a snacker!  I always want to munch on something.  This is fine and I have plenty of healthy snacks around; it's Jack that is killing me.  "Can we order pizza?"  "If I make hot wings will you help me eat them?"  "I stopped at the store and picked up Oreos."  These are all Jack quotes of the week.  Yes, I understand that I should have the will power to say "no", but guess what?  I don't.  I went from eating complete crap all last week to trying to eat healthy and even though I normally don't even want hot wings or pizza; this week they just sounded, oh, so tempting.

I need some motivation people!  Any advice?  Any meal ideas/recipes for me?  This program requires me to eat a LOT more protein than I am used to!

Run through of my week (for any who care):

•  Monday (week 1, day 1):  Core Synergistics  (This is kind of a total-body workout, but does focus on the core.)
• Tuesday (w1, d2):  Cardio X (Self-explanatory.)
• Wednesday (w1, d3):  Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X (First part is self-explanatory. Ab Ripper X is the most excruciating 16 minutes of my life.)
• Thursday (w1, d4):  YogaX (I've always liked yoga. Yoga X is definitely eXtreme... yowza.)
• Friday (w1, d5):  Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X (Again, self-explanatory. There's that damn Ab Ripper again. As though the hour long workout wasn't enough beFORE you throw in the extra 16 minutes from HELL.)
• Saturday (w1, d6): KenpoX  (Okay, this one is definitely fun.  However, I think I sweat more than I've ever sweat in my life doing this.  It's one hell of a workout.  For those of you who don't know, Kenpo means "law of the fist".  This means a lot of punches, kicks, etc.)
• TOMORROW:  As I said earlier, this could be a rest day, but I think I'm going to do StretchX. 

Oh yeah, did I mention that I am doing P90X Lean as opposed to classic?  The lean version is more commonly used by women because you are able to maintain a more "girlish" figure.  PLUS, I need to lose a LOT of weight before I focus on toning my body up more. 

The next 2 weeks will repeat the same routine I had this past week.  I will then back off for a week and have a slightly less "eXtreme" workout.  Then I'll jump back in to a new routine for 3 weeks, and so on and so forth.

Are you guys bored with my ramblings?  I apologize, I know this has been a long and boring blog for many of you.  This is a huge accomplishment for me to be doing a workout routine as extreme as this and to actually be following through with it.  Your encouragement is welcome!  :)

P.S.  I totally found out how much I dislike protein shakes and protein bars.  Unfortunate for me.  :(

P90X

And so it begins.

I am officially beginning P90X tomorrow morning and I am scared to death.  I know this is going to be a huge challenge for me.  Considering this program was designed for seasoned athletes who want to push themselves further and I am not an athlete whatsoever; this is going to kill me.  Hopefully not literally.  :)

Have any of you out there in my blogosphere done P90X?  If so, give me your thoughts and comments, please!

Also, I am really going to need some motivational pull through this one... rather push, I suppose.  I know that I am going to complain and I'm sure a lot of that will be done to you, my lovely followers.  :)  So PLEASE, keep me motivated!

Does everyone know what P90X is?  It is an exercise program that lasts 90 days (or however long you want to repeat the program for) and is focused around "muscle confusion", thus allowing your body to never get used to it.  Which is both good and bad...  It is good because you will constantly see the effects of the program, BUT you will also constantly be sore from it.  :(

Okay, that is all for now because I have a feeling you will be hearing a lot about this from me in the very near future.

Free Produce!!!

So, In the past I've told you a few of the reasons why I like going back to my home town.  Mostly all because of the people.

Let me tell you about another MAJOR (seasonal) reason I love it.

FREE PRODUCE!!!

I mean seriously folks.  The generosity of my family is amazing.  Check out the cornucopia below!  YUM!

This is really only a tiny portion of what I brought back with me and it is only a minuscule amount of what I COULD have brought back with me.

Check out some more YUMS thanks to my 'rents!

I've always loved finding the "ugly" carrots because they are the beautiful ones.  Sometimes you can prop them up on their "legs"; sometimes they don't even look like carrots in shape.  Amazing.  The only thing that is more beautifully hideous than Schwartz carrots are Schwartz potatoes... and I have plenty of those as well!

I hand plucked those babies (pun not intended) from the chicken coop myself!

Then of course, there are the joys of my little brother moving back to Iowa and running a farm:

Peppers!  Lots of them!

Black Raspberry Jam made with honey!  It is SO delectable!  He is my parents' son!

Last, but not least, TOMATOES!  I only add them last because some of them are from my parents, some are ours (from our Topsy Turvy!) and some are from Jack's Grandma!

I love summer produce.  I can't wait for the fall produce! 

(I'll be home again in September, Mom!)

Coming to a Blog Near You...

This is just a blog promising that I will blog.  Seriously.  That's all it is.  I realize it has been 2 weeks since I've blogged.  It's not that I was in a deep depression over Bronko... although I WAS sad about that.

Coming up in a future blog(s):
~ hanging out with the maternal side of the fam.  (We're an interesting bunch.)
~P90X (Oh yes... it's happening.)
~Produce (That's right.  Produce.)
~The birthday celebrations coming up this weekend.

Did I mention that Vanilla Ice & Tone Loc are totally playing on a free stage at the state fair?  That will be this Sunday.  It doesn't get much more exciting than that.

Blog you later.

Officially Bummed

So, it turns out that Bronko is going to be a no go.  :(  Kaiah did not like any part of him.  She attempted to sniff him but as soon as he muzzle bumped her, she was ready to destroy him.
I'm bummed though, so that's all I have to say on the subject at this point.