I Wish I Could....

A couple different blogs this week have reminded me I don't need to be Superwoman to be a successful SAHM. You might be spitting out your coffee and sputtering in shock right now: What???? You AREN'T Superwoman????? Seriously???? NO WAY!!!!!

Yeah, I realize most of you have me on a preeeeetty high pedestal. Sadly, I'm about to knock myself off. Whatever that sentence means when you read it out of context.

With

1. a sweet baby who loves my attention,
2. a fixer upper house that wants me also,
3. the daily tasks necessary to keep our abode orderly,
4. yummy foods I must make,
5. sleep I very much need,
6. a hubby I long to see more than a few hours in the evening,
7. that stack of books I pass every once in a while and caress tenderly,
8. plus lots of Community and 30 Rock to be watched,

I feel stretched very thin sometimes. Sadly, Me Time is often the last thing on my list. But seriously, what parent does get enough Me Time? Anyone raising her or his hand out there?

Oh.

No one?

COULD IT BE OUR JOBS AND KIDS ARE SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF US?????? And oh you amazing working out of the home moms and dads, you are heroic.

Poor us. Poor women. Poor men. Poor humans. Let's have a pity party at my house this weekend!!!! I just need to clean, plan, and prep for it.

So here's a list of everything I DON'T do often. And I'm trying really hard to be okay with this list.

• Sew curtains, mend and alter clothes
• Go for walks or any form of exercise out of my house
• Mop
• Call and chat with my faraway friends and family
• Write in my or C's baby journal
• Play with my puppy dog
• Dust
• Organize all those bags in the guest room and C's closets
• Read magazines
• Fold and put away my laundry in a timely manner
• Do the dishes each night so the bugs won't get to them
• Finish all the projects I start during nap time
• Read all those tabs I have open on my Internet browser
• Remember to eat meals and snacks when C is awake, even if he does wants to grab all my food
• Coupon clipping and ad browsing before grocery shopping
• Work on my house to make it gorgeous

And a trillion other things. I wish I could do it all. I want to do it all. But I can't and I NEED to be okay with that. Over achievers like me struggle with not being able to do everything:)

We took C to a conservatory and he delicately, quietly touched the plants. So sweet:) Much different from the generally intense little guy he is at home.

Money of Mine

Since I love getting grades (something to prove how AWESOME I am), I jumped at the chance to see my credit score grade. Credit.com has a free credit score report and I would just like to say, I am an A. Yep, an A. So is hubby (don't know his report card score but he is a couple points higher than I am number-wise). We're going to get a SUPER interest rate on our next mortgage.

My fav part of the report was when it told me "You have a score better than 167 million people" and automatically that makes me better than 167 million people. If I wasn't as infantile as I am, this wouldn't matter. But today, I will be thinking in my head: I am better than 167 million people.

Yes, I am often this silly. And no, I REALLY don't think I am better than everyone else. I just like to indulge sometimes;)

Just on a side note, my blood type is A+.

I Worked Out

My one relaxing thing to do at work is to read Time Magazine. Odd, I know. But when I decide to have lunch in my room because the morning has been especially hairy, I enjoy reading the goings-on in the world, courtesy of Time. I get (or rather got) the mag free when my students got their Time For Kids last year. This year I'm doing National Geographic Explorer but do I get that free? NOOO. Fortunately, I get NG at home. Alas, this leaves me with nothing to read at work:(

So I had ONE issue of Time left and I read it last week during lunch. I really enjoyed this article about how exercising doesn't really help make you thin.

Basically, exercising won't make you thinner because you:

1. Tend to eat more when you exercise since your body needs more energy to replace the calories you burned.
2. Tend to eat more thinking you deserve that cookie since you worked out.
   
3. Tend to be less active throughout the day/evening since you had such a hard workout.
   

Last Sunday I went to yoga. It was a new class and place so I didn't know their routine and MAN was I sweating like a pig by the end!!! I was WORKED OUT. Went to Whole Foods afterwards and thought, I can have a piece of pizza for lunch because I worked out! Sat around the rest of the day cause I worked out. Didn't want to do much cause I worked out. In the end, I did take Sadie for a walk. But I worked out, I didn't have to do anything, RIGHT?

So yes, makes sense how you can actually gain/replace weight when you exercise. SO TRUE!!

The cure for this is to be active DURING the day, not just at one big workout. As a teacher I walk, sit, stand, and scream (hehe) all day at my job. When I wear my pedometer, I get close to 10,000 steps by the time I get home. And then I take Sadie for a walk after dinner. I eat healthy generally. I'm good to go:)

I think I'm okay.
But I just wanted YOU to know about this.
Cause I worked out.

Update on Me

23 out of 32. That's how many goals I've accomplished this year. Not too shabby. I got a 78% on life this year! SCORE!!! Considering I added in 2 new hobbies and have been happily maintaining them, I think I get at least a C+ (maybe even a B-, what do you think?). I'm a better person this year!

I really love playing my violin! It makes me very happy though I'm not that great at it. Each time I practice, J tells me I'm sounding so much better. I think he's being a little nice but it is nice not to be confined to playing songs like 4 Shorts and 1 Long. Having that one stuck in my head was a little dull. I had to sing it to J a lot for a while since it was stuck in my head. Imagine me singing 4 long notes and then one short one. ENDLESSLY.

My repertoire now includes Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Edelweiss, and Mary Had a Little Lamb. So now I sing those to him. Along with some of my other favs: New World Symphony, The C# Finger Game, and A String Mixer. And, oddly enough, I love playing scales. I think I hated doing those on the piano.

Yesterday, J finished tweaking our wedding video and I finally got to watch it after 2 years! I didn't realize how much I smiled. I mean seriously, I SMILED SOOOO MUCH. Most of what I remember about my wedding is stress. Stress over getting everything ready, doing a TON of it myself (w/ the fam), and wondering what the heck I was getting myself in to. Yesterday I was sad that I didn't remember that I smiled so much. I need to revamp my wedding memories. It makes me smile right now to think of it.

And here's something I didn't know would happen: I love J 12,000 times more today than I did when we got married. We were talking about this and how I wish we could have another wedding (now that I REALLY love him). Of course, how will I feel 2 years from now? I think maybe next year we should have a giant anniversary party, kind of like a fake wedding, during which I can feel like I'm marrying him again.

Belle and Sebastian are regaining their spot as my favorite band. Sorry Killers, Lizzy overdid you.

2009 Goals

Okay, here is an update on the progression of my 2009 Goals:

1. I have been doing Zumba or Yoga 3-4 times a week. YAY FOR MY BODY!
2. I have not set my alarm earlier than 6:30 on any workday morning this month. Wow. Never thought I would really do that!
3. I drink water a lot now!! I'm hoping this will make it easier to drink alcohol even when I am not thirsty. This will expedite the drinking process and take much less effort and time than FORCING myself to drink. I rarely get thirsty but now I am getting better at teaching myself to drink when I am not thirsty. 
4. Well, I have tried bananas in a few dishes and drinks. I am miles away from liking them though. And I haven't actually taken a bite from a real, live banana. Gag.
5. Journaling, sewing, planning gardening, word puzzles once a week....almost....more like twice a month. GOOD FOR ME.
6. EEEK, tomorrow ends February and I haven't cleaned the car this month!!! I did clean it when I was sick and it was 15 degrees in our garage last month though. 
7. Doing good on reading 1 fiction and 1 non-fiction book/ month, saving money, got my summer jobs all planned out...

So, second month of the year and I'm pretty happy with things:) Life is good, love my hubby, job, and everything else i crowd in my life. SUPER SARAH STRIKES AGAIN!!!

Wow, I am the world's worst speller.