JessieCarter's Blog

“Clap on! Clap off!”

22 May 2010 3 Comments

by jessiecarter in GRAVITY Experiment Tags: Captain D's, clap off, clap on, Crestwood Plaza, Fairview Heights, gravity, healthy, IL, Mexican hat dance, MO, Mommy brain, scale, St. Louis, sweat, The Clapper, Total Gym, WaterRower

GRAVITY Experiment Days #37 & #38

Pounds lost / pounds to go:  4.0 / 11.0

Exercise:  Great workout – doubled up because I missed yesterday;-(  I went 22 minutes / 5000+ meters on the WaterRower; 10 min jog on the treadmill with one hill interval for 2 min; at least 30 min on the Total Gym (squat jumps, squats with toes out, squat bridges, sitting torso twists, single bicep curls, scrunch board work, chest presses); Get-Delt-With-It, Roman lifts, squat push ups, gluteal series, prisoner squats, and ab series.  I’ve noticed that I sweat more when I do my GRAVITY training than I do with cardio (just an observation).

For those of you who have children in school, you are well aware that this is one of the most hectic times of the year.  Between testing, year-end field trips, award ceremonies, field days, concerts, and the general excitement of summer break being within reach, it’s a miracle we remember our names (much less our children’s).

When I was at my children’s elementary school on Tuesday for an award ceremony, I stopped in the office to sign my oldest daughter out for a special lunch with Mom.  While I had every intention of doing this back in the fall, life happened and here we were during the last week of school squeezing it in;-)  I showed my ID and off we went to Captain D’s (her choice).

While we were enjoying our seafood amongst the patrons (average age of 77 – just guessing), I got a call from my mom who teaches at my children’s school.  She informed me that I had left my wallet lying in the office at the school and that she’d keep it safe for me until we returned.

In recent years, I would have blamed this on “Mommy brain.”  I seriously believe that with each progressive child, mothers sacrificially lose brain cells.  I’m living proof.  But, I’m beginning to believe that it’s just me.  I need a “clapper” for everything – my car keys, the checkbook, the remote, my wallet, my debit card in my purse, my phone, the children occasionally.  I want someone to invent a device where I can clap my hands like I’m doing the Mexican hat dance and the item in question beeps to reveal its location.

Original “The Clapper” ad (can’t miss the lady at the end):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUOhjW2AXM

My wallet’s the worst though.  When I was in high school, I was shopping for a new purse at a department store in Fairview Heights, IL.  I wanted to make sure that my wallet would fit so I tested it out.  Mom and I were on a whirlwind shopping trip that day and we decided to hit Crestwood Plaza in St. Louis, MO, also.  When I started to try out purses again, I went to perform the same wallet test only my wallet was nowhere to be found.  Panic.  Needless to say, it was hanging right where I left it in the next state over.  The saleswoman thought it was funny.  Mom, not so much.  That’s the day I learned how fast she can drive;-)

So what does this have to do with working out, health, and this whole experiment?  Everything.  I thought that I would never look forward to working out, eating healthy, and losing weight again - my track record is that I either ignore it or I take it too far.  I’m finding that this is something I can change and manage in a healthy way.  I’ve loosened up a bit in the last few weeks but I haven’t chucked it.  I also haven’t beaten myself up or looked at myself as a failure.  I’ve just kept on keepin’ on and the scale and I are coming to terms with each other;-)  This makes me think I can tackle some other habits that plague me.

Maybe, some day, I’ll come to terms with my forgetfulness…or someone can just expand on that clapper idea;-)