Using Running to Control Emotions

I walked into the gym, dropped off the kids and felt READY to burn some energy. My emotions were high but honestly I didn't know why. I'm guessing it was hormone related. If you're a woman, I'm sure you can totally agree with me that sometimes you just feel ready to bite someone's head off and whoever crosses your path first will be the unfortunate victim! I knew I was a mess and I also knew the only way to fix this was to...RUN. Running can be the best counseling session for me. I turn up the music and pound it out.

What do you know? One of my favorite songs began playing on Pandora's Pop and Hip Hop Workout Station: Timber by Kesha and Pitbull.

Kesha was singing, "It's going down, I'm yelling timber. You better move, you better dance." And that was all I needed to kick it into high gear...turning up the treadmill speed along with the volume on my phone, I began zoning out (something that always seems to happen when I run).

I was breathing hard and the negative kept saying, "Just stop now. This is too hard for you."

But I fought back. "No, I need this! I need to get through what's bothering me."

I was having a conversation with myself now. Fighting through the initial pain of running, I said, "But what's really bothering you? I don't know. Yes, you do know, Kim. It's all those little afflictions you've been pushing down lately. It's all those little things that's gonna make you pop!"

I looked down at the treadmill and realized that 10 minutes had come and gone, just like that. A lady beside me was facebooking and walking at 1 mph on her treadmill.

"BRINNNGGGGGGGGGG" went her annoying phone. And then she started talking to someone in a foreign language loudly!

"Really!!!!!" I thought. She was breaking my concentration. Little did she know that she was in my territory and I had pegged her as my next victim.

"Stop, Kim! Forget her. Just run." And that's when Evacuate the Dance Floor by Cascada began playing. I turned the music up even louder so as not to hear her irritating conversation.

Ironically, these are the very lyrics I heard, "Turn up the music, lets get out on the floor. I like to move it, come and give me some more." And that's when I zoned out again.

You know, running means so much more to me now than it did when I was in high school. In high school, I would run for weight loss. But now, I run for health and vitality. Vitality- that's a big word for me! I never realized that vitality meant to be strong and active.  I suppose people would never believe by looking at me that I could run 30 minutes without stopping. But I can! And I feel so accomplished because of it. I do feel strong and so alive. Now I run to feel better, to hold my head higher with confidence and to counsel myself.

Growing up southern, you learn that to be a woman means to be strong. Hardships will come but you suck it up and find a solution to the problems. I can remember as a little girl going into Wal-Mart with MML and hanging my head down because I thought people would make fun of me for wearing sweatpants.

One day, MML looked at me and said sternly, "You will hold your head up Kim and stick your chin in the air. We don't care what people think about us." Her words really meant something to me then and even now.

And as I was finishing up my run all the anger seemed to pump right out of my chest, through my fingers and out my toes. It was a surreal experience. I heard myself saying, "You've got this! Keep going!!! Suck it up...just a little bit more." Inwardly, I was cheering myself on. "Five minutes Kim, just five more minutes. Keep your head in the air, stick your chin out! Come on!"

"You Did It!!!!!" my subconscious was roaring at me now. I was cheering myself on and feeling totally alive!

The running was so cathartic for me that I'm embarrassed to say this, but I almost cried. I am a highly emotional person but I sucked it up and held it in. It was everything that I needed in that day. It was everything I needed in that week. Running had helped me get it all out. I know it sounds weird reading this but for me, it brought up everything I needed to confront. Let's face it; we all need to confront a whole lot of garbage in our lives. We all need to run it out.

And as I slowed my pace to cool down, no joke this song began playing. It was as if God said, "I heard everything you were saying. I felt everything in your heart and oh how I love you." Look at these lyrics.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

 And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all

 

What stood out to me was the line, "I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory." You see, the mighty power of God is like an eclipse. It covers any type of personal affliction we may have, so that we are totally unaware of any problems we may be facing. That's how strong and mighty our God is! 

So friends, whatever afflictions you might be facing, The Lord wants you to know that if you believe in His power and strength, anything you may be facing can be resolved. Any issue you might be having needs to be brought to the feet of God and...left. Yes, I said left! Let it go! Easier said than done right? One of the hardest things to do is to release control. But when you do, God will take your problem and turn them into solutions. In the meantime, harness all the emotions you were born with by running them out and setting them free. Let all the frustration, anxiety, anger, hurt and depression just slip through your fingers. God's got this. I promise!

Cottage Berry Whip

How about THIS for dessert!? How about 1 fat gram, 14 carbs and ONLY...wait for it...136 calories?

Finally a dessert I can stand that doesn't taste like cardboard...well it mildly tastes like cardboard but that's because I used Skinny Girl Stevia instead of sugar. Now, I'm still up in the air about fake sweeteners but my kids will never have it. So for theirs, I made it with real sugar and let them put sprinkles on top. The great secret is that it has 15 grams of protein...so when Baby Girl refuses to eat dinner, at least I can say, "If you eat all your carrots then you can have dessert." And she will never know that it's actually healthy for her! It's a win-win situation. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a go!

Cottage Berry Whip (Trim Healthy Mama)

1/2 c low fat or fat free cottage cheese

1/2 c berries

A dash of vanilla

Sweetener:I used Skinny Girl Stevia

Reddi Whip

Place all ingredients in your blender, nutribullet (whatever you have).

Garnish with Reddi Whip and Sprinkles

I (Barely) Survived Body Pump-Twice

So I thought I'd give Body Pump a second shot since the first time I tried Body Pump was after Zumba. I thought maybe it wouldn't be fair to just write off Body Pump just because I was tired.

Well...NOPE! As I sit here on the couch unmovable because I just pulled my lower back muscles, I have come to the conclusion that Body Pump is not for me. I am literally not moving because every time I do, my back is hurting excruciatingly BAD! Yes, I know that last sentence didn't sound grammatically correct but the pain has fogged my brain.

So you may think, "I don't agree with Kim at all. I love feeling strong." And believe me that is perfectly fine. If that's what you like-to do dead lifts, push ups, rows etc, by all means...GO FOR IT! This is just my opinion. 

Maybe I should try another teacher or when doing rows and dead lifts figure out a way not to strain my back but since I don't know, I think I'll just move on to the next class.

So my final review isn't that the class is bad, it's just not "my cup of tea." If I have time to go the gym, I want to do something that makes me feel good-like Zumba. 

Zumba, on the other hand, has changed me completely. For the first time in my life, I feel...sexy. Yes, I said that word and I'm a Christian and a mom (two slightly unsexy things). But since this is the last year in my twenties, I want to spend my adult woman years feeling confident and beautiful. 

So if Body Pump is for you, do it. Do whatever makes you feel good about yourself. And if it's not? Don't beat yourself up over it. Dust off your shoes and move on to something else.

Tips:

1)There's a lot of equipment you'll need for this class. Don't be a wimp! Go up and ask somebody to help you. It took me asking 3 women to help me!!!

2) Get that spot in the back corner if you're uncomfortable with yourself. There's a lot of squats in this class and I was very aware of how many people behind me saw my big ole butt squatting!

3) If it's your first time, just get the 1-2 pound weights. Later you'll know if you can add more on.

Good luck and please send up some mercy prayers for my back!

DC Dino Trip

"Wouldn't it be so great if we could take all the kids to see the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, before it closes in April?" one of us said around the dinner table one night. 

"Yah, that would be fun," we all agreed in disbelief that it would ever happen.

I joked, "We could rent a bus and take all 17 of us down there."

And that's how this crazy idea got started, one month ago. The Hubs and I are apart of a Table Group of similar families. We all eat together once a month, just to socialize with each other. Our kids love each other so it seemed like a good idea-even though slightly crazy on our part :)

One night one of the girls facebooked me and said,"Are you serious about going to DC?"

With a little hesitation, I bravely said,"Yessss, let's do this."

I also asked my sister and her family to come. I missed my sister and knew Baby Girl's cousin would really enjoy seeing the dinosaurs. 

8 adults

9 children (under the age of 5)

4 umbrella strollers

1 triple stroller and about 

1000 diapers

Here are the pictures of our fun Dino Trip...

 

We all loaded in the car excited to see the dinosaurs.

The Capitol

 

Oh you know, just hanging out at the Capitol!

Cousin Lovin'
 

 

 

 Dinner at Article One

 A slightly stressful trip in the Metro at Union Station : )

Breakfast at Union Station. I'm surprised there was a table large enough for us.

 

 

 

 

"Hey Kippy Kippy!"

 

Playing outside the Natural History Museum early that morning.

 

 

 

Woah! That's a huge elephant!

I think I was remembering the good ole days of teaching Earth Science...definitely in my element.

Some of the guys...such troopers!

She was so brave to hold that grasshopper!

A picnic at the National Mall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A ride on the carosel! Such happy kids!

The Aerospace Museum...Baby Girl getting ready to go inside an old American Airlines plane.

 

 

 

Just your average hotel party...the kids zoned out to Frozen.

All 17 of us eating at The Dubliner! Best Corned Beef and Cabbage ever. Highly recommend Guinness or a Tipperary Hill if you'd like to try an Irish drink.



Family 1

Family 1

Family 2

 

 

Family 3
 

Family 4 

 

 I still cannot believe that we all braved DC with 9 children but now-looking back at the pictures, I realize even though it was stressful at times, we've created very special memories for our children but more importantly for us, as parents. This Bible Verse popped into my head so I think I'll share it:

 

 



Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

 

Philippians 4:8 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Is he really almost one?! Really? I told a friend of mine I'm having small panic attacks with the thought of him "technically" flying out of the baby stage and into the toddler stage.

Not gonna lie, I love the fact that he's finally sleeping through the night (11 months of sleepless nights). But that's about the only thing I like about him getting older. Baby Boy is my baby. There's something so cuddly about holding a baby boy. I don't know if it's the thought of me being the first woman he's ever loved or his super gentle disposition. 

One thing hilarious about having a boy is his need to always play with the remote. Or his strong desire to do anything dangerous. I mean, he seriously falls everyday doing something dangerous. I think after the first few weeks of this happening (and him turning our glass end tables over on himself), I finally have accepted his dangerous nature. Now whenever he falls infront of friends, I just say,"Aw you'll be okay." And then I just wait for him to get up on his own. He's surprisingly tough--but again maybe that's a boy thing.

The one thing I cherish most of all is putting my babies to sleep. The Hubs puts Baby Girl to bed (now that she's older) and I get to spend my evenings rocking him to sleep. We start with a book. His favorite books are ones with baby animals in them;) Rarely does he make sounds but when he sees baby animals, his face lights up and he starts babbling at them. It's the cutest thing. Then I turn down the lights and rock him to sleep. It's funny how each child got rocked to their own song. His, just happens to be that song from, "Three Men and a Baby."

"Good night sweetheart well it's time to go. Good night well it's time to go. I hate to leave but I really must say, Good night sweet heart goodnight."
 

As I gently lay him in bed, he looks up at me with his tired little face and the corners of his eyes move up ever so slightly. I can tell he's smiling and I know he loves me.

"Good night, Baby Boy." And I close the door behind me, feeling absolutely loved from the deepest core of my being.

If this is a prelude to his birthday cake, we are in trouble...

Soo soo tired. Just relaxing.

I think I'm in love!

Look at his hilarious face!

Oh you know, just climbing under the coffee table with no way to get out.

My back was turned for 5 seconds! And he managed to open up the wipes, take out a bunch and eat them. Good Lord.

Oh how about a nice climb in the dishwasher...sounds exhilarating?

Yes, he somehow managed to pull the oven drawer out and climb inside...shaking my head :)

A carrot for teething...his favorite.