Stupor Duper

I have been S-U-C-K-I-N-G at the blog thing, huh?  You know me. Ms. Consistency. (With a capital "C", thankyouverymuch!)

July.  Hot.  Parties+fun stuff+ too hot to exercise = feeling like crap.  I feel like I have been wandering around in a half-sleep for a few weeks now, which is seriously becoming a bummer.  I want to take a nap get out there!  Be lazy active! Chase my kids out of my bedroom in the morning and my dog around the yard!  I have been trying to haul it out the door in the mornings to take the dog for a nice long walk, but when the temperature is like the surface of the sun at 7:00 am, I find myself staying indoors and doing the Wii fit.  Which in my humble estimation is OK, but not nearly as challenging or as good for the soul as fresh air and sunshine.  Or I do nothing at all.  Yay me. Sigh.  Which brings me to another digression - who were the craptastic folks that decided that smearing hydro-Ican'tpronounceyouchemicals or Whoopsthismightcausecancertoo Lotion was better than a little sunshine?  I am not talking about dipping yourself in baby oil, laying down on a field of aluminum and sizzling for 8 hours...just a walk, or a little kiss of sun on the tip of the nose.  I'll save that rant for another day.

Anyway....it is also my favorite food time of the year. New Jersey field grown tomatoes, peaches, blueberries and sweet corn are something seriously special.  If you don't live in these parts, if you ever get to the east coast in the summer, make a special day to come to New Jersey and eat corn and tomatoes.  They are THAT good.  Anyway, it is also the time of year where I go all "urban homestead" and make jams and jellies, pickle and can things, and generally get very much like my grandmother.  You know, because you should crank the heat up in the kitchen as much as you can during the summer months.  While I spend the day on my feet doing this, I am not being active, and as you may have gleaned, the heat really saps me of my motivation.  It hasn't helped that since June 1, New Jersey has been 90+ degrees ALOT.  (Girl who loves to eat+not motivated to exercise = static waistline number/annoyed with myself)
I am struggling to strike a balance these days: there is all this lovely, inexpensive fresh summer produce to prepare for myself and my family in our effort to eat wholesome, healthful, non-fake food - but that takes time, planning and effort. There is my desire to preserve all the vegetable and fruit loveliness for when there is much less of it available.  There is my struggle to get a decent amount of exercise, while simultaneously having a rugrat of one size or another tethered to my leg saying "mommy" over and over.  There is the necessity to keep up with my job outside the home; I am fortunate that I works for a great company and awesome people, who understand the mom thing and allow me work flexible hours-but that can mean it occasionally spills over into my "at home" hours.  Factor in basic hygiene, sleep, laundry, household care for me and the family, and I have got nothing left at the end of the week.


I know I am not the first, nor will I be the last mom / wife to struggle with balance.  Under the circumstances, I think I do an OK job - I just wish I could keep the motivation to find that 1/2 hour of 'me' time each day.   I often find myself sacrificing it for my kids/husband/dog/job/mom/sister/neighbor.  One of' these days I am going to stand up and say, "There are 47 other half-hours in the day - you can't have THIS one.  It's MINE!"

Help me find ways to strike a balance and keep it!

Maybe then I can get a post up here every now and then!