Still Alive...

She likes math and made a math board game :)

Who has a blog and never updates it? This girl! I seriously forgot this blog even existed and after nearly two years randomly remembered it because...I don't remember why. So I figured I should at the very least post here.

How much has happened since 2017? SO MUCH. But instead of updating you on that specifically I'm just going to tell you exactly what I'm doing right now in this moment. Typing obviously. But also trying to learn how my youngest daughter operates. She's having trouble sleeping and I have a feeling it has something to do with the fact that she's got that high IQ gifted brain.

I never gave any of my older children screen time limits. My oldest is now a double major in college and doing well, so I figured however I raised her wasn't the worst thing ever. She turned out pretty amazing. But this youngest one...she's not sleeping so well.

So last night when she said she couldn't sleep I turned on a low light and handed her a book. I told her to read for as long as she'd like. That seemed to work for her. Tonight I told her no TV, video games, etc an hour before bath time. I expected some sort of major rebellion but no...this wonderful little girl is plopped on the couch with her face in a book and I'm so proud.

She has crafts, a big desk in her room with all the things in the world to create, board games, a library of books. But she loves games. No clue where she got that from. LOL. I'm pleased to see that when asked to do off screen stuff she slipped into it easily.

As someone who was in the gifted program as a child I feel like I understand her a lot. Even before she was tested I knew and I parented her a little differently. Or maybe I parented her differently because I was an older parent with more knowledge of how to parent. And maybe that's why she's doing so well. Or maybe it's because she has so many family members around giving her their time. Either way she's a lucky girl with a lot of wonderful people around her and she's learning SO MUCH.

So that's my evening. Sitting here typing while watching her read quietly on the couch. I tried to talk to her but I got shushed and figured I'd also find something quiet to do.

Anyhoo, hope the three of you that still follow this, likely because you also forgot it exists, are doing well. Maybe I'll write again. Maybe I'll forget about it for another couple years. Heck, with as much as I've learned about websites I could make this prettier...but for now I like this old setup.

Comment if you're still around :)

This blog is still here and so am I. It's never been for anyone else. I've never tried too much to push it on social media or else it would be super famous because social media is my jam. I'm also super humble always. This has just been a fun place for me to dump out my thoughts and I forgot about doing that for a while. I enjoy having a place to do that and maybe I'll post here more...but knowing me I'll probably forget about it again for a couple of years. So why am I posting again?

It's a little after 11 pm on the evening before I turn 40. That's one of those age numbers that I always thought was just...so old. I don't feel old. I'm seriously sitting here right now in an Iron Man night shirt surrounded by video games. Outside my room my little sister and a friend from high school are sleeping on a pull out couch that they swear is comfortable if you find the right spot. My little sister brought along her two babies ages two and Elise who just turned four a few days ago and inspired this trip because she wants all you can eat crab legs.

I'm living near Myrtle Beach now. It's beautiful here and there are a lot of fun things to do, and apparently a lot of all you can eat crab leg places. I'm excited to challenge my niece to a crab leg eating contest tomorrow. And as silly as it sounds, I am happy that I am streaming tomorrow too. I absolutely want to get up early and do things with family, but the fact that I'm getting to showcase a new game to my friends is just always fun. I insisted on a few hours for streaming on my birthday. My Twitch community is my family. I wake up five days a week and chat with friends, and I miss the shit out of it when I'm not there. There are times I wish I didn't have other things to do so I could be there more often. It's a wonderful addiction.

In regards to turning 40 I've always joked about being 25, or some random age younger than my actual age. I've actually shifted my way of thinking about age stuff lately. 40 when I was growing up meant somethng completely different than the reality of me at 40. I'm still a mess, I still love video games, I have been dream chasing for a while but only in the past year decided to hit it hard. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I'm tingling with anticipation because I feel like I'm on the cusp of something epic.

I've learned a lot about life and myself over the last fourty years. I most recently learned that not giving up on what you want pays off. Fight for that thing you want. If you have a dream, chase it. Do you know how many years you get in life? NO one does. Choose how you spend yours wisely. I took a chance and am doing the most untraditional train wreck of a thing imaginable.

The path I am on scares the shit out of me on a regular basis, but I am not faltering. This makes me happy. This gives me more time with my kids. I'm going to continue to work my ass off and fight for what I want.

Marcia the Intern

Oh look! I still have this blog...I should totally write something on it! But what? I suppose I could talk about my current life status, but that would take multiple blog posts and honestly...I just don't want to. So let's talk about something fun.

In 2009 I had this crazy idea to finally go to college. My then two kids were old enough that I'd have the free time...so away I went. A lot has happened since then. A lot of good, and a whole lot of bad. I've survived, but changed so much and my closest friends know how much...and even those who just follow and care about me have probably picked up on a lot. This last semester has kicked off another exciting yet exhausting chapter of my life. I'm almost done...and I'm interning at the best place I could ever imagine me being at...

Children's Miracle Network

Apparently this internship is causing some confusion for my friends so I'd like to use this blog post to explain a bit more about what this whole internship thing is all about. This is an official class I have to take to complete my Bachelor's Degree in Communications/Public Relations. This is my Senior Internship and I have to complete 190 hours in the Children's Miracle Network office here in Jacksonville, and an additional 20 volunteer hours for a grand total of 210 hours in addition to my other classes, juggling kids, and everything else I do.

This is an UNPAID internship. This is not a job or a promise of a job. As many others have said regarding internships: “It’s worse than working for free. They’re actually paying to work.”This is nothing but a positive experience for me though and I am so thankful that they took me under their wing. Yes, technically I am literally paying to volunteer to work as an intern for Children's Miracle Network. I do NOT work for CMN. The way local CMN offices work is that they are an extension of the hospital they support (if I'm getting this right), either way I am currently considered a volunteer for UF Health. I am not doing this as a "job", I am still very much without income...but I do get free lunch each day! WIN WIN WIN!

They put my name on the wall and everything :) Kidding...mostly...

The major difference between myself and those who begrudgingly say that they are doing a "required internship" (that you pay for in credit hours), is that I WANT TO BE THERE. I want to be there so much. I love everything that these ladies do for our community. For our hospitals and most of all for our kids and their families. I want to soak it all in. Every task I do, no matter how simple is a joy to me. And I am NOT just saying this. Everything matters in a non-profit. Thanking people is a HUGE part of what they do, and as silly as it sounds I had a blast today putting address labels on postcards to thank people for a past event. I get a kick out of the energy in the office, and for someone who is MUCH older than the rest of them...I am learning more than I hoped. Whether they know it or not, every day I am learning SO MUCH and I am just soaking it all in.

My favorite part about this internship is that I feel like I am giving as good as I am getting. I've picked up a lot of skills along the way and love that I am able to give back and help them out as well. I hope that in the end this not only results in me learning from them, but also continuing to strengthen our relationship in terms of Extra Life, and that we can all learn from each other.

Bonus, I can actually use my experience with Extra Life and helping our local hospitals toward my degree. Could it get any better?

My current schedule is exhausting. I'm falling behind in my podcasting and writing, but school will be over soon, and hopefully the 3-4 hour commute each day to get things done. I miss gaming, I miss writing, I miss podcasting...I miss having a social life...but there's a light at the end of the tunnel and the tunnel is going to have some amazing lasting learning experiences.

Extra Life Fundraising by Jax at PAX

Here's your chance to make me do ANYTHING you want while I'm at PAX East April 10 - 13, 2014.

As most of my friends and family know, I am an avid (ok obsessive) supporter of Extra Life, a 24-hour video game marathon that takes place each year to raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals all over the United States.

In an effort to get my fund raising kicked off for 2014 I'm offering to do things...crazy things...to earn your donations.

Drink a beer at 10 in the morning? Sure, it will be a sacrifice, but I'll do it for the kids. #FTK

Post a picture of me sitting on one of the "thrones" (rumor has it there will be toilets) at the Big Fish Games booth? Selfie from an actual toilet? Yes

You could even be kind and suggest I do something like sleep in until noon :)

You name it, I'll do it. As long as it isn't illegal or harmful to my already mostly tarnished reputation...it's fair game.

All you have to do is make a donation to my Extra Life fund raising page. Everything you donate will go to Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. When you donate, you can leave a message with your request, or if it's something personal just shoot me a message via email Jaxboxchick@gmail.com or hit me up on Facebook.

Here's the link to donate: http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=89026

You can donate $24 to sponsor me as I game for 24 hours in October, or whatever you can spare. It all goes to help sick kids. There's also a neat feature where you can set up a monthly donation. Say you want to donate $50 but can't do it at once. Set it up as $10 for the next five months, you won't even miss that $10...and it's tax-deductible.

Have fun, be kind to me...and let's help sick kids.

(Please note: shenanigans from PAX East will be hash tagged as well #JaxEast14 wi-fi signal willing)

Extra Life 2013 - PlayStation Prize Round 1

It's that time of year again! Extra Life! On November 2nd 2013 gamers all over the world will sit down on their butts to do what they do best to raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. I have taken on a very active role locally in Jacksonville, Florida and am building a team of the most caring, amazing people I have had the pleasure of knowing. Together we will be putting on the biggest, most swag-filled, fun-filled live-streamed marathon that this town has ever seen. (or at least that's our plan...)

So far Team Jax has raised $2,500. Our goal is $5000 and I am determined to do whatever it takes to reach that goal. Even if it means I have to dress up like Batman, or Robin, or put on a Fox suit and recreate this video:



I have no shame :) However in pumping up my teammates and offering them weird ways to torture me if THEY raise money, I seem to be sliding behind. So keep an eye on this blog for some great prizes from PlayStation all weekend long to kick things off.

First prize is a digital download code for one month of PlayStation Plus,. The first person to sponsor me for $1 an hour for the 25 hour marathon ($25) will get the code. You can donate to my page here:
http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=46563

Extra Life raised over $2 Million dollars last year, and Jacksonville only raised $2,000 of that. Gamers here have raised nearly twice that amount so far, and I know we will do even more. Thanks for your support (it's tax deductible!) in helping us help sick kids here in our town.

You can join Team Jax if you'd like, we'd love it if you wanted to raise money for Wolfson, but we welcome any of you to join our team and support your own local hospital too. We'd love to have you join us.

Robert Workman - Lounge Singer Extraordinaire

Robert Workman is one of my most favorite people in the whole world. However, he does have a habit of taking embarrassing pictures of me and posting them online.   Example A: Robert could have taken a great picture of Kelly @Mrsleftybrown of TheMarriedGamers, Desirai @SickNdehed (my partner in crime at TheMommyGamers) and I enjoying some fun dancing at the Dance Central booth one year at PAX. Instead he chose the exact moment we were all grabbing our girly bits...

Thanks Robert...and I won't even get into a certain picture he took that circulated through the office at Twisted Pixel. Can't people just have fun, without fear of being photographed? Obviously not. So when Robert jumped on stage at the Destructoid hosted party at PAX Prime 2013 I was all over it. Enjoy Robert's singing skills and amazing stage presence :)

This is all in good fun, and I really do love Robert Workman. He's a great guy and an amazing friend. May the photo wars continue. 

Episode 47: JoCo Crazy

Our podcast is still fairly new, with less than 50 episodes under our belt. We try to find fun people in the industry to interview, that are parents, or are involved in something that we feel parents could relate to. It's not always video game related (ex...episode 48 featured a half an hour of Vampire Diaries chat) We have had lots of amazingly entertaining guest hosts. One of my favorites so far was our interview with Jonathan Coulton, who is a Daddy and a gamer...and a musician...and a lot of other things.



You can leave comments on the episode at The Mommy Gamers website if you'd like. We'd really enjoy knowing that you...enjoyed it. http://themommygamers.com/2013/08/episode-47-joco-crazy/

It's a Pterygium, not a hangover...at least this time.

See that funky slash of red veiny gross across my left eye? No...it's not a hangover...it's a pterygium. There are medically noted reasons for getting them, but for the most part it has to do with exposing your eyes to sunlight, dust, UV rays and in my case, as the eye doctor guy told me...staring at screens too long. This may be something future generations of gamers have to deal with, or hopefully it will make parents more aware that their children need to learn about proper eye care at a younger age. Sunglasses are good...don't screw up your kids eyes.

Ok, lie to me and tell me this isn't gross. I know that no one is trying to be hurtful, but I am so tired of people asking if I'm hungover or if I got scratched in the eye by a lanyard at a gaming event. I've actually been on internships where I was asked by a peer if I had a "rough night out" the night before and I explained myself, but wondered how many times people didn't ask and just assumed that I was hungover.

Here are my (crooked) eyes when I look in the opposite direction of the growth on my eye. Mostly normal...

And here's the other direction. the growth overlaps the cornea (colored part) of my eye. I was told to be glad I had light colored eyes. Otherwise it would be more apparent. If I get too tired or do too much outside with the kids, or on the computer/gaming it gets crazy inflamed, itchy and overlaps my eye to where it's blurry.

I was told that removal was a possibility but that there was a chance it would flare up again, even worse.

So what would you do? The thought of eye surgery creeps me out, but this hurts, and is possibly keeping me from being taken seriously.

Lonely...and yet...

 So I'm in one of those phases, where I just can't seem to put on a happy face. Normally, I have this ability to smile no matter how bad things are. To be able to snap a picture and make everyone think life is all sunshine and roses. But tonight...I couldn't even fake a smile.

 I tried...I failed. I tried again, and got even more sad that I haven't been able to shake off all the bad feelings I've had lately. Feelings I'd love to share with everyone, but can't...things that are making my heart ache so badly that I can't share with everyone, just my closest friends.

 And then I remembered what was over my shoulder. My silly little geeky shrine that I have built for myself. Something I have pieced together and jumbled up in a little space that makes me happy when I look at it.

 My hot mess of a desk :) The desk I sanded down and painted, that serves no other purpose currently other than housing my junk, and a printer because the internet STINKS in my bedroom...

 There's that picture of my sister and our friend Kim from my wedding. They were there for the night before the wedding, and saw what went down. I had a blast visiting them both this summer, seeing my sister be a mother for the first time, and Kim living in a million dollar house for a couple weeks looking happy and making me miss her so badly.

 My book collection, with the portal bookends my sister sent me for Christmas. The autographed book from Dan Amrich, and other books with special notes from family members, my favorite being the Shitty Mom book from Aunt Cindi, and also some Prima game books.

 My media badge wall of shame, reminding me that I go to events but don't feel like I belong there. I speak to people, but never write...afraid what I have to say won't be good enough, but still know that one day...I will break free and believe in myself and make this all happen.

 The Wall-nut in a martini glass...because...that's just where it ended up...

 My birthday monkey from someone I am so glad I met, and even though we weren't a good match we remained friends and sometimes have lunch, dinner, or chilled white wine on a summer day. And one year he gave me a monkey for my birthday and I love it and will never let it go.

 My Maw, the first piece of swag I ever got at the first gaming event I ever attended. I wrote a review for Sarcastic Gamer, superimposing Lono's face into Maw's mouth, and have loved Twisted Pixel and their crew ever since.

 Mah Plants vs Zombies hat. I gave it to my son, but he kept leaving it places, so I took that shiznit back!!

 My soft kitty, sleepy kitty, little ball of fur that my Mother-in-Law sent me along with the shirt. I'm so glad she came into my life. She is an amazing woman, and such a fun person to be around.

And a small part of my PC wall of shame. Games I bought, there are so many, that I never get to play...but want to oh so badly.

Life has been pooping on me lately, and also sending good things my way. I wish I could share the bad, and get it off my chest and revel in the good. But I know that things happen for a reason. I also know that surrounding myself with good people and memories of the good times will keep me smiling even when it feels like I have no smiles left in me.

And

The Mommy Gamers 39: Hanging With MightyMeCreative








The Mommy Gamers are joined by MightyMeCreative, aka MMC, a Kinect Game Play Dancer, Fashion Product Designer and mother to an adorable 7-month-old baby boy. With over 10 million views on her YouTube page, we decided to pick her brain about how to make a great video. Marcia and Desirai are really excited about the fall TV show lineup, but not as excited about the new trend of dressing homeless people in Abercrombie & Fitch clothing. With summer vacations coming up the ladies discuss their thoughts on the moral aspects of paying handicapped people to get you to the front of the lines at theme parks, and how “Pinterest Stress” is affecting many women.

You can subscribe to The Mommy Gamers podcast for FREE on iTunes. Remember to follow them on Twitter, and Facebook too!

The Mommy Gamers 38: Kickstart my Cardboard Forest

 In this week's episode of my amazing podcast, Desirai  and I are joined by Daddy gamer Jeff Hanna, a veteran in the gaming industry.  Jeff's prior works at EA, Sony and most recently Deep Silver Volition still fail to impress me as much as the fun "weapon" he created for Saint's Row: The Third. 

This weapon is also part of the reason for the explicit tag on this episode. Our strange trio of gamers discuss some great indie games such as Monaco and Kerbal Space Program, Plants vs Zombies 2 (Finally), and if WOW seems lonelier after losing nearly two million subscribers.

 Because this is a podcast by parents, for parents, we also discuss micromanaging your children's lives and what video game ratings mean for different parents. There is more, so very much more, but you will have to listen for the rest.

Monday Motivation...Ugh.

I created this mental stigma I use to convince myself if I do not start on my goals for fitness, diet, cleaning the house, being better organized...whatever...all of it...on Monday, I can put everything off until next Monday.  I have discussed this elusive "next Monday" thing a few times for anyone who has followed my pointless ramblings on here, on Facebook, on MyFitnessPal, etc.

So here I am in that fish bowl on the right, swimming along with the other little unmotivated Monday fishies that are playing on Facebook or doing something equally unproductive. Will I make the jump today?  Where can I find the inspiration?

And in asking myself these questions I realize that I already have the inspiration, I am just in denial, and maybe if I write it all out I can go back and read this blog post to get back on track.  Because honestly, this is all the same stuff that pops up again and again for me and the cycle has to stop.  So, how about I write out some of these excuses?

*I don't have time to work out

Lie
I could be at the free gym up the road right now.  The kids are at school and all I have to do is slap on my workout clothes and go.  And really...Hailey is old enough now to go play on the playground with her big sister while I workout in the building next to it. I could take the kids on a walk to the park after school, or take our fat arthritic lazy dog on a walk.  I could fire up Dance Central like I told Kelly from TheMarriedGamers I would and do some challenges with her.

*I will eat better tomorrow

But...why not eat better today?

*There's no healthy food in the house, I'll go shopping tomorrow.

There are healthy things, I'd just rather eat the non-healthy ones. I always say I'm going to plan out a healthy menu for the week, go shopping and have all the things in the house to stay on track.  But then I convince myself that maybe I won't want the thing I planned for dinner, so it's just easier to grab whatever I want each night from the store, but of course it gets later in the day and it's so much easier to go to Panera and not have to cook or clean...

*I have too many other things to do.

This one...this one right here is the main killer of all motivation.

I am always going to have too many things to do, but do I feel good about myself when I sit here and do nothing?  Absolutely not!  But it's easy for me to sit here and get bogged down by my to do list. Right now I am not happy with myself for getting off track on my goals.  The yard needs mowed, my garden is a wreck, the house needs cleaned, laundry needs done, there are a million things I could be doing for my website The Mommy Gamers to make it better, I could be trying to earn money with my Thirty-One business that I have kind of left stagnant, and I think if I continue to make this list I  might have a panic attack.

Even my website logo is annoying me today, how is she juggling all these things and still SMILING? I want to punch her in her face.

So instead of doing anything, I do nothing.  Time to break the cycle.  If you have suggestions of what works for you PLEASE share them with me.  I'm tasking myself with not saying "I'll try" and instead will actually DO things today.

I already logged into MyFitnessPal, logged the breakfast I shouldn't have eaten, stopped avoiding the bathroom scale and logged my weight.  I gave myself a brief moment to mourn the weight I had lost and gained back, and to be disappointed in myself for eating like a hog this morning.  I can't go back and undo anything I've done, I can only move forward.

Can I get all the yardwork done in one day? No, but I can write down everything I would like to do and start ticking things off the list, or I could create an Indiegogo project and raise the money to hire someone to do it for me lol. Anyone want to chip in on that? My stretch goal would be a hottub and a tiki bar :)

But really, I think making a list might help, a realistic list that doesn't have to be all done in one week. Seriously though people, share your ideas with me because whatever it is that I am currently NOT doing is absolutely NOT working for me.

The Tale of the Absolut Hunk

Nice...bottle?

All too often as college students we are forced to sit through mind-numbingly dull videos that our professors have deemed brilliant enough for us to watch. This week I had to watch a relic of a video dating back to 2004 that related to my Media Literacy class. Actually, it was more of a series of YouTube videos or whatnot that described changes in advertising, etc.

 One particular section explained how people no longer watch television commercials, so advertisers have started peddling their wares directly through our favorite shows. Somehow this led to a bit on how Absolut Vodka worked its way into one of my favorite HBO hit series of all time...Sex and the City.

*Please note, this is not the exact video used in our class and also it is NSFW.

So now this class has my attention as not only a woman, but a lover of drinks of the alcoholic persuasion. The clip she did show (which I cannot find) shows Samantha sipping a martini while talking to her lover (the man in the Absolut ad) telling him that she is having an Absolut Hunk and that HE is delicious.

Now, normally playing on the internet is frowned upon in the classroom, but one of our assignments just happens to be a Twitter project, so we're actually not only allowed to use our devices in the classroom, we are encouraged to do so. So naturally I google the drink and find I have most of the things to make it at home already. Here is the recipe for those who are curious:

Absolut Hunk

2 shots Vanilla Vodka

1/2 shot Lime Juice

1/2 shot Simple Syrup

1/4 shot Pineapple Juice

I shook mine up with a couple ice cubes in my little drink shaker thingy and strained it into a martini glass. It's incredibly sweet and strong, but in a nice way. If you don't like strong drinks (sissy) then just splash some more pineapple juice in there. I can't imagine having more than one or two, just because it really is that sweet, but it's not half bad. Definitely not as tasty as the model for that "ad", but still...tasty.

Now kids, the lesson you should take away from this is that not all the stuff you're forced to watch in school is going to be boring. Sometimes the female professor will find something that works a mostly naked male and a fun vodka drink into the mix. She is now one of my favorite professors ever.

So go mix yourself up an Absolut Hunk and enjoy your Friday night. Cheers!

Juice Fast Day 3

Most of you said I would never make it through one day, but I did. I am now most of the way through day three and I am feeling fine! Day one was interesting. The juices took a lot of getting used to, especially with my strong gag reflex I have towards vegetables or anything healthy. I had never used a juicer before either so I had to play around with that a little. The clean up kind of stinks, but since I'm juicing for five days straight I just rinsed everything out and left it in the sink for the next time.

I slept like a baby the first night. Day two I woke up feeling more energized than I have in a long time. I skipped my morning coffee and instead had a cup of hot green tea. Not wanting to waste all that extra energy, I headed off to the gym and did some light weights and 35 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical. I kept the level down and only picked up the pace for a few minutes, until my body started telling me to slow it back down. After the gym, the kids and I headed on base and stocked up on more fruits and veggies. Hannah, my 13yr old, wanted to try some smoothies out so she got stuff for those too. Dizziness hit me about halfway through the grocery store and I did feel like I had less energy for the rest of the day.

 Aside from a mild headache, which I'm guessing is from lack of caffeine, I felt pretty darned great. I even made the kids breakfast and took them through the McDonald's drive through AND later that night didn't even bat an eye when my cousin and houseguest plopped a couple pieces of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory into the fridge. Hunger did kick in around dinner time, but I was trying to choke down the beet juice that I still haven't mastered yet, and cook dinner for the kids. I somehow refrained from sticking my face in the bowl of pasta I made for the kids, glared at my beet juice, dumped it down the sink, and cheated and made a smoothie out of juiced fruits and the fruit pulp.

THAT WAS NOT CHEATING! (ahem, Kelly)

According to the fast, if the hunger pangs are persistent I am allowed to have a piece of fruit or a small salad. Instead I juiced fruits which I think is more along the lines of not eating food and only having juice and therefore I am my own personal hero and not a cheater.

Today marks day three and I did have a rough time sleeping last night, so I took a unisom and slept like a baby. I was a little groggy this morning, probably from my sleeping pill, but I got everything together and hit the gym this morning again. I did about 10 minutes of light weights, and then only made it 30 minutes on the elliptical before I started getting dizzy.

Hailey and I took a trip to the natural food store, and I got some actual raw cashews to use in my cashew milk instead of the ones I had from the normal grocery store that had salt in them. I'm hoping this helps the consistency of my cashew milk this evening and the flavor. I'm going to make a big batch to get me through these last couple of days. Hailey got a fresh organic apple and munched on it the whole way home, all the way telling me how yummy it was. Probably much better for her than her typical after gym "fruit snack" that comes in the form of Dora and Boots.

I have every confidence that I will make it through to day five. I even picked up some organic brown rice at the natural food store for my five days after my fast so that I can mix that with my veggies and ease back into real food.

Oh and since I promised...I made a video blog about it too. You can catch that on YouTube by clicking HERE.

The Juice Fast: Why? Well, Why Not?

I have decided to do a five day juice fast. You're all thinking I'm crazy, which is fine, because if you actually know me, you already know that I'm completely insane. So, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise to you. Now, this wasn't something that I randomly woke up and decided to do. No...I thought about it for at least a week first lol. I googled, I watched lots of youtube videos, I even checked out the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" on Netflix. While I don't believe I know everything about juicing, I do believe I researched enough to be able to make it through five days.

Of course a lot of you are going to be asking me why, actually a lot of you already have. Normally my answer to everything is a big fat "Why Not?". I just do what I want on a whim and I enjoy my whims. But I actually did put a bit of thought into this and here are my beginning answers to why:

1.) I like trying new things. Which should be apparent by my many random new things I try.

2.) I want to see if I can do it. Plain and simple, I like a challenge.

3.) Vegetables are practically non-existent in my diet, and I'd like to change my relationship with them.

4.) I'm hoping to get the kids more interested in vegetables.

What am I hoping to accomplish physically?

1.) I'd like to feel better overall.

2.) Some weight loss would be nice.

3.) Maybe I can beat the sinus cold I feel creeping up on me out of my system before it gets going.

I've never been a healthy eater. I grew up with the metabolism that my now 13 year old daughter has where I could eat absolutely anything in any quantity and not gain weight. Instead I was always accused of starving myself, when in fact I ate a lot, and mostly a lot of junk foods. Once I started popping out kids and getting older my metabolism of course slowed down and I continued to eat like I did before and that simply did not work out for me. Vegetables have never been a huge part of my diet, my husband hates them and believes that potatoes and corn are proper vegetables, the kids refuse to eat anything green ,and I am guilty of only really enjoying salads slathered in ranch dressing. It's time to TRY to switch things up.

I did enjoy the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" however, I am not fat. I am technically overweight, but not by very much thanks to some attempts at dieting and fitness this year. I'm not sick, although some of you may question my mental status from time to time, although I have been struggling with some depression, anxiety, and overall feelings of "I hate my life" this year. And while I am not nearly dead, I do realize that if I continue to have this type of relationship with food and alcohol that I will end up dead faster than I would like, and I'll go to my grave not looking quite as sexy as I'd like to.

So this is a bit of a drastic jolt to my system. I have heard that juice fasts can help to reduce your hunger going forward, and kind of reset your system and help you get into a good mindset to move forward and be more successful with your health and fitness goals. I may not make it the five days, especially after tasting my first juice this morning. But I'd like to, and if you want to cheer me on or offer me a prize if I make it...well that would be kind of nice.

(You can stop reading here, but I plan to go on for a while on this first initial blog)

What I plan to do for my five days:

I am going to use the recipes I found on WellPicked.com  for their five day juice fast. I ignored all the crap about weaning myself off of carbs, caffeine, sugar, etc five days prior to the fast. Mostly because I wanted to get started this weekend while the kids were on a long break from school.


My first juice, looks great in my Shrek cup. (yes that is one of the recalled toxic cups)

I'm going to try and stick to it for at least the first day, and adjust as needed. I've only had the first drink so far today, the Green Juice. I made half the recipe, omitting the parsley because I forgot to buy parsley, and the first sip was like...ok...this isn't too bad. I made it through 3/4 of the glass before I decided that I'd had enough. I made the mistake of taking my Women's One A Day vitamin which always makes me nauseous after I had my first juice so I'm not sure if it was the juice that made me want to barf, or the vitamin which always makes me want to barf...but I'm not feeling very great right now.

Exercise is typically not advised during a juice fast as it tends to drain your energy. I plan to just listen to my body and do whatever I can. This morning my son and I did try the demo for the Nike + Kinect on Xbox 360 and I think that ten minutes of activity was enough for right now.

Maybe I will video blog about it. I will try and do one at lunch time, mostly because I just like making videos and my teenage daughter (who is in a production class at school) thinks it will be fun. Let me know what kind of videos you might like to see and I'll try and do one for you. I should have done one this morning of me trying to make my first juice and not realizing the glass I chose was too tall, therefore blocking the juice flow and causing it to ooze out of the juicer in places I'm sure it wasn't supposed to be coming out of. I still created enough foul veggie juice for my first "meal" though.

Preparation:

I bought a juicer, I went with a fairly mid priced model. I'm not ready to dish out $300-400 on this, but I figured $90ish wasn't too bad. I went with Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer which I was able to get at Kohl's and use my bonus cash I had. It was the mid priced one there and while it did take a bit of rinsing to clean it out this morning, I found it very simple to use and clean.

We went to the Riverside Market yesterday and grabbed whatever fresh veggies and fruit we could find from the vendors there. It was really fun to take the kids out and sample some fresh produce, cheese, honey, jerkey, etc and just get out of the house and walk around. If juicing remains a part of our lives this may lead to many fun family trips. I got the rest of what I needed at the local grocery store, and may make a trip on base later this week to get stuff at better prices...if I stick to this :)

I did research. I didn't just wake up and decide on a whim I was going to do this. I am fully prepared (hopefully) for whatever may come from this, and I have been to the doctor recently and she said I am completely healthy and that this not only would be ok to try, but that she has done a few herself and that they really do make you feel better, also I'm ready for the physical discomforts which I've heard are not so much fun. Bring it on!

The physical discomfort concerns:

1.) You're not going to have any energy: Guess what? I barely have any energy as it is, and I've heard that after a few days you actually get more energy so we shall see. Thankfully I do not work at this time, aside from chasing three kids all day, and the gym is closed for the next two days so I won't be tempted to go anyway. I'm not sleeping well at night as it is, so something has to change.

2.) Enjoy your new relationship with the toilet: Do you know what doing nothing but eating crappy food and drinking too much alcohol does for your system? Yeah, I'm kind of used to having my stomach hate me. I've actually already been hanging out in the bathroom this morning a little more and it's more of a cleansing visit, than the typical crampy omg I want to die type I'm used to. Sorry if that was TMI, but I'm probably going to be talking about that a lot more.

I guess this is enough for now. I may blog more today, and definitely will have one video up in the next couple of hours. Feel free to leave suggestions, comments, cheers, jeers, or any other random stuff you can think of. Include your guess on how long I will make it and what you'll give me if I beat it...I'd love to prove you wrong.

The Mommy Gamers 11: You Down With O.P.P.?

I haven't been posting my new podcast here on my own personal blog and I'm not sure why. Shame on me, laziness I guess. I'll try from now on to post it here as well as everywhere else we're posting it and maybe lure a few of you lurkers into becoming listeners. Getting this podcast going has been a bit of a struggle. Our original crew fell apart rather quickly, but in the last couple months the show has gotten stronger and better than I'd ever anticipated. With each new show and each amazing weekly guest host we are learning and improving the content we put out. Anyone who has produced a podcast or even listened to one as it has started out knows that they grow over time and we hope to continue to put this show out and make it bigger and better each week.


 Marcia aka PandaJax and Desirai are joined this week by Nori Fox, a mother and grandmother, Microsoft MVP, Xbox Ambassador, part of the good game network, and gaming for others charity...is there anything she doesn't do?

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the ladies kick off the show with a prevention tip. The new Xbox Gamerscore Rewards Program is discussed, as well as Kinect TV, Mists of Pandaria (yes again), and Marcia brags about her new set of WOW Mega Blocks. TV & Movie chat this week includes some disappointment over the Once Upon a Time season premier and the new show Revolution, Breaking Dawn II tickets are already on sale (what's up with that?), and Desirai took one for the team and saw the movie Pitch Perfect.

 Alligator pool parties and diaper shortages kick off the news and hot topics section of the show. Health and Fitness topics include an update on Desirai's PCOS, and Marcia's vain attempts to lighten her Melasma marks that linger after having three children. Finally they wrap up the show with an "awful" contest where you could win a lovely set of the "nipple" buttons in the feature picture of Episode 10 on the new Mommy Gamers website!

 Remember that you can subscribe to The Mommy Gamers podcast for FREE on iTunes. Remember to follow them on Twitter, and Facebook too!


 

Florida Fall Begins! Kind of...

Floridians are funny creatures when it comes to the changing "seasons" and I use quotation marks with that because let's face it...we don't really have seasons here. It's either hot, insanely hot, or cool enough to warrant wearing pants and long sleeved shirts with our flip-flops. Still, when the temperatures dip below 70 degrees for the first time after summer we all go digging in our closets for our winter clothes.

I'm going to take a moment to brag on my awesome Mom skills. I just went to the closet and pulled out some bags of clothes I bought from Old Navy for the kids when they were clearancing out last years winter items. I got a bunch of shirts and pants for $1-$2 each in the next size up. They are now all hung up in the kids closets and I'm so glad I did that. Hopefully Hannah actually likes hers, but if not...too bad! I'm glad I didn't buy many tops for myself though, because I'm excited to announce that NONE OF THEM FIT! Luckily they're comfy tops, so they will make great sleep shirts. Totally great feeling though, pulling out those shirts and realizing I'm not an XL anymore.

Mild morning chill aside, I'm still not quite ready to give up on the kiddie pools and summer stuff. I figure we have at least a few more good pool weekends left, and maybe now that it's not a million degrees outside, a beach weekend finally. I'm definitely happy to see the cooler weather creeping in, and there's something about it that is motivational for me. Maybe Hailey and I can start taking walks again!

Anyhow, just as I predicted I totally cheated all weekend on my plans to eat properly. So now I only have myself to blame if I never get my hands on a copy of Mists of Pandaria, but let's be honest here...it's not like I actually have time to play it anyway. Not really much of a loss right now, but I do intend to go to the gym today if they will let me put Hailey in the gym day care. She is sounding a bit stuffed up and sniffly, but her nose isn't quite running yet. I think if I get out of the house this morning and get in there I should be ok. Although now that I stop and think of it, I feel like I might be starting to get sniffly too. I am so not in the mood for a change of weather sinus cold right now.

Ok, I got my daily blog in there. Now it's time to get to work, knock out my school stuff and get to finding awesome podcast topics for tonight's recording of The Mommy Gamers!

I'm a Cheater, So What?

You'd think I could have made it through at least a day, but nope. At this rate I may never get my hands on Mists of Pandaria. Friday started out great, I was motivated, I ate great for breakfast and lunch, even went to the gym and worked out for almost an hour. My fatal flaw was forgetting that I had a Thirty-One party that night.  Well, I remembered the party, I just didn't remember to not pig out on the amazing flatbread pizzas the hostess made and might have over indulged in the pinot grigio and martinis. For the record, wine and martinis combined make for an awful headache the next day. Never mix them!

Saturday I woke up with that all too familiar pounding head and wanted to retreat back into my bed and stay there for the rest of my life. Not really an option with a herd of children, so I begged my father to bring doughnuts when he came to visit for the day. I was proud of myself when I ignored the doughnuts and made some sausage and eggs. I mowed the front and back yard, so I figured that burnt like...a million calories?

 However, the day quickly downward spiraled from there. I vaguely recall tortilla chips and black bean salsa, some of the most beautiful t-bone steaks I've ever seen, loaded baked potato, and to finish the night off some spaghetti with sausage crumbles, onions, and mushrooms...and garlic bread.

I wish I'd never discovered these sausage crumbles.

I went to bed when the kids did, feeling like a bloated pig and forgetting to blog the entire day. So there goes that goal too. So, I'm a cheater...what is it about starting to want to eat well that makes you eat worse?

Today is Sunday and I've already cheated, chowing down on a breakfast pastry instead of grabbing one of the many healthy options in the house. We've got some family coming over for the day so I grabbed lunchmeats, chips, some awesome fresh baked sliced italian bread, and I'm about to toss some chili in the crock pot. Oh well, tomorrow is another day right?

Also, since we're gearing up for Halloween, if you want to be a Blood Elf this year you've still got time to pick up your ears lol.

No More Fat Panda

I don't think I was bold enough to post my starting weight for 2012. I will say that I was creeping uncomfortably close to the 190's and at 5'8 which is not in the "healthy weight range" at all. I got off to a pretty good start, hitting the gym, eating better, getting random exercise like Dance Central 2 and mowing the lawn instead of paying someone to do it, but I've definitely slacked off. My excuses of "oh the kids are here for the summer and they hate the gym" (you'll remember that from Episode 9 of my podcast) and "I'll wait until school starts and we get into a routine", or "I'm too depressed to go" are all lame excuses and it's time to get back on track.

So, how do I get motivated to go to get back in gear? First of all I'm trying to be pretty positive. I've lost TWENTY pounds this year which is fantastic! Sure, I wanted to have lost way more than that by now, but with what I've been juggling this year I'm just happy I can still say I lost anything. I used to use a system of goals and rewards, and that worked out pretty good. My rewards were things like new gym clothes, a heart rate monitor (which I never even use), etc. Those just won't fly anymore so I had to go more hard core.

I'm not letting myself buy the new Mists of Pandaria expansion for WOW until I get back on track.

Now, I know some of you are wondering why this is blog worthy. Well, I figure if I put it out there into the magical interwebs, at least a few of you that read this play WOW with me and will know if I cheated. So this is my strange way of holding myself accountable.

What is on track? I actually sat down with my weight loss journal and calculated how much I would have to lose to get to my goal by the end of the year, then I tacked on an extra five pounds of weight loss just because I was feeling bad ass that day. I'm kind of regretting that now, because had I not written that down, I wouldn't be so far off, but it's there in INK and there it shall remain. Basically I only needed to drop one pound a week from the time I started calculating. So right now, I'm only behind by 2 pounds...but Mists of Pandaria comes out in 4 days.

And just to push myself a little bit further, if I can actually post to this blog every day while I'm trying to reach this goal, I'm going to reward myself with the collector's edition!

Here's to hoping this works, and pushes me to reach my goals, if not I guess I'll be a sad panda...just not in the World of Warcraft.

Free Doughnuts for Pirates

Want to be the most amazing person in your office today? Stop by Krispy Kreme on your way into work in full pirate attire and land yourself the best booty of them all (no not my booty) an entire DOZEN warm sugary doughnuts for FREE*. You don't have to wave your sword around, mostly because weapons are not allowed in the stores (party poopers). Not brave enough to dress like a pirate? Well if you can muster up a pirate accent and belt out a couple "shiver me timbers" or "ARGs" you will get one delicious treat for your efforts.

Another fun activity today is the Pirate Generator at StupidStuff.org that not only gives you a great pirate name, but a story to go along with it. Stories range from lame to perverse and are all amusing. I almost hesitated to post mine on my facebook page, and if you're not following me on there I'll also share it here, keep in mind all of the good "cannonball" jokes have already been made:

Your Pirate name is Screaming Samantha - Arrrr, you were born to sail the high seas and fly the Jolly Roger. Unfortunately you don't have a ship, crew, cannons, or even a parrot, so you sit in the bathtub and wash your boobies over and over whilst screaming "Surrender or die, surrender or die!"

Enjoy pirate day in any way you see fit, but make sure to participate in some way!

For more pirate fun, make sure to visit the official Talk Like a Pirate Day Site.

*Fine Print: Offer good for one free doughnut per customer who wears an eye patch or talks like a pirate to a Krispy Kreme team member at a participating shop. One free dozen Original Glazed doughnuts per customer who wears a full pirate costume into a participating Krispy Kreme location. Redeemable on September 19, 2012 only at participating Krispy Kreme US locations.