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I’m doing okay Dad.

I’m doing okay Dad.

Hi Dad. I’m doing fine.  It’s been 21 years. June 3, 2020.  I still remember the last time I saw you.  This is the first time since you left that I haven’t felt that dread around the day. It’s the first time I haven’t felt 

Wishbone

Wishbone

Wishbone The chicken Salted and peppered and floured then oil Fried crispy The smell Delicious and deep The salivating immediate Fried to perfection Served hot and skin crispy Fighting for it It’s the best But I want it all We share And then it appears 

About that mom thing…

About that mom thing…

All I ever wanted was to be a mom. I remember playing house as a kid. I always knew I wanted to have kids. I think people know. I did. It was just something I knew would happen. 

It happened to me four times. I was blessed with healthy babies four times. 

I loved being pregnant. It’s such a miracle and I was lucky to not have any problems with my pregnancies. 

Baby #1 – I was 22 when she was born. I was so excited. I didn’t know if she was a boy or a girl and waited for the surprise. My labor was relatively short about 10 hours total. A 7 pound girl. Teeny tiny. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had good instincts. They kicked in and we lived to see another day. LOL. We fumbled our way through the first baby stage and beyond. She had no hair and everyone thought she was a boy. Due date was the 19th and she was born on the 22nd. Three days late. At this time I was married to my first husband. He was in the Navy and we lived in Oak Harbor, WA, Whidbey Island Naval Base.

I had great friends there. So many young women wanting to be mothers, pregnant at the same time. One friend and I had the same due date. We were both so excited on our way to becoming first time mothers. Almost 35 years ago. So hard to believe it’s been that long. She didn’t get that baby. God did. Her baby passed away a week before we were due. She had to wait and deliver a stillborn baby. It was so hard. I felt so bad for her and guilty for having a healthy baby. Rest In Peace Baby Holly. 

Baby #2 – I was 24 years old. Another one where the sex was a surprise. He was a big boy. My labor was very short – about 4 hours this time. A big boy, 8 pounds 14 ounces. A chunker. 19 months after the first one. He was also born at the naval base. The bond was immediate. You hear about it all the time. It’s there. Babies are amazing. The emotions flooding through the body. Being responsible for another life is such a privilege. This guy was due on the 20th and wasn’t born until the 28th. Very late. His big sister was the most loving and helpful sister. She also had that immediate bond with him. 

Baby #3 – I was 27 years old. This baby was born in Pierre, SD. He was 7 pounds 13 ounces. This baby gave me grief. My labor was hard and intense. All back labor and all pain labor. By the time I finally asked for pain mediations, I was told it was too late. This guy made quite the entrance. He struggled a bit with the cord wrapped around his neck and a bruised and purple face, but he did okay. His due date was never set in stone, so I will say he arrived right on time on the 30th. This baby was truly unique. Always smiling and such a good baby. 

Baby #4 – I was 35 years old. This baby was also born in Pierre, SD. We thought it was a girl, but we were not 100 percent sure. She weighed 7 pounds 6 1/2 ounces. This labor was not bad. I was at the hospital just a few hours before she was born. The cord was also around her neck and she was purple, but the nurses were amazing. Everything okay. Everything all good. Another beautiful baby. Another miracle. She was due the 11th and was born the 21st. The latest one of the four. 

Corie, Spencer, Thomas and Tayler – thanks for choosing me to be your mom. 

So what is a mom anyway?

Being a mom is unconditional love

Being a mom is feeling overwhelmed and under knowledged

Being a mom is letting your kids flourish and empowering them to be their own person.

Being a mom is letting your kids make mistakes and trying not to fix them.

Being a mom is helping your kids to thrive.

Being a mom is being a cheerleader.

Being a mom is cherishing every single memory.

Being a mom is a big job.

Being a mom takes responsibility and heart and grit.

Being a mom is the shoulder to cry on.

Being a mom is hard.

Being a mom is rewarding. 

Being a mom is love. 

Being a mom is worry. That never goes away. 

So Corie, Spencer, Thomas and Tayler – I thank you. I love you, I’m always here for you and I will always worry about you. Every. Single. Day

Client Case Study – One Year Progress

Client Case Study – One Year Progress

  This is a post about a very successful friend of mine. She just finished up her one year check-ins with me. She changed so much physically, but she is one who has done the work mentally as well. She will have all the habits 

Why Can’t Apples Be Purple

Why Can’t Apples Be Purple

Imagine yourself in Kindergarten. Imagine the excitement.  The first real school experience. Away from your parents.  Away from bothers and sisters Nervous Excited Scared Anxious All those feelings being felt in a giant ball in your tummy. At that age do we know what it 

Do You NEED A Goal?

Do You NEED A Goal?

Do you even really need a goal?  Can you make progress without a goal or goals? 

Do you feel like if you don’t have a goal you can’t make any progress? What say you?

I say you can make progress without goals. 

But what is a goal? A goal is a noun. Yes, I think I’m funny.

By definition a goal is: 

the end toward which effort is directed 

So a goal is something we work towards. The outcome of our effort. Something we want to achieve. Well Peggie, don’t you think we need that when we are trying to accomplish something? Sure, but do you really need it? 

Are you doomed if you don’t have a goal? Are you doomed if you don’t have all the ways you are going to get to that goal, because by God, you are going to do it this time. You told yourself this is the last time you are going to go on a diet. You sat down and wrote down all the things and checked all the boxes and filled in all the lines. You got this. It’s there on the paper. Right there. 

Think about it. What if you just did the things you know you should be doing? How many times have you said to yourself, “I know what I should do.” What if you just did those things most of the time? Do you think you could get away from the diet atmosphere and the punishing yourself 30 days to fat loss challenges? Do you think you would feel better knowing you didn’t have to take away all the food you love and kill yourself in the gym with cardio? Exercise is supposed to make us feel better and get stronger, not make us feel like shit because we are trying to punish ourselves for what we ate. 

When it comes to fitness and fat loss people often think more is better. By more being better, I mean more activity. That is not necessarily the case. BUT, whenever you hear someone say they want to lose weight, and by weight they mean fat, the first thing they go to is more activity. It’s just crazy. So many times the last resort for people is changing the diet. Because in their minds they think food has to be become super restrictive. They think they need to eat nothing but chicken breast and broccoli. That thinking and acting usually backfires. Spoiler alert, restriction comes wrapped in foods that aren’t fun and don’t taste the greatest either. 

If people would do less of the things they think they need to do, such as more burpees, and more cardio and more food restrictions, more calorie restriction and more cleanses and also maybe stop looking for the hacks and the tricks that make things easier they might realize it takes time and consistency to see results. So if you get consistent with those things you know you “should” be doing, you will probably run into some pretty awesome results. When you stop restricting your food and stop depriving yourself so much, you might notice that every single weekend you aren’t going crazy and eating and drinking all the things. 

If you allow yourself to have these things it can go a long way in seeing some progress. Not just physical, but mental and emotional as well. I don’t know about you, but I love pizza and I love bagels and pasta. I don’t eat them all the time, but I eat them. I don’t restrict myself. If there is something I have been craving, I work it into my day and if I can’t work it into my day, I will work it in the next day. 

But Peggie, you’ve been doing this for forever. That’s how you learn. New things can be hard and new things can be overwhelming. That’s part of learning. I bet if you played an instrument, it took you longer than a month to be good at it. That’s the same with our health. It takes patience and consistent practice. 

When you stop listening to all the noise out there and start doing the simple things, amazing things begin to happen. People don’t want to believe that though. They think it has to be hard. They think it has to be complicated. It really doesn’t. 

Don’t you think there is an easier way? A way that doesn’t keep us on the diet roller coaster and constantly has us playing the shame game. If your goal is to lose fat, maybe try some of the things you know you should be doing instead of the shiny objects that never work. 

So do you want to know that I think the things are that you should be doing? And my no means should you go all in and change everything at once. You can take baby steps. These are the things I encourage: Emphasize protein, Eat more fruits and vegetables, get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, reduce your stress, walk every day, strength train (especially women – get after it), drink water and learn how to let shit go. 

So, I think you don’t need a concrete goal in order to lose fat. I think you need more habits and behavior change. Start doing something and you can be well on your way to seeing changes in your body and in your mind. So make some effort. Invest your time in getting a little bit better every day. 

I’m Just Here For The Buzz

I’m Just Here For The Buzz

I’m Just Here For The Buzz That’s the feeling I wanted. That’s what I chased. I didn’t like feeling out of control or past the buzz point. But then the dilemma was how to keep just enough buzz without moving past it. It was a 

Pressure Perfect

Pressure Perfect

Pressure Perfect I’ve been wondering again. I’ve told you before. I wonder about a lot of different things. Lately it’s been pressure. The pressure we put on our kids, or the pressure we put on ourselves. The pressures our parents put on us. What kind 

Life is short, time is fast

Life is short, time is fast

We don’t get a replay and we don’t get a rewind. Life IS short and time IS fast.

A classmate. Gone too soon.

A shock to so many. Life changes in an instant. The time. Her time.

We tend to think we will stay young and invincible forever. Common thinking.

It’s hard to put into words what I am thinking and what I am feeling. We never know when our time is coming. But when it does, it does.

We were the kind of friends that if we saw each other on the street we would definitely recognize each other. Classmates and kid friends, junior high and high school. Touch was lost, but information was available. Kids’ lives and social. Proud parent moments. Times not forgotten. Memories made.

We only get one life. The impact can be considerable. The significance and the difference made to people’s lives. She did that. She was a giver.

She made a difference. She helped people. The calling was strong and the work was hard.

We are getting to the point in our lives when nothing is certain. The later parts of our lives when things just seem a little bit more special and friendships seem a little bit more meaningful. When family seems a lot more important and the time should be savored and cherished.

I will always remember going to Paula’s house and playing for hours and hours. I pray that her family and friends remember the good times and hold her close in their hearts. Rest In Peace Paula Adam-Burchill. You will be missed.

 

 

Let’s leave nothing for later…

Let’s leave nothing for later…

The funny stuff is here at the beginning. The not so funny stuff gradually builds. The sad kicks in and the feelings start feeling. #1 Sometimes I wonder about things. Today was such a day. I had a few things. My socks were one of