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60 Day Shred BlogHer Challenge

I used to work out a TON in college.  Like, I'd go to the gym five days a week, and on Mondays and Wednesdays I'd go at 6:30 IN THE MORNING before my first class.  Then?  Before bed?  I'd do my obligatory 100 sit ups.  I felt amazing.  My energy was through the roof and my body was pretty sweet too.  I'm sure I didn't think so at the time, because that's just how it goes, but hindsight 20-20 and all that? I was smokin'.  Due to this regimen, my self-confidence skyrocketed and I was able to get out of a very unhealthy long-term relationship.  I felt in control and good about myself and along came Bryan.  I'm not saying that working out will automatically get you an amazing husband but seriously, I wouldn't have turned out to be who I am if I hadn't hit the gym and found some inner strength in addition to building muscle.

But, as I'm prone to do, I let life get in the way and my awesome habits died.  I graduated, we moved, got married, blah blah blah.  I always tell myself I'm going to work out again and it fizzles after a week or two at best.  And yet, I remember college and how incredible I felt (and looked), so why is it hard to get back at it?  Complacency.  Laziness.  Not being accountable.  We also have little things such as working full time, having a toddler, a house to take care of, a moment for some piece and quiet. . .you see what I'm saying.  But those are all excuses.  As with anything important, if you want it bad enough you find the time and energy.

I want to find the time and energy.

At work today the thought of working out tonight flickered through my brain.  Then on Twitter my friend said she Shredded and it hurt like a mo' fo'.  I then replied that I had wanted to but after remembering how hard it was I'd rather plunk down on the couch.  Then I got these:

pocklock@samanthajcampen get up. Do it. You will feel better. MOOOOVE IT LADY! (xoxo)about 3 hours ago from Twitterrific in reply to samanthajcampen
Sundry@samanthajcampen It's only 20 minutes! You can do ANYTHING for 20 minutes, and you'll feel like a rockstar afterwards. *clap clap*!
pseudostoops@samanthajcampen do it do it do it!about 2 hours ago from Twitterrific in reply to samanthajcampen

So I did.  And I cursed Jillian a thousand different ways but you know what?  I DID feel like a rock star afterwards.  A small step yes.  But a step nonetheless. 

I'm attending BlogHer in Chicago this year (HOLLA!) so I have set a goal.  I am going to Shred until the conference since I need a short-term date to keep me motivated.  Also meeting a ton of amazing women whom I call friends is also another kicker.  So I invite you to join me.  Nothing fancy-pants or full of stress: working out until the end of July.  You don't necessarily need to Shred (though I highly recommend it) and you don't have to make it to BlogHer--though if you are going let me know and we can meet up.  This is just a quest for fitness and we can all be accountable to each other.

Who's in?

Scratch my itch

The Campens Est. 5.26.02
Originally uploaded by samanthajo. 

Today marks our seventh year of wedded bliss.  Not that I ever thought we wouldn't make it this far but man oh man does that seem crazy to me.  Seven years.  SEVEN.  Which means we've been together eight and a half.  I'm not the easiest person to be married to (no really!) so let's take this moment to give some mad props to my husband.  *clapclapclap*

Honey, thank you for always making me belly laugh.  Your made-up songs are the best.  And thank you for making me do the Crabby Crab Walk when I'm in a bad mood, as that always makes me giggle and then I'm not a storm cloud anymore.  And most importantly, thank you for giving me our wonderful son.  I fall in love with you all over again on a daily basis when I see you with him, and I always count my blessings for our family.

I love you bunches--

Samantha

Obama? Anyone?

I would like to put forth the idea that upon every child's first birthday, their mother should be issued a free hand-held vacuum.  Because THE CRUMBS THE CRUMBS OMG THE CRUMBS AIEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple

I received a very sincere and unexpected compliment today and it absolutely changed the trajectory of my day.

Isn't that amazing?  How simple words can make or break you?  We all know words have the power to hurt but man do they ever have the power to heal.  And this is a downfall of mine:  I don't compliment people enough.  I think happy things in my mind all day long but I never voice them and that's a shame. 

My good friend K wrote a post talking about compliments and how she was going to make it her personal goal to compliment someone every day.  How fabulous is that?  That right there does so many things.  For one, it gets you thinking something positive.  I don't know about you but sometimes I'm in such a negative mood it's hard for me to WANT to find something nice to say, so I usually end up grumbling on and on with a storm cloud over my head hung low.  Just call me Eeyore.   But with this goal we can't think like that--we have to pull ourselves out of that funk and get positive.  Second of all it makes you talk to people.  This may sound silly but it's very easy to settle into an introverted groove and not speak to anyone outside your comfort zone.  Who knows where this could lead!  And third, you could totally turn their day around and how awesome would that feel?  Knowing you said something nice to a woman who lives alone and has low self-esteem?  Or to a busy mom whose life seems great on the outside but is dealing with a lot of inner turmoil?

Words can heal.

So what do you say we join K's mission and make a conscious effort to say something genuinely nice to an acquaintance or a stranger?  I'll go first:

"To the student who went out of her way to hold open my office door because my hands were crazy full?  Thank you so much--it was so nice not having to ask.  I know I thanked you then but I was frazzled.  I really honestly appreciate the gesture."

Moxie

When I signed up for motherhood I knew a lot of crazy stuff would happen--I've heard stories, I've read books.  But tonight I experienced something I honestly never thought REALLY happened.  Like, it was some sort of urban legend or an exaggerated tale handed down from generation from generation, with juicy bits added here and there.

Well tonight my friends, Theo puked in my purse.  And not just ANY purse, but the purse I named and won at Handbag Heaven.  And the kicker is I didn't even know about it for a few hours.  It was exactly like you see on TV, where the clueless mom is chattering away and sticks her hand in to get something and it is then and ONLY then that she finds the hork her lovely child left for her.

Yeah, that was me.

I guess GMAC will get a nice surprise when our car payment check smells like curdled milk.

Kid tested, mother approved

Whenever I'd daydream about becoming a mother and what it would finally be like to have kids, I never wanted to skew my chances of having a boy or a girl.  There are some theories out there that can supposedly ensure your chances of having a certain gender and I was never interested.  Some of my friends were surprised by my desire to let nature take its course as I am a planner.  But I've always thought that things happen for a reason and Bryan and I would be blessed with whatever child we were meant to have.  Honestly, I always thought I wanted a girl.  And if I had gone out of my way to have a girl I wouldn't know the absolute joy of having my son.  I'm now completely and totally addicted to boys.  I can't imagine it any other way.  So when I heard about this study out there claiming that mothers who eat cereal on a regular basis are more likely to conceive boys I was intrigued.  I happen to eat at a boat-load of cereal.  For breakfast, for snacks, for dinner--you name it.  Granted, this isn't based on a study of every single woman to birth a boy but still.  The stats, as small as they are, are interesting.

So now what?  Because I know this now do I refrain from eating cereal when we decide A LONG TIME FROM NOW to have another kid?  Or since this was normal behavior prior to this ground-breaking knowledge I don't need to change anything?  I'm perplexed.

Also, for any of you out there with boys, does this hold true?  Are you a cereal eater?  And if you have girls do you lay off the Cocoa Pebbles?  Let's do a little research of our own up in here.

To be used in a court of law

I have further documentation that I am indeed losing my mind.

Exhibit A:

Yesterday was a marathon day at work and after a 10-hour day my brain was mush.  I had literally be talking non-stop and on my feet the entire time.  It was so bad I was actually sick of the sound of my own voice.  Well, I had to call Bryan for something and I dialed his number.  This is what transpired:

Him: (blase) Hello?

Me: Hey, how's it going?

Him: Fine.

M: How's your day?

Him: Good.  (These one-word answers are TOTALLY unlike him and I was getting irritated by his lack of enthusiasm)

M: What is WRONG with you?

Him: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

M: (after a pause) Is this Bryan?

Him: No.

So yeah, I dialed the wrong number and couldn't tell that the voice wasn't my husband's.  In my defense however, I will say this guy didn't speak enough to get a lot of detail.  And mad props to him for being snippy to me right back.  Well done sir.

Exhibit B:

Theo's new passion is puzzles.  We have some great ones from Melissa and Doug and he loves them, especially the transportation one that makes noise when the appropriate piece gets places in the correct slot.  The fire truck makes a siren noise and the airplane makes a jet engine noise, etc.  Well, we brought a puzzle in the car to combat any meltdowns and some pieces are still floating around in the back seat.  While driving to work today the puzzle made a police siren noise.  My first reaction was to look in my rear view mirror to see if a cop was there.  There wasn't a cop but there was a tow truck who had lights on.  In a panic, and not realizing it was in fact the puzzle making noise, I then proceeded to PULL OVER to make way for a TOW TRUCK.  I won't tell you how long it took me to realize what the heck had just happened.

My lawyer will be calling witnesses soon.

Theo's tidbits

I want to remember forever:

--The way he says 'bop bop bop' over and over again when he's thinking.

--The way he lurches over to our clock radio, turns it on to the jazz station, and immediately starts dancing (i.e. throwing his hands up in the air and bouncing up and down without any rhythm whatsoever).  The Friends theme song also gets the same result.

--His new obsession with socks.  Mine, his, Bryan's, anyone's.  He knows they go on feet, but the coordination to do so remains unrefined.

--His desire to share his food.  Sometimes, even after it has gone in his mouth.  He is very generous, and even offers a swing from his sippy afterward because he knows all about getting parched.

--If you say "Let's go take a bath!" he will stop whatever he's doing and crawl across the apartment to the bathroom, open the door and stand at the tub.

--His determination when opening DVD cases and then trying to free the actual disc.  If he can't do it after awhile he hands it to me, raises his eyebrows and says "Ah?" 

--How everything is now a phone.  He will hold itrightupagainsthismouth and babble away like crazy.  Then he will put it up to his ear (backwards and upside down) and keeps talking away.  I love it so much.

--He will shove his mouth full of food and if a morsel escapes his lips, he uses his fat little finger to gently push it back in. Leave no man behind!

--When I pick him up from daycare he races towards me, squealing.  I pick him up and he immediately starts to suck his thumb and snuggles into my shoulder.  It's bliss and I look forward to it every single day.

--His obsession with books.

--How he can call out "Mama!  Mama!" when he's sobbing over some injustice.   I like to refer to it as The Mommy Manipulator.

--If you ask for a hug he'll give you one.  If you ask for kisses he'll give them to you.  He can also blow kisses (when he feels like it). 

--His obsession with our cat.  Oh he loves her so.  If she's laying in her bed he'll go over, rest his head on her back and suck his thumb while using his fingers to stroke her hair.

--How he shrieks and squeals when tickled by my hair.  And always asks for more.

--How he loves to snuggle with his blankie and is quite the self-soother.

--He isn't afraid of anything.

--When he's standing at the window he will rest his weight on his left leg, and bend his right all relaxed-like.  Just like me.

--He is a master peek-a-boo player and will engage you when you least expect it.

--After bath time, asking "Who's the naked baby?" delights him.

--He rivals an airport Custom's Inspector while going through anyone's purse.  For he is thorough and determined. 

I never want to forget that he's the most remarkable little boy ever in the world and we are so blessed to have him with us. 

A day at the zoo

Sunnyside up

You may recall that I used to be a vet tech in a past life.  With that job came some pretty crazy stories, most of which never wanted to be heard over dinner.  I guess people I know are squeamish.  Whatever.  Well, as you know, I share personal humiliation and tragedy for your enjoyment (I'm a giver) and I have quite the little nugget for you.

At the vet's office where I worked we saw all kinds of animals, not just dogs and cats.  It wasn't uncommon to see birds, snakes, guinea pigs, hamsters, hedgehogs and rabbits in addition to your standard fare.  With each different species came specialized problems.  Bunnies can break their own backs by kicking out too hard so we always had to support their spine and back legs in case they flipped out.  Guinea pigs can't be housed with rabbits or they could die because of a disease passed back and forth.  And birds stress easily and can just stop breathing.  FOREVER.

Ah, birds.  Birds scared the crap out of me for that very reason.  They also don't have diaphragms so when holding them you have to be careful not to restrict their chest.  Again with the breathing thing.  A LOT OF PRESSURE.

Well this one particular day a mama bird came in egg-bound.  She was already stressed and we needed to get the egg out.  I assisted the doctor and we did what we could but after the egg was removed she was still stressed and in pretty bad shape.  We couldn't handle her and agitate her even more, so we covered her and put her in a quiet room to let her do her thing and hopefully make it through.  The egg was left in the cage.

I checked on her a while later and she had died.  We figured she would and we felt horrible.  The doctor went out and told the owners who had been standing vigil in the waiting room.  They were crushed.  Apparently this was the first bird they got together when they first got married and she was their life.  They were crying, but after a bit they calmed down and told the doctor that they could make it through because the egg survived.  A piece of their beloved bird would live on and that is what they would go home and focus on.

The doctor came back and told me the story and I was moved.  That poor couple.  With that in mind, we went about the task of packing up the egg.  It needed to be secured and in a small container.  The doctor quickly decided on a pill bottle filled with cotton.  Perfect!  Being the lovey assistant I was, I went and got the bottle and cotton while she got the egg.  I stuffed the bottle lovingly and made sure I had enough in there but not too much so the egg wouldn't fit properly.  It was just right.  I told her I was ready and she turned around to put the egg in and. . .she dropped it on the linoleum floor.

Splat.

We both froze.  Our eyes got as big as saucers.  She threw her hands up and covered her mouth in shock, and I looked down at the floor then back up at her.  Then down at the floor and back up at her.  Her eyes filled with tears and she stood there unable to move.  I had no idea what to do or what to say, but the silence was deafening.  Not even a single dog was barking in the kennel.  So, being the wise-ass that I am, I blurted out, "So.  Are you going to charge them for a euthanasia or give it to them on the house?"

She just stared back at me but then I saw the corners of her eyes start to crinkle.  Then she started chuckling.  And before long we were both laughing and crying at the same time because OMG did that just really HAPPEN?  When she was finally able to speak she said, "Yeah, I guess it's not a good practice to kill future patients huh?" 

Yeah, probably not.