RawFu Challenge - Day 60

Thursday, 08 October 2009

Joe woke me up early this morning because he was “starvin'.” I lovingly dragged myself out of bed and got him a bowl of quinoa with hemp milk, apples and a little agave… that seemed to appease his six year old appetite for the time being. And, knowing I wasn’t going to have any success trying to get any more sleep, and since Zofia was still sleeping, I decided to head to the basement to walk on the treadmill and watch the backlog of Oprah’s on my DVR. Things were going well… not even 9am yet, and I could check exercise off my to-do list for the day!

I then proceeded back upstairs to make my morning green smoothie. But, I guess it was lack of sleep that prompted me to not make the connection between the spicy taste of mustard greens and their lack of compatibility with a fruity green smoothie. So, I promptly stuffed the Vitamix with a full bunch of mustard greens and two apples. This combo always works well with dandelion greens, so for some reason, I just wasn’t thinking about mustard being so spicy! Well, needless to say, the first gulp was quite a surprise. Being the committed green smoothie drinker that I am, I forced myself to take a few more sips, but ultimately had to surrender to the fact that there was nothing I could add to this existing combo to make it more palatable. So, I chopped up a couple apples and sprinkled them with cinnamon, grabbed a container of kale chips, and got started on the mound of laundry awaiting me.

The rest of the day progress uneventfully. I found myself really bloated again, though. This has been a chronic symptom for quite awhile, to which I cannot really pinpoint a connection between any particular foods. I think my biggest hindrance to feeling really great these days is stress and lack of sleep. I’m not complaining. I know a lot of people have a lot more to deal with than I do. But, just the daily challenges of parenting, homeschooling and housework, leave little time for anything else, so managing stress is a big factor in feeling my best. It will always be something to work on.

On that note, I wanted to go to yoga tonight at 6pm. But, I knew I had to be done eating a few hours prior, or the bloating factor would make the class rather uncomfortable. So, around 2pm, I dug through the fridge to see what I could use to make a meal. I used the last of my butternut squash to make a soup and I had plans to make a nice salad, to go along with it. But, I was so tired, I didn’t feel like chopping stuff up, or chewing, for that matter, so I shoved the lettuce I had put in the bowl for the salad into the VitaMix, added and apple, a frozen banana and a few leftover frozen raspberries and called it a day.

I did make it to the yoga class in the evening. Flo came along with me while my mom watched Zofia and Darren and Joe were at hockey. It was a relaxing hour, and I came very close to falling asleep during the relaxation part of the class at the end. I think they should have a nap class for tired moms. Bring your yoga mat, light the candles, listen to soft music and sleep for an hour!

Tonight my body demands I go lay down, and I’m going to heed its insistent nudges and join Zofia, who is strewn out across my bed. Darren apparently fell asleep reading to Joe. I could go wake him up and tell him to come to bed, but I think I’ll let him have the possibility of a good night’s sleep without being kicked by a toddler. He got up at 3:30am today to go to DC, so I’m sure he feels equally exhausted as I do. At least if one of us is well-rested tomorrow, the day will likely go much better.