Healthiest Life 4 Me

This has been an interesting year for me.  I have started so many new ventures as well as completed some important things in my life.  I have enjoyed new milestones with my kids that brought both joy and heartache.  It has been ONE WILD YEAR!! 

January brought me some new friends here in person.  And by February some of those friendships turned into business ventures.  I had met these few people before, but got to know them better the first few months of the year.  The local Max Muscle owner (Max Muscle Orangecrest), Austin Browne and his staff helped me learn a little more about diet and exercise.  They showed me new moves and taught me the importance of pushing my limits in lifting.  So grateful!! In February, Austin introduced me to the company I am now an Independent Partner with and had me sign up under one of his young employees to help him.  That turned out to be one of the best things I did in 2008. 

This young man turned out to be a good friend.  We are not only building a business together, but he has taught me SO MUCH about nutrition and fitness.  He has spent much time with me and has really become a blessing!! Thanks RYAN!! And even more than that, he has been great to my kids who think he is amazing!! 

Since February, I have been completing my bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (basically multiple subjects) which I finally finished in October.  I have been working on building a business.  I have been working on transforming my “mom” body into the body of my dreams (which will still be a work in progress in 2009.after all, dreams can’t come true over night). 

In the spring of 2008, my 9 year old lost her LAST tooth.  She has all her adult teeth in and she even has her 12 year molars already.  And with the thought of no more tooth fairy visits for her, she asked “Mom, are you and Dad really the tooth fairy?”  And of course, I couldn’t lie.what was the point.  She was done with the fun.  I told her that she had to play along because she had a brother that only had 4 adult teeth and we still want him to have the same fun she did!  So sad.  My first baby is no longer a baby.  She is growing up and FAST!!!

April brought my husband and I a milestone of its own.  We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a Limo Ride to Newport Beach, dinner at Chart House, drinks at a Piano Bar (have no idea where or what it was called-limo driver took us there), a stroll along the cliffs in the moonlight, and a relaxing drive home!

We spent a great year together as a family with time at the beach, time at the lake, time in the mountains, and just having fun at home:

Trip to the Snow of Lake Arrowhead: Feb ‘08

What fun we had and it was 72 degrees F out!

Coloring Easter Eggs with Matt’s parents ‘08

Matt and the kids at the March Air Fest ‘08

We love our Air Shows!

Mother’s Day trip to Newport Beach ‘08

Huntington Beach: Zack’s 1st time boogie boarding in the ocean ‘08

Laguna Beach Tide Pools: Dominique loves checking out all the creatures ‘08

Trip to Lake Mohave ‘08 to visit Matt’s parents and take the boat out.  Our favorite summertime activity: Family Time on the BOAT!

Xmas Day ‘08: My side of the family

The end of 2008 brought about the biggest changes.  Upon completing my degree I found a website called Twittermoms that not only brought me much joy, but a few really nice new friends (that live in my computer of course).  One of these friends I have written about before, Erin, introduced me to blogging and her and her husband (@miguelcarrasco) have helped me get started in this new venture. I am so very grateful for them!  My blog has become a fun little side part of my life.  I hope to build it to far more traffic in 2009.

The biggest change of all was that I entered the workforce again.  Of course, I knew that when I completed school I was going to have to go back to work, but didn’t really expect it to be as big of a change in our lives as it has been.  I started substitute teaching in December.  So 3 weeks of the hardest schedule a new schedule each day.  Hoping that I can figure out how to make this new schedule work.actually find an actual schedule that works. 

And so for the tradition of many in the world I leave 2008 with fond memories and grand ideas of the future.  The 10 things I hope to do in 2009 are:

1)  build my blog to have 5 times the traffic as it does now.like 100 visitors a day would be great!

2)  learn to make money on my blog through affiliates!

3)  build my business to 5000 points a month (which would earn me an all expense paid trip next January)!!

4)  to complete my teaching credential and get hired on an internship sometime between now and Sept!

5)  to cherish the little moments with my kids, as they are growing fast and life only gets busier!

6) perfect my diet!! (of course I know I will eat something I shouldn’t now and then, but want to accomplish a new way of life where I don’t falter very often.not even weekly)

7)  I perfect my crazy schedule and my workouts still get accomplished!

8)  that I achieve my goal of 120 pounds and 16% body fat!!!

9)  that we get out of debt or closer to out of debt

10)  that I not only change my families and my life to greater health, that I have stories of the people who I’ve either directly helped or just inspired whether it be in person, via blog, through nutritional supplements (business), etc. 

And with that.  I wish you all a wonderful New Year’s Eve that is full of joy and is safe!  And prayers and thoughts of a Happy, Healthy, Safe, and Prosperous 2009 for all of us!!

Well ladies, my kids received a Wii from Santa and my daughter received the Wii Fit from her grandparents (they must have connections with Santa to know to get it).  We as a family have spent many hours playing the Wii from the sports game that came with it to Wii Ski, Mario Cart, Ravin Rabbits TV Party, and yes, the Wii Fit.  While there are some thing opened to begin with that are exercises that I do in my regular work out routine, do I consider playing the Wii Fit to be exercise that would replace an actual workout? NO WAY! 

The Wii Fit is a great way to be active indoors.  It is a great supplement to a workout schedule.  It is great to do if you miss a workout and can’t get anything more in.  But what I think is the greatest thing about it is that your kids think it is actual exercise and they still love to do it.  My daughter is a dancer.  She hates video games normally.  But this is a way to help her with her balance and strengthen her core while having fun.  I don’t have to bombard her with thoughts of needing to lose weight or having to work harder at dance.  She loves to dance and she is happy about herself.  I think this is gonna be a way to keep it that way!  I think this is a fun way to move in the house.  It is better than having the tv on constantly with just shows or movies.  It is better than traditional video games, the Wii as a whole is better than a traditional game system because you do so much more moving while playing. 

Now what I don’t like about it is that I am not a fan of BMI and I wish there was a way to turn it off so that it isn’t telling my 9 year old that she is at risk of being overweight while telling my son that he is underweight.  Another thing is that my husband is super competitive on this and I think it hurts my daughters feelings a bit.  Can’t make him understand that.  Guess the male brain just doesn’t understand the fragileness of my preteen and her emotions. 

All and all a great game and a great game system.  Please just don’t mistake the time you spend on the Wii Fit for actual fitness.  Know that activities such as this can help with your fitness progress but they can not be the only key to overall success! 

Get out there and have some fun while staying in shape!

In this new to me world of twitter, blogging, and social networking I have met a TON of wonderful people who have influenced my life in more ways than one, people who have given me hope, people who have given me support, and people who are introducing me to new ways of thinking.just to name a few.  I have talked about some of these people in previous blogs, but new to this blog is Dr. Scott Olson ND.  He and I met via twitter and let me tell you, he is worth having around!!

Dr. Olson is a Naturopathic Doctor and the author of a book on sugar addiction called Sugarettes. He offered a challenge up to go 30 days without sugar or foods that act like sugar. This challenge is going for the month of January.  It sounded interesting so I asked some questions, got a copy of his book and joined the cause. 

I started reading his book and it was extremely hard to put down.but of course, I had to because people in this house still expected to eat and all!! LOL  Anyhow.it took me a few weeks because of work and all, but I finally got through the whole book.  And am amazed about the horrible things that sugar does to our bodies. 

My favorite part of the book is an analogy about a girl in the store begging her mom for a toy and to shut her up the mom hands her a cigarette.  I gasped when I read it at the very thought that it could happen.  Of course, upon reading further the point was that that story is how we treat our kids every day when we bribe them to behave by giving them candy. 

This book points out the many ways that sugar is KILLING each one of us.  Dr. Olson’s claim is that the medical community overlooks much of the damage done to our bodies due to sugar.  Besides just diabetes, sugar is responsible for all kinds of diseases and preventable health problems including high blood pressure and clogged arteries. 

His book lays out a plan on how to get rid of sugar from your diet to not only LOSE WEIGHT but to improve your health for LIFE!!  If you are interested in losing weight or just looking to improve your health and that of your family, then his book is for you! 

You can grab yourself a copy at www.amazon.com or just click on the book title Sugarettes.  I have never before read a “self help” type book that I’ve enjoyed this much.  Not only is it packed full of GREAT information, its easy to read and interesting.  The analogies are amusing and keep you interested in all the science smashed between them!   This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in health and nutrition, fitness, body building, etc.  Check it out!!

Welcome back to the newest installment of Favorite/Not so Favorite Friday.  Each week I pick one thing that I love to be my favorite and 1 thing I don’t like to be my Not so Favorite.  Some weeks are easier than others because there is one thing that stands out from the week, other weeks there is not.  This is one of those NOT weeks.  I have been thinking all week what I was going to pick for each category. It took a lot of thinking, but I finally figured it out.

Ready…Here we go!

Favorite:

  Gotta LOVE my Mrs. Dash seasonings.  My absolute favorite dish is Salmon with Mrs. Dash’s Southwest Chipolte seasoning.  It is the perfect amount of spicy to give the salmon a little zest while still being a healthy seasoning.  Then add some brown rice and green beans or broccoli…or even BOTH! MMMMMMmmmm!  This is the best dinner!  A great healthy dinner too! Check out all of Mrs. Dash’s seasonings.  There are also Mrs. Dash’s marinades that can flavor up your meat to make a boring meat dish something to brag about while still being healthy!  We have only tried these once, so I can’t remember which was our favorite!  However, I haven’t tried any of them that I don’t like.  Three Cheers for Mrs. Dash helping us keep our girly figures!  HIP, HIP, HORRAY!!  HIP, HIP, HORRAY!!  HIP, HIP, HORRAY!!

Not so Favorite:

This isn’t a thing, but it for sure not my favorite thing to happen.  It is not my favorite thing to MISS MY WORKOUTS.  Since I started substitute teaching, it has been hard to get a routine that works for me and the family.  It was perfect when I was a stay-at-home mom because I would go to the gym after dropping the kids at school.  Now that I am getting up at 5 am and having to leave by 6:30 am to drop the kids at the sitter’s, the morning just doesn’t work.  Then by the time I get home, feed everyone, do homework, do lunches and get everyone ready for the next day it is so late and all I have the energy to do is sleep.  I am going to have two weeks of Christmas Break to work out these kinks.  They will HAVE to be worked out or MOM ISN’T GOING TO BE A HAPPY CAMPER!

Well.hope you are enjoying learning about what I like and what I don’t like!  Don’t forget to check back next week!!

Welcome to the fourth installment of Favorite/Not So Favorite Friday!  I hope you have been enjoying this because I know I sure have been!  This week both my favorite and not so favorite has to do with experiences from my week of substitute teaching.  So……

FAVORITE:

Finding out a pain in the REAR student is a player of a sports team of which the coach and I are friends.  This week I had a high school varsity basketball player challenge me to write him a detention.  Not only did I write it for him, but his coach had the whole team RUN LINERS in honor of his behavior.  Needless to say, when he saw me at the school later in the week, he was not so defiant!!  YAY for coaches who follow through for the teachers!

NOT SO FAVORITE:

Waiting on a call to sub in the morning.  The district I sub in does not have an automated system and for the most part it has not been too bad.  But Monday and Wednesday, I was waiting for calls first thing in the morning.  It makes the morning harder on my kids and myself. 

Sorry that this installment was shorter than usual, but its been a really long week.  I worked everyday and am ready to sleep through the weekend!!

Catch ya Next week!

CNN.com has a small article on Vitamins Experts Take and why they take them.  The talked to four doctors about the regimen they take and some offered up reasons why they take certain items.  What I found most suprising about this article is that only 3 of the 4 doctors took a multivitamin and omega-3, while all 4 took a vitamin D supplement.  Dr. Melina Jampolis, who practices in San Francisco, California, and specializes exclusively in nutrition for weight loss and disease prevention and treatment, says everyone should take a basic multivitamin. “I like to call it an insurance policy,” she says.  Dr. Andrew Weil says he takes Vitamin D because, “a Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis, as well as other conditions. Studies show many of us are vitamin D deficient. Weil says look on the label to make sure you’re getting vitamin D3, not vitamin D2.”  Other supplements that top the list taken are magnesium, Co-Q-10, and antioxidants.  Both of the women doctors interviewed took a Calcium supplement to help prevent osteoporosis. 

They all agree that vitamins and supplements are great for ones overall health, but fit together as part of the total wellness package that includes diet and exercise.  They also have some interesting links listed to help you decide what supplements are right for you.  Check them out:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DrugHerbIndex

http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/Vitamin_and_Mineral_Supplement_Fact_sheets.aspx#f

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vitamins.html

When you are done with all this information, check out Symmetry Direct’s line of vitamins.  They are by far the best I have ever taken or been introduced to.  Feel free to contact me at lisasurvillas@healthiestlife4me.com if you would like more information about Symmetry Direct and their line of supplements.

welcome to the third installment of Favorite/Not So Favorite Friday!  I hope you have been enjoying this because I know I sure have been!  This has been such a great week for me, I have a lot of things that could be my favorites but I have picked just one!! 

Favorite:

Action Wipes!  They are my new found love!  They are large, non sticky wipes designed to help you clean up quickly after a workout.  I was able to use just one for my WHOLE BODY!!  I was so excited to use them today.  I only had an hour to squeeze in a workout before my meeting at school to discuss the credential program that I am starting.  So that didn’t leave me time to workout and shower.  Out came an action wipe!  It left me feeling freshly showered the whole day through.  I was so EXCITED about how wonderful they are!  You have got to try them out!  Go to www.actionwipes.com and get some for yourself!!

Not so Favorite:

Teaching all day in 4 inch heels!  Now, I know you are thinking, duh!  But I had no choice this week.  I am only 5′2″ and always wear 4″ heels when I go out.  I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost 10 years.what do I need comfortable dressy flats for?  Give me a break, those are called flip-flops!  So, in order to look professional, I wore dress pants (which I had to invest in this week), but I only had heels to wear.  My feel are killing me and I am so thankful that Friday’s are casual at schools because I will be in jeans and tennis shoes!!

Thanks for coming back and seeing the things I like and dislike.  I look forward to writing this article every week.  I hope you enjoy reading it!  Come back next week for more!!

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and today showed me just how true that really was.  Today was my second day substitute teaching.  I was at the same school, in the same class that I did my first day in.  I had a difficult girl in the first period of the day and was hoping that the day wouldn’t continue on from there.  And THANK GOD it didn’t.  I had a great rest of the day and there was an assembly during one of the classes, so that helped break up the day!  Then the best thing happened.the secretary told me that she had talked to one of the teachers that was pregnant and going to need a long term sub in the spring about me and that this teacher wanted to meet me.  I was nervous walking to her room because the secretary called it a Life Skills/Cooking/Sewing Class.  Not sure of what I would be teaching, I thought that a job is a job and I can do anything for 6 weeks.well, besides sewing!   When I walked into the room the class was watching a video.  After talking to the teacher a bit and listening to the video it seemed like they were learning about nutrition.I may be teaching nutrition 3 days and cooking 2!  And I can cook what I want and teach them from whatever I’d like!  OMG!!! Does life get any better than that!  It does seem like God has a plan for me and as long as I stay patient, I may not screw it up and be THRILLED with the end result. 

Dear Lord, Thank you God for the opportunities before me.  Thank you for loving me despite my impatience!  Thank you for the plan you have for me.  I know you know what is best!  I promise I will do my best not to screw it up!!  AMEN!!

My first assignment for substitute teaching was at El Cerrito Middle School.  Wasn’t sure what grade (7th or 8th) or which subject.   I just knew the teacher was out at an AVID Conference today and tomorrow. 

Last night, I showered, blow dried my hair and had everything laid out for the morning.  I went to bed at 10 pm so that I would be well rested.  HA!  That didn’t work.  I had trouble falling asleep. I think I was anxious.  Then when I did finally fall asleep, I woke up often.  I remember seeing the clock at 12:30, 1:15, 3:00, 4:15, and then the alarm went of at 5:15.  BOO!!! I was so tired.  Thank God for D4 Extreme Thermal Shock, my fat burner and the caffeine in it for keeping me awake on my drive. 

Leaving the house at 6:30 was difficult, but we all managed to leave on time.  The kids even got up a little earlier to leave earlier.  I dropped them at my girlfriend, Elizabeth’s and I am so proud of myself.I didn’t have a single tear.  (I held them back.  I love being a MOM and it was very hard to leave them despite the fact that I drop them at school every single day)  I was able to stay positive the whole drive too!!  I was quite proud of myself! 

The drive went well.  Much less traffic than I expected.  In fact, I allowed for traffic and ended up being 20 minutes early to the school site.  Once in my classroom, I checked the lesson plans (great things to do) and went to the room to my right to introduce myself and see where the closest bathrooms were.  Once back in my room, I noticed a woman I recognized walk by.  I peeked my head out and called her name.  Turns out the teacher to my left was the mom of one of my husband’s varsity volleyball players at the high school.  My nerves quickly settled.  She reassured me that the students were pretty good and said that I could send any unruly ones to her if need be (and thank goodness I didn’t have any bad ones).  She also came in and spoke to the first two classes of the day and assured them that if they misbehaved, she would double the punishment handed down by the teacher.  That kept them inline! 

Lunch was a welcome break from the day.  I sat with the lady I knew and she told me about her kids (her daughter was also a player for my hubby years before).  Today was also collaboration day so there was no 5th period and I got an extra 45 minutes added to lunch.  That was nice too! 

The best part of my day was making it home in time to chat with my daughter for about 20 minutes before she had to leave for dance.  I was worried that she’d be gone before I got home and that made me sad. 

All in all the day went really well.  I am looking forward to going back tomorrow!  I also found out I really like the junior high age.  That is the level I want to teach!!  So onto a single subject credential for me!!