Life as a CrazyMimi

This morning 6AM: I'm brushing my teeth with one hand, and curling my eyelashes with the other.  Don't judge.  I multitask.  Anyhoo...I notice my phone notification light blinking.  But I have no available hands to check it.  After a brief moment of - let's call it uncertainty because it wasn't urgent enough to call it panic - I checked my Samsung watch to see if it was there.  My phone wakes up with movement, so no hands needed!  I only get certain notifications on my watch.  I can get all notifications on it, I just choose to only get text messages and missed phone calls, etc.  I am proud to say that I have all social media notifications turned off for my watch.  So, back to my moment of uncertainty.  I decided it could wait the two minutes it takes for my toothbrush to turn off.  The notification turned out to be nothing but my fitness app telling me what today's goals were.  Shew!  Nothing urgent!  But thi...

This blog post should come as no surprise to anyone who follows my social media pages.  I'm pretty transparent.  I post about my Punkins, I post about my workouts, and yes, I post about my achievements.  Now, I don't post all these things to brag.  I post these things because, well, it's my life.  My Punkins are my greatest achievement.  I mean, I DID have their fathers which led to them being born, so Yes, I'm taking some credit!  I post about my workouts because, well, that's what I do every day.  And I post about my achievements because, quite honestly, sometimes I need to put these things on paper (ok, computer) to believe them myself. So after yesterday's 10 Miler, I had some time in the afternoon to sit and think while I was stretching, doing some yoga poses, and using my foam roller to work out some stiff, sore spots.  I got to thinking back over the past 18 months that led me to that event.  18 short months ago, I was a couch p...

Well folks, another year has gone by, and vacation time is here.   Now for those of you who know me well, you know that I have two Happy Places....A Nascar race track, and Lake Anna!  So as I've packed for my Lake happy place,  I've been reminiscing about past lake trips, and trying to plan some new fun things for this year. We have a first for this year, also. Jeremy will be bringing his fiancee who has not met Ryan or his children.  So this will be a celebration of sorts, as we welcome Angie officially into our family!  And if she doesn't run screaming after she sees our craziness,  we know she's in for the long haul! Dalton's girlfriend Shelbie's family will be joining us one night for dinner, also.  This is Shelbie's third year with us at the lake, and we love her so much she is considered another Punkin !  We feel it's only right to invite her family!  We have a much bigger house this year, with all kinds of "toys" such...

In a perfect world, we grow up, get married to our best friend, have a good career, beautiful children, healthy family, and then move into the time of our life where we have the most awesome grandchildren ever, a good plan for retirement, and are enjoying the fruits of our labor. But what if you don't live in that perfect world?  And really, who does?  What if you have had some setbacks along that road.  What if you aren't looking at retirement with great anticipation because your good plan wasn't so great, and you won't have what you need to live comfortably?  What if there are health issues plaguing your family?  What if that marriage didn't evolve as it was supposed to? Recently, it has hit me that I have a lot of friends who are not living in the perfect world.  No matter what we may see on social media, sometimes there are problems in people's perfect worlds.  And I don't think we would be surprised if we knew how imperfect most people's lives...

This blog post should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.  I write about what is bothering me, or what is happening in my life at the present time.  And this week, it is all about the Blue Family....Law Enforcement....The Thin Blue Line. I am a very proud LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) Mom.  Everyone knows this.  I love my Son, and I am very proud of him.  He made it to the rank of Lieutenant by the age of 36, while being deployed for 3 full years with the National Guard during his time on the force.  He's done well.  And with every rank advancement, I am more hopeful that it keeps him in the office more, and off the streets.  However, my son is not one to stay in the office.  He has gained the respect of his officers by being out on the streets with them, by not asking them to do anything that he isn't willing to do first.  He's a cop's cop.  Law enforcement work is not new to our family.  My brother is a retired offi...

What if people are doing the best they can? This has become my obsession this week.  Let it sink in.  What if?   I started listening to a new audio book in the car, and the author, the fabulous Brene' Brown poses this question in her book "Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice".   So the lesson I have learned is this: I am doing the best I can.  I have problems.  I don't need to, nor will I, air them here.  But I'm doing the best I can, given the problems I have in my life on a daily basis. Everyone is battling something.  Addiction, mental illness, abuse, financial struggles, health issues, marital problems, etc., etc., etc.  I could on and on, but you get the point.  So....is everyone just doing the best they can, given the problems they have? I won't answer this for you.  You can decide for yourself.  I choose to think YES.  People ARE doing the best they can.  Most everyone that is.  I k...

Well folks, the day has arrived.  I have reached my goal of losing 50 pounds.  Yes!  I really did it! So after the initial euphoria (I admit that I shed a few tears), calling and texting everyone I know, and posting on every social media I have, I have settled down a little bit...just a little bit.  Folks, this has taken me over a year.  I did it very slowly and methodically.  I have totally changed my lifestyle.  I no longer think of it as a dreaded diet.  It is just my new way of eating.  If I eat junk, my body rejects it...literally!  (You don't want an example described here!)  I'm so, so happy I embarked on this journey! So, now what?  People are already telling me not to lose more.  People are telling me I'm obsessed with working out.  People are telling me to shut up basically.  Of course, people have been telling me to shut up since I started talking.  This is just the newest subject that I li...