Truth Be Told: Movie Review

Sometimes it can be really difficult to find good family programming on television. I get tired of sitting down to cartoons or the cheesy tween shows if I want to spend time watching television with the girls. I was given the opportunity to preview "Truth Be Told". It's a movie geared toward the entire family that is being presented by P&G and Walmart and premiering on Fox at 8PM Eastern tomorrow (4/16) as part of family movie night.

The movie stars Candace Cameron Bure of Full House fame and David James Elliot of the popular TV show, JAG. The basic premise is that they tell a lie and pretend to be married in hopes of getting what they want. In the end the truth has to come out. This is a lesson that I've tried to teach Abby. Usually to stay out of trouble or get out of doing things, she has lied to me in the past. I try to teach her that I will always find out the truth in the end. It's best to be honest because lying tends to cause more problems. I love movies like this because they can help open a dialogue between parents and children.

I'd like to encourage you to sit down and watch this movie with your children. It's a great way to spend time together and teach them a lesson at the same time. Check out the "Truth Be Told" website and their Facebook page for more details. You can see the movie trailer here.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a movie kit to facilitate my review and a gift code to thank me for taking the time to participate

Mamavation Monday

I totally got lazy last week and never posted. Well, maybe lazy isn't the word since I'm so stinking BUSY! I actually started a post but never got a chance to finish it. Anyway, I'm still flying by the seat of my pants on this weight loss thing. I've been making better choices, but haven't weighed recently. No exercise. Nothing I can really say about that except to say that I feel strongly that I will not be successful until I can make exercise a consistent part of my life. My husband keeps reminding me that I'm in a time in my life that is very hectic. I won't have a toddler forever. Also, summer is coming and we can do more fun things to incorporate exercise, like going to the park. I also won't have to get the 7 year old up for school soon, which means that time can go towards exercise.

On April 1st I'm beginning the Go Fresh 11 week Initiative on Raw Food Rehab. I've written about feeling drawn to the raw food way of eating. I feel like I could be happy on a high raw diet with a little cooked food here and there. This initiative will give me the education that I've been looking for on my journey. I'm so excited that I can't wait for April 1st to get here.

I'd like to say congrats to all the Mamavation finalists. I have a lot of respect for anyone willing to put themself out there like that. It takes a lot of courage and all of the applicants should be proud.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

So this blog has been about nothing but weight loss for weeks. There is more to my life.

For example...

Can someone please tell my 18 month old to stop sticking things up her nose? Seriously. Last week while eating chicken noodle soup I look over to see a noodle hanging out of her nose. A couple of days later she suddenly begins crying and sticking her finger up her nose. I'm thinking she stuck something up there but I didn't see anything and she got over it and moved on. I did notice a slightly runny nose and was wondering if there was something up there. Two days later I get her out of the bed in the morning. I'm changing her diaper and she sneezes really hard. I see something shoot out of her nose and onto her pajamas. It was a warm, gooey raisin! Um, that's disgusting. Thanks goodness she sneezed it out because that thing would have gotten really nasty up there.

Ava is the complete opposite of Abby when she was this age. Abby was quiet. She didn't stick things in her nose. She didn't try to climb onto things. Ava, on the other hand, is a tiny tornado. She leaves destruction wherever she goes. She loves to scream to the top of her lungs..."PEEK A DOOOO!!!" That's how she says peek a boo. She makes me laugh so hard but she is very tiring.

Mamavation Monday

I've been feeling pretty lost lately in this weight loss struggle. It has had such an effect on my mood. Life in general is really stressful lately and then I begin putting lots of pressure on myself to lose weight. I had to take a step back this week. I really need to relax. I can lose weight. I'm not perfect. This need for perfection holds me back. This fear of failure causes me to give up very quickly. I've had this thought so many times over the past few weeks. I tell myself to just accept that I'm a cow and that's just the way it will be because I have no self-control. There are other parts of my life that require attention. I'm trying to divide myself into many pieces, and the first thing I always let go is taking care of myself. Yes, it should be a priority, but I feel the least guilt if I sacrifice myself for other things that are more important. That sounds so ridiculous.

I actually feel positive about this week. I have a plan. One of my biggest problems has been not having a plan. I got some advice from someone, and I'm gonna give it a try 100%. I accept that I may mess up but resolve that I will immediately get back on track...not the next day, but immediately. I'm looking forward to this week. I have a good feeling about it.

This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Fit Studio and this week's question is...

What time of day works best for you to be active? How do you make sure you stick to those planned workouts?

The best time for me to workout is first thing in the morning before the wild toddler wakes. This is very difficult for me to do since I'm pretty much in a perpetual state of sleep deprivation. Because I work nights, I don't get to sleep until 2am four nights out of the week and get up at 7am to get the first grader off to school. I don't get to go back to sleep because I have a toddler to chase. It's difficult to exercise once she's awake. I'm still trying to figure out what will work best for me.

This post is sponsored by SEARS FitStudio and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation and sponsored by Sears.

Mamavation Monday

No weight loss. I've been trying to find my way...feeling depressed. I think I'm figuring it out. I've been making good choices and I'm in a regular habit of drinking green smoothies and eating lots of healthy salads. My problem is that before the end of the day I crave junk and usually give in to the craving. It's my mindset that has to change. I've started feeling more positive about things and really do have confidence that I'll lose this weight. I want to try to be about 75% raw foods with some type of healthy cooked food for dinner. I also plan to be more involved in twitter to support my Mamavation Sistas. I haven't been good at that lately because I feel like I'm such a mess that it's strange to encourage others. I guess I shouldn't really look at it that way.

This weeks blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear.

Question: What are your strategies to fit everything into your busy life? Any areas you need to work on?

I'm not good with this. I especially struggle to fit it exercise. I feel like I'm always rushing, but I really think it's an issue of time management. I'm working on it.

Update

So I've been pretty depressed and haven't wanted to write about it. It seems like I'm always writing about how I'm failing at this weight loss thing. It's like I'm trying to find my way. I just want to lose weight and be healthy. I don't want to count calories or points. It's such a psychological thing for me. When I'm "dieting", it becomes such a mind trip for me. I can and have gone all day without eating and not even thought about it because I was busy. Now, if I purposefully restrict myself all I can think about is when can I eat again even if I'm not really hungry. I have been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and drinking green smoothies. I actually really love those things. I just have a carb addiction and don't plan ahead to have good choices available. And it's actually not a good thing to go for several hours and not eat. When that happens I'm just so hungry that I'm a lot less likely to make a good choice. I absolutely will start making myself a priority. The excuse that I'm too busy is not good enough. I'm not too busy to make sure everyone else in my family is taken care of and has what they need. Maybe I need to take some of the focus off of weight loss and put more focus on being a healthier person in general. If I put nutritious food in my body and get more active I will lose weight. This is what I will do.

Mamavation Monday - Life Happens

I've been MIA recently. There have been many personal things that I've had to deal with over the past two weeks. I haven't been online much but just trying to take care of some things. And just to put a cherry on top of everything, my 18 month old daughter, Ava, picked up rotavirus. It's a very nasty virus that can last several days. She did receive the vaccination, but I've learned the hard way that it doesn't provide 100% immunity. We are on day 6 so things should start getting better in the next day or so. I just have to say I didn't know a toddler could have so much diarrhea. The only thing that has kept her from ending up severely dehydrated is that she is wanting to drink constantly.

Clearly, the diet and exercise has fallen by the wayside so I'm no longer participating in the Move and Lose It Challenge. I'm not giving up, though. This is about the rest of my life.

Mamavation Monday/Move It And Lose It

Nothing exciting to report. I'm still playing with raw foods and struggling to get in enough exercise. I worked two double shifts this past week, which made me really tired. My motivation is waning and I've come close to just giving up. Honestly, that is my track record. I just give up. Well, even though this post is two days late, I'm still posting it and I'm not giving up. This is not just about weight loss. This is about becoming a healthier person and making lifestyle changes. I have to make it a priority and figure out how to make it fit with my schedule. I will do it. The scale shows a tad bit of a gain, but it's not enough to bother me.


Here's a picture of a raw soup I made in my vitamix this week. It's a zucchini avocado soup. I actually turned out quite tasty.
So I'll keep working on making better choices and getting it as much exercise as I can. I'll also check in on twitter for extra motivation.

Mamavation Monday/Move It And Lose It

Weight Loss This Week: 1.2 pounds

It would have been more if I had done all the things I planned. I only exercised 2 days this week. I have no excuses other than just not making the time. If I'm going to succeed at this I have to get in the exercise.

I'm doing better at nutrition, but I'm still working on the sweet tooth. I get cravings in the afternoon. I did succeed a few days and didn't give in to the cravings but I did slip a few times. I've been very attracted for the past few weeks to a raw food diet. I've been adding green smoothies and juices but want to do more. I haven't done more out of this fear of failure. I'm going to try to incorporate more raw fruits and vegetables this week. I'm not the type that could do a 100% raw food diet, but I think I could successfully do at least 50% if not more raw.

Goals for the week:

• More raw foods
• At least 5 days of exercise
• Stay positive

I also want to say congratulations to the new Mamavation Moms. I'm so excited for them and can't wait to see their progress.

This week's blogging carnival is brought to use by Fiber Plus. The question of the week is:

How are you getting more fiber in your diet this new year?

I'm definitely getting more fiber by eating a lot more fruits and vegetables. Since I've been drinking the green smoothies, I've become much more "regular" if you get my drift.

Sista Of The Week!

Congratulations to Lena for being chosen as Sista Of The Week. She totally deserves it. She is such a positive person and helpful to others. I love reading her blog posts because she is really kicking butt and getting healthy.

Mamavation Monday

I'm finding it really hard to get motivated to do all the things I need to do. I don't know why, but I think being so busy is at the heart of it. Whenever I get a moment to myself I tend to just want to sit down and do nothing. I didn't exercise a single day all week. I do walk a lot at times for my job, but I don't count that. I weigh myself every day and I actually saw a loss of two pounds at one point during the week and then today I've gained two pounds. My food choices weren't too bad this week, so I'm pointing to PMS for the weight gain as I usually do retain some water the week before my period. It's just so frustrating but I really don't want to be a complainer. I can't stand people who complain all the time. What I tell them is to do something about it. What am I gonna do this week?

Continue with no soda. I'm at almost two weeks off soda.

Exercise at least 5 days this week.

Take my lunch and snacks to work everyday this week.

Write down everything I put in my mouth.

Try my best to post how I'm doing each day on twitter and go there for support as much as possible.

I'd like to say congratulations to all the new Mamavation Moms. I'm so excited to watch their journeys. They are gonna do great.

I want to take part in the Move It & Lose It Challenge. I'm having horrible PMS today and so it's not a good time to be posting before pictures, but here goes.




I can't find a tape measure anywhere in this house, but will take care of measurements tomorrow and add them. I still can't believe I'm putting this out there.