rebuilding the temple: complete overhaul. (Minimize Yo' Butt)

Anxiety attacks truly suck.

I know because I've had them.  Recently.  In the middle of the night.  When I really should've been asleep and dreaming of my husband or my pretend boyfriend Gerard Butler.  Or cheesecake.

No big surprise though.  I've not been taking care of myself.  You see, I've been much too busy.  The "I haven't had time to go to the bathroom and put it off so long I actually forgot I had to go" type of busy.

You know.  You read my last post, right?

Then, when I take on too much, I get stressed.  When I get stressed, I fall back on old familiar patterns and coping mechanisms.

And unfortunately, my coping mechanisms include...
- the sugar-, cream-, and caffeine-charged Timmie's iced capps (which are definitely my weapon of choice in the 36C heat of late) -- yummy, but OMG, SO UNHEALTHY!
- Starbuck's mocha coconut frappucino -- which I can at least order decaf... with, um, extra whip.  Stop laughing.
- going to bed at 11 with my laptop trying to "catchup", instead of going to bed at 9 with a deliciously smutty romance novel and drifting off to sleep with images of hot bodice-ripping dudes dancing in my brain.
- pandesal, cheese pizza, rye toast with grape jam, too much rich and RICE... lots and lots of rice... because, you know, filipina.
- and so on, and so on, and so on... ahem...

Stress, crappy food, no rest, and the no-time-to-vent-via-blog thing all make Nenette something something.

Yes, "go crazy".  My old symptoms of short-tempered-ness, exhaustion, brain-fog, weight gain, insomnia, bad skin, and menstrual problems ARE. STILL. HERE.  Now with added anxiety attacks!  Don't I sound HAWT?!

My naturopath Dr. C is going to give me the gears next week because she made me promise to eat right, exercise, decrease stressors and relax more in order for my adrenals to heal.  And clearly I haven't been doing any of that... 

Until now...

I'll be working on decreasing stressors shortly, and until I do, I won't be relaxing much.  So, that leaves, eating right and exercising.  And that I can do.

Oh look!  I have been!

For the past week, I've joined Faith, Jenny, Rachel, Travis, and the whole life-improvement gang to kick our asses into shape and get healthy through Faith's Minimize Yo' Butt 6-week Fitness Challenge.

Goal: Lose 10 pounds.  I want to lose 20 in total, but 10 is good for 6 weeks.

How: Starting July 18, I have been eating as Paleo/Primal as I can by cutting out:

• grains... bread, pasta, etc.  (I had 1 bowl of Chocolate Cheerios on Monday.  Too sweet!)
• all sweeteners, except some honey.
• carby veggies like potatoes.
• legumes.
• dairy... cheese, milk, etc.  (I had greek yogurt once this past week though.)

I've been focusing on eating beef, pork, fish, poultry, and lots of vegetable matter.  Water and green tea only as beverages... and lots of it!

For exercise, I'll be doing intervals and body weight workouts... which I hope to start doing soon... you know, time permitting.

Yes, I've done this before... so many, many, manymanymany times before, but this time I'm thinking of it as a complete lifestyle change, something I can continue through all seasons and not just during the summer.  I can do it with my family, by just making bread/rice/pasta available for the non-primals.

Oh, and this time, I've got a BEFORE shot!  AAACK!!!

I can do this.  Totally.  I can.  Really.

I'll update often.  Stay tuned.

Getting Into Trouble? Maybe.

I've been...

• loving poached free-run eggs and organic strawberries for breakfast. 
• working -- to be honest, much more than I should be to maintain optimal health.
• going to sleep with my laptop instead of my usual smutty romance novel.
• shopping madly all over town for pieces for my soon-to-be spa bathroom.
• indulging in bacon.
• planning a birthday party for a 9yo boy who loves to race.
• planning a birthday party for a 7yo girl who loves to bounce.
• slathering on the coconut oil.
• weeding and beautifying my kids' beloved school.
• calling other parents to help keep our kids' school looking gorgeously green all summer long. 
• cruising to family summer destinations in our TARDIS.
• taking my son to his daily speech therapy sessions with his very pretty therapist.
• singing out loud to awesome songs on the car radio.
• journeying through the world of Harry Potter from start to finish.
• loving the lush green foliage and vibrant blooms in my garden.
• watching the mouldy disaster which was my bathroom vanish.  Yippee!
• crushing on superhot superheroes.
  
• still struggling with extremes of hormone-induced emotions.
• savouring way too many Timmie's iced capps.
• anticipating beautiful white diningroom walls.
• not tweeting enough.
• kickstarting a new healthy primal/paleo lifeplan.
• spending crazy girl time with the bff.
• staying cool in 36C/48C with the humidex.
• dreaming of strawberry picking with my beautiful little girl.
• planning on blogging more.  Really.  I promise.

I did this once before in 2009 if you want to have a look.

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Where I'm From.

It's late, but I finally did it!  I found this meme forever ago at Loukia's, but it originates here.   Hope you enjoy another peek into the mind of Nenette.  May it not scare you too much.

I am from sandos and tsinelas, from banana seat bikes, from watching the Electric Company, The Flinstones, and Sonny & Cher, and warm buttered pandesal and ensaymada with a generous sprinkling of sugar.

I am from The Village People, Donna Summer, and Donny & Marie.   I am from Duran Duran, Madonna, and U2 back when they were considered "alternative".  I am from "Do They Know It's Christmas?", "Tears Are Not Enough", and "We Are The World".

I am from watching Friday Night Videos, Tales from the Dark Side, and SCTV.  All in a row.

I am from Merlin, Pop-o-Matic Trouble, and Simon.

I am from the 2-story house on Sampaloc with a chicken coop outside under the front stairs, street vendors selling cashews, warm island tropics I will never forget.  I am from the 2-story grey house on Arlington Street with the wood-panelled basement, bedroom walls covered with pictures of boys with turned up collars from BOP and Tiger Beat.

I am from the sampaghita in front of my grandmother's house in Pandan and the lilac bushes on my way to school.

I am from saying Grace before meals, and thick wavy black hair, from Pilar and Illuminada and Josefina, and cousins nicknamed -- believe it or not -- Bong-Bong, Weng-Weng, Jhun-Jhun, and Jhet-Jhet.

I am from the quick tempers, the genuine desire to help our friends, and the green thumbs that make things grow.

From "You are our first grandchild so you're extra special" and "You are the example to your younger cousins" and "You need to wear lipstick -- you look dead."

I am from praying the rosary every Sunday and playing the organ in church choir, from 12 grapes eaten at the stroke of midnight on New Years, from Noche Buena on Christmas Morning just before going back to church.  Again.

I am from statues of the Virgin Mary and painted portraits of Jesus all over the house that would freak me out because it was like he was watching EVERYTHING I DID.

I'm from Manila, The Philippines, milagrosa rice and chicken adobo, and pancit that my grandmother would cook not only for special occasions but because she loved me and knew it was my favourite.

{image: Tangled Noodle)

From the family with the 12 girls and boys, the grandfather who would hide his cigarettes behind the bookshelf, and the other grandfather whose 2nd wife was younger than his eldest grandchild.

I am from a large case in my parents' basement filled with 8mm films, black and white photos from the 60s, and artwork and carvings from The Philippines to help me remember where I'm from wherever I decide to go.

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Summer Resolutions: Like New Year's Except Without Parkas.

It's the first official week of summer holidays.  Woohoo!

Behind us are the last day of school, Friday's Canada Day holiday, and my son's 9th birthday and my daughter's 7th birthday complete with dinners and presents -- and a couple of hours petting (and narrowly avoiding adopting several varieties of) animals at Petland.
And ahead of us are 2 months of sleeping in... staying up late... hanging at the zoo... day camp... being mallrats... splashing around at the beach... and doing what we damn well feel like, whenever we damn well feel like.  Dammit.

Okay, here are just a few things I damn well want to feel like doing...

Kickstart my healthy eating once and for all. Starting this week, I'll be doing a 30 Day Primal Challenge cum moderate CRON.

Watch every episode of the new season of Torchwood.  Because it's the only thing keeping me from screaming naked through the neighbourhood like the Incredible Hulk (I may even paint myself green) due to Doctor Who withdrawal.

Drink Sangria on a patio with Roomie and friends. I haven't done this in years!

Finish reading Andrew Davidson's Gargoyle, then pass it on to a friend.  I scored a copy of this book from my friend Alex.  She and her husband are both friends of the author who recently launched 500 Gargoyles, a FB page that tracks the movement of 500 copies of the book from reader to reader across the globe.

Watch as many summer movies as I can.  Alone and with my family.  Without popcorn or cotton candy.

Get professional pedicures with Mini.

Paint the diningroom.  Pretty white.

Have a garage sale.

Rearrange the master bedroom furniture.  The conversation went like this...
Me: "Honey, why have we never put the bed against this wall?"
Roomie: "You know, I don't know."
Me: "Maybe we should."
Roomie: "Okay."

Wear more dresses.  Like this new favourite of mine from Old Navy.  My bff has been dragging me out shopping lately, much to Roomie's joy -- he wants to see me in sundresses this summer.

Go to our regular family summer haunts. Lower Fort Garry, Tinkertown, Skinners at Lockport, etc.

What are your plans for the summer?