Life of the Frog

Little Tip #1: Zip It Up

2010-01-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

Heavy or thin, we all have a gut we don't like. A smaller person might not like the pooch that pokes out. A chunky girl probably hates her muffin top. I know that as a self-titled 'big girl' I catch a glance of myself in the mirror and wonder, "Why the hell do I look pregnant???"

I have other issues that contribute to that look besides my weight, but the point is - we all want better bellies! One simple way to appear a little thinner is to zip up your gut. It might even slowly tighten your abs, too. (I'm not a doctor or fitness expert so I don't know this for a fact.)

Pretend you have a zipper going from the bottom of your belly to the bottom of your rib cage. As you zip it up, pull in your abs and hold them there for as long as you can. Don't suck in your gut to where you can't breath, though. Other people call it 'engaging your ab muscles'. You should be able to pull your stomach in a little and still breath comfortably.

If you do this in front of a mirror, you should be able to see a difference. You will stand up straighter and look a little thinner.

****froggy****

The Normal Person's Guide to Healthier Living

2010-01-26T03:56:00.000-08:00

So, I'm sick of reading all of the articles about healthy living and weight loss. First of all, they only show thin people in the pictures. DUH! They are already healthy - of course they look good. The only place I've come across that shows realistic versions of REAL people is All You magazine.

The whole point of my rant? I'm going to be posting tips and things that I'm doing as a normal, everyday person. I don't care if you're thin or heavy...just try some new things to be healthy. I'm not going to tell you to eat certain things or to run a marathon. I'm just going to blog about my everyday experience.

I'm a busy mom - I work full-time, go to school online full-time, take care of a family full-time, and try to have a social life when I can. I don't have hours to go to the gym. I don't have all day to cook a fancy healthy meal. I'M NORMAL!

As I post, please feel free to share the link to my page (as you can see, I have a ton of followers..lol). Also, I need feedback and ideas as well.

*****froggy*****

Hello, Small Audience:o)

2010-01-24T19:52:00.001-08:00

I'm going to start some new postings this week. Don't know the topic or theme, yet. I'm sure it will be totally random.

DONE!!!! Now, to carry it upstairs

2009-03-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

And now for your viewing pleasure......

The One....The Only.....

GUITAR CAKE!!!

2009-03-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

So, here's the iced cake so far. Still need to put on the fondant pieces and tweak it a little. Pretty cool. Thanks to Kim for the awesome trick to smooth the icing!

Coming Together??

2009-03-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm moving right along in the cake adventure. Two devil's food and one yellow cake placed together to cut out the guitar shape. I traced Jack's guitar on some paper and placed it over the cake...then took my trusty knife and cut around...and the results...pretty f'ing cool:)

BAKING DAY!!!

2009-03-06T03:56:00.000-08:00

Panic mode is beginning to set in....shoulda done, coulda done hafta do...that sort of thing. I'm thinking I should have baked one cake last night, but I didn't:o( Oh well, It will get done. One's in the oven now while I'm waiting to take Jack to school.

Breathe deep, frog, breath deep...

I really need to clean the counters off so I can have room for the HUGE cake board. ALSO have to shop for last minute stuff on an extremely tight budget. Greg's foot doctor made him stay off work last week for 3 FUCKING DAYS and he has no paid sick time or vacation time available yet, so his check sucked ass this week.

Deep breaths....we can do this.....

Shapes are painted - the ones that need to be - and they look alright...no pics yet. The really thinly rolled ones got soft after the edible paint was applied, but they'll be fine. Who cares if they might break in half and look like total crap.

BREATHE!!

I'm off for my super busy, super long, stressful but <<WORTH IT!!>> day.

***froggy***

My Cake Adventure Part 2

2009-03-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

I have just spent the last 3 hours of my life making shapes with fondant. Kinda like a clay/playdoh adventure:) Even though I'm icing my son's cake with homemade buttercream icing (have I mentioned I make a kick ass buttercream icing?) I want the guitar cake to be somewhat realistic. I took plain white pre-made fondant and shaped it into what you see above.

The things at the very top of the pic are supposed to be the 'thingies' that are vertical on the neck...frets or things between the frets - I don't play guitar.

The little round things are the inlays that are on the frets...some guitars have squares/rectangles. My son's has little bitty round things

The items that resemble nipples (I know, I know) are the little knob things on his guitar and the triangle/tooth shaped things are the things you turn to tune the guitar...I knew what they were called a minute ago, but I am 37 years old and it flew out of my head.

Everything except the knobs and inlay dots will be silver. The rest will stay white. My fingers/hands/wrists are TIRED! I can barely type correctly..lots of re-typing over my errors!!!

I'm scheduled to make the icing (my kick ass buttercream icing) tomorrow. I'll make plain white, tan, maybe some grey/black or something. My mom is making some realy cool chocolates from molds that are shaped like guitars and iPods. Pretty freaking cool!!!

***froggy***

My Cake Adventure Part 1

2009-03-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying that I have NEVER made a cake - Well, I've made basic cakes, but never a ....

pause for dramatic results...

SPECTACULAR SHAPED BIRTHDAY CAKE!

I'm attempting to make a guitar shaped cake for my son's 16th birthday. I think I can, I think I can...you know the drill.

I've purchased the mix, stuff to make the icing ( I make a damn good buttercream icing) and all the colors and stuff needed. I've traced my son's guitar (trying to make it as lifelike as possible). All I forgot was...the cake board big enough to hold it!!!

I work at a 'sheet feeder', which is a place that makes corrugated sheets - NOT CARDBOARD, there is a difference - so I asked for some scrap sheets that were heavy and thick...also known as 500 doublewall in "the biz". I cut it down to the perfect size and covered it in aluminum foil. Since foil is only so wide, I have like 6 sheets going across the board. Did some searching and found some clear cellophane on a roll from, like, 2 holidays ago. Luckily, there was just enough on the roll to cover the entire board. I taped it around the back over the top of the foil and voila!! A homemade cake board!!! That's the crazy pic you see above. It's not a professional job, but who cares?? It will do the job just fine:)

Up next, the cake making begins...

***froggy***

Evolution of the Frog

2009-01-10T06:15:00.001-08:00

It's weird...I was doing dishes last night (no, that's not the weird part, but it is unusual for me to do dishes) and a thought popped into my head. As much as I whine and moan about my current job, I'm VERY comfortable there. Never have I had a job where I can be myself 100%. Sure, in high school jobs I could, but I mean in my adult life.

Working at big offices and call centers, I've always tried to put on a 'professional persona'...almost having 2 people in my head. I remember thinking that way sometimes while I was on those jobs. It's like I had to morph into someone else to be successful and to look ready for the next promotion. I'm sure it was all in my head that I had to be someone else, but that someone else did get promotions and compliments and I was looked up to by a lot of co-workers. Management loved me and wanted my input. I used to think: geez, if these people only knew who and how I really was they'd see the nervous, backwards band-geek on the inside.

Fast forward several years and I finally get a job close to home that actually pays well. Yeah, I'm still the same dual personality at first, but over the last 2 (nearly 3) years, I've melded back into being just me...or maybe a nice mix of my 2 personas. I'm comfortable around management and I can speak my mind and act how I want to act. It's a much smaller office than I was used to (6 direct co-workers instead of 96) and I think that's helped my phsyco mind reconcile with my professional mind.

**froggy**

Tragic love story...

2009-01-05T17:36:00.001-08:00

Caffeine is a lover of mine. Waking early in the morning, seducing me out of bed to partake in all his glory. Morning is when I get my big fix of this amorous friend of mine. One cup...two cups...4 cups..sometimes I make it up to 6 cups if I'm lucky.

Throughout the day, he calls to me...lustfully, I answer the call mid-afternoon. He is my cool, effervescent companion before sleep takes over as my nightly affair.

Alas, I know I must stop the temptation, so I can enjoy my stronger affair with sleep. I will only see my future ex-lover in the morning when sleep leaves me all alone. Yes, I will be tempted and may even give in to my strong desire for my 'afternoon delight', but I will try so hard to make it a nice little wake-up call of only 2 cups...drastic reduction that will be heartbreaking for my lover and for me.

**froggy** (lack of afternoon and evening caffeine has rendered me temporarily insame)

Thoughts on New Years Resolutions

2009-01-01T11:08:00.001-08:00

Let's get it out of the way....HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What is it about the new year and resolutions? Might be that I'm older and wiser, but I just don't get it. When I think of resolutions, I think of people vowing to exercise more, eat better, take care of themselves more, etc. I also think of the fact that by February, the majority of them will have given up. I used to be among those 'resolutioners' every freaking year. Kind of gets depressing when you think of all the coulda shoulda woulda moments in life. How about we change the whole resolution deal.

Hear me out. Instead of waiting for New Year's Day and promising yourself a lot of hard to do, white-knuckling things, just treat everyday like new years. Wake up every morning and name some things you vow to do better. A daily renewal is much better than a once a year 'hope I can hang on for more than a month' goal.

Today, I vow to:
Take care of myself by eating reasonably and doing a nice pedicure/manicure and allowing myself to quit trying to please every freaking person on the planet

Take care of my dogs by brushing their coats and giving them lots of affection

Take care of my son by making sure he eats a healthy breakfast and knows how proud I am of him

Take care of my husband by loving him despite his shortcomings and to forget about past problems instead of thinking about them all day.

Take care of my house by making a plan of action for housework and maintenance

How about you? What will be your daily renewal promise to yourself?

*froggy*

Election coming up

2008-10-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to get registered and vote in November! It's your right and duty to vote and you can't complain about how things are unless you have put in your two cents. Get informed and make a choice.

2008-10-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister Kristy is visiting this weekend from The Twin Cities. Now, I know St.Paul is one twin, but I have no idea the other. I'm not that up on states and cities lately. Anyway, she's an artist and so is her boyfriend. Awesome artists - as you can see from one of Kristy's peices to the side. She has a whole series of these. I was lucky enough that she mailed me one!! I absolutely love it. Frank creates these amazing mylar?? and light pics of power lines. He has a deep explanation as to why he's drawn to it, but I can't do it justice.

If only I could be as talented!!

2008-09-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

It's September and it's getting chilly. I like the cool air, but not COLD air. I can handle the cool days up until about November, then it's to fucking much to handle.

Fall brings on a crisp change - environmentally, emotionally, physically - and it always feels like a time of renewal for me. Maybe it just take me back to my childhood when we got new clothes and school was starting. It was like starting over again every year with friends, teachers, etc. It was also a time of harvesting in our huge garden - not my favorite activity. At least it wasn't a sweltering hundred degrees like when it was summer and we had to lug gallon jugs of water to the garden to weed and water. I hated weeding that fucking garden, but it kept us four kids fed. Anyway, getting the food from the garden was one of the many transitions into winter.

Enough with looking back and waxing on. This fall is exciting because my son is playing football FINALLY! I've never been one to want my kid to play, but he's tried other sports and activities and he's never really been INTO it. I never expected it, but he absolutely loves football! He's pretty good for his first year and I'm glad he's found something he loves. That's a goal of a parent - to guide your child into a life of doing what they love.

I've been walking my dogs 15 minutes a day on most days like my doctors told me. They haven't officially diagnosed me, but I'm borderline diabetic. That stems from the medicine I'm on for my transplant and exacerbated by my weight and inactivity. I'm NOT going to have a lot of complications with this transplant. I've had it for nearly 6 years (November 23rd) and I'm not going to fuck it up. I've gotten lazy in the last few years, especially since I started working again, and I'm not going to let it continue. My doc said to just work on 15 minutes and no more. If I want to do more, fine. If I don't want to do anything - tough shit - do 15 minutes and be done with it.

Froggychick

My Kidney and I

2008-09-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

About 6 years ago, I was lucky enough to receive a kidney transplant. My new kidney came from a 17 year old girl from a town about 100 miles away. I've had some contact with her family and I know that she was a very special person, and I'm honored to help her live on.

Tomorrow, I will be walking in The National Kidney Foundation Kidney Walk at Callaway Park in Elwood. I'm trying to help raise money for kidney disease/health awareness. More people than you realize have kidney disease. Some of it is genetic - as is my case - and some of it can be prevented. If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, you can control these issues to prevent damage to your kidneys. Let me tell you, I would love to have been able to prevent my kidney failure if I could have and I know some people with diabetes who could care less about controlling it the way they should. Same goes for blood pressure...check it often and get medicated if needed!

My wonderful husband attempted to give me one of his kidneys 8 years ago, but my body rejected it within 7 days. I kinda joke that my body didn't have enough beer residue to entice the kidney to stay. It was devastating, though, to realize that he went though all that he did only to have my body throw it in the garbage. Things happen for a reason and I knew it would be ok.

I was on peritoneal dialysis for about a year and a half when I got the call on a Saturday morning. It was terrible thinking that someone had to die for me to live a more free life. I know that kidney failure is bad, but it's not as bad as needing a heart or a lung transplant. At least I could go on dialysis to keep living.

So anyway, wish me luck on the walk tomorrow...5K. I'm not in the best shape, but I can do this.

Froggychick

Day One...the beginning

2008-09-11T18:53:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my Froggy world. I'm Katrina...nice to meet you:) I'm a working mom, a loving and stubborn wife and the best procrastinator in the world. My son is 15 and is playing football this year for the first time - pretty good for a beginner if you ask me. My husband is a wonderful guy who has his issues, but we are working through them together. I mean, who doesn't have issues? I know I have a lot - and I mean a lot!!!

We have two dogs in our life right now: a boxer named Ollie and a terrier mix/mutt named Ginger. Ollie is the smart, fun-loving dog and Ginger is...well, ginger is 'special'. She's fun and loving, but just a little off in the head.

I work the wonderful afternoon shift at my job: 11am to 7pm. Takes up my whole freakin' day! It's not my favorite place to be, but it's close to home and pays well. The people are pretty nice. I've been employed there for 2 1/2 years and I've adjusted.

I'm addicted to online gaming, shoes, food, sex and money. You can never have too much of any of those!

So, it's great to be here and I hope to have at least a few people stop by and read my blog...I'm not really too boring, I promise!

Froggychick