Starbucks Double Shot at 8 o'clock

Equals Bad Idea.

I have literally been up all night.  I watched five- yes, one, two, three, four, fiiiiivvvveeeeeee, episodes of 16 and Pregnant on Mtv.  I showered, because I didn't yesterday and maybe that's the trick, and yet- here I am.  Blogging at 6:26 a.m.

I can't even tell you the last time I was awake at this hour, at either end of a stretch of sleep.  It's been awhile.  The sad part is that I'm not really sure what to do now.  Do I stay up all day?  Maybe make a run to Starbucks while the one kid who's home is still asleep?  Or do I go lay down?  And risk a deep, unending sleep?  With a six-year-old who has watched enough TV this summer vacation?

Hmmm, tough decisions.  Right now I just have that sicky feeling I used to get when I worked the night shift at Meijer.  The feeling where the only thing that kept you pricing the Ortho products for the ad was the idea that very soon you could crawl into your own bed and sleep.  But that was before kids.  A Saturday with kids.  A Saturday with a husband who has to work today.  Oh and did I mention that I am smart enough to know that if I sleep too long I will be in the same boat this time tomorrow, typing along to her messed up internal clock?

Being a grown up is hard.  But I also don't envy those girls I spent five hours watching either.  If my baby cries it will be because her crazy Mama won't get out of bed because she stayed up all night.  Any my baby knows how to operate the remote.

Am I... Nesting?

What. The. Hell.  I mean... Hell?

I have cleaned more in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years, or so it seems.  Purge, purge, purge, I'm in the mood to de-clutter.  It's amazing what I can collect, and how it stresses me out.  But it also reminds me of nesting.  You know, when you're pregnant and suddenly feel that EVERYTHING MUST BE IN ORDER OR I WILL NEVER REST AGAIN.

For example, did you know that I am much more apt to scrapbook if I have less scrapbook paraphernalia all around?  Less tools and supplies means I'm not so overwhelmed and can actually picture myself scrapping the pictures I have printed before I migrate over to digital.  Whew, it feels good.

Plus my kids are older and oddly, they seem to have less stuff.  As a result of having less stuff, I get more work done because I am not surrounded by stuff.  I hate stuff.

As a book reviewer, a dream job I might add, I am surrounded by books, but even that can stress me out if they are not in some kind of order.

All of this nesting, cleaning, purging, sorting, etc. has kept me from blogging!  See how I work?  Craaa-zzzyyyy.

It's not too late to pledge!

I have many friends who are big fans of The Biggest Loser.  They love that show.

And if you have read my blog lately you know that I am on a quest to lose weight and get healthy by making better food choices and by moving more. 

In May, I heard about the Pound for Pound Challenge where the Kroger Co. Family of Stores, General Mills, NBC's hit TV Show “The Biggest Loser” and other key sponsors are partnering to donate up to $1,080,000 to Feeding America® this year.

It made complete sense to me to make the pledge.  I was already on the quest and for every pound I pledged to lose through June 30, 2010 the Pound For Pound Challenge will donate 14¢ to Feeding America® — enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a local food bank.  Which, in our area is Gleaners.  And in my case was 20 pounds.  Now I am not going to tell you if I made it or not- I have until Wednesday to see...

But I do know that through this challenge I have discovered some new products, courtesy of Kroger and General Mills.  As the official supplier of the Biggest Loser Ranch and partner of the Pound for Pound Challenge, the Kroger Family of Stores wants to help you achieve your goals. If you’re a fan of the Biggest Loser, you may have seen several great General Mills products featured on the show. These products, including Yoplait Greek yogurt, Total, and Multigrain Cheerios, are available at your local Kroger Family of Stores and can help you stick to your weight management plan.

Kroger and MyBlogSpark sent me a $30 gift card to try out these products featured on the show.  I found that I am a big fan of LaraBars.  They are very filling, and are made from REAL products.  In fact each one has three to four ingredients, and I know what each of them is!  I was also able to try a few Muir Glen products, as well as a few products from General Mills and Yoplait.  It's been a great opportunity to help my community, help myself, and try out a few new things in the process.  Now, I just have to see how I did, check me out later this week :)

In the meantime, it's not too late!!!  You too, can go and make a pound for pound pledge.  Just visit the Pound for Pound Challenge and make a pledge to help your community and you!

Disclosure:  I was provided a gift card and information by the Kroger Family of Stores and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.  My opinion of these products is mine and mine alone.  I was not influenced by anyone at any time.