Well, I have been remiss in posting for a few days but I have been working my own weird little program.
Unfortunately my program did not include a sinus infection, reactive airway/asthma issues and antibiotics. Despite that I am actually down 1.2 pounds this week. Added to the 1.6 I was down last week and I am very happy with the current results on the scale.
I need to work on my portions a bit more and my food choices overall. There have been a lot of meals out and that has to stop. The garden and other things are keeping me more active but I still need to get a true exercise program in place.
So all in all, positive steps with more work to do.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sadness and a heavy heart
I do not like to use the word HATE. It is such a strong word and carries such a heavy meaning that I try really hard to keep it out of my everyday conversation.
However, I have to say that I truly and completely HATE cancer. It is such a cruel disease in whatever form it takes.
In the last two days I have learned of the passing of two very dear souls. One was a wonderful woman that I only knew through her posts on Scrapshare and the scrapbooking work she shared with us. I understand from those who knew her "in real life" that she was as warm, funny and giving in person as she was online. She fought a galant and courageous fight. Our online community held our collective breath over each of her posts in recent months, hoping for a miracle. Sadly, that miracle did not come to fruition and we lost Amy much too soon.
Today I received the news that a wonderful man who has been a pillar of our 4-H community for many, many years lost his battle with stomach cancer. This man gave hours and hours of his time to helping the youth of our county learn valuable lessons in many areas of the 4-H program. He gave of his time selflessly and without care because he knew that these children he was helping are our future. He was honored just this past November with the 4-H Distinguished Service Award at our annual Leader's Dinner.
Amy shared something a few months ago that really touched my heart and it seems even more meaningful now.
Such profound words and something I will strive to remember for a lifetime.
Please hug your family and friends today. They are so important.
However, I have to say that I truly and completely HATE cancer. It is such a cruel disease in whatever form it takes.
In the last two days I have learned of the passing of two very dear souls. One was a wonderful woman that I only knew through her posts on Scrapshare and the scrapbooking work she shared with us. I understand from those who knew her "in real life" that she was as warm, funny and giving in person as she was online. She fought a galant and courageous fight. Our online community held our collective breath over each of her posts in recent months, hoping for a miracle. Sadly, that miracle did not come to fruition and we lost Amy much too soon.
Today I received the news that a wonderful man who has been a pillar of our 4-H community for many, many years lost his battle with stomach cancer. This man gave hours and hours of his time to helping the youth of our county learn valuable lessons in many areas of the 4-H program. He gave of his time selflessly and without care because he knew that these children he was helping are our future. He was honored just this past November with the 4-H Distinguished Service Award at our annual Leader's Dinner.
Amy shared something a few months ago that really touched my heart and it seems even more meaningful now.
"I perceive myself having bad days all.the.time. But you know what?They're NOT bad days. They're one more day I get to spend withmy family. One more day I can tell them I love them. One more day...I can get hugs and kisses. So see, they're NOT bad days. They're BLESSED days."
Such profound words and something I will strive to remember for a lifetime.
Please hug your family and friends today. They are so important.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Determining goals
The first "Looker" challenge:
Let's Know Where We Are So We Know Where to Go.
So where am I? And where do I want to go?
I am currently a laptop/internet/TV junkie who needs to clean up her act. That is true of many parts of my life but my health/body is getting top billing right now. My weight is the highest it has ever been - 225 pounds. That is a lot to carry around on my 5'2" frame. It must change.
So where do I want to go in the next 8 weeks?
I want to set attainable goals so my desires have to be fairly simple to start. I want to improve my stamina, elevate my eating and lower my body weight. Sounds simple right? Yeah not so much. Apparently those are lofty goals. So I need to define them better.
Improve stamina - I want to be able to walk for 30 minutes at a 15 minute mile pace. That means that I should be able to walk to the kids' school and back in 30 minutes. I can't do that right now so I have to get moving.
Elevate my eating - I want to increase my fruit and vegetable intake from the one to two a day I get now to 4 to 5 a day by the end of the challenge. As this is summertime, that should not be hard, well except for the fact that the weather we are having here in the PNW is preventing me from planting my garden.
Lower my body weight - This is the biggie. This is the one that matters. This is the one that is hardest to do. So while I want to set some wild number as my goal, I must be realistic. A realistic goal for me is 1 pound a week so I am going to set my goal for 8 pounds over the next 8 weeks.
My biggest issue tends to be impulse purchases at the store. A candy bar here, a box of Mike and Ikes there, oh a stop at the deli won't hurt. So I need to plan better. A menu and shopping list before going to the store. A side benefit of that would be a savings in cash as well. Plan outings to avoid meal times or plan and pack accordingly. Summer is a busy time for our family so all of these little things will help me help myself and my family be better on track.
Sarah, one of the unofficial leaders of our merry band of girth reducers, ended her post with the following:
Let's Know Where We Are So We Know Where to Go.
So where am I? And where do I want to go?
I am currently a laptop/internet/TV junkie who needs to clean up her act. That is true of many parts of my life but my health/body is getting top billing right now. My weight is the highest it has ever been - 225 pounds. That is a lot to carry around on my 5'2" frame. It must change.
So where do I want to go in the next 8 weeks?
I want to set attainable goals so my desires have to be fairly simple to start. I want to improve my stamina, elevate my eating and lower my body weight. Sounds simple right? Yeah not so much. Apparently those are lofty goals. So I need to define them better.
Improve stamina - I want to be able to walk for 30 minutes at a 15 minute mile pace. That means that I should be able to walk to the kids' school and back in 30 minutes. I can't do that right now so I have to get moving.
Elevate my eating - I want to increase my fruit and vegetable intake from the one to two a day I get now to 4 to 5 a day by the end of the challenge. As this is summertime, that should not be hard, well except for the fact that the weather we are having here in the PNW is preventing me from planting my garden.
Lower my body weight - This is the biggie. This is the one that matters. This is the one that is hardest to do. So while I want to set some wild number as my goal, I must be realistic. A realistic goal for me is 1 pound a week so I am going to set my goal for 8 pounds over the next 8 weeks.
My biggest issue tends to be impulse purchases at the store. A candy bar here, a box of Mike and Ikes there, oh a stop at the deli won't hurt. So I need to plan better. A menu and shopping list before going to the store. A side benefit of that would be a savings in cash as well. Plan outings to avoid meal times or plan and pack accordingly. Summer is a busy time for our family so all of these little things will help me help myself and my family be better on track.
Sarah, one of the unofficial leaders of our merry band of girth reducers, ended her post with the following:
You'll often hear Elaine and I talk about "eating our frog" .. MarkSo my frog is before me. For today it is getting up and getting moving. I am doing that by cleaning house to start with. No I mean literally, no figuratively. I need to clean house. Do you have any idea how many calories you can burn cleaning a filthy house like I have? There is picking up and running things to appropriate places and vacuuming and sweeping and moping to be done. Clothes folding and lifting dishes to their spots. Yep, I am going to get moving and many areas of my life are going to benefit from it. GO EAT YOUR FROG!!
Twain asked if you had to eat a live frog every day, would you put it
off and spend the whole day dreading it? Or would you gulp it down at
the first opportunity so you'd have the rest of your day? EAT YOUR
FROG.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A new challenge
I am a bad blogger. I know it and my friends who come here occasionally looking for an update know it.
For that I apologize. I am sorry I am such a slacker.
My excuse? Life has gotten in the way. There has been so much going on in the last few months and the next few look to be just as crazy.
However, I am working on a new me and have joined a bunch of other women in a challenge that will hopefully keep me focused on that goal. We are all a bit tired of our increasing......errrr...... fluff?, girth?..... whatever word you would like to through in there and we are bent on changing it over the next 8 weeks or so. It is called "Momma was a Looker" challenge and was started when my Scrapshare buddy Elaine got together with a friend of her's and decided to do something for themselves to deal with their.... errr.....girth..... and then they invited their friends to join them. So, since I need the motivation, encouragement and support, I joined them.
My plan is to update this blog regularly over the next few weeks with info about what I am doing and how it is working. Summer is upon us and it is time for me to lower the jiggle factor a bit.
For that I apologize. I am sorry I am such a slacker.
My excuse? Life has gotten in the way. There has been so much going on in the last few months and the next few look to be just as crazy.
However, I am working on a new me and have joined a bunch of other women in a challenge that will hopefully keep me focused on that goal. We are all a bit tired of our increasing......errrr...... fluff?, girth?..... whatever word you would like to through in there and we are bent on changing it over the next 8 weeks or so. It is called "Momma was a Looker" challenge and was started when my Scrapshare buddy Elaine got together with a friend of her's and decided to do something for themselves to deal with their.... errr.....girth..... and then they invited their friends to join them. So, since I need the motivation, encouragement and support, I joined them.
My plan is to update this blog regularly over the next few weeks with info about what I am doing and how it is working. Summer is upon us and it is time for me to lower the jiggle factor a bit.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Where did the mojo go?
It is so sad.
I have lost my mojo.
I have not scrapbooked much in months. I keep saying I want to but it is all talk. I have lost that elusive excitement that gets pages done.
So if you have seen my mojo, could you please send it back home please?
Thank you. That is all.
I have lost my mojo.
I have not scrapbooked much in months. I keep saying I want to but it is all talk. I have lost that elusive excitement that gets pages done.
So if you have seen my mojo, could you please send it back home please?
Thank you. That is all.
Monday, February 1, 2010
New month
It is a new month. Where did January go?
So with the beginning of a new month upon us, it is time to reassess the goals I set out for myself for 2010.
Recap from last month:
Eating better ~ Plan meals for each week including using one new healthy recipe each week.
Exercise ~ WiiFit or WiiFitPlus 3 mornings each week, walk either on treadmill or outside 2 mornings/afternoons each week.
Increase daily water intake from nothing (now) to at least 32 ounces by the end of the month.
Financial ~ Read Dave Ramsey's TMM book when it arrives from Angie. Run analysis in Quicken and begin budget in Excel.
Family ~ January 4 - 9 ~ Find and reread Love and Logic. Encourage the use of quiet voices in the house.
House ~ Make list of cleaning goals, get caught up on Flylady emails and stay current with them, read up on the Organized Home website and work on a plan. Get and stay caught up with dishes and keep kitchen table cleared off daily.
Fun time ~ Go back and do all the 12 of 12 layouts for last year. Make the snowman earrings that are still on project list from last year. Scrapbook Christmas. Print school pictures and send out to family.
Blog about progress at least 3 days each week. Blog about one to two good things each day.
As I look back over the month I have achieved some good things and fell down on several others. I increased the amount of time I spent exercising in the first three weeks of the month but fell down a bit this last week. The sore toe that I am nursing is part of that but the other part is sheer lack of desire. As for cooking more healthy meals, I have tried but have not been as successful as I had hoped to be. This will continue to be a work in progress. I am always on the lookout for recipes that will work with my family's particular set of weird food likes/dislikes and allergies/sensitivities while still being healthy and tasting good. I have done a much better job with water intake and will continue to work on that as well.
On the financial front, we are making some positive steps in getting rid of some credit card debit and getting the budget under control. However, there are still plenty of steps to take. I have had a really hard time getting an accurate budget set up. I did receive a copy of TMM from a friend but have not had an easy time getting started reading it. That is a goal for the first half of this month, read the book!!
The rest of the goals are a work in progress. Some days are better than others in regards to the dishes. It depends some on the girls' and their schedules. Mondays are the hardest. I have done a good job of keeping up with the laundry but many other tasks continue to make me want to just go take a nap.
All in all I have made some progress but not as much as I would like. It is easy to lose sight of the big picture on a day to day basis. I will continue to work on it.
So with the beginning of a new month upon us, it is time to reassess the goals I set out for myself for 2010.
Recap from last month:
Eating better ~ Plan meals for each week including using one new healthy recipe each week.
Exercise ~ WiiFit or WiiFitPlus 3 mornings each week, walk either on treadmill or outside 2 mornings/afternoons each week.
Increase daily water intake from nothing (now) to at least 32 ounces by the end of the month.
Financial ~ Read Dave Ramsey's TMM book when it arrives from Angie. Run analysis in Quicken and begin budget in Excel.
Family ~ January 4 - 9 ~ Find and reread Love and Logic. Encourage the use of quiet voices in the house.
House ~ Make list of cleaning goals, get caught up on Flylady emails and stay current with them, read up on the Organized Home website and work on a plan. Get and stay caught up with dishes and keep kitchen table cleared off daily.
Fun time ~ Go back and do all the 12 of 12 layouts for last year. Make the snowman earrings that are still on project list from last year. Scrapbook Christmas. Print school pictures and send out to family.
Blog about progress at least 3 days each week. Blog about one to two good things each day.
As I look back over the month I have achieved some good things and fell down on several others. I increased the amount of time I spent exercising in the first three weeks of the month but fell down a bit this last week. The sore toe that I am nursing is part of that but the other part is sheer lack of desire. As for cooking more healthy meals, I have tried but have not been as successful as I had hoped to be. This will continue to be a work in progress. I am always on the lookout for recipes that will work with my family's particular set of weird food likes/dislikes and allergies/sensitivities while still being healthy and tasting good. I have done a much better job with water intake and will continue to work on that as well.
On the financial front, we are making some positive steps in getting rid of some credit card debit and getting the budget under control. However, there are still plenty of steps to take. I have had a really hard time getting an accurate budget set up. I did receive a copy of TMM from a friend but have not had an easy time getting started reading it. That is a goal for the first half of this month, read the book!!
The rest of the goals are a work in progress. Some days are better than others in regards to the dishes. It depends some on the girls' and their schedules. Mondays are the hardest. I have done a good job of keeping up with the laundry but many other tasks continue to make me want to just go take a nap.
All in all I have made some progress but not as much as I would like. It is easy to lose sight of the big picture on a day to day basis. I will continue to work on it.
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