January Goals

So I'm not exactly making New Year's resolutions this year.  I'm going to try and set goals each month. Goals for January:

1. Wear my retainers every day.  Tejal is doing invisalign, and it really inspired me to start wearing my retainers.  My teeth are killing me, but I'm committing to wear the retainers every day this month.
2. Finish my mom's hooded scarf.  I need to get knitting so that I can give it to her next week.
3. Exercise 3 times a week.  I have a problem with consistency.  I am a binger.  I'll go without exercising for 2 months, then exercise every day for a week then go weeks without exercising again.  I don't really enjoy exercise, but I need to learn to make it part of my (currently non-existent) routine.
4. Read a book.  A real book, not a graphic novel or children's picture book.  I have one checked out from the library right now.  I'm confident I can handle this goal.

That's it for now--that's plenty to deal with. We'll see how I do.

Happy Spring!

It has been warm here for a while, and now it is officially Spring. I've been thinking about things that I'd like to get done before the Summer.

1. Get back down to 142.5. I was very stable there for a very long time. I have 4 pounds to go.

2. Go to the drive in.

3. Complete at least 1 sewing project.

4. Be more productive with my downtime at work. I need to practice my Hebrew, knit, do something other than surf the web.

5. Go on a couple of excursions. This one will be easy. We will probably do the cherry blossoms this weekend and Longwood Gardens next. I'll have to figure out one other place we can visit this Spring.

I think that's enough for now.....

Goals for 2012

1. Get back to 140 lb. I have a plan, and I'm going to stick with it. I have so many reasons to get back in shape....and no excuses. We are having a weight loss challenge at work--that gives me extra motivation.

2. Complete one sewing project. I have lots of sewing projects I'd like to do--I need to start by just completing one.

3. Go to NYC twice.There's no such thing as too many pairs of shoes. And I absolutely love eating in NYC.

4. Take reusable bags to the grocery store. I never take the reusable bags I have--and I end up with a ton of  plastic bags all over the pantry. I recycled a huge batch of bags, and now I need to stop bringing more into the house.

5. Put things away. I have a tendency to just dump things on the floor, and then our house turns into a crap-hole. I'm going to work at putting things away instead of just dropping them wherever.

Last Year's Goals

Looking back at last year's goals it looks like I accomplished about half of them.

I finished the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and I finished reading a novel in Spanish. I read El Alquimista. I wanted to read a book originally written in Spanish, and I already had this one so I read it. Turns out it was originally in Portuguese. Oops. Close enough. I really enjoyed the book. It was about learning to listen to your heart and the universe in order to fulfill your destiny.

I finished more than two knitting projects. And I've already started my first one of this year.

We went to the Drive In, and to New York City. I'm not sure if we went to the Drive In three times, but I did enjoy the times we went, and I went to NYC twice and got me some boots!

I did not get back to 140 lb. In fact I'm starting off the year just about where I was last year. I'll give it a real try this year.

And I didn't make any progress on the rest of the goals. Time for some new ones.

Looking Back: Goals for 2011

I'm looking back at my goals for 2011. I've accomplished two of my goals: I've finished the Dark Tower series, and I've gone to the drive in more than three times this year. I've worked on a couple of others--I've finished one knitting project, and I've gone to NYC once. I think the next thing I need to work on is reading a book in Spanish. I don't think I'm even going to try reading (again) the book I have. I'm going to look for something simpler. I need to check and see if they have something at the library.

I don't think I'll get to NYC three times this year. Probably just twice. I think two out of three is enough to call that a goal accomplished. I weigh less today than I did when I wrote the goals post on January 1st, but I'm still not down to 140.

I haven't accomplished all my goals, but the year isn't over yet.

Goals for 2011

1. Finish The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I thought I had three books left, but I only have two. Still, they total 1600+ pages in paperback. I just got book VI and it is only 411 pages in hard cover.

2. Read a book in Spanish. Back in college I read Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez and really enjoyed it. I picked up Amor en los Tiempos de Cólera a few years ago, but I haven't been able to get through it. I will give it another go, and if I don't get anywhere I'll try a different book.

3. Finish two knitting projects. I'm about half-way through a project I've been working on for Tejal. I said I'd have it done by Christmas, but I neglected it for a few months. I'd like to get that finished up in the next month, and I'm not sure what I'll make after that. I want a new hat and scarf, so I might work on that.

4. Get back to 140 lb. Over the last year and half I've put on about 15 pounds. This morning I was 153.5. I'm going to start the No C diet and calorie counting tomorrow.

5. Update songs stuck in my head each weekend. I don't know why I don't update it very often, but I'm going to try harder this year.

6. Visit DC. There are still a couple of monuments and museums that I want to see, so I need to do that.

7. Do 90 minutes of Yoga each week. The yoga classes are 90 minutes, so if I go once a week, that takes care of that, but at home I'd have to do a couple of dvds.

8. Go to NYC three times. The year I lived in Baltimore city I went to New York City five times. In the last two years I've only been twice. I needs me some shoes!

9. Go to the drive in three times. We went twice last year, and it was a lot of fun. I'd like to go at least three times in 2011.

10. Try a new recipe each week. I tend to cook the same few things over and over and over again. I need to give some new recipes a try.

7 Days

There are so many things that I want to blog about. Today I'm going to talk about my exercise so for this year. I have done Jillian Michael's Shred DVD 7 days in a row. I really didn't want to do it today, but I did. I wasn't into it 100% like I was yesterday, but at least I did it.

My weight has gone up, rather than down, but I'm blaming that on salt. I'm trying not to obsess over the number, even though it is very distressing. Today is the first time I've done any other exercise in addition to the Shred. I manged to walk 45 minutes today. It was nice to get out into the fresh air and see the sun. I doubt I'll make my goal of 300 minutes of exercise this week--but you never know since we are headed to NYC this weekend--where I will surely do a lot of walking. Either way, I'm just proud that I've stuck with something for this long. Hopefully next week I will add some other exercise to the routine.

Oh, and Valerie is doing the Shred right along with me (and apparently Julia and Rosie are doing it right along with her). She's also stuck to it, and managed to work out at the gym and walk a bunch of miles this week. Yeah, Val!

New Years Resolutions

Wow, looking back at last year's resolutions is kind of sad. I did well for about 6 months and then just got lazy. Again--I need to find a routine and stick to it. I did get down below 140, but I've gained weight since then. Since I started working I've been extra bad about putting things back where they belong. Lately I have gotten into a much better skin care routine. The thing I always struggle with is the eating and working out stuff. To get a jump start on that today I started the 30 day shred with Valerie. I really didn't want to work out, but I did it any way. I just keep telling myself that it is only 20 minutes. Planning out the week's meals like I used to will also help. So here it goes:

1. Put things away/back where they belong.
2. Eat well balanced meals.
3. Work out 300 minutes a week.
4. Lose weight.

Bingeeee

I have been eating like a mad woman since Christmas eve. The holidays (which were not a legitimate excuse) are over and I need to get back with the program. I have had a lot of late nights, and that has led to a lot of sleeping in and some skipped work outs. I desperately need to get into a routine. Well, a good routine. Currently the routine is to get up late, go to the gym, work out, come home, eat too much, do nothing productive, then stay up late (reading, visiting friends, or playing mariokart). I haven't been drinking my teas or taking my vitamins. I have just been all out lazy for the last two weeks. I am considering going to the No C diet for a week or two to help me get back on track. We'll see.

Big Snag

So far I haven't been doing so well on my big goal of getting into a routine. The biggest snag is getting up in the morning. I haven't gotten up at a decent hour in a long time. I keep staying up late, and the cold makes in even harder to get up. The plan is to get up early, do some yoga, and then head to the gym to get some cardio in before class. I dragged myself out of bed this am and went to weights class. I didn't do the yoga or cardio. I'll try again tomorrow.

On a better note, I have been doing well putting things away. I like the idea of putting 3 things away. So when I go to put something away I look around to see if there are a couple of other things that I can also put away. The house is pretty clean right now, but I know I'll always be able to find three things to put away.

My piercing is sticking out--again. I think it is because I got a REALLY bad cyst--so it got really inflamed and rejected a little. I'm going to try and downsize the jewelry-again.

So here's to trying again...

Resolutions

I just looked back at the mid-year resolutions I made last year. I still need to work on those things. I guess my biggest goal...which encompasses pretty much everything, is to get into a routine and stick with it. So to break it down a little:



1. Work out regularly.
2. Eat a balanced diet.
3. Not eat past 7:30 pm.
4. Keep track of my eating and spending.
5. Reach 140 lbs (this is a number, so this is the one I am really obsessed with).
6. Take better care of my teeth.
7. Take better care of my skin.
8. Put things away/back where they belong.
9. Stick with the plan.


I did really well last month with the food diary and spending diary. I came up with a new schedule, but I haven't followed through with it. Tomorrow I'm going to get up and follow the plan.

Single Life

Ross left for Canada one week ago. I've been living the single life since then. At first I was doing very well with the set up in the photo. I'm only using those dishes and utensils and cleaning them after each use so that I don't ever have to do a load of dishes. That went well until this weekend. I got lazy and the whole house turned into a pig sty. I haven't been doing so well with my mid-year resolutions. That is why the house got so dirty. I've also noticed when seeing myself in the webcam that my teeth have shifted. I need to start wearing my retainer again. I spent a few hours today cleaning the whole house. Now let's see if I can keep it that way.

Reresolutions

I just looked back at my mid-year resolutions. I have been better about putting things away, but I still need to work at it. With the travel to El Paso and Las Vegas I completely fell off the wagon. My weight has crept up a little, and I have barely been working out. So I have to recommit to the program and try to lose some more weight. On the third resolution...I haven't been taking care of my skin well at all. I have been better about flossing, but I haven't worn my retainer at all and I know my teeth have moved because I have been biting my cheek. So, I need to recommit to taking better care of my skin and teeth. I'll start by popping in my retainer right now!

Mid-Year's Resolutions

I honestly can't remember what my new year's resolutions were. I'm sure one of them was breaking 150. Since I've done that, and Summer has officially started I thought maybe I should come up with some mid-year's resolutions.

1. Put things back where they belong.
This should help keep the clean areas clean, and prevent other areas from getting so messy. I have a tendency to just dump things into piles.
2. Stick with the program.
The last time I dropped below 150 I was probably there just a couple of weeks. This time I've been below 150 for 3 months. Now I'm testing to see if I can get down to my "ideal body weight."

I guess those are the two that I really want to work on. I also need to:

3. Take better care of my skin and teeth.
I'm really bad about my skin care routine. I have all the products, but don't use them regularly. I'm also really bad about flossing everyday and worse about wearing my retainer.

Okay. I think three is a good number. That gives me some things to concentrate on. Number 2 has a ton of things wrapped up in it, so I don't want to make a huge list of resolutions that I'll forget about by next week.