Sunday, March 29, 2009

Still Going Strong

I've been cycling to work, but I'm still going to my classes and training. I even jogged five miles! Working out before the ride, 3 days a week has been tough. 5 days was impossible. This week was fine with only two (I simply forgot on Friday morning!)

But I'm still pushing forward. Cheering on my fellow candidates. And putting down nearly 70 miles a week, just commuting!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Perfection

Have a Fabulous Friday!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

update

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I wanted to write once I had something new, but with the moving it was hard to focus in other things. I did organize the house and still have a few boxes and things out of place but all of them are in the extra room that will remain as a storage for a while. I try to bring a box or two downstairs on weekdays to continue clearing the room. We will start painting the house this weekend. Other than that, I have not done much.
I worked really hard the first two weeks after I moved in - way beyond what I thought I was able to do - and maybe that "extra effort" made me feel more hungry. I have gained weight and I am starting to feel really bad about it. My belly bothers me when I am sitting down or driving. My clothes don't fit anymore and I get tired too quickly. I started this week with my "diet" again. I feel hungry throughout the day at work, so I got some mango yogurt, cereal and apples to eat as a snack, instead of cookies or chocolate. I am also trying to eat less and lighter at night. I cook and save my plate for lunch next day. Instead, I am eating only soup at night. I am also drinking infusions after dinner. I don't know why, but I've been having trouble sleeping and the infusions have helped a lot.
I still need to buy a scale. I need to see progress with my weight loss!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Bleh

I've sort of hit a stumbling block. No weight loss this week, and only .5'' down. I only went to the gym three times this past week. I've also slacked a lot on my eating. I just need to get back in my January mode with this. My goal was to be down 6 lbs by the end of March. Maybe if I'm really good this week I can make it, but it will be really hard.
I was productive in other fronts though: working on pay it forward gifts, applied for a summer teaching job (ack!), and filled out the non-degree application for the graduate certificate I plan on starting in the fall.
Some weeks you just have to choose your battles, you know?

Happy Monday!!
(oxymoron, anyone?)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Checking in

Thought I'd check in on the goals I made for March. Going home to IL messed somethings up. Now I have NO traveling or speaking until June. I am super excited.

1. No binge eating - have been successful at this! * I did eat too much chocolate for a day or two but nothing compared to the past.
2. Elliptical 3-4x a week (I did this for the first time this week!)
3. 10,000 steps a day. *been doing fine.....

Congrats Rachel.

I have been pretty frustrated the past few days. I think I gained back a pound or two. I'm afraid to weigh myself for now. In the past week I have definitely realized how eating is a stress reliever for me. I have eaten more chocolate and some brownies but didn't get any ice cream. I find it fascinating that when I am super stressed that my thoughts go to ......I need to eat .....

Thanks for reading. I am thankful for this blog. There have been a few times when I have wanted to give up and thinking of this blog has stopped me.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Ok - Week #11


  1. Bento 4 days a week - nope three days. I had two lunch dates this week

  2. Keep my Daily Plate updated everyday - yep

  3. Swim 2 miles a week - nope. I'm oh so close!

  4. Drink 1 liter of water a day - Yep!

Progress Report # Who knows??

Well, I finally broke the 140 barrier. Sunday's weigh in was 139.2 - I realize it's not much below the line, but it seems like a miracle to me none the less.
This week I will be keeping this up and making sure I stay below that line by focusing on cardio/calorie burning rather than weight lifting. I can do that this week since I won't have yoga on Thursday since it's my mom's birthday.

This weather over here is making it hard to do anything but sit around the house and eat (which is, by the way, exactly what I did all day yesterday) - it is rainy and gray and foggy and there is no reason to be outside or doing anything other than schleping.

BUT - I will try to get to the gym at least 3 times this week, will shoot for 4, but .... eh.... you know.

That's about the only progress I've had this week in regards to my initial goals.
I did get started on another thing altogether that I didn't see coming, but I think might be a big deal for me this year ...... I learned about a graduate certificate in Professional Writing that my Alma Mater - Old Dominion University. I started my masters there over a year ago, but found it boring and dropped out after a semester.
This graduate certificate would only take me 3 classes to complete because of my previous graduate level work, it would give me the professional writing certificate, which would be useful in my job hunting, and would also give me the 18 credit hours of graduate level work I need to be able to teach college level courses at the school I work for - so it kills quite a few birds with one stone.
Anyways, I've emailed a lady at the school about when I can get started on it - I'd only take one class at a time, and I'd be done in about a year. I'm kind of excited about it! Professional writing is definitely a different route than the one I was on (I was getting my Master of Fine Arts in poetry and my BA is in Creative Writing), but I really think I would enjoy it.

For the past year I've sort of felt like I didn't know what I was doing with myself - I had dropped out of grad school, I still have the same job I had through college doing stuff that isn't particularly related to my degree, and I just didn't really have any plans. This certificate and classes make me feel like I do have a plan or at least a road to a plan, I guess.
SO, it's been a good week.

What have you been up to???

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Failure & Success

The Following is a List of Failures & Successes of one particular individual, whom you ALL know. Check it out. Then look in the mirror and tell yourself if he can succeed after all those failures, so can YOU!

1832
Lost job
Defeated for state legislature
Elected company captain of Illinois militia in Black Hawk War

1833
Failed in business
Appointed postmaster of New Salem, Illinois
Appointed deputy surveyor of Sangamon County

1834
Elected to Illinois state legislature

1835
Sweetheart died

1836
Had nervous breakdown
Re-elected to Illinois state legislature (running first in his district)
Received license to practice law in Illinois state courts

1837
Led Whig delegation in moving Illinois state capital from Vandalia to Springfield
Became law partner of John T. Stuart

1838
Defeated for Speaker
Nominated for Illinois House Speaker by Whig caucus
Re-elected to Illinois House (running first in his district)
Served as Whig floor leader

1839
Chosen presidential elector by first Whig convention
Admitted to practice law in U.S. Circuit Court

1840
Argues first case before Illinois Supreme Court
Re-elected to Illinois state legislature

1841
Established new law practice with Stephen T. Logan

1842
Admitted to practice law in U.S. District Court

1843
Defeated for nomination for Congress

1844
Established own law practice with William H. Herndon as junior partner

1846
Elected to Congress

1848
Lost renomination
(Chose not to run for Congress, abiding by rule of rotation among Whigs.)

1849
Rejected for land officer
Admitted to practice law in U.S. Supreme Court
Declined appointment as secretary and then as governor of Oregon Territory

1854
Defeated for U.S. Senate
Elected to Illinois state legislature (but declined seat to run for U.S. Senate)

1856
Defeated for nomination for Vice President

1858
Again defeated for U.S. Senate

1860
Elected President - Yes, this is Abraham Lincoln, arguably one of the BEST Presidents of The United States of America.

Wow, huh!


"Success is moving from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Weekly Check Up

I got back on the treadmill yesterday. I haven't run since I fell and smacked the whole body around (in a bad way). I ran 16 of the 24 minutes. I need to run twenty solid minutes for my class starting in 16 weeks. I am on track, that is good.

I am doing 40 sit-ups each night. I have to increase it this week to 44. I will need to do 60, so I am on pace with those as well.

I am not doing any push-ups, though I did ten in class Saturday. The arm ached, so I am targeting the muscles that need to get stronger for me to do 50 push ups. I believe it is my delts that need work, so I am doing those exercises every night after the sit ups. I may get a pass on the push-ups, (because my instructor knows the problems I have with my shoulder) but I don't want a pass. I want to be able to do them, without pain or aching.

I am still working on my weight. I am losing inches, the butt is getting smaller, hips too. Just need to get those thighs down. Of course running doesn't exactly make slim thighs, so that's why I do the step exercises.

I am also working on my Intermediate Level Instructor's Certification. If I get this, I will outrank Mr. Karate again. hahahaha. He told me to give him a year of outranking me before I pass it in. I said no. :)

I want my Intermediate Certification for two reasons. The first is because I like to figure things out, and I like knowing the whys of all our techniques and forms. The second is because I will never have the strength of the 14-21 yr olds I work out with. So I have to KNOW more than them. If you can't beat them with strength, then baffle them with bullpoop.

:)

I've been seeing that a lot of people everywhere are fighting the winter blahs and the economic "recession depression". I think that if we all are there for each other, we will get through this tough time and come out shining like stars. I am glad you are all in this with me. Thanks for all your posts, comments and efforts.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Goals for March

I am setting the same goals for March that I had for Feb.

1. No binge eating - have been successful at this!
2. Elliptical 3-4x a week (I did this for the first time this week!)
3. 10,000 steps a day.

I am on spring break this week and want to cry at the amount of work I have to get done. I am hoping to be very productive tomorrow (Monday) and not push it off to Tues and Wed. On thurs I have to go out of town again and present. I don't want to but professionally and for promotion and tenure I have to.

I had a great visit with my parents this weekend. It's very tough seeing my Dad on oxygen. He has fibroid tumors in his lungs.

I know I keep saying I am busy. I don't mean that others aren't. I just feel bad that I haven't gotten to write much or comment much on others blogs. Work wise I should not have gone home this weekend but I needed to see my folks.

Here is a picture that might make you smile. These are my parents cats Dutch and Ruthie (inside the ice cooler thing).

Catching up

Sorry I've been out of it lately - just a lot of stuff going on keeping me busy, out of town, away from the computer, etc.
Unfortunately, all of those things are not helping me get to my goals either. I have continued to lose weight (down to 140.4 this morning) but I was hoping by now I'd be down into the 30's - that's OK - next week, I'm sure of it.
I have also officially lost over 5 inches over all. I'm amazed at how much easier it is for me to tone than it is to lose weight. Size 4s are actually fitting again - the 6s I'm wearing now are falling off.


NO progress on CGC stuff with Winston, but I have a lot of motivation now as I was told this past week that if you have a certified therapy dog you can put all of their expenses as deductions on your tax return. Yup - I guess because you're utilizing them for 'charitable work' etc they are considered a deduction. I had kind of guessed this before, but it has been confirmed, so that's really some incentive, considering the amount of money I spend on these dogs every year.

I have been keeping up with everyone else's progress and I'm so proud and impressed with everyone! Even if you haven't seen me post or comment, I am keeping up - I swear!

Focusing on your goals through January is tough, through February is amazing and now if we all make it through March together it will be nothing short of a miracle - so keep it up!

Ok Week #10

  1. Bento 4 days a week - yep
  2. Keep my Daily Plate updated everyday - yep
  3. Swim 2 miles a week - nope, didn't make it this week. I will next week!
  4. Drink 1 liter of water a day - Yep! I finally just got a brita pitcher and put it on my desk.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Opportunity


Where there is an open window, there exists limitless opportunity

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Respect

The Most Important Measure of Success

Being respected by others is very important to each of us. A survey done by the Gallup organization found that the most prominent living Americans rated the respect of others as the most important measure of success in life. They worked very hard to earn the respect of their parents, the respect of their spouses and children, the respect of their peers and colleagues, and the respect of mankind at large.

Why You Respect Yourself

It seems that we truly respect ourselves only when we feel that we are respected by others, and we will go to great lengths to earn and keep that respect. When we feel that someone respects us for who we are and what we have accomplished, we tend to be more open to that person's influence.

Two Things You Can Do

We can do two things to put ourselves in a position to be respected by others. The first is to develop our knowledge of our field. The more people perceive you know about your subject, the more they will respect you. The highest-paid people in almost every field are those who know more than the average people. They are recognized as experts, and they develop what is called "expert power." Because of their superior knowledge, they are looked up to and listened to, and they are much more capable of influencing others to act in a particular way than they would be if their knowledge level were just average.

Develop Your Expertise

Another way to put ourselves in a position of being respected by others is to develop your expertise. Expertise is closely tied to knowledge, but it is a little different. Expertise is the ability to do, the ability to perform well in your chosen field. Men and women with expertise are those who practice over and over in whatever they do until they become known far and wide as the very best in their field.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:First, study your field in detail. Dedicate at least one hour per day to reading, listening to audio programs, studying to become more and more knowledgeable about what you do. Second, continually upgrade your knowledge and skills in your field. Identify your weakest important skill and go to work on that.

Knowledge and know-how are the keys to the 21st century

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Weekly Update

I was so excited this morning I forgot to update!

Another two pounds down. Last week I had my great weight loss treat. This week the next looks a little closer! YEAH.

I hope to get down to my set point weight, which is only twenty pounds above my ideal weight (did I say only twenty?) by June. I am doing well on this diet but it is harder with my husband because he loves carbs so much and really doesn't much like veggies.

I have been working on a book from the idea that my cat gave me: Why do you think Sickness is Wrong. I am still working on what I want to say and how I want to say it. I might end up tossing everything as I refine the audience for whom I am writing. I am meeting with a coach about this on Friday but I find that I am very motivated.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Getting There

Before

After


After

Before

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Confession

I took the week off from working out. I didn't work out in the mornings, I still haven't managed to wake up early. Whenever something like this happens, I get really hard on myself.

I think it's time to start cycling to work.

Here's where my plan is failing. Yes, I want to be doing 100 pushups every morning, but there's no motivation. My test will only require 40. I can do 50 no problem. Still, it's been a lazy week.

My first test is Saturday. I'm not worried about passing the physical parts, but I know when I have a routine I feel better throughout the day. Here's my goal:

Make lunch, get to bed at 10pm.
Wake up at 5am: 75 pushups, 100-200 crunches, 10 pullups.
Bike to work.
--
Bike home.
Arm/shoulder workout with weights.
Practice karate?

Wish me luck.

[EDIT] In an attempt to adjust my coat, 1.5 miles into my planned 20 mile ride today, I fell off my bike and banged my hip. Pain is a really excellent demotivator. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow, but today I'm limping. guh