Goals and Whatnot

Is it July already?

Not only is it July, it’s the 7^th.  We’re a week in, people. 

The past few weeks have been a blur, a flurry, a tornado of sorts.  Birthdays, travel,  potty training, parties, work, illness, kids – I got it all in there.   We had my family come over for a BBQ on Fathers Day to celebrate, well, fathers, as well as Bubba’s 3^rd birthday since we were all together.  J and I went away for an adults-only trip to Vail the following weekend, only to return to a very sick Bean.  Raging ear infection.  After two days of no work and all caregiver, I spent the rest of the week nose down in work stuff.   Last week was full of very early morning meetings while I caught up with my clients in Norway, as they all take off for vacation for the bulk of July (note to self:  I’m totally going to be Norwegian next summer and take the month off).  My in-laws arrived for a week-long visit on Wednesday, then we had the 4^th of July on Thursday … you get the idea.  I have not had a moment to stop. 

I have so much to recap (which means loads of good stories for future posts!) but for now we’ll limit this to June goal progress and July goals.

So ... June results!

• Run 40 miles – 45.13, baby!  WIN!
• 8 yoga sessions of 30 min or longer  - I know I did at least 8.  I think I did 10.  WIN!
• Dedicated time daily for Bible reading & prayer – FAIL.  I started out strong, then came all the June flurry and I bombed.
• Post on blog 15 times – BWAHAHAHAHAHA.  FAIL.
• Read two books – FAIL.  Again, see flurry.
• June Projects:
• Go through Bubba's clothes – FAIL.  But I’m going to count this as a neutral because since Bubba started full-fledged potty training a few weeks ago (which is enough to cover 3 new blog posts – get excited people!), I have been doing his laundry non-stop.  The fact he has clothes in his drawers at all is a small miracle.
• Go through Bean's clothes -  WIN!
• Sort & organize my closet - FAIL
• Decorate Bean's room - FAIL
• Finish cleaning out the flower beds & plant garden – Neutral.  Got the tomatoes and peppers planted, but did zero work on the flower beds.  Eh, you win some, you lose some.
• Organize and clean home office – BWAHAHAHAHAHA.  FAIL.

Since June was kind of a wash, a lot of July's goals are going to look similar ...  

• Run 50 miles
• 8 yoga sessions of 30 minutes or longer
• Dedicated time for Bible reading & prayer
• Post on blog 10 times - I'm being a bit more realistic this month
• Read two books - fun or business, it doesn't matter.  I need to read!
• July projects:
• Go through Bubba's clothes
• Sort & organize my closet
• Decorate Bean's room
• Finish cleaning out flower beds
• Organize & clean home office

I'm feeling a lot more optimistic about results this month.  Then again, it is already the 7th and I haven't done anything on this list.  

As always, I'll keep you posted ... 

Perspective

I've been a bit under the weather fighting a cold.  I haven't been able to run, I'm grumpy, blah blah blah.  I originally planned to blog about how awful this bug was, and then came this:

Thats a view of the Black Forest Fire from my parents church parking lot.  Once again, Colorado is going up in flames, hitting another part of my hometown that is near and dear to my heart.  The common cold is no longer a valid complaint when an estimated 100 homes have burned and more are in its path.  It was also a sober reminder of the Waldo Canyon fire from last summer.  A few family friends lost their homes.

Its heartbreaking that we seem to be facing another summer of precarious fire danger.  I assumed Waldo was an anomaly; a random event that would assure Colorado Springs would be safe from fire for a few years, at least.  The city paid its dues, after all.  But sadly, Acts of God don't work that way, and once again C Springs fights a massive and elusive fire.

My parents are a stones throw from the evacuation area.  Tonight they are safe and well, taking inventory of their home, packing a few things and rounding up their cats in case they get the call.  

So I'm going to be grateful for my sniffles.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV): So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Bear Scare Back On

If you recall, in an earlier post I mentioned the local "Bear Aware" signs posted around the neighborhood.  During my run yesterday I discovered the signs are back:

So I guess I'll continue to keep my garage doors closed.

My workouts have been going well.  I've been very consistent, doing whatever is scheduled for the day.  I swapped today's run with tomorrow's yoga because I needed the yoga.  Boy, did I.  Yesterday's run was hard because I was so tense and tired.  Today's half hour of gentle flow was just what my poor shoulders and hamstrings needed.  My body better get used to a beating, though, because I made the plunge this morning and registered for the American Discovery Trail half marathon.  This is the first race I've registered for in ... years?  Oy. 

My sugar detox is nothing but a faint memory.  Once the headaches and body aches cleared, I was a new woman.  The energy rebound I experienced was nothing short of profound.  Since I declared war on sugar, I haven't consumed a drop of soda or a crumb of candy, and I've greatly curbed my intake of processed stuff, like granola bars.  I still would love to purge on a bag of gummy bears, but I don't want to derail the progress I've made.  And I confess - my vanity is also enjoying the bit of weight loss I've experienced. 

Along those lines, I've been incredibly successful in cooking regular meals for my family.  I'm not much of a cook (as my HR-self would say, its an "area of development"), but I'm working on it.  Today I whipped up a batch of homemade granola.

Not bad, eh?  This is quite a feat considering my fondness for instant food.

Progress on all fronts from this lady.  Onward and upward, friends.

Being Bear Aware and Other Stuff, Like June Goals

Happy June, y'all!

I'm thrilled that summer is here.  Tis the season to wear shorts, enjoy the outdoors, and be bear aware.

<Side note:  While out on my run today, I planned to take and ultimately post here a picture of the "Bear Aware" signs that were littering our neighborhood earlier this week, but sadly they are gone.  Perhaps we got the all clear from bear danger?>

Those signs are all over our neighborhood.  I truly love where we live, but sometimes the wildlife is a little unnerving.  I like the rabbits, deer and occasional elk that happen through our yard, but the foxes, bobcats, rattlesnakes and bears aren't as welcome.  Last week I came home from dropping off the kids at school and one of our downspouts was in the middle of our driveway.  I thought it was odd, until our neighbor told me a fox had been in my driveway trying to get a baby rabbit taking cover in said downspout.  I'm a believer in nature and the food chain and all that; I just don't like it happening on my driveway.  Sigh.  Its still worth it living here.

As seen from my kitchen window last summer.  Nothing like a little elk butt while you are making your morning coffee.

Wildlife aside, things are going well for us.  My sugar detox is complete.  I haven't had any candy, soda, or added sweetener since last week.  I feel fantastic.  I had no idea how much sugar was affecting my well-being.  And admittedly, the vain part of me enjoys the fact I'm losing some back flab.  #winning

Workouts have been great as well.  Last month I ran just over 30 miles, the first time I've hit a running goal in, oh, years.  I'm eyeing a half marathon this fall to give me a stretch goal.  I like goals.

Speaking of goals, I'm laying out my monthly goals here in an effort to keep me accountable.  Nothing like public shaming if I fall short, right?  Here's what June is looking like for me:

• Run 40 miles - if I want to do a half, I kinda need to train for it.
• 8 yoga sessions of 30 min or longer - yoga has been my new passion.  I discovered Tara Stiles and have been using a lot of her You Tube videos and yoga DVDs.  Its making a huge difference in my strength, flexibility and peace of mind.
• Dedicated time daily for Bible reading & prayer - in our small group we've been studying Not a Fan, and its made me realize I need to dedicate some meaningful time to my relationship with God.
• Post on blog 15 times - this is pretty self explanatory, no?
• Read two books - I've lost sight of my love of reading.
• June Projects:
• Go through Bubba's clothes - Bubba is my oldest offspring, and growing like a weed.  His dresser is stuffed with clothes that don't fit. 
• Go through Bean's clothes - Bean is my youngest offspring, and also growing like a weed.  His dresser has the same problem as Bubba's.
• Sort & organize my closet - I'm not growing like a weed, but I have a cluttered closet full of clothes.  
• Decorate Bean's room - I have a ton of prints and other knickknacks for his room, but somehow I never summon the energy to hang them.  No longer!
• Finish cleaning out the flower beds & plant garden - the previous owners of our home did a stunning job with landscaping the yard ... but it takes a ton of work to maintain, we've learned.  
• Organize and clean home office - I recently got set up with a home video unit for work.  I set it up in our home office, which historically has been my husband's territory.  My husband J, whom I love and adore, is a bit of a pack rat.  The office is chock full of paperwork and books and power cords and Lord knows what else (ex: I found a receipt for a hotel stay from over a year ago, a trip J didn't even go on, yet he saved the receipt.)  The room needs some purging and a little TLC.

I'd say thats plenty to keep me occupied for the month.  We've also got a couple trips and what not planned.  Definitely looking forward to this month.  Bring it on, June!

Oh My Head. My Aching Head.

As a part of this getting healthy stuff, I started tracking my food intake.  I actually don't eat THAT bad, with one exception - sugar.  Oh my, the sugar.  I fully admit I have a sweet tooth ... I just didn't realize how bad it was.  I usually had a healthy serving of sugar in my morning coffee, I'd snack on sugary stuff throughout the day, then I'd indulge in a Dr. Pepper or the like around lunch.  I consistently found myself starving in the afternoon, but I had eaten plenty of calories.  What my body really wanted was more sugar.

So I gave it up.  I haven't had any refined sugar since Tuesday.  Part of me feels I should have done this at a rehab center because I am in pain, ya'll.  My head is throbbing.  Its hard to concentrate.  Last night I went to bed 2 hours earlier than normal because I crashed (but had an incredibly fitful night of sleep).  This morning I thought I was feeling a little better, but as the morning has progressed so has the headache and the body aches.  I had people warn me that sugar withdrawal would be rough, but damn.  I expected the temptation to be rough, not the physical symptoms.   The only positive I can say right now is that my tongue doesn't have that "ick" on it anymore. 

I've been told that the fourth day is drastically better.  Come on, Saturday.

21 Days to Health

Its probably silly that my first "real" post in this blog be about making a significant commitment, seeing as I haven't been able to commit to posting in said blog since November.  Don't judge me.

But this does give me the opportunity to introduce my family, the journey we've been on and what lead us to now and ultimately the purpose of this post.  My husband and I married in 2009, had our first child in the summer of 2010, relocated from California to Colorado in the spring of 2011, bought our first house later that year, and then had our second child in 2012.  Whew.  I'm tired just writing that, and I lived it.  We've enjoyed the ride, but now that things have calmed down (relatively, of course - how calm can it be with 2 boys under the age of 3 with two parents that work full time), the flurry of the past few years have left us worn.  Flurry was the norm for so long that we operate that way with the simplest of activities. 

So we're slowly introducing some changes as a family, and the first is food.  We've come to rely on junk snacks and fast food as the quick fix far too often.  You know you have a problem when your almost 2 year old's vocabulary is limited to "mama, "dada", "bubbles" and "Donalds."  My husband and I are making a 21 day commitment, starting today, to not eating out.  We're planning healthy meals in advance, making a shopping list, and being thoughtful about what we put in our mouths.  We signed up with Door to Door Organics to deliver our produce.  I'm also making a commitment to make some healthy snacks to replace two guilty pleasures for our kids:  cereal bars and fruit chewies. My kids are addicted, I am ashamed to say.

Here's to health.  And committing to writing about this journey as we go.