Looking Back, Looking Forward

Thi post is about my goals for the year.  I know, it's July.  But it always takes me some time to really think about what I want.  And I also have some challenges, this year and every year, that I take a whole to grapple with.  So, here are some goals, big and small, that I want to share with you all.

1.have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Due August 24th, and no we don't know the gender. 

2. Destroy our debts and manage our taxes better.  A small goal, this one.  But summer of 2015 is when I think we can make it all happen.  

3. Get back to derby by the end of 2014. Grrrrl, I need an outlet.

4.live more efficiently.  Cut costs and use up my CSA.  Really.  

Our Next Project: The Playroom!

Carriage House 2nd Floor, a photo by Athens Nikita on Flickr.

See this dark hellhole, with ammunition rolling all over the floor?

This is our carriage floor attic/bonus room/whatever. As of right now it's been used to load ammo and house a teenage boy on weekends. It has jalousie windows. It's a little low and close. But it's out there, and would make a pretty good playroom if we clean it up.

So, next up -- fixing it!

Just a few things on the docket:

1. Replacing those horrible, no good, terrible, awful, completely inefficient, COLD windows. Seriously, what crazy person would install these IN PENNSYLVANIA?

2. Putting down play mats, or maybe even new flooring. What's there is cute, but it's kind of damaged.

3. Enclosing the staircase and putting a gate on it. Baby boy is actually pretty good with stairs, but why risk it?

4. Some electrical upgrades. The lights flicker up there. ...NOT GOOD.

5. PAINT! What do you guys say to some green walls with some chalkboard segments?

6. Finally, decor and furnishings -- right now Hal has a pack & play up there for quiet nap times and privacy from the dog. But we can do better.

27 in 4:44!

Tonight I achieved something that is a sort of benchmark in roller derby -- the 27 in 5.  It's just what it sounds like -- you try to make at least 27 circuits around the track in 5 minutes.  This has somewhat been the bane of my existence, so much so that I last attempted it a few months ago, when I achieved 27 in 5:02.

Anyway, for me going fast is mostly mental.  There certainly is the physical aspect -- the pushing through, the trusting your feet, the skating the groove, etc.  But more importantly for me is shutting down that persistent, annoying little voice in my head that at first told me I couldn't do it, and then told me that I didn't want to do it.  I had a litany of negativity going on, that for whatever reason just slowed me down imperceptibly.  I think maybe I was afraid to want it.

Anyway, tonight I was actually tying my shoe when the whistle blew.  I sprinted onto the track, not even thinking about the seconds I lost, and I let my brain go.  I settled into a breathing pattern that was like a mantra, and I looked halfway around the track.  Honestly, I didn't give it my all.  I didn't give it myself at all.  I just put one foot in front of the other and pushed til I was done.

Obviously you can't live on autopilot all the time, but I am so proud of myself when I lose my brain and just act.  My goal, ultimately, is to beat my 25 in 5 time, which is just 10 seconds fewer.  Wish me luck!

Change

Today I cut my hair.   It was getting long and shapeless,  but as importantly I had a momentous meeting coming up and wanted to give myself the best opportunity to succeed. 

There is an old southern superstition that when you want to change your luck,  you change your look.  Cut your hair, and you throw away your bad luck with your excess locks. 

Anyway,  it was time for a change.  What do you think?

The Framework

Just a few notes on the structure I use to make it work.

There are a million tracking services out there, but personally I use Noom Weight Loss.  It's an app on my phone, based on the general concept o Volumetrics, and I find it to be mostly helpful and low-drama.

Fitness -- I have, basically, three commitments that I make to exercise.

1. Roller derby, which I play 2-3 days a week
2. Walking/running, which I do 2 days a week.
3. Horseback riding, which I do every Sunday. 

Personally, I just have to have commitments, such that I don't get into the game of mentally bargaining away my fitness opportunities.  Without an expectation that I do certain things at certain times, I'll come up with reason to let them slide or skip them altogether.

Food -- I have a CSA, which entails a cooler of produce being dropped off at my house every Friday all summer and into the Fall.  Otherwise I'd avoid buying produce, despite it being by far the healthiest thing that I should compose my diet of. 

So, that's the basic framework.

"After"

During, really.  And let's talk about what I've achieved and where I want to go, while we're at it.

Since the baby arrived, I've lost about 25 pounds.  I have not officially subscribed to any particular plan, and I don't endorse any overall commercial solution.

For me, it was about feeling better, looking better, and being able to see a photo of myself that I felt positively about.  To date I've lost about 3" from my waist and 25 pounds, and dropped 2 sizes in my clothes.  Yay.

So, what do I do?  What does my routine look like? 

Workin' on the Weekend

Pardon the selfie, but I want to illustrate something.



I went riding this weekend.  For the first time in a long time.  It was awesome.

Further, weekends are in some ways what I live for.  We have pretty rigid weekdays, so the weekend is pretty much the only time that I can do whatever I like.  And increasingly that means exercising in some way, and sleeping. 

I managed all of that this weekend. So as far as I'm considering, that's successful.