Resolutions, Resolutions, Resolutions

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To make them or not to make them? THAT is the question...

I could make some outrageous resolutions and then be super disappointed in myself for not completing/keeping them, but that would just be super silly! Besides, I already know that I won't keep up with them completely, I think I am allergic to New Year's Resolutions once January of the new year is over.

So, what would I be writing this post for if I am not making resolutions? Well, I have some goals or "strive fors" for the new year and wanted to tell all y'all about them.

Numero Uno... Strive to be a healthier family. Eating healthier, getting exercise, and spending quality time together as a family. This one is particularly difficult for me during the school year. No, not the eating and exercise, the family time. I work second shift Monday-Friday, so I do not get to spend as much time as I would like to with my kids. Gosh, I only see my son on Wednesday mornings before I leave to do respite care and then I don't see him until Saturday. Needless to say, quality time rather than quantity of time is very important since I don't get a large quantity of time with my family.

Two... O.R.G.A.N.I.Z.A.T.I.O.N! I don't know what my deal is, but for some terrible reason, I cannot keep things organized to save my life!!! Cleaning seriously is the worst. When a mess gets to me, is when I will lose it and clean it up, but when that happens, I have pretty much snapped and then it becomes a huge cleaning fiasco. As in, on my hands and knees scrubbing the floors, fiasco. I also "hoard" (I use that term loosely, because my house does not look like those on the TV show) fabric. It is out of control! So much so, that my husband has put the Ka-bosh on acquiring anymore unless I have to have something specific for an order. Anyway, the short of it, I need to get things in my house organized, cleaning, crafts, cooking, etc.

Tres... This one involves my husband's assistance... There are a number of things I have been wanting built and he always comes up with this reason or that reason as to why he can't do it. I would build the stuff myself, but alas, I am somewhat clumsy (for heaven's sake, I attempted sewing through my finger earlier this year...or was it last year...I can't remember), so there is no way I am going to attempt using any saws in our garage until I know how to use them while being supervised by him.

There you have it, my "strive for's" or goals for 2013. No resolutions here, I'm allergic remember!?!

Thursday Pinterests

Now that I am getting to the end of the "off my right foot" issue...

I have been really looking through health and fitness inspiration.

I have recently purchased 3 videos that I think will be fun to do, but I have also been looking through weight-bearing/lifting stuff on Pinterest.

Here is what inspires me this week

I just bought my first ever pair of skinny jeans, so I guess this is definitely something I'll have to try out!

(BTW, you can click on the photos to go to the website)

Definitely need to use this!

Especially when your son asks why your muscles are upside-down and "wiggly".

MORTIFIED!!!

I found that some of my pants are not very happy with me due to my inner thighs.

Guess that means I might want to start doing these...

...and this again.

Yep, went through almost the entire program and then gave up.

I hate not having the motivation to keep going with something.

This year MUST change that!

I need a work out partner that has a membership to my gym and makes me get my booty up in the morning to go, but not at 5:00 am.

I have the "middle of the road" bulge that I would like to whittle down a bit.

Maybe this would help me out with that!

(Sorry, no link for this one)

An finally for today, a little bit of INSPIRATION...

2012 Resolutions

Every year, I make my New Year's Resolutions.

Every year, I completely bomb out on actually accomplishing any of them.

I am however very proud to admit that I kicked the habit of drinking soda...

...specifically Mt. Dew.

I even gave up caffeine almost completely, I don't count the little caffeine in green tea.

The week before Christmas, I decided it was important to accomplish something and kicked the habit "cold turkey."

YAY ME!

This year I am again going to make New Year's Resolutions.

Guess we shall see how well it goes...

1. Get healthy...

I try to do this all the time, but working nights, I don't always do the best at eating healthful foods.

I am begining a new program called "Live the Life."

It is a great program that combines foods that will help to boost metabolism.

It also has a fitness program that goes along with it, but I will have to hold off on that until I get the "go ahead" from the orthopaedic surgeon for my foot and wearing a regular shoe on my right foot again.

I've used the program before, but fixing the food can be a bit of a pain in the rear. I am bound and determined to get through it this time though. The foods are really very good and I don't feel that I am missing out on anything.

2. Read 100 books in 365 days...

Last year, I read 69 books in 365 days, so why not "go for the gold" this year.

I love to read and luckily, I have plenty of time to do it during the down times at work

3. Get gifts made for holidays, birthdays, etc. made throughout the year...

...starting in January.

I have begun to map out my plan for what to make whom and will hopefully have things made and wrapped and ready to go when the time comes.

This is VERY ambitious for me, but at least with a plan, I will have an idea of what each gift is going to potentially cost. JoAnn Fabrics is going to get a lot of business from me this year!

4. Get better at keeping house...

This has always been a very sore subject in our household.

I admit it, I HATE cleaning. If we could afford to have a maid come in twice a month to clean the 4 bathrooms in our house, I would totally do it.

Unfortunately, that is NOT going to be happening!

This year, I am determined to make myself a monthly schedule for cleaning and inlist the entire family in helping. I have found some great ideas for weekly cleaning and I will be utilizing one of them,

So there you have it!

I am not super ambitious, I have to keep the resolutions pretty simple.

If I had this huge long list, there is no way I would even accomplish one of them.

This is a pretty extensive list for me, but definitely NOT un-attainable.

How many of you have made resolutions for 2012?

What are your resolutions?

Top Priority...

Making Time!

Seriously, it should not be this difficult for me to find 30 minutes in my day to get outside and actually do something physical!

I can already tell that all of the hard work that went into the running program I did a few months ago has gone completely out the window.

So, now that school will be starting for our son, I am going to commit to going to the gym on a very regular basis again. Heck! We don't pay for the membership to NOT use it!

School starts at 8:15 a.m., so the little one and I will take him to school and then head to the gym by 8:30 or 9:00 (gotta wait for "Child Watch" to open for the day).

Too often am I reminded of how short life can be for those of us that don't take care of our bodies. 

Unfortunately, we are all mearly mortals and that carries with it the reality of our mortality. I wish I could say I am going to live forever, but at least if I can't live forever, I will make sure I am going to live for a very, very long time.

Live Free Project

This week, one very lovely lady began something she calls "The Live Free Project." Sam is a beautiful and inspirational woman and has a very fun and lively personality. Check out her blog. I liked the idea of her project and wanted to join her on her journey.

Like Sam, I have struggled for most of my adult life with weight fluctuations. Granted, I have gotten the eating-because-I'm-feeling-sorry-for-myself, or eating-because-I'm-bored issue pretty much out of the way. My joining her project is not for the exact same reason as hers, but it is close.

As Sam put it, "..we all have our own individual battles. For some it's anxiety, it's worry, it's negativity, it's insecurity, it's cruelty, it's gossiping, it's OCD, it's obsession, it's hoarding, it's lying, it's the desire to be liked, it's emptiness. It's anything. It's everything."

I have begun to realize that as much as I don't want to admit it, I lead a relatively sedentary life. I know, I know... How is that possible with two younger children? Well, unfortunately it is possible. When the kids go outside, I don't run around with them, I pull out an "easy chair" and sit in the shade and watch them play and have a grand ole time. Yes, my fitness activity is kind of spuradic, I will be running for a few weeks and then not do anything for a few weeks. I will start walking or lifting and then it tapers off again. In joining Sam on this journey, I am going to get over my battle with being sedentary so that I can be on a consistent regimen of physical activity. No more sitting around while the kids are playing. No more chillin' in the house on a perfectly sunny day. Who cares if it is hot outside!

My hope is that in increasing my physical activity, I will be able to slowly transform my body and lose this pesky 35 pounds that just doesn't seem to want to budge. Maybe I will finally not be such a wimpy mommy too!

Oh, and in case you are wondering how I am going to make this transformation without changing my diet, I'll let you in on a teeny tiny secret... Okay, it's not so teeny tiny... We actually eat very healthy in out home. We very rarely fry anything and I don't bake all that much and we try not to keep "junk food" in our kitchen. We have a 10-year old growning boy little mouse that seems to enjoy sneaking into the pantry or fridge at night and during the day to find something tastey. However, I will eat more "clean" foods instead of processed foods and I will also eat more frequent and much smaller meals during the day (5-6 meals) and drink a heck of a lot more water. Oh, and just so ya know...I WILL NOT give up my daily coffee. You would absolutely HATE to be around me when I don't have my coffee! To put it nicely, I am a ROYAL CRABBY PATTY without my coffee (my husband will agree with a not-so-nice name, and yes, I tend to concur).

Documenting my journey with The Live Free Project will be a bit tough, but I'll start out with these photos. Ugh...I can't believe I am posting these! So embarrassing!



Since my goal is to embrace my body and become less sedintary, hopefully there will be noticeable changes in my body from the beginning through the end. I will also try to post weekly on how my journey is unfolding. I haven't worked out all of the details, but I will have mini-goals along the way.

The very FIRST mini-goal is Get Moving Outside Every Day. It doesn't matter what it is, but for this first week, I need to get up and get moving outside on a daily basis for a minumum of 30 minutes. Maybe it is going for a walk with the kids, working in the garden, chasing Jilli down the sidewalk while she is riding her bike, but whatever it is, I will move 30 minutes a day.

Don't forget to help support Sam on her journey! Without her inspiration, I don't think I would have ever done this to keep my-self accountable. Especially, showing the world wide web the pictures I have taken and had NEVER planned to share. Now, that is being brave in my book.

Switching Gears

So, the running thing has kinda - I said KINDA - petered out for me. I have moved on to resistance training and a completely new nutritional plan. Amazingly, I love it so far. Okay, maybe not the resistance training, but the nutritional plan is really great and has some awesome foods!

I plan to take photos of some of my favorite meals from the plan as I go along to share with all of you! Maybe for FTLOB Tasty Tuesday posts.

Oooo...you wanna know what is totally awesome! I have finally succeeded at one of my New Year's Resolutions! I have been drinking so much water that I can't even drink a half of a 12 oz soda without getting a belly ache! Yep, I tried it last Friday. I was seriously craving a sugar rush while I was at work and thought I would treat myself to a 12 oz can of Mt. Dew. I barely got half the can down before I had to go dump it out. Now that is what I call a total success!

I will have to be sure and let you all know what my results are from this new nutrition and fitness plan as the time goes by. So far, it is pretty darn good, I have lost 8 lbs total. I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be, but I am determined to get there.

Running Week #9

Man-O-Man...

Running for 25 minutes straight kicked my butt on Saturday.

Actually, I couldn't hack it. I had to break it up and walk some of it.

This week I am going to repeat the program from last week.

I feel like I have to.

If I am going to fall in love with running, I have to take it slow and steady.

That means repeating workouts as needed to get to where I wanna be.

I do have to say this though...

I LOVE what it is doing to my body!

I can totally tell my rear-end is getting tighter. I can look in the mirror and not cringe at my back-side!

Oh, and I was NOT self-concious about being in a bikini,

yep a bikini, at the public swimming pool on Sunday!

I am so stoked!!!

That alone is a total motivation booster.

I wish I had taken before photos!

Oh well, I know and my husband knows how far I've come in the 8 weeks!

That is what truely matters to me.

YAY!!!

Running Week #8; Workout #6

Well, I made it through last week and now I am going "full-steam" ahead into the next workouts.

Repeating weeks was getting to be too much, I want this to be done and over so I can move forward and work on other areas of my body.

I will continue to run, but I need to move on to my upper body so that I don't have "muscles that go the wrong way" according to my 9-year old son.

Oh and I don't want to hear, "Mommy, why do you have wings on your arms?" ever again!

Thank god she didn't say that in public.

Running Week #7 - Workout #5

Today was awesome!

I skipped a day last week and I didn't even feel that it was a bad thing today!

I'm sure by the third workout day this week, I will be struggling, but I feel great after today's workout!

I can't wait until Thursday now!

Waaaah Hooooo.....

Craftastic May

Yeah, I know I said just a few short weeks ago that I would make dog leashes and collars, but seriously the cost to make them would have been way more than it would have been to buy something. Right now the "fund-age" is actually being saved for something I really want terrible bad - more on that another time though.

Anyway, I have so much fabric that I have "hoarded" over the past few years, that I decided I needed to... go out and buy just 4 short yards more! Yes, BUT I got it at a super awesome price - 2 yards for $2.00 and 2 yards for $4.00.  You can't beat that! I had to have it! OKAY, FINE! I didn't need to have it, but who can pass up such a great price, really?

Onward...

Since I didn't do the stuff for the pups, I decided to use up some scraps of fabric that I had left over from other projects and do a little bit of recycling. Both of our kids just got new bedding, so I kept (shoved under our bed) the thick plastic bags that the bedding came in. I had seen a great idea for luggage tags on-line somewhere (doggone, I can't remember where) and thought "What a fabulous idea! Makes a black suitcase unique and less likely to be grabbed by 'dip-stick' who's in a hurry to get out of the airport."

So, here you have them, luggage tags - lots and lots and lots of luggage tags.
Seriously, they only take 10 minutes from the first cut to the final stitch to finish.

Okay, not lots and lots and lots in these photos, but believe me, I have made more than I know what to do with.



Guess what? You probably won't miss your bag as it comes off of the airplane ever again...
...Unless you take the tag off that is.

Oh, I almost forgot...
Since the tags were such an easy craft for the month, I also made sugar scrub! I never said that the "craft a month" resolution would be specific to sewing. This stuff is so wonderful! It is scented with lemon essential oil and makes your hands absolutely soft and supple and smell fab-tas-tic! Perfect for the kitchen and getting pesky 'smells' off your hands from cooking (i.e. fish, garlic, onion - just to name a few)!

Check back, there may be a tutorial in the near future on this absolutely fabulous stuff!

Running Week #6; Workout #4

Okay, it is really week #5, but who's counting?

I will call this workout #4 instead. Is that better?

I just can't go in and change the title of my photo...

Darn it!

Who knew jogging for 5 minutes straight would be H-E-L-L?!?!?!

I seriously need to work on my resolution to give up soda (ya know - pop? yeah, I call it soda).

Pretty sure, I wouldn't consider jogging for 5 minutes at a time hell!

Oh well, it is what it is.

I'll eventually get there and be soda free...

...until then I'll just struggle through my work outs.

Running Week #5; Workout #3 Repeated

I skipped a day again!

Kinda liking to repeat weeks though.

It doesn't make my knee and hips hurt if I am able to rest for 4 days.

I hate going to the doctor (yes, and I am a nurse), so I will gladly rest my legs instead of making an appointment with my doctor to discuss my discomfort.

Monday Musings

As much as I try, I cannot shake my addiction to this:

I have however moved from drinking a 20 oz. bottle to drinking one of these:



I am trying, but it is so terribly difficult!

Ideally, I would give it up "cold turkey", but I am a wimp when it comes to the headaches from withdrawal!

Now that I am down to one can a day, I will slowly try to move to one can every other day.

That way it is a slow transition.

I bet I lose 10 lbs when I finally get myself off of it, cuz I drink the "leaded" (regular) stuff, not the "unleaded" (diet).

Running Week #4; Workout #3

It is just crazy how quickly time passes when you really think about it!

Here is program week #3

(even though it is my 4th week, remember I repeated week #2 last week).

This was tough!

I will totally admit to it and I may just be taking another two weeks to complete this portion of the program.  Baby steps, right?

Who'd have thought that 3 minutes of jogging would be so difficult!

Well, I will not take it for granted ever again!

Thank the Lord for BABY STEPS!!!

Potential for May...

Holy CRAP!

May is only 1 1/2 days away!

I love our pups, but their collars and leashes are so masculine and dull. 

So, I thought this month would be a great opportunity to "Spice Up" the dogs' necks and leashes.

Yeah, my husband will probably just think I am insane!

Seriously , male dogs can have "cool" looking collars and leashes, they are NOT just for the ladies!

To go along with the pet theme, I am also going to try my hand at the poo-bag holders.

You know, a small inconspicuous little bag that you can put whatever it is that you pick up your pet's poo with when you go for a walk (we use plastic shopping bags - cuz we never remember our reusable sacks when we go to the store, so we have like a million and one plastic bags shoved under the kitchen sink).

How about something totally off the wall?

Key-fob keychains.

I know, I know...WTH!

Doesn't even correspond with anything that has to do with animals. 

Oh well, it's what makes me happy! 

Disclaimer: this is NOT our dog - pic

See, I'm smiling (oops, that's not me)!

Running Week #3; Workout #2 Repeated...

I was all psyched to start week three of the Couch to 5K, but I skipped the 3rd workout day last week.

So, the wonderful thing about this program is that you can repeat weeks if needed.

And I NEED to repeat week #2. 

So I started it all over again today. It felt GREAT!

No more "skip" days for me, I'm gonna get my rear in gear!

April Creativity...

These are such pretty fabrics, I wonder what they will be?

The lavender, yellow and black are lining fabrics.

The red is velvet, the gray is a suiting, and the kakhi is sort of a linen.

What do you think?

I made this on Friday as a b-day gift to myself.

I am going to making a number of them, so I have inventory for my future Etsy store!

The red velvet one with black lining is going to be so gorgeous!

The only thing I'm gonna have to do is figure out how to make the back part elastic.

That way they are "one size" and you all wouldn't have to worry about it not fitting your noggins!

I made mine to fit my head, but that's only because I had access to my head to measure it!

Never in a million years did I think I would be able to pull off wearing this baby.

I think it actually looks pretty doggone good!

Now I have a reason to grow out my hair instead of cutting it all off again.

On me, this will definitely look better with longer hair!

Running Week #2

Oh My Gosh!

I thought I was doing really great last week!

I know what you are thinking, the workout didn't change THAT much.

Crazily enough, it was enough of a change that I was completely and utterly exhausted after.

Of course it probably didn't help that I had been woken twice during the night.

Once for no particular reason and the second time it was due to a very loud hail storm.

It did feel pretty good to get on the tredmill yesterday though.

Thank goodness I have some pretty up-beat tunes to keep me moving!

However, now that I have day #1 out of the way, I know what to expect tomorrow, so I am ready!

I am soooo ready!

Bring It On Baby!!!

Tutu a tutu...

What the heck am I doing?

Putting together a tutu for my baby-girl, that's what!

To make it easier to put it together, you are supposed to put it around something.

Well, I was at work and didn't have anything that the elastic would fit around.

So...what you are seeing here is my thigh! Yep, my thigh is as big around (maybe bigger)

than my daughter's waist.

How freaking SAD is that!!!

These are the finished product.

I have yet to actually take a picture of her in it though!

She is always too busy to stop and let me snap one.

Well, that is my creation for March.

Sadly, I only made the one!

I wasn't very motivated last month and I am finding that this month is much the same.

I have my idea, so hopefully I will be able to create it on Friday.

Oh yeah, I took the day off Friday, but I will have both kids at home,

so no guarantee I will get anything done!

It's Official...



Today was the beginning of hopefully a long-term, new lifestyle for me.

I am sure you have all heard of the running program called Couch to 5K, right?

If not, you can check it out here.

I have never been really big into running. As a matter of fact I have always hated it.

My knees would ache, I had terrible shin-splints in high school, and I have always been "too busy".

My sister, you can check her out here, has always seemed to be a runner.

She is in fabulous condition and I must admit, I am a little bit jealous of her physique!

I know she doesn't look like she does without working hard for it either.

So I decided today was the day (okay actually I decided last night at work) that I start a running program. To make it easy on myself, I spent some time last night at work typing out each of the workouts for each week. I figured out what times I would have to walk and jog during the workout so that I don't have to think too hard about when I have to change from jogging to walking and vice versa.

Now if that was too tough to understand, cuz it was kinda tough for me to understand and I wrote it, here is what I mean...

I have to have things visual in order to do things properly!

The above is this week's training schedule.

I thought posting each week (maybe twice a week) would give me some accountability.

My sister will probably be keeping tabs on me this way too! 

hehehe

Love you Kirsty!

This also falls under my resolutions for 2011! I can honestly say I haven't failed, but I haven't been "on top" of it like I had wanted to be.

I have to say, I felt great after I was done with the workout today.

During the workout I struggled a little bit, but seriously, this was not that tough!

I am ready and rarin' to go on Thursday!

If you are interested, I will be posting my workout breakdowns each week.

I would love it if some of you would take on this challenge with me.