Refresh

Hello friends and Happy New Year!

I'm so happy to see all the comments yesterday after being away from blogging for two whole months. I will reply to comments tomorrow, but I just wanted to share my #onelittleword for 2014 with you. I''ve decided on the word refresh. It will be my guiding word for the year, motivating and inspiring me to bring some much needed energy back into my diet, exercise regime, my home and even in a few personal relationships. Oh yeah.. and into my blogging too. ;)

Made by me using the Rhonna Designs App
Available in the AppStore.
Also available for Android

Have you thought about your word for 2014? 

Wishing you all a super happy and healthy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Happiness

Hey everyone. It's been more than two weeks since my last post. So much for finding my blogging groove, huh? I feel so out of touch with everyone, too.. I have no idea what's going on with my fellow bloggers. Now I feel that I'll never catch up. Please know that I hope you're all doing well.. keeping busy and having fun with whatever you love to do. 

Things have been pretty busy in our household lately. I know I mentioned in my last post all kinds of great things going on with my daughters. Most of the big stuff is done.. 8th grade semi formal, 8th grade overnight trip to Boston, dance recital, senior prom, etc. Now we're just riding out the rest of the school year for graduations--we've got two this year. Our youngest daughter, Anna, graduates 8th grade on June 24th and our eldest daughter Maria graduates high school on June 25th. I swear we have got to be the last school districts in the country to still be in school this late. We have Hurricane Sandy to thank for that for shutting down schools for almost two weeks last October. Anyway, lots of changes in store for us come September as Anna goes on to high school and Maria goes to college! It's all kinds of wonderful and scary. 

A few months ago.. 100 days ago to be exact ... I joined the 100 Day Happiness Project that my friend Mari started up on her blog. You can read more about the project on her blog HERE or visit my post about it on March 1 of this year HERE. Basically I posted a list of projects that I wanted to work on over 100 days from March 1 to June 9 that would make me feel good and spread happiness. I didn't do even half the things on my list. I only did two. Yes, procrastination is thy middle name. Along with distraction. I'm easily distracted by spur of the moment projects and other life events with my family. That's life. It's happening! [quoted from Mari].

Despite my project failure, I do not feel this project was a waste of my time. Not at all. The thing is, I did do a lot of things over the last 100 days that were productive and happy. Some things were new things and that's great! Some things were things I do all the time. Things that make me a better person and the world a better place. So I made a new HAPPINESS list:  

Made with www.picmokey.com
Photo of rose taken by me with iPhone 4S

This is a list I strive to live by every single day. Some days are better than others and I'm okay with that.

You know.. I think I really love this list.

What do you think?

"Rules for Happiness:

something to do,

someone to love,

something to hope for." 

-- Immanuel Kant 

My 100 Day Happiness Project

Did you know that being happy and having a positive attitude not only feels good, but improves your overall health? Being happy is a good for your health! But don't just sit there waiting for happiness to find to you.. make it happen. Choose to be happy.

How do you choose happiness? Do things that make you happy and send happiness out into the world. If it's cleaning your house, then so be it. If it's gardening, then do it. Recognize the things that make you happy and do them. Know, too, that helping others does a lot to contribute towards your own happiness.

Stemming from the realization that our happiness comes with a personal commitment to be happy, Mari who blogs at the Partyka project created a 100 Day Happiness Challenge to help her create some extra happiness in her life. I love a good challenge--and making lists-- and since I've actually been feeling a little down lately, I think this project would be good for me. Here's my list of things I'd like to do in the next 100 days, March 1 - June 9, in hopes of creating a little extra happiness for myself. :)

Made with my own image
text added using PicMonkey.com

Visit the Partyka project 100 Day Happiness Challenge for more info and to sign up! By the way, you don't have to make a fancy list like I did. You can just jot down a few things.. or just one thing. It's totally up to you!

Wish me luck! :)

COMPLETED: Whole Living {detox} Action Plan 2013

I finished the Whole Living {detox} plan* over the weekend, but I essentially ended it two days short of the full 21-Days. I threw my husband and surprise birthday party on Saturday night [he'll be a sexy 50 years old on Wednesday!] and while I did have detox-friendly food included in the spread, I just couldn't resist the more sinful party food! I ordered some hot food from a local restaurant--paella, chicken delicato (chicken breasts in a cream sauce with mushrooms, peas and pieces of ham), fried calamari and penne vodka. I had some wine to go with it. Then I served a fabulous fruit tart and tiramisu for dessert. I had some coffee to go with it. Perhaps a stronger person could have muddled through the party and completed the 21-Day cleanse on track, but I was not that person this time.

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't finish the full 21 days, but what bothers me more is that I broke too many rules all at once--dairy, chicken, shellfish, gluten, sugar, alcohol. I pretty much hit all the items on the taboo list in one night! Ugh!!! BUT it was my husband's birthday party, so if there was a time to cheat, it was an appropriate occasion. At this point, I'm finding solace in three things. One is that I only cut the plan short by two days. Better at day 19 than at day 9, right? Two is that I actually had fairly small portions of all the food. As the host, I was pretty busy making sure everyone had everything they needed and so on, so I didn't linger by the food for very long. Third, I'm back on track for healthy, mindful eating today.

So what do I do now?

My plan now is to continue with the healthy eating patterns that I employed during the cleanse, specifically along the lines of the Week 3 guidelines, but including lean chicken, beef and shellfish and also allowing myself occasional servings of gluten foods (wheat, barley and rye), low fat dairy (such as fat free, unsweetened Greek yogurt), wine, coffee and an occasional treat. In order to help stay on track with this mindful eating, I'm using the LoseIt app again to log the food I eat. I'll also be logging calories burned in my workouts in the app, which will help me stay within a caloric budget that will promote weight loss, too. I hope! I want this year to finally be the year I reach my target weight once and for all. Wish me luck and send me any extra discipline you might have lying around, would you?

This wraps up my experience with the 2013 Whole Living detox Action Plan. Thanks for reading!

What's your favorite go-to healthy snack?


*For more information about the 2013 detox plan and how I coped, visit these posts HERE and HERE.

UPDATE: Whole Living {detox} Action Plan 2013 +RECIPES!

Drinking my greens!
{kale, carrots, celery, pear} 

Hello everyone! Last weekend I posted about a 21-Day clean eating detox plan I'm currently following and I thought I'd give an update. But first, in case you missed what this detox is all about, it's basically a 21 day food based plan of sparse and simple clean eating that is designed to give your digestive system--especially your liver, a much needed break from working so hard to clean your body of impurities. By sparse and simple clean eating, I mean eating small amounts of highly nutritious, easy to digest foods. All meals are made from whole food ingredients, organic as much as possible and absolutely no processed foods or beverages, no sugar, alcohol, dairy or gluten (wheat, barley, rye) for the duration of the plan. Through this clean eating plan, your body gets a chance to catch up on cleaning out your system and you essentially gets a clean slate for a healthier you. For more information and source links, visit last week's post, Whole Living {detox} Action Plan 2013.

Salad with Orange and Sardines

In week one, I ate ONLY vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and plant-based oils. It was tough, but I made it. Today is Day 14 for me, marking the end of the second week and I'm still going strong. Meals were more satisfying and easier to plan this week since I was allowed to add fish, beans, legumes and gluten-free grains to my diet. The foods I added this week were quinoa, oats, brown rice, cannellini (white) beans, tuna, salmon and sardines. Yes, sardines! This was a first time for me--am I the only one who's never had sardines before? Well, I'm glad I finally did because they were a lot better than I expected! Did you know sardines are super good for you, too? They're also a very affordable and sustainable choice. I bought a 3.75 oz can of boneless, skinless sardines in olive oil (the only ingredients being sardines and olive oil) from Trader Joe's for under $3. Okay, so if you're feeding a hungry family of 5, maybe it's not the cheapest protein source, but since they're so healthy, I'm going to make them a regular choice in my salads in the future. I had them in a green salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

Have you ever had sardines? If so, how do you like to prepare them?

The toughest part of Week 2 continues to be preparing "regular" meals for my family--they're still eating meat, dairy and gluten-foods such as pasta or bread--and making something completely different for myself. It was a bit easier this week, however, because we all could eat rice and fish a couple of nights, but I couldn't make them eat that every night! The key was to make sure my meal was planned and even ready before starting their dinner. This way I could have a few bites as I got hungry or started wanting a bite of their pasta or chicken. I stayed strong, though!

But.. I have a confession. I ate an oreo one night last week. Gah! For some reason I bought my kids a pack of Birthday Cake Oreos last week. I usually bake homemade snacks or treats for my family, but I thought that would be too tempting for me during the detox, so I bought them the Oreos instead. Well.. I was going mad not having one, so I did. Ugh. What a mistake. Not that I'm riddled with guilt or anything.. but it tasted SO sugary sweet and fake! Ick! I hope this means I'm on my way to un-conditioning myself to want sugar. I hope!

So what new recipes did I try this week? 
Two of them were hits and will make regular appearances in my diet long after this detox is over. One is quinoa porridge for breakfast. It takes a little while to cook the quinoa, but I'm learning to start my day with a mug of hot water and lemon and then waiting 30 to 60 minutes before eating, so I don't mind the time it takes to prepare the quinoa. It can also be made ahead and reheated. The other is Dried Fruit and Oat Bars--a great afternoon snack or workout snack. I'll be making these in the spring to take along on those long bike rides. I adapted both of these recipes to my own preferences and have posted them separately from this post so that I can link them with my other recipe posts more easily.

In the meantime, here's a quick and easy recipe for homemade pear sauce that I made when the mood for something apple-pie-like struck me last week. It's a delicious sweet snack with no added sugar--it's nice warm or cold--and a whole lot healthier than a piece of pie! I've decided this is my favorite way to eat pears. I'm just not crazy eating them out of hand or in a salad.

Unsweetened Pear Sauce 
6-8 pears, peeled and diced (I used a combination of Bosc and D'Anjou or Bartlett pears)
1 small cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/4 lemon)
water

Combine pears, cinnamon stick, lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover the pears halfway, about 1 - 1 1/2 cups water. Simmer pears until they are soft and about half of the water remains, stirring frequently, mashing a bit towards the end with a spoon. Remove cinnamon stick and let cool. Delicious served warm or chilled. Can be used in the recipes for Quinoa Porridge with Blueberries and Dried Fruit & Oat Bars [both vegan].

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Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun! 

Note: your post does not have to be posted on the weekend, but do visit Beth's blog over the weekend to link up your post. 

Whole Living {detox} Action Plan 2013

This time last year I did my first ever detox diet, following the food-based body cleanse featured in the 2012 January-February Whole Living magazine. Since then, I've done a 24 hour green juice cleanse but that's about as extreme as I'd go. The detox diets presented by Whole Living magazine are food-based plans that restrict your diet to simple, whole foods in spare quantities that are gentle on your digestive system. This gives our detoxifying organ, our liver, a break from being overworked, allowing it to focus on cleansing our body of impurities. The diet is sparse, yet nutrient dense to supply our body what it needs most for a much needed tune up.

The beginning of my first detox last year was challenging, but I muddled through those first really tough days and managed to stick it out for the full 3 weeks. I lost a few pounds, which was great, but the best part was that I broke my addiction to caffeine*, discovered the awesomeness of green juicing and found out I felt lighter, more comfortable and less bloated when not eating gluten foods. It's not even that I thought I felt bloated before, but rather that I could feel the difference when I wasn't eating those foods compared to how I normally felt. I don't otherwise have difficulty with gluten foods, but it did make me mindful of how much wheat is in my diet practically at every meal. I think we, as Americans, unnecessarily consume far too much wheat--a dietary trend that is actually considered harmful in some nutritional circles [See Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD and Crazy, Sexy Diet by Kris Carr among others].

[*since breaking my coffee addiction, I no longer get frequent migraines. Whereas I used to get 2-3 per month, I only had 2-3 in all of 2012! Something to think about if you suffer from migraines.]

In any case, my mindfulness of wheat foods in my diet didn't stick the entire year. Eventually I went back to eating at least one wheat-based food per meal whether it be breakfast cereal, bread, power bars, pasta, crackers, cookies and other baked goods. Not the direction I had hoped to take.

Sometime amidst the holiday season of plentiful and delicious foods and treats, I began to look forward to a return to some serious healthy eating, including a jump start to a healthy year by revisiting the Whole Living detox plan. I heard rumors that Whole Living magazine was going to be discontinued, which at this point I think is accurate news. I'm quite sad about this, since I only discovered this magazine a year and a half ago and I thoroughly enjoy it. In any case, I received the January-February 2013 issue of Whole Living magazine in my mailbox last weekend and instantly jumped on this year's detox plan.

The 2013 Whole Living Action Plan is very similar to last year's, so I was already familiar with the strategy and even have a repertoire of recipes to which to turn. This latest issue is also chock full of new recipes to help participants have a successful and enjoyable detox. I've already prepared most of the Week 1 recipes, which were all very good.

Blueberry Mint Smoothie and
The Jan-Feb 2013 issue of Whole Living magazine

I started my 2013 21-Day detox on Monday, January 14 and after a few rough days of hunger, bloating and crankiness, I think the worst is behind me and I'm now feeling good about the detox and how my body is responding.

Here are this year's guidelines:

NO caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy, gluten, processed foods or beverages.

All of these tax our liver and digestive systems.

Start every morning with a mug of hot water with a squeeze of lemon. 
There are many benefits to this morning ritual, including the fact that it aids in digestion and detoxification of the body by stimulating the digestive system and helps loosen the toxins in the digestive tract. I love this part of the detox. I know so many people rely on coffee to jump start their day, but why not consider having hot water with lemon upon rising and waiting an hour before reaching for caffeine. I continued this ritual last year for several months, but fell out of habit when the warmer months approached. I hope to make hot water with lemon first thing in the morning a permanent part of my daily ritual starting now.

Why You Should Drink Warm Water & Lemon from MindBodyGreen
Drinking Hot Water & Lemon in the Morning from Livestrong.com

Drink plenty of water. 
We hear this all the time, right? Drinking plenty of water--aim for 64 oz. a day--to keep hydrated and facilitate your body in flushing out impurities.

Week 1: Eat ONLY vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, lentils, plant-based oils and seasonings.

Week 2: Introduce fish [not shellfish], legumes, beans and gluten-free grains such as brown rice, quinoa and oats.

Week 3: Introduce eggs and organic, non-GMO soy 
[specifically, tofu and edamame as these are the most natural, unprocessed forms of soy].

So what do I want to get out of this detox action plan?
First and foremost, I want to jump start my year to healthy eating and I think this cleanse can get me to a great starting point--a cleaner body and some new eating habits. Like hot water and lemon in the morning, more green juices and green smoothies, and eating mostly vegetables throughout the day and fewer daily servings of wheat. I'm not quite in the school of thought that wheat needs to be completely eliminated from our diets, but I would like to generally eat less wheat and wheat products.

If I'm honest, I also hope to jump start some weight loss with this detox. I lost 30+ lbs. in 2010 and have kept it off, but would love to lose another 20+ lbs. Or at least lose inches in certain areas of my body. Whether that's 15, 20 or 25 lbs. from where I am now, I know when I'll get there.

How am I doing with Week 1?
Today is Day 5 and I'm feeling pretty good. The first three days were the roughest. I was hungry and cranky.. craving carbohydrates and sugar. I felt bloated and uncomfortable and quite fatigued by the end of the day, but at least I slept well! I maintained some low to moderate workouts throughout the week, which I think my digestive system welcomed as did my mental health! As many of you know, I exercise almost every day, so I needed to get out there and move for my personal sanity. By the middle of the week, I found some relief from the bloating (I'll spare you the details) and I felt as though I put the worst behind me. My body is now comfortable, although I do still fell hungry several times a day. Although.. maybe I'm not hungry but rather just craving sugar in the form of a cookie, muffin or even a bite of good bread! Those habits die hard! But after five straight days of this, I'm not wasting all that hard effort and sacrifice on a cheat so I'm sticking it out. On Monday I'll start Week 2 and be able to eat fish, legumes, and gluten free grains. The addition of protein will provide the liver with amino acids it needs to flush out more toxins.

My favorite recipes from Week 1: All of the green juices are very good, but I think I like the Cucumber-Pear Juice best. For the entrees, it's a toss up between the Creamy Broccoli Soup and the Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew. The latter tastes even better the next day!

Creamy Broccoli Soup
[see recipe link in paragraph above]

Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew
[see recipe link in paragraph above]

For recipes and more information about how the cleanse works, check out the January-February 2013 issue of Whole Living magazine on newsstands or the Whole Living website at http://www.wholeliving.com/216880/2013-whole-living-action-plan.

I also highly, highly recommend you visit Sarah Britton at her website My New Roots for tons of information on detoxing your body and living and eating clean and healthy. She offers sound advice and so many wonderful mouthwatering recipes that are super good for you. Here are some links to get you started:

Simple Detox For All from Sarah Britton at My New Roots

A New Year, A New You! Sarah B's Whole Living Detox Plan 2013

A New Year, A New You! Sarah B's Whole Living Detox Plan 2012

Have you ever treated your body to a detox before?

Have you ever given up a food or foods that you absolutely loved for an extended period of time? How did you do?

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Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun! 

Note: your post does not have to be posted on the weekend, but do visit Beth's blog over the weekend to link up your post. 

New Year's Day 5K

Happy New Year!

For the last four years, I've started my New Year with a local 5K Race called The Hangover Run, aptly named following a night of perhaps one too many glasses of champagne the night before as people welcome the New Year. For me, I just like starting my year with a push.

Running 5K isn't particularly challenging for me--that's the distance I typically run two days a week among my other workouts. But running a race is always a push because I can't just go out there and do it to have fun. Oh I do have fun doing it, but I guess I'm a bit competitive [with myself] and I feel compelled to try to beat my time from my last race and set a personal best. Well, sadly, I didn't do that. I ran 5K in 30:59 [9:58 min mile pace] which is faster than my every day pace, but not faster than I ran it last January [30:31] or faster than my personal best [30:02]. I know I should be pleased with my effort and results, but truthfully, I'm kinda disappointed. But don't worry.. I'll get over it.

Hangover Run 5K
January 1, 2012

Because you know what I'm going to do about my disappointment? Turn it into motivation! I'm going to train more seriously to improve my running time in 2013. Which, I think includes losing some weight and finally reaching my target weight in 2013. I mean.. who wants to run 3+ miles with a 20lb. backpack on? I didn't think so.  So here I am repeating my goal for the last two years to run a 5K in under 30 minutes by the end of the year.

Looking back for a moment...

In 2012: 
I RAN        244.87 miles
I BIKED  1672.43 miles

I SPENT 292.71 hours EXERCISING

THAT'S 12 days 4 hours 48 minutes OF EXERCISE.

Which actually doesn't sound like a whole heck of a lot to me right now. . But if you want to see what I did in all those hours of exercise, feel free to scroll through my monthly workout logs on my fitness journal blog See How She Runs...

So what do I want to accomplish in 2013?
I'm still exploring specific events, but I'd like to do the following: 

• Run a 5K Race in under 30 minutes. 
• Bike another Gran Fondo [100 miles] or other long distance bike event. 
• Do another Sprint Triathlon.  

My first choice is to do the Danskin Tri again, but once again.. it is on the SAME DAY as the NJ Gran Fondo, so I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe the SheRox Tri in August if it doesn't coincide with our summer vacation. I'll have to see.. 

What are your fitness goals for 2013?

Wishing you all a year of good health and happiness in 2013!

The Party's Over

No more holiday debauchery! It's time to get focused again on healthy eating and regular exercise.

I used the Lose It app on my iphone in 2010, which I swear was the key to my weight loss success [I lost 30 lbs. from April-November 2010]. But then I got stuck on a weight loss plateau for a couple of months that I just couldn't overcome, so I took a break from tracking my daily calories for a while. The good news is that I managed to keep the weight off for all of 2011. Well, except for two pounds... pish! The bad news is that I never got to my target weight and I still really want it. 

Soooo.... today I got on the scale and started a new program on the Lose It app. I went over my calorie budget today, but I'm okay with that for now. I'll ease back into the program this week as I get re-accustomed to proper portion sizes and better snack choices and so on. If everything goes according to plan, I should reach my goal weight between May and July--depending on whether I lose 1 or 1.5 lbs. a week.  

Have you made a New Year's Resolution to lose weight this year? 

Eat healthier?  Exercise regularly? 

I almost followed with, 'Let me know--misery loves company!' ... but truthfully, this is not going to be miserable. It's going to be fantastic! It's not going to be easy and I might get a little cranky... but it'll be worth it because I know it'll feel great! 

Who's with me?

Learn more about the Lose It app in the app store in iTunes or at www.loseit.com.  Lose It is also available for the Android.

For some great advice on achieving success with your resolutions, see this article on Four Keys to New Year's Resolution success written by Sean on The Adventures of a Bookonaut.

New Year's Resolutions & Challenges 2011

BIRDSEED IN THE SNOW

Happy New Year! :)

I've made a few New Year's resolutions and challenges for myself in books, health and fitness, photography and ... well... a resolution to work on my list of goals. You know that last one made a lot of sense when I wrote it down... now it sounds really silly. :o)

BOOKISH GOALS:

I had so much fun with the reading challenges I joined in 2010 even though I only met 7 out 12 of those challenges. So of course, I'm inspired to join several new ones this year!

My reading style really expanded in 2010 such that I've read more books from a wider variety of genres than ever before in my life and I loved it. I did not meet my goal of reading 100+ books in 2010--I read 83, yet I'm not even that disappointed because what I did read was so enjoyable. Yet I'm still going to try for 100 books in 2011. ;)

I'll be making individual posts on the following reading challenges and book clubs over the next few days so that each one has it's own place for me to keep track of the books I read, but here's a list of the reading challenges and book clubs I'm joining this year:

In Death Series Reading Challenge hosted by Me [ongoing]
Steampunk Challenge hosted by Rikki
What's In a Name 4 Challenge hosted by Beth Fish
Take a Chance Challenge 3 hosted by Jenners
A-Z Mystery Challenge {by the author} hosted by Michelle
100+ Books in 2011 hosted by ???? [still looking for one to join...]

Authors by the Alphabet Book Club hosted by Paula
Women in Fantasy Book Club hosted by Erikka

Sounds like fun reading, right? :)


HEALTH & FITNESS GOALS:

My 5K Personal Best:
One of my fitness goals for 2010 was to run a 5K in 31 minutes. I participated in a 5K last year on New Year's Day and ran it in 34:51. I signed up for the same 5K race today, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to all the snow and ice still on the roads around here from last week's blizzard. The race is rescheduled for January 30, 2011 so I'll have to wait till then to see if I met my goal. :)

Fitness Challenge 2011
I'm aiming to exercise for 100 "fitness miles" per month in 2011. One "fitness mile" is equivalent to one mile walked or run OR 15 minutes of other cardiovascular or strength training activity that elevates my heart rate to my target heart rate zone. In fact, I'm planning on hosting this as a challenge for others to join in on a monthly basis. Let me know in the comments if you think you might be interested in something like this. All you'll need to do is keep your own log either privately [for example, on a piece of paper, your computer, etc.] or you can keep a log on your blog, like I do. See my fitness blog see how she runs... if you want to see how I did it. More information on this to come... :)

Triathlon
September 11, 2011
Already signed up!!! Weeeeeeeee!
Still haven't started training for the swimming component, but I did buy a fitness swimsuit at least. Now to get myself in the darned pool...

Get to my target weight.
Some of you who follow my blog regularly already know I started using the Lose It! App on my iPhone last April. I've lost nearly 37 lbs. in the last nine months, but have a bit more to go to get to my goal weight. I just got my body fat measured at my gym this morning and was pleased with my results. I'm currently in the 70th percentile for my age group, meaning that out of 100 women, 30 have a lower percent body fat than me and 70 have a higher percent body fat than me. I'm going to repeat the body fat test in June after I've lost these last 23 lbs., hoping to end up in the 85-90th percentile.

If one of your goals for 2011 is to lose some weight and get in better shape, I recommend you download the free Lose It! app to your iPhone or iPod Touch today and get started. You can also now use the Lose It! app for free by setting up an account on their website at http://loseit.com. And there's a brand new Lose It! book out, too. If you start using Lose It! and want someone to compare notes with and help keep you motivated, request me as a friend and we can support each other. If you know my gmail email address, you can find me there with that. Otherwise email me at the email address on my blogspot profile and I'll let you know how to add me.


It's a fantastic tool. I'm telling you, if you use it, you will Lose it! :)

OTHER FUN GOALS:

Project 365 Take Three.
I'm making another attempt at a Project 365 --a photography project on Flickr. The idea is to take at least one photograph a day for a whole year. I failed at this twice already in 2010, so I'm trying it again. They say the third time's a charm, right? I can only hope! LOL

My first photo is the birdseed in the snow photo in this post. :)

My daughter is still going strong with her Project 365 at day 192!

My 101 Things to do in 1001 Days
I started this personal challenge in May 2010 and haven't accomplished too much yet, so I'm going to make a bigger effort to make a dent into this list in 2011. 


So what do you think? Over ambitious or achievable?

I'd love to hear about any New Year's Resolutions or goals you've made for 2011. :)


Wishing you all a peaceful, happy and healthy New Year! xo

Running BEFORE the crack of dawn.

Seriously. Who does that?

I've been getting all my Reading Challenge posts ready when I started toying with the idea of doing some kind of Health & Fitness journal slash blog, but am not really sure yet. I'll probably just keep posting here in a book, running, recipe pattern that keeps repeating.

In Fitness Challenge news, orannia and I have made an unofficial, but I think honest commitment to train for a triathlon in 2011. *High five!* Unfortunately, we won't be doing the actual triathlon together because we live on opposite sides of the planet, but we'll be virtual training partners. I know 2011 sounds so far away, but I'm going to need some time to train for it, especially the swimming part. Definitely a weakness. I can certainly swim... just not with great form or technique. In addition, I'm going to need the extended training period because the recent decline of my father-in-law's health now requires more intense, round the clock care for him, which is going to restrict the time I can spend exercising outside the home.

In the meantime, I'm continuing with the running and other cardio classes at the gym, although my long time standing routine of working out weekday mornings at the gym between 9-11 am is going to have to shift to 6-7 am. Truth be told, it's not really my thing to get up at 5:30 am to workout. I'm more of a night owl than an early bird. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do if she wants to be fit, be healthy, and feel good. And if she wants to improve her running times in races. And if she wants to climb those hills on her bike. And if she wants to do a triathlon in 2011.

My running class instructor, who has also become a friend to me over the last several months, offered to go running with me this morning at 6 am because she knew I wouldn't be able to make her beloved running class anymore. Isn't that so nice of her? I mean really. Who else would offer to go running with you at 5:30 am in the pitch black, 21 F winter weather? How could I say no?

So we ran 3 miles at my pace and finished in 35 minutes, which is pretty much my standard pace, but I know it was totally like a stroll in the park for her. I saw her stats. She ran the 5K last Friday at a 7 minute mile pace. Can you see why she's my inspiration? And she never makes me feel like I'm holding her back. She's awesome like that. You all should hire her as your personal trainer.

Anyway, we're running along, chatting away, getting passed by cars, blinded by the headlights of people obviously on their way to work, when I have this interesting revelation. I've been that driver on my way somewhere early in the morning when it's still dark or frigid cold and have passed runners all bundled up and wearing reflective clothing. I would think to myself, "Who in their right mind gets up this early on this cold of a day and goes out running in the dark? Running! How do they do it? What makes them do it?"

Those runner people were always so "other" to me. And yet, there I was today, one of those "others." Me! I'm doing that crazy pre dawn, running in frigid temperatures thing. And doing it willingly, no less. It was an interesting revelation to find myself on the flip side of my own perspective today. I suppose that means I've got a new perspective now. :)

Stay tuned for those Reading Challenges I keep promising. I'm getting them up very soon! Hopefully tomorrow.

Starting the New Year on the right foot . . .

. . . by running in a 5K Race today! :)

Happy New Year! Today's race was a local 5K Hangover Run, named so because it is held every year on New Year's Day.

Here's a photo of my runner's tag and the t-shirt that was given out to participants. Pretty cool that I was No. 3 when there were upwards of 500 runners there today. Before the race, I crossed paths with the girl with No. 1 and we eyed each other. I don't know why we caught each other's eye, but it was funny.

The weather was perfect for a winter run today: clear, almost sunny with temperatures around 35 F (2 C) and no wind. The no wind is a huge plus because that wind chill factor is brutal on winter running. There's snow on the ground from yesterday, but fortunately it warmed up enough that most of whatever precipitation accumulated on the pavement had melted. In fact, there was only one small section of the route that was a bit slushy, but since no one ahead of me looked like they were slipping, I just ran through it like everyone else.

I finished the 5K (3.1 miles) in 34:35. I think. Or was it 35:34? Or maybe 34:50? Hmm... I'll have to wait for the race results to get posted before I know for sure. Right now I feel good that it's January 1, 2010 and I was out running and in a race no less. Even better, I know I ran an 11 minute mile pace in this race as opposed to the 12 minute mile pace I ran in the 5 Mile Run back in November. I know today's race was a lot shorter than the one in November, so my pace doesn't necessarily indicate improvement. It's probably just because I slow down the longer I run, so my average pace is slower in longer races. Makes sense, right? Still, I'm happy with today's pace. Now if only I could run closer to a 10 minute mile . . .

Actually, I think I'm going to make that one of my fitness goals for 2010! To run a 5K in 31 minutes by January 1, 2011. I think that's a serious challenge for me, but it's my goal nonetheless.

What are your fitness goals for 2010?

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!

January 4, 2010

Edited to add: I checked the race stats online and I ran the 5K in 34:51 which puts my pace at 11:12.9. Not too bad, but I'd still love to get my pace in the 10 minute range. :)

My New Year's Resolutions

I have never really been able to effectively keep my New Year's Resolutions until about five years ago when I started to make them sexual in nature.  What can I say?  They were fun resolutions... and still haven't broken a single one of them yet! (Go, me!)   This year's resolution follows suit with my own personal tradition,  but I want to make a second one that you can help me with. Interested? Yeah...  I thought you would be.  ;)  

Okay, so here it is:  My second  New Year's Resolution for 2008 is to read more novels by authors who are not represented in 'mainstream' romance.  So if you read any exceptional ebook authors, non 'NY published' authors, or an author whose book(s) are just not promoted as effectively as some otherwise more popular authors, let me know.   I just know I am missing out on some fantastic reads out there and would love to discover some hidden shining star!  .... and because the perfect TBR pile should be kept close to 100 books at all times, don't you think? ;)