My plan to beat mediocrity for the remainder of January is to really focus on my freelancing and earn some good money on the side, so I can take better control of my life and grow the talents that I want to be better at.
I’ve been complaining about my job for a while now; the other day I finally started turning it around and instead of complaining, I started posing ideas for doing things better. I do feel a little cynical – I really don’t think it’s going to go anywhere – BUT at the same time I’ve also managed to encourage myself and realize I have something of value to add to the discussion. And some good ideas that might be worth pursuing for myself, even if the company I work for doesn’t decide to pursue them.
Monday: Weights, elliptical
Tuesday: Jog-walk
Wednesday: Weights, elliptical
Thursday: Jog-walk
Friday: Weights, elliptical
I’m focusing more on weight training this week because I just realized I have an obstacle course I signed up for in August, so I need to focus a lot on total-body strength to ramp up for it. I’ve been getting more activity in though so I’m feeling good about this goal – I should at least be able to finish in October, even if I’m not out to break any records.
Husband and I decided to try going vegetarian for a week. I don’t think we are going to try doing it as a permanent thing, but we definitely broadened our horizons and want to rotate vegetarian meals into our routine. I think we might do it for one week a month, just to add some variety to our meal planning and reduce our impact. Unfortunately I have had two doctors inform me that there’s some evidence vegetarian women have a harder time with pregnancy – I’m already a bit challenged there, so I do not want to risk more complications than what I already have potential for. But I think doing it every so often will be a really good practice for us since we’re both animal lovers and trying to be healthier.
Good: spinach lasagna, quinoa, black beans
Bad: ... just have some Beano on hand while your body adjusts
One of my friends is having her 30th birthday so we’re planning on going in June :-) Vegas baby Vegas!
Starting my training now for the marathon in October. Today (Mon) I just did some general cardio – pretty out of shape so wanted to see where I was. Going to have to ease my way back into this bit by bit.
Tuesday: 5 min warmup, 15 minute total body strength training and stretching, 20 minute walk-jog, 5 minute cool down
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 5 min warmup, 15 minute total body, 20 minute walk-jog, 5 minute cool down
Friday: 5 min warmup, 30 minute walk-jog, 5 minute cool down
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest (post-NYE)
1) Waking up.
2) Discovering that we aren’t crazy – we accidentally bought decaf last time we were at the store and that’s why we haven’t been getting enough pep from our morning coffee for the last few weeks.
3) Having a good laugh
4) Being able to do cardio
5) Renewed hope in life
I feel pretty good about saying I can cook. I’ve found I can intuit through building a meal for myself and my husband with what we have in the pantry, even if I’m not working directly from a recipe. I can kind of skim through a variety of recipes to discover combinations to create the flavors I want without being married to a particular recipe. I have enough “staple meals” that I can make consistently as well that I feel good about. I’ve also made grandma’s Christmas cookies two years in a row now without incident, so I’d call it a success.
I don’t think about my surgery everyday anymore. I still get some phantom pains but they aren’t nearly as bad as they were and are usually associated with PMS. I’m also launching a website to provide support for other women who have to go through this same surgery in the future.
My scar is still pretty prevalent but I think that’s something that’ll always be around – hoping I can fade it over time with cocoa butter and gentle massage. Also most of my clothes are back to fitting pretty well – I’ve gained some weight so anything that doesn’t fit is probably because of that. Overall, I feel about a thousand percent better than I did in mid-September, and about a million percent better than I did back in August. Time to move on!
1) Having some down time playing video games for the first time in YEARS
2) That other people are better drivers than I am
3) That my dad raised me to be comfortable with technology
4) That even though I know about 5 people who’ve gone through surgery in the last 7 days, all of them are doing well and aren’t suffering from complications (thank you modern medicine)
5) THANKSGIVING IS TOMORROW!
I began my new job, more or less. We still have a few things to work out so we can practice in Illinois, but I’m trained up now and have started dipping my toe in the water. Hopefully we’ll be up and rolling full force by the end of next week.
I’m still pretty excited – our training went well and I like the people I’ll be working with, so we’ll see how things go from here.
I’ve been singing with my church’s band for a couple years now and am happy to say I have managed to sing harmony. I am usually NOT the one singing harmony, as I am a soprano and used to carrying the melody, but I’ve managed enough to be satisfied with myself. I plan to keep pursuing this goal over the long-term so I can do an entire song in harmony but the little flourishes I’ve added here and there are enough for me to call this goal done.
1) Red Bull
2) Technology
3) Music
4) That human beings discovered how to make food delicious
5) A renewed faith in people
I feel pretty good most of the time, but there still isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t get reminded that I had surgery and that my body isn’t itself. Clothes still aren’t fitting properly, and the past week and a half I have been exhausted. I started my new job and I know part of it is just settling in to having a job during the day now (even though it is a work-at-home). But I cannot believe how much my endurance has just… vanished. I am always ready to go to bed right at 9:00 and then when the alarm goes off at 6:30 I feel like I barely slept. It’s been 14 weeks – so 3.5 months. I don’t see why I should always be exhausted by now… I know my nerves are still healing, but that shouldn’t knock me flat like this, should it?
I’m about 5000 words behind right now, which I think is the first time this has happened to me that I’ve done a NaNo (except the year I just had to quit outright ‘cuz of school and work obligations).
I’m actually not too too stressed about it, because I feel like I can catch up. I think it’s just the typical week 2 doldrums. Trying to write a little extra today to catch up, though.
1) Facebook (sorry, I know it’s an addicting waste of time, but I love it and I love using it)
2) NaNoWriMo
3) My husband
4) Chinese food
5) BEAUTIFUL unseasonal weather… so warm out. so gorgeous.
I love NaNoWriMo. It’s pure unadulterated joy. And it’s the one thing I actually do consistently… I don’t just start and drop.
1) Managing to get what I needed to throw a surprise party for a friend who’s turning 30…
2) Deep fried food and margaritas.
3) American Dad
4) Noodles & Company
5) Fudge
(...clearly I’m focused on food today!)
