Well, its almost three weeks into 2011 and I have not posted my New Years Resolutions. I like posting these as its fun to look back and see what was actually accomplished.
So, first intention for 2011 is to blog/journal a little more. The whole reason I started blogging was to get my thoughts, frustrations, experiences...whatever down, with the intention of using it as a source to scrapbook. Uh, ya, well, I haven't scrapbooked in like, um, 5 years. My intentions are to scrapbook my Bali trip at some point this year. I need to do that too. I was just talking to a friend of mine and his wife...both from Indonesia about my Bali trip and I couldn't remember the names of the places I had visited, and it hasn't even been a year yet. UGH!
Resolutions, intentions, goals, whatever I want to call them, the things I want to focus on in 2011 are divided into four areas: Fitness/Health, Personal Growth/Relationships, Financial, and Travel.
Fitness/Health
I'll be honest with you all, I was not happy with how I looked in ANY of my Bali pictures. I was on my dream vacation but who I saw, wasn't me...or wasn't the me I wanted to see. The nails in the coffin were a hike in June at Sky Meadow State Park with two friends....I could barely make it and had to stop and take a rest half way up the darn hill. Huffing and puffing with calves burning and sweat pouring into my eyes, I realized I was REALLY, REALLY out of shape and things needed to change. At least at my annual exam in 2010, I hadn't gained any significant weight from the previous year...not the 15 pounds in 6 months like the year before that alarmed my doctor. However, after making a commitment to eat a little better and to start working out a little bit here and there...I had still gained 2 pounds. We had my thyroid checked, my blood sugar...everything and it all came back normal. I was as health as an ox, and in my opinion starting to get as big as one too. Well, after that hike, I decided things needed to change.
I had been subscribing to Oxygen Magazine, in my opinion, the best women's fitness magazine out there. I read it from cover to cover, every month, but was not applying it to my life. Yes, I was book smart. What good is book smart if you don't use the knowledge. I went through all my back issues and cut out the workouts and healthy recipes and made a plan. That plan was, I was going to go work out everyday at lunch time, for an hour. I had been avoiding that because I am a girl who sweats, a lot. If I worked out at lunch, there would be no time to shower, I'd be a stinking sweaty mess the rest of the day. Well, I decided that yes, I would be a stinking sweaty mess the rest of the day. That beats being an overweight, tired, pre-diabetic, heart attack waiting to happen. I choose lunch time because, everyday, I had that time slot open. I also knew I couldn't drag myself out of bed at 5 a.m. to make it to the gym. After work was constantly a challenge as things would constantly come up or I'd just be to tired at the end of the day. The sweat part....well, it can't be avoided, I decided to wipe down with baby wipes afterward and pull my hair back into a pony tail. So far, no one has complained about me smelling bad. I might not look the greatest with my hair in a pony and faded make-up, but I'm getting healthier. I also found I was more energized for the second half of my day. I really think the lunch work out has made me a more focused, clear minded employee who gets a lot more done.
The other big thing that happened in Bali was I kicked my Coca-Cola habit. Seriously, I'd drink about 2 - 20 oz cokes a day to wake up and to stay awake. That is like 500 or more wasted calories I have kicked out of my day.
My fitness goals in the gym were healthier than they had been in the past. I decided to not focus on weight loss, even though I'd like that as a result, that wasn't the goal in 2010. The goal was to form a new habit and get consistent, get stronger. I did see those results, except for the weight loss. I'll be honest, I was shocked in December when I weighed myself for the first time in six months and had gained 10 pounds. What the heck!
I was discouraged, yes, very much so. But that hadn't been my goal. Had I gotten consistent? Yes. Had I gotten stronger? Yes. Was I healthier? I think so. I was at least on my way and off the path of slowly killing myself.
Deciding not to sweat it during the holiday season, I used the time to continue with my work outs and make my new plan of attack. Which I'll outline in a future blog. My bench marks for 2011 are:
- Remain consistent with my workouts
- Be able to do one pull-up of my own body weight by this summer (June/July)
- Eat Healthier
- Complete the 100 push-up challenge
- Complete the 200 sit-up challenge
- Lose 40 pounds.
I'll come clean with you all. December 15th, when I weighed myself I was 180 pounds. Horrifying for me, a former three sport varsity athlete. I have been determined that the scale will, and I mean, WILL go in the other direction this year.
Personal Growth/Relationships
What activities are important to me and who are the important people in my life? Hands down, my personal relationship with Jesus has blossomed the past two years. That has been helped along by a wonderful bunch of women in my small group Bible study and the wonderful community in the singles ministry at Fuel. In addition to that though, I really miss the friendships at my smaller church and the solid teaching there. If only I could clone myself! Photography continues to be a passion of mine, however, I find that my work seems a bit stale. I need to do something to freshen my skills and hone my 'eye'. Intellectually, I love to learn, there is so much to learn and so many opportunities here in the DC area. One of the things holding me back both in the Personal Growth and the Fitness area is the chaos of things in my life. I need organization.
The areas of focus for 2011 will be:
- Take classes to grow in theological knowledge and spiritually
- Take a photography course
- Make more time to do things with my friends
- Attend more events and lectures at area museums
- Get organized.
Maybe getting organized should be a the top of the list. Because with out that, I won't be able to keep things straight, nor will I be able to feel rested or have time to do things if I'm constantly looking at the mess on the dining room table...or looking for my keys in the mess on my dining room table.
Financial
My big goal has been to get my credit card paid off and to keep it paid off, I think every year since becoming single again 14 years ago. I get so close, even get it paid off...only to have something happen to de-rail the plan. Well, the plan may get de-railed again, who knows. But, my goal again is to get the credit card paid. In addition to that, I will be getting my finances organized in such a way that I am saving monthly for things that need to be maintained (house, car) and things I'd like to do (vacation).
- Pay off the credit card
- Set-up savings accounts for house maintenance, car maintenance, vacation, emergencies.
Travel
I love to travel. Bali was such an amazing trip and there is SOOOOOO much of the world I want to see. While I may not be able to afford an overseas trip every year, I am committed to taking trips, even short day or weekend jaunts in the local area.
- Make vacation reservations for this year
- Make a 5-year vacation plan
- Set aside a weekend each month to explore locally.
So that is the plan. You and I both will have to keep checking back to see how it progresses.
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