2013 Goals

So, I’ve been thinking about my goals for the coming year. Of course I’ll be focusing on my health. Particularly on losing the weight that I’ve regained. Last week I was at 176 lbs, my goal is to get back down to 145.

It’s completely ridiculous for me to be yo-yoing in my weight, especially since I know what I should be doing. I know how to lose the weight. I know that being lazy, weak and complacent is what got me back up there. And I know that my poor health choices have been at least partially a result of the stress around all the mom stuff.

So there. Goal #1, get back down to 145 by making healthy food choices the majority of the time, and by intentionally sweating (aka exercise) 6 days a week.

My other goal has to do with quilting. I went through and organized my fabric. I had no idea that I had so many “kits” put together that are just waiting to be sewn and quilted. I definitely have enough to keep me busy for the next year. So my goal is to complete the kits and UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) that are sitting there in the grocery bags awaiting my attention. I’m also placing a moratorium on buying new fabric, except as needed to complete the goal (like for backings and bindings).

So that’s goal #2.

I think 2 goals is plenty for this year, especially with everything else going on – mom, trying to buy a house, and general life.

Prizes are still coming. I’m thinking every 10 pounds I get a little prize. I think I get a little prize for every completed quilt.

Prizes are things that I like, but that I can never justify the cost for…
Haircut (10 lbs gone)
Massage (20 lbs gone)
Movie with popcorn and snacks (30 lbs gone)

I’ll need to re-count my projects to come up with the right number/scale of prizes. I’ll post again later once I’ve figured that out.

Small Change

Remember how at the beginning of the year, I posted that one of my goals was to complete 1 quilting or sewing project each month? I’ve been doing really well with that, right? Well, I’m going to have to amend that goal.

I’d defined “complete” as being completely ready to use or gift… all the way down to the label and binding being attached. But here’s the thing: DH and I are planning to buy a house within the next few months. We know that whatever home we buy will need some kind of work, even if it’s just paint and floors. So, to afford these future costs, we’re cutting expenses now and putting that money aside.

I’m still planning on finishing quilt tops. I have a lot of fabric that’s set aside for specific projects. I just don’t have enough fabric for backing so that I can actually complete the quilts.

So that’s it… just a little change to the terms of my goals… 🙂

April 2012 Project

Here’s my April project. It’s a quilt, done in batiks (and batik imposters). One of my coworkers saw a pile of the fabric on my desk and asked if she could have the quilt when it was done. I said yes, and the rest is history.

The back is far from perfect, but C was thrilled anyway. She said that nobody had made a quilt for her before – not even her mom who has made quilts for other family members. So, I hope you enjoy your quilt, C!

This is the front. Pretty colors! It’s on a full sized bed so it’s pretty big. It’s supposed to be a twin sized quilt.

A closeup of the borders and quilting. The bulk of the quilt was done in a hearts and flowers pattern. The borders alternates between hearts, flowers and curlicues.

The back. This fabric was originally going to be living room curtains. I think it works better as a backing.

It’s been kinda… meh.

It’s time for another goals check-in! So far I have to say I’ve been pretty “meh” about the goals – at least about the ones that aren’t fun. The one that I’m falling down the worst on is eating real food. It’s sooo hard for me to do that one. I don’t know why. Is it the will-power thing? Is it lack of planning? I don’t know. I just know that it’s way too easy to eat weird stuff.

To a lesser extent I’m having issues with avoiding white stuff. When I’m home it’s pretty easy to avoid it. The only white things I have in my house are sugar and flour – and those are saved for baking. But when we go out to eat, it becomes a lot harder. Same thing at work too.

I downloaded a C25K app on my iPhone the other day. I had plans of working through it with DH starting today (he wants to run a half marathon with me, but he doesn’t run now). He got sick this weekend so I started it myself. The app is pretty good. I like having the audio cues so that I don’t have to look at my phone so much. The only down side is that it doesn’t keep track of how far I run. When I got home I had to figure it out with mapping software. Oh well. The point of the app is to use it as a cheat sheet for the C25K program, right? Right. I won’t be ready to run the whole 5k that I signed up for on March 11, but I’ll be ready for the next one.

So far I haven’t looked any further than the 5K in March. I should probably get on it and sign up for a couple more 5K’s and a couple of 10K’s too.

I’ve already finished 2 projects for February. Both are bags. One is cute, the other not so much. I also screwed up on a handle for the not cute bag. Oh well, it adds to the charm, right?

I’ve been doing super well with cooking a new recipe each week. Last night I made a super simple shrimp dish. Last week I made beef stroganoff. Oh, and today I’m trying my hand at a berry cobbler from our new Disney cookbook. I’m not sure what to make of the cobbler… it doesn’t look “right” to me.

I haven’t gotten started with the computer/work related goals either. I probably should start to do that soon.

Oh! And I did the first step for buying a house – I got our taxes ready to file. I just need to look at them one more time, get DH to hook up the printer again, and file them. I also got the paperwork together to change my name on our checking account. I want to start going through closets and cabinets and storage to get rid of things I don’t want to move into a new place. I know we’re several months away from buying, but I don’t want to have the added stress of a mad-tossing party.

I’ve also been helping my brother out with his blog (http://goesgreatwithbeer.com). He comes over once a week and cooks a meal. The meal is paired with beer. We post the recipe and a picture. He took a couple weeks off because I wasn’t home, but we’re back up and running now.

OK – it’s just about time to fold the laundry. Then I need to figure out what else is on today’s to do list. Until next time!

The cute bag

 

The not so cute bag

 

January Project

As some of you may know, one of my goals for 2012 is to finish a quilting or sewing project each month.  I had a few different options for projects, but I decided to finish one that I started in November.  I had most of the fabric (including the backing!) in my stash at that time.  There were a few yards purchased in the November Shop Hop so that I would have enough to complete the quilt.  I quickly pieced the top in those bright inks and greens I currently love so much.  I sandwiched the top, batting and back together and got to quilting.  I got the whole thing quilted and THEN turned it over to survey the back… and was horrified.  Soooo many mistakes.  Mistakes I would have caught had I checked the back WHILE I was quilting.

I decided to leave the bulk of the terrible quilting and pull out the most offensive portions.  It took 3 days to pull out the quilting in the border (the worst spot).  And then I was so disgusted I didn’t want to look at the stupid thing.  So it sat on the sofa, reminding me of my mistake.  By the time I finally got the gumption to re-quilt the border I’d fallen while jogging and everything hurt.  The blanket sat there some more until I decided to finish it for my January project.

So here it is, in all its error filled glory:

Springy pink and green quilt

 

A closeup of the problematic border

2012 Goals Check-in

Time to check in with my 2012 goals:

Cook 1 new recipe each week
So far, so good.  I didn’t think I’d get a new recipe in this week because we weren’t planning on eating dinner at home this week.  Staying home on Sunday instead of going out to San Francisco worked to my advantage.  I made split pea soup with yellow peas that I found at the Indian market by my house.  Pretty yummy.  I didn’t follow the directions 100% though…  I dumped everything in the pot and let it cook instead of adding the carrots and celery in the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Eat real food
This one I’m falling down a bit on.  Most bread in the supermarket has some kind of weird preservative in it.  I’m also trying to use up my peanut butter and salad dressings before I buy more (budgets, ya know).  And of course the cookies and candy at work don’t really work so well for this.  I just need to focus more and be more aware of what I’m putting in my mouth and what I’m buying.  I can do that.  It might be difficult at Disneyland next week, but I’ll do my best.

No white grains
Do onion bagels count as white grain?  Or the rice at lunch yesterday?  Or the flour that’s used to make those delicious cookies in the lunch room?  I’m pretty sure they do.  *sigh*  FOCUS Danie!  I’ve been doing good except for those three slip-ups.  And my sister was super sweet to buy pizza with whole wheat crust for my nephew’s birthday.  Thanks Sis! Yay me – I’m almost succeeding with this one!

Finish one quilt or sewing project each month
All I have to do is attach a border to this hot pink quilted throw I made and the project for month #1 is done!  I also have the stuff I need to complete at least on project for month #2!  This goal is going well.

Buy a house, not a condo
I showed DH some McMansions around our neighborhood that we almost have 10% down on.  I think we’ll probably end up buying something a little more manageable payment and upkeep wise (read: smaller and cheaper).  We have 20% down on bank-owned prices for smaller homes, but we need to save more for closing costs and any repairs/upgrades the houses might need.

Learn basic web development technologies
I haven’t even started on this one.  DH showed me a series of videos I can watch to get the basics down and then take tests to get certified on this stuff.  I’m just not super motivated on this, though.  Got any tips to get me motivated?

Get Project+ certified
This is a direct response to some project management training work sent me to awhile back.  I have all of the training materials I need sitting in the 2nd bedroom upstairs.  Have I watched one refresher video?  No.  Read one chapter of one book?  No.  Maybe I need some prizes to motivate me, what do you think?

Run a 5k without stopping; complete three 5k races; complete two 10k races; complete at least one half marathon; wear a bikini comfortably in public
I decided to lump all of these goals together because they each build on one another.  I signed up for a 5k, I joined a gym, and my rib is healed so I can focus on these goals more.  My weight went up in response to the gym-going though.  Just a pound, but I know that is water retention from the upper body workout I did yesterday.  Seriously, my arm muscles are so sore that it’s a miracle I could turn on the shower this morning.  I also jogged on the treadmill twice this week, which felt really good.  I’ll keep doing that until I’m jogging for the whole 30 minutes the gym allows.

 

This food thing is hard!

Granted I haven’t been focusing super much on food for awhile, but I don’t remember it being this hard!  Like today, I added one of those little packages of liquid creamer to my coffee when we went out to breakfast today without thinking anything of it.  During a lull in the conversation I thought “I wonder what’s in that.”  I looked at the package and saw that it listed 2% milk, heavy cream, and some weird additive.  Three ingredients, but one of them was weird.  *sigh*

Then I ordered a Denver omelet.  Sounded right: eggs, ham, bell pepper, onion and cheese.  I should have ordered it without the cheese – who knows what’s in the cheese that makes it orange?  Side of hash browns that I only ate two bites of, and a slice of wheat toast.  Notice it’s not 100% whole wheat?

OK, OK, it’s basically day 1, right?  I’m out of the habit of analyzing everything on the menu and all the pieces of a particular plate when I’m ordering.  I just need to do better.  I’ll know better for date night on Wednesday.

Tonight should be easier for dinner.  My brother is coming over to make us some dinner.  He’s making his “California Salad” with tilapia on top and we’re pairing it with an amber ale.  He’s a chef and the author of http://goesgreatwithbeer.com.  It only has one entry so far because he caught a nasty cold right after the first meal.  He’s back tonight.  I’ve had the California Salad before, but this time it will be a little different.  We couldn’t find the strawberries that he’d normally use so he’ll be substituting with raspberries.  And normally there isn’t any meat added in, but since it will be a main dish salad there needs to be something to go with it.  I’m totally looking forward to it.  Since we moved out a few years ago, I haven’t been able to spend a whole lot of time with him and I kinda miss him.

OK…  now onto the exercise portion of things.  I’m pretty limited in what I can do since I fell and cracked a rib a couple weeks ago.  I’m moving better now, but I can’t run or lift anything heavier than 5 pounds right now.  And even lifting 2 pounds repeatedly makes me cry.  So as soon as I finish with this entry, I’m planning on trying some lower body stuff just to get moving.  Squats, calf raises, going up and down the stairs, that kind of thing.  Nothing that requires twisting or using my abs too much – I don’t want to hurt myself worse!

And I weighed myself last night with my trusty Wii balance board…  I’m at 159.4 pounds.  Ugh.  I need to be around 145 to be at a healthy BMI.  So that means I have 14.4 pounds to lose.  I know BMI isn’t the be-all of health and fitness, but it’s a gauge to use.

Time to do some light exercise to get things moving.

Food and Fitness Goals for 2012

I’m sitting on the couch pondering my goals for the next year, and letting them marinate in my brain.  The ones that I’m thinking about the most right now are the fitness goals and the food goals, mostly because they go hand in hand.  And also because there are some limitations to what I can do right now.

Let’s start by further defining the food goals:

1. Cut out wheat and rice
2. Eat “real” food
3. Cook one new recipe each week

I’m focusing on the food goals because those are usually the most difficult for me to follow/stick with, and because they have a direct impact on my fitness goals.

Cut out wheat and rice
Hmmm… OK, this one isn’t really what it sounds like.  It doesn’t mean that I will be cutting out all wheat and rice products.  It means that I will be only eating products made with 100% whole grain, 100% brown or wild rice, 100% corn meal.  If there’s any other weird grains, sugars, additives or chemicals added in, it doesn’t go in my belly.

Eat “real” food
I’ve noticed that when I eat food that has lots of “fake” things inside (like additives, flavorings, colorings, preservatives, etc) it takes more to fill me up and I’m not as satisfied.  When I eat real food I need to eat less and I’m generally more satisfied.  OK, to be fair I really like to have a bit of something for dessert, but doesn’t everyone?  So the rule is that the food that goes in my belly needs to be real.  In other words: no weird additives, no weird flavorings added, no weird preservatives, etc.  Birthday parties and other celebrations are the exception to this rule.

Cook one new recipe each week
I’m hoping this one will help me meet the other two food goals.  Plus I know it’ll help me meet the fitness goals.  It’ll also help me put to use the many cookbooks I have at home.

OK, now it’s time to further define the fitness goals

1. Run a 5k without walking
2. Complete three 5k’s
3. Complete two 10k’s
4. Complete at least 1 half marathon
5. Wear a bikini in public comfortably

Run a 5k without walking
So, you’d think that with all of this training I’ve done that I could run a few miles without stopping somewhere in there to walk, right?  Well, you’d be wrong.  To tell you the truth, I’ve only run 1 mile without stopping and that was awhile ago.  So, to make myself feel like I deserve to call myself a runner, I’m going to run (or jog, whatever) 3.1 miles without stopping.

Complete three 5k’s
I find that when I’m training, I get bored if I don’t have little things to work towards.  Upcoming races are awesome for the motivation factor and I love how short a 5k feels.  I just need to figure out which 5k’s to complete.  Oh, and complete means just that: complete it.  It doesn’t matter if there’s walking mixed in, as long as they’re done and I’m happy with what I’ve done.

Complete two 10k’s
Again, having upcoming races as motivation is awesome, and a 10k is twice as challenging as a 5k.  So, as I get back into running, I’ll be working towards the 10k length.  And again, complete means complete.  I don’t have to run the whole thing.

Complete at least 1 half marathon
My plan is to complete the Disneyland Half Marathon on September 2, 2012.  I’ll be using the 5 and 10k races I complete along the way as training.  And if I don’t die and if I don’t totally hate it, I’d like to complete the Wine & Dine half marathon in Disney World in November.  So yeah, complete means finish it.

Wear a bikini comfortably in public
As I’m training and eating healthier foods, I should be losing weight along the way.  I’ll also need to work in some weight training too.  I don’t want to be “skinny-fat”, and doing this will help me become a more effective runner too.  So, I know this is cliche, but I’ve never worn a bikini in public because I’ve always been too fat to do so.  Being able to do this would be tangible proof that I’m not the girl they made up a song about in Jr. High.

I’ll come up with a training plan in another post… this one is already too long as it is!

The New Year’s Resolution Post

It’s the first day of 2012.  Millions of people around the world are making resolutions today.  Resolutions designed to fix some aspect of their lives or improve an internal fault.  A couple years ago my resolution was to try a new restaurant every week.  I’d noticed that I (or should I say we) were getting into a rut of eating at the same restaurants all the time.  There wasn’t that sense of adventure or even a sense of trying anything new when we’d go out to eat.  I thought that resolution would fix that problem.  It did, for the most part.  Sometimes we’d realize that it was Saturday night and we hadn’t yet tried a new restaurant, so we’d dash out the door to get the new restaurant in for the week.  Sometimes we’d start the week with good intentions – we’d even have a plan! – only to be derailed because of illness or other life events.  It was a good resolution and a fun one too.

I don’t remember what my resolution was last year.

This year I started out with a long list of resolutions, much like I do every year.  And this year I narrowed that list down to a few major goals:

1. Household goal: Buy a house.  Not a condo.
2. Work goal: Get Project+ certified and learn web development technologies
3. Crafting goal: Finish 1 quilt or sewing project each month
4. Fitness goal(s): Run a 5k without walking; complete three 5k’s, two 10k’s and at least 1 half marathon; wear a bikini comfortably in public
5. Food goal(s): Cut out wheat and rice; eat “real” food; cook 1 new recipe each week

I’ll explain, explore and define these goals more as the week goes on.  After all a goal will never be met if it’s not defined.

3 more days

Until my 5k.

I still don’t feel ready.  Maybe that’s because I’m not ready.  I can barely jog a mile and I’m somehow going to go for 3.1 miles?  I know I’m going to do a mix of jogging and walking, but I still don’t feel ready.  I don’t even know what I’m going to wear.  I know that sounds silly.  Ugh.

As the days tick by I can feel myself getting a little bit more panicky.  Is it bad that I wasn’t this nervous about my wedding?  Oh well, nothing much I can do about it now except relax, do my best, and not forget to turn my clock ahead before I go to sleep the night before the race.

I did yoga again this morning.  It was kinda nice, and it was definitely easier than Tuesday’s yoga.  Downward dog and the plank are still challenging to hold for very long, but I know that as my upper body gets stronger I’ll be able to hold those poses for longer and longer.

I need to think of a prize for my weight loss.  I always do better with a goal and prize in mind.  If I remember right, last time it was a nice dinner out for 10 lbs.  A new fitness video game for 20 lbs.  A massage for 30 lbs.  A new hairstyle for 40 lbs. And a new wardrobe when I met my goal at 45 lbs. I didn’t meet the 45 lb goal so no new wardrobe for me.

I’m working on 29 lbs, so what if I break it down as:

• 10 lbs = haircut (it hasn’t been cut since my wedding!)
• 20 lbs = Facial, manicure and massage (that gets me back down to my pre-wedding weight)
• 29 lbs = wardrobe (gets me back down to a healthy bmi)

Any other ideas for prizes?

OK, gotta go to work now.  Yesterday involved a medical emergency, hopefully today will be much calmer.