Same Blogger - New Blog! Please check it out and subscribe!

JUNE 6, 2016

Hello everyone!

I have started a new blog over at www.earlgreyandyellow.com and would LOVE if you'd hop over and check it out.  You can subscribe for email updates and you can find me in other outlets as outlined below. Please follow, like and share away.  THANKS and happy reading!

CHANGE 2.0 - REBOOT(Y)

Hi again.  It has been some time since I last posted here.  Really it is mainly because I have forgotten to keep up with this blog, which was really motivated in the first place by last summer's REVOLUTION OF CHANGE.  The revolution, at least in terms of physical health, fizzled once I went back to work in September 2011.

However, the revolution has returned.  I've learned much since the dawn of 2012, mainly that change sometimes takes a pause, and that is okay.  I all but ceased with my running program after the 5K in September 2011.  This was due to failure on my part to prioritize exercise and my health during the school year.  In days of old I would have said "I don't have time to exercise" and that would have been my excuse.  Now I realize it was my own act of the will not to carve out time.  Although I can legitimately be very busy, there is always time SOMEWHERE.

Joined Planet Fitness in January of this year.  Went about 4 or 5 times and then took a hiatus of several months where I chose to pay the really affordable $10 rate to them for absolutely no services rendered.  Again, my own fault.

This has thrown into sharp relief the damage I have done to my stamina, physique and running mojo in general now that I have restarted the Couch to 5K Program.  If only I had made better choices about staying in shape, I would not have gained weight over the winter and compromised a lot of the progress I'd made.  However, now that I am on week 4, I have recommitted myself to change and plan to run the 5K again for ovarian cancer research through the N.O.C.C. again, aiming for 30 minutes or less on the clock (33:54 last year).

Of course, because it is Change 2.0, I need to up the ante.  In addition to running the same 5K this year, I am going to try to do the  Bridge Run, which is a 10K.  That's DOUBLE what I have ever been able to do before.  My strategy is simple.  Register for both runs mentioned above because the motivation of not wanting to look like a big fat liar and fraud is the fuel that will spur me on.  The other part of the strategy is to write running days on the calendar in black Sharpie, which makes the task non-negotiable in some cosmic way.  Then there is the putting on of sneakers and actually running.

The looming prospect of my 39th birthday is pressing on me also, propelling me towards positive change.  Do I really want to say out loud that I have been trying to reach a fit goal weight for 20 years when I turn 40?  Heck no.  I am not really age-phobic, but realize that it is no good to spin your wheels in the same mud for decades as I have.

Excited to see how it all turns out.  I am deciding that no matter what, I will follow through.  :-)

>GREATER THAN>

PEP TALK FOR MYSELF

Your desire to be healthy and fit must be > to your habit of laying around and watching TV.

Your desire to eat right must be > your obsession with sweets.

Your desire to be thin > your hiding behind self-deprecation about your weight.

Your desire to clean your house must be > your tendency to mess around on the computer.

Your desire to be kind and generous must be > your busy schedule, tight budget and hectic life.

Your desire to be closer to God must be > everything else.

NOTHING TASTES GOOD LUKEWARM

For those of you who know me, I love my coffee hot and my iced tea cold.  There is nothing worse than a tepid beverage when you want it in its prime condition.  Now that Christmas is over, my lukewarmness about a lot of things needs to change.

I am definitely finding that working continues to interfere with my personal life. housekeeping habits, eating/exercise endeavors and other vital areas to being healthy, organized and in control.  What I've come to realize is that I need to get over it because I have to work and I am certainly not in a position to hire someone to organize my life, clean my house, cook my food and other such luxuries.  Besides, there is something gratifying (YES, GRATIFYING) about doing those things for oneself and the sense of satisfaction it brings.

There is a new Planet Fitness opening about a 2 minute drive from my home.  This is very good news because I have been floundering around regarding running,  sort of making it out here and there, maybe...if there's time and the stars are aligned and the weather is right.  It's not that I don't WANT to do it, it is that there always seems to be a host of urgent matters in line in front of it.  By joining the new gym, I have put to rest the problem of being inconsistent, lukewarm about exercise.  My greatest challenge is that once I get home, it is difficult to "escape" again because the kids need my attention, or household tasks that have piled up distract me.

My plan is on Tuesdays and Thursdays (as set, It-Must-Happen days) to go right to the gym and run before even going home.  I will then either add an additional day at the gym or try to get out in the fresh air 1-2 days, for a total of 3-4 days a week of exercise).  This is new for me and I am hoping it reinvigorates my zeal for running, which I  had developed over the summer.  I am planning on running the Ovarian Cancer 5K again in September 2012, then running the bridge, a 10K that takes place in November.  With continued lukewarm action, these goals are worthless because I will not be ready to do it.

On to food.  I am certainly guilty of lukewarm behaviors here.  I tend to eat like a crazed ape, then penitently eat properly for a couple of days, or a week, before a social occasion or bad day lure me back into my carboholic ways.   Clearly, Christmas hasn't exactly been a help in that area.  I've fed not only my soul, but my body with all of the richest of things.  :-)  Tis' no longer the season so it is time to get a grip and start fueling a machine!

And cleaning, organizing, etc.  They are also on my list of lukewarm ventures.  My notorious inconsistence is something I am truly eager to end once and for all.  I can read all the Better Homes and Gardens issues I like, but reading, magic and wishing do not make one's home a place of order and cleanliness.  I sense more purging will be needed, along with battling my case of Dropsy to the death.

So here I am, on the brink of a New Year, a true "season of change" in which I can become "HOT" and pursue things with fervor until I accomplish them.  I am starting now, because waiting until 1/1/12 is really just another way of being lukewarm.

Best wishes for a New Year filled with obtainable goals that you find yourself hotly pursuing.  I know I am excited and hopeful about all the great things ahead of me in 2012.

CARBOHOLISM and EXCUSES

"I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate." - ROMANS 7:15 (NLT)


Paul's lament in Romans 7:15 brings some relief to me, as I think of him.  The apostle Paul, confronted by Jesus Himself on the road to Damascus, radically and suddenly converted on the spot.  If he could write about such struggles, surely a weakling such as myself shares in his difficulty.  


My main struggle at present is with consistency, or the lack thereof.  I have been eating anything and everything I want, with gusto, whenever I feel like it.  That's not OK.  Accompanying this carboholic rut is the lack of discipline about making and sticking to a running schedule.  Foolishness that.  I was well on my way to becoming a real runner, possibly even a thin one.


I ran a 5K on 9/10.  Here I am on 10/12, barely a month later, eating like my old self and losing my running mojo with each passing week of hardly exercising. All that effort and ground gained, slowly slipping away.  Loss of focus makes all things fuzzy does it not?


It would be easy to blame this turn of events on my return to work, or the crazy nature of our household commitments, but in good conscience I cannot do this.  I am always trumpeting the promise of Philippians 4:13 (I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.) so I can't go blaming my own laziness and lack of self-control on anything but myself.  As Joyce Meyer says, " If you can't take authority over a piece of pie, how are you going to resist the devil?"  God has already equipped me to make the changes needed.  I  just need to stop being stubborn and self-reliant.


If I am to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit, I certainly can't sit idly by tossing pumpkin spice mini cookies down my gullet and lament about my current condition.  I hate it while I am doing it, even though it tastes great.  Then I roam around a short time later, rustling through cupboards in the hopes of trying something else to sate my sweet tooth.  I know it is wrong.  I know it is not beneficial.  Yet I do it.  Just like Paul.


So here I am keeping myself honest by saying a few things about what will happen before I write again to my blogosphere world.


1.  I will pack my lunch for work every day.  It will include healthy things and no junk.  I will then actually EAT said lunch instead of whatever junk I come across.
2.  I will run 2-3x per week (no excuses!) and walk at least 1-2x per week (even if a short stroll).
3.  I will ask God for help instead of relying on my own strength to eat right and exercise.
4.  I will go up into the attic and find some smaller clothes to use as a visual goal for getting back on track.


I am still seeking change, though this change is peculiar.  It is change back to the change I had accomplished before I changed back to my old ways.  A circular plot if you will.  I'm kind of done with my circular ways and am moving forward in a straight line.


Enough rambling.  Time to peel some carrots.

GOING THE DISTANCE

GOING THE DISTANCE (CLICK ME!)  
I've posted this photo so you can see I am a REAL woman, not skinny, not perfect, not quite fit (yet) but I did it and so can you!


Hello Gentle Readers,


It has been some time since I last wrote.  This is mainly due to being gainfully employed, which I find has definitely interfered with my family life, my social life and my farting around on the internet life.  Alas, as promised, I am here to report the details of my big race on 9/10.  


For those of you who are new to the blog or didn't hear, I ran my first 5K on 9/10.  This may sound like no big whoop, but for me, a former slug and celebrated potato, it is a huge deal.  I began the Couch to 5K program around the beginning of July.  I was hardly able to run the 60 second intervals during week 1, but amazingly, by the end of week 10, I was able to run a full 35 minutes without stopping.


About 5 weeks into the program, I decided to sign up for a 5K, which would not only make it more real, it would, in the words of a wise friend, make me look like a "big fat liar" if I didn't follow through.  To be sure, I was very nervous because I was barely halfway through the program and was nowhere near 5K status.


Despite these fears, which haunted me right up until the week of the race, it was time to do it.  My best prior to the race was 2.6 miles in 35 minutes.  SLOW.  Slow but respectable considering I am pretty hefty to begin with, have never exercised consistently and just had a baby in February.  I had serious reservations about whether I would be able to finish because I'd only made the aforementioned time and distance, a full .5 below 5K.


RACE DAY!  Overcast (thank you LORD!) and sort of low to mid-70's, it was really about as good as it gets for running weather in early September.  I met with my friend Heather and her sister Leanne, who were also running the race.  They are both younger, more fit and slimmer than I, so I knew that they'd get ahead of me and we'd planned to just meet up at the end, come what may.  My mom, husband and the two little ones were there too - my own suburban entourage.


We were corralled by a buoyant arc of white, green and teal balloons, which was a starting gate of sorts. At the signal of the horn, we burst through the arc onto a beautiful path winding around the Memorial Hall building in Philadelphia.  It was immediately evident to me that most of the others in the race were "real runners", because I soon found myself near the absolute end of the runner group, trailed by a woman with a jogging stroller and a few little kids in tow and a couple who consisted of a "real runner" and his lady friend, who seemed to be a beginner like me.


I was slightly disheartened by this because I had assumed that I would not be first in the race, but I didn't imagine being almost dead last either.  Realizing that I needed to quickly dismiss this psychological hindrance, I told myself that it was much easier to run in the open without a lot of sweaty people surrounding me on all sides.  Yeah, that was the ticket!


As I continued along the winding race trail, I forgot about the others and began to enjoy the feeling of - GASP - running a 5K race.  I was running a 5K race!  For real - with a balloon arc and a number pinned to my chest!  I was a runner!  Not one footfall of that race was walked.  Not one.


With every epic journey, there are epic obstacles to accompany it.  The main ones I encountered include:


*dodging muddy patches of muck left over from the flooding of Hurricane Irene (remember I am a faller)


*leaping (well, relatively) over bramble and branches littering the trail from the storm (remember I am a faller)


*a short, compact woman who kept running, then walking, then running again when she would see me out of the corner of her eye (as if to say - I'm not letting HER ahead of me)


*the mortification of having to ask the 1.5 mile walk participants which direction the runners had taken because I was THAT far behind them all


Despite these impediments, I finally spied that latex beacon ahead of me - the balloon arc!  This was it!  I was going to finish this thing.  Pressing on with resolve, I slowed up as I triumphantly raised my arms and passed under the balloons.  Unfortunately, I was greeted by my family and friends shouting and waving that I had to run another 75 yards or so ahead to the clock, which would record my time.  


With a shout of "Oh crap!" I soldiered on, noting the time was at 33 minutes and some odd seconds.  With that, I sprinted (as best as I could after all that running) ahead to the clock, determined to make it through in under 34 minutes.  I sailed through at 33:50 - a personal best.  I'd run .5 mile more than ever before in more than a minute less than my best time and distance. 


Satisfied, sweaty, and slightly nauseous, I returned to my family for pictures and hearty congratulations and high fives.  Since I was so near the end, they had run out of water, so we headed to the car and my dear husband set the course for my reward.  About 25 minutes later, I was chowing down on a Pat's Cheesesteak from 9th and Passyunk.  As everyone knows, this is fuel for bodies of all types.  As I took a swig of my birch beer, I resolved to run it again next year.


Goal? Under 30 minutes next time.  I am a work in progress after all.

READY OR NOT, HERE IT CAME!

It turns out I CAN do all things (at once) through Christ who gives me strength.  All praise and glory to Him who kept me glued together this week when my world was in a state of frantic change.

Like it or not, there were many changes that converged upon my life this past week (or 10 days).  All of it was good, though much of it was difficult, stressful and bittersweet.  You know how there's nothing, nothing, nothing going on, then suddenly EVERYTHING is going on at once?  That was my week.

MOM FLIES THE NEST
I returned to work on 9/1, after being on maternity leave for 7 months.  I hated to go and leave my beautiful babies, but my bank account insisted.  No complaints, as it was by the provision and grace of God I stayed out that long.  Lucky for me there are children at work to love and nurture too.  I know it is my calling, so being there is really fine, though every day is a conscious effort to walk in love and speak in love.  There is so much to be overwhelmed, frustrated, annoyed and offended by at school, but one of the aspects of my change-filled year is to decide to be happy.  Ironically, one of the school psychologists has launched an "I Choose Happy" campaign.  A lot of people think it is corny or some Pollyanna rhetoric, but it  is working for me.  I have peace in chaos and happiness in less-than-ideal situations these days.

CHICK FLIES THE NEST
We moved Em back to college for year 2 on 9/3/11.  It was much smoother a process this time, both logistically and emotionally.  I was teary in the car, but way less worried because Em has friends now and was so excited to be back at MSU.  We moved her in quickly, enjoyed lunch with old friends and watched our just-about-grown baby settle into her new life.  Ask me where the time went all you like, but I will have no reply.  She's my little kindergartener in the pansy-print dress who happens to be a sophomore in college at the same time.  I miss her very much, but she is growing and learning at a new level that wouldn't happen if she stayed here.

KINDERGARTEN CHICK
Sigh.  It's not fair that in addition to going back to work and taking one baby to college I had to see my most spirited redhead off to kindergarten this week.  She set off bravely, down a tooth I might add.  She has that wide-eyed wonder when regaling us with stories about school at the dinner table.  What a blessing!  I hope her eagerness and passion for learning continues her whole life.  No calls from the principal yet, so that's a plus too.  My feisty little Lilybug makes me proud, vowing to intervene when she sees bullying and to help the teacher when she can.  Love that kid.

EGGTOOTH
Would you believe in the midst of all this ballyhoo my sweet baby boy has gotten his first 2 teeth?    He got the first in the spot where Lily lost her first a couple of weeks ago (SPOOKY!), followed by its next door neighbor a couple of days later.  He is also wildly more active, wiggling and rolling his way wherever he wants to go.   He is enjoying being spoiled at Grandma's during the day and has adjusted beautifully.  What a sweet love he is, smiling and laughing 90% of his waking hours.

CHICKEN RUN
Today, after 11 weeks of training, I ran my first 5K.  This event was so momentous and important that I will chronicle it under separate cover in another post.  In short, I pulled off something today that NEVER would have been a desire of mine, let alone a possibility.

So what a week it has been!  Changes nearly every day.  Yet I feel strangely peaceful and fulfilled, despite the overwhelming nature of the week's events.  I attribute this to the Peace that Passes Understanding, which is, I assure you, very real and very wonderful.  Thank you Lord for being my Peace, my Strength, my Shield and my Redeemer.