Stop, Drop and Blog » Goals

Raising My Hand

FireMom — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:48:30 +0000

I love the lights.

And the sounds.

And the possibilities.

Tomorrow I’ll land in NYC for BlogHer Writers ’11. I don’t know what I’ll learn, who I will meet or what I’ll eat (which, let’s face it, the food is important). But I do know that I’ll raise my hand. I do know that just going is stepping out of the box, another step in following through with the dream that I’ve let sit on the shelf and get dusty.

This is it. Now is the time.

Raising My Hand is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat Live Be: I Need a Go-To Snack

FireMom — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:39:43 +0000

We’re supposed to be talking about our healthy go-to snack. But… I don’t have one.

With my kidney disorder, I’m supposed to limit salt. Anything I want/crave is salty; even a lot of so-called healthy stuff has too much sodium for me. I have to avoid a lot of processed stuff. To boot, I don’t like sweets. No, really. I don’t. So even the protein bars/etc that are supposedly good for you and may contain less salt that other things simply don’t appeal to me. I love fruit and veggies, but they all taste horrible right now. Minus oranges and grapefruit. So maybe I’ll just stick with those right now.

Snacks make me nervous and stressed out. So I just don’t snack. Which makes me eat too much at meals. Sigh.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you a few things as I purposefully missed last week’s Eat Live Be. (Apologies to other participants.) I needed a week off from talking about all things healthy. Why? I just needed to be doing all things healthy. I really stepped up my workouts last week and logged a total of 25 miles (see me at Daily Mile). I am now into week 3 of my second year of Couch 2 5K. I had to restart this year as I had an injury late last year that ruined all of my training. I’m doing well; my ankle hates the treadmill but I’m working on it.

And tonight I start a new session of classes at the YMCA. I’m not just doing one yoga class per week now. Tonight is Zumba (what? oh no!) followed by Power Yoga. That’s right, two hours in a row. Wednesday will be Hip Hop Cardio (no video, kthx) followed by Yoga. That’s right, two hours in a row. I think I might be slightly insane, but it’s okay. I’ll be keeping up my running and elliptical as well. Thursday will remain my definite day off from the gym with options to go on Sunday if I feel so inclined. Or not if I don’t.

I feel great as of late. Physically. I have more energy. I’m sleeping better. My pants fit! I’m not seeing a huge difference on the scale, but my face lost its post-holidays puff. I know you know what I mean. I am super proud of myself — not for the weight loss aspect but for a photo I shared last week. I pulled the wagon with both boys — both of whom have gained weight — and I was not winded. I was not sore the next day. In fact, I felt amazing afterward. I am getting back to the healthiest version of me.

And it feels great.

Now if only I could figure out my snack issues. Hmm. What do you snack on that is low-or-no sodium?

Don’t forget to visit the Eat Live Be Facebook page and check out the other participants. I’ll be scouring their posts for healthy, sodium-free or sodium-lite snack ideas today!

Eat Live Be: I Need a Go-To Snack is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat Live Be: Rut Rescue 101

FireMom — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:34:13 +0000

I am decidedly not in a rut, but this week’s theme challenges us talk about ruts and how to get out of them. This is how I got in and out of my last rut: I got really, really sick. I couldn’t breathe or move or eat. I got better. I went back to the gym. The end!

But real ruts are a little more difficult than that, aren’t they? And yes, I was in one prior to the beginning of the year. What changed? Support, a friend willing to meet me at the gym for my gym days and a raging desire to do better by myself. Changing up my workout routine, rewarding myself with positive speak and the occasional treat and generally loving myself for who and where I am at any given time also help me get out of and stay out of ruts.

There’s no concrete advice in that except that whole loving yourself part. It works. It really does.

As I said last week, I’m not checking in this week. Not only am I bloated (yay womanhood!) but yesterday was the Super Bowl. So, pfft. I’m still counting myself -3 total, which is what I was before the weekend. I won’t apologize for my genetic femaleness nor my first real indulgence since the New Year. Yesterday was a holiday for the sports lovers among us. I celebrated. And I hit the gym before 9:00 this morning. Points for me. And I’m going back again this evening for yoga. Points again.

Don’t forget to visit the Eat Live Be Facebook page and check out the other participants. I know several have checked in with progress, so go celebrate with and encourage them.

Eat Live Be: Rut Rescue 101 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat Live Be: Favorite Change? I Hate Change!

FireMom — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:15:39 +0000

It’s Monday again? Ugh. We spent last week supremely under the weather with what I called the Viral Ick. I don’t even remember much of last week.

This week we are supposed to talk about Our Favorite Healthy Change. I laughed. I hate change. I’m no good at it. I dig my heels in. I might whine. (I do.) I like things to be the way they are… even when they aren’t working.

But in the spirit of Big Changes, I’ll think about it.

To be fair, I’ve been living kind of healthy, minus last year’s slip-slide into the holidays, for awhile now. But I have made a change that is working for me and that I kind of like. Actually scheduling in my workout time means that I workout. Who knew? Minus last week when the Viral Ick crept through our house, downing each and every one of us. I only worked out once, but I’m 100% okay with that. I ate well — when I could — and I will not feel guilty about resting to let my body heal. Hopefully this week as we all begin to get better, I will get my 3:00pm workout in along with a morning workout with a friend three days per week. Hopefully. We all need to get fully better first! (Note: Today is a bust. I STILL can’t breathe. And, again, that’s okay. The not exercising part, not the not breathing part.)

Another great change? Well, it’s half inspired by a post Melissa Ford made on BlogHer last year and half inspired by this challenge. And HGTV. You see, on weekend days, I watch HGTV while I lounge about. Sometimes it inspires me to clean, even when I’m sick. Yesterday I de-cluttered our kitchen, including the cabinet above our sink which holds all those one-purpose-only things. I decided we could do without something — our deep fryer. To be fair to us, we haven’t used it in nearly three years. But it’s there, it’s taking up space and it is a temptation. Until yesterday. In its place? My cookbooks! Or, some of them. The rest are all on our shelves in my office. But now they can go here! WOO!

So, two great changes. Whew. That’s enough talk about change. Back to normal.

Next week is official Weigh In Week, being the first Monday of the month. I will attempt to step on the scale, but it’s a bad week for me to think about weighing in do to cycle related bloat. The truth is that I am currently down three pounds (-3 total) right now (the most recent pound likely due to the aforementioned Viral Ick) and I won’t be next Monday. And that’s okay. I know my body. Life will return to normal shortly thereafter and I’ll be back where I am right now. However, if I’m grumpy next week, please point me to this paragraph. Thanks.

Don’t forget to visit the Eat Live Be Facebook page and check out the other participants.

Eat Live Be: Favorite Change? I Hate Change! is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat Live Be: Biggest Challenge

FireMom — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:14:30 +0000

It’s Monday. And after last night’s football game, despite my absolute joy in the outcome, I’m feeling it. This week’s theme is: What’s Your Biggest Challenge?

The obvious answer is: Myself.

I decided that after five days of two workouts per day, I would allow myself a day and a half off. Meaning I wasn’t going to do any workouts on Friday (though I did take the kids sled riding which must account for something, right) and then, on Saturday, I was going to do a very easy yoga workout. And on Sunday, I’d get back into my groove. Except Saturday came and I went out with friends instead of working out… and ate way too much. And then Sunday came and I really just felt like relaxing (and taking the boys to their first soccer practice of the year) rather than working out… and ate way too much.

So now it’s been three days. And I haven’t done anything. And let’s not even talk about the portion sizes from the past three days, okay?

So, yes, I’m my own biggest challenge. I’m working on it — on myself — as best I can.

I don’t quite know if this is weigh-in week or if it’s next week. The good news is that I stepped on the scale this morning and I’m down two pounds (-2 total) since we started four weeks ago. The bad news is that I find that number completely and utterly frustrating. Granted, if I hadn’t been a complete waste of space this weekend, it might have been different. But now I’m frustrated and want to quit. See? My own biggest challenge = me. Sigh.

Don’t forget to visit the Eat Live Be Facebook page and check out the other participants. Maybe they’re more inspirational this week. I sure hope so.

Eat Live Be: Biggest Challenge is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat Live Be, Week #3: Baby, It’s Cold Outside

FireMom — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:39:29 +0000

Time for a weekly check-in for Eat Live Be. This week’s theme is Baby, It’s Cold Outside. It’s obviously about how we keep fit when it’s too cold to do anything but run to the car and back inside. Quickly.

It is cold outside. 21 degrees. While some people can put on some warm layers and go for a run despite the biting wind, I cannot. Maybe — and that’s a big maybe — if there wasn’t ice involved, I could suit up. But it’s doubtful. So I’m stuck inside until the ice melts and the air doesn’t hurt to breathe it.

Here’s what I’m doing indoors right now:

Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred. I downloaded it via iTunes last year and break it out when I know I can’t get out and about on the trail. I hate it. I hate Jillian Michaels. I hate the advanced chick who very obviously cheats when she thinks the camera is not on her. But? It works. It’s a great workout. I just started a new 30 days, and the best thing about this time around is that FireDad is doing it with me.

Exercise.TV yoga workouts. Most specifically Cardio Yoga and Yoga for Hips, Buns and Thighs. I also downloaded these from iTunes last year. These two are my favorites, though I have some others that are meant for easier “off” days that aren’t really off days. ExerciseTV also has some other great videos for download (I prefer downloading than their free videos because our Internet is slow and makes live videos skip), so I might add some more non-yoga ones in for some variety. Their website actually has more downloadable stuff than they have on iTunes, so check it out as well.

I signed up for a yoga class at the YMCA. I was, at the time of registration for this session, only free on Monday evenings. Which only left Power Yoga with one of the more difficult trainers as the instructor. I almost didn’t sign up, intimidated by her awesomeness. I signed up anyway. I’m not as advanced as I probably should be for this class, but it should be a great learning experience.

Just Dance 2. I didn’t ever put this into the context of a workout until Carmen mentioned it. And now I add it in on days that FireDad is at work (meaning that I have a day off from 30 Day Shred). I do one of my yoga workouts and a 20-40 minute session of Just Dance 2. And I get so darn sweaty — and feel so darn awesome — that I can’t deny it’s a great workout. And it’s fun.

I should be working out at the YMCA on the elliptical and a few machines as well, but I hate the January crowds. Probably by mid-February, when everyone else has gone home, I’ll try to get back into a groove at the gym. Until then, I’ll be working it at home and ignoring the cold.

I honestly can’t wait until it warms up and I can get back outside. I do love winter. And, let’s be honest, sled-riding with your kids is a total workout. But I need some air that I can actually breathe before I can get back outside and start trying to run again.

So tell me, what do you do to stay fit when it’s too cold to go outside? I could use a few more ideas for variety! Do share! I’ll be checking out some of the other participants’ posts today for some great cold-weather recipes.

Don’t forget to visit the Eat Live Be facebook page and checkout the blogs of the other participants!

Eat Live Be, Week #3: Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat Live Be: Week #2

FireMom — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:00:53 +0000

It’s Monday! So it’s time to talk about health, food and all that jazz for Eat Live Be. My first post is viewable here. As a status update, I ate pretty well even though I traveled to Las Vegas for CES 2011. Plus, I walked about five miles each day, so that was an added bonus.

This week’s theme is Where is Your Support Community.

I am thankful for the support I have found online, in various areas, for my continuing goals for health (and happiness and career fulfillment and so on and so forth). When Cate asked me if I wanted to be involved in this group, I already knew that the ready made support that comes from such a group would be a good thing for me. I thought of my group of women striving for healthier selves last night… and didn’t eat that extra piece of pizza.

I find that when I am diligent about tracking my fitness on DailyMile, I am more prone to actually working out. (So friend me there if you want! I love the support I’ve found there!) I have decided to officially abandon Spark People, even though I brought it out of its archived state at the end of 2010. Why? Counting calories is a huge trigger for me. The knowledge of those numbers does really bad things to my brain. I am smart enough and logical enough to understand what is good food and what is bad food and how much of either I can or should eat. I do not need a number to define me or how well or poorly my day supposedly went. So, you’ll just find me at DailyMile, clocking in things like yoga, Just Dance 2, time at the gym (once the January crowds slim down) and running (when the snow melts).

I am also finding huge support and encouragement in BlogHer’s Own Your Beauty initiative. If you haven’t checked it out, you should. Some of the posts are hard to read, but they are all encouraging. Because? We are all beautiful. In fact, just last week, I was really moved by the fact that one blogger stopped the diet trend and just bought bigger clothes. It made me reevaluate a few things. And add a few more pairs of jeans to the donation pile. Let’s face it: These hips aren’t ever going to be pre-BigBrother ever again. I have been so touched by so many of the posts in the Own Your Beauty initiative; I am thrilled that it will last all year long.

And, of course, my support also rests in my husband. He knows how deeply I want to get back to healthy this year. He has been reminding me to drink my water. And, oh yeah, he’s been working out with me. It took him a few days into the year, though he promised before the new year began, because he had a cold and couldn’t stop blowing his nose. Or, you know, breathe. But knowing that he’s willing to hold me accountable for my workouts by working out with me is a huge boost of confidence. And it’s fun!

And back to me, I still haven’t take my full body shot in any kind of workout-gear that would show personal lumps and bumps. I did take a photo in Vegas in the full length mirror, but I choose my non-workout clothing very carefully to hide those lumps and bumps. (Clothing that fits! What a concept!)

I’ll get a real photo soon.

And now, let me ask you, when it comes to fitness, health and food, where do you find your support? Don’t forget to check in with our other Eat Live Be challengers this week. I’m sure they’ve got some good ideas about support as well.

Eat Live Be: Week #2 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Eat. Live. Be. For a Better 2011: Week 1

FireMom — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:05:54 +0000

One of my favorite bloggers, Cate at Sweetnicks, contacted me a few weeks ago about a project she was working on with Sarah at Cucina Bella. The two bloggers were working toward a mutual weight loss goal and decided to invite other bloggers — food and non-food bloggers alike — for a fun 2011 challenge. I accepted.

While they’re racing to see who can lose 40 pounds first, I’m joining some other bloggers in a healthy new year. I do have a weight loss goal — 20 pounds — that would put me back in the healthy BMI range and back to where I got last year before I jumped off the wagon. As I said yesterday in my 2011 Projects post, I’m also working very hard on food consumption, regular exercise again, and water, water, water. So, very simply, those are my goals. More specifically:

1) Really focus on portion size. My problem is that I really, really like food. I like the way it tastes. I like to prepare it. I like it. A lot. And so I have this tendency to fill my plate. And eat it all. I’m mindful of portion sizes when I give the boys’ their plates; I want them to eat enough but I don’t want them to have too much (because they WHINE). And so I need to do it myself. Maybe I need to start making yucky food. Ha! And no pop. I mean, c’mon. I have a fire department specific issue with this as well, which I’ll talk about in a post soon. Other fire families will understand when I post it, too.

2) Exercise 5 days per week. I’m not talking marathon exercise lengths of time. Just something. For 20 minutes. Five days per week. I can do more, but 20 minutes is my minimum. I will start running again — when it warms up. Sorry, I don’t do cold weather running. Nor do I run on treadmills as my ankle cannot handle it. Yoga and Jillian Michaels will be my cold weather exercise resources.

3) Eight glasses of water per day. I used to be great with this, and, yes, I threw myself off the wagon. Time to get back on. I feel so much fuller and so much cleaner when I have my water intake up, up, up!

And so, we’re supposed to share out starting point. Yeah. Hmm. I weighed myself for the first time in, oh, five months… right in the midst of holiday consumption. Silly FireMom! Last week I ate well and exercised, so for my first check-in, I am xx2 pounds. I won’t tell you what that weight is as I don’t have to: I am more than a number. It’s not a horrible number, and it wasn’t overly surprising as I could tell the difference in how my clothes (and bras, people, BRAS) fit. When I check-in next week, I will report I am xxx, which is + or – x pounds from my start of xx2. That’s how I’m rolling with this one. Someday when FireDad is home, I’ll have him take a full body shot. Yay?

Next week’s topic is Where Is Your Support Community? If you’d like to join in, go ahead! You can also check out our Facebook page. The more the merrier.

For more motivation, check out the blogs of the other participants:

Eat. Live. Be. For a Better 2011: Week 1 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

My Projects for 2011

FireMom — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:28:00 +0000

This year, I’ve decided not to call them resolutions. Or even goals. I’m going with projects. I like projects! I like to work on and complete projects. As such, maybe I’ll actually do these things if I trick myself into believing they’re not resolutions.

Probably not, but let’s go!

– __ — __ –

Project 365 Favorites — So, I’ve failed the Project 365 in which you take one photo every day for a year for the past four years. I made it through a few tough days in 2010, but lost it at some point. I’ve also found that due to my job, sometimes I simply don’t want to pick up the camera on any given day. I do need time off. And that’s okay. So, Project 365 Favorites simply requires you to end up with 365 photos that you like/love at the end of the year. That I can do. I’ll be starting a special set on my flickr, though I’ll post favorites either here or the photography blog as time/space allows. Also: I reserve the right to trade photos in and out over the year. Hat tip to Burgh Baby and moosh in indy for this particular idea.

Reading Challenges — I already wrote about the challenges I’m participating in and other goals. But basically, my main goal is to outread myself in 2011. I read 64 in 2010, so even 64.5 would be welcome. Quite honestly, I feel like that number is somewhere around my personal threshold with the boys being so young. I know others with young children can read more, but I seem to get around the same number every year. I’m really okay with that, so if I only read one more book, I’ll be pleased. (Plus, you know, completing challenges which are just fun.)

Healthy Me Project — In 2010, I had lofty weight loss goals. And I met them because I did great things for my health, not my weight. I made great food choices. I picked up yoga — which I fell in love with! I started running again — and ran a 5K! And then we went on vacation at the end of August… and I fell off the wagon. Well, I didn’t fall off. I willingly jumped off. And I never willingly climbed back on. I did stupid things like consume way too much fast food (and not the healthy fast food options either). I drank pop (soda, if you will). I stopped running (though, to be fair to me, I had an ankle injury). I even stopped doing yoga for which I have no good reason. As you might imagine, I gained all of the weight back. Plus a small bit more. Swell. And so my Healthy Me Project is mostly about getting back on track with food choices, water consumption, exercise and positive body recognition. (See also: Own Your Beauty.) If I don’t lose the 20 pounds that would put me back in healthy range, well, I’ll be okay with it — as long as I’m still making healthy choices at the end of the year. (Minus holiday food allowances, of course.) Tune in tomorrow when I tell you about something cool I’m participating in to help me with this project.

– __ — __ –

So, I’m basically doing the same things that I always do, but just calling them projects. I also have some house projects (base boards, new doors, possibly a painting project) but those involve participation from FireDad so I won’t commit until we discuss what we can/cannot do together. I’m sure I’ll come up with other things over the year.

And, of course, there’s that whole possibility thing. 2011 is going to be great!

Do you have any goals, resolutions or projects for 2011?

My Projects for 2011 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Reading Goals, 2011

FireMom — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:34:35 +0000

Like every year, I have some reading goals for 2011.

1) I’d like to read more than this year, which topped out at 64. Not my best reading year but not my worst either (both worst years coming in at the year after each boy was born).

2) Keep my Goodreads account updated. No. Really. I say it every year. Maybe I’ll do it this year! Basically I get to mid-year/mid-summer, find myself without Internet access while camping and forget that Goodreads exists until about October. I’m awesome. But, feel free to add me and help me stay accountable.

3) Participate in a few actual challenges. Those being:

The 2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge. I read more YA last year than the year before and decided that I really liked where YA authors nowadays are going with things. So this challenge is a natural extension of my reading. I’m only going for the 20 book challenge as I’m participating in other challenges as well. I think 20 YA books would make me happy. If you have any must-read suggestions in this category, let me know!
The Memorable Memoirs Challenge. Mmm, I love memoirs, so it’s likely a cheat to join this challenge, but the number of memoirs I read in 2010 dropped. I want the number to go up this year, hence the challenge. What’s your favorite memoir?
And, of course, the Adoption Reading Challenge. I’m hosting that over at Chronicles. I’m going for the 20 level, which means I’m reading 10 non-fiction and 10 fiction books that revolve around adoption. I’m most excited to read Jessica Lost: A Story of Birth, Adoption & The Meaning of Motherhood by Bunny Crumpacker and Jil Picariello, but it doesn’t come out until May 3. I’m pre-ordering though!

4) Be smarter about requesting books from the library. Like sassymonkey said, it’s not that I want to avoid requesting books, but sometimes I get request happy and everything comes in at once and I PANIC! Sometimes it’s not my fault: It can takes weeks or months for books to come in if they’re overly popular. But sometimes it’s just my happy-request-finger.

5) Read the books that I bought in 2010 and didn’t read. Whoops.

6) I have other interests that I want to make sure make their way into my reading (adoption, firefighting, photography, writing, bloggers’ books — especially bloggers’ books and why isn’t there a bloggers’ book challenge?, and so on). This is not a specific “challenge” but more of a mental note to keep my own personal interests above the interests of, say, best seller lists and, you know, Oprah.

7) I’ll also be participating in the BlogHer book club which will give me a book a month to read and think about and generally enjoy with other book-loving people. Hooray!

8 ) As per usual, I want to add to the boys’ ever-growing library. BigBrother has made a decisive trend toward science related books this year, so I hope to get him some great children’s non-fiction as well as some fiction that talks about science. Have you learned about the Dr. Seuss Learning Library yet? I’m in love, as is BigBrother. LittleBrother is still in a big fire truck phase, so we’ll be adding more of those as well. Of course.

9) Try to read some more books written by… uh… men. It’s never been a conscious thing. I’ve never purposefully engaged in penis embargo readership. But as I gravitate toward books about women, pregnancy, adoption, fertility and the like, I don’t always catch male writers. I’ll make a better effort this year.

10) And lastly, enjoy reading. Sometimes I get bogged down with reading because of the pressure I place on myself to read, read, read. That’s ridiculous. I’m tossing that aside this year.

What are your reading goals for 2011? Are you joining any reading challenges? If you’d like to join my Adoption Reading Challenge, that would be swell!

Reading Goals, 2011 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.