New Year's Resolution MID YEAR UPDATE

It's almost mid year and I've been doing a little retrospecting lately.  

I ran across this old blog post and it made me re-visit my goals for 2012.  Do you ever do this??  I've made resolutions in the past but never really think about them until Dec and then get all depressed because I didn't lose the weight or didn't do whatever the goal was for the year.  

I think it's good to look back and sort of "re-focus"  I've not changed one bit of my original post made on Dec 31, 2011.  I have only added the red text to offer my update on my progress.  

Enjoy!

New Year's Eve 2011

It's hard to believe that 2011 is only hours away from being over and a new year is on the horizon.  There have been some wonderful things happen in my life in 2011 and with the good there have been some bad.  One of the biggest is my commitment to healthy living.  My family has eaten more fruits and veggies this year than EVER! ! !  I have logged 176 miles on daily mile and am continuing on my journey to live to 100.

Instead of reminiscing about  2011 I'd rather focus on what 2012 will bring, so here are a few of my goals...

eat more fresh veggies (We are eating lots & Lots & LOTS of veggies. In fact, the fella at the local fruit & veggie market mentioned to me that I need a frequent shopper card.... too bad they don't have one)
run
be more grateful (Started a Gratitude Journal)
run
stress less (Still working on this one.  Being a high school teacher was almost over the top last school year.  I'm moving back to middle school for the upcoming year with hopes things will be a bit better)
run
drink more wine (Always a work in progress, but even planted some vines this year)
run
read more (5 books about running, 5 books about teaching and 5 books just for fun) (Can we say 50 shades??)

are you seeing a pattern?

I'd like to set a goal of 600 miles for 2012.  That would be 50 miles per month.  Part of me thinks this is very ambitious for me since I only logged 176 for 2011 but with the right focus and encouragement I will meet this goal by August.

Not doing as well as I'd hoped on this goal.  I coach high school tennis and didn't get much dedicated "run time" in during Feb, Mar & Apr. but I'm logging about 30 miles per month. I probably wont make the goal of 600 but I'm making progress on 50 miles per month so I'm happy.  I've almost reached my total miles for 2011 and the year is only half over.

Happy New Year's to each and every one of you.  I hope your 2012 brings you good wishes and healthy living.

Ellen

Did you make a New Year's Resolution for 2012?  How are you doing on your goals?  I'd love to read about your progress so tell me in a comment below.






Gratitude Journal


I'm so thankful that my hubby is in a cleaning mood.  He is usually a pack rat and as I type this he is cleaning out and throwing away.  Thank you Jesus! :-)


Ellen

Top Ten (Blogs)

I am having such a great summer.  I hope you are too :-)

I've been reading lots of blogs lately.  Reading and Running and trying to cook and eat healthy.  (I subscribed to Clean Eating and have been reading all about Tosca.)

Reading about what makes other people tick is  very enjoyable for me.  It all makes me feel like I may not be the only weird person around.  Have you ever felt like you are the only person in the world that dips french fries in their Frosty at Wendy's?  Well that's me! !   Most of you have similar tastes as me, like most of you hate dragging your tired butt out of bed in the morning just to go sweat before it gets too hot later in the day.  I've come to realize that I'm about as normal as they come.

All this blog reading has made me realized that I've not done a top ten, EVER! ! !

I've decided to list my top 10 blogs.  They've provided me with lots of information, smiles and some really great recipes.  I hope you can get a morsel of goodness out of em too.

Now, the question is do I do it David Letterman style and start with #10 or start off with #1 and kill all the suspicion.  lol

So,.... I know all of you have been anxiously waiting with baited breath.  Your wait is over.....

My top 10 blogs so far this summer

10 The Daily Garnish A great recipe resource


9 Shut Up And Run She puts it all out there and tells it like it is.  No Excuses, just shut up and run.


8 Mom vs. Marathon Here's a lady trying to do all the right things and inspire others while she's at it.


7 Run Addicts Gives some great technical advice for beginners as well as advanced runners.


6 Secrets of a Running Mom gives some great tips for how to manage running and running a home.


5 iTrain, iSweat, iDominate a compilation of blogs


4 Oh She Glows writes about living a vegan lifestyle (not that I'm turning Vegan but she has recipes)


3 The Eat Clean Diet will give you motivation and inspiration several times a day :-) I need that.


2 Tall Mom on the Run blogs about marathon training & races.  I'd like to run as much as her someday


1 Run Diva Mom is a lot like me in that she wanted to make a positive change. She has been very successful in her transition and is willing to help others have the same success.


I hope my top 10 blogs helps to inspire you in some way.  They certainly have inspired me this summer. :-)

If you have blogs that you read daily I'd love to know about it.  Send me a message in the comment boxes below.

Bonus:
Not a blog but something you should check out is iTunes.  They give free music every week and this week they have some AWESOME music on sale $6.99



Gratitude Journal
So thankful for the summer sun.  The heat feels soooo good on my skin, I get to soak up all that marvelous vitamin D which helps our moods and its helping our corn grow tall.  The cows will be happy very soon :-)


Ellen

I hate Hate HATE my new Karhu running shoes

I was so excited to get my new running shoes.  Instead of getting a new pair of my good old faithfuls (Nike Air Pegasus), I opted to order a pair of Karhu fluid 2 forward running shoes.  These are the ones all those "real runners" wear.  They were on sale and I thought, at the time, I was getting a great deal.

Well.....

I didn't!

Now I'm stuck with a pair of shoes that hurt my lower legs when I run.  They do fine when I'm wearing them around the house, running errands and even playing tennis.  They feel really good for just casual wear.  But..... and it's a big but (not mine... lol), I can't run for longer that 3 minutes without my lower legs killing me.

I've tried stretching before, during and after my runs.  I've tried slowing my pace.  The snails were passing me.  Nothing worked.

I'm gonna have to break over and buy another pair of running shoes.  I'm going straight for the Nike Air Pegasus size 7 in some really cool color.

  I've got a pair of size 7 barely worn for 2 weeks that I'd love to sell.  The first person to show me $50 gets em. :-)

They say it's your birthday....

So today is my birthday and my family has a fun day planned.  We're all going to the Japanese Steak House, one of my favorite places to eat.

Since the hubs and I discovered it sometime last fall it seems that we end up there a lot.  They cook the food on a grill right there in front of you and it's so yummy.  Steak, shrimp, chicken, rice, fresh veggies and of course the yum yum sauce.  They always serve way more than humanly possible to eat so we end up with leftovers for supper.  All this talk about food makes me think about unhealthy it's become to go out & eat.

I've decided that I absolutely have to start back on my journey to living to 100 years old.  Not sure how my birthday supper will fit into this plan but hey... it's my birthday, right??

I've been to 3 Dr's this month and all 3 told me I needed to lose weight but didn't really give me any advise on what I should/could do to shed the pounds, except 1.  Dr. Rose told me I should write everything I put between my lips down in a notebook and try to stay under 1200 calories.  How do I stay under 1200?

I've found an app/website that I love.   www.myfitnesspal.com.  If you're looking for a way to help you lose weight this might be your ticket.

Have you found something else?  Would you like to share it?  I"d love to hear all about it. :-)

Ellen

Gratitude Journal
I'm thankful for my husband.  He's my best friend as well as my companion.  Now that our children are reaching the point in their lives that they don't need us as much we have discovered that we need each other more and more.

I'm such a slacker... I really need a good kick in the hind end

I've just realized that I haven't blogged since January.  I can make lots of excuses... mainly life... but who doesn't put life at the top of their excuse list?

I going to make a promise to myself to blog at least once a week for the summer and see what happens.  How hard could it be, really??

Some of my topics will be; my brand new running shoes, (I just got them today), my hike through "Dry Fork Gorge", the chicken coop, and just other random topics that come up along the way.

I'm also going to end each one with a gratitude journal.  I've seen this on several blogs lately and I really like how it's done.

So, here's to the end of this blog and the beginning of another :-)

Ellen


Gratitude Journal
I'm thankful for my mailman.  He's been carrying the mail for over 36 years and he delivered my new shoes today.  I can't wait to run in them this evening :-)

I'm thankful for air conditioning.  With a heat index near 100 today it's really nice to be able to sit inside when it's soooo hot outside.

Week 1 of the New Year is Week 4 of C25K

I've been lucky enough to have worked in three run days this week.  I've finished week 3 and started week 4 of the couch to 5k running plan.  I thought seriously about skipping week 4 altogether but it's important to follow a plan once it's been made.

Week 3 went so well.  My legs are starting to feel better, my recovery is becoming quicker and my heart and lungs are back to where they were in Aug.  My resting heart rate is 59!  !  Did you see that?? 59! ! !

Week 4 will be finished tomorrow (no rest days due to pretty weather and the ease of the program at this point).  Week 5 will begin Tuesday and the first winter snow here in Ky may come Tuesday night.  Not sure how I'm going to schedule my runs for the upcoming week but I'll be sure to get 3 days in this week.

How was your first week of the New Year??