So How Did I Do.......

Or should I say, how am I doing.... It's the end of January (well, almost).. Time to reflect on my "Improvements".

My first priority was to spend time with my kids each night before they go to bed. I've been spending at least 15 minutes with each Sunday through Thursday (basically "school" nights). This has made a tremendous change in my daughter. She is what I describe as my cat - Everything is on her terms. Since spending this time with her, I have seen a huge change in her affection towards me. It's only taking me nine years to realize she really needs my undivided time. My son, he's my affectionate one, he just loves spending time with mom. It saddens me that I didn't start this from the very beginning of their little lives.

Spending time with my husband. My goal was to have two date nights a month. This Saturday we will have our third. One of our nights was celebrating a friends MBA, so we didn't really spend much time together - you know, girls chatting with the girls, guys doing the same, but we were out without kids nonetheless.

Family Days - we've had two Sunday's this month that were dedicated only to family. My son starts baseball this week and will have a practice every Sunday, so this is going to take some planning ahead to ensure we still get our family time in. This is what seems to happen, we allow life to change our priorities, rather then making our priorities come first in life.

Self improvements. I did get the holiday weight off, and maybe an extra pound or two. I have been eating better, although until I can figure out which tooth is my sweet tooth and have it removed, I'm still gonna have a cookie or two, or three, or six.... My running hasn't been what I've wanted, but you know that already. That will change. I also wanted to add more strength training in, for firmer arms and shoulders. Although the total body gym is up against the wall in my bedroom, I still haven't worked it into my routine. My husband does it at times not convenient for me, or day's I've already done a class. I'll try and make that a priority this month as well.

So, I haven't done too bad. The two improvements that mean the most, time with my kids and husband, have been the easiest and most successful, as well as the most rewarding. The rest is just icing on the cake...

Total Miles Logged......

This month I logged 24.11 running miles... ummmm.... I use to do that in a week (ok, so it's been a while since I've logged that many in a week, but that use to be my norm)...

A bit disappointing mentally, but, I suppose I have my reasons -- or excuses -- which ever you choose to call them.

I started off the first week of January with a bang, and then I caught a head cold. The kind that keeps you up at night, zaps your energy... About the same time, some major stress hit our lives. Nothing like a death, but, as I said before, the kind of stress that makes your stomach nauseous, so lack of food intake, being emotionally wiped out, running just wasn't the priority. The kids have had a few days of no school Mondays, always a bit harder when kids are around... the list could go on, but it wont.

Now that January, and hopefully everything it entailed is behind me, February starts with a whole new head space. I'm back to my goal of at least 21 miles a week. I wont beat myself up if I don't attain it, but I hope I get way closer then I did this past month.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...........

Whew....... I needed to let that out. I'm on one of those eating binges, the kind where nothing you put in your mouth satisfies the hunger in your gut, and it's driving me crazy!! This house hold has had WAY too much stress inside it's four walls the past few weeks. The kind of stress that makes you sick to the stomach, so you don't really eat.....

The stress is finally starting to settle a bit, good thing... Bad thing, my body wants to make up for the lack of food it's received over the past 14 days or so.... I'm trying to keep the intake good - started out with a fiber one muffin and coffee, on to yogurt a banana and half a turkey sandwich, sweet tooth kicked in so I tried to calm it with a handful of granola... however... I've since moved on to a lunch sized bag of cheetos, another muffin and a handful of chips with salsa. I'm trying to down water, but that doesn't do a thing for me. I'm getting ready to make dinner, so hopefully a meal of salisbury steak, roasted cauliflower, mashed potatoes will end the hunger, but darn if those oreos aren't calling my name.....

Admittedly.....

I'm a half asser....

I grow tired of doing things. I start at one end of my kitchen counter with gusto, but by the time I get to the other end, I don't move things any longer, I just sorta clean around them.... I wash the clothes, then fold them, but most of the time they just sit in the basket until I need the darn thing, then I finally put them away... Oh and dusting... yeah...... I go as long as I can dusting around the nick nacks, and don't even ask about my blinds, luckily not too many people are in the house at the time when the sun hits them just right and you can see the layer of dust.... Don't get me wrong, my house is clean, just half ass clean....

Change....

I have a tendency to get bored with things and want to change them up.....

What about this new layout?

Don't be surprised if it changes... and changes... and changes again...

Hope....

My pastor said the following at the end of his service a few weeks back....

Hope does not come from a man in the white house, but from the man who hung on the cross....

We all need hope....

Contemplating....

Times are tough.... for everyone... I've been trying to figure out places I can cut back. I'm pretty darn close to cutting the cable for the tv off. We don't need it, we might miss it, but we don't need it. We're not a family of extravagance, so I don't have a list of things I can cut out to lower our monthly expenses.

But there is one thing I'm struggling with......

My gym membership.....

I signed up last June, they had a deal I couldn't pass up - $30.00 a month, no contract, my kids are free. I take a class 2 days a week, and two of my girlfriends are there most days - working out with others is always so much easier. I've also really come to enjoy having a choice to run inside or outside depending on the weather. I like my membership. I really like it.....

The question is, do I really need it? For years I would tell everyone I have the perfect gym in the outdoors, why do I need to pay to exercise?! But now that I have the perfect indoor gym that gives me a total body work out two days a week, why would I want to stop that? I don't like when my "things" have a hold on me, I should be stronger then that, but this is really holding on tight....