Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Searching for a 5K training program

We arrived back home Sunday night but have since been dealing with some doggie issues. We boarded the dogs at a new kennel this weekend and, unfortunately, they came home with some severe digestive tract issues. We've been to the vet, are loaded up with special bland food and they are doing okay now.

Remember this post where I talked about the 5K that is being held at Pennsic? Well, a fellow SCA-dian read that post and emailed me to say that she would be happy to run with me. Also, she is training for a 1/2 marathon so she has to keep up her running while at Pennsic and she invited to me join her on her training runs. How nice was that?!

I'm not sure that I'll be ready in time (for Pennsic or to run a 5k!) but I have been looking into training programs other than Couch to 5K, to see if there is something out there that might suit me better.

Hal Higdon's training program seems pretty popular. However, it assumes that you can just go out there and run a mile and a half straight to start. That is intimidating to me because I think running 1 mile is hard! But maybe I am just holding myself back with my fear/beliief that it's too hard for me? It is hard but that doesn't mean I couldn't push myself. Still this training program doesn intimidate me rather than make me want to run. This is an 8 week program and I only have 4 weeks to prepare, so I couldn't necessarily do it as set up either.

I've also heard good things about Jeff Galloway's training program. At first glance, this one appeals to me than Higdon's. I think this is because it is based on interval training and for whatever reason, I like interval training. This is a 15 week training program but due to the fact that I started the Couch to 5K program and also have been doing interval training on my own, I would feel comfortable starting at week 8 or even 9 and, depending on how I was doing, I could try to spend 1 week at each distance rather than 2 (if you look at the program, you'll see that each week long schedule is repeated twice).

Obviously there are other training programs out there but these are the ones I am looking at most heavily.

This morning I did a run on the treadmill. I did a 3/1 pattern run/walk for 30 min. Covered 2.31 miles. Not too bad! I am trying to increase the distance that I can cover in 30 min. so that I can increase my pace. My run this morning was 12:59 pace. I am ready to improve on that!

Coincidently, this run would fall right in line with where I would hope to start with Jeff Galloway's training program. Hmmm...

In other news, I think I need new running shoes.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Surprise!

You know how I was worried about how all my snacking, stress, bloating and lack of exercise would affect my weight and measurements this morning? Okay, I wasn't really worried but I admitted that it was entirely possible. Well, I am happy to report that it totally didn't and I maintained this week. Woohoo!

I'm still feeling a little bloated and my eating had been kind of out of whack but... sometimes you just can't stress about things. There is already too much stress in life!

Tomorrow morning my husband and I are taking off until Sunday night. We're off to celebrate my step-grandparent's 50th anniverary and will be out of town having fun with the family. I am going to swim in my aunt's pool as much as possible! I love swimming and playing in the pool.

See you Sunday night!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Hi! Bye!

I have a lot that I want to write about lately but I am lacking the time.

This week has been hard in terms of exercise. I slept in accidentally one day, thereby missing my workout. I had to force myself to get out of bed this morning. I was just so tired. This week at work has been super stressful and I am exhausted. I would have gone to bed early tonight except that my in-laws were in town and only just left at 11 p.m. I hate to say it but I think I am going to choose getting extra sleep over getting in my workout tomorrow morning. I am just feeling so run down! (And I should be going to bed now instead of blogging but I had a friend who is going through some hard times IM me and can't just leave her hanging, so here I am.)

Oh, oh. And speaking of work being stressful... When I am stressed, that is one of the times I am an emotional eater. Sometimes I can resist the urge. But it's hard. Well, it's that time of the month, I think, and that means feeling super snacky on top of that. I could have made better food choices this week. I had a candy bar yesterday AND another today!

And tomorrow is weight and measurements day! Doh! Thanks Mother Nature for packing the need to eat everything in sight and extra bloating into the same week!

Oh, oh. And speaking of food. I think I am going to make a Food Log post at the beginning of each week and then edit that post with my food log for each day. Making a new post for each food log felt like it was cluttering up my blog but I don't want to give up being accountable somewhere for what I am eating somewhere public.

There's more, of course, but for now - bed.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Missed workout, finding a 5K and gardening

I meant to workout this morning. I truly did. However, I am apparently I am not very good setting my alarm in the dark. Last night while fumbling with the clock, I set the alarm for 5:20 p.m. I realized this when I woke up this morning and peeked at the clock and it was 6 a.m. It was too late to get a workout in but I can't say I didn't like the extra sleep. I have been so tired lately. I have been trying to go to bed earlier but I'm not very good at it.

But my husband and I did take the dogs for a walk tonight before dinner!

In running news, my brother wants to come visit and run a 5K race with me. Well, run the same 5k as me anyway. He probably won't run with me as he is a much better runner than I and would hope to finish the first mile in under 6 min.! There's no way I could do that but it would be nice to run a race together even if he is going to smoke me! At least I know I could totally triple jump father than him. Anyway, it is looking like the optimal time to do this would be sometime in July. Now I just have to go about locating a 5K.

Also, I discovered that there is going to be a 5K held at Pennsic (an SCA event) this year to raise money for the Aethelmarc Waterbearers Guild. Here are the details -

Announcing the 1st Annual Aquarithon - a challenging 5K race at Pennsic!!
Benefits the Aethelmarc Waterbearers Guild. "We water everyone!"
  • Starting at Troll, 7pm, on Middle Sunday (Aug 2nd).
  • $10 donation - t-shirt guaranteed if you register, extras available on race day till I run out. Register by emailing me at oushi@hotmail.com subject: Aquarithon. Include name, gender, camp, and t-shirt size.
  • The prizes: To be determined, but we'll have them for fastest male, fastest female, and fastest under 16. There's also a prize for most creative garb-like runners cover-up, and most determined runner.
  • The rules: Stay on the course. Respect the cars, pedestrians, children, merchants, etc. No booze or drugs on the course *please*. NO RAIN DATE. If it rains, we still run!! 100% of proceeds go to the waterbearing fund.
The most difficult aspects of this would be the heat and garb-like running clothes cover-up. I don't deal with overheating well. It makes me physically ill. Now, I would think they would have water stations set up but I would need to worry about getting well-hydrated before the race and staying well-hydrated at Pennsic is fairly difficult already due to the heat. As to the garb, I don't know what I would do as a cover-up as I don't generally run in shorts because my thighs rub together and that's uncomfortable. And I really don't want to add more layers in that heat.

I am seriously considering the Pennsic 5K. Unfortunately, I don't think there is anyone in my household who would run it with me.

In gardening news, my little bell pepper is getting bigger and bigger and I can see where 9 little cucumbers are starting! And my new squash and zucchini plants and looking pretty perky.

Food Log
Breakfast
2 pumpkin-carrot muffins

Snack
1 nectarine
light vanilla yogurt with blackberries, blueberries and organic granola

Lunch
1/2 cheeseburger from Applebee's
broccoli and sugar snap peas

Snack
Twix (I gave in to the chocolate craving.)

Dinner
Homemade Amish noodles with sauteed veggies (broccoli, asparagas, brussel sprouts, green pepper, zucchini, carrot) with a little margarine and shredded sharp cheese

Dessert
malt balls
Italian ice

Monday, June 22, 2009

Food Log

Breakfast
2 slices wheat toast w/ pb and honey

Snack
trail mix, nuts and raisins

Lunch
1/2 grilled chicken wrap from Friendly's
light vanilla yogurt with blackberries and strawberries and organic granola

Dinner
sun dried tomato polenta
broccoli and snap peas sauted with minced garlic
slow-cooked pork loin

Dessert
piece of shoo-fly pie

Snack
2 caramel cream candies

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The garden

My garden has grown so much in the past two weeks! Look at how much the plants have grown since I last posted photos of them! (The photos that I posted in my blog on 6/11 were taken on 6/7, 2 weeks ago exactly. )


My garden! Oh, how it has grown!


Main garden area, rearranged - cabbage (back left), brussel sprouts (back), strawberries (front left), peppers (middle right), new squash and zucchini (center and front right)


The garden overflow area, the cucumber with the rest of the squash and zucchini


Cucumber blossom


Cabbage


Strawberry


Brussel sprout


The multi-colored pepper.


One of the newest additions - a yellow squash!


My first little baby pepper. Look at how much he has grown! The time goes so fast when they are tiny. ::tear::

Food Log
Breakfast
2 eggs and 1 egg white fried
cheese
2 slices wheat toast with butter
4 slices cinnapie from Papa John's

Snack
a handful of animal crackers

Dinner (Friendly's)
1/2 grilled chicken wrap
loaded waffle fries
happy ending sundae

Snack
dark chocolate covered raisins

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Farmer's market and food log

Today's farmer's market haul -
a carrot
a cucumber
a green pepper
a head of lettuce
2 bunches of broccoli
a quart of brussel sprouts
a bunch of asparagus
whole wheat couscous
cajun seasoning
organic maple granola
mixed lentils
a blueberry danish for my husband
a mini shoofly pie

We also still have 3 zucchini, a cabbage and sugar snap peas from the Wednesday farmer's market.

Mmmm, veggies!

Also, I have never had shoofly pie!

Food Log
Breakfast
2 slices wheat toast w/ pb

Lunch was at the farmer's market
small egg roll with sweet chili sauce and noodles with steamed veggies and pieces of chicken and beef and shrimp from the Vietnamese place for lunch
a chocolate covered coconut cream from the tea stand for dessert

Snack
dark chocolate covered raisins

Dinner (was ordered out because I ended up taking my husband to the ER this evening because he strained his back helping me with the garden. We didn't get dinner until after 9:30 p.m.!)
chicken parm calzone from Papa John's
3 pieces cinnapie from Papa John's

Saturday Goal Report

My goals
1. Run a mile in 12 min. or less. (Current best is 13 min.)
2. Run 2 miles without stopping.
3. Take part in a 5K.
4. Do a set of 35 push-ups. (Current best - 20)
5. Do a set of 35 burpees. (Current best - 18)
6. Whittle my waist - get my waist measurement under 26 inches and my belly measurement under 31 inches.
7. Get my body fat percentage under 25%.
8. Become more flexible - be able to do side and middle splits.

I created my goal list one week ago. Is it possible that I've already made one of these goals? As a matter of fact, it is! I've managed to surprise even myself.

I decided that my workout today was going to be a Goal Test. So I hopped on the treadmill to see how fast I could run a mile. I was determined to get as close to the 12 minute mark as possible. I know a 12 min. mile isn't going to win me any races but considering my previous personal best was 13 min., it would be a marked improvement and I am all about that! Above all, my aim is to improve as a runner. So I pushed myself on the treadmill today and I refused to let myself give into any doubts that I might not make it. My mantra while running was I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS!

And I did!

My official time was 11 min. 43 sec.! I ran a mile in 11 min. 43 sec. That's 1 min. 17 sec. better than my previous personal best. I am proud of myself. Goal 1 can be crossed off my list!

After my mile run, I walked for a mile to cool down and have something of a rest period before throwing myself into the burpee and push-up portion of the goal test. I didn't do as good with the burpess and push-ups but I think that was because I did them after running. I think that if I had done them before my run, I would have gotten different results. But then I also might have gotten different results for my run. I did the burpees first and managed to do a set of 15 before I began to falter. And I eeked out a set of 20 push-ups.

Oh, and as to goal 6. I am 0.6 of an inch away from making my waist measurement and 1.3 inches away from making my belly measurement.

So now my goal list looks like this!
My goals
1. Run a mile in 12 min. or less. 11:43 on 9/20!
2. Run 2 miles without stopping.
3. Take part in a 5K.
4. Do a set of 35 push-ups. (Current best - 20)
5. Do a set of 35 burpees. (Current best - 18)
6. Whittle my waist - get my waist measurement under 26 inches (currently 26.5) and my belly measurement under 31 inches (currently 32.25).
7. Get my body fat percentage under 25%. (Currently 28%)
8. Become more flexible - be able to do side and middle splits.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Weight, measurements and being body positive

Today was my official weight and measurement day.

My weight was pretty much maintained. I was down 0.2 pounds, which is very little obviously. I am fine with this. I'd like to see my weight go down a little bit but only because that will likely mean I am nearing some of my other goals. Or at least I hope that's what it would mean! However, if I am able to make my other goals without losing any weight, I'll be just as happy.

But for some reason my scale said my body fat percentage is up. Well, I'd like to see that go down!

My bust, natural waist and hip measurements were all the same but my belly measurement is down 3/4 an inch! Getting close to that goal!

Tomorrow I am going to goal test and see if I can't run a mile and also see how many push-ups and burpees I can do in a set. Saturdays are going to be goal test days (when possible).

Saturday is also farmer's market day! Love that!

I am feeling pretty body positive lately. I do still have to fight some old demons that want to poison my thinking against myself. But I am done with that kind of thinking. I am trying to banish it and though it haunts me, it is doing so less and less. I have noticed lately that I am starting to have some pretty good definition in my abs and also that my legs are looking pretty darn good. In light of that, you should check out Operation Beautiful over at Healthy Tipping Point! It's inspiring. Read all the wonderful notes from Caitlin's readers.

Food Log
Breakfast
About 2 whole wheat strawberry muffins (they were two I rescued from the Gage mauling but they were no longer quite... whole)
1 slice wheat bread with peanut butter

Snack
low-fat string cheese

Lunch
(We had a cookout at work.)
1 hamburger on a bun w/ lettuce and ketchup
small scoop of pasta salad
3 crackers with cheese and pepperoni
2 small handfuls corn chips with taco dip
1 piece Earthquake Cake

Snack
low-fat string cheese

Dinner
1 2/3 slices heartburner pizza (pepperoni w/ hot sauce)

Dessert
4 small handfuls dark chocolate covered raisins

Whoops, that may have been too many chocolate covered raisins...

I best get back to making doggie collars for my etsy shop!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Running, walking and my poor garden

This morning's exercise was a run on the treadmill - check out my dailymile widget! It actually felt pretty darn good. I didn't feel too fatigued through the workout but my heart was really pumping heard at the end and I did have to push myself. Also, I was soaked in sweat. I burned 350 calories.

I'm a little sad - one of my strawberry plants had a slime mold! It's because we've had so much rain here lately. The only real solution is sunshine and no rain. But of course, we're supposed to get more rain Friday and Saturday. Thankfully a slime mold shouldn't kill the plant. It's just... unsightly and could smother the plant if we don't get it under control.

Thankfully the rest of the garden is looking great.

Tonight my husband and I went to a local street festival. It was huge! And we ate a ton of fair food, which was awesome. We also did a whole lot of walking. We didn't buy anything but I did get a flyer advertising the local roller derby team. Now there would be a great, active hobby! I think I am going to look into it further but I don't know that I have the time to dedicate to it or whether I have the ability. It sounds like fun though.

Lately our dogs have been really restless. I am sure that are getting bored as we haven't been taking them on any walks lately. That needs to change. I am going to start trying to convince my husband to go for walks with me and the dogs a few days a week at least. It would be good for us all! Wish me luck!

Food Log
Breakfast
2 whole wheat strawberry muffins

Snack
2 slices wheat toast with peanut butter

Lunch
I veggie burger with a slice of cheese
sugar snap peas
light vanilla yogurt with strawberries, raspberries and blackberries

Snack
dark chocolate covered raisins

Dinner
1/2 spiedie hoagie
1/2 an order of french fries w/ ketchup
1 deep fried Oreo
1/2 pumpkin funnel cake

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

30 Day Shred//Food Log

So this morning, my alarm when off at 5:20 a.m. I stumbled from my bed, pulling on my workout clothes and sneakers with my eyes half-closed and then busted my butt through Level 1 AND Level 2 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Yes, back to back. I skipped the warm up on Level 2 since I was already a little warm from doing Level 1. You know, just a little. I used light weights (2 lb.) since I was doing both levels and I knew that was going to be a lot of arm work. It was hard work but it also really felt good. I know I really need to step it up when it comes to strength training and this was a good start! And I burned 390 calories. I really like Jillian Michael's workouts (the ones that I have done) because they combine strength training with cardio.

I like 30 Day Shred for the workout but I can't do it day after day because I need more variety than that. But the workouts themselves are fairly well rounded, I think! However, I still think Jillian is really awful at stretching and doesn't stretch nearly enough. Stretching is so important!

Food Log
Breakfast
2 strawberry wheat muffins
1 small banana

Now, I just want to say that I made these muffins last night, using a regular muffin tin that you would use for cupcakes, not a jumbo muffin tin, so the muffins aren't very big. Anyway, regardles of the size they were made with whole wheat flour, lots of strawberries, no oil and no granulated sugar. Very healthy! I used maple syrup and honey as sweeteners and Country Crock instead of butter. I could have also used olive oil, as that is a healthy fat, but I decided to go with the Country Crock because it has so many fewer calories. However, Gage, our male dog, ate almost ALL of the muffins I made last night while we were at work today! I was so upset! he stole them off the kitchen table. Bad boy! He also stole the bananas off the counter, so no more bananas! Boo!

Snack
light vanilla yogurt with strawberries and blackberries

Oh my goodness, slap your grandma! I have never eaten vanilla yogurt before. I thought it was going to be awful and that adding the berries would allow me to maybe stomach it. (I was hoping anyway, since I bought a large container not individual small cups.) I was so wrong! Vanilla yogurt is delicious! I can't believe I never tried it before. I have been missing out!

Lunch
leftover whole wheat couscous from Monday night
leftover sauted vegtables from last night
leftover slow-cooked pork loin from Monday

I have a divided lunch container that I take my lunches in. I put veggies in the big section and meat and carbs/starches in the small sections. I'll have to take a photo of it.

Snack
low-fat string cheese

Dinner
1/2 an order of barbecue boneless chicken wings from Applebee's
1/2 a cheeseburger from Applebee's
3/4 of an order of fries from Applebee's

Dessert
10 dark-chocolate covered raisins

I'll fully admit that dinner was kind of sparked by an emotional need to eat. I had a really horrible day (week) at work and came home to find Gage had eaten all the muffins and made a variety of other messes. I just didn't have it in me to make dinner. I was feeling pretty beat down, so my husband offered to go out and pick up dinner and I let him. Perhaps dinner was not the most healthy but I did try to eat mindfully and when I started to feel full, I stopped eating. That part was good at least because in the past, I would have just powered through it.

I am going to have to workout hard tomorrow morning as we're going to a local street festival, which means... FAIR FOOD. Funnel cakes and fried dough and candy apples, oh my! Okay, so I'm not going to be eating all of that but I am sure that tomorrow's dinner isn't going to be a normal dinner.

I have read in various articles, for example this one entitled How to Eat to Lose Weight -- which I personally think is a really good article -- that eating 5 meals (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner) a day is important because it helps keep your metabolism up and burning. It also helps keep you from getting too hungry at any point in the day, whichs helps you stick to a healthier eating plan

How many of you eat snacks? What are your favorite snacks?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Food log

Breakfast
2 slices wheat bread w/ peanut butter
1 small banana

Snack
1 nectarine

Lunch
slow-cooked pork loin and whole wheat couscous from dinner last night
stiry-fried cabbage with a little margarine

I did have an afternoon snack planned but I ended up getting too busy at work. Guess I'll save my yogurt with blackberries and strawberries for tomorrow! My lunch was pretty big though (a few ounces of the meat (4-5?), about a cup of the couscous and maybe the same of cabbage), so I didn't start getting hungry until right before dinner, so it was okay.

Dinner
shredded pork (again from last night dinner) mixed with some homemade barbecue sauce and wrapped in a Bisquick crust (SO GOOD... I love Bisquick. I love making little meat (or meat and veggie or meat and cheese or veggie and cheese...) pockets with it) - I had 2 small pockets
brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots and green pepper sauted in a little margarine

Dessert
1 piece blueberry crumb pie from the Amish pie stand at the farmer's market

Looking back at my food log, my lunch and dinner were pretty big. I didn't feel stuffed after either of them but I did feel full. I still need to work on slowing down my eating and enjoying my food so that I am satisfied by eating less.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Post script to my goals post // the garden // food log

I didn't mention any of this in my goals post but... it all probably should have been included. Whoops!

1. If you look to the right of my blog, under my About Me and under my Blog Archive, you'll find my dailymile exercise widget, which will be updated with my latest workout. For example, if you glanced at it today, you'd see that I ran 2.7 miles this morning on the treadmill. It also show the length of my workout and other details. Pretty neat, right? So you'll not only be able to read my food log for the day but if you glance at my widget, you'll also be able to see my workout for the day.

2. I plan to take my measurements once a week on Fridays. I think I am also going to weigh myself on Fridays but I don't plan on posting my weight.

3. As part of my plan, I am trying to drink at least 64 oz. of water daily.

In other news, my garden is really taking off! My cucumber plant and cabbage plant are huge!

Look! My cucumber has flowers!

I simply cannot wait to eat vegetables from my own garden! So excited! Right now my husband and I buy all our vegetables from the local farmer's market -- which I think is awesome, don't get my wrong, I LOVE the farmer's market -- but it will be great to decrease the amount we spend on groceries because we're able to supplement with produce from our own garden. Because we eat a lot of veggies! We tend to eat frozen or fresh vegetables, I've cut out canned vegetables due to the amount of sodium and preservatives in the last few years. Same for fruit, excepting applesauce. And I am actually really happy to report that for the last few weeks ALL of the produce we've eaten has been fresh. Yum!

Soon those little buds will be peppers!


Like this little guy! My first pepper!

Food Log
Breakfast
2 slices wheat toast w/ peanut butter
1 small banana

Snack
low-fat string cheese

Lunch
Veggie burger
Leftover sauted brussel sprouts, zucchini, green pepper and broccoli from Saturday's dinner
stir-fried cabbage with a dab of margerine

Snack
low-fat string cheese
tootsie-pop

Dinner
slow cooked pork loin
steamed artichoke stuffed with garlic w/ butter and parmesan cheese on the side for dipping
whole wheat couscous made with fat-free chicken stock and herbs

Dessert
mini strawberry cobbler (made in a small ramekin)

The cobbler was really easy to make. Sliced strawberries tossed with a little bit of sugar and corn starch, bake until berries start to soften and then toss the topping on (flour, brown sugar, oats, mix in butter/margarine until crumbly) and bake until the topping is done and crisps up a little. To make it a little bit healther I used half whole wheat flour. Okay, so it may have been more of a crisp than a cobbler because I used oats but either way - delicious!

Berries all ready to go in the oven.


Bon appetit!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Food log

Breakfast/lunch (home)
2 eggs and 1 egg white (fried)
2 slices wheat toast w/ margarine
small bowl of strawberries and blackberries

My eggs and toast. Lots of pepper!


Our berries. So good!

Snack (home)
Cucumber spears
low-fat string cheese

Dinner (@ the in-law's)
1 turkey burger with bun, lettuce, ketchup and cheese
2 handfuls plain chips
lettuce with light three cheese ranch dressing

Dessert (home
1 slice blueberry crumb pie from the Amish pie stand at the farmer's market

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Planning to succeed

I've put a lot of thought into how I plan to meet my fitness and health goals this weekend and I am hoping I have come up with a plan that will work for me.

First I am going to reorganize my goals, put like with like, because that just makes more sense. Oh, and I added a goal.

My Goals
1. Run a mile in 12 min. or less. (Current best is 13 min.)
2. Run 2 miles without stopping.
3. Take part in a 5K.
4. Do a set of 35 push-ups. (Current best - 20)
5. Do a set of 35 burpees. (Current best - 18)
6. Whittle my waist - get my waist measurement under 26 inches and my belly measurement under 31 inches.
7. Get my body fat percentage under 25%.
8. Become more flexible - be able to do side and middle splits.

My Plan
You'll probably notice that my plan is very open and not concrete. I like that because it allows me to adjust and make changes along the way. I need to not be too restricted, it just doesn't work for me personally.

I purposefully did not make any weight-related goals. This is about fitness and overall health for me right now. As I am not overweight, I don't think that I need to make any weight-related goals. I have also consciously decided to not have calorie counting be part of my plan. But I do plan to eat mindfully and log my food. This simply means that I plan on making a list of what I have eaten each day. Not an overly complicated or extremely detailed list, just a simple list to show that I am paying attention to what I put in my mouth and to keep myself accountable. For example, yesterday's list would read:
Breakfast (out)
1 pizza pretzel log from the Amish stand at the farmer's market
1 donut from the dutch bakery at the farmer's market

Snack (home)
2 beef sticks (think Slim Jim but... not mass produced) from Amish store

Dinner (home)
3 potato and cheddar pierogies
broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrot, green pepper and zucchini sauted in a little margarine
a little grated sharp cheese from a local creamery

Look! I have photos!

Veggies in the pan, just starting to brown up a little. Love it!


All plated up - yum!

Dessert (home)
1 piece blueberry crumb pie from Amish bakery stand at the farmer's market.

Pretty simple, right? In addition to that I am going to work on watching my portions, choosing lots of veggies and fruits, lean meats and whole grains. I also need to slow down and really paying attention to what I am eating. That's being mindful to me, slowing down and really seeing, tasting and enjoying what you're eating and trying to make healthy choices.

I also plan to exercise at least 5 days a week. I plan to do a lot of workouts that combine cardio and strength training. I would like to burn over 1500 calories a week.

Now onto my plan in relation to my goals...

Obviously my first three goals have to do with running. Running is very hard for me but I very much want to become a better runner and increase my running stamina and endurance. Currently I have been following the Couch 2 5K training program, though I am a little stuck at week 5. I have also mixed some interval training in with C25K. My plan is to look into some other training programs for new runners, find some additional workouts to try, in the hopes of improving myself as a runner. I will also try to complete the C25K program and will definitely continue with the interval training. (I am finding that I have a preference for the interval training right now.)

If any of you runners out there have some recommendations, I am all ears! Currently I primarily run on the treadmill. I'd like to do some more road running but my husband doesn't want me to run by myself (he doesn't think it's safe) but he doesn't want to run with me and I don't have anyone else to run with, so... treadmill. I also think I need to get new running shoes. How often should one buy new shoes?

Goals 3 and 4 are fitness goals and the only way I am going to achieve them is by getting stronger, which will allow me to build up how many repetitions I can do in a set. So obviously I need to work on getting in more strength training. I am going to try to do a workout that includes strength training at least 3 times a week. I did a 'goal test' today to see how many repetitions I could do for both push-ups and burpees and I managed a set of 20 push-ups and a set of 18 burpees. Of course, I did the burpees after the push-ups so my arms were tired. I perhaps could have done more if I hadn't done push-ups first. I had originally set each of these goals as a set of 25 but I wanted to challenge myself more after doing my 'test' this morning, so I changed that goal to 35.

Goals 6 and 7 will simply rely on me following my eating and exercise plan.

Goal 8 might be a little tricky but I am going to really work at it. I am already pretty flexible and I always stretch well after a workout. To try and increase my flexibility to the point of being able to do a split, I am also going to start stretching in the evening each day. Hopefully this will help me meet this goal.

So there it is. What do you think?

Determining what works and what doesn't

So I have been thinking over what I need to do to reach the goals that I set yesterday. What's going to work for me? I've been at this for a long time, years of trying to lose weight, trying to 'get in shape' (which really, in the beginning, meant trying to lose weight, who am I kidding?), trying to be happy with what I see when I look in the mirror. And I have learned a lot in those years.

I've learned that exercising a few times a week and not being mindful of what I eat doesn't work. I've learned that counting calories does get results at first but then I become completely obsessive. I make myself crazy and measure everything in terms of calories and food and completely freak out when something crops up that makes me stray from my plan. After the freaking out, I then binge for an indefinite length of time, beat myself up about it the entire time and eventually force myself to go back the calorie counting and attempt to restrict my calories even more to make up for the binging. Rinse, lather, repeat. Obviously, that doesn't work. Or it perhaps gets results, at least temporarily, but it is in no way healthy and that doesn't work. I've learned that restricting whole food groups doesn't work. I've learned that shame and guilt and negativity towards oneself doesn't work.

I've learned that focusing on fitness and exercise as a means to become a person with more, strength, endurance and stamina does work. I've learned that finding exercise you enjoy and then striving to personally excel in that area does work. I've learned that mindful eating does work. I've learned that positivity and encouragement, focusing on the good - that does work.

I've also learned that there is nothing wrong with what I see when I look in the mirror.

I am learning to be at peace with that person, with myself. It's not always easy but I am trying. I am learning to have goals but also love myself as I am. I am learning to see myself through other people's eyes. I still have a lot left to learn.

I have taken what I have learned and tried to used that information to help me come up with a plan, or series of plans, to help me reach my 7 goals. That plan is nearly ready to post. Expect to see it tomorrow!

Some links

First off, Holly (who I mentioned in my last post) gave me a blogger award! She gave me this:











The rules are thusly:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Well, as this blog is new and I've only just started following other blogs, all of my currently followed blogs are newly discovered! So unfortunately I don't have 15 to post about but I will pass the award on!

1. Holly - a runner, triathlete and nutritionist who has lost over 80 pounds.
2. CMarie - who had a newly born cooking blog. Yum!
3. Jessica - reporter and runner, originally from Michigan, transplanted to Pennsylvania and currently living in Germany.
4. Effy - an athletic and CrossFit fanatic

So I only have four for you but... they're all great, I promise!

Also, for those of you runners or those of you interested in running, Erica of I Run Because I Can is giving away a copy of The Nonrunner’s Marathon Guide for Women on her blog here! Given that I am trying so hard to become a runner, I would really love to read this book. Maybe you would too!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Goals

So I decided that I needed to make my non-weight related fitness goals instead of just saying I am going to. So here are 7 to start.

1. Whittle my waist - get my waist measurement under 26 inches and my belly measurement under 31 inches. (As of this morning my waist measurement is 26.5 (it was down to 26 but is up a little since the weight gain) and my belly measurement is 33 (it was 31.25).
2. Become more flexible - be able to do side and middle splits.
3. Run a mile in 12 min. or less. (Current best is 13 min.)
4. Do a set of 25 push-ups.
5. Do a set of 25 burpees.
6. Run 2 miles without stopping.
7. Get my body fat percentage under 25%.

Now I should come up with a plan to achieve these goals but I don't really know where to start. I... I know I need to do better than I have been doing. I need to eat better, watch my portions more closely or focus on eating more veggies and less carbs and sweets. I know this. I am just struggling to actually do it. For some reason right now it just feels like it would take so much effort. I'm in a bad head space with this all lately. I don't know why. I do want to do better than I have been doing. I do want to succeed. I just... Well, actually it's not this that has me in a bad head space but unfortunately this is being affected by my bad head space and I think I do know why. I think my unhappiness at work and my stress regarding work and how that bleeds over into life as a whole... That is what has me in a bad head space and it's sapping all my energy, leaving nothing for me to draw on. It has been really hard for me to put forth the energy and effort that I need to, to make this work.

I've done it before. And I can do it again. And I can do it in a more healthy way. And I can do it without obsessing over it. I can be passionate and focused.

I can do better than this.

I need to come up with a plan to do better than this. I am going to read Healthy Tipping Point, a blog recommended to me by my friend, Holly. I am going to try to use that as motivation. I am trying not to let it make me feel like a failure, like it highlights all the ways I am floundering, because in my current head space that is how it feels. I need to focus on the positive. I need to find tools that are going to help me get back on track. Beating myself up, being negative, is not going to help. And in that vein, I really feel like I need to step away from the calorie counting and I need to put away the scale. But at the same time that sounds incredibly hard. I want to see results and I like the scale as a means of measure. But if needs to have less power. There have to be other options. I don't like the desperate desire to see my weight go down that I am feeling right now. And I don't like various unhealthy possibilities that flood my mind under the force of that desperation. This needs to be about health and positivity, not desperation.

I will come up with a plan to achieve my goals. Or at least I will attempt to. I will post about my plans tomorrow.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Gardening

Because I love fruits and veggies so very much (and because I spend so much of our grocery bill on them), I decided to try my hand at gardening. My garden is a container garden, rather than a traditional garden. I tried to grow a container garden last year but was pretty successful. I'm not sure where I went wrong but I am sure that a big move right when the plants were fairly young and then not knowing anyone in our new neighborhood to ask to water our plants while we were away didn't help. Last year I attempting to start from seed, however this year we went out and bought little plants and I repotted them. I am hoping to be successful with the container gardening this year!

Our little garden area is in the corner of our yard. You can just barely see the little green wire fence that goes around the garden to keep the dogs out and I also placed bricks around the perimeter. Back along the fence and in the middle on the left are brussel sprouts, in the middle on the right, grouped together, are three strawberry plants. In the front on the right is a cucumber, in the middle is cabbage, next to the cabbage is green pepper and on the left is multi-colored pepper.

And my husband brought me home 4 yellow squash and 4 zucchini plants! I don't have pictures of them yet. And the plants pictured have gotten even bigger since I snapped the photo. I even have an itty bitty green pepper now!

Big fail

Really horrible day at work today, continuing the week of horrible... cue emotional eating. I just sat myself down with some vegetable lo mein and sweet and sour chicken. Oh, and a pork egg roll. And we bought cookies to make later... chocolate-filled chocolate chip cookies. And I plan on eating a couple. Maybe I shouldn't but I just don't have the will power today. I am so tired and so stressed and I just can't handle anymore. At least I worked out this morning and I had a salad for lunch? I'm not going to bother to calculate my calories for the day. Or should I? I don't know. Either way this morning I was down to 144. Didn't change my spark plan though.

Here was my morning workout:
5 min. warm up
1/2 mile run
1/4 mile walk
1/4 mile run
1/4 mile walk
1/8 mile walk at incline 8
1/4 mile walk at incline 5.5
1/4 mile cool down
(2 miles total)

And then I did:
20 burpees

I had wanted to do the week 5 C25K workout but I just couldn't this morning. My knees are kind of hurting lately. And my shins and calves have felt tighter lately as well. I don't really know why. And my right elbow has been hurting... but that has nothing to do with running.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Correlation between lack of sleep, stress and weight gain/loss?

I didn't have time to post yesterday's results last night, so here they are now!

My weight was exactly the same yesterday morning (Which is weird because I would have thought that it would have gone down a little after a day of good hydration and eating that was mostly on the mark... but no. Oh well. Maybe it was a true weight gain and not water weight? I mean, I don't think I ate THAT much but I suppose it's possible.) so that means that my sparkpeople plan didn't change at all. 1200-1550 calories, 240 calories burned from exercise. I did go over on my calories again - thank you, pie! I was at 1633 calories. I did burn 235 calories though in the morning doing The FIRM's Cardio Express video. (I couldn't get On Demand to work for some reason. I had wanted to do Jillian Michael's No More Fat Zones but nooooo...)

I was actually expecting the workout to be harder than it was. I remember it being harder but it really wasn't that hard this time. Hmmm.... Maybe I am just that much more awesome.

Oh, one thing I wanted to mention. I know that they say that it is normal for a person's weight to fluctuate a few pounds even day to day. I've noticed that this is true for me if I'm not tracking my calories. My weight does tend to fluctuate up and down a bit then. However, if I am tracking, my weight hardly fluctuates at all. It pretty much stays relatively the same or only moves very little and then every once in a while it will drop (if I am staying on target) and even that movement is usually small. I'm not sure what that means, it's just an observation.

One thing I have noticed lately is that I feel, and feel like I look, very bloated. Perhaps that's just weight gain since my weight is back up a little. I don't know. I feel like my belly looks puffy, more than just a couple pounds weight gain would account for. And I wonder, can lack of sleep or stress make you retain water/be bloated? I know they say both of those things have a big effect on efforts to lose weight but I don't know what that effect is. I have a feeling it is different for every person. I really wonder sometimes if that is playing a part in all of this for me. I know I should get more sleep. 6 hours isn't really enough. I have been trying to go to bed earlier but I just seem to have trouble actually falling asleep and staying asleep. Which is probably due to stress... I am currently extremely stressed. And there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. I mean, I am stressed due to work. I am looking for a new job but I can't make someone else hire me, so I am stuck there for the time being. So yeah, I am sleeping 6 to 6 1/2 hours a night and I am super stressed. If nothing else, both of those things greatly effect my will power and ability to make myself stay focused.

Which leads me to this morning... I got a little more sleep than normal today because my alarm got turned off somehow. I woke up at 5:45 instead of 5:20, so I decided not to workout this morning. I'll just workout on Saturday instead. No big deal. Man, it was nice to sleep that extra time though. I reset my alarm and made sure to turn it on and then slept until 6:20.

My weight was 145 today, so I am down a little bit but not much really. Usually I lose faster than that after the weekend, so that seems odd but oh well. My sparkpeople plan is still the same. 1200-1550 calories consumed. 240 to be burned. Obviously I didn't burn any today but I will make up for that and I have consumed more than my calorie range, again. (1882) Mostly because my co-worker brought in stuffed loaf for us to try today. More calories in that than the salad I had brought but I wanted to try it.

Monday, June 8, 2009

A health conscious me

So, as many of you know, I am fairly health conscious. I try to eat right. I am trying to improve my fitness. I want to be more toned. I want to be able to run a 5K. I want to lose a little bit of weight. I am going to start tracking my workouts, weight and calories here. A public forum to keep myself accountable and all that.

Lately I manage to exercise about 5 days a week for at least 30 min. Usually longer. That's a pretty good place to start. I have been getting up and exercising before work, which is working out weel for me. I then get in my 5 days of exercise a week and have the weekends off. I know I should probably try and get in some workouts on the weekends but we are so busy. It's nice to not have to worry about it since I have already exercised 5 out of the 7 days of the week. I have a treadmill and I use that fairly often. I am trying to complete the Couch 2 5K workouts. I am on week 5. I've done day 1 of that week but haven't worked up the courage to tackle day 2. I also have various workout videos (I've been doing a lot of Jillian Michael's videos lately), hand weights, an exercise ball and do some CrossFit here and there.

I also count calories and try to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.

I have been using sparkpeople.com to track my calories, water intake and exercise. It works decently well. I've been changing my goal weight, my time line and my exercise goals to see what effect that has on the plan it gives me. I think it will be interesting to see how that changes. I plan on inputting my weight daily and seeing how that changes things. Just as an experiment.

Right now my current goal is to be 140 by July 4. We are going to the beach that weekend! Woo! I would actually like to be 140 by the last weekend of this month but sparkpeople didn't like that as a goal date because it would mean needing to lose over 2 pounds a week because my weight was high this morning thanks to weekend eating and not drinking enough water.

So this morning my weight was 145.8, 27% body fat according to the scale. So I've input into sparkpeople that my goal weight is 140 and I want to reach it by 7/4. I've also input that I plan to burn 1200 calories a week. To this sparkpeople says: I should be consuming 1200-1550 calories a day.

So far today I have had 52 ounces of water, so I should have no problem hitting 64 ounces. My calories are at 1764, which is, obviously, over their recommended range. I have also burned 400 calories, which is over the 240 I needed to burn today per their dividing up of the 1200 calories per week.

So basically I am just playing with sparkpeople to amuse myself but it is helping me keep on task and it will be interesting to see how things change.

For my workout today, I:
3 min. warm up
3 min run (5 mph)
1 min. walk (3mph)
repeat for 30 min. (I'm not sure how many repetitions this is but I do know that 30 min. was 2 min. into my last running interval, so I just ran those 2 min. and did my cool down.)
5 min. cool down

And then I did:
10 burpees
10 air squats
10 sit ups
10 push ups
10 box jumps

And then I stretched. So doing 3/1 intervals is harder than 2/1 intervals definitely. I kind of feel like I need longer to recover than that 1 min. but, hey, it's making my push myself and my body. I think I went 2.64 miles in that time, including the warm up and cool down. I am proud of myself for sticking with the running because it really is pretty difficult for me. But I think I am doing well. I am going to attempt the week 5, day 2 workout for C25K on Wednesday I think. Maybe on Friday I'll try running a mile. See if I can't do it in under 12 minutes.

I really need to devise some concrete, non-weight related goals. I have some in mind. I need to just sit down and hash them out. Then I will post them.

Tonight I made some healthy banana-strawberry oat muffins for grab-and-go breakfasts. They are cooling right now. I can't wait to try them in the morning. Since I have been getting up early to exercise, it's been harder to find the time to eat at home. I have been but it makes me very rushed. If I had something already prepared that I could just grab, that would make it so much easier. I have made banana oat muffins in the past and really liked them, so I think I will really like these.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

No More Fat Talk





End Fat Talk., An interview with Jillian Michaels.

I am guilty of fat talk. Not about other people so much. I generally talk up my friends, people I know. Tell them how great they look, tell them that it's nonsense to say they're fat, tell them that I think they are beautiful. I'm always upbeat, cheering other people on.

I do not do the same for myself. In fact I am barely nice to myself in this journey to become more fit, to lose weight. I belittle my accomplishments and beat myself up over supposed failings. I know I am focusing on the wrong things. I know I am too hard on myself. Life is too short to be so harsh on myself over something so little as 12 pounds. I know I am should be better, should have more of a focus on health and fitness. But I don't know how to change my self perception. I don't know how to alter my skewed body image.

Even now I want to make a list of the things I don't like about my body, how I look, just to say say how unimportant they are. Well, if they are that unimportant, why list them at all? So I'm not going to. Because they don't matter. No more fat talk. Only body positive, Holly positive, talk from here on out. How much have I set myself back by being negative, by stressing out over every little calorie, by getting anxious about what I am eating or not eating, by stressing out over my weight? Stress affects weight loss too. Often negatively. Why make myself unhappy, when honestly there isn't anything to be unhappy over.

I, too often, focus on the wrong things. Do I want to lose more weight? Sure. Do I need to? No. Will it make my life better to? Probably not. I want to lose the weight for vanity reasons. And just to prove that I can. Why does the weight, the number, matter? It doesn't. It really doesn't. I know that but there is such a focus on being skinny, on that scale number being small. Health is more important. Fitness is more important. Feeling good when I look in the mirror is more important than those numbers on the scale. I've lost about 8 lb. since January. 8 lb. is not a huge loss. I'm about 12 lb. from my goal. But more than that, what else have I lost? What have I gained? 8 lb. may not be much but I have transformed how I look in those 8 lb. I have lost 10.75 inches off my bust, waist, belly and hips. Almost 11 inches! That's a huge difference! That has changed how my body looks, as has the muscle tone that I have gained from working out. Those two things combined have completely altered how my body looks, how my clothes fit. And they have completely changed how I feel when I look in the mirror. It wasn't the 8 lb. that did that, that makes me feel good when I look in the mirror and like how my clothes fit. It was the exercise and toning up, the losing 10 inches, that did that. Okay, maybe the 8 lb. helped do that but it didn't do it alone. And let's not forget the 2 inches I have lost off each thigh!

I look so much different than I did in January. I look so much better. And I didn't look bad then! I am look great right now. I've built up lean, toned muscles. My thighs are thinner, my waist is smaller, my belly is flatter, my arms are more defined. My husband thinks I am hot. I am hot. There is nothing about my body that needs improvement. I might want to improve parts of it but that's different than need. And then changes that I want to make? They have much more to do with exercise and being healthy, than weight.

And speaking of exercise, look at how far I have come there! I am back to working out 5-6 days a week for at least 30 min, often an hour or more. I've purchased a treadmill. I strength train. I do other cardio. I have tried CrossFit. I push myself. And look how far I have come with my running. So far. I went 4 miles the other day. I have never done that before. I called my brother tonight and made plans with him to run while I am home. Will I be as good as him? Probably not and I will probably have to make him stop and walk with me but I will use his ability to push myself, to make myself better.

I think I need to focus on making my goals more fitness-based. I don't know want to drop my weight goal though. I don't want to admit defeat on that, even though I am fine with where I am at weight-wise. I really do like how I look lately and I am happy with it but I can't deny that part of me is hungry for that lower number. I want to say, proudly, that I have lost 20 lb. I want people to notice. But what is it worth? Is it worth stress and anxiety? No. But how do I get there without the stress and anxiety? I don't think I am very good at not stressing about it. And as for fitness goals... I don't really know how to make those. I do have one. I want to run a 5K. But what other goals can I make fitness- or health-wise? I'm not sure where to start as I've focused on weight loss and weight goals for so long. Improving how many push-ups I can do in a minute? Improving how many burpees I can do in a minute? Air-squats? Sit-ups? Or shoud I look at lowering my body fat percentage? Lowering my BMI? Both of those seem like comendable goals as well but are fairly directly related to weight. I guess that is something I need to think about. My weight goal is 130 but I think I need to focus on fitness and health goals over my weight goal and let my weight work itself out. Does that make me a quitter? I almost feel like it does. I feel a little ashamed. I don't want to give up. I'm just tired of negativity. I just want to focus on the positive, on bettering myself, on being more, not on being less, being a smaller number.

Mission 101

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Start Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009
End date: Thursday, November 11, 2011


My list.

Body/health
1. Reach my goal weight (138 lb.) and once reached maintain (136-142 lb.)
2. Participate in a 5K walk/run to raise money for a charity
3. Be able to do 20 good push-ups
4. Take a yoga class (Couples Yoga Class at Yoga 101, 2/14)
5. Be able to do side and middle splits
6. Fight at Pennsic
7. Eat no sweets Monday through Friday from a month (0/20)
8. Eat vegetarian for a week
9. Donate blood 3 times (0/3)

Vanity/pampering
10. Get a facial
11. Get a massage
12. Buy 10 items of clothing that I feel fantastic in, post pictures (0/10)
13. Buy a pair of brightly colored heels
14. Get new glasses
15. Get another piercing
16. Get my tattoo touched up
17. Do 4 assignments from Learning to Love You More (0/4)
18. Take/have taken tasteful nude portraits

Mind
19. Write 25 poems (0/25)
20. Submit 5 poems for publication (0/5)
21. Read 101 books (9/101, see books read post)
22. Purchases 5 books for historical reference (0/5)
23. Teach Gage and Una 5 new commands (0/5)
24. Get a better paying job
25. Get a more fulfilling job
26. Build a snowman
27. Visit 5 museums/attractions (1/5) (Boldt Castle, Alexandria Bay, NY - May 9, 2009)
28. Get a new library card
29. Learn to snowboard
30. Learn to play poker
31. Go horseback riding 5 times (0/5)
32. Go to a play at a local high school
33. Watch all of the Harry Potter movies
34. Compliment at least one person a day for a month
35. Mail a secret to Post Secret
36. Free write about a memory once a month (1/33) (See memories post.)
37. Make a list of 101 things I am grateful for

Home
38. Plant a flower garden
39. Host a family holiday meal
40. Paint the living room
41. Paint the dining room
42. Get slip covers for couch and chaise lounge
43. Display Andy’s ship collection
44. Take pictures of the antiques inherited from Andy’s family, send them to his mom so that she can send back the story of each item
45. Organize filing cabinet
46. Organize the files on the external hard drive
47. Put loose photos in albums/store if duplicates
48. Frame some of my photography, proudly display it in my home
49. Have honeymoon photos printed and put them into an album
50. Buy an original piece of artwork
51. Purge my closet twice, donate the clothes (1/2 - March 2008)

Food
52. Prepare 1 new recipe a month (0/33)
53. Try 5 new foods (0/5)
54. Eat at 50 new restaurants (1/50, see restaurants visited post)
55. Make Christmas cookies each year (0/3)
56. Pack my lunch every day for a month (0/20)
57. Make homemade ice cream
58. Make strawberry jam
59. Try a candy that I’ve never had from an other country
60. Try a new fruit
61. Go to the Melting Pot
62. Spend a weekend cooking and freeze meal-sized portions to be pulled out on weekdays when there isn’t a lot of time to prepare dinner
63. Take part in a CSA

Creativity
64. Make 30 sales on Etsy
65. Make 65 sales on Etsy
66. Make 100 sales on Etsy
67. List 5 new items in my Etsy shop (3/5) (March 2008 - Boo-boo bags, eye pillows and wire wrapped pendants)
68. Take part in Project 365
69. Learn to make soap (hot or cold process)
70. Crochet/knit a scarf and hat for myself out of yarn that I've spun
71. Have a table at a craft fair
72. Make myself 3 pair of pajama pants (0/3)

Family and Friends
73. Send just-because gifts to my girlfriends (0/10)
74. Visit Bethanne and Seth
75. Visit my dad and Terrie
76. Send flowers to my girlfriends at work
77. Treat my mother to a day at the spa
78. Go on a vacation with my girlfriend(s)
79. Have a girls’ night
80. Meet 2 online friends (2/2) (Met buzzandbullies and gwai_lol on Feb. 28, 2009!)
81. Send my parents cards just to tell them I love them
82. Take Cindy, Paige and Dianne (and family) to Piazza Sorrento

Travel, etc.
83. Take a road trip with no destination in mind
84. See a show on Broadway
85. Go whitewater rafting
86. Go ice skating
87. Go skiing
88. Go swimming in the ocean
89. Go horseback riding around Gettysburg
90. Visit a new state
91. Go to Baltimore
92. Go to Washington D.C.
93. Go to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

Marriage
94. Make a list of 101 things I love about my husband and give it to him
95. Go skinny dipping with my husband
96. Write a poem about my husband
97. Make my husband a special dinner, everything his choice.
98. Give my husband a backrub every week for a month
99. Go on a dress-up date with my husband
100. Do something special for my husband for his graduation from law school
101. Begin trying to conceive our first baby