Is it a Fail or a Break?

I had a snow day today.  Or might it be considered a rain day instead?  It definitely became a PJ day for me.  I know, it seems strange to have a rain day, but that's what we got today, and the boys and I didn't have school.

Considering the fact that we've been dealing with day after day of snow through Christmas Break, we then dealt with nearly a week of subzero temperatures that the rest of the country is now getting.  So, today our temperature rose literally 60º to a balmy 37º F today! So today we got rain.

The problem was that because the ground was so cold, any rain that fell froze as it landed on the roads, which made for dangerous driving.  So, that justified having a rain day.  In January.  In Maine.

So, where does "A Fail or a Break" come into the picture?  Well, I was still up at my usual time this morning, at 5 A.M. to feed our cat Charlie, say goodbye to my husband, and begin getting ready for my day.  I had my suspicions that there would be no school today, but just in case I jumped in the shower just the same.

As I was toweling off, my phone rang with our customary School Reach call letting me know of our school cancellation.  That left me with a dilemma.  A very serious dilemma.

You know how I've been wanting to get back in to my workout routines that I had been doing so long ago? Well, I had the perfect opportunity to do that today, but I had already taken my shower.  I couldn't get all sweaty again when I just got washed up.  It's not good for my hair to get washed so often, and it's drying for the skin when it's cold outside.  I know.  Great excuses.

So, what do you think I did?  That's right.  Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well, not exactly nothing.  I did have to revise my plans because of the school cancellation today, and I did try to set up some Mystery Skype sessions, and of course, I ensured that my friends and I were updated on all the necessary statuses on Facebook and Twitter.  All the cute kitty pictures and videos were liked and shared.  All the posts about the weather were commented upon.  You know, catching up with the news.

Now, I could beat myself up mentally for not doing a workout today.  I could punish myself by saying what a lazy, horrible, and unmotivated person I am.  Then I thought about it.  I just did a streak of 3 days!  Is it wrong to give myself a break?  Didn't I deserve it?  At this point in the day, I'd have to say the answer is a yes.  I did deserve a break.  Especially after the latest development of my 2 hour delay in my district tomorrow morning.  

That's right.  My plans for tomorrow are this.  Get up at the usual time of 5, feed Charlie, say goodbye to Hubby, then do my workout.  Wake up the boys, make them pancakes (which is usually reserved for special occasions and weekends), send them off to school, then get ready for my day.  

I think that sounds like a workable plan.  Don't ya think?  I'll let you know how that went.

Heat Wave!!

While most of the central and lower eastern part of the US are now getting a deep freeze, we're actually getting a break from the one we've been going through up in Aroostook County, in Maine.  We welcomed in the new year with temperatures of -20º F with wind chills in the -40s, the lowest I noticed was -47º F.  Brrr... We've been in the teens for most of the day today, and it was nice!

As I'm sitting here writing this, reflecting on the day, I'm kicking myself because I never considered going outside to walk, rather than on the treadmill in my dark and dusty basement.

I'm pretty proud of myself, because I've done 3 straight days in a row.  It will be a challenge starting tomorrow, because school vacation is over and it's back to school.  And....to get things going I have a meeting after school and my oldest has a home game.  Somewhere in between I have to also cook supper and make sure homework is done.

I like to do leg and arm exercises then do at least 15 minutes on the treadmill.  I may have to consider doing this in smaller portions and do the squats and arm lifts tomorrow morning, then jump on the treadmill after the game.

I wonder how any of you who have to balance work and a family manage to get a meaningful workout in on a regular basis?  I would love to read what you do.

A Brand New Year!

As I've mentioned in my previous blog posts, I've tried to get back to where I was a couple of years ago when I was fit, physically active, and healthy.  

With the coming of a new year, like many others, I reflect on the past year and try to come up with goals for the new one.  One of my biggest issues is that I take the time to start back exercising during school breaks, which makes it hard to keep a routine once school's back in session.

Earlier this week, my husband and I were talking about our resolutions.  He was saying how he wanted to lose weight and get healthier, and was cautiously hinting the same for me.  Of course I got defensive, and told him to say what he really wanted to say.  So he stated what I already knew and had been obsessing about.  I need to lose weight.  My jeans size has increased and I don't feel that well.  Yes, the truth is painful.

In the past I had used a website geared for helping people through their weight loss journey.  I am by no means putting it down, because it was a huge motivator for me, 3 years ago.  But when I tried to get back on it recently, I found it was too much work, and that I needed something simpler.

I found a simple app for my smartphone that helps me track my calorie intake, how many calories I burn with various workouts, and how I'm progressing toward my goal.  It has the same bells and whistles that the website had, but no teams to join, or challenges to achieve when you have a busy life and don't have time to manage it.  It's simple.

I was home alone today (yes!), basically because my stepsons had school and my district wasn't starting back until Monday, and my husband was at work.  With temperatures way below zero (-14ºF and -38ºF with the windchill), going for a walk outside wasn't an option.  And because I hadn't been physically active for such a long time, I figured some squats, arm workouts, then walking was a good place to start.  So I planned to start on the treadmill.

In order for me to use the treadmill, I had to make room to open it up.  My oldest plays the drums and had moved his drumset closer to the light so he could read his music, but that put it in my way for the treadmill.  The thing is, he rarely uses the drums, so I moved it back to where it had been, and set up the treadmill.

In the past I had been a huge pinner on Pinterest, which accumulated tons of pins in my "working out" board.  So I spent yesterday weeding through them all, and found some workouts I wanted to start with.  For example, squats that started on day 1 with 6 reps and eventually progresses as the month does.  Also, I found some arm exercises that does the same.  I also added a couple of core exercises as well.  So, I figured if I do this daily all month, then I'll begin seeing results, which is a motivator in itself.

So, after pondering over what to do and where to start for most of the morning, which is part of my problem....I think too much....and solved my treadmill space issue, I did my squats, arm exercises, and walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes.  I did a couple of minutes of jogging, but my knees and ankles were objecting due to lack of practice, so I mostly walked.

Now that I've done my first day, my challenge is to keep doing it.  That's not easy.  

I don't own a scale, but I'm sure that my weight is not a number I would be happy with.  So, in order to track my progress, I decided to take measurements of key places on my body.  My butt, waist, and thighs.  I don't like those numbers either, but it's a way I can track my progress.  I couldn't find an app to track them with, so I decided to use my calendar instead.  That means, every Friday morning I'll take measurements of these same problem areas and track them on my phone's calendar.  

It's been said that it takes 21 days to start a habit, and this photo shows one way to track that.  I'm not planning on advertizing this, mainly because I prefer keeping things private to some extent.  I've done the "announcing my workouts" thing on Facebook and Twitter before, and it didn't help me stay motivated.  Perhaps keeping a blog about it will work.

What kind of challenges have you faced?  I would love to hear about how you have dealt with them and have overcome them, if you have.

Motivation and obsession updates

Yeah, well, my plans to create a compost bin hasn't been going very well.  I opened up the lid yesterday after nearly a week of rain (which meant that I wasn't going outside to do anything other than going to the car or store), and found little flies flying around.  Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think my compost bin is doing very well.  

I did go up to the hill where our garden has been and where are strawberry plants are now to check on them.  I've got berries!  They're still greenish-white, but they are a nice size!  We're expecting a possible stretch of warm, sunny weather, so they may ripen nicely!  Strawberry jam, pie or shortcakes in the future?

As for my motivation for working out....let's just say that hasn't existed while we've had a long stretch of rain.  I know it's not an excuse, especially since I have a treadmill in the basement I can use.  But having the sun shining makes a lot of difference.  

I'm writing this blog post while waiting for my supper to digest.  It's a beautiful, sunny evening, not too hot and not too cold, and not even humid, so I'm planning on going for a nice walk in a few.  I've been listening to audiobooks that I borrowed from our elibrary, so I can listen to them as I drive to wherever I'm going, walk/run, or clean around the house.  I just need to remind myself that I have a limited time to listen to the book.  Perhaps that can be my motivation to at least go walk.  Time to get my sneakers on and head on out....

She was once motivated, but lost it.....

Three and a half years ago I was motivated to become healthier.  I chronicled part of my journey, and spoke about my losses, too: a friend who died at age 40 and my cousin who never made it to 40.  This was the year I turned 40 and I wanted to do something for myself that was good and healthy.

It began one fall evening when I cleaned up an area in the basement, set up our treadmill, and from there a workout area where I could do my Jillian Michaels' workouts, and run on the treadmill.  It continued on from there.  I got involved in running, and did my first 5K ever that spring.  This was the start of a healthy year-and-a-half.  I was healthy, fit, and happy.  I had clothes that were actually too big for me, and I was running regularly.

One school break I caught pneumonia.  My oldest stepson had it, then my youngest stepson and me.  We were eating lunch waiting for him to be able to get his X-Ray done for his lungs when I began shivering uncontrollably.  I can't remember ever being so sick in my life!  It truly debilitated me to the point that I went a long time without working out.  I was sent for a breathing test and was happy to find out that there was no damage done to my lungs.  The thing is the real issue wasn't my breathing like I thought.  I lost my motivation.  

I've tried periodically to get back to the workouts, but it's just not there.  I've tried just walking, like I've done before, but even though I have the desire to run, I can't get myself to commit to it.  

I've wanted to do a workout in the morning, but lately the morning is when I hurt the most.  At 43, I guess my body has caught up with my age.....or something like that.  I've developed Morton's Neuroma under my right foot, so finding the footwear and treatment to allow me to even walk normal without pain is a challenge.  

No matter how true my pain and discomfort may be, I can't help but feel like they're only excuses, and it frustrates me.  I hate having a spare tire, my once "too big" pants too tight, and not having clothes that fit me well.  At all.  I only have one pair of shorts I can wear, and it's because I just bought them this spring.  Let's just say that I'm not feeling so much like my best, and I know I need to do something about it.  I just wish I knew where to find my motivation again. 

It's almost like reinventing myself, I just don't know how to do it or into what.

Afternoon Stress Release

Today we had an early release at our school and the staff had a Wellness afternoon. We had choices between volleyball, pickle ball, jazzercise, Dance Dance Revolution, and a variety of other options. I, being the sedentary person that I have become, chose jazzercise. Go figure. What was I thinking? I was so tired and that was after the first fifteen minutes! However, I'm proud to say that I lasted throughout the approximately forty-five minute workout. I was so glad that I had supper cooking in my slowcooker, although my Avon order arrived today so I had to sort that out, but I enjoy doing that. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say that I didn't enjoy exercising, but it has been a loooonnnngggg time since I've done more than go for a walk. Once the session was done, I felt exhilerated and satisfied knowing that I'll be feeling this tomorrow, at least if I did it right. At the beginning of the day, I considered hiding in my room correcting projects instead, but I decided to give it a try and I don't regret it.

Years ago, and I mean about fifteen years ago, I used to do arobics then walk about three miles aftwards. I did this three times a week and was in pretty good shape. Now that I'm pushing 40 (this year!) I find getting back into a routine such as that is difficult. What makes it hard are the other responsiblities that make scheduling exercise difficult. When I did this, I had no children, just myself and my ex. Now, I have a family and now a job that oftentimes takes up a few hours in my evenings, too, especially at the end of the quarter like now. Also, trying to schedule in time to write is just as difficult. I know prioritizing is important, and trust me, I've tried, but by the time I'm finished all that I wanted to accomplish once I'm home, it's nearly 8:00 PM and it's too late to exercise.

Some day in a perfect world, there will be 36 hours in a day, which will give me more time to do things that I need to and want to do. The thing is, with my luck, someone will add more that we can do during that time to still leave me with less time for myself.

Spring Has Sprung!!

What a beautiful day, although I only got to enjoy it for a short time after school let out. I didn’t mind, though. I called up my neighbor, a.k.a. walking partner, and we went for a 30-minute walk. That felt really good. I’ve been pretty stationary all winter, mainly because I just don’t like being cold and in the dark so much, especially the wind. It’s gets pretty bad coming down from the potato fields. It seems to pick up speed. Spring always brings out the exercise bug in me.

I had so much energy, having been dealing with a doozy of a cold for a week. Maybe it’s the beautiful weather, or perhaps I’m getting over that cold (finally!), or because I have a workshop tomorrow, giving me a break from the middle schoolers. Who knows? Perhaps it’s a combination of all three. Anyhow, the highlight of my day was supper. Hubby fired up the gas grill and he cooked up a nice slab of moose steak. Man, was that good! There’s nothing like cooking on the grill. I know I’m putting gas in the same category as charcoal, but as far as I’m concerned, at this point, I wasn’t cooking in the house, it was all outside and that makes all the difference in the food. I didn't get a chance to get a picture of our grill still partially buried in snow, so I found this one on line. Food looks really good. Perhaps I'll make chicken with grilled vegetables tomorrow night.