Motivated.

Can I brag on myself for just a moment? Hey, my blog - I do what I want. I blogged here last week about making a new life plan and setting some new goals and priorities to focus on. Well I know it's been less than a week since that post but I have to tell you I have been DOMINATING my new life plan. Most importantly with my new budget, financial plan, and reset priorities for where my money is going and what I'm saving for - I have rocked it. Like 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 rocked it.

I'm also trying to be more on top of my house (which I cleaned relentlessly this weekend). I reorganized and cleaned the fridge, pantry, freezer, and cabinets. I also vacuumed and mopped the floors, cleaned my bathroom, changed sheets, dusted, wiped my baseboards, that whole sha-bang. I feel cleaned and organized, now just to stay on top of it.

In the spirit of getting back on my health goals, I got a few good workouts in, including a walk on Bayshore, my favorite place to workout.

And I can't forget that I shared I was trying to be a more thoughtful friend... and I haven't let that goal go without attention either. I made breakfast for a group of friends Saturday morning, sent another card out this weekend, called a few friends just to say hey, and invited a couple over for dinner this week so we can have a double date that doesn't hurt the budget.

Thanks for helping me stay movitated loves - 2011 sure is turning out to be a great year. The best yet, perhaps?

Love,
B

Scattered but Valuable Thoughts.

Well my mind has been going a mile a minute the last three days and thankfully, I took notes. All that chaos in my brain and I actually came up with a great game plan for the next year. Yes, that's right - I go on vacation and I come back with a 'one year plan'. Hey, I'm terrible at plenty of things (like math) but one thing I'm not is unmotivated.

I tackled a 75 item to do list on my half day (so much for that nap) yesterday before cooking dinner for a date night with my love.

I appreciate so many things about Thomas and and about my life since he's entered it, but lately I'm most thankful that he's add a whole new level of motivation when I think about my future. I think my parents are appreciate some of those changes as they witness them as well.

I've always been a fairly motivated child. I begged my parents to let me get a job the day I turned 15. They thought I was crazy since neither of my sisters shared my love for making money. I've never been as miserable as I was the semester I tried to not work in college. I love love love to work. I can't even quite explain it...

In the last year, of being 25, I've really assessed and reassessed and assessed some more what I'm working TOWARDS. I've lost 70 pounds but am I working towards a number, a size, a health goal? Do I just want to be fit or do I want to say, run a marathon? What am I working for when I'm working out? Why am I getting up at 6am to lift weights? What end result am I after?

I had high ambitions when I graduated college and one of them was to be a homeowner. I bought my first home as 24-year-old single gal on a mission and I've worked my tail off to pay off as much as I can, keep it nice, and use it to host bible studies, dinners, parties, and pool days. I've painted trim, fixed the garbage disposal, and taken classes at Home Depot. But what am I work towards? I finally realize this trip that my 2 main goals as a homeowner now are to be a debt-free homeowner (that's right people, I want to own it cash money) and to sell it for more than I paid (which use to be simple but doesn't seem to be anymore).

When I laid out my goals for 2011 I said I wanted to purpose to be a more thoughtful friend. On a chat with my friend Christina yesterday she was thanking me for a card I sent her a bit ago and she said she'd been really touched when I told her (prior to when she got my card) that I was sending a few every week. And I responded, 'It occured to me that everyone loves a thoughtful friend, heck, I know I do - and then I realized that they don't become thoughtful friends my accident, they're purposeful! So I started building new habits'. I'm not really sure how it came out that way, but after I said I thought, wow, that really is exactly how I feel.

I'm frustrated when people come to be and tell me they wish they were 'more like me' in their habits but they 'just don't have the time'. I've expressed before that I'm a firm believer that how you spend your time is 100% your responsibility and you have no choice but to own that. I continue to be one of the busiest people I know, but I've quit using that as an excuse not to workout, make my friends a priority, do thoughtful things for my boyfriend, call my family members regularly, attend church, lead a bible study, keep a clean house, have a quiet time with the Lord, write a blog, and on occasion, even lay by the pool. Think about the way you spend you time as being like money: how are you budgeting it and what are you working towards?

I've feel a bit odd sharing too much about my financial or career goals here, as they are pretty personal and it seems premature. But know that I spent time, energy, and ink putting into the plan a very detailed plan for both. As I reach those goals and make those dreams a reality, you know I will share them with you here.

I came back from New York with a renewed sense of motivation to excel in the next 7 months of this year. It's healthy to take a timeout and think about how you're doing on your goals and what needs to change. I'm thankful I got away for a few days to do just that.

Love,

B

2011 Goals - Update.

In January I jogged the entire way through my first 5k in St. Pete Beach, FL.

In February I did a 21 day Daniel Fast - eating only fruits, veggies, beans, and nuts (basically). It was intense but I conquered that as well. It's a version of a raw vegan diet.

So today starts March and if you haven't gone back to look at my goals recently let me tell you that March is ....

Gluten free month! This month I (along with my friend Jess) will be gfree for a whole month. I figured I might as well get the food related goals out of the way early, before summer vacay gets in the way.

I've been toying with the gfree idea for a while so I'm pretty excited to see how this makes me feel and how my stomach does for the next 31 days. Wish Jess and I luck as we chow down on all things gluten free this month and I'll keep you posted on how it goes (and all my favorite gfree foods).

Thanks for all the great ideas from my readers that are keeping me challenged this year and for all the support along the way.

Love,
B

5 Days Out.

In the days leading up to the beginning of my February goal – the fast, I have to admit I’m feeling a bit nervous. I think once I get started I’ll be fine, I just worry that I won’t have any energy, going caffeine free will give me migraines, or that the fast itself may send my stomach for another loop. I think it’s the normal, major life change jitters. I’m venturing pretty far out of my comfort zone by giving up meat, dairy, sweets ,and caffeine all at once! I’m glad I have two of my closest friends to do it with me, I think I’m going to need people to vent too and to hold me accountable.

On a positive note, I’m hoping a bonus to this spiritual fasting journey will be that my weight loss gets a kick in the pants. Everyone I know who’s done this fast in the past (and several of them recently) has lost a pretty substantial amount of weight. Even my friends who didn’t need to lose any lost 5 or so over the course of the 21 days. So I’m hoping since I still have a little ways to go to my goal this will get me 10-15 pounds closer. : ] Hey, a girl can dream can’t she?

I’m feeling encouraged that Aubs was able to keep working out during her Daniel fast which ended yesterday. In addition to dropping pounds I’ve really been trying to focus on toning through weight training and certain types of cardio. I want to try’n keep up with my workouts while I’m on the fast though I think I may have to reduce my usual 2 hours a day working a smidge since I’ll be on a low protein, low complex carb fast. I don’t want to get injured by wearing out under-nourished muscles.

I’m working now on weaning myself off the caffeine and enjoying a bit of a yogurt bender in prep for going without it for 21 days. Maybe by the end of this fast I won’t crave chocolate every day around 3:00 AND I may just kick this caffeine addiction for good and be able to have it only as a treat after the fast. My skin would really thank me, huh?

Well pray me up my little prayer warriors because the countdown til fast time is only 5 days. Ack.

January Goal - Complete.

Well blog friends, I am happy to report I have completed my January goal. Saturday morning I completed my first 5K (3.1 miles) in St. Pete Beach, Florida. My friend Jen and I registered about 2 months back and committed to jog the entire way together. Trust me, this was a big undertaking for me - I don't consider myself a runner, at all.

We were slow but steady but we did manage to jog the entire way. I paced Jen out of the gate when she was feeling really good, and she paced me later in the race when I really started to hit my stride. We sprinted it in to a loud chorus of cheers at the finish line and were glowing with pride at having met our goal.

Jen plans to go on to many more runs. Me, well, the jury is out. But I feel good about having completed my first month long goal for the year and my first race. Here's to starting 2011 off with a bang and to meeting many more goals before the year's out.

Love,

B