friggatriskaidekaphobia

Seriously, it's a word.  I googled it...it means a fear of Friday the 13th.  Don't ask me how to say it...my response will be to sound it out.
So yeah, it's Friday the 13th.  I guess according to superstition bad things are supposed to happen today.  It flurried this morning on my way in to work...but it's January and if the first snow of 2012 is 15 minutes of flurries well then I take that as a good thing.
I'm also a bit partial to today because, well it happens to be my birthday.  Yep...today I turn

(√576 +15)3 - (√196 +75) + 4  

what you thought I would just tell you?

So far, despite the bad luck that supposed to accompany this day, for me it's been pretty good.  I was woken up by the bleeping and blurping of my phone from text messages and a ton of FB love on my wall.  Perhaps even better, tho, is that when I stepped on the scale this morning {something I try not to do too often} it said that I lost 6lbs since last week!  That's like I was carrying a Rockhopper penguin {I googled that too} a week ago and now I'm not.

angry little rockhopper

Now I know enough that it's just water weight, but I'm still happy.  It reinforces my belief that the only thing I can do that helps me to lose weight is running combined with a sensible diet.  It's definitely helped to push my relationship with running up a few notches from flirting to seeing each other.  At this rate, we might be dating by next week!  Makes me even more excited to see what kind of results I get in February when I change my diet even more and combine it with running.  So I'm happy to report that halfway into January and I'm making good progress on my goal for the month.  Hooray!!!  

I'd say that all in all, my Friday the 13th is going pretty darned well

What's your take on Friday the 13th?  Do you suffer from frigga-whatsa-howeveryousayit-phobia?  Were you able to figure out my age?

{cindie}

 

if at first you don't succeed...

...learn from your mistakes and aim lower?

Did you know that 10 days into the new year is about the time that a majority of people typically have already given up on their resolutions.  Sure there will be the few who hang on for another week or so, and then there's the really strong handful who actually stick to it {props to them!}.  Me? Well aside from my decision to start letting the little things slide and reading at least one book a month {currently reading World War Z}, I didn't really make any resolutions this year.  Instead, I set monthly goals for myself because to me, it's easier to tackle a year full of goals when I break it down into 12 parts.  Plus I figure if I give myself up to 29 days to achieve something then I can certainly do at least that.  

I haven't planned the whole year out because I kind of want to leave it open and let life take me on it's journey.  Some months might have one goal, some may have more {ooo daring!}.  My aim is to take each month's goal and carry it forward into the next months.  If I fail in carrying it through the months, but succeed in the month I planned for it, well then at least I succeeded in one aspect.  For me, it's about setting small goals that are easy to achieve and developing the healthy behaviors to make the success last.  And putting it out here on the interweb universe holds me accountable to keeping on track {and having to check in keeps me motivated}. 

Here's what I've got so far:

January

Fall in love with running again.  I'm happy to say this is going well so far.  I'm not quite in love with running just yet, but we're getting there.  I'd say we're in that flirting stage and maybe next week we'll be 'seeing each other' or maybe even be exclusive.  I've got 21 more days to develop that love so we're going to take it slow.

February

Change my diet.  Last year I did my 30-day no meat diet, but for the past month or so, I've been reading a lot about the paleo diet.  While I know anything low-carb, low sugar is going to be extremely difficult, I can and certainly will get behind a diet that includes bacon...umm...I did post on FB that when I have a child it's first words just might be 'bacon wrapped'.  I won't be going full on paleo because I don't think completely depriving myself of something I enjoy {hello potatoes and cheese...mmm cheese ON potatoes...with bacon!} will only result in my failure, but I'll ease myself, and Hubster, into it so that perhaps by month's end we'll be eating an 80-90% paleo diet.  I think it's important to add, if only to remind myself, that just because this is a February goal doesn't mean to go carb and sugar loading until February!

March

Pay down debt.  My bonus check {c'mon baby!} is supposed to come in March so this was a no brainer.  While I'd love to treat myself to something nice with my bonus, what I really should do is pay down the debt I've accrued by treating myself nice all the other months of the year.  Since this goal won't be as much about what I do to reach it as opposed to what I receive to make it possible, I'm also going to try to make it a goal to practice photography more.  One of the nice things I bought for myself includes my dslr and I'm ashamed to say I haven't used it nearly enough to justify the cost.  So March will be the month I learn how to take better photos, and the only way I can do that is by taking more.  Expect for March to be a month of posts heavily laden with photos.

April

Run a half marathon.  There's one on April 22nd that I'm currently training for.  Two years ago, the first thing that got me to start running was signing up for a 5K.  I was so proud of myself when I finished that I signed up for another.  And then I said to myself I would love to be able to run a half marathon one day.  Then I stopped running.  And I thought eh, I wouldn't be able to run 13.1 miles anyway.  Well guess what...this will be the year I do {I really hope at least}.  I haven't signed up for it yet, but as long as I succeed in my January goal then I will.  I'm terrified at the thought of it right now, but that's because again, running and I are flirting.  I'm not going to be over ambitious and say I will run it in under a certain amount of time, I just want to say I did it.

That's all I have for now, perhaps it's best just to plan for a quarter at a time.  Again, keep it small and simple.

Did you make resolutions this year?  How are you doing?  And what tactics do you employ to help yourself stick to them?

{cindie}         

revelations and resolutions

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I'm so glad that a new year has started.  The last quarter or so of 2011 and I were not friends.  We fought a lot, and it usually won, leaving me a sad, broken weeping mess.  It made me think sad scary thoughts about the future, brought reunions that weren't necessarily joyful and stress...oh boy the stress.  It violently attempted to leave me on NYE, many hours before 2012 was ready to arrive.  As happy as we both seemed to be to end the relationship, 2011 wasn't going to go out without letting me know how happy it was to be rid of me (or, as it seemed, to rid itself from me {mind you, it's exit was not aided by alcohol - to my blog buddy who we rang the new year in with...that's why I kept disappearing!}).  Needless to say, the end of 2011 and I are like bitter exes, looking forward with hope that something better is just on the horizon.

I'm not so naive to believe that the mere change in the calendar date will mean new and better things.  2012 can be better, but at the same time, it can also be worse...a lot worse even.  While I can't change the things that might happen, what I can do, at the very least, is change my outlook on things.  That's where the revelations come, and the resolutions are made.  So, in an attempt to keep myself accountable, I wanted to share some of my revelations and resolutions for 2012 and beyond as a short series of posts.  So without further adieu:

I am not, will never be, won't ever in a million years come close to being perfect. 

I can't and won't be a perfect wife to my husband just as he will never be that to me.  Our marriage is not perfect.  My life has never been nor will it ever be perfect no matter how much I wish for it.  My resolution: let go.  I wanted so much to try to do everything and have everything turn out right that I would beat myself up for the smallest things.  Like if I didn't cook dinner every night.  Or if I didn't get the right type of screw when I went to the hardware store.  I literally would let small things like that make me feel bad about myself.  I mean, who does that?!  So, this year, after realizing this about myself and all my flaws and imperfections, I am resolving to let go.  I don't need to be a perfect person or wife, my marriage doesn't have to be perfect, nor does my life.  Because as imperfect as it all is, it's still good.  And I'd much rather hold on to good, than try to strive (and fail) for perfect.

What are your thoughts on the never-ending strive for perfection? Does perfect exist? Or is it just a word created to make us want for more than what we have?  What are some of your resolutions?  I'd love to hear your thoughts....oh...and it's good to be back

{cindie}