suzyQlou

Ah, yes. The holidays happened. There was some joy. There was some celebrating. Rather than looking back, I'm looking forward into the fresh new year by expanding my goals a little at a time. My new focus is a meme that was floating around recently about how life isn't easy but we choose our hard. The line that strikes me most is "Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard." So yeah. The emotional burden and sluggishness of obesity IS hard. I may as well give fitness a try again...even though it is hard. Even with lofty ideas, my GOALS are still small because that makes them smart. I'm adding on from last month, adjusting things that didn't quite work out the way I had hoped. Eat fruit/veggie with every meal. Also snacks. PLUS write down what I eat every day. Bedtime stretch and strength 6/7 nights a week. Instead of increasing reps, I will log this month to see where I can improve. Step goal: either 10k a day or at least one long walk or effort. This one stays as it is. 10k is a lot in winter, but winter effort is worth as much as easy 10k in summer. Cardio: get back on the elliptical or bike at least once a week. I'm so happy I made it back on the elliptical. Now I will expand my goal to 15 minute sessions at least twice a week. New veggie goal: Try a new veggie recipe once a week. I like plain veggies on the side of meals, but I'm going to make the effort to dress them up a little this month. Happy New Year!

I have a stretching routine from a physical therapist that I do. It helped me recover from knee surgery a couple years ago, and I still find it helpful. I also do NF yoga a few times a month. The videos are familiar and predictable. Maybe I’ll look into getting the NF app Elastigirl mentioned. I will probably like that, too.

Oops. Somehow it’s Wednesday, and I haven’t looked back on the week. Hard to say, but it might be because of all the slacking. We’ll start with the good news. I did make it back on the elliptical once this week. The rest, not so much. Aching muscles from the snow shoveling gave me excuses to skip strength workouts, and I didn’t even bother with the stretching routine even though that would have HELPED. Eating was a bit of a free for all because of all the homemade cookies. It seemed pointless to focus on fruits and veggies throughout the day while I was also eating cookies. I did make a breakthrough with holiday stress. I decided NOT to worry about Christmas dinner. Since we’re not traveling this year, I somehow got it in my head that I needed to cook the traditional Christmas dinner my mom always made on top of all the other Christmas traditions. That’s a lie. No one else in my family cares about dinner. Now I have one less unreasonable expectation, and less expectations means more happiness for the holiday.

It’s exciting to see a new year roll around, but I’m sticking with boring goals moving forward. Thanks for the ideas for some online options. Mobility is something I used to overlook, but it has become super important to me in the last few years.

Pizza is good news and bad news. I ate too much, so that’s the bad news. But is was delicious, saved me an hour of time that made cookie decorating with my family possible, and saved me from eating too many cookies. I guess self control would have been better, but at least overeating has a silver lining this time.

Ranger-ly deed of the day: Digging out from the snow storm! I’m thankful to be healthy enough to handle a shovel for over an hour...and still smile and appreciate the beauty of the sunrise over the snow.

Absolutely! As I get older, I treasure real life strength more and more. Weekly roundup: Eat fruit/veggie with every meal. Also snacks. Yes. Except for last night when I waited too long to eat dinner and overdid it. I'm trying not to let that one mistake define my whole week, but it was seriously awful. Bedtime stretch and strength 6/7 nights a week. Build reps/sets up at least a little each week. Yes on the quantity, but I didn't add reps/sets. Step goal: either 10k a day or at least one long walk or effort. Yes. Blasted that goal most days, and made an effort on two. Cardio: get back on the elliptical or bike at least once a week. Yes. So pleased that I made it on the elliptical two days. It was such a mental barrier. This week will include more Christmas cookie baking. Sugar doesn't usually tempt me, but homemade sugar does. I will enjoy some treats...but use the treats to enjoy traditions and not overdo based on my body's hunger or stress cues.

YES! Catching that sunshine is so much more productive than slogging it out through the gray.

Get ready for my ranger-ly deed of the day: I moved the chicken coop! Seriously, it's very heavy. A couple hundred pounds that I push around, wheelbarrow style. I wasn't sure I'd be up to the task this time around. But I was! And I'm glad. There's measurable snow in the forecast for this week, so that means the ceiling on the summer-time chicken run will come crashing down. My ladies depend on my feats of strength to usher them into their snow-proof winter abode. I do have a teenager I can beg for help in an emergency (and my husband is helpful too when I need it) but I prefer to be able to do things like this for myself. And now I'm going to do some yoga. My body will thank me!

Comeback stories are the best! Nice goals and nice lunches. Looks like you are off to a great start.

I climbed a mountain today and felt peaceful sitting at the top with a cool breeze blowing on my face. It’s been a while since I felt at peace with God and the world. I hope I can hang onto it for a while!

Six minutes on the elliptical. Mental victory for this week! I can’t remember the last time I stepped on that thing, and I am glad it works with an audio book.

Thinking of you. May your recovery be quick, merry and bright!

New long term goal. Weigh in the 50s when my age is in the 50s. Catchy, right? Short term goals for this holiday challenge: Eat fruit/veggie with every meal. Also snacks. Bedtime stretch and strength 6/7 nights a week. Build reps/sets up at least a little each week. Step goal: either 10k a day or at least one long walk or effort. Cardio: get back on the elliptical or bike at least once a week.

Better catch up on my monthly hikes so I'm ready to make a couple goals for the upcoming holiday challenge. I need a challenge...and I need goals!!! July. My family's one weekend getaway this year. Shenandoah National Park. August. Hiking solo after a soul-feeding visit with my folks. First time I saw them since the pandemic hit. More solo hiking. So good to get out to my favorite mountain top garden. September. Found a wildlife preserve within 20 minutes of my house. What a treasure. I will be back! October. Scouted and lead a hike to these rocks with the cub scouts. Great place to explore and stop for a snack. Happy 20th wedding anniversary hiking with my amazing husband. Happy birthday hiking to me. Discovered a rail trail with a conservation garden less than 20 minutes away. So many hidden treasures in my own backyard! November. Family hike. Takes a little convincing, but one of my great joys in life is hiking with my boys. HAPPY HIKING!

Enjoyed some outdoor art on a June hike at a local park. Best news recently is that I’ve rediscovered how much I love to ride my bike. It’s easy to take it out for a spin, and I don’t have to plan a big family outing to do it.

Not sure what happened to April (like the whole month...where did it go? I think I was supposed to be posting on a challenge thread come to think of it. Hmm.) Anyway, here is my Mother's Day hike for May. The kids shot ahead at mind-numbing speed, but my husband stayed close as we enjoyed the Springtime views. Just kidding. I do remember that last challenge I was supposed to be working on, even though my posts died off after about week 2. The good news is that the morning strength exercises have stuck, and I'm adding to them little by little. The bad news is that nighttime stretching became more sporadic (but still existent!). The important news is that I am staying mostly sane through the Pennsylvania stay at home orders during the pandemic.

I really liked your planters last week. I need to make time to check in again soon. I am happy to report that my measly little goal of 10 reps of strength each morning is working. Step ups and assisted split squats are really helping my knees and mobility. I even managed unassisted split squats this week. Really glad I started small.

So much to like about your week. The garden, of course!!!! The fresh air, the faerie lights, the exercise, the proposal. I’m glad to see you are back in such a positive place!

Yep. It was so helpful to post this for accountability reasons. Your support reminds me to stay grounded! I'm happy to report that I'm keeping my new strength routine in the morning. Eating is still pretty much in control. I've found that I'm able to eat intuitively right now which is something I struggled with for a long time. I have not made time for MFP tracking lately, but I'm ok with that. Work is going well. I am not trying to hit all my normal hours, but I enjoy interacting with the kids online. Only a few are checking in, but they make me feel like my effort is worthwhile. I've been in a little over my head with goal #3. Since I can sew, I am spreading hope by making face masks. Pretty much all day long. I might be driving my family a little crazy with this effort as I'm running out of fabric and pilfering old bed sheets, lol. Suzy, the seamstress. This is the new normal!

I am excited for your garden. Yay! And what fun to discover you can install your own washer. What a project.

I'm glad to see you, too! Gonna have to reign in goal #3 a little bit. In an effort to "spread hope" on a local FB group, I came across someone on the internet who was wrong. It didn't end well. I need to focus inward for a little while and see if I can better identify the things I can control. Deep Breath!

Ha! I remembered to do my morning outdoor exercise today. Yesterday, I forgot until my husband and I were walking through the neighborhood park. I did 10 wall pushups against the monkey bars as he taunted me for touching public surfaces. So today I outsmarted myself by leaving my bike helmet on the chicken food as a reminder to exercise. To be totally honest, I wanted to use a dumbbell for a reminder, but I couldn’t find one. Oops. Anyway, I did my 10 reps of assisted split squats on the porch. It’s going to be a nice day!

Yep. There are only a few Regulars still interested. But I think a little bit of normal goes a long way for kids. I like to be part of normal.

Hello. I'm up for a challenge this time around. It is a good time to make physical and mental health a priority. Goal 1: Healthy habits. I'm going to add outdoor strength exercises to my morning routine. 10 reps of SOMETHING every day. I'm also going to continue these habits which have been nice small changes lately: Track weight and food calories daily in MFP. I have my own cheats in place to keep this reasonable for me. Stay active. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day, but really just make sure to go on "walksies" whenever possible. Especially with my husband. Bedtime stretches. Turn on the piano music, and do my stretching routine every night. Take advantage of current state of the world to eat with scarcity in mind. Only eat what I need. Use up all those fruits and veggies so they don't go to waste. Goal 2: Stay sane part A. Actually WORK from home. Yes, I am officially working from home, but there is less to do than usual. That means I need to find those things that I always wanted to do "when I get time" and do them. I run the children's programs at a small public library. This list will help keep me accountable: Make virtual story times even better. Each week add a little twist to keep them fresh. Do ALL the things to prepare for the summer reading program even though summer is uncertain. This year should be the most organized ever! Create those reports I always wanted to monitor our circulation and the collection better. Learn the open source code behind our ILS program. We always complain about it, but it's OPEN SOURCE. I used to have programming skills. I can help fix the bugs we always complain about. Plus, there has to be an API somewhere that contacts users when they have holds. I want to find and use that to send out reminders about programs. The amount of manual work we do is silly! Goal 3: Stay sane part B. Keep up with my list of "good things" and find little ways to spread hope every day. I live in Central Pennsylvania. My two kids have been off school for two weeks, and my county has been under stay-at-home restrictions for two days. I am fortunate to have my family together at home. My husband has a job where he typically worked from home about once a week. He is able to work from home full time. My kids get an hour or so of online schoolwork every day. Aside from being a little bored, they are coping well. We have a big yard, and a friendly neighborhood. I am counting my blessings and praying for those who are out and about doing essential work.