Monday Morning Intentions

Sometime I'd like to write a post about my sleep dilemma. I should do that soon.

But tonight I'm posting about how I WILL get up and work out tomorrow morning. I figure, if I'm putting it out there on my blog, I have to do it, right? I'm hoping that will keep me accountable, at least for tomorrow.

I always have so much motivation when I'm going to bed and setting my alarm. Especially on a Sunday night. The stress from the week hasn't started to consume me yet. I'm fresh off of a relaxing, productive weekend and I have such high expectations and hope for the morning. But usually my sleepiness takes over when my alarm goes off and I snooze through a workout. Sometimes it's not even a conscious rebellion. Occasionally it is. I make excuses in my half-consciousness that I get upset about later in the day.

I have taken a week off from working out as I recovered from a bad infection last weekend. It's been long enough. I start back tomorrow. Keep me to it, ok? But with love, of course. No condemnation, just accountability and encouragement. I'm hard enough on myself :)

20 Things

It's been a ridiculously long time since I posted anything on here. And while I can't promise that I am starting back up with any kind of consistency, I can say that I think of things to blog about every.single.day. For some reason or another (mostly because of time & the fact that I haven't made this a priority) I don't end up posting anything. I think part of it is because I tend to over analyze just about everything, which makes it hard to communicate sometimes. And for some reason, I feel like I have to get things perfectly worded before I can post them out in cyberspace. But I'm going to try to get past that last part. So if this doesn't make sense or doesn't sound like it's been filtered... too bad :)

Here are some of the things I've been thinking about/wanting to post about lately:

1. I passed my last exam (praise Jesus!) and I am about to begin studying for the next one! woo hoo!
2. Brad got into physical therapy school! This will be a major life change for us - including more student loan debt! woo hoo again!
3. I have been running more, which I like. I don't think of myself as a runner at all, but I'm hoping to get over that and really exceed my own expectations. A 10k seems a little out of reach for me, but more doable than a half marathon. I'd like to run a half marathon someday.

4. I really like to bake. And I'm starting to make a little more time for it. It's a Saturday morning kind of activity for me. Might be good when I study, too. But I'm trying to eat healthier, so I've found a couple of new fun recipes that have some health-guru ingredients. I'm trying a new one tomorrow :)
5. I've started the process of changing the way I think about food. It's hard. I'm seriously addicted to food and I use it as an emotional idol. It's a serious problem. But I've gotten some good tips, advice, and encouragement from various sources and I'm slowly working on my food-mentality. I'll keep ya posted.
6. I've been reading through the Old Testament. It's cool to read things you never remember reading before, even though I've read the OT several times (and grew up hearing many of the stories). I also just ordered 2 series by Francine Rivers: (1) Sons of Encouragement, which is a fictional story based on the Biblical lives of 5 men of the Bible and (2) Lineage of Grace, the female version of the prior. They arrive on Monday (thanks to Amazon 2-day shipping) I'm excited to read these along with my study of the OT. 
7. I love Amazon 2-day shipping. And we are on the "Prime Student" edition, so haven't paid a penny yet!
8. I just downloaded an app for my phone (aTimeLogger) to track how much time I spend on certain things (i.e., sleep, driving, work, eating, studying...). I'm intending to use it to track my study hours, but for now it's been fun to see how my time is used. It also makes me more conscious of what activities I use in my "free" time.
9. I have several friends who are either having babies or buying houses. Several of each, actually. And it's really stirred that urge in me for "the next phase" of life. We've been in pretty much the same place since we got married and I think we are both ready for something new. God is so good and provided school for Brad as a big change. I just need to learn to be patient about the rest :) His timing is better than mine.
10. I miss photography. I capture little moments on my phone (loving Instagram, btw), but it's just not the same as taking pretty pictures with my fancy camera. Artists require time, which I don't have a lot of. I'd like to get some good pics of the bluebonnets this year (since they are actually pretty, unlike last year!). That will be my goal.
11. I miss using my artistic side in general. I weave it into my every day life, but I miss just sitting down and working on a project. My mom and I made 110 shower invitations a couple of weeks ago. We spent ALL day on them, but it was so much fun. I wish I could have a whole day every week for crafts.

12. Gizmo makes me so happy. Dogs don't judge. They don't care. They greet you at the door every single day and it never fails to make me happy. He is the cutest ever. I don't remember what life was like without him!
13. I've started listening to audio books in the car while I drive to work. It's been a great way to pass the time! Right now I'm listening to The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. It's a good one :)
14. I do too many things. I'd really like to simplify my life a little bit. Commit to less. Enjoy more.
15. I seem to have lost the ability to correctly handle stress. Or my life is more stressful than I ever remember it being. Either way, I'm not doing a good job of it. I need to work on that. Trust God more, trust me less. 
16. Brad is an amazing chef. He cooks dinner for me several times a week and I have no idea what I'm going to do when he's off at school most of the week! So thankful for a wonderful husband!
17. Brad and I started our own small group at church and it's going really well. It's always a little bit scary putting yourself out there and building those relationships from scratch, but it is so worth it. We are really working on shaping our group into Biblical Christian community.
18. I require more sleep than I get. I think this one will always be true.
19. I am going to see the Hunger Games at midnight next Thursday night... I haven't done a midnight showing in about 6 years. And I didn't handle it too well then. Hopefully the excitement will overpower the urge to sleep!
20. I love mountain laurels. I think I've devoted more than one blog post to this beloved plant. Is it a tree? Is it a bush? Who cares! It smells amazing! However... sidenote... it is just WAY TOO HOT for March. Even for Texas. I'm not a fan of these 80*, muggy days. The rain has been nice, though.

I could write tons more, but I'm sleepy at the moment (see #19). It's been a long week. Hopefully it won't be too long before my next post... we'll see :)

Waking up Early

I used to be a morning person... I really was! But slowly my ability to wake up in the morning has dwindled away. It sometimes takes an hour of pressing snooze before I can actually bring myself to turn the shower on. And by pressing snooze, I mean getting up out of bed and pressing the snooze button on the alarm clock that is on the other side of the room. It's that bad.

Well, next week I plan on starting a boot camp at Georgetown Rec center. It's twice a week at 5:30 in the morning. Yes... IN THE MORNING. I don't know how I'm going to do it. But I'm going to try. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Here's a clip on what Lorelai thinks about getting up early. And "early" for her is 6:30. That's not even close to how early I'm going to have to get up! Sure, she gets woken up by loud banging, but I promise that sometimes my alarm sounds pretty darn close to loud banging!

Enjoy :)

One-month Check-up

It's been one month since I've taken my exam - and I want to reflect a little bit on how things have been going since then. Before I took the exam, I made a list of things I wanted to do - or make more time for - once I was finished studying. Here's how I've done so far:

1. BLOG! Obviously, since I haven't posted since the day of my exam, I haven't done all that well with this. I always think of plenty of things I'd like to blog about, but when I get home from work - where I stare at a computer for at least 8 hours straight - the last thing I want to do is get online to blog. I would still like to get a little bit better at this, though.
2. Keep the apartment clean. I feel like I've been doing a pretty good job at this. Stuff still gets cluttered, but I seem to be keeping things clean and keeping up with (instead of catching up on) laundry.
3. Spring Cleaning! I haven't done much spring cleaning. And I need to. We have so much STUFF. Much more that we could ever need. 
4. Invite people over. Check! It was nice to have people over - and to have the apartment clean enough to have them over!
5. Spend time with friends. I've hung out with many of my friends and contacted or tried to contact them to catch up. I actually just got off the phone with my long lost Oxford friend, as I like to call her, who I haven't seen in almost a year! Horray for Skype!
6. Make an "I'm done with my exam" CD. I made a country CD that I wake up to every morning! It's wonderful!
7. WORK OUT! I haven't done as well with this as I would like, but it's definitely better than when I was studying! Right now I'm up to working out 2-3 times a week. I'd like to get that up to 4-5 times. Brad and I are considering joining a gym - probably Anytime Fitness - but I'll keep you posted!
8. Play with my Cricut. I haven't really done this, BUT I have started making a t-shirt quilt out of my Phi Lamb shirts from college!
9. Scrapbook. Again, I haven't done much, but I will probably take a lot of my scrapbook stuff with me when we go to PCB, Florida in 3 weeks
10. Research small business ideas Not yet...
11. Read! I basically read an entire book on our Memorial Day camping trip to Enchanted Rock! I hope to post more pictures of this soon! (click on them to see enlarged versions!)

12. Make a MediaShout training guide for church. Still need to do this...
13. Go for walks... OUTSIDE! I've gone jogging in the park with Brad twice and we went on plenty of walks on our camping trip... I'd like to do more though!
14. Read my Real Simple magazines I have caught up and actually need to renew my subscription!
15. Lay out by the pool - I'm hoping to do this this evening!
16. Watch Brad play softball I went to the game last Monday night and Brad hit a HOME RUN! Do I have a talented husband or what?!
17. Play with my camera. I've gotten a little bit of play time in - but I'd like some more! Another Florida project, probably!
18. Plan a surprise date night for Brad. Not yet... but he still deserves one :)
19. Design a Terranova t-shirt. hopefully soon...
20. Go shopping! I went on a shopping trip with my "twin", Kim :)
21. Be a more diligent employee. I am trying!
22. Car shop! We have been car shopping, but it's more stressful than I want it to be.
23. Play the Wii. Not yet
24. Ride my bike! Not yet :(
25. Cook! Not yet... unless you count cooking on our camping trip!
26. Go to a coffee shop check!
27. Get a massage for ME well... I did get one for me. But I also still have headaches.

28. Bring snack to Bible study. I took a yummy fruit pizza! 
29. Organize all my bills. They are partly organized... now I need to finish it up!
30. Spend time with God.  I have started a Beth Moore study (which I happen to be just going through on my own instead of in a group) called Living Beyond Yourself. It's a study of the fruit of the Spirit. I can tell that God is working in me, even if I don't suddenly feel close to Him. We are working on it :)

It looks like I've done a good job with about half of my list. It's a good start. I'd like to make some of these a regular part of my life - even while I study! My study days are creeping back up on me more quickly than I'd like!! I better enjoy this "time off" (if you can even call it that!) while I can!

Post-Exam Resolutions

I don't typically make New Year's Resolutions. I do evaluate how the prior year went and contemplate the things I'd like to work on for the next year, but I'm not one to really make a list just because I'm writing 2010 instead of 2009. Occasionally - okay, frequently - things in my life will get really chaotic and I'll find myself unable to make time to do some of the things I really enjoy. I usually make a mental list of these things so that I can make a point to do them at the next available opportunity. That's about as close to a "resolution" as I make.

I have been studying for an actuarial exam, which I take in 10 days, since mid-January (so, almost 4 months) and as I approach the exam, devoting more and more of my "free" time studying, I find myself unable to keep up with my mental list of things I'd like to do. It's just getting too long. It seems like every day I think of one or two things that I'd like to get to "once my exam is over". I can't even count how many times I have said that phrase ("once my exam is over") over the last few weeks.

It has come time to transfer my mental list from the "wishing and hoping" lobe of my brain to paper (or at least cyberspace). Here are the things I want to do "once my exam is over" (in no particular order):

1. BLOG! I have been neglecting this and I know that my 2 readers are disappointed. There may not even be any readers left! I'd like that to change! I want to post at least weekly, if not more often (striving for daily is still a little too difficult an endeavor for me).
2. Keep the apartment clean. Brad has been doing such an amazing job at picking up my slack, but he can't do it all by himself! I want to stay on top of this, rather than feel like I'm always having to "catch up".
3. Spring Cleaning! I read this blog post (Blessing of Stewardship) and it really made me think about what I am holding onto (physically and otherwise) and why. I want to spend some time evaluating what things it's time that I let go of and pass on to someone else.
4. Invite people over. I can't remember the last time we had people over to our apartment... New Year's Eve, maybe? It's been just way too long! After I get my act together with #2. and #3., we are having a party! I'm thinking homemade ice cream... :)
5. Spend time with friends. My poor friends! I have told so many of them, "We'll hang out after May 13th!" I can't wait to spend guilt-free time with them over the phone, shopping, coffee, Gilmore Girls, Chick-fil-a, bike-rides, etc.
6. Make an "I'm done with my exam" CD to rock out to on my commute - or as I'm cleaning the apartment!
7. WORK OUT! I am going to come up with a plan and stick to it! Brad and I are going to try to exercise together as much as possible. Hopefully I'll post some of my ideas in a future blog post!
8. Play with my Cricut. I have been neglecting this toy for too long. It misses me and I can hear it beckon every time I walk into our study. I just bought a new cartridge that I haven't even broken in!
9. Scrapbook. I want to use the new cartridge from #9 to help me finish scrapbooking my wedding from almost 2 years ago! I also want to work on my card-making skills :)
10. Research small business ideas to look into doing on the side. I don't really have the time to start something like this right now, but it's been on my heart a lot lately and it's never too early to start brainstorming and researching!
11. Read! I love to read, and I'm in the middle of too many books. That's not the way I like to read! I like one book at a time - finish and move on! I need to finish Eclipse before the all-too-cheesy movie comes out :)
12. Make a MediaShout training guide for church. This has been on my to-do list for about a year. It needs to get done!
13. Go for walks... OUTSIDE! It's going to get hot... fast! I want to be able to enjoy God's beautiful creation, preferably before the Texas heatwave comes on full force (today's high is 90 and it's just the beginning of May!) **sidenote complaint: Exam season always encompasses the prettiest times of the year. I study from February to May and August to November. That leaves yucky cold winter and sticky hot summer. Granted, we don't really get a true spring or autumn in Texas, but I wish I could at least enjoy our wannabes!
14. Read my Real Simple magazines that have sadly piled up over the last couple of months
15. Lay out by the pool. We have a pool in our apartment complex, yet we don't take advantage. It's fun to watch the families and kids play. And I could even catch up on #14 while I soak up some rays (after applying ample amounts of sunscreen to my fair skin!)
16. Watch Brad play softball for the Terranova Supernovas! Anyone want to cheer-lead with me?
17. Play with my camera. I need to strengthen my photography skills, and what better time than wildflower season in Texas (okay, the END of wildflower season... see sidenote complaint from #13)
18. Plan a surprise date night for Brad. He deserves a fun night out. I have not been the wife I know I can be lately. He deserves way more love than I show him! He's been a wonderful support through all of my crazy studying!
19. Design a Terranova t-shirt. I have been wanting to do this for awhile! I have a couple of really fun ideas!
20. Go shopping! And NOT as a study break... just for fun!
21. Be a more diligent employee. Yes, I have been concentrating hard on studying, which ends up benefiting the company in the long run, but as my mind has been preoccupied with Benefit reserves, annuities, premiums, and such, I have not exactly been as productive at work as I should be.
22. Car shop! That's right, we are getting a new (to us) car. And the car shopping process should be fun, but so far it has been stressful because I really just don't have enough time to devote to researching, test-driving, etc. After May 13th, bring on the contenders!
23. Play the Wii. I'm a little frightened about what the Wii Fit balance board is going to say to me when I get on it for the first time after six months! It used to hassle me after 2 days!
24. Ride my bike!
25. Cook! I have the most amazing husband that cooks dinner for me most nights! But I haven't cooked enough to know a) whether I actually enjoy it or b) whether I'm any good at it. And plus, I'd like to give Brad a break every once and a while!
26. Go to a coffee shop and actually ENJOY my cup of coffee - instead of using it as power juice to get me through a study session!
27. Get a massage for ME and not for my headaches. Believe me, there's a difference!
28. Bring snack to Bible study. I have taken a hiatus from signing up to bring snack to our weekly Bible study (one of the things I'm proud of myself for saying no to!) but I miss baking, especially baking FOR other people!
29. Organize all my bills. Thanks to our amazing teamwork, Brad and I keep up with finances extremely well. But what happens with the paper statments (which we are trying to transition out of) is another story! There is a HUGE pile of unfiled bills and statements. I can't wait to organize them all - perhaps while watching some Gilmore Girls :)
30. Spend time with God. This is the most important item on this list. God and I have some things to work on and I have been neglecting Him most of all through this study process. I am working on spending more time with him now, but I'm excited about how things can change when I have unrushed time to spend one-on-one with Him.

May 13th at around noon begins my "new year" - and I'm excited about these Post-Exam Resolutions. Happy New Year to me!

Operation Cruise... OUT OF Control!

Okay, so as I'm sure you've guessed from my lack of posts, Operation Cruise Control didn't turn out to be as much of a success as I had hoped. While I wanted to lose about 20 pounds, I only lost 5. While I wanted it to last 12 weeks, I only stuck to it for about 5. There are plenty of excuses that I can come up with, but I won't. I just completely lost motivation. On the positive side, I DID lose 5 pounds. And I'm constantly learning what does and doesn't work for me as far as a "plan" goes. So I wouldn't call OCC a failure.

While I am now really hesitant to make any sort of strict goal or plan, I do have some motivational reasons for getting back in shape and losing weight. (1) I went on a wonderful cruise last week, where they fed me in 30 minute increments. And despite only taking the elevator once or twice (I walked a LOT of stairs) I still managed to gain those 5 pounds back. (2) I will be in a couple weddings coming up - Katrina's in March and Kim's in June. Now, I'm getting my dress for Katrina's wedding altered next week, so there's not a ton of hope for that one, but I have a while before my dress for Kim's wedding comes in. I'd like to make my seamstress work, if you know what I mean. (3) I am beginning a new routine. Starting tomorrow I am studying for my next exam (it will be in May). This normally would be the perfect opportunity to use studying as an excuse for not getting in shape, but I think that this could actually be a positive experience if I schedule working out into my new routine. I am already not going to have a life. I might as well get in shape while I'm at it. And perhaps the exercise will keep my stress under control, thus preventing my headaches from reappearing.

So. I need some accountability and encouragement throughout this. Especially since I don't have a set plan. Perhaps I will come up with one as things progress, but right now a plan scares me and I'm afraid it will do more harm than good. So for now, I just want to get back to exercising regularly. Please post comments, send me emails, or call me to keep me accountable. I really need to get in shape this time. For real. :)

A Birthday... week?!

As of last Friday when I woke up (24 hours before my first intermediate goal), I only had 1/2 a pound to lose! I thought to myself, "Okay Lesley, this is totally do-able! Just think of those 15 downloads and you can make it!"

Well, when I first made these intermediate goals I forgot one detail... my birthday (goal #1) falls on a Saturday this year. Had it fallen on a Friday, I would have woken up on the morning of my birthday and "weighed in" before all of the celebrations began. Apparently when your birthday falls on a Saturday and you have amazing coworkers and an awesome husband, Friday is the official beginning of the festivities. Not only did my friends at work bring me DELICIOUS mini cupcakes, Brad decided to surprise me after work by taking me on my birthday date that night. We went to the Alamo Drafthouse to see Where the Wild Things Are and then indulged in chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot for dessert. The food coma that inevitably followed caused me to go straight to bed when I got home. It was a wonderful night, but needless to say, I didn't reach my first goal.

The birthday festivities continued through Saturday (dinner at Tokyo Steakhouse with friends), Sunday (lunch at Macaroni Grill with family), and Monday (breakfast pastries from more coworkers). I feel extremely blessed to have so many people in my life that love me and want to spoil me :) Now that I've reverted back to my *normal* eating pattern and put in some extra workouts, I'm finally recovered from the weight gain over the weekend. I'm back to where I was the day before my birthday. I seem to have been set back about 5 days, which, in my opinion is not too bad considering all of the "presents" I ate!

So below you'll see my *revised* graph. Like I said before, each intermediate goal stands on its own. So I have until Thanksgiving (morning - before all the celebration this time!) to lose 5 pounds from where I was on my birthday. The dotted light gray line in the graph is the path that will get me there. The dotted green line was my original path. Hopefully I'll be able to get back on that track soon!

Next goal: Thanksgiving

Next reward: New outfit for the cruise!

November - The Month of Motivation!

Well, after a wonderful weekend at home (New Braunfels) visiting with family and participating in the sausage-filled tradition of Wurstfest, I decided to start November off with a new mind-set. I don't know what inspired my new found motivation - it could have been the awesome weekend, "fall back", the beautiful weather, the message at church on Sunday, or a combination of all of these - but I am proud to say that I am 3 for 3 on days I've exercised in November! AND not to mention that I SURVIVED Wurstfest, Halloween, and Terranova's Fall Festival (not the healthiest combination of events in one weekend) without giving into temptations! I didn't deprive myself completely, of course... I had some chocolate. But not near a "normal" Lesley amount! It's nice to see that this self-control is showing up on the scale! I have 4 days left and 1.2 pounds to lose. It's gonna be tight, but that 15 song reward is keeping me from giving up! Now for another dose of motivation... off to watch The Biggest Loser!

My First Roadblock

Well, within my first week of Operation Cruise Control, I hit my first roadblock... a respiratory tract infection! I could tell I was fighting the on-set of something a couple weeks ago. And with the swine flu and all the other crazy things going around this time of year, I made sure to take my vitamins, drink lots of water, and wash my hands frequently.

But somehow or another my until-then-amazing immune system let something by! I woke up Monday morning unable to breathe, swallow, or get out of bed. I went to the doctor to find out I had a fever and some kind of bronchial infection. Needless to say, I was in bed for two days (while the weather was gorgeous, of course!) and not myself the rest of the week.

I am still not 100% back to normal, but I'm close :) Today was my first day "back to the gym" and I have to say that I'm proud of myself! Despite the freezing, ugly, rainy weather, I got up super early and went down to our apartment complex weight room for 30 minutes of cardio. It felt really nice to be up while everyone continued to sleep knowing that I was doing my body good. Let's hope the motivation doesn't wear off as the week goes on!

While I was sick, I encountered a pretty popular question... is it okay to work out when you're sick? I even had this discussion with some friends. After a little bit of research, I came up with a general rule that most "experts" seem to agree on. I call it the Neck Rule.

Here's the rule: if your symptoms are mostly from the neck up (headache, runny nose, sore throat, etc) then it should be okay to exercise (but make sure to take antibacterial wipes if going to a public place!). It may even be helpful! But if your symptoms are below the neck (aching muscles, vomiting, nausea, chest pain, etc), it's best not to exercise. You definitely shouldn't exercise if you have a fever. And as always, but especially if you're not feeling well, make sure you are hydrated!!! If you're still not sure what to do, I'd say ask your doctor.

Well, here's how I've done so far. That big dip at the beginning was me getting sick (not my favorite way to lose weight!)

Operation Cruise Control

Since I got married, started a desk job, and left the collegiate “active” lifestyle behind, I seem to have gained some unwanted pounds. I finally have a long period of time free from studying and a motivating reason to shed these unwanted pounds: a cruise! Granted, I’ve had plenty of reasons to lose the weight over the past year, but between the studying (a.k.a. the stress) and my semi-chronic headaches, I kept allowing myself to justify my complacency.

Of course, several times I tried to jump-start my motivation and get in shape, but every time failed. I found that the main reasons for the failures were (1) I had one big scary goal (with no stepping stones in between), (2) I had no one to keep me accountable or motivate me, and (3) I was WAY too strict about my eating habits. I mean, did I really think I would succeed by depriving myself completely of chocolate? Those of you that know me know that I can’t live long without it! So this time I plan to remedy those mistakes by (1) giving myself small, manageable goals to help get through to the big goal, (2) make sure people know that I’m doing this so-as to keep me accountable and provide encouragement, and (3) allow myself leeway when it comes to the diet, but make sure I am exercising adequately.

I am on a serious mission with some serious goals. I am calling this mission Operation Cruise Control. I hope to use this blog to record my progress and keep myself accountable. I have a spreadsheet (of course!) to help me see exactly how I’m doing. Hopefully these things will make this journey enjoyable :)

Here’s the summary:

22 – number of pounds to lose
88 – number of days until we set sail
12 – approx. number of weeks until we set sail
2 – approx. number of pounds to lose per week
4 – number of holidays between now and then
1 – number of people being held accountable to this challenge
1,000,000 – number of encouraging comments needed to achieve the goal

Welcome to Operation Cruise Control [OCC]… I hope you’ll join me on this journey!