Hello, 2012!!

I know, I know.  I've been a terrible blogger of late.  I tend to get caught up in other things and ignore this page.  I think that should be my resolution for 2012 - blog regularly.

Speaking of resolutions, I didn't really have any this year.  Instead, I'm going with themes.  Within each, I have concepts, but I'm letting things be very fluid and relaxed this year.  Here are my themes and concepts: 

1.  Learn something new.

• Swedish - I'm getting back to learning a new language on Livemocha.  I'll probably have to review all my old lessons before I start any new ones, but that's okay.
• Guitar - My mom gave me a guitar and I wanna give it a try.  My husband plays and I'm going to have him teach me.  I may not like it - I didn't stick with piano lessons as a kid - but I thought it might be fun.
• Crochet - My mom crochets and she started teaching me last year, but I got involved in a cross-stitch project and never got back to the crochet.  This is the year!!  I'll probably try a scarf in Doctor Who colors.

2.  Do what's right even if no one else does.

• Be Kind - This is not always easy when people cut you off in traffic, are rude to you, or whatever, but I'm going to work on doing the right thing anyway.
• No Votes for Bums - I'm also applying this concept to my voting.  I won't vote for anyone who votes to violate our civil rights.  I know that means I might end up with no one to vote for, but that's okay.
• Tell 'Em Why - I've also started writing to our leaders telling them why I will not be voting for them.  Again, may not make any difference, but I think it's the right thing to do.

So what are your goals, themes, resolutions and plans for this new year???

January Is Over???

Can you believe January is already over?  It seems like just yesterday we were writing our New Year's Resolutions, hanging up our 2011 calendars, and making plans for the brand new year.  And here it is one month gone.

So how are your resolutions going?  Honestly, mine are not going so well.  Between aches, pains and the weather, I'm getting nowhere fast.  I'm hoping February will be a little kinder so I can make some progress.

I did want to point out a few good links for those who are still reaching toward keeping a resolution or looking to check something off the bucket list.  I hope you find these helpful as we move into another month.

1. Fitness.  Not everyone likes to get outside to work out and many people can't afford a monthly gym membership.  Did you know you can access workouts online for free (or nearly free)?  There's a whole website devoted to exercise called Exercise TV.  You can find mini workouts, full-length routines, and even fitness plans.  (Thanks for the info, Carrie!)  Or if you are a Netflix subscriber, you can access hundreds of workout videos.  Some can only be obtained in disc format sent to you, but there are some you can stream to your computer. 
2. Healthy food.  It's not always easy to eat right.  Especially with birthday parties, Super Bowl parties, Valentine's Day, or just a normal weekend get-together with friends and family.  All these activities can really tax our efforts to stay on track.  But here are a couple of sites that can help you get back on the wagon, or keep you on it.  First up is Cooking Light's site.  The site focuses on great tasting food without all the fat and calories.  They currently have up lots of great ideas on how to trim down those Super Bowl favorites.  Another site I really like is Jamie Oliver's.  You may not know Jamie, but he is a chef (first known in the US as The Naked Chef because he strips recipes down to their basics.  Get it?) who is dedicated to helping people eat healthfully and encouraging schools to feed kids better.  He is all about good food made from fresh, preferably local, ingredients so you know nothing artificial or unhealthy is going into the finished product.  He has a great newsletter.  (I think if you sign up right now you can get a voucher for Naked Wines, a group of winegrowers with similar passions to Jamie's.)  Definitely check out his great site.
3. Languages.  I know lots of people have "Learn a language" on their bucket list.  Okay, first of all, you need to pick a language.  Some people think they need to have a reason to learn a specific language, like for work or family.  But actually, it's perfectly fine to pick one just because.  Got your language in mind?  Swahili?  Gaelic?  Lithuanian?  Okay, now head over to Live Mocha and get started.  This is a free website for learning languages.  They use the same principles found in expensive programs, but it's all online and it's free.  They do have some courses you can buy, but for the general interest learner, there is no charge.  In addition, it is a cooperative community where you are graded by speakers of the language you are learning and, in turn, you help those who are learning English.  It's a lot of fun and so easy to use.  I've already completed Swedish 101 and am going to start 102 soon.
4. Learn something new.  Studies have shown that learning helps keep our brains resilient and less prone to Alzheimer's and other debilitating brain disorders.  So consider learning something new.  A quick glance at my local community college's website shows 3 continuing education courses this week:  quilting, floral arrangement and digital photography.  Check with your local college or university to see what continuing education courses they have.  These are usually short, free or inexpensive courses that teach you the basics of a skill, craft or art.  Or maybe you want to take something more academic, but don't want to actually attend school.  Consider taking free online courses like those listed here.  You can download courses to your mp3 player or computer.  How neat!  I may download Ancient Greek History.  Or if you want a short, informative lecture, check out my favorite learning site TED.com.  The site is full or short lectures on everything from politics to music to art to humor.  It's an amazing site.

So there you have it.  A list of lots of great places to go to get started on your resolutions and/or bucket lists.  And all from the comfort of your computer chair.  What sites do you use to help you reach your goals?

Top Ten Resolutions

There are different kinds of top ten lists - they can be a list of the most popular, most common, most frequent, most needed, hardest, etc.  My Top Ten New Year's Resolutions is a combination of a variety of lists.  I have ordered them by what seems to be the most common and the most needed goals.  I'll be blogging about these resolutions and offering some tips, advice, cautions, encouragements, and so on as the month goes along.

1. Lose weight/achieve an athletic goal.
2. Learn something new.
3. Quit smoking.
4. More quality time with friends & family.
5. Save money/reduce debt/stick to budget.
6. Read more.
7. Volunteer/help others
8. Get organized.
9. Get a job/better job.
10. Document moments of life's awesomeness.

 These all seem to be pretty good goals and I wouldn't be surprised to find that you have one or two of these on your To Do List for 2011.  Which ones are you considering giving the old college try?

Happy New Year!

You probably noticed that the blog looks different today.  I am the kind of person who has to change my computer wallpaper every month, so I decided to change the look of the blog for 2011, too.  I will still be writing about whatever interests me at the moment, so that has not changed.

Obviously, what everyone is thinking about today is New Year's resolutions.  Should you make any, what should they be, how long until you break it....

Remember that your resolution should be written as a goal.  It should be achievable, specific, and measurable.  Read more about the elements of a good resolution here.

For this year, I have several goals that are all part of the larger aim of getting in shape.  The things I want to do this year are:

1. Double 2010's number of exercise days (102).  To do this one, I will have to exercise 4 times every week.
2. Run another half marathon with a time of under 2:30.  That is a big goal, as my first half marathon time was 3:09 and I am no faster now than I was then.
3. Compete in the Classic Amphibious Triathlon held at Wappapello Lake.  This would be my first, and though it's a relatively short triathlon (400 meter swim, 16 mile bike, 3.5 mile run), that still is a bit daunting.
4. Consider trying my first marathon.  I am making this one very flexible because I'm not sure I will really be able to do this.  I've been recovering from an Achilles tendon injury and haven't run a step in months, so I will judge this one as I go through the year.  The marathon I am thinking of is the Heart of America Marathon held on Labor Day each year in Columbia, Missouri.

I am really looking forward to 2011.  I think it will be a good year and I am excited about my goals.  I hope you truly do have a happy New Year, as well.

Be Goal Oriented

I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants.  ~ Zig Ziglar

I was flipping through an old Prevention magazine and read a story about some women who lost weight and felt younger after participating in a 12-week program.  I was berating myself for not having lost as much weight as these women have (have you noticed that I do that to myself a lot?), and wondering what I could do differently to speed up the weight loss.  I realized that part of the problem was that I didn't have a solid goal for the remainder of the year.

As I explained in a previous post, my exercise goal for the year was simply to exercise 80 days this year.  I achieved that goal in August.  I have some long-term exercise goals (next year's triathlon at the lake being the main one), but not short ones - the ones that kick you out of bed in the morning and yell at you to get moving.

I was thinking about this as I went to change the calendar in my bedroom when lo and behold!  I came to my own rescue.  In January, when I set my goal, I thought ahead and periodically wrote at the beginning of the month little notes like, "How many days now?", "Are you there yet?", and other encouragements.  On October, I'd written, "Have you reached your goal yet?  Can you double it?"  Wow!  I guess in January I knew just what kind of kick in the pants I'd need this month.

So, yes, my new goal for the rest of the year is to double last year's exercise days of 79 for the year.  Which means that to reach 158 days for the year, I have only 67 to go.  I can do that.

Hooray for thinking ahead and double hooray for short-term goal setting.  

What are your short-term goals?

Half-way There?

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. ~Author Unknown

One of the first things you learn in teacher education courses is how to write lesson plans. A good lesson plan is centered around an objective. We also learned that objectives have to be specific and measurable, otherwise, when we give students tests, we won't know if they've achieved our objectives.

New Year's resolutions should be modeled on objectives, as well. In addition to being specific and measurable, I believe they should also be reasonable.

Here are some examples of poor resolutions and what I think of them:

• I'm going to lose weight - How much? How?
• I'm going to eat less junk food - How much is less?
• I resolve to be a nicer person - Really? How are you going to measure that?
• I'm going to exercise every day - And as soon as you are sick or injured, your resolution for the whole year has been broken
  

But that's how many of us make resolutions, isn't it? I decided this year to make my resolution an objective, instead.

When I started running, I began writing down how far and how long I'd run each day on the calendar in my bedroom. So in January, I counted up how many days I'd exercised in 2009 and resolved to exercise at least one day more in 2010. That's specific - exercise 1 day more. It's measurable - I can count days on the calendar very easily. It's reasonable - sure, I'd like to triple how many days I worked out last year since I had a lot of down time due to my knee and other issues, but I don't think that's reasonable.

So I have to work out at least 80 days this year. Half the year is gone, so I should be half way there. Am I? Yes! So far this year, counting this morning, I have worked out 52 days.

I know that may not be a lot to some people, but I have to compare me to me and not worry about others. So I'm half-way to fulfilling my New Year's resolution.

I suggest you re-write your resolution as an objective, measure where you are currently, and give it a go for the 2nd half of 2010. Happy New Second-half of the Year!!!