Couch to 5K: Progress

Two months ago my sister and I started the Couch to 5K program. Nine weeks and a couple dozen runs later I figure it's time to check in and let you know how it's going. We're midway through week 7 of the program now. We should be finished, but opted to repeat a fews weeks along the way. I'll admit, it's been harder than expected. We started our first day feeling ahead of the curve. We figured that, even overweight, we're naturally athletic and would have no problem with the early runs. Boy were we wrong! We got just seconds into the first part of the run and realized that we had our work cut out for us. But, just as the program promises, things got better and we got more comfortable as the weeks went on. That's not to say we didn't have bad days. We did. There was a stretch there where I felt like I was the queen of stopping early. I'd stop a bit early on each round of running and ended up way behind the others in our group. Some of it can be blamed on a wicked cold, but most of it was just laziness. But I pushed through and yesterday we completed a 25 minute run, covering just over 2 miles, without stopping. Go us! We still have a ways to go before we hit our goal (we want to get a full 5k done in less than 30 minutes), but we're getting there.

Have you been doing any exercising lately? Or taken on any long-term challenges? Or put a really unflattering picture out there for the world to see? I'd love to hear about it!

P.S. For those who don't know... no, we're not twins. We just look a lot alike. Especially when sweaty and out of breath. ;)

Sunshine

Months ago I won a giveaway over at Under the Sycamore. I was super excited to have won, especially since the particular giveaway I scored was from mixedmediamama, who specializes in handmade personalized items. I thought one of her pillows was the perfect spot to showcase a new favorite quote of mine:


"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot help but bring it to themselves". An awesome quote, right?! And it seems there's no better time than Christmas to live this sentiment. Our family made a few boxes for Operation Christmas Child and my work group gathered toys for kids in a hospital nearby. But I'm looking for more ideas for next year, when Charlotte is old enough to really get the "giving is better than receiving" concept. What ways do you bring sunshine to others?

Paper Towels vs Napkins

I never shared my thoughts on it, but one of the items on my 30 Before Thirty list was to reduce my reliance on paper towels. Here's why:


* According to 1800recycling.com
** According to my shopping trip to Costco

Now I'm far from a crunchy granola treehugger, but I do try to be mindful of how my decisions impact the environment and my pocketbook and this one was a no brainer. The amount of paper towel my family consumes is ridiculous! So Mark and I made the conscious decision a while back to use dishtowels instead of paper towels to sop up messes, and to reach for rags instead of paper towels when doing household cleaning.

I took things one step further a few weeks back and used a vintage sheet to sew up some napkins for us to use with meals. They're nothing earth-shattering, just a square with the edges hemmed (I contemplated mitering the corners, but gave up on that pretty quickly). It cost me just $3 and I got 12 napkins from it, plus some scraps. Mark was a little leary at first - he said he didn't want to use an old bedsheet to wipe his face, to which I quickly pointed out that he sleeps with his face on a bedsheet every night - but the switch has been really easy. And bonus, they're much cuter than paper towels!



Have you made any changes lately in an effort to be more environmentally-conscious?

Attitude

I had the distinct pleasure of working on a Habitat for Humanity home yesterday. I've done it once before, over a decade ago (eeek!), as a high school student with my church youth group. This trip was different though, because it was with coworkers of mine. There's something really awesome about doing this kind of work with adults who have families and lives and a host of other things that they could use an excuse not to lend a hand.

But lend a hand we did. We headed over to Annapolis and put in a full day's work on seven rowhouses. We did mostly framing work, which happens to be what I did the last time I volunteered with them. I'm starting to become an expert! Ok, not really, but I'm not half bad. It rained off and on all day, so what could have been a fairly simple task became slow and arduous, full of mud and general ick. And yet my entire team maintained a positive attitude throughout.

Note: Not my hands.
Had you asked me just a few years ago if I was happy about where I worked my response would have been pretty negative. In 2007 I was let go (one of hundreds) when the bank I'd worked for for eight years was bought by another. While I'd held various positions over the years, it was the only company I'd ever worked for since graduating high school. My bank was one of a few sister banks and our entire workforce was only about 250 people, so everyone knew everyone else on some level. Because of the positions I held I got to see people from various branches on a regular basis and it truly felt like a family working together. It was pretty devastating when Mark and I drove to work (we both worked at the same place - met there actually) and read in the newspaper of the merger. To say that the next few weeks, which were full of lots of questions and not nearly as many answers, was stressful is a major understatement.

I was fortunate to get a job with my current employer lined up before my last one ended. But it was a big change moving from a company of 250 employees in just four counties within the state, to a corporation that staffed thousands across the country. My first few months on the job were stressful and confusing and I felt like everyone was so divided, with none of those family ties I'd felt before (except for working with my sister). And a lot of that stemmed from my bad attitude about leaving the company I'd loved. But over the years my attitude has changed and I'm happy to say that I'm thrilled to work for the company that I do. I love that it's a workplace filled with people who want to help our community in any way possible, with leadership who makes it a priority to allow volunteering, even during work hours.

That's not to say things are perfect (they rarely are when corporations are involved), but I'm a big believer in the idea that you reap what you sow. I work hard at staying upbeat no matter what changes come my way and love that I work with a team of people who do the same, as evidenced by yesterday's activities. Do you have the same sort of experience at work? Or at home even? If not, instead of focusing on what was, try focusing on what can be and think long and hard about how you and your attitude can change everything.

Firecracker

Last week I was reading my favorite blog and learned that Ashley's one year old daughter had broken her femur. Having a little one myself, it hurt in my gut to think about such a tiny body having to deal with all that pain. And then having to deal with being cooped up in a bed for a few weeks, following by every more weeks in a body cast. My heart just ached for her.

Charlotte happened to be with me as I looked at the post and because she just saw Gramma in the hospital with her knee all bandaged, she immediately knew that Ashley's Firecracker had a booboo. Because Gramma got balloons she said Firecracker needed some too. Such sweetness. When I explained that she was hurt very badly and would have to stay in her bed for a very long time, Charlotte looked at the Mr. Potato Head pieces she was playing with, and then she looked up at me and said, "She want Potato Heads?"

Selflessness can be rare in a toddler, so Mark and I are doing our best to encourage it whenever we can. We thought this the perfect opportunity to remind Charlotte that she needs to always look out for those that are hurting. So we spent an afternoon painting balloons to send off to a hurting little girl who we don't even know.


After our art time we went out and bought a few new Potato Heads to package up with her painting. And then we grabbed a few spare parts from Charlotte's bin (of which there are an obscene amount) to send as well.

Now Ashley will be the first to tell you that there are other children hurting worse than Firecracker is, who aren't getting the love and care that she is. That's true. And I think this is a good starting point for Charlotte to realize that. This weekend Mark and I plan to sit down with Charlotte and together as a family choose a child to sponsor. I think it will be great for her to make more artwork and eventually write letters to a child overseas who is far less fortunate than she is. Our organization of choice is Compassion, but there are others that do similar work. If you haven't already, please consider sponsoring a child. How amazing it is to know that you could literally be saving a life!

Get in the Habit

We all have them don't we? Routines that we stick to like clockwork. I know I do. When I wake up in the morning and am going about getting ready for work, everything is done in a specific order. My teeth get brushed (can't ever feel clean in the shower if my teeth aren't clean first). Then I shower: shampoo on, face washed, shampoo off, conditioner on, shave, conditioner off, body washed. The same way. Every. Single. Time.

I don't think habits are a bad thing for the most part. A lot of the time they keep us productive. Like at work. The first thing I do when I arrive is check my voicemail. While doing so I turn on the computer and start up my email. Then bring up my claims processing program. (For those that don't know, I'm an insurance claims adjuster. I determine who is at fault for an accident. It's a better job than it sounds, I assure you.) Then I open up about 5-6 windows on the Wide World of Web and go about my day, having devoted just a few minutes to being ready for it.

Habits are hard to get into though. I've heard you have to repeat something 21 times before it really gets to be a habit. This list I found on WedMD of Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life seem like a good ones to put some effort into:


There are some areas that I'm pretty successful at - a Starbucks Green Tea is my favorite drink, and I've got about as many social connections as a mom of toddler who works full-time can really have. But there are some areas that I really need to work on - eating breakfast (I never do), taking daily walks (it is on my 30 Before Thirty list after all) and drinking water.

How did you fare and what do you think of the list? What habits will you be trying to get into in the coming year?

30 Before Thirty

For the past several months I've been following along as Nicole over at Making It Lovely crosses item after item off her list of things to do before turning 30. Val (In the Meantime) did a similar list, having 28 goals to accomplish in her 28th year. Since I'm about to turn 29, I figured I'll need to make my list now if I'm ever going to be as successful as they've been! So, without further ado, here's my list of things to accomplish before I hit the big three-oh:

1. Decorate for holidays other than just Christmas.
2. Make a quilt.
3. Enroll Charlotte in gymnastics/dance.
4. Learn more about Photoshop Elements.
5. Watch all the year's Oscar Best Picture nominees.
6. Learn to crochet.
7. Sew a costume for Charlotte.
8. Learn to cook a good steak.
9. Have family photos taken.
10. Teach Charlotte to swim.
11. Get a shared room (i.e. not a bedroom) decorated the way I like.
12. Organize all our bills and important documents.
13. Make dessert more often.
14. Vacation somewhere other than Disney World.
15. Learn to style my hair in different ways.
16. Complete a craft with Charlotte at least monthly.
17. Attend church regularly.
18. Improve my photography.
19. Lose at least 30 pounds.
20. Have a date night with Mark at least once a month.
21. Take Charlotte to Sesame Place.
22. Reduce my reliance on paper towels.
23. Build something from scratch.
24. Host a party at our new house.
25. Take walks as a family.
26. Read every book club book.
27. Revamp a piece of furniture with paint.
28. Organize my photos.
29. Prepare dinners regularly.
30. Use produce from my own garden.

I'll be crossing items of the list as this accomplished in this same post, and may (or may not) create separate posts about how I'm faring with each goal. I encourage you to make a similar list for whatever age you're approaching!

This Week's Menu {Sept 27}

I'm trying to live my life more intentionally - you know, planning ahead and having a purpose for doing things, not just reacting to whatever life throws at me. One area where I desperately need to focus some of that intention is meal planning.

I don't like to cook. Period. I get no enjoyment from it and am not very good at it. (Maybe that's why I get no enjoyment from it.) I'm not an adventurous eater and therefore am not a creative cook. But, my family needs to eat.

So each Monday I'll be posting my meal plan for the coming week. Don't expect anything earth-shattering. It'll be boring, basic, probably bland food. But that's how my family rolls. And I figure that bland and boring is far better than the expensive, totally unhealthy fast food we've been having far too much of.

Here we go with week one:

Monday - Pork Chops & Rice Skillet with Broccoli
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Grilled Ham & Cheese, Tomato Soup and Salad
Thursday - Roast Beef Hash with Fried Eggs and Asparagus
Friday - Chicken Tacos with Salsa Rice
Saturday - Tuna Casserole


And because I think today's meal is particularly yummy, here's the recipe for the Pork Chops & Rice Skillet*:

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
4 pork chops (I usually use boneless)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup orange juice
1-2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook until well browned on both sides.
2. Add the onion and rice to the skillet and cook and stir until the rice is browned.
3. Stir in the broth, orange juice and parsley and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked through and the rice is tender.
4. Enjoy.

*Recipe slightly modified from Campbell's Kitchen.