Things I accomplished in 2011.. and look out 2012!

What good are all those resolutions and goals if you don't look back and see if you accomplished anything?

1. Ran 3 Half Marathons: Country Music Half Marathon, Nashville Women's Half Marathon, and the Murfreesboro Middle Half.

2. Parented and stuff.

3. Became a Beachbody Diamond Coach (A huge milestone)

4. Made some progress on the debt snowball.

5. Stalked I mean hung out with my BFF Tony Horton and Shaun T.

Still milking this. 6 months later.

6. Married Prince William. No, wait, that wasn't me.


 

"Um, yeah. That was me." (Because you know that's how Kate Middleton talks.)

So, what are some things I'll be doing in 2012?

1. Nutrition.
Well, I'm starting the first two months off working with Amy from Metabolic Mayhem Training. She'll be designing my nutrition plan. I HIGHLY recommend working with Amy if you need help with meal planning and accountability (although, I believe she's so awesome, she has a wait list. It's so totally worth it). She's going to help me fine tune my diet to get the best results possible (including Shakeology, of course).

2. Fitness.
I'm going to focus on getting faster at shorter distances rather than running long distance. I'll also be lifting more (remember my super cool P90X2/Les Mills Pump/Running hybrid I'll be doing). Weights really ARE the key, and I'll be writing more about that too.

3. Beachbody
I'm going to advance my Beachbody Business. It's come such a long way in 2011, that I have some very specific goals for 2012 I know I can reach. (Plus I plan on having multiple pictures of myself taken with Tony Horton again.)

4. Get certified to teach group exercise and start teaching again.  
I'm going to start with my favorite format to teach, Turbokick, and then get my primary again. I'm probably just going to start a class somewhere though and just hope someone shows up. I miss it so much, I'm willing to teach a class of ONE!

5. Pay cash for a car. 
Since I hate debt and refuse to make payments, I have been without a car of my own for several years. This is the year. I'm getting a car of my own.

What are your goals this year? Did you reach some good ones in 2011?

My best wishes to you for a safe and enjoyable New Year's celebration, and a wonderful 2012. Let's bring it this year!

 

 

 

Positive Attitude Toolbox

We've all been there. You're going along, having an okay day, and then suddenly BAM! something happens that takes you off your game a little.

It can be a little thing or a big thing, but something's trying to get you down.

For example, this morning on the way to work, I happened across an accident that had just happened. Someone had hit a deer. It was very sad, very depressing, and could have been terrible.

I caught myself thinking for a moment, "Well, that's a terrible start to the day. Now I'm going to have an awful day. How depressing."

But...

I stopped.

I pulled out my "Toolbox".

Do you have a positive attitude toolbox?

In my toolbox (or "bag of tricks") I have:

Instant mood boosters: 
Thinking of my kids, my baby's laugh, my son's silliness. I even keep short videos on my phone of them being cute, so I can watch them through out the day.

It's not so bad:
I guarantee you, in every situation, someone else has it worse. When I get depressed about money, I think about folks that don't have a bed to sleep in. I think about people worrying about their physical safety in Libya or Japan.

Counting blessings:
I literally count my blessings. I often do this as a Facebook status. "Things that are awesome # 1: This cup of coffee." Doing this helps me focus on the joy of every little thing, and when you focus on the positive things, the negative things lose a little bit of their power.

Mini pity-party:
What? A pity party? Surely, you've mistyped...
No, I do allow myself about 5 minutes to be depressed if something is getting to me. I tell myself: "You can wallow for 5 minutes. Then you'll be done." When 5 minutes is over, I go back to one of the other tools, such as counting my blessings, or taking action of some sort.

Listen to or watch something fun/funny/feel-good.
If you don't have a tool box of "feel-good" songs or videos, let me share some of my favorites...







And for that matter...



So, there's my toolbox. I must admit, it often involves James Marsters/David Boreanaz and Nathan Fillion. But it also involves seeing the good stuff, because it *is* always there....

Do you have Positive Attitude Toolbox? What's in it?

(P.S. Come over to Facebook, where we talk all things fitness, coffee, and sometimes Joss Whedon).

Balance...

Recently, I was reminded of the importance of balance.
I really love running. Well, I don't usually love the first mile, but once I get going I love it. I love talking about running. I love thinking about running. I love running gear. I love going to the local running store. I love running races. I especially love the feeling after a good run.
So, do you see that I love running?
Last Saturday, I decided to run inside. It was snowing, and while snow itself usually doesn't deter me, the harsh wind seemed like it would be rough. So I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. Well, I just never got it together. I lasted about half a mile and had to quit. I got discouraged, but decided to use this time to do some lifting.
Well, I haven't run since then. It just keeps snowing! Monday and Tuesday,my kids' daycare was closed, so we were housebound. Wednesday, I returned to work and planned to run, but another obstacle has reared its head: I'm sick.
Runny nose, stuffy head, cough... I can take those things. Achy body... okay, that could just be from training. Pain in my chest when I take a deep breath.... uh oh. I decided not to run, and I went very quickly from, "I don't think I'll run today", to "I need to go home and get in bed immediately."
So, Thursday became a rest day, in every way. Home from work resting. Looking at all the things that need to be done at the house, but not doing them because I'm resting.
It got me thinking about balance. How balanced is it to run when I can't even breathe? I may be a little crazy.
It's one thing to be motivated, to have a goal you're working towards (like me with the Country Music Half Marathon), and we're all motivated by "cosmetic reasons" to some extent (I admit this openly- I want to look like I work out!), but isn't the main reason we do this to be healthy? How healthy is it to push through illness and get worse just to keep exercising?
So, I reviewed my training schedule for the half, there's a bit of leeway... I logged my calories carefully (which I usually do, but I'm burning about 300 less so I needed to adjust) and allowed myself to rest.
You know what? I'm already feeling better.
So, my friends, if you're driven, like me, take a minute to think about why you do it. Remember your ultimate goal, and take care of yourselves!
To your health,
Sarah
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