Mindful Menu 17 January - 23 January

Sunday: Pork Sausage Casserole (we never got around to it last week)
Monday: Shepherd's Pie, salad
Tuesday: Pork Chops, roasted potatoes, salad
Wednesday: Pasta, Salad
Thursday: Pizza, salad
Friday: Veggie Loaded Stir Fry, brown rice
Saturday: Baked Potato, Salad

Wednesday is the new Tuesday

On Monday, I said I'd post 'tomorrow' - we'll it's the tomorrow of 'tomorrow', so that counts for something, right? ;-)

So far NOTHING is going according to plan - but that might be a little more of my not really trying to go according to plan than anything else. Let's face it - I've been in quite a funky rut here lately. I must get out of this funky rut before I can succeed with my goals!

I do think that with my coming out and admitting all of this on the interwebz it's at least a little bit better than me just pretending that all is well and letting myself just slide right back into old horrible routines which have proven to NOT WORK in my best interest. it is, isn't it?

Okay, enough whining - and time to take my OWN advice: Tip #3: Don't make excuses.

Although it's already 22.31, I'm not anywhere near ready to go to sleep since I have put myself in the horrible up-all-night-sleep-all-day cycle. I am going to, once I publish this post, go into the other room and do something active. I'm thinking yoga sounds pretty good, or breaking out the Wii Fit Plus I bought a couple weeks ago but have yet to open.

Tomorrow, I'm totally headed to the gym - and I might even get hubby to accompany me.

the PRAXIS takeover

Why, yes, I did fall off the face of the earth for about a week - thank you for noticing. ;-)

I will fill you in on everything, so, humor me, will you? ;-)

pretend, for a moment, that it is Wednesday 6 January:

My week so far is on track! except for the fact I have to learn about 5000 years of human history and whatnot by Saturday morning! CRAZY! See, I'm taking the PRAXIS exam, and not only is it rather expensive (~$90), if I pass I can apply for certification to teach Social Studies at the Middle School level! Currently I'm certified for German and Latin K-12, but there really aren't *that* many positions available in my area - so this will open up a whole new realm of possibilities for me!

Anyway - Monday, I went to the gym and spent about 20 min on the elliptical. When I came home I made dinner and studied all night long!

Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment at 11.00 - and I forced myself to the gym after. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go, but I took a history book with me and spent about 30 minutes on the treadmill at an incline of 2 and a brisk-ish walking pace. I was driving right by the exit for it on my way home from the Doctor's office, and in an effort to "force" myself to go, I tweeted from the parking lot that I was there - I couldn't back out after that!

Today, I've spent the day studying, feeling a bit of a reprieve as far as the gym goes since I went yesterday! :-) I've spent the day studying!

~~~~~~~~~
Now, let's jump a little into the future - it's Saturday the 9th now:

I didn't make it to the gym yesterday - was in panic freak out study mode. The test this morning was rough - but not horrible. I feel about as confident about it as I did about my German PRAXIS, really. I did get some very valuable info from my studying though. :-)

Stuck to my Menu Plan pretty well, the only changes to be made was Thursday we had leftover meatloaf, soup and Elephant Souffle (which I made Wednesday b/c the eggplant was about to expire), so we had pasta and salad Friday night.

This week has been a crazy one - and I hope that through better planning in the future, I won't have to repeat it! Now, off to my friend, Peige's, "Kegs for Legs" fundraiser!

Seeing as this has become a rather long post, I'll not continue on at the present time - I'll chime in tomorrow. :-) maybe i'll even have some pix to share! :-)

Mindful Menu Week of 10 January

This week is going to be interesting as to what I pull out of the cupboards and freezer to throw together!! I want to use up what we have - and I will, danggit! ;-)

Sunday: BLT. choco-raspberry Yo-plait for dessert.
Monday: Rainbow Pasta Bake
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner!!
Wednesday: Salmon Cakes
Thursday: Pork Sausage Casserole. (I know, not too healthy...but all in moderation, right?)
Friday: Vegetable Stir Fry
Saturday: Vegetable Bean Soup

Mindful Menu Plan: 3 Jan 10 - 9 Jan 10

I'm a little slow in the posting of my menu for Jenna's Mindful Menu Challenge she's hosting over on her site Chive Talkin' - but here it is nonetheless.

Sunday: Taco Salad - light on the taco, heavy on the salad. (93% lean burger)

Monday: Meatloaf (rest of pkg 93% lean burger). I don't like leftover meatloaf overly much, so I will probably leave it all for hubby and have baked potato and salad instead.

Tuesday: baked acorn squash and salad.

Wednesday: soup from the freezer! from scratch: Chicken Noodle or Potato.

Thursday: Simple Pasta - plain tomato sauce with whole wheat penne. with salad of course.

Friday: Salmon, rice and salad.

Saturday: Probably dinner with my family for baby bro's birthday

So it begins...

I can't put this off any more - the holidays are officially over and it's time to get serious!!

I wanted to write up a little post to tell you exactly what it is that you're in for as you follow along with me on this life-changing journey of mine!

To start, I will be posting 3x/week - Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, to be exact. On Sundays, I will be posting my intentions for the week in the form of my Mindful Menuss meal plan, my exercise plan for the week as well as any other personal goals I might have.

On Wednesdays, I will more than likely talk about what's been going on for the week and how much on track I've been. I will also probably post links to articles and websites I've come across and found helpful.

Saturdays will be a reflection of the week gone by as well as a bit of self-analysis.

Now, with that having been said, since I've just posted my blog plan and I've already posted my meal plan, I just have to post my exercise plan!

Monday: spend some quality time at the gym. 20 min on the elliptical. also spend some time at home doing yoga.

Wednesday: hit up the gym's elliptical bank again. more yoga.

Friday: let's go 3 for 3 and hit the gym.

so boring! I know, but I get overwhelmed by trying to do too many different things at once. I'll vary the "routine" - but for now, I've just got to get it started!

I'm really not feeling very creative and rather luckluster - so I know already that this week is going to be a mega-challenge for me!

New Year, we meet again.

Happy New Year!

So, last night was all about partying like it was 1999 or something like that, right? and what does that partying entail? well, I don't know what you did at your NYE party, but at the one I was at, beer, drinks and wine were flowing, the noms were tasty and 2 lovely people became affianced to one another. (did i use that word correctly? i'll have to research it)

I, like so many other people, have a list of things I would like to see accomplished by myself in the coming year. I refuse to call them my "New Year's Resolutions" (see the post I made exactly one year ago today) - New Year's Resolutions are made to be broken. I am trying to think of them as promises to myself.

So, what are these promises and why am I telling all of the interwebz about them? Well, they are things I want to do in order to make me happier, healthier and wiser. What I want to get out of posting about it is a sense of accountability. I find that if I am not held accountable, then I will not be successful.

The thing you will probably see me posting about the most is diet and exercise - if i'm not physically sound I have no foundation on which to build my mind and spirit. I have joined together with some friends of mine to form an accountability group - but because we live all over the city and have very different schedules, we're going to do it primarily through facebook and probably text. In addition to that group, I have decided that I needed to use this poor neglected blog of mine...I think that it will be a fantastic tool for me to meet my goals for 2010.

In a similar vein, I have also joined The New Year's Mindful Menus Challenge started by Jenna on her blog, Chive Talkin'. I really hate menu planning, and honestly I really suck at it - i think it's because I get so overwhelmed by trying to plan out so far ahead and try to keep things interesting. I know, however, that menu planning is a great way to ensure to always have healthy meals and follow a budget - therefore I have joined the challenge. Thanks for putting out there, Jenna! (for those interested, I will be posting my menu plans here - so keep me accountable!)

I will continue to write about topics other than just health and fitness - you'll see posts about my trying to get baccantes, my jewelry biz, up and running, as well as house & home, organization, education - all of those things I promise in the little banner at the top of the screen. Well, sort of. I will not be writing about ADHD here anymore - I will be the KC ADHD Examiner for examiner.com! I'll be writing little articles for that website, but I will post links to them here, too, so you won't miss anything. ;-)

I didn't intend to write such a long post - more of a "hey!! I'm still here knocking about - look for me around more often" kind of thing, so apologies for its general lack of order and cohesiveness.

I look forward to writing more frequently (my goal is 3x week)and to reading your comments!!

xdanix