O.K. I am back to see if I've been living up to what I said I would do this year back in January. As you may recall, I discovered LAST YEAR that I can greatly effect change in my own life by following a few simple steps:
1. Decide what I want to do
2. Write it down
3. Actually do it! Hold myself accountable!!
Having said that, I don't know if I'm quite so successful this year...that's why I have to remind myself every 3 months to remember to be the person I WANT to be, instead of the lazy, default version. So then, let's see what my 5 things were:
1. My number one priority this year - be OUT OF DEBT before 2013!
So far so good on this score! I've just made another payment today, for a total of $3800.00 paid off so far this year. With 8 more monthly payments this year and what I estimate is only about $8500.00 left to pay, I should knock this out of the park easily. Even if I'm a little off in my math, as has happened from time to time...
2. Maintain my weight in the 135-155 range, while actually building a little muscle and tone.
I am 142 pounds as of this morning and have yet to see myself go above 145 this year. Furthermore, although I got off to a no-start in January (slacker month!!) I have been doing my exercise routines at LEAST 3 times a week for the last 2 months. Mainly focusing on core and upper-body strength. It's made a big change! My arms and chest actually have shape to them again and my stomach is getting really rock hard. I wouldn't be surprised if I have abs by the end of the year! Like those boys you see on the Television! Unfortunately, no power in the UNIVERSE seems able to remove my love handles. WTF body? W. T. F...
3. Memorize one song a month, chords and lyrics, throughout 2012.
Here's where I feel I really dropped the ball so far this year. Again, January was slacker month for me...and this is a lot harder than I thought! Having said that, I have memorized "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers AND "Superman Song" by The Crash Test Dummies. Having said that, I know the chords and the words (even keyboard on Superman Song) BUT that is not to say that I am playing them particularly WELL yet. Practice, practice, practice. I'm still going to try to list 12 songs by the end of the year, but honestly, if I can get 6 that I'm comfortable with, I'll live with that...we'll see what happens...
4. Write lots!
This isn't very specific, is it? I am keeping up with both this blog and Fruitless Pursuits! I've also written quite a bit more back story and done a lot of world building for my novel/graphic novel/whatever it ends up being. However, I would like to put aside one night a week where I work a lot harder on that and just write for a few hours. This is hard because TV is very interesting. However, soon it will all be reruns and hopefully thus easier to throw off the shackles of my electronic oppressor! I mean, the Leafs didn't make the playoffs so what use is TV until September??
5. Schedule one half day a month to really clean my apartment and keep it looking nice.
Well, I have been cleaning more in the new year, in particular keeping the bathroom and kitchen counters and whatnot a lot cleaner. I am also dusting and tidying in general a LOT more frequently. However, I have also slacked off on the BIG cleaning jobs. Floors, windows, fridge, balcony, reorganize the bedroom....stuff that I've been meaning to do ALL YEAR. I need more time off every week, I think...hmmm.
So that's it for this quarter. Looking over this I am proud of what I've done so far, but I also see a LOT of room for improvement. January really was such a slacker month for me....luckily things have picked up! And why do I do these things if not to show myself where I need to do more? Mission accomplished!
Limitless Undying Love to all the Bitches and the Ho's on the 87! ;) Have a great week!
Eliminate meat and dairy from your diet and you will see those love handles go away. Saturated fats, primarily those found in animals, are very hard for your body to handle, as are many of the fats in dairy. I'm preaching, but consider getting a lot of your building proteins from beans, legumes, soy and tofu and the like and switch from regular milk to almond milk. Try it for 6 weeks and tell me if you don't notice a change.
ReplyDeleteProcessed foods are also a silent killer. The more you can prep yourself the better off you will be, 100% guaranteed.
Yeah I haven't quite motivated myself for that diet change YET. I HATE cooking and I LOVE meat and cheese!! Bad combo...I KNOW your advice would be a lot better for me though...hopefully one day. Maybe some nice girl who also knows a ton about nutrition will come along and start taking care of me :D
ReplyDeleteFor now I try to get by on mainly smart ones and lean cuisine type meals, which fit my schedule at least, and have the APPEARANCE of being healthy...I certainly dropped weight on them and feel healthier!
and of course mad vitamins and nootropics...gotta have that...