I Need to catch up!

I have at least 4 posts in my head that I really want to get down.  I seem to keep not writing them, however.

I am rebooting my weight loss/ work out routine.  Monday is my official soft start.  What is a soft start you ask?

1.  Be careful with food, but no hard no's
2.  Track everything I put in my mouth.
3.  Design work out plan, do not flog self for missing days.
4.  Be more active in every day life

The real start usually comes a week after.  Sooner if the tracking of food is preposterous that I say to heck with this I am losing weight!  Real start is:

1.  Be strict with food, counter any overages with exercise
2.  Track everything I put in my mouth
3.  Exercise is not an option.
4.  Be more active in every day life

 One of the blogs I read does a scale Saturday with screen shots from her scale. and her victories for the week.  I may try a version of her format here, I think it could work for me.  I love numbers, so I am always charting and graphing my weight loss but having to actually see it on the scale here has it's accountability and appeal.

Also, don't hate, but I am going to start tanning this week.  I am super white, I burn super easy, and for the last two years I have had awful  cyclist tan lines.  This year I would like to try to avoid at least some of the whole burn, tan line, burn cycle.  It's also part of a larger plot to get me to the gym when I don't feel like it.  You know, the mental mind games. I'll start with " I am just going to go to the gym to tan" and then " Well I am here I may as well hit the weights." At least that's the hope.

Today was a 14 mile bike ride at about a 13 mph average.  Not a bad soft start!  I had to take a breather and noticed this beautiful tree above me.  I might try to get my real camera out there Tuesday or Wednesday and get a better picture of it before it blooms.

How do you start your weight loss regimes?  Any tips or tricks?

26 Books

In my New Years Resolution post I mentioned that I want to read 26 books this year.  I thought I would share with you the list and their priority.  This list is up for editing and I guarantee changes will be made.  I can't walk into a book store ( or Amazon) without buying a book.  Any new purchase will probably sky rocket to the top of the list.  As long as I hit 26 I am happy.

  Are you asking yourself why I bothered to make a list then?

I have a 4 bedroom house with an office.  One of these rooms is called the library because it is full of books.  There are book on my night stand, books beside my bed, and books in my living room.  I also have a Kindle full of books.

I need some focus, but I also needed to see how many books I wanted to read.  The 26 barely scratches the surface, I was able to create it in 5 minutes.  If I want to read everything I want to read it only makes sense to know what that actually looks like.

Two things about this list:  1. I only put enough of the title to remind myself what book it was and 2. There are only 25 because I am already accounting for some editing.  If you are interested in one of the titles but can't find it based on the information given just let me know and I will fill in the blanks for you.

What do you like to read?

Resolution Check Point

It has not been a week, I know.  Sunday seems like a good day to reflect on the previous weeks progress.

I am only going to cover the things I am actively working on this time around.  I might change it up later.

1. I have been reading 2 of the books on my 26 books list this week.  I haven't finished any but I am on my way.

2.  I have been working really hard on this.   I've been reading my read the bible in a year passages every night along with 2 different devotionals and a book about prayer.  I am also currently working on a design for a prayer / bible study journal.  I am excited about figuring out exactly how I want it.

5.  While I have not officially laid out my clothes I did have a good idea of what I was going to wear every day.  Again, progress even if not perfection.

6.  This has been going very well.  We got a dishwasher for Christmas and we have been keeping the kitchen clean.  We have also been working on the library a little bit everyday and have been making significant progress.  I am hoping to have my study set up in there this week.

10.  I have tracked my calories every day.  It's not pretty but hopefully that comes this week.  And hopefully I don't make brownies.  If you want to be friends on MyFitnessPal I do too!  Leave a comment and let's be accountabiliabuddies.

11. Oh budgeting.  I love spreadsheets.  Actually enforcing the spreadsheet not so much. My husband and I have worked on the household budget.  I am pretty stoked about it and hope we can stick to it.  Now I just need to work on my personal budget.

12.  Eating at home more is also going very well.  Again I credit the dishwasher as I am not constantly doing a cost benefit analysis about having to do the dishes after cooking.

13.  The social media goal is going poorly.  I would say I am down to 2 facebook checks a day and I still consistently check my Feedly.  I am hoping to go facebook free starting Monday.  Stupid habits.

This is also what is in store for my Monday:

With 5 inches of snow.  So, that should be fun.

How go your resolutions?

New Year, The Usual Resolutions

You are not going to be shocked by anything on this list.  It is my usual list that I obtain some degree of success on every year.  The more I do actual New years resolutions the more I see why we do this as a culture.  While most of the time I keep my resolutions far past the January joiner stage, something about the onset of fall always results in a dropping off the rest of the years habits.  Then it's holidays and it's cold and we are busy and I don't care anymore..... and then TA DA its a NEW YEAR.  Time to get back on the horse again.  All of the horses.  In their various manifestations.  I am much less organized this year, but here is the list and my plans.

* Specific exercise goals like I covered last year will be a different, more motivated post.  One step at a time.*

1.  Read at least 26 books.

I am a reader.  Always have been.  This year was pretty pathetic on the reading side of things.  I think TV watching and staring at my blank computer screen filled in the time gaps.  My husband has 1000 hobbies and is always at work on one of them.  I have reading, video games, and working out.  I've mostly just been doing the gaming and staring at my computer screen.  No more!  2 books a month or bust!  I also already have the 26 books picked out, but I am open to changes.

2. Bible Study.

I was doing really well with this for a month...maybe two.  Then I just stopped.  No particular reason.  I was really enjoying my daily Bible readings and going over passages I particularly enjoyed to help set up prayer times.  To keep me on task this time I have set up a reminder on my phone ( Using the Life Reminders App) to go off every day at 8 pm.  This will hopefully remind me to go get my study Bible and go through the reading for the day.

I am also adding to this goal to meditate at least 2x a week.  I need to get some more tools in my meditations tool box and I can't do that unless I am practicing regularly.  I realize two times a week is not regularly, but you have to start somewhere.

3.  Masters

I really need to stop being a cry baby whiner and just start a masters program.  This is getting ridiculous.

4.  Stretch every morning and 5.  Lay out Clothes every morning. 11. Budget

On every goal list I've ever had since the beginning of time.  Ever.

6.  Cleaning.

When I was little my mother use to try to shame me into cleaning my room by saying something about how horrible my house was going to look when I grew up.  I am not a cleaner.  Never have been never will be.  On top of that I am  a serious clutter bug.  So this goal is two fold.  Clean AND declutter.  I set up my schedule on life reminders for the cleaning and my husband and I will work on the decluttering together.

7.  Call my brother more - Self explanatory

8.  Work out three days a week  10 Track calories

I've been really really terrible at working out.  Other times when I said I was doing terrible I was still in Spin class or taking weekend rides.  I've been doing NOTHING for MONTHS.  I had some medical problems and was not able to ride my bike or take spin class.  Once that habit was gone it was really really gone.  I need to get back into a routine and get some muscle back.

9.  Take more pictures

I got the super awesome camera that I wanted for Christmas.  I've been able to play with it a bit but I am really looking forward to taking more and better pictures this year.

12.  Eat at home more

My brother and sister in law gave me two eat healthy cook books for Christmas.   I am hoping it helps with the eating at home thing.

13.  I am really over the ridiculousness of Facebook.  Again.  Starting January 1 I am going to follow last January's plan again.  I can only get on FB or read blogs 1 day a week.  Saturday or Sunday.  I am realllllly looking forward to the self imposed ban.  I do not need to limit news this year.  Unlike social media which slowly crept back into constant use after last years January avoidance, I still avoid most of the news like it's the black plague.

Do you have any goals for the new year?

If this post didn't bore you to tears and you want read last years resolutions that I keep referring to you can see my fitness goals here, my internet goals here and a follow up to the internet goals here.

 I leave you with a couple of my first pictures on my new camera.  They are not anything amazing but they were some of my very first attempts so I like them.