Week Three Update

I've been meaning to write my weekly update since yesterday but the last couple of days were spent in a frenzy of activity and I am just now finding the time to sit down at the computer for a few minutes.
This last week was interesting. I completed all my workouts and logged my food intake 90% of the time. As far as my actions went, I did pretty well. My stress level though was pretty high this week. I found myself worrying about little things as well as big things. I even got a massage which was great but it didn't take me long to tense up again. My weight loss this week, I think was hindered more by my mental attitude than what I was doing physically. I still lost weight but not as much as I was hoping.

Here are my weekly stats:

3 mile run: 24:39
Weight: 168.4
Total weight loss: 0.4 lbs

This Weeks Goals (my final week of the month!):

Monday: Upper Body and Ab workout
Tuesday: 4 mile tempo run
Wednesday: Lower Body and Core Strength
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday:6 mile run
Saturday: Stretch
Sunday: 9 miles @ race pace
Monday: I'll be in KC--might do my long run today instead of Sunday since we'll be traveling. So I'm leaving this day open.
Tuesday (Day 30): 3 mile speed

Weight Loss Goal: 1.6

I'm excited that this is my last week of my March resolution. It's been a great month so far and one that has kept me motivated. I will post my 30 day results on the last day of the month and will also announce my April resolution.

The Ups and Downs of Running

I struggled with most of my runs this week with the exception of my 'no-watch, smell the roses' run. It took the majority of my will power to actually go out and run my scheduled miles. Every time I made the decision to go run, it was with the promise that it would make me feel better. Running always makes me feel better regardless of how I feel before starting. I can't say that was the case on all my runs this week. This was a bit disconcerting to me.
After thinking about my lack of energy and motivation, I came to the conclusion that part of the problem may be that I'm starting to run longer distances. I'm slowly coming to accpet the truth of what my heart has been trying to tell me ever since I did my first 5K... I don't like running long distances. My favorite races are the 5K and 10K distances. I like to push hard and be done. After running my first 5K, I felt like I had found the distance that was made just for me. The 10K distance left me with a similar feeling. This weekend I have a 9-10 miler to do. I'm only slightly looking forward to it but it's mostly because I love to accomplish the goals I set for myself and not because I like to run that long.
Afte this half marathon, I may just stick to shorter distances. There is a part of me that is tempted to continue training and do a full marathon in the fall. I realize that this temptation comes from the part of myself that constantly pushes to achieve more and not necessarily the part of me that strives for doing only those things that stay true to who I am. It is possible that there is a marathoner hiding inside of me waiting to be discovered. I was reading that between the ages of 20-40 we are figuring out who we really are. If this is true, I have 10 years to figure out what kind of runner I am.
For now, I get great joy from doing my speed and tempo workouts. It is these workouts that bring back the excitement of running. I'm glad I scheduled my speed run on Friday. After I finished, I felt like my running week had been redeemed and the little flame that keeps me running started burning brighter. I ran 3 miles in 24:39 today!! There are 11 days left in this 30 day resolution and I'm pretty confident I will make my goal time of 24:30. I may even do it faster! Wohoo!!!

Playing Nice

Matthew loves other little kids, especially ones that are younger than him. He likes to hug them and pat their cheeks. He sometimes underestimates his strength and pushes them over or pulls their hair. As a new mom, I don't always know what to do. Most of the time, I'm uncertain as to what Matthew can truly understand and so I struggle with how to explain things in toddler language. I sometimes say things to him that really don't make sense even to me. The other day I said, "We don't push little babies Matthew" and then realized that the "baby" he was pushing was almost a year older than him. I tried to ignore the laughing coming from the other moms in the room and pretended like I knew what I was doing.
I'm hoping to eventually be one of those moms who say really smart things to their kids but for now I just have to settle with telling Matthew to 'Play Nice'. 'Playing nice' covers a multitude of situations and so I think I'm covered for the moment.
Today as I was running, a life changing thought occurred to me. We teach our kids to 'play nice' which in essence means to treat others with tenderness, gentleness, and kindness but somehow we miss telling our kids to 'play nice' with themselves as well. Somewhere along the journey of life, I missed the importance of treating myself with tenderness, gentleness, and kindness. So often in running and in my life, I push hard. I set goals. I make plans. I work hard. In all of that, I stop listening to my body, I stop looking at my surroundings and instead look at the clock, the number of miles run, the goal to achieve. Sadly, I tend to miss the simple joys along the way. I don't 'play nice' with me because I'm always pushing myself to do more and be more.
As I ran today, I made a commitment with myself to 'play nice'. During my run, I slowed down to a pace that was comfortable. I didn't look at my watch. I decided to run until I felt like stopping. I forgot about the miles. I admired the blue sky. I enjoyed the sun shining on my face. I said 'hi' to the people I passed. I refrained from getting in my car when I got home and drive the route I had just run to see how far I had gone. I enjoyed running for the first time in several weeks because I wasn't pushing myself to the limit. It felt good to be nice to my body.
Later in the day I got a massage and was able to fully enjoy it. When my massage therapist leaves the room, she always tells me to stay awhile and relax before getting up. "Take your time," she says. Today, I actually did.
I'm starting to realize more and more that goals can add structure to life, a level of fulfillment, and even a sense of control. All of which are good things. But when goals become a way of defining who you are and their attainment a validation of self worth, it is time to do things differently. It is time for me to start doing things differently.
I will probably always be a goal person but I don't want to miss the life that happens in between each achievement. I want to enjoy the journey and experience the small treasures along the way. I want to be flexible with my goals and give myself permission to do things the 'nice way' (which means doing things that suite my life, body, spirit in the kindest way possible) and not the 'perfect way'(which means doing things according to the standards of others and/or perceived standards of others). I want to 'play nice'. Researchers make the argument that it isn't goal attainment but the process of striving after goals that brings happiness.

Funny, the things that can pop into your head when you run....

14 days complete!

This last weekend was so packed. I left for church Saturday morning at around 9:30am and returned home the next day at 6:30pm. Within that span of time we went to three church services, spent some long overdue time with friends, ate amazing carrot-coconut-flax seed muffins, enjoyed award worthy caramel cinnamon rolls, and drove a couple of hours in the car. It was great times but a bit hectic with Matthew who was having a bit of a rough weekend. He got his 15 month shots on Friday and they did not settle well with him. First they made him very drowsy and by the time I got him home he couldn't stay awake to eat and was asleep before Mike put him in the crib. He slept over 3 hours. Friday night at about 10:30pm at night, I hear him cry and go into his room only to discover that the poor little man had thrown up in his sleep :( He's had very poor appetite for the last couple of days and just hasn't been 100% himself. He did eat a little bit more for dinner last night so I think he'll be back to his old self soon.

Despite the busy weekend, I did manage to get my long run in. I ended up having to split it up for times sake because of all the things on our schedule on Sunday. In the morning I ran two miles. I had planned on going longer but had one too many fiber muffins the night before and had some bathroom issues. By the time that was over, I had run out of time to do the remaining miles. When we got back to North Platte at 6:30pm in the evening. I quickly got ready for my Ladies Bible Study that meets at 7pm. We finished that at 8:30pm. I knew that I still had 6 miles to do and that I could not put it off. For some reason I think that if I put miles off for another day it's cheating and that propels me to just go run. So I put my running shoes on and headed to the gym. It was a great run and I'm glad I did it. I was done with the run and stretching by 10pm. Late workouts are not my favorite because it's hard for me to go to sleep!

Overall, my week was great! I did all my workouts with the exception of an hour of stretching and one core strengthening workout. Running wise, I got all my miles in for the week. A total of 20.5 I kept my food log every day this week and was over in my calories on several days (about 100-200 calories over). Even with going over, I was still able to lose weight.

Here are my 14 day stats:

3 miles: 25:15 Month Goal: 24:30
Current weight: 168.8 Month Goal: 167
Pounds lost this week: 1.6

Next weeks goals:

Monday: Upper Body and Core Strength
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: Lower Body and Ab workout
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: 3 miles speed
Saturday: 1 hour of stretching
Sunday: 9 miles
Total Miles: 23

Weight Loss Goal: 1.5 lbs

Half way there...2 more weeks to go until the end of the month! Bring it!

Self Doubt

After I finished running today I felt a bit discouraged. Feelings of self doubt started creeping in during my run. I started to doubt my ability to run the half marathon in under 2 hours. I started to doubt my training plan. Will it get me the results I want? Should I be doing more? I started to think about the weather the day of the race. What if it rains? What if it's windy? I then thought about my health on the day of the race. What if I get injured right before? What if I come down with the flu the day before the race? These and other thoughts plagued me as I ran my 4 miles today. There was a lot of wind today and it's possible that it was a factor on how I felt while running. I finished in 36:00 and it was a struggle. It made me wonder how I will do 13 of those at around that pace.
There are 7 weeks left until the half marathon and I know that there is time to improve. I keep telling myself that I have to stay the course and continue to follow my training schedule. There are certain things that are beyond my control no matter how much I train. Although at times it's hard for me, I will try to enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the results. Oh, how very hard this is for me!

Why I Eat Organic Food

Several months ago, I decided to start buying organic as much as possible. The idea of eating high quality, healthy food has always intrigued me somewhat. I of course have not always made the best of food choices and have indulged in seasons of eating out way too much, going for the cheaper, easiest to prepare foods, and of course drinking more than my share of diet soda. During these times, I wish I could say that I was ignorant of what I was putting in my body and was unaware of what effects these types of food could have on my health. But of course I was not unaware, thanks mostly to my mother who at a fairly young age ruined me to the innocence of categorizing all food as actual "food".
So maybe the path I am currently on was a part of my destiny and something that was inevitably going to happen. Nevertheless, here I am eating better than I ever have and loving it.
When I made the decision to eat organic, I can't say that I made it based on extensive research on the food industry. It was mostly information that I had gotten from different sources throughout the years. Some had come from friends, others from my dear mother, many from Dr. Oz, and some from articles, books, or websites. I can't say any particular bit of information changed my behavior but it moved me further along the path to eventually be able to make the decision to change.
In December I watched the Academy Award nominated documentary, Food Inc. and I guess you can say I was a prime candidate for receiving all it had to say and taking it to heart. After finishing that movie, my behavior changed immediately. I knew that I would never see food the same again and I knew that I would chart a path for myself that involved making good food choices without feeling like I was depriving myself.
Last night I watched an interview with a Dr. guy from San Diego who apparently knows a lot about organic food, the food industry, farming, and other stuff that I can't even pronounce. I want to share some of the stuff I learned about eating organic vs. non organic. Hopefully, it will be helpful information. But I figure, if anything, by typing it out, it will help me process and internalize it much better.

Why Eat Organic Food?
1. It's better for your body. For the last 40 or so years, the focus of the food industry has been on producing large quantities of food for the lowest price. This of course has given us the opportunity to have a wide variety of food at an affordable price. We've often heard the wise sayings: 'all things come at a price' and 'if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is'. Well the food industries philosophy on production is not exempt from the truth of these antidotes. The "cost" for producing food in the way that it is has certainly come at a price...our health. The use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, feeding cows grain instead of grass, giving growth hormones and antibiotics to animals, inhumane living conditions for the animals that we eat, and genetically modifying food is not without serious effects on the overall well being of our society.
When a food is certified organic it means that there are certain things that are not allowed to go into the food such as pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics. This is huge because the effects of these chemicals on your body are significant. The lack of nutrients present in foods that are grown using chemicals is staggering compared to organically grown food. Organic produce has 300-400% more nutrients than non organic produce! So even though organic is more expensive, if you look at what you're buying nutrient wise, it actually ends up being the better financial decision.

2. Organic food tastes better. Current farming practices have caused much damage to soil. Because of all the chemicals used, farmers are able to farm a section of land over and over again. In time, this soil is depleted of rich nutrients. It has gotten so bad that some produce is completely void of essential trace minerals that our bodies need for optimal health. Although conventionally grown produce looks great on the outside, the inside is not so great. Because this is what we're used to tasting, we don't even notice that tomatoes don't really taste like tomatoes should taste. Organic produce has a better taste overall because the soil that it comes from is healthier and richer in nutrients.

Is All Organic Food Created Equal?
No. Even if a food is labeled as organic, it's important to read the fine print. If you buy organic meat, it does not guarantee that the cows, chickens, or whatever animal were fed a diet that is natural to their system or that they are given the freedom to roam in a open air environment. All it means was that they were not given any hormones, antibiotics, and were fed organic grain (which of course could be corn vs. grass). With all that said, it is still better to buy the organic meat vs. non organic. On a further note, some food that says it is organic may only be a certain percentage organic with the remaining ingredients being quite unhealthy. You've heard it said before: 'Read the label!' This is also true for organic foods. Another thing to remember is that organic does not mean healthy. There are certain foods like candy, cake mixes, ice cream, cookies, etc. that may be organic but still are not the best for you. Are they better than the non organic kind? Probably, but that still doesn't mean you should eat them on a regular basis.


How do I Start Making the Change to Organic?
Start slowly. There are certain foods that you should immediately stop buying if they are not organic: all animal products...meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese, and dairy. This is not only a health decision but also a conservation, animal rights decision. From there, start buying the foods that are naturally higher in fat (extra virgin olive oil, butter, meat, nuts, etc.) The reason for this is because pesticides/chemicals bind to fats and so the foods that are higher in fat tend to be more contaminated than those that are not. This does not mean that low fat diets are better. Good fat is necessary for our bodies and we should consume it in it's most natural form. After you feel more comfortable with buying organic start buying organic produce. Some of the most important produce to buy organic are tomatoes, potatoes, and apples. The reasons for this are explained below. FYI: I took the following info from an article I read online several months ago.

the following material was taken from the article, 'The 7 foods experts won't eat** you can read the entire article by going to http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/the-7-foods-experts-wont-eat-547963/.

The reason to buy organic potatoes: Potatoes grow in the ground which makes them more susceptible to all the contaminants in the soil. Potatoes are treated with "fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."

The solution: Buy organic potatoes. Washing isn't good enough if you're trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh.

The reason for buying organic apples: They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. As such, apples don't develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. The industry maintains that these residues are not harmful. But Kastel counters that it's just common sense to minimize exposure by avoiding the most doused produce, like apples. "Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers," he says. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with Parkinson's disease.

The solution: Buy organic apples. If you can't afford organic, be sure to wash and peel them first.

I hope this was helpful and not too overwhelming! If you are interested in finding out more, here are some resources I would recommend:

1. Food Inc. (DVD)
2. King Corn (DVD)
3. The End of Overeating by David Kessler (book)
4. The Truth about Organic Food (DVD)

If you are interested in eating out and would like to eat at a place that prepares their meals using organic foods, check out this website: www.eatwellguide.org

FYI: Oprah is airing a show today on the food industry that should be pretty interesting. Not sure what all she's going to say but it looked like it would be watch worthy :)

My Pace Man

I am so excited that my sweet husband will be running the half marathon with me! He secretly signed up for it and then couldn't hold it in and ended up telling me he had actually registered. The plan is that he will be my pace man and make sure I make my time. How sweet is that?!
Although, I'm excited that he's willing to run with me, there's a part of me that wishes he would go all out and see what time he could get. Mikey is a natural runner. It's an effortless activity for him. He can take a break from running for months and eat brownies and pizza till his heart's content and then be able to go out and run 7 minute miles with little effort. I often have wondered how well he could do in a race if he actually trained and gave 100% effort. Maybe one day I'll get to see him in action. I've been trying to convince him to run a 10K this summer and beat out a guy whose been winning this particular race for the last 4 years. I know he could do it but so far it hasn't sparked his interest too much. I'm still holding out hope though :)
I know I said that I would post my weekly progress on Mondays but I'm finding it hard to keep it all in until then! So I'm just going to post my weekly weight loss goal then and update on my running during the week.
Today I ran 3.5 miles. I warmed up for 1/2 mile and then did my 3 mile speed run. I wasn't sure what to expect and I was a little anxious about the whole thing. I didn't really have a game plan on how I was going to break down the miles. Was I going to keep the same pace the whole three miles? Would doing intervals be better? Maybe doing sprint blocks followed by recovery blocks would get me a faster time? I debated back and forth until I finally decided that I would do intervals. I would start at an 8:40 pace for a couple of minutes and then go down every minute for four minutes. This was the progression.. 8:34, 8:27, 8:20, and 8:13. After that I went back down to 8:40 for a minute of recovery and then I would do the progression all over again. I did this for two miles. My last mile I decided to recover at an 8:34 pace and then go down from there. My last minute or so ended up being at a 7:30 pace. My final time for the three miles....25:15! This time is a whole minute and 15 seconds less than my last week time! If you are a runner, you know how hard it can be to shave off time, so I'm feeling pretty accomplished right now :)
I have three weeks to go and a lot of miles to run in between but I'm thinking that these legs of mine might just be able to go faster than I thought :)
By the way...Mikey went out and did three miles as well today. His time: 21:42. A little part of my heart is jealous :)

7 days finished

I have completed the first 7 days of my March resolution and am feeling pretty good. I feel encouraged after this week and I hope I can keep it up. I always start things really well but sometimes find it hard to finish strong. I have noticed this in my running too and am training in such a way so that my ending miles are better than my beginning miles. So far it's working on most of my runs. However, this was not true for my 8 miler yesterday. For some reason I really struggled after about mile 4 but was able to keep the pace until mile 6. After that instead of speeding up I slowed down by about 20 seconds per mile. I tried not to let that get to me and told myself that some runs are better than others and just because that run didn't feel the best doesn't mean all future runs will be a struggle.

Accomplishments this week:

1. I was able to meet my weekly mileage goal, two days of strength training, and on my day off did 1 hour of stretching. I also squeezed in a full body massage on Tuesday which was amazing. I have had two in the last month and will continue to do them every other week leading up to the half marathon. I'm hoping that this will keep everything in good working order :)

2. Food wise this week was also really good. I kept my food journal every day and was able to stay within my caloric goals with the exception of one day which was only 25 calories over. As a result my current weight is 170.4. A total of 1.6 lbs lost!

3. On track to meet my 3 mile goal time. There was a bit of a mix up with my 3 mile run this week (see previous post)and so my time for this week is for 2.5 miles which was 20 minutes. This time was more than I had hoped for with only a week into my resolution. This gives me hope that I can actually meet my 3 mile goal time by the end of the month!



What I hope to accomplish this next week:

Monday: upper body workout, core strengthening
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: lower body workout, core strengthening
Thursday: 3.5 miles speed workout
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 1 hour of stretching
Sunday: 8 mile tempo run

Weight loss goal: 1.5 lbs.

Bring on the week!

The Gift of the Treadmill

I am so excited that the weather is taking a turn for the better so I can start doing my runs outside. For the last two months the majority of my runs have been on the treadmill. When I first contemplated the idea of running indoors I was filled with dread and anticipated fatigue. The thought of being on a treadmill for over an hour was torturous. My treadmill limit at the beginning of the year was about 20 minutes. After that I mentally would start to break down. But I had two choices, I could run outside in the snow and ice (which had the potential of slowing me down significantly) or I could run inside on a treadmill. I chose the treadmill.
At first I would play mental tricks with myself to make the time go faster and then I moved on to playing with the speed button. Staying at one pace for any significant period of time is absolutely miserable to me. After two months of this type of training I started to feel more comfortable with my once dreaded foe. I started looking forward to our times together.
Yesterday, I was surprised to discover that when I had to make a decision between running outside (it was amazing weather) or going to the gym. My heart started leaning toward the treadmill. I realized in that moment that the reason for this was because I like predictability and routine. A part of me wanted to keep things that same and even doubted that I could even run outside as well as I did indoors. This of course is ridiculous because I still have two legs, the same heart, and the motion is almost exactly the same.
One of the things I love about running is that you have to face your fears and doubts all the time. With running there is always a goal and depending on the day, your mood, the weather, or your body, there is always a chance that you won't meet that goal. Facing this fear always makes you stronger.
Anyway, back to yesterday. I finally decided to run outside. My daily run was a 3 mile speed run. Earlier that day, I had driven around mapping out my 8 mile route for my Sunday run and I had taken note of different mile markers for future runs. I clearly remembered where the 1.5 mile point was and so I decided to run there and back to my house. I started my clock and took off. Since I have been running on the treadmill, which tells me my pace all the time, running outside again seemed a bit awkward mostly because I had no idea how fast I was going. After about a mile, I looked at my watch at it was at exactly 8:00. I decided to not look at my watch again until the finish and just keep in the rhythm I was in. I sprinted the last half mile home and looked at my watch...20:00. Something was wrong! There was no way I could have done 3 miles in 20 minutes. I must have remembered the mile markers wrong. Being who I am, I got in my car and measured the distance I had just run. Pulling into my driveway the odometer read 2.5 miles. I felt annoyance and joy at the same time. Annoyance because I was suppose to do 3 miles and didn't and joy because I did 2.5 miles in 20 minutes!!!
Reflecting on my run, I realized that my once dreaded enemy..the treadmill, had actually given me a gift in the last two months....speed. I was able to run faster outside than I do on the treadmill. My confidence in running outside has returned. Today for the fun of it, I ran to the gym, worked out, and ran back home. It was glorious. An unplanned run on a sunny day is amazing.

My March 30 Day Jumbo Goal

I love to run. I go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it. I've been training for a half marathon for the last couple of months and love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from meeting my weekly running goals. This month, I wanted to do a resolution that would focus on my running, mostly because I need an outlet for my thoughts and ambitions for this upcoming race.

My goal for the half marathon is to finish in under two hours. In order to accomplish this I have to keep a pace of under 9:05 per mile. To increase my speed, I have been doing speed work and tempo runs each week and have seen a great improvement on my times.

I've come a long way since last year when I started running again after I had Matthew. It took me about four months to get some semblance of fitness back into my life and I was able to run 2 miles in 19:50. Not bad for my first post c-section "race." The feelings after that run were one of relief that my body had not fallen apart and also of determination. That day, I resolved within my being that running would never feel that bad or hard again. I am happy to say, that it has slowly but steadily improved. The other day I ran 2 miles in 17:15 and I could have easily gone faster.

So this brings me to my March resolution: By the end of March, I want to be able to run 3 miles in 24:30. This goal is ambitious for me but a part of me believes that it is possible. As of Friday, my 3 mile time was 26:30 (this was not an all out effort and there was definitely room to go faster) which means that I have to cut my average mile pace by about 40 seconds.

In order to accomplish this goal I have to get stronger and lighter. To do this, there are two things I will focus on daily for the next 30 days.

1) Exercise-- Run 4 days a week (one long run, one speed workout, one easy run, and one tempo run), cross train 2 days (upper and lower body strength training), and rest and stretch 1 day.

2) Eat--Make healthy food choices every day and stay within 1,300-1,600 / day calorie range.
Food wise I have no idea what my daily caloric intake is at the moment. All I know is that over the last couple of months, I've lost about 3 lbs and have managed to maintain. Which technically is a good thing but I got to thinking the other day and realized that if I stopped working out as much as I am and didn't change my food intake, I would definitely gain weight. Now if I was at my goal weight, this wouldn't be a bad arrangement...workout regularly, enjoy reasonable amounts of food, and maintain a healthy weight. Unfortunately, I am not at my goal weight so I have to change something. I can either work out more which I don't have the time for or I can cut down on my portion sizes. I pick portion sizes. This means I have to keep a daily food log which is something I totally hate to do but according to what I have read, it is something that is pretty important at least until you truly understand what real portion sizes look like. Apparently, I don't have this figured out quite yet so I will keep the dreaded food log.

If I can actually stick to the food aspect for the next 30 days, I should be able to lose at least 5 lbs this month which will prove very helpful in reaching my goal time.

So here's my starting day stats:

1 mile time: 8:30 Goal: 8:10
2 mile time: 17:15 Goal: 16:20
2.5 mile time: 21:50 Goal: 20:24
3 mile time: 26:30 Goal: 24:30

Weight: 172 lbs Goal: 167 lbs

Throughout the month, I will post my weekly progress every Monday for my three mile time and my weight loss. I'm excited to see what this month brings!

Cleaning Finished

I'm happy to say that I have successfully completed my second resolution of the year! My house is finally clutter free. Over the course of the month, I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours organizing something every day. I was able to organize all my closets and even managed to get my garage looking in decent order. There's still work left to be done in the garage but that will have to wait for some other time. My most gratifying accomplishment was the kitchen where I was able to implement a system for all incoming, outgoing, and filing of mail/magazines/etc. My cupboards, drawers, and fridge also received some much needed attention.
Here are some 'after' pics of the areas I posted at the beginning of the month:












This month I discovered that I love to clean. It takes away stress and makes me feel fulfilled. It has the same effect on me as exercise does. If I feel stressed out or am having a bad day... I clean something and I automatically feel so much better!

After completing two 30 day resolutions, I discovered that my attention span for any one repetitive activity is about 20 days. After that, I start thinking about what I'm going to do next and start to lose motivation for my current resolution. I don't know what that means but it was interesting to me to discover :)

Bring on my March Resolution!