This Wednesday (March 17th), I have the day off so I’m making it GYM day – “Biggest Loser last chance workout” style…but here’s the catch, the workouts I do will be chosen by YOU! This is called a Workout Pledge and I got the idea from Tyler over at 344 Pounds. They seem like a great way to get in a killer workout, which is exactly what I want to accomplish on Wednesday.

Here is the list of exercises you can choose from:

1. 30 seconds running (4.5 mph)
2. 1 minute walking (3.5 mph)
3. 1 minute elliptical (level 1)
4. 20 crunches
5. 20 squats
6. 5 reps on weight machine
7. 3 minutes exercise bike (level 1)
8. 3 minutes stairmaster

Here’s how it will work. Between now and Tuesday at 10:00 PM (EST), you can do any or all seven of the following:

Comment: Post a comment right here on this post. You don’t have to say a lot, any ole comment will do, just be sure to let me know which number exercise you want me to do for that comment.

Twitter: Click here to follow me on Twitter; come back here and leave me a comment letting me know that you did (and also let me know which number exercise you want me to do for it)

Facebook: Click here to follow my facebook page; come back here and leave me a comment letting me know that you did (and also let me know which number exercise you want me to do for it).

Link Love: Add this link to my blog onto your blogroll; come back here and leave me a comment letting me know that you did (and also let me know which number exercise you want me to do for it).

Tell your Friends: Post a blurb on Twitter encouraging your followers to come add to my workout and come back here and comment letting me know you did (and also let me know which number exercise you want me to do for it).

You can make up your own, or something like this will do:

@josielphelps is doing a workout pledge on her blog and you can add to her workout just by leaving a comment! Check it out: http://bit.ly/aMxsnd

Tell your readers: Post a blurb on your blog letting your readers know about the pledge and then come back here and let me know you did (and also let me know which number exercise you want me to do for it).

Dailymile: Click here to add me as a friend on DailyMile and then comment here letting me know that you did (and also let me know which number exercise you want me to do for it).

So there are seven ways you can add to my workout! Don’t forget to specify which exercise you want me to do.

So that’s it. I’ll be tallying everything by the comments, so be sure to comment here if you add me on facebook or twitter or link to your blog so that I know you did.

Oh, and if you’re already following my facebook or twitter or dailymile, comment letting me know and that will count as an entry too.

Don’t forget to say which exercise you want me to do (by number). Sorry for being so redundant!

Thank you all so much. I am really excited about this and can’t wait to see what you have in store for me! You have until Tuesday night, but what are you waiting for??

101.0 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
14.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(3) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Image by Pippa!

Today marks the 100th day of the year, and as such the Perfect 10 challenge has come to an end. Here is my final Perfect 10 Update:

• Walk 100 miles over the course of the 10 weeks. This will help keep me on track to reach 500 for the year.

You might recall that as of last Friday I was 26.5 miles away from reaching goal – just over marathon distance. Well, in the last 7 days I walked and/or jogged 25.11 miles. This brings my total for the year to 98.61 miles. So, I didn’t quite make the 100 I was shooting for, but man I came awful close…and I’m SUPER proud of myself for last night’s 6 mile escapade (and shall do a repeat of it soon). The lesson I learned this week? That I needed to step up my workouts more. I was sore today from last night’s workout and if I’m being honest, it’s the first time in weeks that I’ve been sore the next day. So it was a GOOD thing…and I realized that I need to change my routine, push myself more, and sweat more if I want to make progress here.

• Continue the C25K program, doing it at least 3 days per week until completed.

I am now through with Week 3 and will be starting Week 4 tomorrow. Major success here!

• Start riding my bike. No time or distance restraints for this. This one is purely just to get over my fear and DO it…at least once and I’ll be happy

Success! See this post.

• Not drink ANY soda. This is also a goal for the year.

So far so good! It’s been 165 days since I’ve had ANY soda.

• Participate in (3) 5k races. This will help keep me on track to do 12 for the year.

I did the Calusa Bug Chase 5K and the Walk for Wishes and the Hope, Love, and Faith 5K for MS. SUCCESS!

• Start a garden.

Bah! I’m not sure why I kept procrastinating on this, but I still plan to start one.

• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, but preferably 10:00.

3 out of 5 nights

• Sign up for Karate (or another martial art if Karate isn’t available)

I had to put this on hold for a little while due to finances and time restraints.

• Go to the gym at least 3 times per week.

SUCCESS!

• Stay within my budget every month (using YNAB) This is a yearly goal as well.

I am doing very well here.

• Read the Bible each day using this plan. Another yearly goal.

Not so much a success here. I started off good, but just got real behind.

The other part of this challenge is to post something that others may not know about me. As you could imagine with me being from Florida and I also lived in North Carolina for 5 years, that I’m quite familiar with hurricanes. I’ve been through some of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit, including Andrew (92), Floyd (99), and Charley (04).

For hurricane Floyd, I was pregnant and about three weeks overdue. They had me scheduled to be induced a few days prior to Floyd hitting, but the hospital had to cancel me so they could save their beds “just in case” they needed them. They told me I’d have to go into labor naturally. The night Floyd came was one of the scariest of my life. I was at my sister’s house and we were all up sitting in the hallway, hoping for the best. It was a category 4 storm. All of a sudden we looked out the window and saw a tree falling, but not just any tree. THIS tree:

Yes, that’s our HOUSE behind it…That’s a hughjass tree, huh??? Yeah, I was skeered after we saw that fall. Remember, I could have gone into labor at any moment and would have had no way out. What you can’t see in that picture was that the tree actually fell on all of our vehicles! We had them all parked in the yard and the tree fell perfectly on all four of them:

Thank God we were all OK, but wow. The guys spent all the next day chainsawing their way through it, so we could at least have a vehicle in case I went into labor.

We also had a tree fall during hurricane Charley in 04, but at least I wasn’t pregnant then

Obviously Charley didn’t heed our signs…BOO! This is what that same area looked like the next day:

We were left without power for weeks, in the dead heat of Florida summer. It was brutal, but it could have been so much worse.

So there’s something you didn’t know about me, but probably could have guessed! LOL

Thanks Steve, for such an AWESOME challenge!

98.61 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
14.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(3) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Before I get to today’s post, if you haven’t read Craig’s latest blog yet, you should. Really, it’s refreshingly honest and touching. I know I can relate and I’m sure most of you can too. At first, he debated even posting it and several readers encouraged him to, including me. I was reminded of the House episode from the other night about a blogger who fell ill. You can read a synopsis of this episode here. When learning that she needed a heart valve transplant, her first response was to ask her readers for advice. Her boyfriend discouraged her from doing it because he was tired of their lives being so exposed on her blog. She said “If I start to pick and choose now, then I’m not being honest”. That really hit home for me and caused me to really think not just about how much I share here but also all the things I don’t share. So when I read that Craig wasn’t sure if he should post what he had in mind because it was so personal and revealing, it made me think of the series of posts that I had been considering that were also personal and revealing. So, I made a deal with him. I told him if he posted his, I would start mine. Well, he posted his, and I’m a woman of my word, so I’ll be starting a new blog series in the next week or so. I’m still working on a title, but the content is almost done. I can tell you this. It totally fits in with today’s post below.

Now onto today’s post!

On my Progress Pictures page, you’ll notice that I have always posted a picture of me wearing a white tank top and black shorts, while looking straight to the camera. (Boring, huh?) What that page doesn’t show is that I have also been taking a variety of other pictures all along as well. Pictures from the side, pictures from the rear, pictures of my bare belly, close-ups of my arms, legs, and face. I haven’t been posting these other views for a few reasons. Part of it is OCD and the fact that I didn’t want my pictures page to become too overcrowded. Another reason is modesty. I had considered sharing the bare belly photos of me a while back during the “Exposed” craze, but didn’t because I realized I was far too modest to be that exposed yet. I guess the biggest reason I hadn’t posted these other views was because up until now, there wasn’t really a major difference in the before and after, so I thought “What’s the point?”

Well, here is a side view of me as I was on September 28, 2009 (Day 1 of this journey) and me as I was on March 8, 2010 (Day 161 of this journey):

I can see a difference, can you? It’s weird, because when I look at my current photo by itself, I see a fat girl with belly rolls and cellulite. But something funny happens when I put the two together…I see a much healthier girl. A girl with a little bit of muscle definition just starting to appear. A girl whose collarbones are now visible for the first time in over a decade. A girl whose double chin has all but disappeared. (Score!) My face is starting to look different, more defined. My posture is better.

This realization is a pretty awesome feeling – one I’m NOT used to and one that’s hard to put into words – but that’s what I intend to do over the next few weeks. I hope to benefit greatly from this new series I’m starting and hopefully some of you will too.

Edited to add:

Check out the $50 shopping spree giveaway on Mary’s Weight Loss Blog! I can win a $50 Shopping Spree Giveaway from iHerb.com and so can you! Click here for contest details! I hope I win because their pancake mix looks delicious!

85.6 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
14.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(3) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I weighed in this morning at 212.6 lbs which is a .4 lb loss for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far to 43.4 pounds.

Nothing to write home about, eh? I’m still trending downwards, though, which is awesomely awesome. I’ll take a .4 loss over a gain any day!

It’s time for my first Weekend Warrior update. Thanks to Brandon for hosting this challenge!

Anyway, here are the three goals I set for myself this weekend and how I fared on each:

1. Work out Friday night for at least 30 minutes.

I did not do this. My mom got out of the hospital Friday, so after work we ate dinner and then immediately went to her house to visit and didn’t get home till late. I know that’s no excuse, I still could have done SOMEthing once I got home, but I didn’t. So I told myself I’d make up for it on Sunday. Which I didn’t do either.

2. Map out and walk/run 3 miles on Sunday.

Success. Felt good too!

3. Limit myself to 1 glass of tea each day.

Success. I actually only had one glass all weekend long. It’s a good thing not feeling weighed down by all that sugar.

I really want to thank Brandon for starting this challenge. It’s such a GREAT idea. I never really acknowledged the fact that weekends were my weakness prior to this. It’s also pretty dang cool reading the blogs of my fellow warriors, some of which I’d never been to before. I love meeting new people!

Another thing…As of Friday I was 26.5 miles (more than a marathon) away from reaching my Perfect 10 goal of 100. Since I got another 7.1 miles in this weekend, that leaves me with 19.4 miles left to do before Friday. (eek!) Even though this goal seemed so far out of reach, I said I was going to try and I meant it.

Lori had a good idea in my comments. She said:

For the walking, maybe tack on an extra 1.5 mile walk at the opposite end of the day where you do your usual one to get those miles in without getting too tired (or burnt out).

So here’s my plan:

Tonight: 3 miles
Tuesday morning: 3 miles
Tuesday Evening: 1.5 miles
Wednesday Morning: 3 miles
Wednesday Evening: 1.5 miles
Thursday Morning: 3 miles
Thursday Evening: 1.5 miles
Friday morning: 3 miles

for a total of 20.5 miles; just over my goal. Thanks Lori for the suggestion! Now I just have to stick to it. This is far more than I do on an average week, so wish me luck!

Edited to add: Check out this great giveaway over at Stellar Path, where you can win Jillian’s 30 Day Shred! I’ve read so many great things about this program; it’d be super cool to win it.

80.6 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(3) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Image by Pippa!

Time again for another Perfect 10 Update. Only one more week left people! Here were my Perfect 10 Goals and how I faired on each of them this week:

• Walk 100 miles over the course of the 10 weeks. This will help keep me on track to reach 500 for the year.

I walked and/or jogged 6.65 miles this week bringing my total for the year to 73.5 miles.

I need to walk 26.5 miles (a little more than a marathon!) over the next week in order to reach my goal of 100 miles. I think the most I’ve ever done in one week was 15 or 16, so I’m not so sure I can reach this, BUT I’M GOING TO TRY. I was doing so good on this, but got behind in the last couple weeks.

• Continue the C25K program, doing it at least 3 days per week until completed.

I made progress and am now up to Week 3, Day 1. I upped my pace too this week, doing my fastest mile yet: 13:39.

• Start riding my bike. No time or distance restraints for this. This one is purely just to get over my fear and DO it…at least once and I’ll be happy

Success! See this post.

• Not drink ANY soda. This is also a goal for the year.

So far so good! It’s been 158 days since I’ve had ANY soda. (Though I am STILL dreaming about it)

• Participate in (3) 5k races. This will help keep me on track to do 12 for the year.

I did the Calusa Bug Chase 5K and the Walk for Wishes already. I am signed up for the Hope, Love, and Faith 5K for MS which is tomorrow morning…So by tomorrow afternoon I’ll be able to say that I successfully achieved this goal!

• Start a garden.

I still haven’t started yet, but I do have a plan!
I wanted to get this going last weekend, but just didn’t. I am *hoping* to at least get all my materials this Sunday.

• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, but preferably 10:00.

5 out of 5 nights.

• Sign up for Karate (or another martial art if Karate isn’t available)

I had to put this on hold for a little while due to finances and time restraints.

• Go to the gym at least 3 times per week.

I only went twice this week.

• Stay within my budget every month (using YNAB) This is a yearly goal as well.

I am doing very well here.

• Read the Bible each day using this plan. Another yearly goal.

I’m still am behind, but slowly catching up.

The other part of this challenge is to post something that others may not have known about me. I was in JROTC for all four years of high school and for the longest time my goal was to be a Pilot for either the US Air Force or the Navy. As much teasing as I endured for being in ROTC in highschool, it taught me SO many valuable traits that I carry with me to this day. I never did join the military, but came very close. I had the opportunity to take a scholarship for college through ROTC and would have gone to OCS to become an officer. In full disclosure, I should mention that I’ve become quite a pacifist the older I’ve gotten. Please don’t misconstrue that to mean that I am against our troops because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I have nothing but respect for the men and women who serve our country in such an honorable way…and yes, even though I consider myself a pacifist, I also think serving in the military is honorable. I’m weird, I know! Me being a ‘pacifist’ just means that the Josie today wouldn’t even consider joining the military, yet that was the primary goal of the Josie 20 years ago and the idea of being a soldier pretty much consumed me back then. I still want to get my pilot’s license, though…that hasn’t changed.

Me, circa 1990:

73.5 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(2) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I’ve decided to join the Weekend Warriors Challenge being offered by Brandon.

Weekends are my weakness when it comes to exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m active and I get out and do stuff, but I rarely go to the gym on the weekends or purposefully exercise -that’s always been reserved for the workweek. So this challenge will be good for me and might also prove to be beneficial to my weigh-ins, which are always on Mondays, right at the close of the weekend.

The rules are simple; Set 2-3 health/fitness related goals each weekend and report our progress on Monday. Here are the three things I want to accomplish this weekend so I can be a warrior!

1. Work out Friday night (something I never do) for at least 30 minutes.
2. Map out and walk/run 3 miles on Sunday. If any of my local friends read this and want to do this together, let me know!
3. Limit myself to 1 glass of tea each day. (I’ve noticed that I’ve been drinking way too much tea on the weekends and not enough water.)

So those are my goals. I should also point out that I should be getting a fair amount of exercise in on Saturday as well. I’ll be doing the Hope, Love, & Faith MS 5K Run/Walk first thing Saturday morning. By the way, my goal for this one is to complete it in less than 50 minutes. I think/hope this is reachable since I’ve been increasing my pace lately. Then, Saturday night, we’ll be in yet another parade:

This will be the Celebrate Cape Coral parade, and I’ll again be walking (as a snowflake) along with my daughter’s float. The route is about 2 miles long, I think, so that’ll be a total of about 5 miles for Saturday alone.

Now for an update on my mom; thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and prayers you sent our way. The surgery went well and she’s recovering. There were some issues yesterday with her blood pressure. It was at 72/38 when she came out of surgery and they couldn’t get it to go up until around 6:30 last night, but at least it did finally go up. When I called her this morning, she informed me that she had ran a fever all night, so hopefully they’re able to stop the fever and she doesn’t run into any more issues. There was a rather emotional moment yesterday. After surgery, the three of us were just sitting in her room and she was talking her weight and she said she was so proud of me and my sister for losing the weight we have to be healthy so that we won’t end up with a lot of the health issues she has. She said she only wished someone would have told her years ago how it would have affected her life because she would have made changes a long time ago, not only for herself, but she also said she would have fed us differently as children. I don’t blame my mother in the least and I told her she had nothing to apologize for. It was just the kind of moment that sticks with you though and makes me even more committed to this new lifestyle of mine, not just for me, but for MY children. Ya know?

72.5 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(2) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I got this idea from the lovely Mary over at A Merry Life and thought I would join in on the food love/hate fest.

FIVE FOODS I USED TO LOVE:

Burger King Whoppers I had these nearly everyday for lunch during the work week. MmmmMMm. I’d scarf two down, along with fries and/or onion rings literally almost every day. I am happy to say I haven’t had a BK burger since September.

Ice Cream I’ve been known to eat a whole quart of cookies ‘n cream ice cream before. This is something else I haven’t indulged in since I started this back in September.

Pasta made from white flour Pasta is a huge weakness of mine, I just love the stuff. Now when I have it I eat whole wheat pasta which is so much better than the white stuff. I don’t ever want to eat the white flour stuff again.

Cheese I was always a HUGE cheese lover and would eat cheese on lots of stuff. The more the better. I still like cheese, but since September, I’ve been real careful about having less. Like when we have chicken tacos, I eat mine without cheese now and honestly, I DON’T MISS IT AT ALL.

Pepsi Drinks count, right? Hi, my name is Josie and I’m a recovering soda addict. I had a long sordid affair with the stuff and am SO glad it’s finally over. Yes, I still crave it from time to time, but with each passing day it gets better.

FIVE FOODS I LOVE:

Fruit Parfait This has become my new favorite treat. I’ll take some plain greek yogurt (something I never had prior to September!) and add some fruit, either fresh or frozen. MMMmmmm. I love this stuff and it’s so good for you.

Whole Grain Pasta See above list. I just love this stuff and wish I had tried it a lot sooner in life. I don’t eat near the amount of pasta I used to, but when I do, at least I know I have a healthier option.

BLT I love BLT sandwiches and take one for lunch a lot of days now.

Strawberries My favorite fruit! I eat strawberries as a side dish with dinner a lot of nights…so yummy! I also love foods made with strawberries like strawberry pie (Perkins is the BEST), strawberry muffins, etc.

Mashed Potatoes Oh, how I love thee! I haven’t had any since I started in September. None, at all. Not even for Thanksgiving and Christmas…but I still want them SO bad. Potatoes are truly a weakness of mine. I was telling Lynne the other day that it was nothing for us to get up on a Saturday morning and fry up a whole 10 lb bag of taters. Talk about portion control!

FIVE FOODS I HATE:

Mayo I’m lucky in this regard because I see a lot of dieters struggle with trying to eat less/no mayo. I have always hated the stuff!

Greens Turnip greens, collard greens, etc…YUCK. I may be a southern girl, but not when it comes to greens! blech!

Sour Cream Ew. Just Ew.

Rye Bread Just something about the aftertaste it leaves, I can’t stand it.

Oats I really wished I liked these because I could always use more fiber in my diet and some of the dishes I see made with oats ‘look’ so good. But, something about the texture I just can’t stomach them.

Feel free to join in on the food love/hate fest! It was neat to sorta jog my brain and ponder how my eating habits have changed over the last five months!

I don’t know if I ever mentioned this before, but my mom had the Lap Band surgery a couple years ago. Well, she’s had a lot of complications since then and now her gall bladder has stopped working altogether. So, tomorrow morning she’s having surgery to have her gall bladder removed. Hopefully all goes well. In the past I would have just gone up to the hospital after work, but in light of all the loss this past month (my uncle, Steve’s dad, beej’s uncle, and Karyn’s dad) I don’t want to take any chances, so I’ve taken the day off tomorrow to be with her. If you feel led to pray or send good thoughts, I’d sure appreciate it on her behalf.

In other news, if all goes well with her tomorrow, I will be doing something very exciting with my family tomorrow evening. Stay tuned for more details!

71.5 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(2) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I was scanning some old photos tonight and came across a couple gems I wanted to share, I hope you don’t mind.

As you can see, my love of pasta began at a very early age!

Of course there was also this picture:

Yes, that’s me sitting on my dad’s weight bench (those are my sisters standing on either side of me). Seeing this picture tonight sparked something in me. I’d really like to start doing some strength training soon. Maybe the next picture you see of me on a weight bench, I will actually be using the weights.

I just wanted to share those pictures because I think each one depicts something relevant to my weight loss…one is a reflection of my past habits and the other a reflection of my future habits (hopefully).

Today was awesome. I met up with Lynne and we both got a great workout on the treadmill. Having her there really motivated me and made me push myself harder than I ever have before. I reached two milestones today…I ran a whole half mile before having to stop to walk AND I completed a mile in under 14 minutes. (13:39 to be exact) Thank you SO much Lynne for being such a source of inspiration!

While in the car, Lynne and I were talking about our journeys and how we’re trying to inspire our children to live healthier. She brought up this article about a guy who’s doing the same, by allowing his son to run with him, he’s teaching his son that running is ‘normal’. I LOVE that concept and that’s a lot of what I’m trying to accomplish here too. I grew up on good ole’ southern fried food and surrounded by overweight family members. Seriously, just about everyone in my family has weight issues. THAT was my normal. So, here I am now trying to break that cycle of obesity that has plagued my family, if not for me, then for my children. Introducing them to new healthy foods and trying to encourage them to be more active. Madelyn really enjoyed doing the 5k with me. Marisa is in P.E. in school and is really liking it. This is what I’m trying to foster in them…to teach them that being active is normal. Eating healthy is normal. Being fit is normal.

69.85 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(2) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Image by Pippa!

Time again for another Perfect 10 Update. I can’t believe there are only two weeks left to this challenge! Wow, time sure does fly. Here were my Perfect 10 Goals and how I faired on each of them this week:

• Walk 100 miles over the course of the 10 weeks. This will help keep me on track to reach 500 for the year.

I walked and/or jogged 6.5 miles this week bringing my total for the year to 66.85 miles.

This means I need to walk another 33 miles over the next two weeks since I let myself get a little behind. I can do this.

• Continue the C25K program, doing it at least 3 days per week until completed.

I am happy to report that I am now working on
Week 3, day 1.

I’m very thrilled with the progress I’ve made in this. Getting below a 16 minute mile, and then 15 was a major accomplishment for me and now it’s become a real game for me to do a quicker mile each time I try. The night before last I completed a mile in just over 14 minutes. I’m amazed at how quickly my endurance has improved in such a short time since I’ve started jogging.

• Start riding my bike. No time or distance restraints for this. This one is purely just to get over my fear and DO it…at least once and I’ll be happy

Success! See this post.

• Not drink ANY soda. This is also a goal for the year.

So far so good! It’s been 151 days since I’ve had ANY soda.

• Participate in (3) 5k races. This will help keep me on track to do 12 for the year.

I did the Calusa Bug Chase 5K and the Walk for Wishes already.

I need to do one more. I was planning on doing the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure, but can’t because my daughter will be in another parade that day. (I’m sad I have to wait another year to participate, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles ) So, I signed up for the Hope, Love, and Faith 5K for MS, which will take place on March 6. Technically, that’s one day after the Perfect 10 challenge ends, but close enough for me!

• Start a garden.

I still haven’t started yet, but I do have a plan!
I really, really need to get this started…SOON.

• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, but preferably 10:00.

3 out of 5 nights.

• Sign up for Karate (or another martial art if Karate isn’t available)

I had to put this on hold for a little while due to finances and time restraints.

• Go to the gym at least 3 times per week.

I only went once this week, not for lack of motivation, but just had an incredibly busy week with lots of stuff scheduled.

• Stay within my budget every month (using YNAB) This is a yearly goal as well.

I am doing very well here.

• Read the Bible each day using this plan. Another yearly goal.

I’m still am behind, but slowly catching up.

The other part of this challenge is to post something that others may not have known about me. I was once on the Sally Jesse Raphael show. Crazy, huh? It was for family drama I’d rather not go into. I was 18 at the time and it was my first and only time ever to New York. We were so rushed though that we didn’t get to sightsee at all, so going back to NYC and experiencing all it has to offer has always been a dream of mine (and of course, without the family drama )

Those of you on my facebook may have seen this last night, but I was/am super stoked, so it bears repeating here. Lookie what I can do now!

66.85 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(2) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Image by Pippa!

It’s time again for another Perfect 10 Update! Here were my Perfect 10 Goals and how I faired on each of them this week:

• Walk 100 miles over the course of the 10 weeks. This will help keep me on track to reach 500 for the year. I walked and/or jogged 13.25 miles this week. This brings my total for the year to 54.85 miles.

I am on right on target. I’ll be walking 3 miles with Lynne tomorrow and another 4 on Sunday for the parade my daughter’s in.

• Continue the C25K program, doing it at least 3 days per week until completed.Success – and I have finally completed Day 1. I’ve been working on this for a while and could never actually complete it the way it’s written. I successfully did Day 1 on Wednesday, so now I’m working on doing day 2.
• Start riding my bike. No time or distance restraints for this. This one is purely just to get over my fear and DO it…at least once and I’ll be happy. Success – See this post.
• Not drink ANY soda. This is also a goal for the year. So far so good! It’s been 137 days since I’ve had ANY soda.
• Participate in (3) 5k races. This will help keep me on track to do 12 for the year. I did the Calusa Bug Chase 5K and the Walk for Wishes. Need to do one more. I was planning on doing the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure, but can’t because my daughter will be in another parade that day. So, I need to find a third.
• Start a garden. Still haven’t started yet, but I do havea plan!
• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, but preferably 10:00. 4 out of 5 nights!
• Sign up for Karate (or another martial art if Karate isn’t available) Had to put this on hold for a little while due to finances and time restraints.
• Go to the gym at least 3 times per week.Success! I went 5 times this week.
• Stay within my budget every month (using YNAB) This is a yearly goal as well. Doing well here.
• Read the Bible each day using this plan. Another yearly goal. I’m still am behind, but slowly catching up.

I also wanted to mention that I beat my fastest time again. The other night I posted the picture from the treadmill that I did a mile in 16:25, remember? Well, I went back the next night and did a mile in 15:15. This was also the night that I successfully completed day 1 of C25K. I’d walk at 3.2 mph for 90 seconds and then jog/run at 4.5 mph for 90 seconds and kept alternating. I turned it up to 5.0 mph for the last 45 seconds or so and was so incredibly happy when I saw that I had done a mile in 15:15. My great accomplishment of the week!

The other part of this challenge is to post something that others may not have known about me. We moved around A LOT when I was a kid. Up until my junior year of high school I had never went to the same school for an entire year. I think we counted them up one time and I lived in almost 30 different places by the time I was 15. People think I was a Military kid when I tell them this, but I wasn’t. Between us being poor and my step-father being a wanted man for a lot of years, moving was just a way of life for us. This did not bode well for my social life. I got to where I didn’t want to make any friends at all for fear I would just have to say goodbye. I think that’s why I’m so reserved as an adult and have a hard time putting myself out there to make friends.This is probably one of the reasons why the social networking aspect of the internet has been a Godsend for me.

P.S. My home computer crashed, so I apologize for not being able to read and comment on everyone’s blogs. Surfing the net from my phone is great for email and quick tweets and such, but not really for in-depth reading. Hopefully, I’ll be back up and running soon.

54.85 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
13.9 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(2) 5K finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)