Carrying On in 2013

Realizing that this title could have two (or maybe several…) different meanings, I suppose some clarification is required.  The carrying on of one type happened New Year’s Eve, if you can call visiting friends at 8pm and being home by 10pm carrying on, then yes, we did!

I’m talking about the good kind of Carrying On.  I have been extremely happy with how things have been going toward the end of 2012. My plan for 2012 was ambitious, I accomplished some, and some not quite yet.

Here’s 2013- In part:

1.  Christmas Spirit– Didn’t even know I could still muster it up.  Happy that I could.  This may not seem that important, but it is.  It made a big difference for both Ralph and Me.

2.  Focused and on Track with my Weight Watchers Efforts-I don’t know where that focus came from but I hope it decided to live with me for a while.  I plan to keep working at it and get to my personal goal.  Two pounds to go, I know I can handle it.  Then I need to Stay there.  That’s the plan.

3. Reading-Who ever would have guessed, least of all Me that I would end 2012 with 84 books read? I’m pretty excited about my reading plan for 2013 and we’ll see how I do.

4. Daily Journaling-It didn’t happen daily and it didn’t get started until later in the year, but now I’m journaling at least a few days a week.  I’ll work on improving that.

5. Exercise-I’ve kept up with my exercise bike on an almost daily basis…it’s really just an excuse to read, but I’ll take what I can get! And I’ll try to keep it up.

6. Getting out of New Jersey– Not quite there yet.  We did get the chance to spend almost a month in New Mexico during August and that was incredible.

7. Getting reading to get out of New Jersey-There is still much work to be done, but I have a plan and I’m sticking to it.  We WILL get to New Mexico.  Nothing can stop us now!

8. Gratitude Jar– Such a simple concept, but I love the idea.  As I mentioned in Sunday’s post, I have my big old Mason Jar and each day (that’s my plan) I’m going to write down one thing for which I am thankful.  I think it’s a good idea and I’ve had comments from several people who like the idea and plan to join in.

The beginning of a new year is always just a little scary.  What will it bring?  Will it be good or will it be bad?  I think it’s all in the attitude with which we approach it.

A New Day is Dawning…

 

Let’s make the most of it!

Happy New Year!!! It’s going to be a Great One!!

Famous Faces and Facing Up

To start, Ralph and I had the chance to spend most of Friday with his wonderful Sister, Maddie and her terrific husband, George.  We always say when we go to the family lunches that we just don’t have the time to spend with them.  We corrected that on Friday.  We got to their house at about 1pm and didn’t leave until almost 8pm.  It was great!  They took us out to lunch and then back to their house for coffee and dessert.

 

I think this is a great photo!  We had such a good time and hope to do it again soon.

Because of that lunch out…eating a little more than I would ordinarily on a Friday, when I got to Weight Watchers Saturday morning, I had gained a half pound.  It didn’t bother me very much because of Friday’s lunch out and because I’m just feeling very strong at the moment when it comes to Weight Watchers.  It’s a great feeling.

Another great feeling is having a special guest come to visit at our WW meeting…

 

Surprise!  It’s Santa!  Our leader Marylou and our member John who is one of Santa’s Helpers.  

John is pretty amazing.  Since joining WW he has lost 83 pounds and had to have a new suit made that gives him the bowl full of jelly he no longer has on his own! He such a nice man.

 

He told us the story of his “special” key.  It only works on Christmas Eve and allows Santa to get into any house that doesn’t have a chimney or a fireplace. This Santa’s Helper takes his job very seriously.  He wasn’t able to come to last weeks meeting because…hey, he was a little busy!  We were all happy to see him yesterday!

There were several good deals on Saturday…one of them was this…

I wanted a nice big mug to use that was for winter but not Christmas.  Found these at Big Lots at 50% off…cost me $1.50 each!  I love cardinals, they always remind me of my Mom.

I have a lot of Goal Setting and Wrapping Up to do in the next few days.  I really need to sit myself down and do some serious thinking.  I have seen one thing on several blogs and on Facebook that I would like to do for the New Year.

 

 

 

I really like this idea and will start it on New Year’s Day, maybe even New Year’s Eve.

 

Here’s my jar!  I think it’s too big to be  a quart, it might be a half-gallon, I’m not sure.  But it’s one of the old Ball Mason jars I’ve collected over the years.  I love them and I thought it would be appropriate.  Since it’s so large, it will leave lots of room for gratitude.  😉  I like the idea a lot.

I’m off to have a hopefully productive day.  Lots to do.  The sun is shining brightly and I sure hope it warms up!

Happy Sunday! Use the day well!!

Goaling Continued!

As of July 2, I am still on track…in various ways.  I was up and out at 6:45am again and I even added that extra block on today, so officially that’s 2 miles!  I’m pretty excited.  I took about 35 minutes but as I do it more often, I’m hoping to improve the time.  Yes, I am!!

Got started on Goal number 1 only I started on clothes I have in the bedroom.  I found a batch of things that I’ll be needing for the trip, mostly cool things. I can’t remember, but I don’t think I’ve been to New Mexico this time of year.  I want to be cool if necessary.  It was also productive because I found 2 more pairs of shorts that I can use for my walking.  Still more things to go through, but hey it’s a start!

Got some bills paid and got quite a pile of paperwork sorted, shredded and set for the recycle man tomorrow(Goal number 2.)  Found a gift card I was looking for on my desk.  In the bedroom I found 3 gift cards I didn’t know I had!  Unfortunately none of them are Barnes & Noble, but I’ll survive! 😉

Think I’ll do a quick book review because I forgot about this.  A few weeks ago, I received in the mail a copy of Heading Out To Wonderful by Robert Goolrick.

I won it in a contest on the Algonquin Book Blog. I was of course excited to win. I was glad to have the chance to read a brand new book from an author I wasn’t familiar with.  It was a very interesting story, it pulled me in and I really came to care about the characters.  I must admit, it was one of those things where I wanted to say “why on earth did you do that” several times in the story.  There was also something that is said at the beginning of the book that is never resolved, unless I somehow missed it.  I did like the fact that the narrator is not revealed until the end and I was glad to know who was chosen.  I enjoyed this a lot.  If you have the opportunity, give it a try.

Currently I’m reading Stardust, by Neil Gaiman.

I hear a lot of good things about Gaiman, but I’ve never read him before.  This is enjoyable so far, sort of a fairy tale, which doesn’t bother me.  I like his style of writing and it’s moving along quickly.

So, I’m working at my goals, not just looking at them or talking about them!  Oh, yes…reading was on my January list of goals so it’s ok… 😉

Hopefully I can keep up my momentum.  Wish me luck!

Happy Tuesday!! Oh yes, don’t forget the Ultimate Blog Challenge…Post Number Three!!

Fresh Start 2012

I have never been a fan of the concept of New Year’s Resolutions.  I’ve always thought that they were a waste of time as well as being a hinderance to moving forward in the New Year.  They seem to be something that just look back at us from a piece of paper and mock us.  We always set resolutions for things we don’t have any control over or things that our hearts just aren’t in.  We include them on our list because we think we should…because everyone else has included it or we want to impress someone.

I’ve always been more comfortable with the idea of a goal or an intention.  Weight Watchers teaches the concept of clear, specific, achievable goals.  I’ve been part of Weight Watchers so long, that I look at other goals in the same way. 

Here in no particular order, is my list of goals for the New Year of 2012. 

1. Journal Daily–  This is something that I’ve tried to do every New Year’s Day for as long as I can remember.  It always falls by the wayside.  This time I started it last week.  Attempting to make it Not related to the New Year, may help to make it more an everyday activity.  I will do my best. 

2.  Start writing Morning Pages as described in The Artist’s Way-This is a discipline taught in the book.  It requires you to write 3 pages daily-long hand, not on a computer.  I will be starting this after my return from Florida.  I’m not sure I’d be able to accomplish it while I’m away, so I’ll wait until I get back to New Jersey. Once it becomes a habit, it will be easier to achieve if I’m home or away.

3.  Library Night-One night a week I will go to the library and work.  I had been doing this for a while early in the year, but didn’t stick with it.  As with everything, if you don’t stick with it, you fall out of the habit.  Removed from distractions at home, I was able to write.  No excuses. I will start this.  I may vary the night or decide on a specific night.  We’ll see how this works.  This is also likely to start after my return from Florida.

4. Exercise More– This is really not specific enough.  For a long time I’ve done 30 minutes each morning on my exercise bike.  It’s good exercise, I can’t use the weather as an excuse not to do it and because I do it early, the house is quiet and I can read while I exercise.  The time goes quickly.  I may extend the time, but I do need to get more different types of exercise.  I will work on that.

5.  Read More-It’s funny that when I had less time, I read more.  When I was working, I had pockets of time which I filled with reading.  I found audio books to make the most of a long commute-I miss them.  I had time when I would get into my office before I was allowed to clock in.  I would read.  I need to establish pockets of time now.  Turn Off The TV and READ!  I’m setting a goal of 1 book per month.  If I work hard, I can do better than that and believe me, I’m going to work hard at this.

6.  Work On Making BCDC Better and Better-I have ideas of how to improve the site.  I want to revamp parts of it.  I keep trying to learn how to make it more interesting and user-friendly.  I have enjoyed writing BCDC so much and I truly appreciate all of you who read and comment and follow me.  It is one of the most enjoyable and enlightening things I’ve ever done.

7.  Help Ralph Achieve Something He’s Dreamed of for A Long Time– I can’t explain this in more detail at the moment, but it’s something we will be working to accomplish this year.

8.  Improve As A Photographer-I have always loved photography. I never imagined that I would be doing something that required me to use photography on a daily basis.  I have to get better at it.  I recently gained custody of Ralph’s camera which will allow me to take better pictures than the camera I’ve been using.  I don’t know much about it yet, but today I was able to find a manual for it online (Bless The Internet!)  I’ll be studying that to understand the workings of the camera.  I’m excited about this.

9.  Do All I Can To Clear Out Our Houses-Ralph and I are two people with a lot of STUFF.  In order for us to prepare for our move, we need to go through these things and reduce what we have.  As we move in to spring, I hope to have several yard sales in order to turn this stuff into some cash. 

10.  MOVE TO NEW MEXICO– This is in capital letters because it needs to be.  This is my focus and my goal.  I would like to be there by this time next year.  It can happen if Ralph and I work together.  It is my fondest wish and my biggest goal for 2012.

I’ll discuss these points more as the year progresses.  I feel that they are all achievable goals.  I feel very optimistic about them.  A new year is an exciting thing to have before me.  I hope to make the most of it.

Happy New Year!!

Goals Are Good

I think I’ve made a very wise decision to participate in NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month.  It gives me a goal to work towards.  I’ve talked many times on BCDC about needing to focus.  This will be an additional tool in that effort.

Goals For July 4th Weekend:

In an effort to not bite off more than I can chew, I’ll start small and just work on this upcoming weekend.

1. Spend at least 1 hour each day in sorting and packing.  

Even though I’m not working, the weekends still seem different and are less structured than weekdays.  I will try to get something accomplished in the area of S&P.  I accomplished a lot last week, but then got off track.  Making myself work on it on the weekend will help keep my mind in the game.

2. Stay on track with my eating.

Although I’ve been doing really well with my eating, I’m starting to feel like I’m headed out of control.  With the Holiday weekend here, it could lead to trouble.  I stocked up on fruit and Saturday will be my prep day.  Cutting and chopping.  I do really well with lots of fruit available to snack on.  It keeps me away from other things. 

3.  Get back to meditation.

Meditation really helped me to focus when I was doing my 40 days.  I need to do it again.  I WILL do it again. 

Today is one of those days where I woke up at 2am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I’ve been up since 3am.  This was happening a lot but hasn’t happened in a while.  I find it very frustrating.  I think getting back to my meditation will help this and get me better able to focus on my goals.

Friday started with my blood tests.  Not being able to eat since 8pm Thursday night made me very hungry and Very thirsty.  After exercising, Ralph suggested breakfast which was my go-to breakfast of late, scrambled eggs and sliced tomatoes.

After that I spent most of the day with Gail and Alice doing something that we love to do…”junking.”  I was proud of myself that I did not buy a lot.  I got one real treasure which unfortunately is out in the car so I can’t take a photo at the moment.  I’ll share it tomorrow.

I’ll be off to my Weight Watchers meeting soon.  I feel that I’ve been very good and hope for a good result at weigh-in. 

No photos today, so I searched for one I hadn’t used before.  It’s me with my favorite little guy, little Michael! 

Of course, it was outside a restaurant…Eating is Always Involved!!

Everyone have a Happy Saturday!! 🙂