I saw this on the Nanowrimo forums and I thought I would make one of my own here, so I have a place to keep it. My BIG, FUN, SCARY List of thing to do. Now, I know it's getting on towards 2014, but I don't want this to be a list of resolutions. I don't want this to be just one more list of things that I will "try" to do, but a list of things I plan on actually doing, things I can set in motion, make plans for, make a goal for and just.. you know.. be awesome at! Nanowrimo is sort of the end of the year for me and the beginning of being motivated. If I can write 50,000 words in one month on one story (and not even finish it, but it is there, in a file, waiting to be opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Day where my Writing Monster can cry out "Free at Last" since I have put her away for 6 weeks to let my writing ideas simmer and see what comes to fruition), I can do just about anything I really set my mind to, as long as I break it into smaller chunks.
See, that's the nice thing about Nanowrimo. I took it day by day. I didn't look at 50,000 words and have a panic attack. I looked at 1667 words a day for 30 days. So I can't look at the nearly 200 pounds I have to lose as 200 pounds (and believe me, that's a lot of butter!), I can just take it a pound at a time (probably by not eating pounds of butter).
However, this list, this BFS list, is the beginning of the lists, the start, the "Where do I go from here" of lists that may look BIG and SCARY, but will also, ultimately be FUN too! So, while this list may be a list of BIG things, (though maybe not quite yet a BIG list, I do plan on adding stuff to it), all of these can be broken into smaller, achievable, day by day every day I try this and it works for me goal list. A list of "I can do it" not.. "I want to do it!"
So, here's my list (in no particular order)
1. Finish my pink and brown quilt that I've been working on since before my divorce.
2. Track my calories and exercise daily.
3. Exercise daily.
4. Record weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and exercise in a chart so I can see my progress.
5. Write an outline for each of the three (so far) books that are in my San Francisco Friends novels.
6. Rewrite/Edit one novel into a publishable draft by August.
7. Work hard and be an awesome teacher!
8. Help my district and my school transition to Common Core Standards and be a great on-campus leader!
9. Help my adorable, loving, wonderful husband get through the next year of college!
10. Complete the next 12 weeks cycle of Julia Cameron's 'The Artist's Way'.
11. Meditate every day.
So, those are things I can do! Let's get crackin'!
Love and Lollipops,
ToryLynn
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Episode 77: 60 days
60 days ago, AM challenged me to a walking challenge. Today, I have completed the challenge. Because I messed up my knee (something about bursitis), my doctor recommended that I walk for 20 minutes a day, as just light exercise to get the knee going and work out some of the muscles. AM said that if we created a routine, a daily regime of walking, I could buy myself one small fitness item that will help me continue to get healthier. That item is a FitBit.
I have been trying to track my steps, exercise and diet on my phone, but I am beginning to find that it drains my battery pretty quickly and it's not really all that constant. I have to have the phone with me, it can't be on the charger, if I want to track the steps that I take. While they have apps for it, there are no really good apps to track your sleep patterns and sleep quality. The Fitbit promises to do all that. It's a gadgety thing that goes in a wristband that you keep on you at all times and tracks everything you do and then syncs wirelessly to your phone or computer or whatever to help you track. And I get this neat little gadget probably tomorrow (if I can find money in my budget for it) because I kept a goal and I stuck to it for 60 days.
They say that it takes 27 times of doing something in the same way to create a habit. 60 seems excessive, but it works for me. I feel wrong if I don't do my walking every night now. In the last 60 days, I have walked. Sometimes I walked during the morning, sometimes I walked in the evenings. Sometimes, after coming home from gaming or a movie or just hanging out with our friends, we have walked past midnight. The track that we take is simply around our apartment complex, two laps, which equals roughly between 2/5 and 1/2 a mile. I didn't always walk in the apartment complex. Sometimes on rainy days I would walk the same approximate distance twice around the grocery store from the produce section to the bakery section and back. Most of my random zombie walks down to the market and back counted for my walk for the day. Some days I exceeded my half mile by a lot, and sometimes I barely made it, either because of injury or illness (when you can't breathe for coughing, it may not be the best time to walk). But I made it.
I finished my challenge tonight with one last walk past the mostly brightly lit windows around the apartment complex. Inside, families and friends were going about their business, most of them watching television, or gathered in some other fashion. Some were using computers, and some were cooking a late meal. Over the last 60 days, I have gotten to know some of these people. The gentleman in the balcony on the opposite building always smiles and tells us to have a nice evening. A young mother yesterday told us that she felt it was a strange day when she didn't get a chance to say hello to us. Though we don't know names, only faces and location, our walks have helped us get to know our neighbors and our neighborhood better.
My next challenge is not to end the walks, but to continue them and add some more to them. Another lap perhaps, or some weight training that my doctor recommends for weight loss. Perhaps I will do both, but I know that I can create and maintain a habit for 60 days, and I plan on making more plans to become even healthier.
What do you plan to do with the next 60 days?
Love and Lollipops,
ToryLynn
I have been trying to track my steps, exercise and diet on my phone, but I am beginning to find that it drains my battery pretty quickly and it's not really all that constant. I have to have the phone with me, it can't be on the charger, if I want to track the steps that I take. While they have apps for it, there are no really good apps to track your sleep patterns and sleep quality. The Fitbit promises to do all that. It's a gadgety thing that goes in a wristband that you keep on you at all times and tracks everything you do and then syncs wirelessly to your phone or computer or whatever to help you track. And I get this neat little gadget probably tomorrow (if I can find money in my budget for it) because I kept a goal and I stuck to it for 60 days.
They say that it takes 27 times of doing something in the same way to create a habit. 60 seems excessive, but it works for me. I feel wrong if I don't do my walking every night now. In the last 60 days, I have walked. Sometimes I walked during the morning, sometimes I walked in the evenings. Sometimes, after coming home from gaming or a movie or just hanging out with our friends, we have walked past midnight. The track that we take is simply around our apartment complex, two laps, which equals roughly between 2/5 and 1/2 a mile. I didn't always walk in the apartment complex. Sometimes on rainy days I would walk the same approximate distance twice around the grocery store from the produce section to the bakery section and back. Most of my random zombie walks down to the market and back counted for my walk for the day. Some days I exceeded my half mile by a lot, and sometimes I barely made it, either because of injury or illness (when you can't breathe for coughing, it may not be the best time to walk). But I made it.
I finished my challenge tonight with one last walk past the mostly brightly lit windows around the apartment complex. Inside, families and friends were going about their business, most of them watching television, or gathered in some other fashion. Some were using computers, and some were cooking a late meal. Over the last 60 days, I have gotten to know some of these people. The gentleman in the balcony on the opposite building always smiles and tells us to have a nice evening. A young mother yesterday told us that she felt it was a strange day when she didn't get a chance to say hello to us. Though we don't know names, only faces and location, our walks have helped us get to know our neighbors and our neighborhood better.
My next challenge is not to end the walks, but to continue them and add some more to them. Another lap perhaps, or some weight training that my doctor recommends for weight loss. Perhaps I will do both, but I know that I can create and maintain a habit for 60 days, and I plan on making more plans to become even healthier.
What do you plan to do with the next 60 days?
Love and Lollipops,
ToryLynn
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Episode 70: Whole
Wow.. new blog window. Kind of looks like Google Docs! Cool!
I went to the grocery store today to pick up some stuff that we needed around the house. Some of those essential things that seem to be on everybody's weekly shopping list. Today I bought: a half gallon of milk, a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread.
A couple of years ago, that would have been just those things. The half gallon of milk would have probably been 2%, the bread would have been cheap white bread and the eggs would be the store brand. Today, those purchases were very different. I bought whole milk, cage free eggs and multigrain whole wheat bread. Not to presume what you are thinking, dear reader, but I know that many people would say "Wait a minute! That milk is bad for you! It's got all sorts of fat in it and you should drink something with less fat. It's better for you!" This may be true, but.. let me justify myself a bit.
I believe in whole foods. If I could find and drink raw milk and cream, I would, but pasteurized is good enough, since it is just a process that heats and cools the milk, killing bacteria, so it doesn't kill you. Other than process, and skimming off the milk fats to make butter (which I also buy in whole fat variety), that's about all the processing I would really like to see my foods go through. If I could live on a farm where I could make sure that my chickens are well treated and well fed and their eggs are healthy, I would, but the eggs I buy are certified by the American Humane society, which is good enough for me. When I have time and the inclination, I make my own breads, so that I know that it is whole wheat flour that goes into it, and I know I'm not using artificial chemicals to make that bread last longer in my bread box. Sure, it's not sliced to perfect uniformity, but I feel better knowing what goes into my bread won't kill me or make me even sicker.
We live in an age where everything is highly processed. We drink and eat things with high fructose corn syrup, where the sugars have been pulled out of corn, melted down, made into syrup and added back into things that have sugar in them. Much of our food has chemicals that are nearly impossible to pronounce added to them. Much of our food comes from a plant where workers and machines process whole foods into something that doesn't even look like food anymore and then add dyes and chemicals so that it looks like food again and is something that we will bring to our table and share with our family.
If I have children, I want to be able to raise them to make healthy choices and eat real food, food like it used to taste in the time of my grandmother and my great grandmother. I want them to choose foods that are good for them. I buy whole milk. I buy fresh, cage free eggs. These are the choices that I make for myself and my family.
I've been making these choices for myself for over a year now. Though I haven't lost a lot of weight (mostly because of my sloth-like lifestyle and lack of willpower, which I will get to in a future post), there have been a lot of changes because of these choices. My skin is healthier and clear where I used to get tons of acne. My perpetual battle with cold sores has become nearly non-existent. My cheeks are rosier and I recently went into my hairdresser, who I visited a year ago, and she was amazed at how fast my hair grows and how much healthier, thicker and fuller it was. My energy levels are increasing, I can do a lot more for myself. I am empowered... I am healthier, I am happier and I feel like I am becoming whole again.
I went to the grocery store today to pick up some stuff that we needed around the house. Some of those essential things that seem to be on everybody's weekly shopping list. Today I bought: a half gallon of milk, a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread.
A couple of years ago, that would have been just those things. The half gallon of milk would have probably been 2%, the bread would have been cheap white bread and the eggs would be the store brand. Today, those purchases were very different. I bought whole milk, cage free eggs and multigrain whole wheat bread. Not to presume what you are thinking, dear reader, but I know that many people would say "Wait a minute! That milk is bad for you! It's got all sorts of fat in it and you should drink something with less fat. It's better for you!" This may be true, but.. let me justify myself a bit.
I believe in whole foods. If I could find and drink raw milk and cream, I would, but pasteurized is good enough, since it is just a process that heats and cools the milk, killing bacteria, so it doesn't kill you. Other than process, and skimming off the milk fats to make butter (which I also buy in whole fat variety), that's about all the processing I would really like to see my foods go through. If I could live on a farm where I could make sure that my chickens are well treated and well fed and their eggs are healthy, I would, but the eggs I buy are certified by the American Humane society, which is good enough for me. When I have time and the inclination, I make my own breads, so that I know that it is whole wheat flour that goes into it, and I know I'm not using artificial chemicals to make that bread last longer in my bread box. Sure, it's not sliced to perfect uniformity, but I feel better knowing what goes into my bread won't kill me or make me even sicker.
We live in an age where everything is highly processed. We drink and eat things with high fructose corn syrup, where the sugars have been pulled out of corn, melted down, made into syrup and added back into things that have sugar in them. Much of our food has chemicals that are nearly impossible to pronounce added to them. Much of our food comes from a plant where workers and machines process whole foods into something that doesn't even look like food anymore and then add dyes and chemicals so that it looks like food again and is something that we will bring to our table and share with our family.
If I have children, I want to be able to raise them to make healthy choices and eat real food, food like it used to taste in the time of my grandmother and my great grandmother. I want them to choose foods that are good for them. I buy whole milk. I buy fresh, cage free eggs. These are the choices that I make for myself and my family.
I've been making these choices for myself for over a year now. Though I haven't lost a lot of weight (mostly because of my sloth-like lifestyle and lack of willpower, which I will get to in a future post), there have been a lot of changes because of these choices. My skin is healthier and clear where I used to get tons of acne. My perpetual battle with cold sores has become nearly non-existent. My cheeks are rosier and I recently went into my hairdresser, who I visited a year ago, and she was amazed at how fast my hair grows and how much healthier, thicker and fuller it was. My energy levels are increasing, I can do a lot more for myself. I am empowered... I am healthier, I am happier and I feel like I am becoming whole again.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Episode 65: Perceived Energy vs. Actual Energy
I just spent three days on a whirlwind tour of the East Coast. What I could see of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York it is a beautiful place full of wonderful people, wonderful conversation and wonderful food. And the great thing was the food wasn't the focus. I didn't come here to eat, I came her to see people and see things. I found all to my satisfaction.
But Oh My Invisible Purple Unicorn!!! I am SOOOOOOOOO sore. My entire body is literally aching and sore right now and I have the beginnings of an awful headache. (Which will shortly be cut off by some of the best medication for headaches! Advil!!!--hey... I wouldn't mind an endorsement!) However, it brings to mind an interesting point that AM pointed out on our travels.
I CAN MOVE!!!
When we're at home, I resist moving. It is nearly impossible to cajole me into an hour long walk, or even to walk to the grocery store. Getting on the Wii takes promises of chocolate and doing the Tai Chi video takes promises of some good red wine. I get snarky and complain that I don't want to, and you can't make me!
I have noticed that, while I'm not actual losing weight lately, I am losing my pain. I used to have to sit on a walk around campus. My back would cramp up, followed by my calves tightening and I would absolutely need a rest. That is beginning to go away though and this year, I started the school year with a nearly non-stop walk around school because I needed to.
Friday, AM and I touristed our way around New York. I walked for countless hours around the Museum of Natural History. I strolled through (and got slightly lost) in Central Park, and we wandered around Times Square and then walked up to Broadway and then walked to Penn Station. Yesterday, I went to a wedding reception and danced for hours!! Today I plan on walking around Philadelphia to learn about the birth of our great nation!
If I was at home, I would have never moved this much! I would never have done this much! I feel amazing (if not incredibly, painfully tired!) because of the high that this vacation gave me. I love it! Which brings me to my topic.
At home, I think that I won't have the energy to move around. I get home, I want to sit in front of the television or sit in front of the computer. I will get up and maybe move to make dinner, but I won't work out, I won't go for walks because I am "too tired" to do anything. I do not want to move. I feel that my energy levels are absolutely drained as soon as I get home from work. This was my Perceived Energy.
But they're not! That is just what I think! This idea that I have a finite amount of energy and that I cannot move is crap! Proven by this weekend, there is so much that I am capable of! I can walk for hours. I can get out and get up and do things! I have the energy in spite of my weight. In fact, with this new found knowledge, I have the power to make myself better. This is my Actual Energy.
And I realized I have more Actual Energy than I have Perceived Energy. I can do a lot of things in my life if I start looking at my Perceived Energy and considering my Actual Energy levels and try to make them match up more often. It may make me feel more exhausted, but eventually, my Perceived Energy will increase because I will learn that I can do that much more. And as my Perceived Energy goes up and I begin to lose weight, my Actual Energy will probably increase as well. So, I've decided once a year (at least) I will come out to the East Coast and test my energy level and find out how much Actual Energy I have gained and adjust my life accordingly.
This should be a fun experiment! So, gentle reader, this is a consideration for you. What is your Actual Energy (the amount of energy you can expend on things that you want to do) and what is your Perceived Energy (what you only think you can do). You may find yourself surprised!
Until next time,
Love and Lollipops,
ToryLynn
But Oh My Invisible Purple Unicorn!!! I am SOOOOOOOOO sore. My entire body is literally aching and sore right now and I have the beginnings of an awful headache. (Which will shortly be cut off by some of the best medication for headaches! Advil!!!--hey... I wouldn't mind an endorsement!) However, it brings to mind an interesting point that AM pointed out on our travels.
I CAN MOVE!!!
When we're at home, I resist moving. It is nearly impossible to cajole me into an hour long walk, or even to walk to the grocery store. Getting on the Wii takes promises of chocolate and doing the Tai Chi video takes promises of some good red wine. I get snarky and complain that I don't want to, and you can't make me!
I have noticed that, while I'm not actual losing weight lately, I am losing my pain. I used to have to sit on a walk around campus. My back would cramp up, followed by my calves tightening and I would absolutely need a rest. That is beginning to go away though and this year, I started the school year with a nearly non-stop walk around school because I needed to.
Friday, AM and I touristed our way around New York. I walked for countless hours around the Museum of Natural History. I strolled through (and got slightly lost) in Central Park, and we wandered around Times Square and then walked up to Broadway and then walked to Penn Station. Yesterday, I went to a wedding reception and danced for hours!! Today I plan on walking around Philadelphia to learn about the birth of our great nation!
If I was at home, I would have never moved this much! I would never have done this much! I feel amazing (if not incredibly, painfully tired!) because of the high that this vacation gave me. I love it! Which brings me to my topic.
At home, I think that I won't have the energy to move around. I get home, I want to sit in front of the television or sit in front of the computer. I will get up and maybe move to make dinner, but I won't work out, I won't go for walks because I am "too tired" to do anything. I do not want to move. I feel that my energy levels are absolutely drained as soon as I get home from work. This was my Perceived Energy.
But they're not! That is just what I think! This idea that I have a finite amount of energy and that I cannot move is crap! Proven by this weekend, there is so much that I am capable of! I can walk for hours. I can get out and get up and do things! I have the energy in spite of my weight. In fact, with this new found knowledge, I have the power to make myself better. This is my Actual Energy.
And I realized I have more Actual Energy than I have Perceived Energy. I can do a lot of things in my life if I start looking at my Perceived Energy and considering my Actual Energy levels and try to make them match up more often. It may make me feel more exhausted, but eventually, my Perceived Energy will increase because I will learn that I can do that much more. And as my Perceived Energy goes up and I begin to lose weight, my Actual Energy will probably increase as well. So, I've decided once a year (at least) I will come out to the East Coast and test my energy level and find out how much Actual Energy I have gained and adjust my life accordingly.
This should be a fun experiment! So, gentle reader, this is a consideration for you. What is your Actual Energy (the amount of energy you can expend on things that you want to do) and what is your Perceived Energy (what you only think you can do). You may find yourself surprised!
Until next time,
Love and Lollipops,
ToryLynn
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Episode 12: Energy
Continuing on the same strain as I was writing on yesterday, I was thinking about the childish energy of those tricycling children. To be able to ride away with the abandon that I watched yesterday, without thought of being hurt and not a care in the world would be so exhilarating. As I watched them ride, grins of unaware joy on their faces, I wished that I too could be young again, start off life with such enjoyable potential and have that much energy!
Energy is a problem for me. It comes and goes, but most of the time, because of my weight, because of my hobbies and habits, I am usually on the low end of the energy spectrum. My favorite past times include playing computer games and reading books. I don't walk, or do much of anything physical. My Nintendo Wii goes woefully ignored, though I could spend much time on it exercising.
I know that the equation is often, at least for physical activity, expend energy in exercise and more energy is created. The more you move, the more you can move and the more you will move. My body, however, does not believe in that equation. My body feels that it must store all of the energy that it can and burn it in reading or writing or enjoying the company of others in various virtual realities.
I have tried many ways to increase my activity, and thus, my energy. I have tried Wii Fit. I have tried Dance Dance Revolution. I have tried Tai Chi. None of these seem to fit very well. To be honest, the only physical activity that seems to rejuvenate my energy levels is swimming. To feel my body wrapped in water, weightless to the world, and move my limbs through the low resistance exercise makes me feel like one of those children on the tricycles. It brings a smile to my face, a warm flowing feeling to my muscles, and I feel satisfied.
Unfortunately, my pool is often full of other tenants of my apartment complex, or it is just too cold outside to go swimming.
I need a new way to find energy through exercise. I know I will find one with time, but I also know that I need to start getting up and moving. It is imperative.
Energy is a problem for me. It comes and goes, but most of the time, because of my weight, because of my hobbies and habits, I am usually on the low end of the energy spectrum. My favorite past times include playing computer games and reading books. I don't walk, or do much of anything physical. My Nintendo Wii goes woefully ignored, though I could spend much time on it exercising.
I know that the equation is often, at least for physical activity, expend energy in exercise and more energy is created. The more you move, the more you can move and the more you will move. My body, however, does not believe in that equation. My body feels that it must store all of the energy that it can and burn it in reading or writing or enjoying the company of others in various virtual realities.
I have tried many ways to increase my activity, and thus, my energy. I have tried Wii Fit. I have tried Dance Dance Revolution. I have tried Tai Chi. None of these seem to fit very well. To be honest, the only physical activity that seems to rejuvenate my energy levels is swimming. To feel my body wrapped in water, weightless to the world, and move my limbs through the low resistance exercise makes me feel like one of those children on the tricycles. It brings a smile to my face, a warm flowing feeling to my muscles, and I feel satisfied.
Unfortunately, my pool is often full of other tenants of my apartment complex, or it is just too cold outside to go swimming.
I need a new way to find energy through exercise. I know I will find one with time, but I also know that I need to start getting up and moving. It is imperative.
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