I’m really into the idea of setting goals for 2015 in the “one thing a week†format. Hence – my big resolution to read one book a week. But I decided to take the concept one step further and challenge myself to clean one new thing a week in 2015. Most of these weekly projects are small and not very time-consuming. But I hope that by following this list, I’ll end up with a cleaner house throughout the entire year.
So I know it’s January 7 already, but the first task on the list is really simple, so you can catch up! And not every item will apply to every person, so if you don’t have a garage, for example, you could use the garage-centric weeks to organize another junky space in your house or apartment.
Oh, my 2015 Erin Condren life planner arrived over the weekend and I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE A FRESH NEW PAPER PLANNER FOR 2015. I thought about going with another planner, but I just love Erin Condren too much.
Excuse me while I start gleefully filling in all the blank spaces!
Just like I did post-Henry, when I received the doctor’s okay to start exercising, I drove home and immediately went on a run. Too pumped to wait long! WAHOO. I was so excited to get back out there after months and months of not doing anything intense at all (except, you know, delivering a baby).
And the actual running part wasn’t so bad! I want to follow the Couch to 5K plan for a few weeks and then accelerate my training a bit, but for this run, I just wanted to see where I was at. I set out to do my favorite 2.2 mile loop and planned to walk as needed.
Verdict: 2.2 miles in 28:30 minutes. Not too shabby! Loads more running than walking, and I think I could’ve gone even faster, but I made myself a bit nervous towards the end and started to pull back (it would suck to injure myself on my first go!).
At first, I was surprised that after months of doing little more than walking, my cardiovascular strength didn’t seem too tapped. My legs were definitely feeling it – the result of running with an extra 19-odd pounds on me and not doing any strength training for eons. But it wasn’t too terrible. In fact… it felt pretty amazing! I love the freedom of running.
Oh, also – my favorite Pitbull song (here is one reason I love Pitbull) came on at the end of my run. This is one of the best running songs ever! Fireball!
So – there you have it. My first workout of 2015. What was your first workout of the New Year?
By popular demand, I’ve created that motivational private Facebook group mentioned in this post – here’s the link to Get Fit Blog Friends. The idea was originally to have a place for everyone trying for a 5K to track their progress, but I think it would be more fun to open it up to EVERYONE, no matter what your fitness goal. So whether you’re trying for a 5K or doing your 20th marathon or learning to swim or hoping to Zumba your way through 2015… come join us!
I hope it will be a fun place for motivation and encouragement.
Well – let’s see. We concluded our Christmas vacation by spending a few more days in Florida. It was relaxing and peaceful. Wish we could’ve gone to the beach more!
On the way home, we had some car trouble and found ourselves temporarily broken down in a Target parking lot. Henry spilled some cereal and we were immediately swarmed by birds – I freaked out! Lots of birds scaaaare me.
Once (finally!) home, we were greeted by my preferred kind of animal – the fuzzy kind! Ferguson sure missed us (we have a cat sitter).
Don’t you just want to rub his belly? It’s so soft.
We settled back in, and then we immediately got to taking down the Christmas decorations. We bought our tree SUPER early because we were afraid I’d go into labor before we could get a tree – so this one was totally dead by the beginning of January. I’m on the lookout for discounted fake trees; I’m over post-real tree clean-up. Anyone know any awesome sales?
I will be vacuuming up pine needles for the next six months.
Our living room looks very bare now – but I’ll admit that I kind of appreciate the post-tree tidyness. More room for toys to take over every corner… Hah.
Also over the weekend – Claire turned one month old! Can you believe it’s already been a month?! I certainly can’t. She’s starting to do all sorts of cool stuff, like hold up her head and turn her head towards sounds and move her eyes when you move your face. Her hair is also getting even more spikey and adorable, especially after a bath. She’s also gained a lot of weight, no longer fits in newborn-sized clothes, and has graduated to size one diapers! My big girl. <3
Her sleep at night still exhausts me – she’ll do a 1 – 2 hour period of unexplained crying every night, without fail. But I know that could be worse. Breastfeeding is going well; we’re doing a combination of actual breastfeeding and some pumped bottles. It works for me (and her) so I’m happy!
And last – but not least – I’m headed towards my post-partum check-up. I hope I get cleared to run! And that I can find time to run! Hah.
And that means I’m that much closer to my post-partum check-up, where my midwife will hopefully give me the thumbs up to start exercising again. I’ve got no doubt that I’ll be cleared to run, but I always think it’s wise to wait for the official okay.
I’m really looking forward to training for a 5K in 2015. I’m a blog ambassador for the Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon and 5K and will be running the 5K on March 28!
The Savannah Women’s Half Marathon route encapsulates all of Savannah’s history and beauty in 13.1 miles, while including some of Savannah’s most scenic areas. The course starts off by running alongside each of Savannah’s two largest recreational parks, Forsyth Park and Daffin Park. Connected by beautiful tree-lined streets, the route also navigates around 12 of the city’s scenic squares in the Historic District before a picture-perfect finish at the iconic Forsyth Park Fountain.
If you’re interested in doing the Half Marathon or 5K, use code HTPSAV10 to get $10 off your registration! I’ll be doing a fun blogger meet-up over race weekend, and I’d love to meet you. <3 <3
But if you can’t get to Savannah, we can still virtually train together! Let’s call our little support group A 5K for 2015, shall we? (If there’s any interest, maybe I’ll put together a private Facebook group where we an all track our progress? Let me know!). There are 11 weeks until the end of March, which is more than enough time to get 5K ready – whether you plan to walk it (still legit!), walk/run it (also legit!), or run it (go you!).
Here are some of my favorite (FREE!) 5K training plans:
My plan is to start off with the Couch to 5K method and then hopefully accelerate training a bit to include less walking and more speedwork. I’d like my Savannah 5K to be a fast-for-me race, but it just depends on how training goes with two kiddos.
Are you starting from zero? Let me assure you that a 5K is totally attainable, no matter what your current fitness level! It really, really is. Some of the plans above only require three days of walk/running a week – if you can carve 20 – 30 minutes out of your schedule, YOU CAN DO IT! And trust me, you will feel an incredible sense of pride when you cross the finish line (whether a real one or a pretend one – you don’t have to sign up for an actual race, although I recommend it because it creates a deadline). Your first 5K is an awesome experience – give it a shot!
Are you building your fitness back up, like me? I get it – it can be discouraging to be starting all over again, whether it’s because of an injury, pregnancy, life circumstances, or you just simply fell off the wagon. But here’s an idea – instead of thinking negatively about how much work you have to do again {groan}, remind yourself how great it felt to hit those goals the first time around. It will feel just as awesome the second time {yay!}. That’s how I’m looking at things; I’m really excited to get back to working out, even though I know I’m going to feel winded and rundown covering distances that I used to consider a warm-up. I can’t wait to prove to myself that I can do it again – and have a lot of fun at the same time!
I had so much fun tallying up the votes for the Sweet Santa and Scary Santa 2014. Here are the winners!
Natalie won the Sweet Santa category.
And Ashton won the Scary Santa category. Hah!
Thanks to everyone who entered and voted. As always – it was super fun! Can’t wait to do it again next year.
Up next…
Organized My House: This was one of my original resolutions for 2014, but I didn’t really get down to it until the last few months of the year. Mostly, this goal was about decluttering closets and the attic. I was ruthless about tossing and donating stuff that I no longer wanted. My advice? If you’re struggling to get rid of something, put it in a box in your garage for a month and see if you “miss it†– odds are that you’ll get used to the idea and be willing to toss/donate it without emotion when the four weeks are up.
Cleaned Out My Inbox: I had great success with the website Unroll.Me, which unsubscribes you from e-mail lists automatically. I also try to unsubscribe from junk emails instead of just deleting them.
Started Saying No: Before I had kids, I almost always said yes. Yes, I’ll take on that extra assignment. Yes, I’d love to go out! Yes, I’ll help you with that project. But I’ve learned that, especially now, I have to say no – or I drive myself crazy and fall short at meeting my priorities. I actually said no to a freelance job a few weeks ago – probably the first time I’ve ever turned down a writing opportunities. Over the last few years, I’ve learned that not being wild-crazy-nuts-busy is actually not a bad thing… not a bad thing at all.
Detached Myself from My Phone: I really wanted to unplug and live real life a little more – here’s how I did it.
Budgeted Smarter: Our goal was to save more money so we could travel more. I tried to follow an actual budget but just can’t keep up with it. However, we did a pretty good job of saving (among other things, we grocery shopped smarter and really cut down on eating out), so we got to go to the beach and to Disney without guilt!
Took Better Care of My Skin: I used the night cream and mask featured in this post daily/weekly, and it made a huge difference in my skin! My face is so moisturized now and never winter-itchy (I hate that).
Stopped Trainwreck Reading on Facebook: You know what I mean – the ‘friends’ who post inflammatory articles, passive-aggressive digs, inappropriate jokes, TMI posts, and drama-packed vague updates. It can be fun/amusing to read, but more often than not, I found myself getting annoyed or upset every time I opened Facebook. So I started to do a lot of ‘unfollowing,’ and now my Facebook is more enjoyable than ever.
Made an Effort to Parent Better: I’ve been reading How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen and Listen so You Kids Will Talk. It’s been slow going (the book recommends you read a chapter and implement it before moving onto the next one), but it’s truly been life-changing so far. I really cannot recommend this book enough – the tactics have actually improved my communication with everyone in my life, including my husband! But especially with Henry – there are so many ways you shut kids down without every realizing it. I also read NutureShock and 123 Magic, both of which I give two huge thumbs up.
Backed-Up the Back-Up of My Photos: In October, I tripped over my external hard drive cord and broke the USB connection port. All my photos from 2007 onwards were on that hard drive! Luckily, I managed to get it fixed (whew!) but the experience taught me to back-up my back-up. Now I keep two copies of everything (in separate places)!
