30 Day Shred Challenge

In this post, I shared with you my intention to do a 30-day challenge to complete Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Syl at Live, Smile, Run intended to host this challenge, but has since changed her focus to reach a weight loss goal. Well, that is not going to stop me. Nope, it is not. Beginning on Monday, November 16 and continuing through and including December 15, I am challenging myself to do the 30 Day Shred each and every day and I'd like you to join me.

So, here's the deal. I know a few of you have expressed interest in participating in this challenge and I'd love it if you did, in fact, share this little challenge with me. This is the deal:

There are three sections of the DVD: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Each section is 20 minutes. Now, if you want to do the challenge, all you need to do is ten days of Level 1, followed by ten days of Level 2, and. lastly, ten days of Level 3. All you are committing to is 20 minutes a day. That's it. I'm not asking you to do more than one level each day (although I know that is how some people do it). Just 20 minutes.

I'm even including one "get out of jail free" card since we've got Thanksgiving in this 30 days. If you feel that you can't exercise on Thanksgiving, use your card and commit to adding 20 minutes extra to another day. You'll still have 30 days worth of 20 minutes and it will all be good.

So, what do you think? Got game?

Join me! We can do this!

Let me make it even easier for you do join this challenge. Instead of committing to doing the DVD with me, you can commit to doing 20 minutes of exercise everyday for 30 days. Just do it...20 minutes a day for 30 days of any exercise at all. Come on...we'll be done before Christmas and maybe, just maybe, we'll keep ourselves from gaining any holiday pounds and start the New Year with resolve rather than regrets!

Leave me a comment or send me an email if you're wanting to join in. Misery loves company!

Resolve

Resolve:
v. 1. To make a firm decision about
2. To find a solution to; solve

n. 1. Firmness of purpose, resolution
2. A determination or decision; a fixed purpose

In this post, I shared with you my realization that I'd been in denial. I pretty much outed myself as a person who hadn't been dealing with myself honestly and was wearing the results on my body in the form of extra pounds and flabby muscles.

Since then, I've been doing a lot of thinking about how we make changes in our lives, the myth of willpower, and the reasons we don't live up to our commitments to ourselves.

I've concluded a few startling things: Changes we don't believe will make a difference or have any bearing on the way we live our lives. The short explanation: We don't really believe it matters in any meaningful way. "No willpower" is what we say when what we really mean is, "I haven't been convinced it matters". The broken vows don't count because we were making commitments about things we didn't believe in.

Think about it for a minute. Roll it around in your head: You don't make the changes you talk about because you don't believe they matter.

Here's an example from my sister (who, I'm certain, will be thrilled to read about her own life here!). My sister has struggled to keep on top of her laundry. Seriously struggled. She and her husband live alone - just the two of them - and she can't keep up on her laundry (or so she tells me). She makes the effort to get into a rhythm but she doesn't really stick to it and soon she's dealing with piles of laundry in various states: dirty, needing to be folded, needing to be put away. Why? Because she really doesn't believe that having her laundry done will make any meaningful difference in her life. Even more shocking? It might not! I don't live with her...I don't know how laundry is affecting her life. Regardless, until she truly believes that doing laundry matters and will positively impact the quality of her life, the laundry-dance will be one she does regularly.

Does that make sense to you? Think of all the things you say you should be doing and how many times you've promised yourself you would start doing them, only to fall out of the habit almost as quickly as you decided to incorporate it into your life.

Remember my failed attempt to have our family go 30 days without Fast Food? Since then, I've continued to educate myself, continued to commit to paying off debt and spending wisely and the Fast Food habit has disappeared--all without willpower or recriminations. Why? Because it became easy: I truly believed it was bad for us and bad for our budgets and so believing, I had no problem just not heading out in the first place.

Willpower doesn't come into play - ever. I find that really fascinating and liberating.

So, back to my post about denial and my need to exercise for fitness reasons and for weight reasons and, finally, so that I'm living what I believe and my children see me walking the walk, not just talking the talk. I'm still exercising daily. Yep, every day. I'm not going overboard and I'm not getting manic about it. I'm just taking care of myself and taking it one day at a time. Why? I believe it is necessary and that belief has led to a feeling of resolve and commitment that is easy to live with. No willpower necessary.

Resolve is the counterpoint to denial, whether it is in spending, housework, exercise, or dietary choices. Resolved is not pressured, fearing failure. Resolved is calm because to be resolved is to know you are doing the right thing, are on the right path, and your commitment is sound. Resolve makes things no longer negotiable. They just are.

Do You See a Problem with This?

Tuna Casserole is on the menu for dinner tonight. Therefore, I need tuna, right? Well, lately I've been really trying to keep the spending down and decided to try the Chicken of the Sea at Costco. I've also been trying the Bumble Bee tuna when I find a good sale. Regardless of the brand, I always buy tuna in water.


I was reading the can on the Chicken of the Sea while I was making the tuna casserole and imagine my surprise when I discovered that they add "vegetable broth which contains soy", "salt", and "pyrophosphate" (which is a preservative). That is gross.


Why do we need vegetable broth and salt in our tuna? And, if we already have salt, why do we need "pyrophosphate"? Is it needed to preserve the vegetable broth?

Of course, after reading this, I ran to the cupboard and grabbed my can of Bumble Bee tuna. Again, packed in water.


This time, however, that is all that was there. Tuna and demineralized water.

Okay, then, Bumble Bee tuna is fine.



What about my beloved Starkist in the pouch? Ack! Say it isn't so! It, too, has "Vegetable Broth, Salt" and a warning that it contains: "Fish and Soybeans."



I was really surprised to discover that there was more than tuna and water in any of these. Call me naive, but since they were all called "tuna in water" I thought that is what they were.

I guess the Nagles are switching to Bumble Bee. It seems to be the only tuna that is only putting water in its tuna "in water" and it is actually the least expensive. Go figure.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday, hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

As part of my effort to stay on top of things and be proactive rather than being reactive, I've done up a menu plan for our dinners this week. Breakfast and lunch aren't an issue for us as the kids and I have simple breakfasts and clean out the fridge for lunch, but dinner can mess up the entire schedule, so for this week, we've only got dinners on the menu. (If I get ambitious or think I need to, I'll start doing lunches, too.) Having said that, Superman takes leftovers for lunch whenever it works out, so I am including that in my planning.

Monday -
Superman's lunch - leftover tuna and bread for tuna sandwiches.
Family Dinner - Tuna Casserole (he says you can never have too much tuna fish - go figure!) with Green Beans and Corn on the side.

Tuesday -
Superman's lunch - leftover tuna casserole (or, if he's finally sick of it, leftover Mexican from our party Saturday night)
Family Dinner - Chicken soup made from chicken stock I froze....we'll be gone in the afternoon, so this crockpot meal will be perfect...filled with vegetables and served with One Hour Bread.

Wednesday -
Must make Friday Delight on Thursday, but I'm not sure what I'm making. I'll know what I'm making by Tuesday night.
Superman's lunch - leftover chicken soup.
Family Dinner - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Green Beans, and Sourdough Bread

Thursday -
Superman's lunch - leftover spaghetti dinner
Chili Dogs (okay, I'd really like to make these Bagel Dogs, but I'm not committing...chili dogs is my fallback!)

Friday -
Superman isn't working this day, so no lunch plan.
Family Dinner - Pizza night! (the cold weather has really finally arrived, so homemade pizza is back on the menu!)

There! A plan! Perfect? No, but doable and in place. This week is all about simplicity and feeling like I have a handle on my life again. This menu is only one little piece, but it is there!

Making Your Home Sing Monday

If you read my post on Saturday, you understand that I've been feeling frayed at the edges these days. Honestly, I think committing to add exercise every single solitary day was the straw that broke this camel's back. However, since I'm unwilling to give up this commitment, I have to get back to basics in other areas of my life. One way I'm doing this is to jump back on the Making Your Home Sing Monday bandwagon. Nan at Momstheword hosts this each week as a reminder to us all that our choices and attitude will determine the mood of our homes for the day and the week. Obviously, I need this these days.

Look, chaos is always at the edge of our lives and it is my firm belief that only through presence, our presence, that we can keep it at bay and keep our homes tranquil. I shoot for tranquil every day and some days are far better than others. When chaos is seeming to reign, however, and I find myself reacting instead of being proactive, I know it is "time to clean my room". What does this mean? It was something my mom used to help me learn that I was in control of my life. Whenever things would be feeling crazy and out of control, my mom would tell me, "go clean your room, you'll feel better". Of course, I'd grumble and moan and complain, but I'd do it and, darn it, she was right. I always felt better. No, I didn't save my parent's marriage and I didn't get that 16 year old boy to fall in love with me immediately, nor did I get perfect skin and a flat stomach, but I felt more able to cope with my reality when my environment was in order. It is just that simple. So fast forward 30 years and I'm still using this lesson: When life feels like it is coming at your from too many directions, "clean your room".

Reacting doesn't help me live my priorities with any integrity. Reacting gives me built in excuses as to why things I say matter don't get done. I have to be proactive to make sure that I'm living my priorities rather than just paying lip service to them. If I treat my jobs as "oh, yeah, I meant to get to that" kinds of things, how can I expect my children to treat their jobs as important, as priorities?

What does "clean my room" mean these days? Well, here it is 8:30 on Sunday evening and I'm not scrambling to get the kids' syllabus for the week done. It is already done and printed. I'm not going to fly by the seat of my pants for our dinners this week, either, because our menu plan is done. Finally, I'm not going to feel badly about posting in the evenings because I'll be posting early in the game rather than late. Monday chore day? I've gotten a head start and my sheets are changed and already washed and dried and waiting patiently for me to fold them this evening. Valiant's book for the Adolescent Literature Seminar? Already on order at the library; so we'll get that within a day or so, giving him more than a week to read Grapes of Wrath.

So, for this week, we're planning ahead so that next Saturday, I won't be pulling my hair out and holding on for Sunday. We're living our priorities, meeting our commitments and making no excuses. This week our house will be singing Loverboy's Everybody's Working for the Weekend because we're going to be dialed in and on task. (Hey, what can I say? The 80s were my teenage and young adult years!)

So, head over to Momstheword to see what everyone else is doing as we all join in on Making Your Home Sing Monday.

Food For Thought

The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.

--Sven Goran Eriksson

I saw this quote over at Training For Life It spoke to me...

Overwhelmed Much?

I am feeling the pressure these days and some cracks are starting to show. Let me tell you about my week.

Sunday evening I received a reminder email regarding Valiant's Adolescent Literature Seminar. "Oh, no!," I thought, "I haven't gotten the book yet and he needs to have it read by Tuesday at 6:00 p.m." A quick search of the library database revealed that no copies of the book were currently available. (Have I mentioned I love our county libraries? They are amazing!) I have a Border's gift card from my birthday, but was really trying not to use it in this manner. I called my bibliophile friend, A, who has 3000+ books at her house. "A, do you have a copy of the The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald? Valiant needs it for the seminar on Tuesday?" A search of her database revealed that she didn't. She did, however, tell me about www.planetebook.com where I might find it and if I did I could print the book for free because the copyright had expired. Score! The copyright in Australia had expired and I printed the book out that evening (running out of paper and having to figure out how to print on the backside and then messing up the order of the pages for Valiant…not a smooth operation by any means, but Valiant had the book).

Monday morning I wake up with a killer bladder infection – enough said. Still have to work-out because I've made a commitment to myself, but I must wait until the pyridium takes effect so I'm not doubled over in pain. Fun times. Did I mention that Buttercup woke up sick, too? Yep, she now has a cold.

Tuesday…the day of the adolescent literature seminar. Push Valiant to read, read, read because he loves the group and we've missed one meeting because of the flu (he missed the discussion of All Quiet on the Western Front, darn it!). Not a problem because Valiant is enjoying the book. Superman comes home from work and takes Valiant. Valiant finishes the last 20 pages in the car, gets carsick enough that he pukes in the library restroom before heading into the meeting room to join the discussion! Success? Um, no. Turns out we were so out of it being sick that we've actually missed two seminar meetings and he was supposed to have read Of Mice and Men…The Great Gatsby was two weeks ago!! Fortunately, the boy knows how hard I tried and forgives me for making him sick. Unfortunately, one of his friends hands him the book and says he can take it with him and the moderator chimes in with, "Great, have it done by 3:00 P.M. tomorrow and we'll have a meeting at Museum Day." Inwardly, Valiant groans and outwardly he smiles and says, "I'll be there." Watched The Biggest Loser because I need it! (Glad Tracy went home…she's weird…still don't like Liz, though…hmmmm.)

Wednesday – no school for Valiant. Just do chores and read the book for Museum Day. Car issues – I take Superman to the bus, come home and get started. While I'm working out my friend Mrs. M calls – her baby is due on the 20^th and she's been in school full-time, so we haven't chatted. (Remember, I went to her baby shower a few weeks ago.) As soon as we hung up, I realized that I forgot to ask where she bought the gorgeous wreath she gifted to me last year – I want to buy one this year if we can. Buttercup has a difficult morning and we struggle to get out the door by 2:15, but Valiant read the book (hated it, duh) and we're going to the museum even if it kills us all. We leave the museum at 4:25 to go one mile down the road to pick up Superman and are late because I hit every single red light in downtown. We stop at Costco on the way home, groceries and dinner at the food court (gross, but fast, what can I say?). Then hurry home to get the food put away and Valiant changed. Did I mention he's a Boy Scout these days? Fortunately, we trade off driving and another family takes him this week. After he leaves, I sit down to grade Valiant's math test and I catch it on fire. How is that for distracted? Seriously, I flipped the page and set the darned thing on a candle that was burning on my desk! So, I threw the paper in the trash can and poured my iced tea on the burning test. The second page remains legible and I remember the only one he got wrong on the first page, so I give him back a scorched half page and note the other one he needs to study. The jokes begin: "Sorry, Teacher, my mom burned my homework."

Thursday – I get up at 7:00 A.M. and make a batch of Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies for Superman because I forgot to make Friday Delight on Thursday for his team. Done by 8:30 when he leaves – phew! Buttercup crosses the line big time and gets grounded to her room for the day. Enough said. Valiant has a terrific day and I'm finally feeling like myself again. We are watching Minority Report while we exercise and I realize again it is a good movie (but weird). The house gets relatively cleaned up and I'm excited because my friend and her three kids are coming for brunch Friday morning.

Friday – Superman's paycheck is $350+ short. Ugh…since we're living the Dave Ramsey way these days (give every dollar a home), I'll have to evict $350+ from their designated homes so we can put gas in the cars and feed the children. No debt reduction this paycheck. My friend K arrives with her three children at 9:30 AM and it was wonderful to see her. I served French Toast and Scrambled Eggs (hey, kids don't eat fancy stuff) and made a batch of one hour bread so she can take one with her (she was at a quilting retreat and just got home the previous evening and I know she hasn't had time to cook anything before heading up my way for her schooling commitments). I've not seen her in six months and so much has changed for her family in that time; the biggest being the switch from traditional schooling to homeschooling, but its more than that. Her baby is walking and is babbling. Her boys are calmer and happier. She's struggling with all the new homeschooling issues, but seems so fulfilled. She says her husband likes the changes he sees in the kids and their home life since they started homeschooling. She shows me the amazing quilt she made for her brother and shares with me the realization that being a homeschooling mom means she struggles to find time to do crafty/homemaking things. Um, yeah, I know. By noon, they've gone and we've settled into our school day. I'm playing with numbers on the computer trying to figure out the next two weeks. Superman comes home early and we finally exercise. Dinner is Tuna Melts and Salad and by the time that is done and cleaned up, I'm wiped.

(Look at the quilt my friend is making for her little brother - she used a bunch of his old shirts and fabrics that had elements that meant something to them all. Quite the labor of love, isn't it?)

Saturday – Here we are. I'm typing this on a laptop as I sit in the car waiting for Valiant to finish his Stage Combat class. I'm in my exercise clothes so I can't skip my workout. We'll be stopping at the post office on the way home to mail two books for Paperback Swap. Hopefully Superman has breakfast done and waiting for us when we walk in the door. Did I mention we're having a party tonight? Before Game Night begins, we're hosting a Mexican Pot Luck. We're supplying the meat, the beans, and some chips. . Everyone else is bringing the fixings. Oh, and Superman is making cream puffs and beignets. Today I'll be making up a batch of home-made refried beans and freshly fried tortilla chips.

So, what's been going on at your house?

Buttercup's Reality...

Buttercup is the youngest of our three children and the only girl. This Baby Blues comic strip illustrates perfectly the realities of her life these days. (P.S. If you don't read Baby Blues, you're missing a hysterically accurate take on family life.)