Spring Shed: Week Three

Welcome to the third check-in for the Spring Shed!

Here is the back story about this support group/blog hop for those trying to be accountable for the positive changes we are making in our lives in 2013. After ten weeks of doing the Winter Shed, we moved on to this Spring Shed. Whether you are trying to shed weight, find more balance or let go of something else that is dragging you down in this second season of the New Year… We can do this — together!

Now to report on how I did during week three of the Spring Shed and week thirteen in 2013:

1) Healthy Eating
A. Try to follow the U.S. government’s “Eat My Plate” recommendations (with emphasis on 3 servings of veggies & 2 fruit)

I did pretty well with this, but slipped up a bit with meals that we ate out at restaurants and on Easter.

B. Continue to practice portion control and count calories.

Same as above, overall I did alright, but allowed myself to cheat more than usual in light the Easter holiday and accompanying sweet treats.

C. Limit my intake of sweets, soda, alcohol and other pelvic floor flare up triggers.

I actually did very well with this, in that I didn’t notice a lot of flare up that seemed related to food triggers and when I did, they didn’t seem to last long.

2) Keeping Fit (Physically/Emotionally/Spiritually) & Shedding Weight

A. Get 7 – 8 hours of sleep every night

Ha! Yeah, this was not my strong suit this week. For various reasons, I don’t think I got over 5 – 6 hours of sleep most nights this week. I had a lot on my mind and didn’t try very hard to tune those things out. Thus I allowed myself to stay up later, which I paid for during the day, though not as badly as I might have expected to. Just the same, I want to prioritize sleeping more regular hours in the week to come.

B. Drink enough water

I did fine with this.

C. Exercise 5 – 7 days each week

I exercised 4 out of 7 days this week. I typically prefer to do more than that, but with Holy Week and Easter, there was a lot going on and I didn’t prioritize it as much as I sometimes do. Last Friday I took a Yoga `n Pilates class at Beverly Bodyworks and later that afternoon I powered walked around a local park with a friend while our kids played on the playground (we could see them the whole time we were doing it).

On Saturday I ran in the March 4 Meg 5K race (which I will share more about below). I did not exercise on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday and my energy level and mood reflected that. It was a good reminder of the many reasons I try to exercise regularly and how that impacts my mind, body and spirit. On Wednesday I taught a Dance `n Sculpt class at Beverly Bodyworks and on Thursday my mom and I power walked in our neighborhood.

D. Train for a few Spring 5K races

I participated in the March 4 Meg 5K run benefitting an endowment being set up in honor and memory of a neighborhood friend’s cousin, Meg Moonan, who died on melanoma skin cancer one year ago on March 30th. Saturday was a beautiful day for a race and I finished in a respectable time of about 34 minutes (a little less than an 11 minute pace). That was not my best or my worst time for a 5K and I was pleased. I was very moved by the family, friends and community that rallied around this inaugural event to remember Meg. I got choked up a few times during my run, especially when I remembered that my paternal grandmother (who died 13 years ago this May) was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer not long before she passed away.

E. Shed 1 – 2 lbs. per week

I lost 1 lb. this week, for a total loss of 7.5 lbs. in 13 weeks (since Friday, December 28, 2012)! 🙂

F. Meditate & pray daily

I practiced my meditation on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to finish up Oprah and Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation challenge. Since then I have not formally meditated, but I have kept in mind some of the techniques I learned for relaxation and breathing. As for prayer, as I shared last week, with it having been Holy Week in our Catholic Church around the world, I was more focused than usual on prayer, especially in conjunction with Good Friday and Easter services.

3) Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
A.  Go to my physical therapy sessions as scheduled

I did not have physical therapy again this week. But I will return next week.

B. Watch my dietary triggers

Again, I did fairly well with this, which I think contributed to minimal muscle spasms/flare ups.

C. Do my “homework” (i.e. PT exercises, stretches and such)

I continued to do a bit better with the stretches, but again I bombed other “assignments.” Argh! I really do have to do better with this, if I want to continue to make significant progress

4) Housekeeping
A. Basics Daily (dishes, laundry & straightening)

I did okay with this, this week but not great. I put away a lot of our Easter decorations already. I also did a good amount of laundry, but still have to fold and put it away.

B. Weekly Cleaning (dusting, sweeping, scrubbing & mopping)

I did little to nothing in this area. 🙁

C. Organizing & Purging (sorting, filing, selling &/or donating)

I didn’t do much in this area.

5) Family & Faith Focus
A. Bob: Hanging out together with my husband at home, on date nights and spending quality time and have fun together with our family (including family meals, game nights, movie nights, day trips and vacations).

It was a very busy week for Bob with work and I was also busy with activities and writing commitments. As a result, we didn’t spend as much quality time hanging out together as we like, though we did do some fun family things around the Easter holiday weekend, including participating in our neighborhood’s Easter Egg Hunt at a local park.

B. Sean: Spending quality time and have fun together when he not in school, activities or doing homework. Helping him to learn to manage his time well, take care of his belongings and keep his room and the basement play area clean and organized.

Sean really enjoyed his spring break last week and it is always a bit hard for him to transition back to school after being on vacation. He started a hip-hop dance class once a week at our local Beverly Arts Center which he loves. He took the class awhile back with the same instructor and is happy to be back.

C. Abby: Spending quality time and have fun together when she is not at preschool, playdates or other activities.

This week was Abby’s spring break technically, but since she only goes to preschool three mornings each week, when she doesn’t have school it is a lot different than when Sean doesn’t. On Tuesday we went with some friends, who were also on spring break, to the Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview and out to lunch, which was fun and a special treat during her vacation.

D. Molly & Babies Benson: Honoring their lives and memories, as well as trying to minister to other bereaved families and friends who have lost loved ones.

After weeks of planning I finally shared here on my blog and via emails to family and friends about the project I have been working on in honor and memory of Molly’s 5th Heavenly Birthday this month on the 17th. If you haven’t already read my post about Team Caring Connection, click here to check it out.

D. Extended Family: Appreciate the roles they play in my family and my life, be patient with the areas in which we don’t always see eye to eye and prioritize spending quality time and having fun together when possible.

On Saturday we got to spend time with Bob’s family, including an Easter Egg Hunt which Sean and Abby always look forward to and dinner. On Sunday we went to Easter mass at our church and then after lunch headed up to Evanston to celebrate with my family and some close family friends, which was also very nice.

E. Friends: Keep in touch, check in and show them I care. Get together when possible to spend quality time and have fun together.

Last Friday, the last day of Sean’s Spring Break, we met up with some friends for lunch and then went to a local park where they were able to play together and their mom and I (who are good friends) were able to catch up, which was really nice.

F. Faith Community (Parish, RE, MOPS & CRHP): Stay actively involved in our parish church community. Fulfill my responsibilities and enjoy the last two months of my involvement with the second grade religious education program, as a catechist, and the MOPS group I am a part of, before I transition out of both to focus more of my time and energy as C0-Spiritual Director for the Women’s CRHP retreat program at our parish.

The kids and I tried to go to the Stations of the Cross on Friday afternoon, but Sean wasn’t feeling well (after spinning around too much on a tire swing at the park) and Abby was overtired, from not napping that day. So we ended up leaving early, which was frustrating, but I felt we were distracting those who were trying to focus on the service.

On Easter Sunday morning my family and I attended a standing room only mass at our church. As always I was very impressed with and moved by the music and liturgy.

I also really enjoyed the MOPS meeting I attended last night. It was fun to catch up and pray with my MOPS friends, as well as to do a creative craft project there.

6) Writing & Reading
A. My Blog: Aim to write at least two – three posts each week.

On Sunday I shared this Happy Easter post, with a photo of Sean and Abby from Saturday evening, after we finished coloring our Easter eggs.

On Tuesday I posted my The Sound of Hope book tour blog entry in which I shared my thoughts on Anne Bauer’s book and answered three questions as part of the discussion hosted by Lori from LavenderLuz.com.

With much pride and excitement on Wednesday I shared my Team Caring Connection post about the project I am working on in honor and memory of the 5th anniversary of Molly’s birth and death on April 17th.

B. The Today Voice: Fulfill my weekly writing responsibilities through the end of June, which I have committed to and enjoy the process of writing about the weekly prompts.

This week, week 40 (can’t believe we only have 12 weeks to go), I wrote about what I most want to know in my lifetime.

C. Exhale: Continue to serve as a Contributing Editor helping when I can with the publishing our website, as well as also writing reviews and/or essays each season.

I did not do anything with Exhale this week.

D. Special Projects (First draft of my book & other freelance writing): Aim for 15 minutes a day, as when I have done that in the past I have been amazed at the incremental progress I am able to make.

I was invited this week to schedule a phone interview with the hiring manager for the very part-time job I applied for two weeks ago. It won’t actually happen until the end of the month, as she will be out of the country until then. But I am excited and encouraged about this development. Other than that, I did not find any time to work on other writing projects.

E. Read (books, blogs, magazines & other online news/articles of interest): This always seems to be at the bottom of my list of priorities, but is something I get so much out of when I find/make time to do.

I finished reading The Sound of Hope by Anne Bauer for Lori Lavender Luz’s book tour, which I shared the link to my post for in 6A. I read last week’s Us magazine, but haven’t gotten to this week’s yet. Beyond that I have read some great articles online about the late Roger Ebert who passed away this week and can’t wait to get started on Lori Lavender Luz’s new book The Open Hearted Way to Open Adoption, which arrived in the mail yesterday! I am also going to be participating in Jill Savage’s Facebook study on her new book No More Perfect Moms, which I am looking forward to reading after really enjoying hearing her speak last month at the Hearts at Home conference I attended.

F. Comment on others’ blogs: Prioritize this, with emphasis on return comments and then trying to check in and keep up with other blogs that I follow.

I am not caught up with return comments on my blog for the first time in a while and hope to get there in the days to come. I did comment on a handful of other blogs this week, but not many.

As I shared in the intro to my Winter Shed Series…

When I reflect on what has helped me to shed weight, get/stay in shape in the past, prioritize housekeeping tasks and find more balance in my life, accountability is huge!

I have kept myself accountable various ways in the past, but this time I am finding doing so publicly here on my blog have been effective.

Once a week, on Fridays, from now until at least mid-June/Summer, I will continue to check in and share how my week has gone in the key areas I am working on. My hope and intention is that knowing I have this self-imposed report card to file will continue to motivate me to stay focused on my goals.

For those who want to join me in this “Spring Shed,” I will add a Linky Tool to my weekly Friday posts and you are welcome to link up to your Spring Shed blog entries, and/or you can comment here on how you are doing from week to week, so we can support and encourage each other, as well as share what works and what doesn’t for each of us when it comes to striving towards our goals.

Please join me and we can cheer each other on as we kick off the second season of 2013 strong (and stay the course long past February 16th)!

We can do this — TOGETHER!

You are welcome to grab the code for the Spring Shed button by clicking here and put it on your blog. The link will take you to a Google Doc where you can copy the code. If your browser does not allow access to your computer’s clipboard, you can use Ctrl-C for Copy and Ctrl-V for Paste, or use your browser’s Edit menu.

1. marwil

2. Photogrl

3. LiT wk 1-3

4. Almostbatten