Welcome to the eleventh 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 eleven of the Spring Shed and week twenty-one 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 alright this week. Over Memorial Day Weekend I got off track a bit, but got back into my regular routine soon after the holiday weekend.
B. Continue to practice portion control and count calories.
Likewise, I took a few days off over the holiday weekend and though I didn’t gorge myself, I did eat and drink more than usual and was okay with that.
C. Limit my intake of sweets, soda, alcohol and other pelvic floor flare up triggers.
I did well with this and experienced very few food related flare ups.
2) Keeping Fit (Physically/Emotionally/Spiritually) & Shedding Weight
A. Get 7 – 8 hours of sleep every night
I did well with this, except for one night when I had some insomnia and only got about 3 – 4 hours sleep.
B. Drink enough water
I did well with this.
C. Exercise 5 – 7 days each week
I exercised 5 out of 7 days this week! Last Friday I walked with neighborhood friends and afterwards did some toning and stretching. On Saturday Sean and I ran 5K in Michigan while I pushed Abby in the jogging stroller, followed by doing some toning and stretching. Monday was our neighborhood’s annual Memorial Day Ridge Run and Sean and I participated in the 5K run! Wednesday I ran the 5K route for the upcoming Running for Hope race Bob, Sean and I are doing while pushing Abby in the jogging stroller on Sunday. Thursday I did Jillian Michael’s 6 Week Six Pack DVD.
D. Train for a few Spring 5K races
I ran 5K/3.1 miles three times this week, including one run with Sean while pushing Abby in the stroller, another pushing Abby in the stroller and most importantly our neighborhood’s Memorial Day Ridge Run 5K! It was Sean’s second and my sixth experience running this race. The weather was cool and overcast, which really helped our cause, as Sean and I ran the 5K in 35:02! That was an 11:17 pace and a personal best for Sean/us running together! We ran the race 12:14 faster than we did last year (our time was 47:16) and our pace was 3:56 faster (our pace was 15:13)!
We will also be running together again in two days another 5K the Running for Hope race on Sunday, June 2nd, as part of Team Caring Connection in honor and memory of our Molly and Babies Benson. So it is interesting for us to be preparing to run another 5K only six days after our last one.
E. Shed 1 – 2 lbs. per week
I lost 1 lb. this week, for a total loss 9.5 lbs. in 21 weeks (since Friday, December 28, 2012).
So I am back to where I was two weeks ago on Friday and hope to continue to shed in the days to come.
F. Meditate & pray daily
Again I did not formally meditate much, but I did focus on my breathing some when I was stressed and I did pray a lot.
3) Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (& Other Health Issues)
A. Go to my physical therapy sessions (&/or other doctor appointments) as scheduled
My PT is on vacation the next two weeks, so it will be nice to a have a little break and after that we will determine whether we will continue with weekly or switch to every other week or monthly.
I am still having some issues with nausea, dizziness and fullness in my ears. So I will continue to follow my ENT doctor’s recommendations, including keeping a diary of what precedes my bouts with vertigo-like symptoms, to try to determine if there are common threads.
B. Watch my dietary triggers
I did well with this as far as muscles spasms/flare ups in my pelvic floor regions. However, I am noticing, as my ENT doctor suggested, that there may be a correlation between things I am consuming and my nausea and dizzy spells. I guess time will tell.
C. Do my “homework” (i.e. PT exercises, stretches and such and now also keeping track of what could be contributing to vertigo issues)
Again, I did okay with this, but not great.
4) Housekeeping
A. Basics Daily (dishes, laundry & straightening)
I started off strong with this and then got overwhelmed by other things towards the week’s end.
B. Weekly Cleaning (dusting, sweeping, scrubbing & mopping)
Bob and I worked together to straighten and clean up our first floor in preparation for having friends over for a Memorial Day BBQ dinner. But since then we have allowed things to get cluttered again, so will need to work on this in the days to come.
C. Organizing & Purging (sorting, filing, selling &/or donating)
I did okay with this.
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’s been a very busy week for our family at home and for Bob at work. I enjoyed spending time with Bob in our new car on our road trip to/from his family’s summer home in Michigan over Memorial Day weekend, as well as back home at our house during the three-day holiday weekend.
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.
Highlights with Sean this week included our second time running our neighborhood’s Ridge Run 5K together as part of Team Nate and celebrating a new PR for Sean/us running together! I also enjoyed training for our upcoming 5K race on Sunday and watching more rounds of auditions for So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) together! Finally it was nice to see Sean having fun with some of his cousins when we were together with family over the holiday weekend.
C. Abby: Spending quality time and have fun together when she is not at preschool, playdates or other activities.
Highlights this week with Abby included watching her rehearse for her upcoming dance recital next month, going to get haircuts together with my longtime hairdresser and having a spontaneous special mother/daughter lunch on Wednesday. Abby also went shopping with me for some gifts for family members this week and it was cute to have her input and see how much she liked helping to pick things out for our loved ones. Finally, as I shared about Sean, it was nice to see Abby interacting with some of her cousins and friends over the holiday weekend.
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.
This week I continued to spend a lot of time on race related tasks for Team Caring Connection which is coming up this Sunday. I can’t believe there are only two more days before the big event!
If you haven’t already read my Team Caring Connection post, click here to check it out and maybe even make a donation in honor and memory of Molly and Babies Benson. I am pleased to share that Team Caring Connection has raised almost $3,000 for Advocate Children’s Hospital (including their Bereavement Program) and our local Ronald McDonald House and hope to raise more between now and the Running for Hope 5K Run/Walk this weekend.
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.
We were glad to get to spend quality time with Bob’s family at their summer home in Michigan over the holiday weekend. Though it was mostly a work weekend, getting ready for the summer, it was still nice to be together.
E. Friends: Keep in touch, check in and show them I care. Get together when possible to spend quality time and have fun together.
We hosted some friends for a BBQ dinner on Memorial Day which was fun.
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 Co-Spiritual Director for the Women’s CRHP retreat program at our parish.
My focus was other places this week, but I look forward to our next Women’s CRHP team formation meeting in the coming week.
6) Writing & Reading
A. My Blog: Aim to write at least two – three posts each week.
I shared three blog entries this week.
The first was for Lori Lavender Luz’s Perfect Moment Mondays, called Show and Tell.
The next was a simple and bittersweet post featuring a photo of my living daughter visiting/playing at her sister’s grave this week, called Sisters. I felt honored to see that Mel chose to highlight it in her Friday Blog Round Up today.
Yesterday I shared my monthly round-up of my weekly Today Voice posts, Thursday’s Voice: May.
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 48, I shared about how I am handling the aging of my parents. I can’t believe there are only four weeks left of this year-long writing project that I have been participating in!
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. But our call for submissions is still open for our next issue:
Physical. Emotional. Mental. What Scars and Marks have you been left with during your journey through loss and infertility? Exhale is accepting submissions of short fiction, essay, poetry, art & photography for our new issue, “Scars and Marks,” which will begin posting at the end of this month. As always, we are also accepting poetry submissions for Still Standing’s Poetry Sundays, and book/movie/play etc. reviews. Email submissions to exhalesubmissions(at)gmail(dot)com
If this topic resonates with you, I encourage you to consider writing and submitting something for our Spring Issue.
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 did not do anything in this category this week.
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 did read my Us magazine and read a bit more of Melissa Ford’s new novel Measure of Love (the sequel to Life from Scratch).
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.
This was a major fail for me this week! 🙁 I did very little commenting, even on Lori’s Perfect Moment Monday blog hop, which I usually make a point to read and comment on every single one. I still would like to go back and catch up on the PMM posts, as well as at least returning comments for those who read and commented on mine, but we have another jammed pack weekend and week ahead, so we’ll see.
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.
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