Spring Shed: Week Twelve

Welcome to the twelfth 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 twelve of the Spring Shed and week twenty-two 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 well this week, but still could stand to add an additional serving of veggies most days.

B. Continue to practice portion control and count calories.

I did well with this too.

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 really prioritized this, this week and if I recall correctly, got at least 7 hours every night, though this week has been so busy, it is sort of a blur at this point.

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 my mom and did another training 5K run on the Running for Hope 5K route with Sean and pushing Abby in the jogging stroller. On Sunday I participated in the Running for Hope 5K with Bob, Sean & Abby in her jogging stroller and did lots of walking. On Tuesday I rode my bike while pulling Abby in the trailer behind me to/from her preschool camp before and after school. On Wednesday I taught Dance `n Sculpt at BBW and rode my bike a lot around town to/from Abby’s preschool camp, BBW, etc. On Thursday I ran with Abby in the jogging stroller to/from camp at her preschool, did some toning/stretching and rode bike to/from Abby’s preschool to pick Abby up after  camp.

D. Train for a few Spring 5K races

I ran 5K/3.1 miles two times this week and about 1.6 miles once this week. This included one run with Sean while pushing Abby in the stroller, another pushing Abby in the stroller and most importantly the Running for Hope 5K with Bob, Sean & Abby (who Bob pushed in her jogging stroller while running)! It was Bob’s first, Sean’s third and my ninth 5K race. The weather was cold, overcast and a bit drizzly, which are typically pretty good 5K conditions, but Sean was not feeling as motivated as he had been 6 days earlier when we did the Ridge Run 5K in 35:02. This was a race route that he had only run once before race day, so he didn’t feel as comfortable and familiar as he is with the Ridge Run route, which we run often. Also, though I thought he might like, even prefer how flat this race route was, he shared that he actually prefers the variety in a more hilly race with uphill and down hill parts. We finished in just over 37 minutes, which was about a 12 minute pace. That is still 10 minutes faster than his first 5K in May 2012 and only two minutes slower than his second last week!

E. Shed 1 – 2 lbs. per week

I lost 1 lb. this week, for a total loss 10.5 lbs. in 22 weeks (since Friday, December 28, 2012)!

So I have tied my lowest since I began trying to shed weight and look forward to working to continue to make progress, as though I am very close, I am still not quite where I would like to be.

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 was still on vacation this week.

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. I am trying to also be aware how foods might be impacting my nausea/vertigo issues.

C. Do my “homework” (i.e. PT exercises, stretches and such and now also keeping track of what could be contributing to vertigo issues)

I did not do well with this and know just because my PT is on vacation, it is not an excuse for me to drop the ball on this.

4) Housekeeping

A. Basics Daily (dishes, laundry & straightening)

I did pretty well with this overall, but the tail end of the week was very busy and I slacked off a bit.

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

Not much here

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 was another very busy week for our family and somewhat of a blur at this point. Though last weekend was somewhat packed with activities, many of them involved spending time with Bob, which was nice/good. A highlight for me was Bob, the kids and I participating in the Running for Hope 5K race together, as part of Team Caring Connection in honor and memory of Molly and Babies Benson!

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 third time running in a 5K race together and this one being for a cause so close to our hearts, the Running for Hope 5K, with Team Caring Connection! I also enjoyed watching more rounds of auditions for So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) together. Finally, we got to see Sean perform on Saturday and Sunday in a dance show with his Hip-Hop class! Sean and his classmates seemed to be having so much fun on stage and the audience, including our family, loved their routine!

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

A big highlight this week with Abby included watching her rehearse more for her dance recital and spending time with her commuting via bike and stroller to/from her preschool camp, which is a fun and different from our routine when the weather is not as nice.

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.

Again this week I spent a lot of time on race related tasks for Team Caring Connection/the Running for Hope 5K last Sunday. If you haven’t read it already, you can check out my wrap up post  about my family and my experience.

I am pleased to share that Team Caring Connection has raised over $3,300 for Advocate Children’s Hospital (including their Bereavement Program) and our local Ronald McDonald House in honor and memory of our babies who left this world too soon!

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 got to see and spend time with both of our families this week because of Sean’s dance show, a family birthday party and participating in the Running for Hope 5K with Team Caring Connection (which included members of our family).

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

It meant a lot to us that some of our friends we able to participate in the Running for Hope 5K with us as part of Team Caring Connection. Other than that, it was a such a busy week that our only interactions with friends were in passing at events where we ran into them.

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.

We did have a Women’s CRHP team formation meeting in this week which I really enjoyed. I am really enjoying getting to know the women on our team better and remembering why I love being a part of retreat teams/the process of planning and preparing for retreats so much.

6) Writing & Reading

A. My Blog: Aim to write at least two – three posts each week.

I shared three blog entries this week.

All three were related to Team Caring Connection and the Running for Hope 5K last Sunday!

The first post I wrote and shared was on the night before the race called Running for Hope Eve.

The next was a brief one, the morning of the race, about a “sign” that I received, soon after I woke up, called Story of the Day: Connection.

The last blog entry was my wrap up post about my family and my experience on Sunday called Team Caring Connection: Running for Hope & Remembering Our Babies.

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 49, I shared about how I feel when relationships end. I can’t believe there are only three 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 did receive pieces for our new/upcoming issue about “Scars and Marks” that I will be scheduling to post in the coming week and months. I am also working on my own essay for the issue about my experience with scars after dealing with secondary infertility and loss.

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 some 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 another major fail for me this week! 🙁 I just was not able to find/prioritize the time to do this during such a crazy busy week.

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.