You're Doing It Wrong - New Year's Resolutions

Are you going about your New Year's resolutions all wrong?

Take a look at your resolutions as you read through this post.  Perhaps you can improve on them!

Have you made the typical New Year's Resolution to lose weight and get in shape?

I actually advise AGAINST making resolutions.  To me, those resolutions always sound like ALL or NOTHING.  Or, maybe, it sounds like my life is being overhauled and remodeled.

Such dramatic changes can't happen overnight, and if they do, they typically don't stick.  So, why would I set myself up for failure?
This year, set yourself up for SUCCESS!

Don't start January 1st.

Don't start tomorrow.

Start TODAY!

Stop setting outcome goals. You can't control the outcome!
Instead, set action goals that you actually can control.
That number on the scale is an outcome. Those inches or dress sizes, those are outcomes, too.
Instead, set reasonable, attainable action goals. Pick a fitness program and hit play 5 days a week. Give it 30 minutes each day. Resolve to DO things!
Walk 20 minutes every day!
Find someone (or even a group) to be accountable to!

Don't say "No more soda/sugar/carbs/bread/sweets/whatever-food-you-demonize"...
Instead, say "3 vegetables servings every day!" or "Fresh fruit with breakfast each morning".

Then, find a way to hold yourself accountable!

Find a partner!  This may not always be feasible, but it's worth trying.

Torque supervises my workouts and makes weight recommendations!

My husband and I enjoy working out together, but our schedules and preferences don't always allow that to happen.  As a result, I still end up working out alone.  Unless you count the cats!  However, it's nice to know he is supporting my efforts!

Although we can't seem to work out together, we still work together.  We plan our meals together.  We shop together (online, for our groceries!  No kidding!).  We cook together.

Don't change EVERYTHING all at once!

Instead, choose one thing at a time.  Change something small!  Once that change has become routine, then work on the next change.  Another small thing.  If 5 minutes is all the spare time you have, then make use of it!  Spend that 5 minutes working out every day.  Make that 5 minutes a habit.  Make it non-negotiable.  Match in place.  Do push ups.  Just move!

Maybe you don't eat ANY vegetables right now.  Instead of jumping into eating 3 servings every day, just start with 1!

Want to know the easiest vegetable serving I eat every day?  I put a fistful of leafy greens into my morning shake.  It started as an experiment, but it has now become a habit!  That's 1 more vegetable than I was eating before!

Finally, accept that things are going to get off-track...

And get right back on track as soon as you can!

These aren't changes you're making for short term success.  These are changes you want to stick for the rest of your life!  There really is no time like the present.

What can you do for yourself TODAY??

Let's keep in touch!

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Ever Feel Like You're on "Worst Cooks in America"? (I *JUST* found this show on Netflix!)

The first time my husband came to my house for dinner, he left thinking I didn't know how to cook...

Neither of us can remember the exact details, but somehow, I was stuck finishing up a job that took way longer than I had anticipated, so he ended up doing all of the meal prep...

Being the artist that he is, my husband is also fond of certain visual appeal when it comes to serving meals.  He is a fan of pure white plates, colorful vegetables, and -like a typical man- LOTS of meat!

After reminding me for years about "that time he thought I had no idea how to cook", he looked at me one day and said, "You know, you actually are a really good cook!"

Maybe you can see why I might have once felt like one of those poor souls on "Worst Cooks in America"...

As I look at our kitchen habits, though, I realize we are wildly different in our strengths...  He will almost always create something with significant visual appeal...

Whatever I cook will just... taste good.

I feel as if I have come a long way in the kitchen.  Initially, my strengths were all in the baking department, and I wouldn't dream of deviating from a recipe for fear of irreparable ruin!

At least, now, I can adjust flavoring and figure out comparable replacements for things I don't like in a recipe...

My husband and I also have vastly different tastes in food, which makes cooking for each other a pain in the ass  ...challenging...

He's all about the heat.  The spicier, the better!  He wants to sweat when he eats.

I prefer a more comfortable dining experience - one that doesn't involve sweating.  And I find many "normal" flavors a tad spicy for my liking...

My husband makes enchiladas, and he always makes 2 different pans - which he has dubbed "the man pan" and "the bland pan"...  Guess which one I eat...


Well.  While I might not have the presentation bit down, I'm getting really good at the "tastes good" part.  And I only do it once a week!
Now, my husband didn't immediately buy into this...
It started with making our fresh-produce-vegetable-soup and freezing it.  That meant we had fresh produce until it was gone!!
I hate shopping for produce every other day when it's winter.....


Then, I kept trying to fit in riding and dinner in the same evening, and that meant dinner was happening right before bed...  THAT is certainly less than ideal.....
So, I started cooking big enough dinners to not have to cook again for a few days...
But some weeks get out of control.
So, I started planning a week at a time.  I would cook over the weekend and package my entire week's worth of food!  You know what I discovered?
I had a whole lot more time during the week!
BONUS: my vegetables weren't wilting before I could use them!!

Let's keep in touch!

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Change IS Hard....

...and that's ok...

Let me tell you a story about my chickens.....

My husband bought us 7 adorable chicks to raise.  This is my first batch of chickens...

But there are certain universal behaviors that one can expect from chickens.

1) Chickens put themselves to bed at dusk.

2) Chickens nest to lay eggs...

We moved the chickens into the coop when it came time, and they happily and readily accepted it as their home.  They put themselves to bed each night....

Nevermind that it was THE SAME BED......

I tried to make an appealing bed in the nest boxes by adding straw....

However, ALL the straw ended up on the floor....  Chickens insisted: NO straw in the nestboxes!!

The hens began to lay, and I continually found their eggs NOT in the nestboxes!!

Change is hard.....

I had to accept that my hens preferred to lay their eggs in the "upstairs" landing of the coop.  The change to anywhere else was just too hard!

So, I put straw in the "upstairs...  and in the nestboxes...

Do you want to guess where it ended up??

NO straw!  WHY is there STRAW in my nestbox??

NOT in either of those places!

I was getting concerned about the hens staying warm as the temperatures dropped.  I though, maybe NOW is the time for straw!

I Wanted to work with that nesting instinct.  I had seen them nest the grass... So, this time, instead of putting loose straw in, I put it in as a flake!!

I put one flake "upstairs", and 2 flakes in the nestboxes.

...and I waited....

It took them a whole week, this time (as opposed to 2 days previously) to kick ALL of the straw in the nestboxes out on the floor.....

For a week, they sat NEXT to the upstairs flake, and continued to lay on the bare wood.

I'm told chickens aren't that smart...

Finally, one day, the flake began to look different!!

One hen had created a hollow and started laying in the straw!!

Another week, and ALL the hens were laying in the straw!

No more worry about eggs rolling off!

SUCCESS!!

One of these things was just too big for my hens to change.  I don't know why, but it just is.

The other, I was able to use her current habit to HELP establish the new behavior, rather than work AGAINST the current habit!

If we can find a way to make the steps small enough that they work WITH our current habits, we can make change just a little bit easier....

Change is hard.

And it's ok that change is hard.

However, change is still POSSIBLE!

In order for the change to be more successful, make it small.  Make it work with your current habits.  Make that teeny tiny shift it's own new habit...  Then, build from there!

Are you ready?

Let's keep in touch!

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Creative Problem Solving?

The kitchen can really be a disaster zone for me....

My husband cannot cook unless the kitchen is immaculate!

Me, I just can't keep the counters cleared off...

However, the more organized I can keep the kitchen, the better I eat.  So the stakes are high!

For a year and a half, my husband and I have been trying to take the dishwasher. For example:
Once the dishwasher had run, these 2 blue lights are lit up! If you open the dishwasher, they remain lit up... until you latch it closed again......

You know what happens when you share a living area with someone else?

They come in and mess up your system!

I don't know how many times I've told my husband: as long as you don't latch it, I know the dishwasher is still clean, and as soon as I have 10 minutes, I can put the dishes away!

We have continued to have the discussion about: Is the dishwasher clean or dirty?

We originally had planned to use a magnet we could flip for clean or dirty, but the dishwasher is stainless steel, so this imaginary magnet would never stick anyway...

Our magnets will only stick to the side of our refrigerator, and my husband is easily offended if the magnets are not expertly arranged.  And don't put just any magnet up there!!

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One day, a run across "window crayons" at the store...  Could this be the best thing since dry erase markers??

I bought them.  Can you imagine the face my husband is making at me when he sees them?

(My poor husband gets picked on so much when I write...  I wonder if he knows?)

One morning, I started the dishwasher as I was leaving for work.  So, I left a note for myself in case my husband opened (and closed) the dishwasher!

(God forbid he unload it!  At least he can take care of the loading part - if he knows it's dirty...)

#creativeproblemsolving #embracingmyinnerchild #childlikeenthusiasm

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Now, on my window, I keep a running commentary on the state of the dishwasher.

And you know what?

I'm saving a little bit of time.

I've eliminated a steady source of confusion.

My husband still asks me if the dishwasher is clean or dirty, but he notices that I check the window to verify...  Maybe one day he will read it on his own!  LOL

My counters are staying just a little bit clearer!!

Where do you save time in the kitchen?

Does it help you eat any healthier?

Let's keep in touch!

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Delicious Halloween!

Have you seen what everyone is wearing?
The costumes get more creative all the time!

I wonder what candy everyone is giving out this year?

My husband and I live in a neighborhood that doesn't get trick-or-treaters, so I have to live vicariously through Facebook.

And as I started to see the pics going up of piles of candy...  I actually started feeling a little sick to my stomach...

Now, that could just be because of some bug I've been fighting off this week - BUT!

I suddenly realized that, if we DID get trick-or-treaters, I couldn't hand out candy in good conscience!

Don't get me wrong...  I have a sweet tooth!

I can be my own worst enemy.

I try to minimize what I bring into the house, but I'm not ready to give up the decadence completely...

I just try to save it for a treat!

If we ever get trick-or-treaters, I'm going to have to put a plan in order... I'm beginning to think something fun like Play-Doh might be a guilt-free bet!

If you pigged out on the candy (or maybe you still are?), don't beat yourself up for it.  One week night a year isn't going to make or break your long-term health.

I could have made all kinds of pumpkin-flavored creations if I had been ready before the pumpkin carving began...  Instead, our chickens feasted on pumpkin guts and kept vigilant watch for more!

Did you adjust any Halloween traditions this year?

Are you planning to in the future?

Tell me about your challenges and triumphs with this spooky holiday!

Let's keep in touch!

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2ptober 2015! Hosted by Viva Carlos and Equestrian at Hart!

It's that time again!
Have you heard of this?


Well, let me tell you about it!
October is the month of 2 point!
For those of us that ride horses and jump, it the jumping position where we hover over the saddle.  And we're competing for the longest time!


Check out the details over at Viva Carlos or at Equestrian at Hart!
In case this month's challenge caught you off guard, I'll give you a head's up about November.....


No Stirrups November!  A month of no stirrups!
Some exceptions excused, such as shows and hunts...
Are you almost ready to remove the stirrups from your saddle?


Perhaps we should focus on one grueling punishment inspiring challenge at a time...
So!  Are you game for some serious 2 point?

Let's keep in touch!

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Taming the Chaos

When my husband and I got chickens, we bought a pre-manufactured coop that we just had to assemble.  I named the 4 areas the chickens used in the coop:

“Inside”: the enclosed area of the coop that provides protection from the weather

“Nesting Box”: the part that sticks out the side where my chickens don’t nest…

“Front Yard”: the open area still enclosed by wire

“Attic”: the area designed to be storage, but we only left the floor/ceiling on half of it, so we can peek in from above.

freshly assembled coop

 

The chickens love to nest down in the sand we put on the floor of the coop, but they insist on kicking everything out of the nesting boxes.  I’ve tried straw, shavings, pellets, and even grass!  Nothing seems to please them.  No biggie, though.  It’s their home and they can keep it however they like, I guess.

...they were so tiny...

 

When they started laying, I found a couple eggs on the floor “inside”, but I found the majority of the eggs in the “attic”.  I’m fine with that, too.  That just means I don’t have to bend over to gather the eggs!

How do they get there?

Now, I wasn't sure if they were laying in the attic and on the floor... or if they were all laying in the attic, and some were rolling to the floor...

So, I made an attempt to find out...

Before the verdict was in, the sky fell!

At least, I'm sure that's what the chickens thought...

I went out to gather eggs, and the attic floor had fallen down into the "inside".  None of the chickens would go "inside", even after I removed the pieces.  Suddenly, it was chicken chaos.

They were laying under the deck...  They were laying in one of the rain barrels...  I was finding a single egg each day in the coop.  I'm sure several each day were getting trampled, broken, and consumed... 

They would settle down for the night in the "front yard".  When they did go "inside", they were obviously looking for the attic to fly up to, but it wasn't there.  They voiced their concerns and distress.

Can we come in?
The sky is falling!!

Finally, we decided we needed to help them figure things out again.  The chickens were just going to have to go without yard privileges for a few days until they realized that the sky was no longer falling.

After day 1, we had 4 eggs in the nesting box!

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The wheels are bound to come off sooner or later.  Something will inevitably throw a wrench into your routine and knock you off of your groove.  A holiday weekend might have involved more processed foods than healthy foods...  Sickness, injury, or just plain life may have prevented you from getting your workouts in for a few days...  or a few months...  or even a few years?

What can you do to reset your system and tame the chaos?

Sometimes, we just need to take our world back to the bare minimum to get everything back on track.

Maybe that's a week of strict nutrition.  I'm not saying "Never eat cake again!"  I'm just saying maybe it would be helpful to stick to strictly whole foods.  No cake or cookies for that week...  Then you can return to the occasional indulgence!

Perhaps a fitness challenge or boot camp would help you out.  30 days.  Working out 6 days a week.

Or maybe even just ensuring you are getting 8 hours of sleep for 2 weeks straight!

Is the sky falling in on you?

Can I help you put it back in place?

Let's keep in touch!

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