Kicking Off The New Year With A New Me

Don't you just love starting over? A saying I've used many times with my kids is, "do you want to try again?" and that's pretty much how I view New Year's Resolutions, as a time to refocus, start over, and try again. :)
It's been a year since I've done any serious running and I miss it. Knowing the baby is due any time now, I've gone ahead and began setting my goals for what I'd like to make happen this year. I know I still have several weeks of recovery and that I can't just run right out and jump into a workout routine but I certainly can start planning for it all.
So, below are some goals and how I plan on seeing them through. I hope to add to them as the year goes, tweak what needs tweaking and overall enjoy 2012 to the max.
2012 Goals:
1. To Run: I picked up the book Run Your Butt Off back in the summer, gave it a quick read but didn't really tackle the program since I was pregnant and didn't feel it was the right time to pick it back up. However, it's been dusted off and I look forward to seeing it through this year. 
2. A Family Garden: I read up on this a great deal last year, buying several books that listed when and how to grow different vegetation. I even did a small pot garden next to the house which produce some good foods. This year I'd like to celebrate my birthday by purchasing a box garden and filling it with several different types of fruits and veggies and allowing the kids to really make this happen. Who knows, I may even look into canning. :)
3. Clean Eating: It's actually the research from The China Study that has lead me to reevaluate the way I eat and make changes for myself and family. According to this study, a diet high in meat/dairy products {20%} fuels the growth of cancer as well as other diseases, where as roughly a diet made up of about 5% of meat and dairy products can reverse and even eliminate many illnesses.
And, with this information I'm turning to the idea of eating clean - reducing foods that are made up of high, bleached sugar, chemically based, and turning more to whole foods. I recently found the book, The Eat-Clean Diet for Family and Kids, which provides a great deal of recipes that kids are bound to love {I really hope I can introduce Jeremy to some fruits and vegetables that he'll enjoy}. And maybe with the garden this will spark more interest in healthy foods for the family.
4. To Be Less Judgmental: This is a very personal goal. I seem to pass judgement pretty quickly and it's an issue that I really want to work on. I can only think that through prayer, devotion, and spiritual maturity I'll make changes in this area.
So, there we have it, my first list for the year. I smile thinking about how it will all turn out. I hope to read this post periodically and really keep these ideas as a main focus as I go along. And now what about You, what goals have you set??

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On Leave

Today marks Day 1 on maternity leave. I've thought about this day for almost 9 months now. I've daydreamed about what Maddie and I would do with my time off before and with the baby, but now that it's here, I feel a bit lost. Maybe it's because I had planned on working for several more weeks, maybe I truly don't feel I was in a position to take the time off, there seemed to be so much more that needed to be done. But maybe I should accept it as a blessing and enjoy the time I have.
As I began preparing lunch for my girl I realized I'd love to do more home cooking while I'm off. It was then that I wondered if I should sit down and think of some goals, some ideas of what I'd like to do so that I feel as if I really took advantage of this time rather than just spinning my wheels with no direction.
But then again, what if I set goals and don't reach them? What if I need to go back to work before my 16 weeks are up? What if I simply can't do what I set out to do? So is life, isn't it? I guess living my life in fear of never meeting goals is no way to live. It's more productive to set a goal, move toward, and tweak it if need be. I mean, ok so what if I don't run a marathon this year or bake a homemade pie? I'm sure I'll have experienced something just simply trying to reach those goals.
So, let's set goals...let's do it and then put a plan in place to make it happen.
1. I'd like to get back into running. Within three to four weeks after the baby's here I'd like to start back up into a workout routine. Now, I do have some postpartum exercises that my midwife gave me back with Maddie and it begins with some breathing exercises after week one to begin strengthening up the stomach muscles. The only real obstacle I see here involve sleep. It's kind of hard to get back into a workout routine when you're exhausted so my next goal will be....
2. Sleep. I suffered from a bit of insomnia when I had Maddie. I was so worried I'd suffer from PPD that I spent all my time moving and going and in the end my anxiety went through the roof and I couldn't sleep. So, this time around, I'll definitely get up, get dressed, and start my day but I'll also pay close attention to when I'm feeling drained and I'll take all the opportunities to rest and recharge.
3. Organizing the house. I'd love to declutter and clean up a large portion of the stuff we simply don't need and don't use. I think I'll use the FlyLady's approach with this: set a timer and work on a project for that allotted time, remembering to not create more of a mess by creating another project while cleaning. You work on one area then you move on while keeping the idea that by cleaning up daily, you keep the clutter down and the projects small.
4. Homemade cooking. Now, this goal involves a bit more than simply cooking, it also involves nutrition, something I desperately need to work on. I'm gonna use my time off to really explore the idea of clean eating as well as reducing my consumption of red meat, dairy products, and processed foods. I may even look into weightwatchers but this idea is still up in the air.
Alright, so those are 4 broad goals I'd like to address over the next few months. Any advice or direction you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I'll be going back and really delving into each idea to really lay out a plan to make it happen.
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Training For The Big Day

Back in October of last year I got sidetracked and my running fell to the wayside. And then in May I became pregnant and didn't feel comfortable picking back up with it. I've missed running. I've mentioned it several times. It's not that running is physically an enjoyable sport it's hard and challenging but that in itself is what I find enjoyable. 
If it was easy everyone would do it and yet only a small portion of the crazed fitness geeks out there run, and yet I'm proud and excited to say I'm one of them. I may not be the fastest or can even match toe to toe with vetran runners but I love it none the less.
So, I've felt a little out of wack not running. I've tried different activities since then: workout DVD's, swimming, the treadmill, and bike. They all give me what I need - a workout - but they all lack what I truly desire - to simply run.
So then you ask why I'm sitting here wasting all these words on talking about what I want to do rather than just doing it. Well, it's my knees, they haven't been happy for awhile now and rather than going out and doing it the way I did the first time {running everyday with swollen knees} I'd like to take some time and do it differently.
I'll be starting with my bike. When I ride {from the comfort of my own living room} my knees stay lubricated and pain free. It blows my mind but my knees actually need to ride, probably even as much as my heart needs to run. So, instead of only planning for next year races I'm also planning for another moment that will require a great deal of dedication, strength, and desire - the natural birth of my baby, in a hospital setting.
On a side note, even though I've always planned to have all my children drug free, I was only able to see it through during the home birth I had with Maddie. And since we aren't going a home birth this time around, I really need to be prepared to do this naturally in an environment that typically supports medical intervention and drugs. And I'm not knocking Moms who use medicine to ease their birth, I'm just saying this is the route I want to go even though I've failed twice before. 
So, this post is about setting goals, getting back on track, figuring out what I want, and making it happen. I have 4 months to spend devoted to strengthening up my knees so that I can start running again by mid February/March. And while keeping my mind focused on next year's races, I'll actually be training for the best moment of all, meeting my baby girl. :) So, here's to making it happen and enjoying the journey of getting there!

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