Update 2.23.09

Time for a massive update. First, I'm thinking about swapping out some items on my list for new ones. I'm not sure if that's against the rules, but I don't really care. When I was making up the list, there were definitely some "filler" items because I had a hard time thinking of meaningful goals. Now that I've had some time to process all of this and get started, there are some other things that I wish were there. So I'll be doing that as I think of them.

Time for a little blurb on all of my in-progress goals:

2. Try 5 new foods: 1/5
I tried vegemite in New Zealand. The authentic way, on toast with lots of butter and just a dab of the vegemite. It wasn't nearly as terrible as I expected, but also not fantastic as the Aussies we were with claimed, in my humble opinion! There was nutella and jam on that breakfast table: give me either of those any day, any time and I'm a happy girl. I had 3/5 listed for this goal, but I can't remember what the other 2 are so I'm not counting it. Yeah, I'm strict like that!

3. Exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 times per week for 1 month: 1/12
I started this yesterday. I'm actively trying to lose weight (see #19), so I needed to find a way to exercise that a) I would comply with and b) wouldn't aggravate my delicate herniated disc situation. Exercise has always been a HUGE obstacle/hurdle/challenge for me, and I've always dreamed of finding a way around the aversion. Well, I think I may have found it.

I borrowed a Wii Fit from our neighbors last week, as I was thinking about buying one and wanted to make sure I liked it before spending the money. I'm really glad I did this, because I learned that I love working out with the video game format, but I wasn't crazy about the Wii Fit. I had been losing weight and feeling great, then one day it told me I gained almost 5 pounds, made my avatar look fatter, and hung her head in shame. Not cool and not good for my often fragile state of mind.

So, Andy did a bit of research online and found the game My Fitness Coach. It got raves on Amazon. We had a hard time finding a copy in town, but finally tracked one down at Target. I used it for the first time yesterday, and the reviews were right, it's great! So that's session #1 of 12. My disc is hurting a bit more today, so I'm not going to use it every day like I originally planned. I'm hoping I can modify it enough to keep my back happy, because working out here at home (but not to a workout video, hate those) is really working for me. Yay!

17. Make a new friend: complete
I've actually made 2 new friends! How great is that? One is Bonnie, whom I met on Twitter. We had coffee last month and she's super cool. The other is Emily, who lovingly stalked me on Facebook after learning from our mutual wedding caterer that we both had/have Christmas Tree Farm weddings (she's getting married this summer). When she saw that we had mutual friends on Facebook, she messaged me and the rest is history! We had drinks a couple weeks ago and totally hit it off. I have a hard time talking to strangers but drinks lasted 3 hours! I hope to see them both again soon.

19. Get to my “magic #” goal weight and stay at or under it: in progress
This isn't something I really want to have out there on the internet, as it's pretty personal for me. For now. I'm sure I'll get antsy at some point and gush on about it. I'm just going to say I've been working really hard and it's going well!

20. Learn to cook 10 dishes well (2/10)
I added one more to this list: roasted asparagus. My mother-in-law taught me how (over the phone), and... YUM.

28. Photograph each item on this list as it's accompished: In progress
Well, failing miserably at this one, but I kinda have an excuse. Our camera broke in NZ and we've been fighting with the warranty people who are still holding it hostage. But still, I have ways around it and I could be better about this.

30. Subscribe to a CSA for one season with no wastefulness (i.e. use or share everything): in progress
I wrote about this here. Loving it!

36. Write 101 comments on other peoples’ blogs (42/101)
This one's still my favorite. I like letting people know that I was there and that I appreciate what they have to say. It takes really no time at all, and maybe it could brighten someone else's day. I just really have seen so many wonderful things come from connecting with people on the internet, and it feels good for me to keep making new connections.

53. Eat breakfast at home every day for one month (23/30)
This one's closely tied to #19. Eating at home in general is healthier and cheaper (obviously), but eating out has always been an achilles' heel for me. I never bothered to look up the nutrition information on the supposedly "low fat" blueberry coffee cake that I love at Starbucks until recently. It's amazing how little attention I had been paying to what I put in my body. No more, my friends, no more.

68. Take vitamins at least 50% of days (55/500)
The gummi bear vitamins from Trader Joe's are awesome. After this bottle's gone, though, I'm going to switch to a big-girl kind.

69. Read the last Harry Potter book: in progress
I've started it probably 5 times since it came out, and I don't know what it is, I just have the hardest time picking it up. I was, like most of the Western world, a huge fan of the rest of the books and got giddy chills recently seeing the trailer for the new movie. Something about this book makes it really hard for me to get through it, which is really unlike me. I tried again last week, though, so hopefully I'll be able to plow through. This weekend maybe?

72. Update this blog at least weekly with results and progress (see #28): In progress
So now I'm thinking weekly might have been a bit unrealistic. But as long as I keep doing updates like this, I'll let it slide.

75. Take 20 bubble baths (6/20)
This one's all about doing something nice for myself, because I tend to let that slide. One of my faves on the list for sure.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to changing out some stagnant things on the list. In the meantime, I'm proud of myself for at least starting to follow through on a lot of these things, because without the structure of this list, I probably wouldn't have done any of them.