February 24, 2012 – Day 69 of 1,001

69/364 - Me and my feet in a doctor's office. Yep.

 Goal #56 – Run a 5K.

I used to be a serious runner. Six miles a day, at least, often more. I’d do my morning run, seven days a week, and if I had time I would run again in the afternoon, just for the fun of it. I loved running. It was not work for me, it was just a part of my day. I loved it.

And then I stopped running, for various reasons that were important at the time but are not worth revisiting now.  Suffice it to say, sometimes life pulls  you apart until you almost snap and something major has to give in order for you to move on, and for me, at that time, what I had to give up was running. I went years without running at all – not a single time.

And then I started running again a few years ago and eventually came down with an epic case of plantar fasciitis. Which is no fun. Walking becomes unbearable and running is out of the question.  So I stopped running, because that’s what you have to do when you have an epic case of plantar fasciitis. And I didn’t start running again for many years – not until January 2012.

And things were going GREAT. I finished Week 6 of my Couch-to-5K program this morning. I have been consistently running 2.75 miles or more during those workouts and feeling good while doing it. Getting faster every time.

But then my left foot gave out on me in bootcamp this afternoon. And now here I am again, this time with an even more concerning case of plantar fasciitis. I actually tore the tissue with a dramatic “POP!” sound while doing a pylometric squat thrust and I haven’t been able to bear weight on the foot since. I went right to an urgent care clinic and the doctor did what he could to make me comfortable, but time is what I need to get better. No quick fix here. My foot is wrapped, almost always on ice, elevated, and I myself am on crutches and good amount of ibuprofen. That’s all that can be done.

I doubt that I’ll be able to run the 5K I was training for in March. It’s not totally out of the question, but highly doubtful. That’s not to say I won’t run again, however, and I have hundreds and hundreds more days left in this Day Zero Project to run a 5K. I’m down but not out.

So, what now?

Running, biking, and my bootcamp classes are off-limits for at least a month and honestly, I don’t see myself going back to bootcamp ever again, despite how much I love it. It’s great for 20-somethings and very fit people over 30, but I was forcing my body to do things that it simply could not handle.

Swimming is encouraged and I do like to swim. Yoga is okay, although any positions that require me the bend, arch, or bear weight on my left foot would definitely be out.  Upper-body weightlifting is fine.

So, I see as I have two options:

Option 1 – Give up training and exercise entirely until my foot is fully healed – at least one month or up to three months or more.

Benefits: My foot gets the best chance to heal without further injury.
Costs: I lose all or a good deal of the cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and flexibility I’ve gained over the past two months. I suffer mentally from not being able to exercise. I lose momentum and have to start over again from square one if I do return to exercising.

Option 2 – Take a week off and if my foot feels better, then begin a structured exercise routine consisting of safer exercises: swimming, yoga, and upper-body weightlifting. If my foot is still acutely painful and tender after a week, take another week off before easing back into training. If after two weeks my foot is still painful, see a doctor about steroid injections.

Benefits: I have a plan to look forward to, allowing me to feel more in control and less worried about abandoning my new-found fitness. I can possibly maintain some, if not all, of my fitness gains over the past two months. I honor and listen to my body and let it guide me (something that might have kept me from getting injured in the first place, if I had paid more attention to the tightness in my foot over the past couple weeks).
Costs: I increase my risk of re-injuring the foot and causing even more severe problems. I risk other injuries.

I don’t know which Option I will ultimately go with. I’m hoping for Option 2, but I want to listen to my body and let it guide me. If my foot wants complete rest, for three months or even more, I plan to honor that.

Daily Photos

66/365 - Took this shortly before my Kiwanis meeting on Tuesday. I love Kiwanis. I've been a member since high school - so over 15 years!

67/365 - Reba likes to help keep my purse from floating away.

68/365 - After yoga tonight, tiny moon low in the sky. And omnipresent snow.

February 20, 2012 – Day 65 of 1,001

63/365 - Black bean salad for lunch.

64/365 - Reba, doing her unshaven & hungover hobo impression.

65/365 - Felafel and Greek salad.

Wow, so much to talk about!

Fitness Related Goals

Nothing specific to report here but things are still chugging along at a happy pace. Lots of running, bootcamp, swimming, and now – yoga! Not as much biking as I should be doing, but I hope to rectify this next month. I’m having equipment issues.

Goal #7 – Make handmade lemonade.

Done! I was able to mark that one off this weekend.

Goal #27 – Make meditation a regular part of my day.

This is going well. I haven’t missed a day since committing to this goal.

Goal #51 – Do 30 yoga classes.

This is the goal I am most excited about right now. I took my first yoga class on Saturday morning and you guys – I AM HOOKED. I have never felt stronger or more in-tune with my body. I can totally see why people give up their jobs to go to India and study yoga and then start little studios where they can teach yoga, walk around barefoot, and wear comfortable clothing all the time.

So, I took a second yoga class on Sunday and then a third one today. Three consecutive days of yoga. I even turned down a friend who offered to buy me lunch at my favorite restaurant today because the time he wanted to go conflicted with the class I wanted to take. I used to look for any excuse NOT to workout, now I look forward to so many of my workouts that I get downright angsty if I can’t do them. Not always, but a lot of the time. And yoga… yoga could get seriously addictive for me.

I thought this goal would be something of a chore. Good for me, but nothing easy. While the yoga practice itself is beyond challenging and hard, doing 30 classes in 1,001 days will be a CINCH. I should have made this goal 300 classes. Hmmmmm….

Goal #77 – Read 30 classic novels and blog my thoughts about them.

I started reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I have never been able to finish a Dickens novel. I love his stories – I’ve seen enough of them in movie and/or musical form – but his writing was always too overwhelming for me.  All those names!

This is my first attempt at David Copperfield and from the start it’s going much better. I am really enjoying it and not feeling overwhelmed at all. In the foreword, Dickens says that of all his novels this is his favorite. I’m taking that as a good sign, for whatever it’s worth.

Goal #78 – Finish my MSBH blog project.

I baked three recipes over the past 10 days and posted one of them today. I’m going to hold some back; by about July my house is too hot to bake in and that lasts through September. (My house, like most in Laramie, is built without air conditioning or central air.) So, I’m going to try to get ahead enough with my baking that I can regularly post recipes through the summer months so the blog doesn’t lag like it did last year. But, I also hope to continue posting at least one recipe a week until then.

Goals rock.

Goal #7 – Make handmade lemonade.

Done! I love lemonade, but the commercial varieties taste unnatural and overly sweet to me. For years I’ve been meaning to make my own from scratch so I can get it just the way I want it.

I didn’t follow a recipe, I just used lemons, sugar, and water and mixed it a little at a time until it tasted the way I wanted. And I took photos to share, because that’s just the kind of blogger I am.

The stuff - I bought both regular and Meyer lemons but only used the regular lemons.

I used: lemons, sugar, water. That’s it!

Step One: Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a simmer on the stovetop and allow to cook until sugar melts. Mixture should remain clear, so don’t overcook it. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely. This is simple syrup. (I didn’t photograph this step.)

Step Two: Juice lemons.

From 12 smallish lemons I got about 1 cup of lemon juice.

Simple Syrup and Lemon Juice

I ended up with about 1-2/3 cups of simple syrup which is much more than is needed, but I find it’s easier to cook with at least one cup of sugar and one cup of water. Anything less doesn’t work well for me on the stove. The extra syrup stores easily at room temperature in any container, really, and can be used to sweeten any drink. You can also add maple flavor and have syrup for your pancakes that tastes just like store-bought pancake syrup.

Once the simple syrup is cool, I mixed the lemon juice with some water and then just added the syrup a tablespoon at a time until it was as sweet as I wanted it.

I like my lemonade on the very tart side and this was the winning recipe:

Amber’s Preferred Homemade Lemonade

1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 12 small/medium lemons)
2 ½ cups water
1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon simple syrup

Mix it all together in a pitcher or whatever container is handy. Enjoy!
Yield: Approximately 28-32 oz

This base recipe is great because now I can play around with flavored simple syrups, different citrus, and other fun variations. I love lemonade, Arnold Palmers, and on the rare occasion I drink a cocktail, I like lemonade mixed with Absolut Citron and ginger beer.

February 17, 2012 – Day 61 of 1,001

61/365 - The Whole Earth Grainery in downtown Laramie remains closed after Vince Arbour's death earlier this month. It was a Laramie institution for a long, long, long time. As was Vince.

You would think that 61 days into this I would have completed more than one goal, but alas, I have not. I am really eager to cross something else of my list!  Good news – the dogs did not die from the box of Valentine chocolates they ate yesterday (thankfully, it was a box of milk chocolate, not dark) and we went on a great walk this morning. It was one of those perfect winter mornings in Laramie – sharp, cold, and weirdly gray/blue.

Jäger is fine - he's barking at me to stop taking pictures and start throwing the frisbee.

Fitness Related Goals

Today was a hard day on the exercise front. No running, but my bootcamp class was entirely about weightlifting and it killed me. I swam for 30 minutes afterward and really pushed myself so my arms are toast tonight for sure. Tomorrow I take my first yoga class! So while all my progress on my fitness goals is very general, I am making progress toward accomplishing all these goals. Every day I get a little closer.

Goal #27 – Make meditation a regular part of my day.

So far, so good. I’m meditating every day. I also found a couple new meditation groups in Laramie that I can attend when I feel like meditating in a group setting, which I sometimes do.

Goal #45 – Get my dog, Honey Bear’s, portrait painted.

This one is close to being done (which will be when it’s hanging on a wall in my home, I decided). I took it to the framer yesterday.

At the framer's. Choosing the right mat is always tough for me. I'm very indecisive about these things, as I can rarely tell much of a difference. In the end I went with the lightest color.

Goal #61 – Watch 50 classic movies and blog my thoughts about them.

Reba and I watched The Godfather this week. I had never seen it. Here are some of my thoughts as I wrote them down during the movie:

1. Opening scene – you think that’s the Godfather, maybe, but it’s not! Brilliant zoom out (“zoom out” is probably not the correct technical word for what the camera did there).
2. Don Vito Corleone, lover of cats.
3. I cannot understand 97% of what Don Vito Corleone (DVC) is saying. It’s all “uhhhhgggghhg uhhh muhhh” to me. I am considering turning on the closed-captioning.
4. Sicilian weddings look like an outstanding good time.
5. That guy had what I imagine is the most authentic reaction to finding a severed horse head in one’s bed.
6. “Narcotics is a thing of the future.” LOL
7. Don Vito Corleone, lover of farmer’s markets.
8. I just learned to make good sauce from Clemenza, and this scene was almost exactly mimicked in an episode of The Sopranos that I saw five years ago. This is what my brain holds on to: pop culture detritus.
9. Where did the subtitles go? Oh, I see what FFC is doing there.
10. Men always wear three-piece suits to go hiking in Sicily. It’s just their thing.
11. Those braids!
12. Babies are always pitching fits in this movie.
13. Seriously, what is with all the babies crying???
14. I think FFC uses broken glass to signify death and dying. Just a thought.
15. Don Vito Corleone, lover of entertaining toddlers.
16. RIP, DVC.
17. Seriously, Diane Keaton, I mean c’mon.
18. That’s right, he was lying.

Another great classic movie that deserves to be a classic. I can absolutely see why everyone loves this movie. I’m looking forward to Part II.

Mid-February Goal Updates

I’m not attempting many goals with a monthly element this month and the ones I am are going swimmingly, except for the 30 consecutive days of swimming. That one isn’t going.  swimmingly.  at all.

Budget’s going well though. I’m so grown up, tracking my spending on jelly beans and diet Dr. Pepper.

 

Daily Photos

59/365 - Someone has been sketching. (Me. I've been sketching. It's me.)

60/365 - I got none of these delicious Valentine's candies because while I was at bookclub, my awful dogs ate them. Jager (or Honey Bear) took the box out of a ZIPPED briefcase they were in. And then he (and she, probably) ate them and put the bottom of the box IN THE BATHTUB. Because that is where they dispose of evidence, apparently. And then one (or both) puked all over the hallway floor. They are the worst and now I'm freaking out hoping they don't die.

February 14, 2012 – Day 58 of 1,001

57/365 - One of my office mates got a puppy and she brought her to work Monday. Totes adorbs.

58/365 - Curlers, heck yes. (Do I look this cross-eyed in real life?)

Fitness Related Goals

I am having the hardest time getting back into the swing of things since returning from my work trip. I didn’t exercise at all over the weekend or yesterday. Today I got up early and heading to the gym and did my Couch-to-5K run, which actually went well even though I’m about a half-week behind now. My Body Shock class was right after my run but it was canceled at the last minute. What I should have done is a circuit workout on my own or done a swim, but instead I went home. I hate when my schedule gets messed up, it totally messes with my motivation.

I used the extra time this morning to put my hair in curlers. Tomorrow is Bootcamp and I’m really looking forward to it. The instructor always gets me to work harder than I ever thought possible. I’m hoping it will kick-start my fitness enthusiasm and I can regain the momentum I had throughout January. Tomorrow: Couch-to-5K Run (Week 6, Run #1), Bootcamp, and some time on the bike.

Goal #13 – Go 30 days without eating out.

I will attempt this goal starting March 1st. I don’t anticipate it will be too difficult. Work lunches and dinners may be tricky and I may not let them count. Some work meals I simply cannot get out of and they occur every month of the year.

Goal #21 – Develop and implement a photo organization system.

I couldn’t sleep last night so I spent a few more hours culling photos from my hard drives, organizing the remaining files into logically named folders and sub-folders, and doing other general housekeeping on my computer files. As I add new photos (which I do through Aperture), I will make sure that I organize them upon importing and delete those that I obviously wouldn’t need to keep. I will consider this goal accomplished when I have 100% of my current photo files organized and I have a simple, step-by-step process in place that I can use every time I add new photos to my computer.

Goal #27 – Make meditation a regular part of my day.

Now that I have two months of regular, early-morning exercise as a part of my daily routine, I feel confident that I can add a block of time for meditation. I usually finish at the gym (including showering and drying my hair) at the same time each day. I plan on using this time directly after the gym to meditate for 30 minutes and then meditating another 30 minutes each day after work. Some days I won’t be able to sit that long and other days I will be able to sit longer; 30 minutes, twice a day will be what I aim for.

I am not new to meditation; I have been meditating off-and-on for six years now and have attended several multi-day meditation retreats as well. Meditation is one of the very best things I’ve found to help my sleep, stress levels, and focus. I’m happier when I meditate.  Despite all this, I have not made an effort to meditate daily and I want to. Like anything, it’s about making the time. I’ve proven I can make the time for exercise and my life is so much better for it. I don’t feel like I’ve given anything up – rather, I feel like I’ve gained time in each day. So I want to do this now too and I imagine it will yield the same positive results that exercise has.

I will consider this goal complete when I have meditated at least 15 minutes every day (every single day) for 60 days.

Goal #70 – Eat no sugar or gluten for an entire month.

I’m going to start this March 1st and do it in conjunction with Goal #13 – Go 30 days without eating out. I am a SUGAR ADDICT. I love candy so much. I also love bread, but not as much as candy. I’ve given both up for stretches far longer than a month, but I always go back with a vengeance. This time, however, I am going to have my bloodwork done before and after. I don’t think I have celiac disease, but I do think gluten is causing some issues for me. And even though I don’t have diabetes, I know sugar is awful for me. I know I will feel better without it. I will never give it up 100% forever, but I think a month-long detox from it will be good. I plan to begin March 1st and will keep updates here about how I’m feeling.

Goal #88 – Complete a no-spend month.

This one is slated for March too! I figure it makes sense. I will spend $0.00 – not a single penny will leave my pocket, wallet, bank account, or credit card accounts during March 2012 except for my regular monthly expenses like my mortgage, electric bill, etc. But any unnecessary spending (including gas for my car, dog food, etc.) will not occur. Which means I’ll have to stock up the last week of February so the dogs don’t starve. If I run out of gas in March, I’ll be walking. If I run out of food… well, I’ll stock up on groceries February 29th so that doesn’t happen. I’m weirdly excited about this challenge. Mostly because keeping track of my budget will be so much easier.

February 12, 2012 – Day 56 of 1,001

55/365 - Saturday was all about baking. I made a coffee and planned.

56/365 - Sunday was all about cleaning. The claw feet on this table were disgusting.

I traveled all last week for work, so I didn’t figure I’d accomplish much in terms of goals. I made an earnest effort to run and exercise each day, however, and I did continue with my daily photo project. I didn’t have much opportunity to do anything non-work related most of the week, but as I went through my goals, I realize I have made some significant progress on several things.

Goal #1 – Complete Project 365.

I am already on photo #56 – over 15% complete! It’s so easy with my iPhone. I imagine if I were having to take all the photos with a regular camera, I’d have missed several days already.

Goal #22 – Break my internet habit at work.

I was not 100% successful with this last week so I start anew tomorrow. The plan I outlined for myself does work, however, and I think it is just a matter of holding myself accountable. The few times last week when I lingered online were simple laziness and procrastination, rather than the lack of an overarching method of keeping to my work. So I’ll strengthen my mental resolve this week and stick to my GTD system.

Goal #36 – Read each New Yorker magazine issue in the week it arrived.

This one was simple this week because I love reading magazines on planes. But I also think I may just have got this one down in general. Linking it to other things I do every week (eating breakfast out, riding the bus to a weekly appointment, waiting in line for various things, etc) really cinched it for me. If I can keep it up through March, I’m going to call it completed.

Goal #38 – Prepare and follow a budget each month.

This is so simple for the “big” things like my mortgage, insurance, and so on but it is very trying for miscellaneous spending like eating out, grabbing a soda at the gas station, buying a newspaper on a whim, etc.  Because my bank account has instant updating, I have long been in the habit of checking my statement online each evening and making sure the miscellaneous expenses from my debit card match what I spent that day. Now I have to log it in my budget, which isn’t that much more work but it seems so tedious to me. I hate it. Alternatively, I also hate saving all the receipts and logging them at the end of the week. It’s just bothersome. I’m being lazy, I know.

Goal #45 – Get my dog, Honey Bear’s, portrait painted.

This one is pretty much done! I got the final proof from the artist and approved it last week and he’s already shipped it to me. I’ll count this as done once I have it framed and hanging up. I have been meaning to do this for years and years but just never made myself sit down, pick a photo, go to etsy, purchase the portrait, and communicate with the artist. It seemed like so much to do but honestly, it all took less than 15 minutes altogether. Here’s what the final painting looks like:

I love it so much. It captures her exactly.

Goal #54 – Complete all tasks/adventures on Red Dead Redemption.

I played a couple hours of this on Saturday night and while I do like this game a lot, I realized I simply do not want to put in the kind of time it would take to complete all the tasks/jobs/adventures/challenges it offers. I’m going to change this goal to something else, perhaps another game-related goal, although there are no games I like enough right now to attempt and all the games I love (Crysis2, Portal2) are ones in which have already accomplished everything. Maybe Crysis3 and/or Portal3 will come out in the next 950 days. Hope of hopes!

Goal #65 – Read all of the unread books in my house and then donate them to the library.

I took this book on my trip this week and it was a very fast read.

I liked it; it was published in 1989 so it is quite dated but I love Ian Frazier’s writing style. It’s basically a patchwork history of the Great Plains states but it feels more like you’re on a road trip with Frazier and he’s telling to a bunch of stories “about the time when…” It gives me a lot more appreciation for where I grew up (Western Nebraska) and where I now live (Southeastern Wyoming). (Another great book about this area, although with a much more specific subject, is SC Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon.)

I love to read and before I got a Kindle I had hundreds of books in my house. I try to now buy only e-books or audiobooks because I like not having a bunch of books occupying space on my shelves. I have slowly read through most of the books I owned and now just have one small bookcase of about 50 books left to read. Great Plains was the first from this shelf to be read and tomorrow I’ll drop it off at the library for one of their book sales.

A select few of these I will keep forever, a few I just want to read one more time, most I just need to read and then donate.

Goal #78 – Finish my MSBH blog project.

This is a slow process. I had every intention of doing two, if not three, recipes this weekend but the one that I did took so long I didn’t get to the others. It will post on Valentine’s Day.  Here’s a little tease:

Now that the days are getting longer, I might be able to make and photograph some recipes on weekdays either before or after work.

Some Goal Adjustments

I’m going to edit a few of the goals that I think need some fine-tuning. Coming up with 101 things was not exactly easy – I had a strong, I’d say, 95 goals that I definitely wanted to do but the last six or so I kinda just pulled out of thin air. I have come up with some better things over the past couple of months, however, and feel that my list will be more meaningful if I add them and remove some others. None of these have to do with failing to meet a goal or thinking something is too hard. It’s entirely about whether I think a certain goal is worthwhile and/or something I genuinely want to spend time attempting.

Daily Photos

50/365 - I pack running shoes when I travel now. They take up a lot of space.

51/365 - Whimsical art installation at the baggage claim.

52/365 - Old timey candy shoppe.

53/365 - My job brings me into contact with things like this from time to time. I love all the primary colors in the background.

54/365 - White prairie, white sky. Outside Denver Int'l Airport on Friday afternoon.