September Review

September 1st blew by me without a second glance...


1. Run 15 miles in one running session at least once.
I'm rethinking this one. I'm not going to completely revise my goal of 15 miles just yet as I believe it is definitely doable by April of next year. I can DO it, its more a matter of do I really want to train for it. I have cut down my weekly milage by a considerable amount. This summer I was trying to run at least 20 miles each week, which meant at least 5 miles 4 days a week. I am now trying to focus on becoming a better runner and running for longer stretches without a walking break. So I'm doing 3 1/2 miles 3 times a week and then 5+ miles on Saturday. I'm running slower and better. Dave and I ran together in South Haven last month - we ran for an hour, I'm sure it was minimum 5 miles, but probably between 5 & 6. I ran really, really well and we didn't stop to walk. Last week I ran 8.25 miles and the only breaks I took were at the drinking fountains. I was very pleased with my performance.

Part of my motivation for decreasing my mileage is I want to lose a little weight. I had gained 3 pounds and wanted to lose that and then 5 additional pounds. Last week at Grandma's cottage I think I gained another 3, although a chunk of it could be water retention. At any rate, I would like to get to 115. I think at that weight running will be even easier for me - I've read that every additional pound that you lose makes running just a little easier. I am not going to be able to lose weight with higher mileage during the week - I was too hungry and too easily justified eating whatever I wanted to eat. So I joined WW to get me back on a mental ideal, cut my mileage and am now considering how and if I can do a mainly plant based diet. I don't eat a lot of meat to begin with and I don't want to go strictly vegetarian (I love pork), but I'd like to try eating mainly vegetables, whole grains and beans and really limit the amount of processed foods I eat. I do well with this already (limiting processed foods), but I need to concentrate more on the veggies & beans portion. I could write much more on this... When I was pregnant with Nora I had gained a little too much weight and my doctor at that time told me to not eat anything that comes in a wrapper. Not as easy as you think, but I believe he is right.

Eating this way would help my weight, my running and my cholesterol. But I'm not sure about how it will affect the grocery budget - right now that is my biggest concern (Dave's income has increased significantly over the last couple of months - he has covered our expenses TWICE!!!!! We've even had some left over to save. Because we feel this trend will continue, we are desperately trying to abide by the 10/10/80 principle - which means that I HAVE to stick to a grocery budget... and it is not a very big grocery budget since it is basically the leftover portion of the 80).

This goal is always at the forefront of my mind, so I am thinking about it and trying to figure out what I ultimately want to do.

2. Write one handwritten note each month.
Not sure I wrote any last month.

3. Spend the afternoon school time reading a non-fiction book.
My current non-fiction book is Prayer: Does It Really Matter by Philip Yancey. It is really making me think and I love it. It has helped me bring my prayer life to a different level and to be more conscious of it period. I'm trying to read it in the morning, but may be switching to the afternoon.

4. Start the whole flylady thing.
I'm going to restart next week. This holiday week really messes me up with everything - house routines, health routines, eating, etc.

5. Repaint the foyer, front room/dining room, kitchen and family room.
Foyer - done. Kitchen - ceiling, walls and trim painted. I am currently working on my kitchen cabinets. I have been working on them since the beginning of August. I sanded everything down and I've painted the cabinet bases. I have all of the doors primed and am working on painting them. This is taking forever. I'm really hoping to be done by Christmas. The big issues: I'm using oil based paint, which takes 24 hours to dry instead of 1; I need 2-3 thin coats for each thing - and a light sanding between coats; I can only do 8 doors at a time and then only one side of each door at a time; the sanding and the painting is bringing out my inner perfectionist and I don't like it - I keep finding fuzzies or tiny hairs in the dried paint which I don't want. I want to do these correctly so I don't have to do them again - which means 2-3 thin coats and sanding in between. I have tried many different paint application options - brush, foam brush, roller, foam roller. I think I have finally found the combination that I want to stick with.

6. Go on at least three city adventures with the girls over the summer.
Went to the Museum of Science and Industry in June. I am sad to say the other two didn't happen. I had a train/bus transportation schedule worked out to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then decided to postpone for the following week due to a dinner that I could tell Dave really wanted me to attend. The following week, though, the girls were sick. Then the last week of school Nora was still sick (she had diarrhea for 12 days!!) So the LP Zoo never happened. Perhaps I can figure something else out, but not sure.

7. Take a yoga class.
I found a very reasonably priced class offered at the LTHS Community Wellness Center. I think it is in November, but I need to wait to find out if the $34 will be available in October's 80%.

8. Write in each of the girls' journals at least once a month.
Thrilled to report that I wrote in each of their journals last month. I had good thoughts of possibly doing so every Saturday morning, but that didn't happen.

9. Do a personal Bible study in the morning before all the morning routines begin.
I'm currently reading Ezekiel and II Corinthians. I've begun to journal on specific verses that speak to me during my reading. I often don't have anything to journal on from the prophets, but I am learning about who God is by reading them. I spent about 2 weeks just on I Corinthians 13 trying to learn to "love extravagently". It was good. I love my Bible reading time and look forward to it every day. This is a whole new attitude for me.

10. Do not add any new television shows to my regular watch list.
So the White Sox blow this year. We have been watching DVDs of friends for an hour before bed and have laughed really hard. We've watched season 1 and season 2 so far and I've seen some episodes that I've never seen before - The one where Joey moves out and Monica is the twinkie in the city, the one where Eddie won't leave and the lightning rods keeps stealing the wind, and the one where Rachel is a pepto bismal bridesmaid. And we saw one of our favorite Friends moments: Supposebly. Supposebly? Supposebly. They went to the zoo... supposebly... So classic. LOVE Friends.

11. Be consistent with not getting on the computer until my stuff is done.
More deep cleaning is getting done because I have a lot more time to myself to do it. But I'm not so good at not getting on the computer until my stuff is done. I need to work on it and be serious about it.

12. Drink 100 ounces of water on the weekends (total of Saturday and Sunday).
Haven't done so well with this one, either. I feel like I've been on a hiatus from intentional living this past month...

13. Memorize Bible verses.
See my answer to #12. Need to restart.