Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Songs

Others appear to be doing it, so I might as well -- links to some of my favorite Christmas songs. I have two that get me every time: Carol of Bells, for a fun, light-hearted feeling, and O Holy Night, for a serious, heart-warming feeling. I especially love Carol of the Bells when it is done by a hand-bell choir. Growing up watching the Claymation Christmas special, I have to link to one of the best versions out there: Claymation Carol of the Bells.

And yes, I know I just said that O Holy Night is my more serious favorite song, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a fun version song by Eric Cartman.

When viewing so many other people's favorites, I came across this one song by a British guy I've never heard of. The music isn't extraordinary, but I like the words and the sentiment.

Merry Christmas everyone

Friday, December 18, 2009

Usual holiday blahs

Every year by early November, I am psyching myself up for the holidays. Usually, I am finishing up my Christmas shopping (I try to be done before Thanksgiving) and trying to get into some kind of shape to be ready for all the food. Yet despite all my supposed planning and preparation, every year around late December I am scrambling for some last minute gifts and moaning about a few extra pounds I've put on. This year is no different even though I am trying my best to stay positive. I have kept up with the daily exercise routine and I'm making a little progress on the slow eating front, but yet I still find myself stressed, frazzled, and overwhelmed with too much food and things to get done.

Somehow, I plan to make next year different. My goal is to keep up with the 30 day challenges and slowly improve my life one aspect at a time. Somehow, I will make it through the holidays with my head held high and my spirits light.

Until that time, please send your best wishes to my husband, so that he can survive my tantrums and melt-downs in the meantime.

Monday, December 14, 2009

New Setback

As well as I thought I was doing with my new challenge to eat slower, I learned another important lesson this weekend -- don't try to play hostess at the same time. We had some friends over on Saturday night for an evening of movies and spaghetti. I was so distracted with cooking and serving, that my own plate of food was gone before I even realized I had swallowed anything. This means that although I may plan on inviting people over again sometime soon, I am definitely not going to host any meals before another 30 days are up. I'm starting the slow eating challenge over again -- today is day 1.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Challenges continue

On the slow eating front, I have been improving, but not quite as well as I would have liked. I have often caught myself halfway through a meal before I realize that I've been wolfing and then take a step back. At least I have noticed at some point during every meal so far, so I am not giving up. This is only day 7, so I have time before getting this right.

The exercising also continues. I am up to 30 push-ups now. I have also found a new website where I am tracking my progress: Daytum. It's a very simple interface, and I like that kind of minimalism. It also gives several different graphical views of data, which I think will be helpful.

Friday, December 04, 2009

First Challenge Complete!

So, I have mentally been prepping myself to post my 'complete' announcement this Friday. Then this morning, as I am writing down my exercise numbers, I notice that today is actually day 31! Somewhere along the line, I miscounted and have successfully exercised for at least 5 minutes every morning for 31 days in a row. I'm actually very happy that that I lost count and was still able to stick with it.

Of course, the long term goal is to keep this up indefinitely to make it habit-forming. But with the first 30 day challenge met, it is time to move on to stage two -- I've decided my next challenge will be to eat slower. I still haven't quite determined exact measurements for this, but in general I am going to try to do the following:

  • chew every bite thoroughly
  • rest my hand/utensil more often
  • drink more inbetween bites
  • enjoy my food more deliberately

As before, I will be posting updates to keep my progress 'public'. Feel free to ask me about it, give suggestions, or slow me down when you see me eating. Today is day 1.