New Year's Resolutions?

Should I make resolutions for next year?

When I first started this blog, I was all about it. I broke them down into different categories and reported back periodically on my progress. Not because I thought anyone was really that concerned, but to keep myself honest.

And then, Eleanor was born. All that went out the window. My goal for 2008 was pretty much to just still be alive for 2009. Success!

In 2009, things improved a lot. Eleanor is becoming more independent all the time, allowing me to still bits of time here and there to get things done. I switched to teaching part-time (or professoring, if you prefer), which offers a good schedule and that I enjoy.

Most importantly, in 2009 I've worked a LOT on calming down, going with the flow, not being so hung up on my to-do lists. I need to learn to accept that days don't always go as planned, and it's okay if sometimes my to-do list is barely touched, much less finished. It doesn't make me incompetent or lazy or a bad person. It's life.

This is a big lesson for me to learn, but I'm getting there. So, in the spirit of that lesson, I think I'm going to forgo the New Year's Resolutions. I definitely have some ideas in mind: about fitness, about writing, about leisure. But I am going to resist the urge to write them down and then see them as set in stone (absolutely must happen!) in my mind.

Maybe, at the end of 2010, I'll let you know, generally, how I did on achieving my goals. And you'll just have to believe me!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Motivation

Since my birthday at the beginning of April, I've been trying much more diligently to work on eating better, working out, and finally losing the baby weight. Motivation is a funny thing, though. I'm motivated to lose 30 pounds in the long term. Yet, I have a hard time always remembering how that long-term goal applies to the doughnuts that someone brought into work that morning, or ordering pizza for dinner on a Friday night. It's just one meal, right? That turns into a Coke, or another missed workout ....

So I've been trying to come up with ways to trick myself into short-term motivation. One of those required Keith's help. I asked him to come up with surprise treats for me with every 5 pounds I lose. I didn't want it to be anything that would break the bank, but something that I wouldn't normally do for myself.

A few weeks ago, I passed the first 5-lb mark and Keith fanned out slips of paper in front of my face.

"Pick one," he said gleefully. "But only one!" For some reason, I think he enjoys keeping these secret from me.

I chose a slip that said I could buy a new album.

I was excited, but undecided. What album should I get? I don't buy new music very often, so it was a big decision. When I was running over the weekend, I thought about how I wanted the album to give me more motivation to keep it up. So I wanted something upbeat and high energy that would make me want to work out. I couldn't decide what, though.

Then, a few days ago, for some reason Keith brought up the movie Idlewild that we had DVR'd recently. It starred Big Boi and Andre 3000 from Outkast, and the music was an interesting, catchy blend of rap and hip hop with Prohibition-era songs, which is the time period where the movie takes place. I enjoyed the movie and loved the music, so it was perfect!

I triumphantly announced my decision, and Keith ran into the living room, to download the MP3s from LaLa. Since then, we both have been enjoying the album (which has 26 songs for only $10! A steal!). I can't wait to put some songs from it on my iPod for my run this weekend.

I'm also closing in on another reward. I'm still not perfect, but having these mysteries out there to tantalize me along the way does seem to help. I wonder what the next one will be ....

Running Goal: 10k in May

Well, the gauntlet has been thrown. This past weekend I did get registered for the Flying Pig 10k, which is the day before Keith's marathon (early May). I hope I'm ready!

I did do a 4-mile run last Sunday, which gives me hope. My goal is to run 3 times a week throughout April, including 5 miles this coming Sunday, then 6 miles the Sunday after that. If I can manage that, I'll know I'm ready!

If it would just stop snowing here, that would help with the likelihood of me actually getting out to run.

Best-case scenario: I also do the 5k Run Wild for a Cure in Cleveland the following weekend, which benefits the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation—a cause that is very important to me. In some ways I'm more nervous about that race, though, because Keith's work friend is planning on running it. He's just started running recently, and is hoping to run a 10-minute/mile pace.

I don't have any kind of pace goal for the 10k. I just want to finish. I think there's a better than 98% chance that I run slower than 10min/mile for that one. But now that I have some personal competition for the 5k (even though I've only met him once), I would really like to be able to keep up or even beat him ..... but maybe I should just focus on getting my miles in, for now. That's challenge enough.

Setting Some Goals

Alright, I think I need to make a few of my goals public, to hold myself accountable. So here goes:

• I want to run a 10k in the beginning of May.
• I want to lose 20-30 pounds by July.

There! I've admitted it. Since I didn't write any New Year's Resolutions, this will have to do instead. We'll see how it goes .....

2008 New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so I've established that there was plenty of room for improvement in my attainment of 2007 resolutions. So this year, I'm going to keep it simple.

2008 New Year's Resolutions

1) Have a baby.
As you can probably guess, from the fact that I'm posting on my blog, this resolution is already well underway. I'm in the second trimester, and my estimated due date is July 17. Keith and I are both more excited/nervous/scared/happy than I can really articulate. This is a step that we've talked about for years, and always knew we'd take someday, but just recently felt somewhat prepared to make a reality.

Or, to be honest, we've finally accepted that we will never really be "ready" to be parents, so right now we're probably as ready as we'll ever be! Keith has a good job that pays most of the bills, we've been settled in our house for a year and a half, and we've even managed to keep two pets happy and healthy for that length of time! What else do you need, really?

It's been hard to not write about it on the blog, when it's all I've been thinking about lately. So it's good to finally get the news out in the open! And if you don't want to hear anything about pregnancy, well, you might not want to visit too often over the next few months because I'm sure it'll be a big topic of discussion.

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Obviously New Year's Resolution #1 has affected most of my usual goals (lose weight, run further/faster, etc.). I can't resist the urge to put down a few more goals here, but as long as #1 is accomplished successfully, everything else will be gravy.

2) Read 50 books, including 6 classics and 12 books by authors I don't know.
This might become a challenge in the second half of the year, so my goal is to try and get ahead before July. I bumped down my classics goal, since I never meet it anyway. The part about reading new authors was brought on by the feeling that, with focusing so much on classics, I just end up reading those or the same old mystery/romance authors I've already read. I really enjoy going into the library, picking a book at random, and hopefully finding a new favorite author. So I want to try and do more of that this year.


3) Eat healthy and stay in (relative) shape.
I always mean to eat healthy, but of course it's more important now than ever. Too bad I felt terrible during the first trimester, and all I wanted was McDonald's fries and Oreos! But the first trimester is over, and hopefully the nausea too (fingers crossed) so now I'll try even harder to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, drink lots of water, and allow myself the occasional cheat day, instead of cheating every other day of the week.

I also want to keep working out enough to not lose the progress I've made running. Ideally, I'd keep running 3 times/week into the 7th month, with a low weekly mileage (around 12-15 miles). I'm planning on running the Flying Pig 10k (since I am famous for it and all;), but of course this is just a goal to keep me motivated. I've been disappointed so far with how tired I've been. I'm hoping that changes in the second trimester, but I'll just have to wait and see.

The real goal is to prepare myself for labor and delivery, so I'm more concerned with my fabulous Prenatal Pilates DVD that my parents got me, and getting some childbirthing classes so I have the best experience possible.

4) Stop freaking out so much.
This is a huge life change, and one that freaks me out to no end. Every day. Just ask Keith, or my Mom. For my sake, Little L's sake, and the sanity of everyone around me, I need to learn to handle it better. Maybe some meditation, more sleep, less reading about all the possible complications .... other than #1, I think this will be the hardest resolution of all!

2007 Resolutions: Final Tally

I'm just putting the final touches on my resolutions for 2008. A list which, despite its lateness, will be uncharacteristically short. Possibly only one item long—I'm debating a few others.

But anyway, before I can get to 2008 I need to grade myself on my 2007 resolutions. Let's see how I did:
1. The Year of Nonfiction Writing
So. Not. Happening. More like The Year of Talking about Writing. But towards the very end of the year, as I mentioned last week, I shifted my nonfiction writing focus from travel to personal essay. I'm pretty excited about the new direction, but we'll see how it goes.

2. Start a business with Keith
Check! Bloom Web Solutions is a registered Limited Liability Corporation, we've had several clients (including one that actually pays us!) and our website is up.

3. Read 50 books (8 classics, 6 biographies)
As usual, I surpassed the 50 book mark, and I reached 6 biographies, but my classics fell short of the mark (6 total). Still, if it weren't for the resolution I'm sure I wouldn't have even read 6.

4. Run sub-30 min 5k
Check! I'm pretty excited about this one. After trying—and failing—to achieve this for 3 years, I race a 5k in June and finished at 29:15ish. Even better, I ran a 5k a month later in under 29 minutes, so the first one wasn't just a fluke. I may actually be getting faster!

5. Lift 6 times/month, keeping track on Fitday
Nope. I managed to keep this streak alive until August, when I only did 5 strength training sessions. To be fair, I consciously chose to stop focusing on strength training when I upped my running mileage while training for the November half-marathon. I still think it was the right decision.

6. Visit 12 new places in Cleveland area
Check! Probably 90% are restaurants, but there's nothing wrong with that!

7. Actually stick to a budget for 4 months
Check! I think we actually stayed within budget 5 months, total. The only reason this happened, I'll admit, is because of extra income from my online tutoring work and from our new web design business. So that's a lesson for me: a little extra income goes a long way!

8. Volunteer/give money to charity
I'm a slug. As always, my best of intentions fell victim to laziness and lack of time. This will also be on my resolution list, and someday I'll actually get there. And hopefully, from that point forward it will become a regular event.

9. Visit Sara and Jason in Toledo
Check! We had a great time seeing their house and hanging out with them.

So, of 9 resolutions, I met 5 and sorta met 1 (read 50 books, but not 8 classics). Not the best success rate, but I'm very happy with the things I did accomplish. Now onto 2008!

New Year's Resolutions To Come

Around this time of year, I usually review how I've done on the last year's resolutions and come up with some resolutions for the New* Year. I've done this for the past few years and I definitely like the accountability of it.

For me, the key to this endeavor is not to take my resolutions too seriously. I'd rather set high goals, knowing that I won't achieve all of them, then set low ones and stress out if I don't think I can reach them. For those of you who don't know me that well, I stress out a lot. All the time. Over stupid stuff. So I definitely don't need to set EXTRA goals so that I can have something else to stress about. Because I'm doing just fine in that category.

So far, I think I've done okay in the not-stressing department. I've achieved some of the goals that were most important to me, (get a house, improve my 5k race time, read 50 books a year) and other ones just didn't happen (spend time volunteering, read x number of classics).

This year, I'll again probably set some bigger, important goals, plus other goals that would be a real stretch to achieve, but that would give me a great sense of accomplishment. I need some more time to think about what exactly those goals will be, but I'll post some resolutions soon. There's my first goal.

*blogfriday word: New

Resolutions: Checking In

It's been a while since I've given any updates on my New Year's Resolutions. Not that any of you are particularly interested, but knowing I'll report on them here keeps me somewhat honest and slightly more motivated. Of course, not too motivated, because I know there's several I won't achieve and a few more teetering on the edge of oblivion.

1. The Year of Nonfiction Writing
So. Not. Happening. More like The Year of Talking about Writing.

2. Start a business with Keith
Check! Bloom Web Solutions is a registered Limited Liability Corporation, we've had several clients (including one that actually pays us!) and our website is up.

3. Read 50 books (8 classics, 6 biographies)
Similar to last year, I think I should do okay with reaching 50 books (I'm at 39 now), but my classics and biography goals are in jeopardy—I'm currently at 4 and 3, respectively. Now that Harry Potter is out of the way, I'd better get cracking ...

4. Run sub-30 min 5k
Check! I'm pretty excited about this one. After trying—and failing—to achieve this for 3 years, I race a 5k in June and finished at 29:15ish. Even better, I ran a 5k on Monday morning in under 29 minutes, so the first one wasn't just a fluke. I may actually be getting faster!

5. Lift 6 times/month, keeping track on Fitday
Nope. I managed to keep this streak alive until August, when I only did 5 strength training sessions. I'll still aim for 6x/month for the rest of the year, but sadly this resolution is kaput.

6. Visit 12 new places in Cleveland area
I think this shouldn't be a problem. I've got 9 or 10 checked off already. Mostly all restaurants, but there's nothing wrong with that!

7. Actually stick to a budget for 4 months
I'm ashamed to say it, but this one is also in question. We've managed to be in budget 2 of the past 8 months. Can we squeeze in two more months before the end of the year?

8. Volunteer/give money to charity
My friend Halle found the perfect volunteer opportunity, helping middle-school students with literacy. Unfortunately, I just don't think I can commit the time with started our own business. We have given some money to charity, but it's been sporadic and spontaneous and I'd still rather formulate a well-organized giving plan. I'm guessing this resolution will not be accomplished.

9. Visit Sara and Jason in Toledo
Check! We had a great time seeing their house and hanging out with them. Dare I resolve to do this two years in a row? That's probably asking too much.

So, out of 9 resolutions, 3 are already accomplished, 2 definitely won't happen (#s 1 and 5), and 4 are possible. Not too bad for September, I think.

July Budgeting Quirks

As one of my New Year's Resolutions, I wanted to stay in budget at least 4 months this year. Which should be easy, and yet ... we're in the 8th month and it's only happened once. Yikes!

July was particularly bad for a couple reasons. In the realm of personal spending, we both went to the dentist a few times. This is money that should be coming back to us from insurance (at least most of it), but we had to pay upfront and they wait a month or so and then reimburse us. For the house category, well, you've seen the fabulous deck. And in the miscellaneous and transportation categories, wedding-related expenses pushed us over the edge.

Strangely enough, the ONLY category in which we didn't blow our budget last month was groceries. I can't figure it out. We're generally TERRIBLE at sticking to the grocery budget. We've only stayed in grocery budget 5 of the last 12 months--and one of those was because we started shopping with a calculator and putting things back. That month we stayed within budget by a slim $1.74 margin.

And yet, by some miracle, in July we were under budget by a whopping $39. For us, that's huge! I'm wondering what made the difference. I don't think we ate out any more than usual, and we bought our usual foods too (not just 100 packets of Ramen noodles). We weren't out of town any more than usual (which is to say, we were still gone a lot).

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that I did a lot of the grocery shopping at the store that's on my way home from work. Is that store really so much cheaper? Or is it because I'm in a hurry so I don't throw as many random purchases into the cart? Maybe something about one person shopping instead of two--we can't talk each other into needless buys?

Obviously, it's too soon to say just based on one month. But I'm interested to see how August shapes up. And somewhat nervous--I'm already thinking about how I'm hosting writing group next Wednesday, people will be visiting the weekend after that, and of course we have to have a cookout! Maybe I'll consider myself lucky if we stay within grocery budget by $1.74 again.

Ahead and Yet Falling Behind

Firstly, sorry I was such a slacker last week on the blog. No good reason--I just didn't get around to it. Sorry about that--this week will be better. As a matter of fact, by virtue of this post it already is! Isn't it great to set low expectations?;)

But on a much more productive note, I had a fabulous weekend. Saturday we ran errands and hung out. And Sunday morning we had a race--the 17th Annual A Most Excellent Race. I was pretty nervous about it for several reasons.

Ever since I started running 3 years ago, I've had a goal of finishing a 5k under 30 minutes. This isn't a particularly fast time by any stretch of the imagination, but to me it was a challenge--and obviously a difficult one as, 3 years later, it still stands. I thought I had a good chance with this race because the course is about a mile from our house. It's the same streets that we run every day. They're flat, and I know them like the back of my hand, which can be a huge psychological advantage, I think, when you actually have a sense of where miles 2 and 3 will come up.

However, I've been sick and pretty much out of commission for 2 weeks prior to the race. On Wednesday morning, Beckett and I ran the course to get an idea of what to expect. Shockingly, we finished in 28:50--clearly under 30 minutes. Even granting that I may have been slightly off in my route plotting (e.g., cutting a corner here or there), the test run showed that I should be able to finish in under 30 minutes.

I kinda did the test run to show myself that it wasn't going to happen, and take the pressure off for race day. But obviously, I had the opposite result. Luckily the weather on race day was gorgeous and it all went well. I managed to keep up a good pace and finished in 29:14. Yay for me!!! I finally met my running goal--which is also another check on the New Year's Resolutions list.

Of course, being the person I am, as we sat in the shade by the side of the course, waiting for others to finish, I felt a little bereft. Adrift. What would I do without that goal? I suppose I have to come up with another one now. But doesn't this mean I can never again be satisfied with a race over 30 minutes? I just don't know how to feel!

Other than the angst of a goal-reached, it was a fabulous day. Especially the part where we walked the dogs and stopped for some gelato. Mmmmmm .... so last week I fell behind on the blog, but met my running goal for the first time ever. You can't have everything, right?

P.S. And everyone should wish Keith a "Happy Birthday" today. Now he's old, just like me!

Start-up Biz?

So, as my neglected New Year's Resolutions can attest, Keith and I have talked about starting our own business. It would be in web designing—I could create graphics and the text, and Keith would make it all work. I thought it seemed like a great use of our disparate talents.

But I've been wondering lately: do people still hire web designers? I mean, I'm sure large companies would, because they want specific graphics, unique functionalities, etc. But I think our target market would be the smaller, local businesses. The restaurant that wants to put their menu and hours online. The stay-at-home mom who's decided to open a daycare.

As I've been investigating, I've found a whole industry has sprung up that caters to these types of clients. Ones who are happy to use templates and clip art. They're not too particular about having a unique site; they just want something and they don't want to think about it too hard. And for a minimal price, these hosts offer them a package deal. Sure they don't get editing assistance or additional functionality, but do they care?

I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on this before I go to the work of setting up a business. Do you think there's still a need out there for smaller web design businesses? Or would people prefer to pay less for a pre-existing template?

Resolutions Update

I thought that this year I'd try something a little different. If I update everyone on the progress (or obvious lack thereof) for my New Year's Resolutions, maybe I'll be a little more motivated to actually accomplish them. You may have no interest in how I do, but if you enjoy a heart-warming session of publicly shaming and berating oneself, read on dear friend!

2007 Resolutions
1. The Year of Nonfiction Writing
So far, not too much progress. I did find a few potential markets ... but I have yet to query or actually submit anything. Let's call it one small step forward—at least not moving back!

2. Start a business with Keith
If random snippets of conversation count as "action," check this item off! We've thought of a name and discussed what would need to be on our website, at a minimum.

3. Read 50 books (8 classics, 6 biographies)
This is one of the only resolutions I'm feeling pretty good about. I think I read 5 books in January—one biography and one classic. So far so good!

4. Run sub-30 min 5k
I'll report back when temperatures are above freezing and we're not buried in many feet of snow.

5. Lift 6 times/month, keeping track on Fitday
Just barely squeaked in my six work-outs for January, and I know the only reason I did it was because it was a resolution. See, it's working already!

6. Visit 12 new places in Cleveland area
As I suspected, I think these will be mostly restaurants. As previously blogged we went to Sushi Rock in January. Up this month: The Mad Greek in Fairmount Square.

7. Actually stick to a budget for 4 months
Not even close. 0 for 1.

8. Volunteer/give money to charity
We've made a plan of who we'd give money to if we had it. Now for the "having" part ...

9. Visit Sara and Jason in Toledo
This isn't going to happen until the weather's nicer. But it will happen, as long as Sara and Jason will have us!

Already Faltering

Remember my New Year's Resolutions? The ones it took me forever to post?

Barely two weeks into the New Year, and I'm already faltering.

The problem is the resolution about strength training at least 6 times a month. I thought I was giving myself a lot of leeway. But last week I just didn't feel like it.

I knew I could lift just twice, 3 weeks a month, and be okay. So I figured it was no big deal, I could catch up this week and be back on track. But last night I ended up working late, and just didn't feel like doing anything when I got home, much less something physically demanding.

So here I am, January 17, and already falling behind on my resolutions. Hmmm ... maybe I worded the resolution so that I can do strength training every day in December and average 6 sessions per month throughout the year. See—there's always hope!

New Year's Resolutions: 2007 Style

2007 Resolutions

1. The Year of Nonfiction Writing
My goal for this year is to focus on my nonfiction writing. I want to write up a synopsis/outline for a book about my volunteer year in England and submit that to agents. Plus, I'll spend more time trying to find smaller freelance jobs.

2. Start a business with Keith
We've talked about it before, but I think we should definitely start a web design/development business. I work on the graphics/layout/organization/writing, and he makes it all work. I don't want to spend a lot of time soliciting clients. I just think we should make a business plan, put together a website, and see what happens.

3. Read 50 books (8 classics, 6 biographies)
Last year I made the 50 total, but definitely missed on the classics. So this year's classics goal is in-between what I read last year (6), and what I planned on reading (12).

4. Run sub-30 min 5k
I'm thinking this might be on the New Year's Resolutions list for the rest of my life. But maybe this year I'll get lucky...

5. Lift 6 times/month, keeping track on Fitday
Hopefully this is feasible, since I should be lifting 8 times a month if I do it two times a week. I really do miss it, so hopefully I can get back into the habit.

6. Visit 12 new places in Cleveland area
I'm looking forward to getting to know the city, since I haven't lived here full-time since I was 18. Most of these places will probably be restaurants, but that's okay with me!

7. Actually stick to a budget for 4 months
I'm great at making budgets, but I know that since we moved into our house in July, we've only managed to stay within budget one month. That's one out of six. So if we can stay in budget 4 months out of 12, it will at least be an improvement!

8. Volunteer/give money to charity
As always, something I say is important .... but never get around to doing. Now that we are homeowners in a community, maybe that will serve as motivation.

9. Visit Sara and Jason in Toledo
I think it's probably been at least two years, if not three, that we've said we'd get together and somehow it doesn't end up happening. Toledo is not that far away! So this year, I'll make it happen.

All I can say is, it's a good thing I didn't make a resolution about blogging regularly, because my track record for 2007 so far leaves a lot to be desired!

A Bad Sign

Is it a bad sign that I've now put off writing my 2007 New Year's Resolutions for about a week?

I supposed some might see it that way. But I'm resolved to be optimistic. I've just been putting them off because I want to get them right, you know? I started writing them, but they're on a piece of scrap paper that's tucked into the back pocket of my jeans, which are folded on the shelf at home. So I can't write them from work, and when I get home I'm sooo busy doing all sorts of fabulous and exciting things that I forget all about it. I'm living life, not just talking about it!

So you see, I'm not procrastinating at all. I'm just making these the best resolutions EVER. When I get around to them.

Last Year's Resolutions

So about this time last year, I waxed poetic about all the things I was going to accomplish in 2006. It was such a heady time, full of promise and possibilities.

And now the year is nearly over. How'd I do? Overall, I'd say not too bad. I mean, I did make 11 resolutions; what were the chances I'd stick faithfully to nearly a dozen promises for an entire year? Slim-to-none, my friends.

But I did give myself full marks on 5 of the 11 resolutions, and partial credit for another 2. So that leaves 4 that I was entirely unsuccessful on. Maybe I'll only make 7 resolutions for next year .....

2006 Resolutions
1. Buy a house. Check!
2. Get a dog. Check!
3. Pay off my first car. Check! (Not on the list: get car stolen and almost have to start paying off a new car, then get original car back and be grateful once again for no car payment. But I'm an overachiever.)
4. Read 50 books, with a minimum of 12 classics and a maximum of 10 romances. Yes and no. I read 50+ books, but only 6ish classics (Still hoping to finish the "Book of Job"). That's hard work; damn you, Don Quixote!
5. Start lifting weights regularly again, run a sub-30 min. 5k, and lose enough chub to banish the "fat face." Definitely failed here. Maybe next year ...
6. Learn more about creating graphics for a website; get virtualfam.com up and running. Um, sorta. I *did* learn more about graphics, and there's now a site for the fam's presence in the virtual universe .... it's just a pre-existing site that we signed up for a membership on. But overall, I think it counts!
7. Join an organization that works to increase literacy and contribute on a regular basis. Big "F." They all want you to be available during the day. Or at least, the three that I called in Cinci before we moved did. Maybe I'll try looking in Cleveland.
8. Visit 12 places I've never seen before. Check! They range from York, England, to our new house, but I've definitely hit 12 new places and then some.
9. Finish my travel book synopsis and send it to 10 agents. Fail. No sugarcoating this one.
10. Try one new variety of wine. Um, I think I crossed this one off the list on January 2. Check!
11. Write a blog entry every non-holiday weekday in 2006. Fail. This ended, what?, February maybe? But I still haven't done too badly. We've surpassed the 200-mark!

Adrift Without an Anchor Tome

So I've finished Don Quixote. Which is good and all, but since I closed it for good, I've felt a little lost.

Since it's taken me several months to finish DQ, I also read other books during that time. Last week, I was reading a couple of pirate adventures by Gideon Defoe. But they were short, and I finished them not long after I finished DQ. Suddenly, for the first time since May or so, I'm not reading a book. There isn't one next to my bed, or in my bag, or on the coffee table.

Okay, I did grab a book and put it in my bag, but I haven't started it yet. When I think about reading at lunch, I can't think about where I am in the book and what might be happening next, because I haven't even started it yet.

Does anyone else ever get like this? I like to be in the middle of a book AT ALL TIMES. Is that so weird? At least I'll get to go to the library tonight or tomorrow and pick up some books for our trip. And I'll read the first chapter of every book I pick up, so I won't have this lost, empty feeling for quite some time.

Next: World Peace

My friends, I have a bit of news that is, quite frankly, astonishing.

I have finished Don Quixote.

I know! I never would have thought it possible either. But with my mom's revolutionary plan of committing to 50 pages a week, a mere 3 months later, I'm finished!

I think I'm actually going to miss The Don a little bit. My bag was so much lighter, carrying it into work this morning sans The Don. No more crazy adventures for DQ and Sancho Panza to get into.

As Cathy and I were e-discussing this morning, it's actually surprising how many current cultural references there are to Don Quixote today. I mean, there's the word "quixotic"! How many books get a word all their own?

So I'm glad that I read the book. It may not have always been "pleasant" and would never be considered a "quick read." But I did it, and I'm glad I did. There might actually be something to this incremental way of doing things ....

A Classical Dilemma

So maybe I’m going at the “reading the classics” the wrong way.

Yesterday Keith and I were trolling Borders for books on my Top 100 list. I ended up rejecting any that we found because they were too long (one was in two volumes!) or, upon reading the back cover, seemed too abstract and artsy.

It seems that combining reading the classics with an annual reading goal is counterproductive. Because whenever I pick up something that seems the least bit daunting (nearly everything on the list), all I can think is “it would take me forever to read this!”

But really, I feel like I need to set goals for reading the classics because, for the most part, they’re hard work. There’s a million books out there that are easier to read, more fast-paced, etc. And of course I intersperse those amongst the classics. (I’m very excited to start The Man Who Loved Jane Austen at lunch today!). But I do want to read these influential, ground-breaking novels. So I make a list, and give myself a deadline. And then don’t read the books because I don’t think I’ll make the deadline. Oh, and whine about how difficult it all is.

After one trip around the store, I did end up going back and getting Don Quixote because, while the list is 99% unnumbered, they did list Don Quixote as the #1 novel of all time, so I am definitely intrigued. Besides, if high schoolers taking Spanish can read it, surely I can. Right?

Ill-Timed Good Intentions

Why do I always decide to get back on the wagon at the wrong times?

First of all, I think that we can all agree January 1 is a stupid time to make a fitness resolution. You write your resolutions with firm strokes, in dark black ink. This year it will really happen! You look up from the freshly drying ink to see a blizzard. Not good.

But, even though I made a resolution, I didn't actually start to follow through on it until February. You would think that might be a little bit safer, right? Umm, no. Not in Cincinnati.

This was going to be the week. Keith and I have already paid our registration fees for the Flying Pig—he's running the Half-Marathon and I'm running the 10k the day before. It's only 3 months away, and I've maybe run from the couch to the door when the pizza arrives. Oh wait—I make Keith do that. So yeah, I have a lot of work to do.

I dredged up the schedule I had made in late December, ripped off "January" and dove back in. Saturday we checked the weather for the week.

January had been unseasonably warm. February? You guessed it. Unseasonably cold. I don't have what they call "proof," but I'm firmly convinced that the cold front swooping in coincided directly with when I renewed my promise to run around outside like a ninny.

On Sunday I lifted weights and did some yoga, which was sort of a compromise because I did work out, but still avoided the great out of doors.

But today was the test. High of 38, low in the frigid 20s. Goal: 2-3 miles. I tried to avoid thinking about it all day, because I knew that somehow I'd convince myself that I already had pneumonia or my leg was actually broken. Or my old standby is that, because I'm always sleep-deprived, it's actually healthier for me to take a nap on the couch than it is to wear down my body with physical activity.

Shockingly, I did it. I changed as soon as I got home from work and forced myself to march out the door, hiding the couch from view as I passed by. 2.75 extremely slow miles, but no walking.

If it's still cold next week, you'll know that I've stuck with it that long, at least!