read more posts by
Heather
Whoa.. . is it just me, or did February go by in a blink of an eye? Of course this brings us to March. March is not a month I particularly enjoy, but I am making the best of it. Spring should be arriving in a few weeks and hopefully, we can see the end of the tunnel as far as winter goes around here.
A new month, brings new goals (or an attempt to complete ones from the prior month) and to review what we were able to accomplish in the prior month. In February, I had some pretty lofty goals. I was a bit concerned that I overextended myself, I had a 10 day vacation thrown in there, so I really had to be focused to get my stuff done. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more distracted I become. Some tasks take me twice as long as they did before. I am going to have to do some research on that and get back to you. Perhaps, a great idea for a new blog post. 🙂 In any event, in February, my goals were:
- Launch blog
- Finish Transform 20
- Set up my next online health and fitness group
- Read one personal development book and one book for pleasure
- Have a stress free trip to Disney with the boys
- Run 65 miles
- Organize kitchen cabinets
- Save additional money on top of what already goes into savings
I am happy to report, I accomplished all my goals except for the kitchen cabinets. This will get moved to March. I successfully launched the blog on February 14th. Is it perfect? No. Does it have everything it needs to run smoothly? No. However, the goal was to get the content out there and work on it as I go. There is no such thing as perfection, right? Everything is a work in progress. As you can see from earlier this week, I did finish Transform 20. I had great results and despite my intial reservations, I am glad I did it. What challenges us, makes us stronger. My online health and fitness group is up and running. As a side note, I have had some questions on that. Each month I run a free three week accountability group on Facebook. It is a place to go to log a workout and healthy meal. We support each other, build each up and no drama and judgment. If interested, send me a message and I will add you to the group.
Back to goals, I read one personal development book and one book for fun. My personal development book was the Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. It was an interesting little read. The other book I read was The Good Sister by Jess Ryder. It was good. There were parts where is dragged, but I would give it a 3/5 stars. I achieved my running goal of 65 miles. I ran 3 races and it was a great month for running. Speaking of running, the reason the kids and I went down to Disney was so I could participate in the Princess race weekend. My goal was to have a stress free trip with my boys and I did! It was probably the best trip we have had down there, since they were little. More about that in a blog post to come. The last goal of saving money was met as well. Not a bad month.
This brings me to March. It is a pretty long month and there are no trips planned. This gives me time to concentrate on some organization projects. So, what are my goals for March? Here we go…
- Organize the kitchen cabinets
- Organize the linen closet
- Run 65 miles
- Become certified in a second nutrition program- Ultimate Portion Fix
- Implement a morning routine
- Read one personal development and one book for pleasure.
- GROW MY BLOG AUDIENCE. -For this goal I need YOUR help! I want to reach as many people as I can. If you would be so kind to share my blog, refer friends to my site, Facebook page, IG, etc. Once I get to 100 followers, I will be doing a give a away.
Now it is your turn. What are your March goals? I can’t wait to hear.
Two weeks ago, the boys and I went down to Disney for a 10 day vacation and so that I could run the 5k, 10k, and half marathon for the Princess half marathon weekend. This year, my youngest, decided he was going to run the 5k with me
For those of you that don’t know, Disney races start early, around 5:30am. Disney recommends you be on the bus no later than 4:00am. Nicholas and I were up at 2:30. He was less than thrilled. The race took us around Epcot. It was a nice course with some characters. He did not want to stop, so we decided to just get wear the medals in the parks and get pictures. I knew I would have plenty of opportunity to do so in my other races. Here are a few shots of the race and one of the Expo.
I am so proud of him and could not have asked for a better running buddy. Maybe someday he will develop a love for running like his Mama.
Seven weeks ago I introduced you to this guy.
On January 14th, I started the program, Transform 20. It was 20 minutes of intense exercise, 6 days a week. It was tough. It pushed me past my limits. I was sore most days. It made running a bit difficult at the beginning. However, all that hard work has paid off.
I am down 3lbs, AND 10.5 inches. I lost 2 inches around the bust, 1 inch on each arm, 1/2 inch off the waist and 3 inches off of each leg! I did this by showing up each day, eating 80/20 and plugging into my accountability group. Tomorrow the journey continues, as I continue to train for races and keep up my strength training. I am reigning in the nutrition just a little bit more, as in a month I will be back in Disney. 😉 Never doubt yourself. Put your blinders on and just get to work. You can do it! My inbox is always open if you are looking for that accountability partner. You just have to take the first step!
Oh and that running.. just this past week, my running has become stronger and faster!
I read and listen to a lot of personal development. I am always trying to grow my mind, my career, my business, etc. One of the things I have read over and over again, is successful people have a morning routine. It has been shown that having a morning routine sets the stage for prioritizing, more-effective time management and greater productivity. It helps eliminates the stress caused by chaotic mornings. I would read this over and over again, yet I still was not implementing it. Yes, I would wake up and work out, but that was it. I did that and then rush to get the kids off to school and then head to the office. It is something I just keep putting off. Then, I received a e-mail. I listen to the Rise Podcast by Rachel Hollis. Rachel is a New York Times best-selling author of Girl, Wash Your Face. If you have no read this book, I highly recommend it. She is a motivational speaker and helps women, in particular, become better versions of themselves. This week she has a new book coming out called Girl, Stop Apologizing. I pre-ordered the book and can’t wait to get on my hands on it. I am sure I will be done with it by the weekend. As a thank you for the pre-order, she sent out a worksheet and some tools on how to create an “empowering” morning routine. I am taking this as another sign that I need to implement my own morning routine ASAP. So starting today, I am starting a morning routine. It is going to look something like this.
- 4:45am – wake up & make coffee
- 5:00am -journal and write down my affirmations
- 5:15am- workout
- 6:00am-7:05am- get ready for work, drop off kids and head to the office.
- 8:00- pull into the parking and do a 5-7 mins of meditation before walking into the building.
Now this schedule may vary a little bit, in the the days I work from home, I get up a little later, but in general this is what I aiming for. I will report back at the end of the month and let you know how it goes. In the meantime, why don’t you give it a try. I would love to have an accountability partner.
I am going to kick off this first weekend in March with a story about my Mom. As I mentioned, we are coming up on the anniversary of death and I want to remember the happier times.
How many of you grew up with your Moms watching soap operas? I certainly did! My Mom was an avid fan of Days of Our Lives, Another World and then later on in life, General Hospital. Not only did she watch them, but she subscribed to the soap magazines as well. If you had a question about one of those shows, ask Mom, she would know! She was so funny about them too. She really got into the characters and had some pretty strong feelings about them. It would almost seem like they were real.
One of her favorite characters was Jason Morgan, from General Hospital. A few years back, Steve Burton., the actor that plays Jason, was coming to Boston to do a comedy show. I can’t remember who initiated it, but we all bought tickets, Mom, my two sisters and I, to his show. These were no ordinary tickets, but VIP tickets. After the show, we were to head back and have a meet and greet with Steve Burton.
Sorry for the quality of the photo. It was in a scrapbook, then was taken out for something and now hangs on the bulletin board in my kitchen. Anyway, all Mom could talk about after the meet and greet was how Steve said he loved her bag. It was too funny. One of many fun times we had with Mom.
Thanks for listening as I go down memory lane. It really does help.
February 28, 2014- Five years ago, Robbie and I were in Maine for a hockey tournament. I had left town knowing my Mom was being seen for a lump in her breast and other testing to see if the cancer had spread. I will never forget, standing in the lobby of the restaurant, taking a call from my sister. The cancer had indeed spread. It is was in her liver. It was stage 4. My mom got on the phone and we chatted for a few minutes. I never felt more alone or scared than I did that night. I did not want Robbie to know anything was wrong, so I wiped the tears and joined him and his team mates for dinner. Later that night, my friend Kim and her son, Daniel, would make the drive to Maine, so I would not feel so alone. I am forever grateful for that. That is true friendship.
So, why am I telling you all this? Well, as I mentioned, in the “About Me” section of this blog, my Mom’s death has been a major factor in a lot of the things I have done over the last few years. Losing her so young (only 61), made me realize how precious life is. We are only on this Earth for a very short time and no one knows when that time is up. We have to take chances, go for those dreams, live life to the fullest. Her death changed me.
Mom was diagnosed on February 28, 2014 and died on March 24, 2014. She was gone in less than a month. March was already a tough month for my family. We lost both my grandmothers and an uncle in the month of March. Now with Mom gone, March has become that much harder. I remember those weeks leading up to her death and how quickly she deteriorated. I remember crying myself to sleep and consoling my boys as they watched her slip away. I remember the pain on my Dad’s face, as he lost his one true love. In light of this, I thought I would try something new this year. I thought I would use this platform, and throughout the month of March, tell you a bit about my Mom and share my favorite things about her. I want to remember the happy this March and not the sad. So over the next few weeks, I hope you will join me and follow along, as I share my Mom with all of you. For those of you that knew her, I would love for you to share your favorite story about her as well.
As some of you may know, the kids and I are spending the next 9 days in Disney. While we were here, we caught up with our adventure guide from the Mediterranean cruise we did last summer. It was great to see him!
This got me thinking about other adventures I want to experience. We have traveled a lot more over the last few years and love seeing new places. I excited to say that Bill and I are going on a Rhine River Cruise this September. We leave from Basel and tour through France, Germany and end in Amsterdam. Next year, Robbie graduates high school and I was thinking, possibly, the Canadian Rockies. Though he did mention wanting going to California. Ireland is another one that is top of my list, as is England, Norway and Iceland. However, the number one spot, on the bucket list, Greece!!! I told Bill that would make an awesome 50th birthday for me in a few years.
So tell me, what is on your travel bucket list?
Ha, you didn’t know I had a 3rd child did you? He is the perfect kid. He is always glad to see me, never talks back and low maintenance. Well… low maintenance may not be so accurate. In any case, my baby is 6 years old today!
This is Bauer Bruin and he is our six year old English Labrador Retriever. He is simply the best dog in the world. He is named after two of my favorite things. Bauer is after Jack Bauer from the show 24. Do any of you remember that show? I loved it. Then Bruin is for my favorite hockey team, the Boston Bruins. We have had him since he was 8 weeks old and he brings so much love and joy into our home.
Each year , we celebrate by having cake and showering him with gifts. Here are some cute photos from today.
So, what about you? Do you celebrate your pet’s birthday. I would love to hear all about it.
Today I had my last long run before Princess weekend. The boys and I are headed down to Disney World in a week and half. We plan on having some fun and then Mama is going to run the 5k, 10k and half marathon. The end of my training plan called for 12.5 miles, but I figured why not 13.1. I know many of you are out doing some long runs for your spring races. I am always interested in hearing what others take on their long runs, how they fuel and how they recover. I thought I would share what is currently working for me.
First things first, I always run with my Garmin watch. I do have a FitBit I wear everyday, but my Garmin is mere accurate and does a bit more than my FitBit when it comes to running. Second, I need go be listening to either a podcast or a book while running. I use Aftershokz headphones. These are bone conduction headphones. They sit outside of your ears. I am aware of heat is boing on around me at all times and can still her my podcast or book perfectly fine. I also wear them grocery shopping and cleaning the house. The final gadget I carry around with me, is this cool device my husband bought me called Wearsafe. As the website states “It is s modern-day mobil panic button designed to get you the help right away.” If you are out and about and get into some trouble, you press the button and I sends an alert to all your emergency contacts. The alert includes your GPS location and audio of what is happening around you. I find it to be pretty cool and a lot better than carrying around pepper spray. Too many wild animals were being sprayed.😂 So that is it for gear.
As for fuel, before I head out the door, I put a pack of Energize into my water and drink it up. This is my pre-workout drink. It increases my energy, improves m performance, increase muscle power and delays muscle fatigue. Then during my long run,  every 4 miles I take 2 salt tablets and a couple of Honey Stingers. In the dead of the winter, have been known to bring candy cane Hershey kisses with me. I also carry a handheld water bottle with some Nuun. I make sure I run past somewhere to refill the bottle. When I get home from my run, I make sure to get some protein I my body and usually do that by drinking my Shakeology. Not only does it have a nice amount of protein, it is filled with lots of super foods and  the only thing that keeps the post run headache away. So there you have it, my must haves during a long run. Tell me, what are your must haves when you are out there putting in the miles?
A few weeks ago, I introduced you to my BFF for the next six weeks. Remember this guy?
Well he and I have had our moments. He, along with my trainer, have pushed me way out of my comfort zone. First, learning how to workout with the step was a challenge. I am not the most coordinated person. Second, it may be only 20 mins, but I am moving for the full 20 mins at a crazy pace. At the beginning, I had a hard time keeping up. Even now, three weeks later, I still will rewind and see what the heck is going on. I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes, I fall to the floor and cry. Why do I do it then, some may ask? Well, I am not a quitter. There are always going to be things in life that are hard or impossible at the moment. However, I put my big girl pants on, straighten the crown and jump back in. The mental changes that occur with finishing a program, running a hard race, etc. are just as, or sometimes, even more important that the physical ones.
Since starting this program, my core has gotten stronger, as have my shoulders. I am modifying less and most of the time, I do not dread the 20 mins. Lets face it, unless it is running, cardio and I will never love each other. We have a mutual respect for each other, but that is all. LOL! As for any physical changes that one can see, I have lost 4lbs and 1 inch off my waist.  I will take it!
I am excited to finish up the next three weeks and see my overall results. If you are looking for a great workout, only 20 mins a day, 6 days a week, send me a message. This may just be the program for you.
