There and Back Again

I've wanted to see The Hobbit for weeks now...but that's not what this post is about. 

Tomorrow, school will be starting up again...hopefully for the last time...at least for a while.  I'm anxious and excited all at once. 

Additionally, several weeks ago we embarked on the traditional New Year's Resolutions, which I have already failed miserably.  So I'm taking this moment to renew those resolutions, and add a few more.

1. Get Organized
2. Get Healthy
3. Get a Job

The first resolution is very difficult for me.  I'm one of those people who starts a project and then moves on to something else before it's finished.  I have baskets full of started projects.  I had every intention of finishing them, but never got around to it.  Now that I have a home, that has begun to extend to home improvements as well.  That simply won't do.  So I need to prioritize my projects and make sure that I have the time and desire to finish the project before I devote any resources to it...and to only tackle one thing at a time.

Similarly, my semesters get hectic, and all attempts at housekeeping go to the wayside because our priorities lean more toward the work, school, and leisure variety.  But I hate having a dirty house.  And I hate not being able to have people over.  So I'm implementing a cleaning routine.  And it's not just in my head.  I like to have a visual so I can see my progress.  My fridge will be my new command center with my chore chart and Ada's chore chart (we both need stickers).

Hopefully, getting organized this year will help with my other two goals.

Get healthy is something I've been wanting to focus on for a while now.  I had been told by a doctor in October to lose 20 pounds by mid-December.  And I was off to a great start (15 down) until Thanksgiving and Christmas hit...then I plateaued.  Then New Year hit and we started back up with every intention of doing it right, knowing full well that we were beginning with a monumental challenge: Disney World.

We had every intention of doing it right.  I bought, washed, cut up, and packaged copious amounts of fruits and veggies, as well as peanut butter, hummus, and whole grain crackers to tide us over.  Since Matt wouldn't let me bring my VitaMix, I figured I could get a green smoothie from the nearest Jamba Juice.  And then Matt found all the vegetarian options available at the park for lunches and dinners.

What we didn't realize was the hotel room refrigerator would freeze and destroy all of my prep work.  The nearest Jamba Juice was 70 miles away.  And most of the parks' vegetarian options were smothered in oil of some sort (quite tasty though).  So we caved and got the easiest foods to find.  I must admit it all tasted very good.  But when we got home today, I weighed myself and found that I had gained back 5 pounds...in ONE week.

So we're going to be getting back on track.  And it shouldn't be rocket science.  My family grew up eating a huge variety of tasty (terrible) foods.  My mother has a plethora of family favorites.  But we did have some consistency...Sunday we ate beans...never failed.  Ask my mom what was for dinner on a Sunday and you always got the same answer...beans.

What I've realized, though, is that most families rotate through maybe ten different recipes...or have designated nights like "Mexican Night" and "Italian Night" and "Left Overs".  I shouldn't be breaking my back to come up with new recipes every single week.  I just need to settle on a few favorites and work around those.  And my breakfasts all tend to be the same thing, which makes that very simple as well.  Then we can have LO's (Left Overs) for lunch with a large salad, and plan one dessert for the week as a treat.  My hope is, by being organized, eating more healthfully should be easier.  The past few months have been difficult.  Meal planning was overwhelming...add in school and work, and we found we were going out for food instead more often than not.

Simplify

I just need to make sure that each day gives us our daily allotment of GOMBS (Greens, Onions, Mushrooms, Beans/Legumes, Seeds/Nuts).  If I can come up with a two week meal plan that gives me those ingredients almost every day...I think we'll be good to go.

Matt and I both want to lose 30 pounds over the next six months.  By my birthday, I will be 30 pounds lighter than I am today. 

Getting a Job is the one thing that is giving me the most anxiety...but I can't even begin that until I pass my exams.  So studying for Comps and Praxis will be my priority.  I plan to study 3 hours each week until I pass those exams.  Once that happens, resume writing and job hunting begin.