Where did January Go?

So here it is, January 31st, sitting in my awesome Ikea Poang chair (it is seriously the cheapest, most comfortable chair in the world) and wondering how the month of January passed by without the plethora of funny, insightful, brilliant blog posts I had planned ever making it onto the screen.

Oh. It's January.

January tends to do that to me… suck all the post holiday, New Year's good intention right out of me. Sometimes, no matter how well meaning I am, January is just too cold.

Not every day in January was cold. I do remember a couple days where I went walking on the beach in  a hoodie and vest. And I wasn't lazy all month. I actually did get quite a bit done. But not nearly as much as I had planned.

Yeah, January tends to do that to me.

JANUARY GOALS:

1)  Winter Warrior Challenge: run outside every day. Oh, I got started with a bang. 8 am New Year's Day found me on a group run through the marshlands and down along the beach. It was great. The first week of January was actually quite great. And a few nice days in the middle that had me running on the beach.

But the thing about January? There's snow. And ice. Although there are frigid temperatures and wind chills, the cold will never stop me from running outside. That's what winter performance wear was made for. But when you are ankle deep in slush, sliding on patches of ice, and praying that the cars on the road will not slide and pick you off like a clay pigeon, then the whole idea of a winter warrior challenge just seems, well, stupid.

There's a reason treadmills were invented.

2) Organize physical files, computer files, and emails. Well, the email box isn't down to zero, but at least I can find everything I need. The paper files have been weaned down, as well. I'm calling this a success.

3) Put together a race/ event schedule for the year. Partially done. I mean, I'm not sure where I'll be in the spring. And I'm still debating the Polar Plunge. I wasn't too successful with the Winter Warrior Challenge, and that had everything but my feet staying dry. Oh well, I still have time to decide. Partial credit.

4)  Blog post daily. I don't know if I could have failed that any more thoroughly than I did! But sometimes it just seems way more important to stream entire seasons of Dexter and American Horror Story onto the computer screen than to blog.

5) Girl's weekend with college friends. Success! It was good to get together and hang out for some long awaited girl time.

Of course, I could have done without the icy roads with 3 inches of slushy snow on top. Seriously? Do they maintain roads at all in upstate New York? I don't think they do. Because even with the Jeepy-Jeep's four wheel drive capacity, I ended up like this:

The good news was I was okay, and so was the Jeep. We both made it to my friend's house after a nice tow truck guy pulled us out. And the other good news is that I didn't pick off any joggers.

6)  Get licenses for 2 states for travel jobs: I had this bizarre idea at the beginning of January that since the internet has proliferated greatly since I last was applying for state licenses, that the process would now be faster and more streamlined. Not so much. If anything, it takes longer now. However, I did get licensed in two states. Two warmer states.

7) Go Skiing with Friends. Yeah, that didn't happen. Totally not my fault.

8)  Participate in 1 adaptive sport event. That didn't happen either. Totally my fault this time.

9) Daily Journaling: At last, success. There's something so soothing about having an actual pen to paper. And I can have any season of any show monopolizing my computer screen without interrupting my journaling potential.

10) Start Downsizing. Downsizing has actually been pretty fun this month. Clothes are easy. Clearing out the paper clutter is easy, too. But books. Books are always my downfall. But I've been playing a little game called "Who should this book go to?" And I've been having a blast mailing books off to friends. It's not like abandoning an old friend, but more like sending a puppy off to a deserving home.

Here's hoping February is both warmer and more energizing.

Hmmm…..

So on January 3rd of the year of ABUNDANCE, we were hit by an abundance of snow. And I did an abundance of shoveling. And then, as I galloped off in the jeep-jeep to see some home care patients, I did an abundance of sliding around on the roads.

Yeah. I think there really is something to this word for the year thing.

One Word

Last year, I heard about a little project called One Little Word . The idea is that instead of getting bogged down with goals and lists and resolutions (or, in my case, in addition to goals and lists and resolutions) you simply choose one little word as the focus for your year. So maybe 2011 was the wedding year. If you want to be more poetic, maybe beginning or commit or love could be used instead of wedding.  Maybe 2012 was the year of focus where you got your house all organized and your life all streamlined. And maybe 2013 was the year for health. You get the picture.

Over at the Ali Edwards website, there is a yearlong workshop that involves monthly tasks and weekly assignments and is heavy on scrapbooking. While I admit that I find the workshop intriguing, there is no way I was going to take that workshop. I'm just not. Instead, I decided to just steal the word for the year idea.

Last year, my word was JOURNEY. For obvious reasons. And while the concept of a journey was foremost in my mind in the planning and execution phases of my big hike, the idea of journey continued to stick with me even after I had finished. I felt like I was still on a journey of sorts, coming to terms with how I was changed as a result of the epic adventure, and where my life was going as a result. When I think of last year, I feel like I am immersed in a journey.

Rolling into 2014, I tried to see where my life was going and how I wanted the year to feel. What kept coming back to me was ABUNDANCE. 

ABUNDANCE is an interesting concept. On the one hand, it can call up images of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. And like my blogging pal Diana, I hate stuff. On the other hand, the idea of abundance call call up images of vast rolling hills, endless trees in a forest, breathtaking views from a mountain top, the ocean. That's the kind of abundance I'm talking about.

Last year, when I spent 6 months with nothing but what I could carry on my back, I felt like I was surrounded  by abundance. Countless trees, rocks, flowers, bugs (boo!). Endless miles. More new friends than I ever made in such a short period of time. And I laughed more than I had in years. Abundantly.

What if my focus for the year was to hold onto that feeling even though I'm back in the "real world"? What if I could recreate that feeling without quitting my job and going out, Thoreau style, into the woods. What if I could get that feeling any time I wanted?

I'm not sure if it's possible. Maybe I'm just foolishly chasing a dream that will never come true. But I'm okay with that.

2014 is the year of ABUNDANCE!

January Goals

Wow! January 1st has arrived, the perfect motivation to start posting again. I was rather unmotivated in December, at least when it came to writing blog posts. This year, my tolerance for the holiday season was low. Not the holidays themselves, but the nonsense that surrounds them. I felt overwhelmed with the rampant materialism as well as with the constant barrage of pop culture cow dung.

I woke up every day with a Miley Cyrus/ Duck Dynasty hangover.

In a strange way, I felt like I'd be adding to it by blogging.

But I'm over it.

And now I'm back to do what I do best. Make lists!

DECEMBER GOALS

1) 2 to 3 training clients: half successful. One home client with a couple more possibilities.

2) Participate in the holiday fitness challenge. check!

3) Do the Christmas Lights Run. ran.

4) Finish the Artists Way Program done!

5) Get Xmas cards sent out by December 15 sent!

6) Movie night with the girls: The Hunger Games

7)  Take my niece to Body World: didn't happen with busy schedules but planning on January

8) Find suitable apartment and move: half credit. Moving next weekend

9) Clean Eating. ugh. total fail.

10) Have a great Xmas and New Year. Celebrated!

So overall, 70%. A solid C. Not great, but not a complete failure, either.

And now, to welcome in 2014!

JANUARY GOALS

1)  Winter Warrior Challenge: run outside every day The local running store sponsors this challenge. All warriors need to run at least one mile outside every day in Jan. It's not the milage, its the weather!

2) Organize physical files, computer files, and emails.  Get that mailbox down to zero!

3) Put together race/ event schedule for the year

4) Post on the blog every day. Making up for lost time!

5) Girls weekend with college friends

6) Get licenses for 2 states for travel jobs

7) Go skiing with friends

8) Participate in at least 1 adaptive sport event

9) Daily journaling

10) Start downsizing!

Giving Tuesday

So today was "Giving Tuesday". Is this new? Did we have Giving Tuesday last year? Have I just been too unobservant to notice? I guess I'm just late to the party.

I like the idea of Giving Tuesday so much better than the idea of Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I think it embodies the spirit of the season so much more than the other days. And aside from the approximately 10,000 emails I received to day asking for donations, nothing could ruin my mood.

While going about my business, I pondered exactly which charity I should donate to. My bank account certainly took a hit this year, what with me taking 6 months off to hike and now working sporadically. I'd have to think about it, since my funds are limited.

The obvious choice this year, of course, is the Red Cross Philippines Fund, after the devastating typhoon earlier this year. But then again, there are those causes near and dear to my heart, like the Empower SCI program, which puts on a 2 week residential camp each summer for newly spinal cord injured persons. Or the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which was so much a part of my life this year.

Then again, why does giving have to be limited to this day, this Giving Tuesday, each year? Shouldn't the spirit of giving be alive and well all year round? (Especially when I can spare it a bit more?) Perhaps I should start my own Giving Tuesdays, spread strategically throughout the year and written down on my calendar so I can make donations all year round.

And then....as I was driving around doing errands with these thoughts chasing each other around in my head....the answer presented itself before me. By the side of the road was a disheveled looking guy, early 20's, long beard, dirty, holding a sign. "Broke. Hungry. Anything would help."

I remember years ago while visiting a friend in southern California, we went out to eat at a wonderful restaurant and had a lot of leftovers. While strolling along after dinner, carrying our bags of leftover food, we passed a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk. I placed my leftover food next to him and continued on with the group.

Then one person in the group told me that it was irresponsible of me to give my food to the homeless guy, since it will just "encourage him to remain homeless". Plus, she added, he could sue me if he got food poisoning. (How he'd ever find me to sue me, much less employ the services of an attorney while homeless was left unanswered)

There are many reasons a person can become homeless: addiction, mental illness, physical or sexual abuse, parents kicking you out of the house because you are gay, post traumatic stress disorder. I'm pretty sure that the perks of free food is not one of them. I'm even more confident that being kind to another fellow human being, sharing my good fortune with somebody less fortunate, feeding somebody who is hungry is a good thing. I'm sure that being kind does not contribute to social problems.

I still feel that way.

Today, the question of where, oh where, can I be charitable was answered very simply. Right in my own backyard. I came out of Costco with a hotdog, chips, a soda, an apple, and a bag of nuts. Some for now, some for later. The disheveled looking guy accepted it all with a smile, put his sign away in his backpack, and sat down to eat.

Happy Giving Tuesday.

Accountability Monday

They say misery loves company. But who are "they"?

I always thought that FUN attracts a bigger crowd, any day. And as such, I have joined a couple fun holiday fitness challenges. Oh, sure, I'm positive there are those who would say a  holiday fitness challenge fits in with the first statement. But I'm not one of them. I'm having the time of my life!

And to make it seem more like a party, I've joined Amanda's link up party:

ACCOUNTABILITY MONDAY

HERE GOES:

NOVEMBER 25: Run -- 4 mile intervals

                              Lift -- Legs and abs

                              Stretching -- 15 min

NOVEMBER 26: Swim -- 45 min steady state

                              Lift -- Chest and Back

                              Stretching -- 15 min

NOVEMBER 27: Eliptical 30 min

                              Flow Yoga

NOVEMBER 28: Thanksgiving Bootcamp!! (60 min)

NOVEMBER 29: Bike -- 45 min steady state

                              Lift -- Arms and Shoulders

                              Stretch -- 15 minutes

NOVEMBER 30: Bike -- 30 min intervals

                              Lift -- Legs and Abs

                              Stretch -- 15 minutes

DECEMBER 1:  Yoga  75 minutes

And today, we had the official weight in at the gym's fitness challenge. (its so hard to transition from eating like a hiker to eating like a normal person!)

Today's JOY:  The smile on a patient's face when he walked without a cane for the first time in a month.

                               

December Goals

Doesn't December always seem like a whirlwind?  I'm hoping to actually enjoy the holiday season this year, as I have changed my work situation and am no longer working myself into the ground. But here it is, December 1, and I already feel like I'm behind!

Fortunately, I am an avid goal setter, which always (sometimes) keeps me on track!

DECEMBER GOALS:

1)  Two to three training clients. As I said, I have cut my work hours down, which gives me time to explore other areas of life. Like the personal training certification I have, which I haven't actually USED in 6 years or more. So, I'm hoping to branch out and dust off and have fun!

2) Participate in the Holiday Fitness Challenge! In addition to the online fitness challenge that I'm doing (courtesy of this gal) there is a real life fitness challenge at the gym I go to, which looks like fun. I like fun. And I like exercise. So it's right up my ally.

3) Do the Christmas Lights Run. Another fun activity. Everyone dresses up like elves or trees or snowflakes or Santa. And it gives me an excuse to use my headlamp again.

4) Finish The Artist's Way program. (and maybe post about it!)

5) Get Xmas cards sent out by December 15th.

6) Movie night with the girls.

7) Take my niece to Body World. I'm so glad she's liking science now. A few years ago she said "I hate science!" And it was like she had stabbed me right in the chest. Repeatedly. With a sharpened femur.

8) Find suitable apartment and move. Before I kill somebody. With a sharpened femur. (That would put a damper on the holiday season.)

9) Clean eating. Again.

10) Have a great Xmas and New Year!

December is the month for JOY! 
Today's Joy: Cute little girl I saw today singing.