Monday 11 July 2011

Beat The Heat challenge - Week Two

Weight Wars



1. What progress have you made on your goals this week?

Loose ten pounds: Not a sausage! I've hit a bit of a plateau, and I'm wavering around one pound either way. However, I'm not too phased about that. Firstly, I've been so adamantly focussed on getting the flat sorted that I kinda haven't stuck to my work out 3 days a week plan...in fact I haven't worked out at all...so beginning to incorporate that into my routine this week should help shake things up. Secondly, I know from experience that I tend to have a sudden drop and then a little re gain, plateau, then begin to loose again. The trick this time is to not loose focus during said plateau!

Make at least five Christmas presents: Once again my absoloute eagle like focus on the state of my flat has been detrimental to working towards this. Also, I've been totally demoralized by my current project (the scarf of wonkness). I don't want to waste all the wool I've already knitted...I think I have to keep calm, carry on, dedicate more time to this and just get it finished. Once it's done I can decide what I'll do with it. At the minute I can't move on to another project anyway so I may as well hunker on down. That's the point fo a challenge after all!

Work towards my day zero list: This one has been going well. I've been taking my vitamins each and every day and I'm about halfway through Dracula. I've not picked up my story, once again I had scheduled it in like the craft work but have been getting side tracked. I need to be more strict about my time management.

Expand my recipe journal: Very well indeed, I made a fantastic curry which was absoloutely delicious! It has gone straight into my recipe journal. It might be a couple of weeks before I get the spare dosh to get the ingredients for a new recipe, but I'm planning a lovely creamy rice pudding...not so great on the diet perhaps but I've been jumping at the chance to make one for months now, and anyway, a little treat now and then didn't hurt anyone! Also I'll be making the actual side dishes for the curry, the Bombay Potatoes and the Naan Breads.

Keep on track with the job search: This of course I have been working towards, though I dissapointed myself in only getting two applications sent off last week, and so I'm already running behind. I think part of the reason is that when I made my daily schedule to help me keep on top of my goals, I scheduled job hunting in for later in the day, after my chores but before fun time. Of course by that point I was tired and groggy, not at all thinking clearly per se, and just wanted a rest. I'm going to have a shake up. Hunting for a job is not just another task that needs to be ticked off my to do list, it is an absoloute necessity and shall henceforth get top priority; I am not allowed to continue with the rest of the day's schedule until I've done my best in this area.

"FLY" Through my chores: You don't need me to talk any more about this. My motivation in this area has, for some reason, taken a leap. I'm striking whilst the iron is hot and getting in as much done as I can, but obviously just because my focus has been razor sharp on this particular goal doesn't mean I can forget my other duties and responsibilities. I'm going to reshuffle the daily schedule I made to help me get this done so that I can give due time to my other goals too. It's all a matter of balance!

2. What did you do to make yourself feel fabulous?

I sorted the kitchen! But aside from it being just plain nice to have a clean, organized kitchen, the biggest reason this has made me feel fabulous is that I haven't just sat on my arse all week. I've been productive and useful. There's not been a single day this week where I've felt surplus to requirements or a drain on Ben's resources. I've felt productive and valuable to my household. And that is the most fabulous feeling of all.

3. Did you have a moment in your life where everything changed for you, an epiphany moment, or has it happened gradually?

I don't like to talk much about the effect it had on me personally, because I hate to detract from the grief that Ben and his family have been dealing with, but the biggest epiphany for me was (coming up to) this time last year, when his father died. I've been massively blessed in my life in that the only people so close to me to pass over were my great grandparents. At the time I was about five years old, and honestly I thought it was brilliant that they'd died because "Nana is an angel now, that's so cool". I'd never had to deal with the realities of death from an adult perspective and, along with many other feelings of grief and bereavement that I'd never had before, my own mortality dawned on me like a kick to the gut, along with the mortality of all those I love. Since then I've taken great strides towards improving my health, trying desperately to try and get my family to improve theirs without sounding like a great big nasty person who wants to stop them having fun or doesn't understand the difficulties they face, and trying to live life to the fullest that I can without wasting my days away. Even though it was definitely an epiphany moment it has been a long process getting to this point, and it's been like an uphill struggle changing my own mindset, battling with old habits and new realisations. I'm really only just starting to make real headway now in fixing the too numerous to count problems in my life and finding meaning and purpose in what I do.

4. What made you get involved with the Beat The Heat challenge?

Oddly enough, probably as part of that whole finding purpose and meaning process I'm going through. Turning it into a challenge with measurable goals seemed to be the perfect framework to kick myself up the bum. I've done my internal processig, time to turn it into action!

5. What is your favourite TV Show at the moment?

If this had been asked a couple of weeks ago it would have been a struggle to answer! However, since many of my favourite programmes have now come to the end of their seasons, there's one definitive winner in this; True Blood!

Positive Picture

I haven't taken many pictures this week, and I haven't any old pictures to coincide with any particular incident this week. However, I feel this picture just sums my week up perfectly.

Clean and tidy kitchen!!!!!!

Photobucket

7 comments:

  1. Ooh, rice pudding ... yum! I made a breakfast version a few weeks ago, nothing fancy - soaked some raisins in vanilla almond milk and cinnamon, then poured it over some warm brown jasmine rice and stirred it all up. About 275 calories, totally filling, and very delicious!

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  2. ooo everyone I know says about True Blood being good and I've NEVER seen it. I need to get on that.

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  3. I'm seriously impressed with your makes for Christmas. I do sympathise with starting something, not liking it and wanting to move on! I refuse to think about Christmas until August which isn't that far away...eek!

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  4. Yay for sorting out the kitchen! Organizing is one of my goals for this challenge. Love True Blood too!! Have you read any of the books? I'd love to try and make curry sometime!

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  5. Hey Jess, I've read the first three Sookie Stackhouse novels after getting into the series, this is one of the very few times where I'll say I think that the TV show is better than the books!

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  6. I used to make most of my Christmas presents - your post makes me want to begin that again, it was always so satisfying.

    As for your clean kitchen... I don't suppose you'd like to come do mine? It's on my (never ending!) To Do list...

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  7. Yay for clean kitchens and feeling so productive! I love that feeling! I wish I remember that when Im feeling super lazy hehehe.

    True Blood is awesome!!!

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