Thinking This

Day 3:

I blogged at Renegade Scholar about Nathan Sawaya, a Lego artist.

Day 2 (of the 30 days of blogging challenge):

I watched the movie Parenthood starring Steve Martin as a child. I laughed and laughed at the diarrhea song. I thought it was so cute when Gil’s son Justin rushed the stage in defense of his sister in the school play. Aside from that, however, I didn’t really grasp the larger issues at play.

I watched it again tonight for the first time since becoming a mother and it was quite interesting to discover that I am a lot like Gil. I have a hard time enjoying the roller coaster ride of parenting. When I set out to have kids, I thought I was buying a ticket for the merry-go-round. Now that I have them, I wonder, is there anyone out there whose parenting journey is NOT a roller coaster??? A lot of the time I just have to remember that with the roller coaster, “you get more out of it”. And the fact is that I actually do like the roller coaster so I’ll have to remember that too.

Day 1:
A lot has happened since March. And you will soon find out more about it all since I’ll be starting my new 30 Day Challenge today. I will be blogging every day for 30 days. I may not always blog here. I have a knitting blog and a homeschooling blog so posts on those blogs count. If I blog elsewhere I’ll be posting that fact here.

I have so much to say that I’m drawing a blank, so I’ll just update on the fitness right now. I did not achieve my goal weight on time. I still have 5 pounds to go (I now weigh 150 pounds). However, I have managed to make exercise a part of my lifestyle now. Granted, I’m not as consistent as I’d like to be but finding ways to be active on a daily basis is one of the things that is starting to come naturally to me. I’m feeling really good that I can claim exercise as a habit today. On that note, it’s 11:36pm and I’m going to the gym in the morning so I’ll have to go now.

See you tomorrow. And if you’re reading, comment. Please. Thanks.

Steve Pavlina linked to the video above on his blog. I thought it was a great message, so I decided to pass it on.

As soon as I had seen it, I knew exactly what I wanted to focus on to help the planet. Bees. They are in danger for multiple reasons. If the earth loses it’s bees, we lose one third of our food supply. I feel the need to help polIinators but the best I can do right now is try to provide them with healthy, pesticide-free food. I will be planting sunflowers soon and as the years pass, I will plant more. Perhaps one of my goals should be to have a diverse, and organic garden in four years?

If you’ve seen this video and have been inspired, let me know! I’d like to know what you want to help accomplish in four years.

I’ve had a busy year so far. I’m plugging away at my goals and increasing my self-discipline. And I’m finally making the time to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

So like I’ve said before, I’ve been tracking my exercise on excel and my stats for 2009 are:

Treadmill Miles: 304.3
Pounds Lost: 11
Max Speed: 6.0 mph for 12 minutes
Weight at the end of the year: 165

There was some weight fluctuation. I actually got down to 159 pounds but then the Holidays came and I gained 6 pounds back. That was caused by a combination of traveling for the holidays and thereby not making enough time for exercise as well as holiday splurging. My goal weight is 145 and my aim is to get there by May 21, 2010.

I’ve set some other fitness goals as well. I plan on doubling last year’s treadmill miles. I can manage 13 miles per week (schedule permitting) so I’m sure that I will make that. I’ve already logged 88.15 miles this year. Because my goal weight deadline is so close, I’ve put my goal of running at 6.0 mph for 20 minutes straight on hold. Right now I’m only running that routine once a week to maintain that level of endurance with my other treadmill time devoted to workouts that emphasize calorie burning (interval).

Last year’s weight training goals didn’t happen. But I’m doing what I can to make it to a Body Pump class at my gym every Tuesday night. I’m also taking a Zumba class every Saturday morning. The plan starting next week is to add 1 more upper body and lower body workout to the week and do Pilates and Cardio 5 times per week. It’s a pretty heavy schedule which means that I have to watch my eating to make sure that I have enough energy to pull it off without going crazy on the calorie intake. That’s why I’ve started tracking my food and exercise on sparkpeople. As of today, my weight is 158, only 13 pounds to go.

In order to avoid the Holiday poundage this year I’m going to start the 100 pushups and 200 squats programs in October when it starts getting more difficult to get to the gym.

I went to the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in 2008 when it was still located in New York City. It was a wonderful experience. Watching this documentary explaining Alex Grey’s various paintings stirred up all of the feelings I had when I visited.

Grey summed up his intentions with these paintings at the end of the video.

Now we have never reached this stage of evolution before, so we can anticipate problems, but there is always this possibility that humanity can mature and become responsible for the way that we treat each other and the way that we treat the planet. So that’s our hope, is that there is an awakening of conscience[ness] that these works can serve.

In closing the video, Grey puts into words the oneness with the universe that I experienced when I saw his paintings.

A voice came to me, it said, “You can never be lost. When have you ever been apart from me? You can never depart and never return for we are continuous- indistinguishable.”

I’ve been sticking to the 1800 calories for the most part and I’m averaging 13 miles per week on the treadmill. I’ve been doing Pilates and weights a couple of times per week. Because I’ve been keeping track of my workouts and weight on excel, I can see what has helped me lose the most. It also shows me that I’ve been making progress even though it may not look like much when looking at the numbers on the scale. I was pretty excited by the inches I’d lost (and gained) in two months. I’ve also lost nine pounds since my last update.

I noticed that the most weight loss comes from doing the free weights exercises at least three times per week so that is my current goal. I’m aiming for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If I can get some in on the weekend or on Mondays as well that will be a nice accomplishment.

My big hurdle with doing this is that I have to lock myself in the office in order to do these exercises because that is where the internet connection is to watch the videos on exercisetv.tv. Sometimes my kids get really unruly during that time and I come out of my workout to confront some mess that’s been made in my absence. My plan to address this is to make index cards of the workouts so that I don’t have to be in front of the computer to do them. This way I can do the free weights in the same room as my children and not have to worry about any surprises.

They’re very intrigued by my exercising and try to copy me. This is good preparation for when I start teaching them Tai Chi. I believe I’ll be ready to start that once I reach my running goal.

I’m still making progress towards my goal of running 20 minutes straight at 6.0 miles per hour. Here are the latest numbers:

Treadmill Times
3.5 mph: 10:00
6.0 mph: 13:00
5.5 mph: 07:00
3.5 mph: 05:00

3.36 miles
363 calories
average heart rate: 160
45 minutes total

I’ve been waking up at 5:30 a few times per week which is how I’ve managed the 13 miles. So the next challenge is to make sure to go to bed before 12:30am so that I can have the gas I need the next morning without napping.

What has helped me love the process of reaching my fitness goals is:

1- Music. Music or watching a movie (for weights and Pilates) really takes away the potential for boredom and consequently not pushing yourself as hard. I can get lazy when I’m bored with the activity. While treadmill running is fulfilling and fun with music, it is really boring when you’re staring at the gym tvs without sound or staring at the calorie counter on the treadmill. I’ve never stopped exercising out of boredom but I do get tired faster without the entertainment. Some people might say, “Why not try running outside, it’s less boring?” Well, the truth is I’m rather clumsy. The treadmill keeps me from falling to the floor when I misstep (which is pretty often). Last week I tripped on the treadmill on three separate occasions in 35 minutes. The treadmill saved me from falling. If I had been outside, I could’ve gotten hurt and then been out of commission for a few days, resulting in having a harder time getting back into the exercise routine.

2- Reading. During the warm up and cool down on the treadmill, I like to read inspirational, self-improvement books. Reading before the challenging running part gives me some wonderful self-talk while I work out. Sometimes I get so into the book during the cool down that I end up walking more than I had planned. I choose one book to read that is only read during the workout so that this tool can be motivating. This also helps me look forward to the next workout when I can get back to the book again. Right now I’m reading Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

3- Tracking. Keeping track of what I’ve done in an exercise log has helped me see that progress is being made even though it may not have seemed like it. I can see on paper how much stronger I am and how much more stamina I have. Having a clear picture of where I currently am has been really motivating. For instance when I notice that I have lost another pound or that I can run a minute faster, I’m less likely to skip working out so that I can “keep” the progress I’ve made. From my experience I have seen that it’s quite easy to gain that pound back just by missing a couple of days at the gym.

All in all, I’m quite proud of myself and appreciative of how healthy my body is. Some people have to overcome some very real physical hurdles before they can get to this level of fitness. I’m blessed that I’ve just had to overcome some mental ones. I’m loving my progress and I’m beginning to love the process. Loving the process is key, it’s what gives you the energy to make progress.

It’s time to make your new moon wishes. Today the new moon enters Virgo at 2:44pm EDT. If you’re interested in ideas of what you can wish for this new moon, read about the new moon in Virgo. Be sure to check out Tracy Cook’s articles for an in-depth look at the moon’s phases this month.

This is just a reminder to make your new moon wishes today. The new moon enters Virgo today at 2:44 EDT. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read my book review about New Moon Astrology, at my blog Astrology Mommy. Need ideas about what to wish for at this time? Read about the new moon in Virgo.

On September 18th, 2009 at 2:44pm EDT, the new moon will enter Virgo. At that time you can harness the moon’s energies to plant the seeds you’ll need in order to get what you want. One tool for doing this is to make new moon wishes.

Remember it is best to make your wishes within 8 hours of the moon entering Virgo. Avoid the void period, which is between 8:06pm and 9:26pm EDT. See my book review of New Moon Astrology if you aren’t familiar with new moon wishes and or the effects of the void period on the moon.

Virgo rules work, physical health, worry, self-improvement, and critical thinking, as well as service, clothing, food, employees, servants and domestic animals. Because of its ruling planet Mercury, Virgo also has influence over the nervous system- more closely associated with the mind’s connection with it, not necessarily the physical components of it.

Wishes related to physical health, work, organization, efficiency, helpfulness, clear-thinking, overcoming perfectionism, and the other aspects of life that Virgo rules will be most potent given the energies that the new moon is aligning with by being in Virgo. You might find it useful to make wishes regarding the parts of the body that Virgo rules- the bowels and abdomen.

A good sample wish for Virgo could be, “I am so happy and grateful that my (part of the body ruled by Virgo) has been restored to perfect health.” You could even make wishes on behalf of your Virgo child. Keep in mind that wishes are still about you and you can’t really wish on behalf of someone else if it impedes their free will (they simply don’t work). However, you may find usefulness in making wishes about what you can do or say to help them on their path such as encouraging healthy Virgo habits and behaviors. For instance, I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from wishing, ”I find myself saying the right words to my child that result in him happily doing his schoolwork.”

In her book New Moon Astrology, Jan Spiller’s take on wishing on behalf of children is encouraging,

In many ways the mind of a child is like the hard drive on a computer- it is open to the software the environment places into it. In this way the thoughts, encouragement, and conditioning that parents feed into the mind of their child greatly influence present and future behavior. Wishing will not change a child’s actions, but wishes can shift our behavior in a way that influences the child to change their behavior.

New Moon Astrology’s section on Virgo includes a lot of good sample wishes that explore Virgo’s influences in depth. For instance, Spiller states that one of the characteristics Virgo rules is “excessive perfectionism” and under that topic she includes worry, criticism, blame and judgment, and workaholic tendencies. Each of these topics has sample wishes to address them.