Second Quarter Day Zero Project Update

Every quarter I update the progress of my current Day Zero project list (101 things in a 1001 days).


For the original post, click here and for the last update, click here


Current List: 

Starting Date: Friday January 1st, 2010 Ending Date: Friday September 28th, 2012

1) Spend a rainy day watching films in my PJ's
2) Try two new cookie recipes this Christmas
3) Attend the midnight premiere of a movie
4) Get married (got engaged! This will be completed in October 2011)
5) Go skydiving
6) Learn to knit
7) Organize my closet
8) lose 15 pounds
9) Go on a cruise
10) Go whitewater rafting
11) buy a house
12) See a Broadway show
13) spend a day at the spa
14) Lose 5 pounds
15) Own an iPhone
16) Try a new (and possibly frightening) food
17) Watch two movies at a cinema in the same day.
18) Influence a person to make a day zero list
19) go fly a kite
20) Pay off at least one credit card
21) Have a housewarming party
22) Floss every night for a month
23) Tie a note to a balloon and let it go
24) Go sledding
25) Lose 10 Pounds
26) start a family
27) help a stranger
28) Have a sleepover party
29) Have a friend choose a complete outfit for me
30) Play a new board game
31) Travel by train (Did the Conway Scenic Railway Trip, but I'd like to do another)
32) Make homemade bread
33) Go to a casino
34) Take at least 5 photos a day for a month
35) Eliminate non-fitting clothing from my wardrobe
36) Save $5000
37) Read 100 books (15/100)
38) Compose a new list of 101 things to do in 1001 days
39) For every task I do not complete, donate $1 to charity
40) Put aside $5 for every completed task
41) Go to a Patriots game
42) Drink nothing but water for 2 weeks
43) Watch the sunrise at the beach
44) Host a giveaway on my blog
45) Organize photos and get and stay caught up with my scrapbooking
46) Climb Mount Washington
47) Attend a hot yoga class
48) Do 100 situps for a month (0/30)
49) Ask for someone else's advice and take it
50) Give a stranger a compliment
51) Write down something positive about myself for 30 days straight
52) Have “date night” one night of the week for 1 month (4/4)
53) Work out faithfully 3x a week for 2 months
54) Take a trip to Las Vegas
55) No swearing for a day x12 (0/12)
56) Play a game of 18-hole golf 
57) Put change in someone’s expired parking meter
58) Take the Cat ferry to Canada
59) Have a weekend getaway for SO and I
60) Start our own Christmas tradition
61) Get my HAM radio license
62) Participate in a 5K (run/walk)
63) Make my own candles
64) Climb Cadillac Mountain
65) Learn at least 50 ASL signs
66) Go one weekend "Unplugged" no phone/Internet
67) Send/Give 100 cards “just because.” (20/100)
68) Leave SO a love note/note of encouragement/surprise email 1x a week for 2 months
69) Complete 3 – 1500 piece or more jigsaw puzzles (0/3)
70) Visit 5 new states not previously in (driving through doesn't count) (1/5) - NJ
71) Participate in a 10K (run/walk)
72) help a friend in need
73) take a class (work related)
74) Have one day off per week for 1 month
75) Make SO breakfast in bed
76) Bring coffee in for the boys at work
77) hang pictures/art on walls
78) Buy flowers/edible arraignments for someone.
79) Be able to buy clothing in the regular women's section
80) Invest my money better
81) borrow books from the library; instead of buying them 
82) get a makeover to include makeup!
83) Try a new recipe once a week for 1 month
84) Call one cousin per week until all Bridle Cousins have been spoken to (Kenny / Bill / Amy / Kelley / JR)
85) Host a girls night at my house 
86) Host a couple's night
87) Prepare my will
88) Take a pole dancing class
89) Travel to Nantucket / Martha's Vineyard
90) Visit my grandmother at least once a month for a year (12/12)
91) plan a couples camping trip
92) Play Bingo with friends
93) Host a transit party
94) See an old friend once per month for one year (8/12)
95) See Rocky Horror at midnight showing
96) Go and shoot a gun at a firing range
97) To get a physical each year (Done for 2010)
98) To see a UNH/UMaine Hockey Game
99) To kiss the Cat at UNH
100) To go to a Red Sox / Yankees game
101) To complete this list in less than 1001 days


Well, this quarter I am only crossing off 4 items, however I've made a lot of progress on some of my other items. But I will be adding another $20 to my "Day Zero" savings account! I am actually really impressed that I haven't touched that money, nor have I been tempted to. I've been better about saving my money and managing it better. 

101 days

Ummm hi... have you noticed the countdown on the right hand side of my blog. My wedding is in 101 days. Holy Cow! That is sneaking up on me! I feel like there is still a lot to do for the big day! I am trying to focus heavily on getting everything done now (or as much as I can now) so that when the week before comes, I will only have to put out the small fires. And on the big day itself, I am not worrying about ANYTHING! 


One thing that seems to be a big suck of time is Pinterest. Mary from A Merry Wife (and A Merry Life) first mentioned the site to me in a blog post, so I went and checked it out, I didn't think much of it, until I noticed that some of my IRL friends were using it, so I signed up. It's like crack! I don't suggest clicking on the link unless you want to waste some time! There is so much on there and makes me feel like I can do anything. It's very inspirational and I've found a lot of things that I want to do for my wedding and other projects. 


I am looking forward to next month and meeting with my minister and discussing our ceremony. Ben and I have decided that we are going to write our own vows, which I have to admit scares me a bit, but I think it will be quite lovely. 


We are still wedding band shopping, still haven't found exactly what we are looking for. 


Ben is working on booking all the details for the honeymoon (Hawaii here we come!) 


I am defiantly not trying to rush the summer, it'll be gone in a flash, but I am so looking forward to October and marrying my best friend and the man of my dreams. 


When I was a teenager and even in college, I used to have these dreams about my wedding day, and the groom's face was always obscured, I recently had a dream about my wedding day, and the groom's face was no longer obscured, but there was my Ben smiling at me from ear to ear and it just felt like everything was perfect. 


101 days....

Twenty Nine

The last year of my twenties... my gosh. And I have a feeling that this year is going to be the best, save the best for last, right?

I am getting married in less than four months, after which we are planning on buying a house and starting a family of our own. phew, that is a lot going on this year. I am looking forward to a great year.

I started my birthday by stepping on the scale and weighing in at 304.8. Which is a loss of 1.6 from last week. The lowest I've been since tracking with My Fitness Pal was 304, so I am close again to finally being in the right direction. Needless to say I was happy that the scale is finally moving in the right direction.

I would like to accomplish a lot this year, not only do I have a lot going on with my life, but I want to achieve some healthy goals as well, I am hopeful that this will be the year, my year. 

I am looking forward to this year.

Is running for me?

Well on Saturday I got back on the C25K horse, nearly a month after my last session. Let me say that being sick sucks, being so sick that I couldn't run, even worse. All of my build up was gone. All the work I had done was gone. 


For some reason I wasn't looking forward to it, in fact I was dreading it. At first, I was going to restart at week 3, but once I looked at what happened on week 3, I bumped it down to week 2. I figured if it was too easy, I would transition into week 3 no problems. 


I could barely do week 2.... I stopped running several run sessions. I'd go fine for about 45-60 seconds but could not go the full amount. I think that there was one maybe two intervals, that I could actually run the full length. 


I chugged through the entire session, I was bound and determined to complete it. But I am definitely no where near where I was a month ago. 


I am wondering if I should just restart the whole program, all the way back to week 1 day 1. Or keep at week 2 until I feel ready to move on.


The other part of me thinks I should give up running completely. I mean, maybe it's not for me. I enjoy walking so much more, and it's much less impact on my knees/ankles. Perhaps taking a hiatus from running until I can get some more weight off?


Kayla and I have a 5K coming up in September, and I'd love to be able to run it with her. I want to beat my time from last year's 5K (48:15.2). 


Right now I can walk a 5K in an hour, so I am not that far off from my time from last year's time. 


Today, I was planning on getting another long (10K) walk in, but I realized that I should probably do a C25K session, probably week 2. 


Perhaps this is just the "first session after a long time off" jitters or something. I don't want to give myself any doubt, but at the same time, I said I wasn't going to do anything that wasn't any fun for me. I need exercise/activity to be fun for me so that I will keep doing it. 

The Girls

Every girl should have a friend like Kristen. She is wonderful, she convinced me to go get the girls sized and to make sure my bras were fitting properly. Because of course, there is some random figure out there that is like 80% of women are wearing the wrong sized bra. 

And I would be one of those women...

We went to Zoe & Co. Professional Bra Fitters (how would you like that title on your resume?), I have to say, the girls there were top notch, very professional, and considering my size, I didn't even feel like it was that big of a deal, they had a multitude of bras for me to try on. 

Thankfully, my girl Kristen was there to help with all the choices. 

I learned so much about how you can tell if your bra is appropriately sized, that it really does make a difference (side note: while wearing my new bras, I've noticed that I am standing up straighter.). I learned how to wear a bra (sounds weird, doesn't it) but you want to disburse the weight over your band and over your shoulders, I think too often that I've had the majority of the weight on my shoulder straps, rather than a smaller band size that would help support the gals. 

To put this all into some perspective, when I last "got measured" for bras, I was in Macy's it was only 2 years ago and I was told that my DD bra was too big that I was a C cup at best. I've been wearing C cups for the last 2 years, now I won't tell you where I am at now, but they are MUCH MUCH bigger than a C cup (or a DD for that matter). It just goes to show you, that there are some things worth going to real professionals for, a specialty store even. I've also learned that just like clothing, your size can vary from brand, so you should try things on. 

As with all plus sized clothing, it's pricier than the main-stream sizes, but for proper fitting bras it is so worth it.  I also learned how to take proper care of my new purchases, so that they will last awhile. Hopefully as my weight decreases, so will my boob/bra size and I will have to go get re-measured! 

Weekly Weigh In

Well last week I was at 305.5, and this week I am 306.4. I am going to review my week and see what is going on, I didn't track every day this week, but I thought that I did fairly well. This is the second week in a row that I have gained weight. 


Not pleased with myself on this one. 


On the other hand, I had a NSV, yesterday I was hanging with my friend Kristen and she was forcing me against my will, helping me with trying on some new clothes, I am getting married (duh) and in need of some nice clothing options for many events that are coming up this summer, some I know about, others, I have NO clue on. Anywho, well as I was trying some dresses on, I quickly realized that I am no longer a size 26 in dresses!!! That I have dropped at least to a 24, and in some even a 22! Sadly, jeans are still a 26, but hey, I am a W.I.M.P. after all, right?


Just keep swimming... 

W.I.M.P.

Today on my journey, I acquired a new descriptor, I am a W.I.M.P. - a Work In Mother-effin Progress....

Let me explain. 

Today, I decided to try a new route, a much longer distance than my usual 2.5 to 3 mile loop. I mapped out and opted to do 6 miles. In fact I did 6.23, I walked a 10k, just under 2 hours. I am really super proud of myself for doing it. 

This new route is really awesome, I love it, the scenery is changing and there is so much to see, there is enough tree cover that there is some shade across the road for me while I am walking. 

What happened, is as I was walking by the high school, the school buses had picked up the children and were leaving the school. One of the buses drove by and a boy stuck his head out the window and called me a "fat ass". 

Ouch...

Those words hurt, and they took me right back to high school, and always being the fat one. But it was only for a brief moment that those words took me back. I wouldn't let those harsh words deter me and my goals. I could have turned around and called it a day, but I didn't. In fact, it only pushed me on, and I had my fastest interval of the whole 6 miles.

But I am a W.I.M.P. well duh, of course I am a fat ass, that is why I am out walking, to burn calories and hopefully lose my fat ass... 

I will not be derailed on my journey. Stand back bitches... I should just walk by that school everyday. 

Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger! Weigh in day is tomorrow!

Not the rule

For anyone who is new to my blog, my job is a huge roadblock to my healthy living. In my first 2 years of employment, I gained 50 pounds. Still to this day, I am fighting to lose that 50 pounds (and then some; from before).


I am an emergency dispatcher for a local fire/rescue agency. Overtime is mandatory, and I know I shouldn't "complain" about having overtime, especially in this economy, I am more so trying to explain my situation. I work shift work, my hours vary. My typical week is 2 ten hour days, 2 fourteen hour nights and 4 days off. So I have an 8 day work week, so my "days" at work are constantly shifting. It took me about 6 months to get accustomed to my schedule. I don't mind it so much now. 


My job, is basically to sit at a desk and answer the phones and dispatch on the radio. Heck, I even have a phone in the bathroom with me. It's a high stress job, there have been many links to indicate that this type of work leads to an increased chance in diabetes type 2. That scares me...


Well over this past weekend, I was at work on a very long shift, and my eating choices were not all that great. I did a lot of snacking. When trying to stay awake when most of the world is asleep is hard, I used to snack a lot, I've gotten into some good habits of walking (pacing) back and forth in my little office, or drinking water. This weekend, was not one of those stellar times, I didn't track my food, and ate everything without any regard for if I was actually hungry. 


I ate this weekend with reckless abandon, and I needed a wake up call to remind myself of why I don't want to be the weight I am for the rest of my life, I want more. I don't want to be a statistic, I want to beat the statistics. 


Don't get me wrong, I love my job, my work is very rewarding and I am helping people who are having an emergency.


So yesterday, I tracked all my food, and I was WAY over on my calories, but I didn't care, I tracked it all. Because that is what I need to keep myself in line. If I see that I am going over in my calories, then I will be able to make smarter choices and pay more attention to how my body is feeling (hungry), and choose water to start off with. 


I want to be the exception, not the rule... 

Marathon Week Wrap-Up

First off, a big thank you to Steve for spearheading this challenge, I was really challenging myself with the distance and making time for myself. If you are new to my blog, I've been sick for about a month (no lie) and I haven't been able to run. So making time for myself to walk was a challenge in itself.


I am thankfully, feeling much better, I have one more day of antibiotics, and I am hoping that is the end of it. I haven't been on any other cold medicine in the last 4-5 days. Fingers crossed! I am looking forward to running again, I left off at week 4 with my Couch to 5k program, and I think I am going to restart week 2, since I've been sick for so long, all my build up is gone. Thankfully, my next 5k isn't until September, so I've got plenty of time to get back into something that resembles a running form. 


I have to say, I don't think I will ever be a distance runner (thinking half or even full marathon), as I feel like I lose interest in it. I need quick little bursts that I can accomplish something in. Who knows, maybe my opinions will change. Heck, only 2 short years ago, I never even thought about running... since then I've done a 5k!


I had only 1.1 miles to finish off my Marathon Week challenge, and I was at work, so what did I do, laps around the fire station's apparatus bay. Let me tell you there wasn't much to look at. This station is old! And there is a lot of equipment crammed in there. But it wasn't about my surroundings, it was about getting the mileage in and finishing strong!


What I loved about Marathon Week was getting out on some of the local trails here in New Hampshire and really getting to see some of the natural beauty. Despite the mosquitoes trying to carry me away (you can burn more calories trying to swat them away, right?), I still thought that it was really wonderful to be in that kind of environment. 

Wedding Update

Well folks, we are less than four months away from H2B and I's wedding day. Holy cow, it always feels like there is plenty of time and then WHAM! it's almost here. 


I don't want to rush my summer though! I've got lots of ideas about stuff I want to do. I want to enjoy the summer. Keep active and get out and enjoy the weather. 


Ben has been helpful all along with planning our wedding, that was something that from the beginning I wanted, it wasn't just my day, it is our day and he should help plan and help with the decisions. 

Hopefully tomorrow, Ben and I will be looking at wedding bands, I can't wait to see what he picks out. We are also talking about our ceremony, we already know that we want to write our own vows, but we are discussing how our ceremony will flow. 

Still there is a lot that needs to get accomplished, thankfully all the big stuff has been handled, now we can focus on the smaller details, and it's more fun to plan the little additions to our day. 

I am starting to get really excited about our day, I am really beginning to think that everything will come together. It's great to have the support of my friends and especially my family in our special day. 


I learned a hard lesson that I can't please everyone and make this wedding fit what they want or what their vision is, I have to learn to say no, and stick with it. I am learning and it just may not stop with the wedding ;-) I am truly thankful for my friends and family, without their love and support, I am sure that our wedding wouldn't be able to happen as we planned. 


Planning a wedding is stressful, I won't be doing it again. 

Fish Pedicure

Has anyone else heard of this: 





I mean, it sounds amazing, and I really want to try it out. But at the same time it kind of freaks me out. 


I wonder if any spas local to me offer this service, may be one of those things that slowly makes it way up into New Hampshire. 

Weighing in and Marathon Week

First off, let me say, that I am so over being sick, I've been on  Augmentin for my sinus infection for a week, I still have a few more days left, but I am on day 29 of being sick! I hate not being able to run, even all this walking and activity for Marathon Week has made my cough VERY productive (don't worry, I won't go into anymore details beyond that...)


Marathon Week has been super thus far, I've been at least walking every day and getting some serious mileage in. Some days, it's all at once, most days it's broken up into smaller walks. It's been nice to shake things up a bit. The balls of my feet have been killing me! I guess they aren't used to all this activity. 


Some reflections on the week: 

• First off - I a super proud of myself for even attempting this, if I were able to run, I don't think I would have as much of issue with this, but not being able to run, definitely made this a challenge. 
• My H2B joined the challenge, Ben said that he'd join in the "fun" and he's been doing great, he did a big long walk on Monday (think like 14 miles) and he's been awesome. So proud of my guy!
• I have spent more time walking without music than I have with music this week. It's a nice change of pace to actually listen to the world around you. 
• I hate bugs... especially bugs that chase you.... and mosquitoes, they are just nasty. 
• I've found some great new places to go for a walk and can't wait to explore some more.

As of right now, I am at 25.1 miles for the week that includes just over ten miles of biking yesterday at the gym. I am currently at work, for what looks like a 48 hour shift, so I won't be getting out of work until Sunday morning. So I will only have to do a "small" walk on Sunday in order to complete the challenge. I am super proud of myself. 

Thank you to Steve for setting up and hosting this challenge, it's been awesome, just like he is!

And now, for the weigh in. Friday is my typical weigh in day, so here it is: 305.5.

Not really sure why I had a 1.5 pound gain this week, it may be the Augmentin? Or maybe just all the increase in activity from this week. I'm still tracking my food using My Fitness Pal and I haven't gone over my calories any day last week. I guess we'll have to see if it comes off next week or the week after (when I'll be fully off the Augmentin). It's a little frustrating, but I am not going to let it get me down. 

This week was my step mom's birthday, she's recently had to switch to a gluten free diet, so dad made her a fried dinner, we had homemade french fries, chicken, haddock, scallops and shrimp. All of the breading and seasoning was gluten free, it actually tasted better than how he usually made it! For desert, we splurged, dad got her a carrot cake that was gluten free, and I am not usually a big fan of carrot cake, but this one was excellent. It tasted more like spice cake than carrot. 

I've tried several meals that she's cooked now and if I may brag for a moment, my step mom has ALWAYS been an excellent cook, and she's been working hard trying to find good substitutes for her meals that she loves, and she's really doing an excellent job of things. I am so proud of her and proud of my dad for at least trying her gluten free recipes. 

And lastly, for those of you who remembered... here is a picture of me, while on one of my walks from this week.

Please don't mind the bra strap in the picture, this was an hour into my walk on a hot and humid day... 

Marathon Week is here!

If you follow the hilarity on twitter that is Team Awesome (Kerri, Steve and myself) you will know that Steve is in full #MarathonWeekPolice mode. Making sure that only mileage from Monday at 12:00am and on counted! 


Steve is awesome, but if you know him, then you already knew that, anyways, this Marathon week challenge that he issued is just that, a challenge. Yes, would it have been easier to start on Sunday, why yes, I had nothing to do all day. In fact I got a good nearly 3 miles in on Sunday, it would have been great to have that count. However, part of the whole thing is that it's a challenge and it's not supposed to be easy. 


Kerri and I jokingly said, we were going to be the ones on Saturday night at 11pm walking laps around the house just to get the rest of our mileage in. And seriously, if I had a pedometer, I totally would have been walking laps while at work. I've got nothing better to do than wait for the ambulance to get back from the hospital (hence why I can write a blog post at 3:30 in the morning). 


I am looking forward to this challenge, I think it will be a great challenge to not only get the mileage in but to make time for myself and what's important to me. Which is an area that I've been doing well in, but it could always be better.


26.2 miles here I come! 


I believe that I am also going to issue a personal challenge to take a picture of me at least once while working out. So call me out on it if I don't post a sweaty ass picture here!

Choose my plate

Yesterday the USDA released their new dietary guidelines called Choose My Plate

From the website:

Balancing Calories

• Enjoy your food, but eat less. 
• Avoid oversized portions. 

Foods to Increase

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains. 
• Switch to fat-free or low--fat (1%) milk. 

Foods to Reduce

• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals - and choose the foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks

Gone are the days of the food pyramid and now we have a more simple and easier way to understand how to eat healthy and within guidelines. The website is also a wealth of information about how to get these good foods in as well as ideas for activity.

Source

One aspect of the website that I like is how there are different topics for specific audiences, particularly weight loss. It talks about choosing nutrient-dense foods, tracking and getting activity in. The basics that us weight loss bloggers/community at large have been talking about all along. 

You can even get a "personalized plan" for tips and ideas about how and what to eat. 

Of course, if you've been trying to loose weight or eat healthy, this version of the plate should come as no surprise to you, it's very similar how we've been taught to eat. It's nice to see the federal government catch up. Hopefully this will allow public schools to address concerns and help teach children about proper nutrition and making healthy choices. 


I am really excited about this new choose your plate methodology, I think it will be easier to teach children about health eating habits and help fight obesity in children and adults. Let's face it we could all be taught a lesson or two. 


I urge you to check out the website and just poke around, there are a wealth of resources there. 


What do you think about the new healthy food guidelines? 

Weighing in, in more ways than one

There is a lot going on in my world right now, some I openly talk about here on the blog and other stuff in my private life. It's been a really trying time and I've been stressed out. Hopefully after last night, things will begin to mellow out.

Today is National Donut Day, I purposely avoided Dunkin' Donuts and opted to forgo my iced coffee, because I knew that with any beverage purchase, Dunkin' Donuts was giving out a free donut. I didn't want to give in to temptation, so I oped out. Not going to lie, it felt really good to be able to do that for myself. I didn't want to sabotage my day.

Also, today is Friday, my weigh in day, I stepped on the scale to see a 304. Which is a loss, and not only a loss of the gain I had last week, but still continuing down beyond that. Since starting tracking again with My Fitness Pal, I've lost 13 pounds. That is since May 1st. So in a little over a month I've lost 13 pounds. I am sure it's a lot of water weight, because that seems like a lot of weight to loose in one month.

Still a bit bittersweet for me, this is only like the fourth time I've lost the same weight, but I need to remain focus and celebrate the small victories for me, and hopefully, I will be able to end the madness that is the 300's for me.

I am now on day 22 of being sick, and I am waving the white flag, I will be starting the new antibotic tonight, I really didn't want to, but I am not getting any better and really I need to. By the time I finish the medicine, I will have been sick for over a month, which is just insane. HOPEFULLY I will begin to feel better....

I am looking forward to starting Steve's Marathon Week Challenge on Monday, I think it's going to be challenging to find time to get that amount of activity in, but that's why they call it a challenge. I think it will be a great accomplishment and a huge motivator for me. Have I mentioned that I love Steve! He's always there when I need a pep talk...or a swift kick in the pants (virtually, of course)

Happy June First!

Well it's the start of a new month, June... which brings on the beginning of summer and my birthday. I'll be turning 29 this year. The last year of my twenties! Which also means changing my blog tagline.... I wonder what my new tagline will be!

But today is the first of June, which is also National Running Day, makes me a little sad since I can't run right now. Being sick sucks (pity party of one....). I do plan on getting some activity in, since I can't run, I think I'll try to go horseback riding and let the horse do the running for me!


Of course that is going to be dependent on the weather, here in New Hampshire we are supposed to get some strong thunderstorms this afternoon. Probably not a good idea to ride horses in thunderstorms....

I would like to do some birth month challenge, but I am having a hard time coming up with something. For now I am going to continue with the Strong for 23 challenge. As well as doing Steve's Marathon Week Challenge next week.

But for now, it's National Running Day, hopefully you are able to get out there and be active!