Goal Setting, Week 2

Alternatively titled: the one where my toe gets in the way.

Not much of an update this week. As you may have seen in the addendum to my last post, I broke my toe last week. So, that puts all work-out related things on hold, and basically everything else because apparently a broken toe equates to me losing all sense of motivation to get off the couch.

This is my first broken bone, like EVER, and trust me, I’m very glad it’s just my toe and not my arm or something more serious. But, there’s not much one can do for a broken toe except wait it out. And think about life. Hence, the lessons I’ve learned this week:

1. The second yoga is taken away from me, I want it back ASAP. I was rarely going, but the very minute I realized I could no longer walk, much less stand on one foot while contorting my body, I hated life. It will likely be a good month before I can get back to the mat. I’ve gone a month without yoga before, but never by force.
2. DD is kind of amazing. He’s off this week, so he’s driving me back and forth to work, even though I live a mere four blocks away from my office. But, 4 blocks on a broken toe is like 4 miles, so I appreciate the offer. He also drove me out to my parents this weekend (the aforementioned toe is on my right foot, so I’m hesitant to drive).
3. Toes are kind of important! I’m amazed at how much I use them — and how much I can’t use them right now. While it hurts less, I’m still limping and because of my awkward gait, the rest of my foot/ankle is all jacked up. I may be a permanent gimp!
4. Broken toes are rather common. Seems like everyone I’ve talked to has broken his or her toes. We are a nation of klutzes, obvi.
5. I miss my heels.

Luckily it is hurting a lot less than it was. I can put more weight on it, and will hopefully be able to return to a normal gait this week. The shoe boot I got helps, as I apparently had no sandals appropriate for broken toes.

there is a downside, though. With the holidays just around the corner, I’m particularly excited at the prospect of wearing my fashionable shoe boot to not one, but TWO weddings, plus DD’s office party.

I’m SO going to be the belle of all the balls.

Goal setting: Update 1

We’re into week 2 of the official goal watch here at House O’ Super Girl, so let’s check in with our fearless leader…

To keep track, I’ve decided to go by a color system to give you the easy update — green means accomplished; yellow means stalled; and red means not done at all.

Clever, right?

Goal 1: Up the cardio

GREEN!

The goal was 30-60 minutes, at least 3 days a week. Accomplished last week, and on par for this week. Lessons have been learned along the way. Stretching is a must, and variety is key. I’m noticing it’s getting harder to accomplish the same thing week after week, when it should be getting easier. I think I just need to switch up what I’m doing.

I also hit a wall last Wednesday, when I dragged myself to the gym at 9 p.m., and slogged through 30 minutes on the elliptical. It was the worst 30 minutes of my life. Other lessons learned: time of day matters and Law & Order is not a good show to work out to.

Goal 2: Get back into yoga

YELLOW.

I was aiming for one class a week. Easy, right? Last week was a no-go because my car was in the shop. This is actually a lame excuse because I could have easily picked up a class at the YMCA behind my apartment, but? I hate their classes. And I was lazy.

This week, however, I’m on track. Yoga was tonight, so I can cross this goal off for the week!

Goal 3: Better sleep schedule

This gets a RED and a GREEN because there were actually two components.

Component One was getting to bed before 11:30 every weeknight and reading instead of falling asleep to the TV. With the exception of a much needed late night grocery run last night, I’ve met this goal every night with flying colors.

Component Two was waking up before 8 a.m. Which gets a big fat FAIL. This has honestly been the hardest of all the goals I’ve set and it’s really weighing on me. In most cases, I’m not OVER sleeping until 8, I’m fully awake, but refuse to get out of bed. (Yes, my bed is THAT comfortable).

I suppose you could say it’s an accomplishment that I’m no longer sleeping through until 8, but I’ve really got to work on the whole getting out of bed thing. And so far this week, I don’t seem to be doing any better. Any suggestions on meeting this goal would be a huge help!

Goal 4: Forge a more adult relationship with the fam

Yellow.

I’ve done my part, now it’s just a matter of my parents getting back to me with schedules — and agreeing to hang out with me in the first place! Sad, but true.

My first foray into this goal was inviting them to my house for dinner. I’ve repeatedly asked them for dates that work for them and offered dates that work for me. They just aren’t getting back to me. To be fair, they’ve undertaken some home improvement projects of late, and we have hoards of family coming into town next week, so I imagine stress is high. I’m hoping after Thanksgiving, we’re able to get together. In the meantime, I’ve offered my services this weekend to help them get their house put back together.

All in all, a mixed bag. My biggest issue right now is getting up early. Every morning I kick myself for not getting out of bed sooner. Every evening I go to sleep with every intention of getting up earlier the next day. And every morning comes around and there I lay, contemplating life’s mysteries.

I will say the extra exercise is doing wonders mentally and physically. I’ve noticed the ever-so-slight slimming in the waist (which will most assuredly go back to normal when I eat the box of M&M’s DD gave me last night).

It’s also gotten me back into a routine, and forced a better work/life balance (that, or my work is allowing me to BE more balanced right now). Whatever it is, I’ll take it!

Ed. Note: The morning after I posted this, I woke up early (yay!) and proceeded to break my toe. Maybe. This puts all workout goals on hold for the near future. Just can’t win!!

Goal-setting

I’ve never been good with goal-setting. Just ask my boss. Several times a year, we bicker and banter through the process, with me inevitably getting frustrated and her laughing her evil Miranda Priestly laugh.

It’s not fun.

Personal goal-setting is about the same for me. I think about it, but I don’t do anything about it.

But I’ve decided it’s time to try something different. I’m hoping that by putting it out there in the big ol’ blogosphere, maybe I’ll keep up with some of them!

Goal 1: Up the cardio
I was reading in article in SELF that proposed aiming for 350 minutes of cardio per week. I know I can’t commit to anywhere near that much gym time, but it did renew my interest in being healthy. So I’m committing to 3 days a week of 30-60 minutes on the elliptical or bike.

Goal 2: Get back into yoga
It’s been months since I was on any sort of regular yoga schedule, and even longer than that since I’ve been to class more than once in a week. But I do want to make a concerted effort to get back to a weekly class, with the hope of one day getting back to a couple times a week. I have a feeling this is the goal that’s most likely to falter, though, but let’s give it a whirl.

Goal 3: Better sleep schedule
I’ve been staying up until 12 or 1 and waking up after 8. Lucky for me, I have a flexible work schedule…but I would like to become a slightly better morning person. So my goal is to get to bed by 11 (11:30 at the latest). On the flip side, I’m aiming to wake up around 7:30 instead of 8:15.

Goal 4: Forge a more adult relationship with the fam
I’ve realized that much of my relationship with my parents is still the parent/child relationship. I rely on them for a lot, and don’t really offer much in return. So my goal is to invite one or both of them to one event a month, outside of our usual or already planned get togethers. This month for example, I invited them to come to my house for dinner. In the 3+ years I’ve been on my own, I have yet to have them over for a meal. Maybe other months will just be a movie or something small, but for me, this is about making plans and fitting them into my life more than I have been.

Those are the goals. All goals I think I can handle. In fact, I gave myself a week before posting to see if I could actually do them. And I did! Now let’s just hope I can keep up with them in week 2.

Oh, Facebook

Facebook and I are having a bit of a throw down lately. Each day, I feel more and more as if etiquette has gone out the window.

I realize that proper grammar, is like, SO 2000, but seriously? Use capital letters and punctuation once in awhile!

I’m referring to a cousin, who, each time I read his status updates, I want to drive the 12 hours to Nebraska just to smack him upside the head. A recent update:

ok back to my game and finding food then who knows today is gonna be boring

I don’t even know what to do with that sentence. He couldn’t be bothered to reach his right ring finger down on the keyboard and throw in a period somewhere? I know it’s too much to as for a cleverly placed dash or ellipse, but c’mon! A period is all I’m asking for!!!

This kid is 21 years old. He should know better. It makes me sad that kids today have this level of grammatical expertise. Because you know this isn’t just a cool thing to do on Facebook. I’d bet money this is how he turns in his term papers. I’ve never thought about unfriending a blood relative, but he’s got me seriously considering it.

If I’ve ignored you once, chances are I will continue to ignore you. TAKE. THE. HINT.

I am (well, WAS) friends with someone who used to work at my office and who, truth be told, I didn’t really know. Couldn’t even tell you what she looked like, don’t remember when she worked there, yada yada. But several other co-workers are friends, and I’m a friend whore, so I friended her when I received her request.

She’s an entrepreneur who is apparently using Facebook as a marketing medium. Fine. But when she repeatedly (and by repeatedly I mean EVERY. DAY.) invites me to become a “fan” of her “page” and I repeatedly (and by repeatedly I mean EVERY. DAY.) ignore the request, you’d think she’d take the hint.

Or not. So then I resorted to unfriending her. She’s the first person I’ve ever unfriended in all of my social networking history. We’re talking way back to MySpace days. But desperate times call for extreme Facebook action.

And guess what? The next day? She invited me to “fan” her “page”. AGAIN. At which point I began to get slightly creeped out. Why was she stalking me? Why was I so critical to her business that she NEEDED me to be a fan?!

It was then that a colleague reminded me that she’d recommended me as a freelancer for some writing the Facebook Crazy needed. At which point I felt bad and felt that maybe I should become a fan of her page and friend her again. But then I remembered that there’s a such thing as e-mail, and if she knows how to continually invite me to her page (a very impersonal communication), she can certainly send a personal e-mail.

So every day, I continue to hit “Ignore”. Perhaps I’m shooting myself in the foot denying potential business for myself. But if someone can’t remember common business etiquette, then they need more help than I can offer.

Babies. All. The. Time.

I have a best friend. She’s the one I go visit every Labor Day. She just had a baby. Don’t get me wrong, I get the whole “babies change everything” motto.

Best Friend just got on Facebook. I was totally geeked. Finally, we could keep in touch more than the occasional e-mail or visit. I could hear about her life, and sure, her baby’s, too.

It’s become apparent to me that the only reason she joined Facebook is to have an online Baby Book, because that’s the only thing she talks about. Aside from a brief status update relating to her latest Netflix, it’s babies 24/7.

I’m happy to see photos of the little muffin and coo and coddle just as much as the next Facebook-er. But I miss my friend. And this is just a daily reminder that she and I now lead completely different lives.

As the stories add up, it’s becoming apparent to me that I need to take some dramatic action. Maybe unfriend a few more people. Maybe hide their updates so I don’t receive every single alert about THE! CUTEST! BABY! IN! THE! WHOLE! WORLD!

And to the haters — I get that my Facebooking may in turn annoy people. My updates are largely uninteresting and I may be guilty of over-sharing on occasion. But, at least Iknow how to use proper punctuation and can take a hint when I’m not wanted. Just as I may unfriend you, you are more than welcome to unfriend me.

That’s equal opportunity Facebooking, y’all.