Accountable Kids is a Big Hit

Over the summer I attended my first homeschool convention, HEAV (Homeschool Educators Association of Virginia). Little did I know that after seven years of homeschooling, I was in for a real treat - a time of refreshing and rejuvenation. Those three days were amazing and have helped me renovate and organize my homeschool life. I grew so many brain cells! One product I was blessed to stumble upon is Accountable Kids. I didn't realize until using this system exactly how much I needed it. There is no way I could have imagined how much it would positively impact our family life.

According to developers Traci and Scott Heaton and their website (www.accountablekids.com):

Accountable Kids is a unique parenting program designed to teach accountability and responsibility in the home. It is a back-to-basics system which includes essential parenting principles and concrete stepping stones that strengthen relationships and build a foundation for success; an ideal program for ADHD natural treatment therapy. Children learn to balance choices and consequences in a fun, productive manner. They experience the joy of being a vital, contributing member of the family and develop confidence and self-worth. The Accountable Kids program includes a book, Quick Start DVD, Progress Board, 50 Reminder Cards, 3 blank Reminder Cards, 10 Tickets, 10 Bonus Bucks, 3 Special Date Cards, 4 Best Behavior Cards, and 2 Privilege Passes, and 2 sticker sheets. The Accountable Kids program provides everything parents need to maximize efforts and bring structure and harmony into the home.


Steps of the Program


Step One: Children learn to take care of personal responsibilities without constant direction. They learn work ethics, time management, and responsibility. Children earn Tickets by completing basic chores. Tickets can then be used for activities or privileges. Tickets provide parents the ability to discipline without losing control or physical contact. Basic values are encouraged and reinforced with the Best Behavior Card.

Step Two: The Privilege Pass is introduced to eliminate specific negative behaviors. This process empowers children to predict consequences, follow rules, and redirect themselves towards positive behaviors. A Special Date Card is added to allow children to work for future rewards and enhance parent/child relationships.

Step Three: Completing basic chores provides basic privileges, but not the extras. Children earn Bonus Bucks for completing extra chores. This gives them the ability to make decisions about purchases. They experience the advantages of saving and learn to manage resources for the future.

Step four: The Family Forum presents an opportunity to discuss goals, problems, challenges, and accomplishments. It provides an opportunity to monitor progress and encourage positive behaviors. Quiet Time is introduced to refresh and recharge children and parents. It encourages the use of imagination, self-discipline, and self-entertainment.

My Personal Experience with Accountable Kids

When preparing the peg boards for our 3 year-old twins, I enlisted the help of my 12 year-old son. We decided to go the natural route and he took them into the backyard to burn their names into the wood using the sun and a magnifying glass. They turned out quite nicely.

I sat down to watch the video with high hopes and found that it did not disappoint. The Heatons presented the program in such a simple way that setting it up in our home was a cinch. I was able to set up their boards and chores after watching the first 12 minutes of the video. Armed with the information presented in the DVD, I had my husband mount their peg boards in the diningroom, low enough for the kids to reach them and placed all their chore cards on the basic chores and extra chores pegs. After watching the entire video, I headed to bed with a clear idea of what the next day would bring. I drifted off to sleep with the possibilities alive in my head.

The next morning, I sprung out of bed and bounced into their room with a fresh perspective, ready to help them get dressed, make beds, etc. We hardly made it downstairs before Karter saw his board and said, "Mama, you put these cards on here for me while I was sleeping?" He was already excitedly pulling them from the pegs to inspect the photos on each card. I had them both pull cards from their start peg and flip them onto the finish peg for getting dressed and making their beds. We then moved on to breakfast and our morning chores. Before we knew it, all their morning chores were completed and we flipped the rest of the cards over onto the finish peg. I explained to them that they had earned a "ticket" for completing all their morning chores. You would have thought I had given them a surprise ice cream when I handed them their tickets. After explaining to them that they get to "spend" their tickets on fun things like watching a 30 minute kid show, they were ecstatic and settled in to spend their first ticket on an episode of Dora the Explorer.

Admittedly, I had become one of those parents who was too ready to plop their toddler in front of a television so that I could get something done. I was thankful for the distraction so that I could perform my she-Tazmanian Devil whirlwind around the house doing all the chores that I have now set out to teach my children to do along side me.

Throughout the first day, they spent tickets on two shows, blowing bubbles in the front yard, and making chalk drawings on the driveway. We were able to accomplish all the chores on their "go" peg and then some. I felt productive and peaceful and didn't have to mediate arguments as usual. The day flew by! I was amazed at how positively the day had progressed. This type of day has been the norm each time we actively use Accountable Kids. There have been days we haven't used the program and I have overwhelmingly found that our days are more hectic, less productive, and much more stressful, mostly because the kids have too much time on their hands, which leads to more conflict between them. Following the cards I've set up for each of them keeps us flowing through the day with a steady stream of productivity, fun, interaction, and calm down time that we all share. I think they sleep better too because they are more active throughout the day.

The program has been so effective with our younger kids that we have also decided to use it with our 12 year-old son. He doesn't even have his board yet and he is already excited about the possibilities, particularly his earning potential by doing extra chores and earning bonus bucks. We have already laid out with him the benefits he can realize by being more responsible within the family. He has already benefited from the concept of the best behavior card. During a recent visit to our home, his best friend left crumbs on the table after eating a sandwich. My son instructed his friend to clean up the crumbs and showed him an easy way to accomplish this. I stood back and soaked it all up. I took a "Best Behavior Card" and handed it to him, explaining how proud I was of his behavior. Once I outlined for him how we will use this card, he was even more excited to use the program.

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest mark, I give Accountable Kids a high five in terms of easy of use, flexibility within and across families, and effectiveness in establishing routines and discipline. I look forward to the positive difference this will continue to make within my family as we use the program to enhance our communication and increase the harmony within our home. I'm so thankful to have found Accountable Kids.

Paleo Primer: Time for a Cool Change

It’s been too long since I’ve written on my blog, but, “It’s time for a cool change.”  Since January 2, I’ve been slowly wading through the food in my house, taking stock of the contents of my fridge, pantry, and cabinets.  Nothing has been sacred – even my spices have been gone through with a fine tooth comb, meaning I have read every label to finally see exactly what I’m putting in my mouth.  I’m weary of consuming food that have high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, MSG, and host of other horrid additives that have been show to cause cancer in lab mice.  Why do I have to eat that way?  The short answer: I don’t and now, I won’t.

Here is my refrigerator door before I cleared out all the junk.   

 

Here is what it looked like after…

 

It was shocking to see what all I had in my fridge!  Make no mistake about it, my pantry was just as bad.  The spice cabinet was actually an after-thought, but turned out to have all sorts of sugar, MSG, and soy.  Now it too has had a makeover.

It feels really good to be committed to reclaiming my nutrition.  I’ve talked a good talk before, but walking the walk is another animal entirely.  Starting tomorrow, and for the next thirty days, I’m going to eradicate grains, dairy, and sugar from my menu.  It’s important to see what these things are doing to me, especially since auto-immunity is an issue in my family.  Over the next month, I will document not only what I eat, but any changes I experience in my body.  The goal is not weight loss (although that’ll be a bonus), but I will be weighing and taping my measurements tomorrow morning before putting the scale and tape measure away for the whole month.  I’ll make sure and post how it turns out.

Just so you know, I began this whole thing as a result of a nutrition challenge that was put out by our fitness center.  I will be following the Whole30 plan, which can be found on www.whole9life.com. 

Know Where You're Going & Plan the Trip!

A man named Henry Emerson Fosdick once said, "He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to. It is the means that determine the end."

We often hear "the end justifies the means", but have we really thought about what that means for the life-changing journeys we are on? This literally means that our actions are acceptable if they help us achieve our desired end result.

This begs two questions:
What is our desired end result?
AND
What means are we willing to use to get there?

We can't just focus on the result we're wanting without bringing into sharp focus the means we're going to use to accomplish what we want. So many people talk about having a plan. The importance of having a plan and working that plan cannot be underscored enough, because failing to plan is itself a plan to fail.

I've spent a tremendous amount of time questioning my weight loss and fitness plan. I have it set as a daily spark goal for myself - to start each day reviewing my goals. If I'm not daily committing myself to focus on making right choices for my health, then I am going to be more prone to letting those choices be made for me. Does it take extra work? Yes. I plan ahead for meals and snacks and steal time during my son's swim practice to hit the gym. These are things I plan out ahead of time so that I don't find myself at the end of the week saying, "A whole week flew by and I didn't work out once!" or "I got caught up at an appointment, etc. and had to hit the drive-through for lunch." These things happen when we don't plan.

It's not enough to just say I want to weigh 135 lbs. I'm letting myself down if I only visualize myself wearing a size 5. That would be like wanting to take a dream trip to Italy. You're given the airline tickets (joining www.SparkPeople.com for free), but forget to plan the trip! I'm committed to NOT throwing away that opportunity. Now it's a matter of replicating the success I had the first time when I lost 61 pounds before becoming pregnant with the twins. It's not rocket science. It's just determination to feel better about where I am physically and deciding that where I am now is not where I want, deserve, or need me to be.

Is Courage Mine To Be Had? Is It Yours?

All around me are the living, breathing examples of courage born by those who never thought themselves capable of their feats. Where did they come from? How were they prepared - or were they? Is courage an innate character trait or are we simply thrust into it under a given set of circumstances? I believe that courage is what we exhibit when pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps under the strain of dangerous or stressful life events, but also what we exhibit in the smallest of ways, in simply stepping out of our box and being who we are called on to be in spite of our fears.

I just finished reading Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox. In it he draws a distinction between the work he does with his foundation, a result of his being stricken with Parkinson's Disease, and those who undertake a noble cause not because they have been touched personally by the cause itself, but are involved simply because it's the right or just thing. Of course I'm wildly paraphrasing, but his point was about courage. He was courageous for taking on PD, yet it was a natural extension of his circumstances. So, are we all bound by the same rule - only to stretch ourselves into those areas where we are likewise affected? What about a passion for that cause unrelated to ourselves; one where we throw ourselves at the solution with abandon just because it's worthy?

When we identify that which is worthy, what keeps us standing on the sidelines? We can pretend it's a conflict of interest or schedule, we're just too tired, it's none of our business, or simply that our voice will be drowned out. Besides, who are we that anyone would be inclined to listen to us anyway? What could we possibly have to offer that hasn't been tried already by others with more money, a louder voice, or more political weight to throw around?

Here's the deal: it doesn't matter! We're not called to be who we are based on what those around us are doing with their time and efforts. We are here to maintain a since of integrity, in essence to be the person on the outside that truly coincides with the person on the inside - the same within as without. Isn't that what we look for in the mirror, in others and what we hope to instill in our future generations? Don't live a lie. Live with passion, and at every opportunity, stand up and be counted because the courage is in the standing up and if you are beaten down in the getting back up again.

I'm making a stand not to live my life in fear anymore. I won't be discouraged by naysayers, nor downtrodden by those who feel challenged by what I stand for or by the success that may come my way. It's like the proverbial kid in the classroom itching to ask the question that is really on every student's mind. I used to be that kid, fearful to ask the question because of what others might think. Now I know that by speaking up, not only am I destined to find my answers, but in the process help others find their answers as well. Courage - it's contagious. Today Michael J. Fox gave it to me, just as I hope to someday give it to others, starting with my children.

Thank you, Carolyn and Jackie, for making me believe that what I have to say matters. Today you are my heroes, along with Michael J. Fox.

Forward . . . March!

Last night I headed to the gym anxious to get back to running. It was going to be the first time doing a run since I delivered the twins in July. I needed to see where I was starting from so I would know how far I have to go in order to be ready for a 12 mile run on January 1st. That's my next lofty goal - to run from Yokohama to Yokosuka.

I've nursed a groin injury since the last trimester of my pregnancy, so I knew I would be starting slow. Additionally, I'm carrying much more weight than I was when I was running an 8 minute mile before my pregnancy. In fact, I'm carrying almost 40 pounds more.

I'm telling all of this to make a record of where I was when this process began. I am going to do something considered taboo in our society. Yes, I'm going to publicly state my weight. I know. I'm a woman and women aren't supposed to do that - ever - right? Well, I'm a firm believer that a person cannot heal from anything they can't say out loud. Saying it out loud breaks it's power over you, no matter what it is. I weigh 186 pounds. That number suddenly looks really large to me.

Furthermore, this is what I learned at the gym. My groin is still sore, but it's not terrible. My first go round on the treadmill yielded disappointment for me. I wound up running a mile in 15:22. Wow, that certainly is not where I was at pre-pregnancy, but we all have to start somewhere!

Now that I know where I'm at, I have some goals to shoot for. I'm going to focus on lowering my run time for the mile incrementally. I'm going to start working for speed and continue until mid-November. At that time, I'll begin working on distance. Assuming my groin injury continues to heal, I don't think January 1st is unrealistic for my 12 mile run. Once that is under my belt, I'll be focusing on training for the Marine Corps Marathon in November.

My muscles are super sore from weight training two days ago. YES! It lets me know I'm alive and making forward progress! I'm definitely not Superwoman and I've never been a runner, but no one is going to lose this weight for me. So tomorrow, whether I feel like it or not, I'll be planting myself in my livingroom, weights and stability ball on hand. I'll take another step forward and give it all I've got!

There are No Shortcuts to Any Place Worth Going

How true it is - there are no shortcuts to any place worth going. This is the kind of thing my mom would have said to me when I was growing up. It's the kind of thing I now say to my nine year-old son. It also reminds me of something the late Yogi Berra said, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up some place else."

But how many of us really know where we're going? We so often let life happen to us without so much as lifting a finger. Let's be honest with ourselves and each other. Our decisions wind up being made for us, leaving us free to complain that some other force took away our choice. We leave our goals open to interpretation by others because we choose not to make them concrete and tangible. For example, we say we're trying to get healthy, eat better, and get more exercise, all in the name of losing weight. Then, instead of creating a plan to lose that weight, we throw caution to the wind. We wind up out with friends, at work with coworkers, or having a potluck at church, etc. without a firm plan. When that happens, we allow the presence of others, their unhealthy choices, peer pressure, and our own solidified, bad habits to dictate that we are going to throw away the little mental plan we have and we're going to call it "no will power" or "no motivation" or something along those lines. The truth is, we just set ourselves up for failure.

Every job has it's tools. A mechanic wouldn't be without his wrenches. A policeman wouldn't be without his gun. A teacher wouldn't be without a lesson plan. The list goes on. . . The point is, we can't do this job of turning our lives, our weight, around if we don't use the tools we need. What are some of the tools vital for weight loss? This list is not all-inclusive, but a great start.
1. a well thought-out, written out, plan (i.e. your SPARK PAGE)
2. a person or people to support said plan (i.e. SPARK PEOPLE!)
3. a kitchen stocked with healthy food options
4. an arsenal of strength and cardio fitness ideas
5. water
6. sleep

Isn't it time to take the steps necessary to insure we succeed? If there is a tool at our disposal that we haven't tried and yet we say we "can't do it", are "tired of not making progress", or "nothing I do makes a difference", then we are cheating ourselves. It's just a matter of finding the right combination of motivating factors. Things like:
Healthy foods we can enjoy.
Fitness activities we can get excited to do.
Inspiration that strikes a cord for us.

The work will be hard, but will be incredibly rewarding as you see yourself make progress through a serious effort. Don't expect to give only a fraction of effort and reap serious rewards. Know where you're going. Know how to get there. And avoid the shortcuts and quick fixes. In the end, you will find yourself right where you meant to be. Remember, it's a place worth going. Make a plan and get there!

Don't Wish Me Luck!

A couple people have recently said these words to me, “Wish me luck.” It got me thinking about luck and what it means. The dictionary says luck is “advantage or success considered the result of chance.” Do we really want our weight loss to rely on chance?

For years my weight loss and health were left to chance. Chance is defined in part as the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled. In short, I was not controlling my weight loss efforts through a means that was clear and understandable and could predict my success. This set me up for failure. Without proper planning and execution, losing weight will be an elusive goal.

I’ve taken two trips across the country and each time took planning. I spent a significant amount of time preparing – finding the right map, searching for hotels, investigating points of interest, etc. I made phone calls for some reservations. I cleaned out my car and made sure I had jumper cables. I checked to make sure I had my insurance card in the glove box. I called family and friends to coordinate visit dates and times. The time spent preparing was invaluable, though not fully realized until I was in the midst of my travels.

In spite of planning, I inevitably hit some snags, especially during my first trip. Here are a few of my “snags”: getting lost, flat tire, sold-out hotels, car damaged by flying debris, lost a/c, caught in torrential rains, caught in a sandstorm, 3rd-degree burn on foot. In spite of my meticulous planning, I realized two things. First, I hadn’t thought of everything, like having a spare tire. Second, even my good planning couldn’t overcome some of the situations I encountered, like losing my a/c in the middle of summer in Texas. For those, I just had to rely on my patience and quick thinking to get me through. Yes, this was a memorable trip, to say the least, but what does it have to do with losing weight? Everything!

Assume the story above was about my weight loss journey. This is what it would look like. I spent a significant amount of time preparing for my weight loss – finding the right program (Spark People), searching for healthier food and recipes, and investigating fitness options to find the one I liked the most and would stick with. I bought a digital food scale and rid my house of high-calorie and fat-laden foods. I created a vision collage to increase my focus. I bought some exercise DVDs, one set of 2-pound weights and a stability ball. I enlisted the support of my mom and a close friend, Ashley. I developed short-range, medium-range, and long-term goals – something to really strive for.

My time spent preparing was invaluable, though I didn’t realize initially how much it would help me. In spite of my planning, I inevitably hit some snags. Here are a few of my “snags”: potlucks, dining out, people pushing fattening food on me, visiting houseguests, bad weather, meetings, injury, illness, fatigue. The list could go on. In spite of my planning, I realized two things. First, I hadn’t thought of everything, like how to cope with people who would try to sabotage my plan. Second, even my good planning couldn’t keep me from becoming fatigued, injured, or sick – although good health and planning can often keep those things at bay, not always. For those unplanned times, I had to rely on my good habits, tact, patience, and quick thinking. Yes, this has been a memorable and successful trip so far!

I understand what people mean with they say, “Wish me luck.” They are looking for support and encouragement. They are afraid of not succeeding and want to hear, “You can do it!” They want us to hope along with them for something better - a change – freedom from the weight that has held them back for years. I hope and long for each and every person to experience this freedom. Once I finally tasted it myself, I realized how much the weight was holding me back from experiencing life.

With all these things said, I have come to a conclusion. I will not wish you luck, leaving your future to chance. I wish you SUCCESS – the kind of predictable success that comes from setting goals, proper planning, and execution. You are worth it. You are able. You can do it!

On Top of the World - My Experience Climbing Mt. Fuji

My goal of climbing Mt. Fuji came about quite by accident. Actually, it's my son's fault. While creating my vision collage, he stumbled upon a photo of Mt. Fuji. I thought it would make a great center photo since it was large. As my collage took shape around the photo, it occurred to me that I could make climbing that mountain my goal. Voila! I had my first lofty, long-term goal. At least it seemed pretty long-term at the time.

Just after making my collage, I met a woman on eBay. She was selling some workout DVDs, which I purchased from her. In the process of communicating with her over the purchase, we found some common ground and began e-mailing one another on a regular basis. It is this woman, my newfound friend, who took a leap of faith six months later and flew halfway around the world to climb a mountain with me.

Three days after meeting in person for the first time, we headed out at 12:30 a.m. to catch our bus for Hakone National Park, where Fuji is located. We drove an hour, caught our bus, and rode another three hours to get to our starting point. With walking sticks in hand, we headed out on an adventure that would strengthen the bonds of friendship. Within minutes the rain came.

The path began easily enough. Our bus had dropped us off at station 5 and before long, we were greeted with a nice view, looking down on the clouds. We walked along on flat ground, talking about our strategy for pacing ourselves. Soon enough, the terrain began to change. During our 6-hour and 15-minute ascent, we zigged and zagged upward. We climbed stairs. We climbed steep boulders. We climbed in loose gravel. Occasionally, we stopped for electrolyte water or organic energy bars or to simply take a short rest. The rests got longer and more frequent the closer we got to the top, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

As we ascended, we passed a variety of people going both ways. One Japanese man even had a toddler on his back. I couldn't help but wonder if he had made it to the top. In retrospect, I don't think he did, but at the time I marveled at his accomplishment.

About 20 minutes into our climb, I asked my friend to pray with me. I gave the climb to God. I asked him to give us the strength to climb this literal mountain, as well as for protection. My friend and I spoke briefly about believing in angels. She felt she had received confirmation of a guardian angel just before we got on the bus. After our prayer, my step quickened. I felt a burst of energy propelling me forward. At that moment, I was more sure than ever that the mountain was already conquered, though my body slowed, my head certainly kept up the mental momentum!

We stopped at every mountain hut to have our walking sticks branded with a unique design. With each stamp, I grew more determined. Inevitably, we would stumble across people from our bus and we'd have a brief exchange. Several times we exchanged "ganbatte" with Japanese people. This word means "do your best" or "go for it."

There are ten stations on Fuji, with the tenth at the top. Around the 8th station, my hands began to get really cold and one of my fingers had turned yellow - a symptom of my Reynaud's Syndrome. I worked to get my circulation back, then put on my gloves and kept trucking. Around this time, we rounded the corner of one of the mountain huts and came face-to-face with a steep wall of rocks. My first reaction was, "YES! Let's do this thing!" In fact, this was a scenario that replayed itself numerous times. Each time, I had a similar "oh yeah!" reaction. It was my own way of cheering myself along. It worked for me.

Somewhere about halfway to station 9 I began to experience some altitude sickness. At first, I only felt slightly dizzy. Obviously, the dizziness only got worse the higher I moved. Within about 30 minutes, I also felt nauseous. We stopped, drank, and ate, then began again. We moved more slowly. Though my friend was not experiencing the same effects, she was an amazing support throughout this process. Together, we worked through it taking five steps while breathing deeply, then stopping for two deep breaths. Eventually, I did begin to feel better and our pace quickened somewhat.

For the last 1.5 hours or so, the wind and rain picked up. A storm was rolling in. At times, the wind was so harsh that we had to brace ourselves against our walking sticks and lean heavily into the wind to keep from being blown over. Just when I thought the climb was never-ending, we ascended the last flight of stairs, passing under a red, Shinto tori gate. We had arrived!

We stood in line to have our walking stick stamped with two special red stamps, then stepped out to find the crater. The wind was blowing so hard and fog was covering the crater. It had become dangerous and we were told not to go to the crater. We could not have seen it anyway. We planned to travel around the edge for however much time we had left, but ultimately could not for safety reasons. It was hard to come all that way and not see the crater and the view around Fuji.

After making a quick bathroom break, which was really a squatter, we bought some fresh, dry gloves, took some pictures at the pillar monument, and decided to head down.

Compared to the ascent, the descent was only 2 hours 45 minutes. It was also zig-zagged, though the terrain never changed. It was loose lava, pea-sized gravel. My toes pushed into the toe of my boots. Over time, my big toes became quite sore. In the end, I finished the descent with one cracked toenail and a blister between two toes. Not bad, I think.

During the hike down, I realized we were surrounded by some beautiful plants. They were so lime green that they almost appeared to glow. The rocks were lovely as well - a rainbow of colors, but mostly red and turquoise.

There was one truly inspiring story I saw unfolding on that mountain. On the descent, we passed a young Japanese girl moving very slowly while her family encouraged her. This girl had one foot that was inverted, like a club foot - yet she made it up that mountain! My friend and I wanted to cry. It made all our obstacles pale in comparison.

Once down the mountain, we stopped for something to eat and did a little souvenir shopping. I had an "American dog," a.k.a. corn dog. It was much different from a true American corn dog, but I was thankful for it. Finally, I stopped at the post office to mail a few postcards before heading back to the bus.

I slept awhile on the ride back to base and woke up just as they were playing a video - "Touching the Void." It's a documentary about the perilous and near-fatal climb of two friends. It was an appropriate topic and made me wonder if I could ever do the kind of climbing required to scale a 20,000-foot mountain. I'm not convinced that's an undertaking for me, but I won't rule it out. Like Confucius said, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." This was my single step. I'm just not sure yet where the journey will lead. I'm excited to find out!

Visualizing and Verbalizing Goals

The difference between and dream and a goal is a plan. Dr. Phil McGraw recently spoke these words and they are so true. It got me thinking about how much my life has changed since I did my collage.

Verbalizing and visualizing my goals were the first steps in formulating my plan. Until I was faced with those two tasks, I couldn't have really told you what my goals were, much less what plan I had to get there.

It's like writing a good outline for a paper before you sit down to write the paper itself. In fact, it's like anything in life. You don't start painting without planning for the tools you'll need. You don't go out to play baseball without a ball, bat, and glove. So why do we more often than not treat our most intimate goals with less than that type of forethought? Just like writing, painting, or playing baseball, without that planning and forethought, we are destined to fall short of our goals or even fail to get started in the first place. We become dreamers instead, hoping for a change, but with no real direction.

I'm so thankful to have learned that lesson through Spark People. Because of it, I've been able to strive toward my goals in a way that would not have been possible before. Before, my goal was some arbitrary number on a scale. Imagine running a cross-country race when you don't know the path and can't find the finish line. Talk about confusion and frustration! Where would you even begin? That's where I was.

Thanks to Spark People, I'm visualizing and verbalizing my goals...developing a plan...and supporting me along the way!

Signed Up For My First 5K

I took a step closer to my goal today. While I was at the gym tonight, I signed up for my first 5K. I'm both excited and nervous. I can't wait to do it - and I can't believe I just said that! Wow, that's a first. I've never enjoyed running, but this about more than running. It's about setting a goal and achieving it.

There's so much to do in this life and so little time. I have begun the pruning process and am fine-tuning my life in order to be more productive. It feels great! (My finger hit that exclamation point key with purpose!) Tomorrow is another day and I need my beauty rest. As the song says, "so long self, I've found somebody else!" Tomorrow I'll continue getting to know this woman I've found. She's strange and new to me. :)

Personal Tune Up

To keep a record of my history and attitude toward change is important to me.

Just like I have had a difficult time remembering to schedule oil changes or rotate my tires, I've also had a hard time reminding myself to take care of how my body runs. I've run out of my Synthroid and been off it for a month. I've neglected my nutrition and had long periods of exercise abstinence. It's over now. There are things I'm going to be doing on a regular basis to take better care of the body God has given me. I've already instituted some positive changes and others will come as I identify unhealthy habits.

Things I WILL do:

1. I WILL get consistent amounts of sleep.
2. I WILL have regular tests of my thyroid to ensure I'm on the right dose.
3. I WILL have my blood sugar and cholesterol tested tomorrow and on an annual basis.
4. I WILL take a multivitamin daily.
5. I WILL eat on purpose, making conscious decisions about what goes in my mouth.
6. I WILL do cardio exercise every day of the week except for Sunday.
7. I WILL do strength training 3 days per week, never two days in a row.
8. I WILL rest on Sundays - giving my day to God to glorify Him for the changes he's making in me.
9. I WILL spend at least 30 minutes, on nice days, outside getting sun.
10. I WILL maintain a schedule that leaves time for all of the above.
11. I WILL trust God.

It's all about choices. We must ask ourselves, "What is most important to me and what am I willing to do to see it happen?" What will you choose?

Things I WILL NOT do:

1. I will NOT allow myself to run out of my Synthroid prescription.
2. I will NOT allow others to derail my mission to get healthy.
3. I will NOT pretend that my decisions are the result of some mysterious force that I cannot control.
4. I will NOT make excuses to avoid healthy decisions.
5. I will NOT pass on unhealthy habits to my son.
6. I will NOT fail to lead the life God intends me to lead physically, mentally and spiritually.

Once we know what we ARE willing to do, and what we AREN'T willing to do, it's a matter of having the tenacity to stick to it. Are you willing to do that - to become tenacious?

These are words I hope will be accurate descriptions of me - of all of us:

Tenacious (persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired)

Determined (having reached a decision: firmly resolved)

Focused (to concentrate attention or effort)

Inspired (to fill or affect with a specific feeling or thought)

Faithful (strict or thorough in the performance of duty)

Honest (honorable in principles, intentions, and actions)

Finding My Short-Term Goal

All along I have had the general goal of losing weight, but it wasn't until recently that I finally decided on a short-term goal. When I've thought about short-term goals in the past, I haven't considered short-term being within a calendar year. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose from March to August is a fairly short amount of time.

So, after spending some time with my son working on my collage (picture on my front page) I concluded that climbing Mt. Fuji is going to be the short-term goal I will focus on. It is prominently displayed on my collage now and I look at it every day. It's good to be focused on that goal now. Finally, I have something to look forward to - a challenge to look forward to tackling!

Standing there on top of the highest mountain in Japan, the view will be amazing! I'm visualizing the breathtaking scene, the feel of my body, mind, and spirit as I take it all in. I can actually see myself standing there triumphant! I believe I will make it. Along with my husband, we will create a memory that will last a lifetime and cause a ripple effect that will carry us to the next great and healthy adventure of our lives. How exciting? I can't wait to get there. I've much work to do, but the stage has been set. Victory is at my fingertips!