W(h)ining, dining & an update on NYR's

I'm bummed to admit that I am only five days into my "No Alcohol for January" new years resolution and finding it really difficult to *not* have that glass -or two- of wine in the evening after work or around dinner.

Oh, alcohol and how I love thee. Or shall we say, damn mental crutches and how I have become accustomed to thee...It truly is so nice to unwind with a glass of wine in the evening. My experiment here is to see if I can 1) actually do it and if 2) the removal of alcohol reduces the belly fat that makes me feel like:

So, in lieu of alcohol, I am drinking tea and mineral water. I'm choosing decaf teas like rooibus which has a nice flavor and is supposedly great for you. I feel slimmer already but that could be a result of the new exercise regime of 45 minutes a day, six days a week on my home elliptical machine. At any rate, I think I am seeing progress faster in terms of shaping up and losing fat. I'll measure the progress on a weekly basis.

Other resolutions are:

1 super smoothie a day:  I was recently inspired by a friend who was making kale smoothies. I used to make them all the time several years ago but fell out of the routine. I'm happy to announce that I am back on the smoothie wagon!

Many people have asked me about my 'recipe'. Well, I always make it off the cuff but here is an example: a handful of both lacinato kale and spinach- always fresh, ~half a cup of OJ, ~half a cup of coconut milk or coconut water, something frozen such as mango, peaches, raspberries, etc. I might add a touch of milk or a touch of water to help make it creamier than chunky and will usually add protein powder and/or chia seeds or flax. It's only been a few weeks and I have really noticed a difference in my skin and feel great, too. You are what you eat, right? If so, I will soon resemble a martian given all these greens!

The aforementioned new workout plan-  This one is simple. I youtube a 45-50 minute billiards match, set it to full screen on my laptop and hop on my elliptical and do a pre-set workout such as the "performance hill climb". The program manages everything: resistance changes for me and it tells me when to speed up or slow down (and dings at me when I am not going fast or slow enough) which is awesome. As I am burning off a reported 800 calories, I am watching professional pool and learnin' a thing or two. Pretty cool.

More music- I need to find a way to play music more. How is it possible I always forget to play music? I am so much happier when I hear music. This mission not yet accomplished.

Practice pool daily- I have a pool table in the basement. It's nothing special really- just a 7' foot bar box but it does have nice new Simonis 860 cloth and some pretty ok rails. My mission is to keep my arm loose and to practice speed, position play and various other shots to keep me sharp.

Focusing on healthy foods for me and Matt - This one is pretty simple since we eat really healthy as a rule anyway. Less meats and more vegetables. Super colorful, excellent-for-you, high in antioxidant veggies like...kale!

Reducing annoying things like clutter and disorganization- I just want to simplify things.

Quality, real quality, time with my husband every day. So, what does that mean? No phone, no distractions - totally there. More positive, less negative. Daydreaming together, bitching less. Being thankful together and enjoying the simple life.

This blog-  An online thought stream is always fun to look back on and gives stalkers something to do. Kidding! ;-)  Writing is very therapeutic for me - I have always enjoyed working out problems in my head.

Working up a yearly calendar for planning purposes-  This also gives me something to look forward to and helps me visualize whether or not I have balance across pool, work, Matt, me and so forth.

2012

2012 is nearly upon us and I find myself wondering what new years resolutions I might settle on. I tend to do things with vigor- basically totally OCD- or...not at all. I'm quite binary like that, I suppose. It's all or nothing and I know real quick if its not gonna light my fire for more than a moment. Here are a few things that do:

Billiards - I've loved the game in different ways for more than 20 years now. As a kid, I just loved to play. I had no understanding of fundamentals or theory-- nada- I just played and had fun. As an adult, I still love the game and have been playing regularly for years but am now on the verge of competing more, at higher levels and with a new focus.

IT - After an 18 year career in Information Technology and many, many interesting and challenging roles, I cannot imagine a career in any other space. I have seen the industry evolve so much in such a short amount of time that I truly believe there is no more potent skill-set than a combination of technology expertise and a deep knowledge of the business you are supporting.

Education- I am largely self-taught and consider myself a lifelong student. I've even spent 10 years on the other side of the classroom, too. From 2000 until my recent hiatus, I was adjunct faculty at Portland Community College where I taught technology courses such as the Microsoft MCSE tracks and the CompTIA A+ and Network+ certification tracks. I am always learning and always in the pursuit of knowledge.

Marriage- My marriage is the most important part of my life and Matt is the most important person in my life. To me, marriage is the backbone of all the other things I do and love and provides a lot of the courage and inspiration that drives me forward. Life is busy, work is busy, the weeks fly by and turn into years and sometimes your marriage wears the battle scars of all of these seemingly ancillary things. It is my goal to have the best marriage I can and to be the best wife and human I can be. It is always a work- and important work- in progress.

Healthy living- The underpinning of all of the above is mental, physical and emotional well being. I try to find this balance through exercise, healthy foods & home cooked meals and mentally enjoyable things such as: billiards, gardening, long walks, music and funny movies or books.

I will be ruminating on these topics and hopefully settling on some meaningful personal goals for 2012. Thoughts so far include:

• What do I want to achieve personally professionally?
• What are the stress points or negatives in my life that I need to reduce?
• As a woman in her mid-thirties, what are my health goals? Should I be losing weight (my BMI is in the high range), getting more or less exercise (is 45 minutes of cardio 5 times a week what I need?), drinking less, or eating less (or different kinds of) meat?
• What kinds of ways can I volunteer and help my community? One of the areas I am exploring is conducting free technology and business classes for men and women in the local area Portland shelters. Years ago, I did work for the homeless "transition projects" and that was when the idea first sparked: surely I could do more than just serve food...

More to come-- perhaps my next post will be on Jan 1, 2012 where I'll unveil my 2012 Aspirations.