My 2011 Resolutions/Goals

I posted my goals last year and it was probably the best thing I could have done. It kept me accountable for everything and I think I did a much better job of sticking to them. Here are my 2011 resolutions.

1.Get to my goal weight and stay there - I lost weight last year and then put weight back on (thankfully not all of it). This year I want to get to my goal weight of 115 and stay there. Last time I got on a scale I weighed in at 123 (thank you holiday meals) and I determined to lose these last 8 pounds! I will post frequent updates on my weight loss and hope that this is a goal I meet by summer time!

2. Incorporate yoga into my workouts - The people that I know that do yoga regular just love what it does for their body. My sister-in-law is a yoga instructor and she has a great body...even after having two kids. I've decided that this is the year I'm going to start to do it regularly...maybe I can even convince Hubby to do it with me. I welcome any DVD or DVR recommendations. My goal is for yoga to help strengthen my core and increase flexibility.

3. Watch less TV - Most nights when Hubby and I get home from work we tend to just veg in front of the TV for the rest of the night. We've both decided that we need to spend less time in front of the TV and more time doing quality things like taking a walk (when it starts to get warm/light out), reading a book and knitting (for me not Hubby).

4. Reach 300 followers - My blog is still going to be one of my focuses and I'm so happy to have over 200 followers. I'd love to reach 300 followers by the end of the year. This is definitely a "stretch" goal but I will try my best to reach it.

5. Find a good photo editing software and really learn how to use it - I feel like this is pretty self explanatory. Right now I use Picassa but want to find a good one (willing to pay) that will help make my photos even more memorable. Any suggestions?

5. Try New Restaurants - Hubby and I are always eating at the same restaurants so in 2011 I want us to branch out and try new ones. If you live in the DC area I would love your restaurant recommendations!

So there are a few of my resolutions for the year. I will try and do monthly updates like I did last year. What are some of your resolutions?

New Years Resolution Month Four Update

1.Be Healthier - I am so on track with this resolution and I feel soooo good. I'm down six pounds and dropped my body fat percentage 4 points. I'm just one percentage point away from being out of the normal category and into the lean one. I attribute this success to eating healthier and constant exercise. My personal trainer has helped a ton. I'm going to be done working with him at the end of May but plan on using everything I've learned with him daily. My goal is to meet with him one or two days a week just to get a really good workout in. One of the most exciting things was to put on a pair of jeans that I haven't been able to wear in a while.

2.Be consistent with running - I've switched back to running longer distances. I met my goal of running the mile under 6:30. Now I'm back to running 3-5 miles at a time. It feels good to switch it up.

3.Focus on my blog - So my blog posts are lacking...I know. Work has just been so busy and well the blog is the first thing to get neglected. I can keep saying that I will be better about posting but truth is, I'm not sure I can. I hope to post at least once or twice a week. I've hit 180 followers which is great. Only 20 more to 200.

4.Cook at home more - No new exciting recipes this week. One of my favorite new dinner things is grilled chicken salad with lemon/olive oil vinaigrette. Lots of flavor and healthy.

New Years Resolution Month Three Update

1.Be Healthier - Definitely eating healthier and just living healthier lives. Hubby and I have been really good about watching what we eat and filling our diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. This is probably the best I have felt in a long time. I'm really toning up and a lot of it is because of my personal trainer. I still continue to see if twice a week and definitely have seen results. My clothes fit better, I'm stronger and all around I feel good.

2.Be consistent with running - I've been running a little more outside now that the weather is warm. I also changed my mile time from 8:30 to under 6:30. I never thought in a million years I would be able to run that fast.

3.Focus on my blog - I'm back to blogging after a brief hiatus because work was crazy. I'm added 9 more followers from last month. Getting closer to 200!

4.Cook at home more - Cooking at home this past month was a little difficult because Hubby's and my travel schedules were off so we weren't home much. My favorite recipe is the Rosemary White Bean Soup!

New Years Resolution Month Two Update

Two months into 2010 (I can't believe how fast this year is going by already) and here's my resoluation update.

1.Be Healthier - Definitely eating healthier. Hubby and I have been really good about watching what we eat and filling our diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I've lost another pound and feeling like I'm really toning up. This is all thanks to my personal trainer. I decided to buy a package of 24 sessions with him to see what results I see. So far I've meet with him four times and I'm already seeing a difference. If anyone lives in the Rockville area and are interested in a personal trainer, I definitely recommend mine. E-Mail me and I'll give you his info.

2.Be consistent with running - My running approach has changed. I've logged a little over 40 miles this month. My personal trainer has me trying to get my mile time around 6 minutes so we've been focusing on short runs...not so many long runs. I still think I will hit my goal of mileage for the year...esspecially because I know I will be out there running when the weather warms up.

3.Focus on my blog - So once again I haven't done a good job focusing on the blog. Work has been soo busy and I've been traveling too which makes it tough. My goal is to have 3-4 posts a week. I'm at 170 followers...30 away from 200. I hope I make it.

4.Cook at home more - We have been really good about cooking more at home. We are sharing duties and planning ahead which makes it easier. The best thing is we've saved extra money this month because of it!

New Years Resolution Month One Update

Well we are one month into 2010 and in order for me to keep my resolutions I need to revisit each month and make sure I'm staying on track.

1. Be Healthier - I've lost a few pounds. I'm not as toned as I would like to be. Thinking about getting a few sessions with a personal trainer. What do you think? Definitely eating better. I need to be better about making a trip to the grocery store each week to get fresh fruit and vegetables so that we have them in the house at all times.
   
2. Be consistent with running - I definitely could be running more. I've logged a little over 25 miles this month. I did have one good 5 mile run. I'm anxious for the weather to warm up and I will definitely be running outside.
   
3. Focus on my blog - I have not been doing a good job of focusing on my blog. I did get a few more followers this month but I'm still a good ways away from 200. Promise I will try and be better this month. Not as much traveling in February so I should have more free time.
   
4. Cook at home more - I was very good in the beginning of the month trying out new things (none of them good enough to share on the blog). Then both Hubby and I were traveling so we just weren't around enough. I hope to be sharing some new recipes with you soon.

On another note, my friend Shannon has cleaned out her sweaters and put some of them up on ebay. Check them out here.

Favorite Thing #127 - Vera Bradley Lunch Box

If you are a daily reader of my blog then you know I love Vera Bradley. Here's another favorite from my collection - Lunch Box. This is the perfect favorite thing for my New Years Resolution to be "more green." Before this lunchbox I used to bring a plastic bag with my lunch to work and then just throw it out...very wasteful! Now 9 times out of 10 I can fit whatever I bring in this bag. This was given to me as a gift and I don't know if I would have bought it for myself.


I use Favorite Thing #27 - Tupperware's Forget Me Nots all the time. I call it my "half of anything" Tupperware. I put in half an onion, half a lemon or half a tomato. They fit perfectly and store easily too! And you don't have to go to a Tupperware party to buy them. You can buy any of their items right off their website.

New Years Resolution #1 - Trying to be more "green"

So my first New Years resolution was to do more for the environment. Nothing crazy but the little everyday things that I know I should be doing but I wasn't. Here's a list of how I'm being more environmentally conscious -

1. Using reusable bags at the grocery store. I need to be much better at this. I have the bags (four of them - two in each car) but I always forget to bring them in with me. I got to a point where I had our plastic bag organizer and another plastic bag stuff with plastic bags. So I took the over stuffed plastic bag with plastic bags to the recycle container at the grocery store and left the other ones at home because I do use them. I use them for the bathroom trash cans in our house so I will hold on to some for that use.

2. Recycle, recycle, recycle! Thankfully my recycling has become a lot easier since moving to Montgomery County, MD. We have one very large recycling bin and we can put all of our recycling in it - bottles, cans, newspapers, cardboard, etc. I'm trying to make a real effort to fill that recycling container each week. I put everything in there - junk mail, newspapers, boxes cut down from packages, empty plastic containers, etc. I will admit that I failed on recycling on Sunday during the Super Bowl. We have about 30 people at our house and well it was much easier to put everything in one trash bag. Shame on me...I know.

3. Create less waste. This is a tough one, a lot tougher than I thought it would be because well there is waste everywhere. Some of the things I have been doing to help this are using the recyclable bags, when bringing lunch to work I use my "lunch box" (future favorite thing) and about 98% of the food I bring to work comes in reusable Tupperware. I've also tried to eliminate drinking out of plastic water bottles. I have two reusable ones (Klean Kanteen and Camelbak) that I use all the time. I may need to get another one because I've started to leave them at peoples houses by accident.

4. Using energy efficient light bulbs. I finally convinced my husband that we should start using these. We only have two in use right now but after each light bulb goes out it is replaced with an energy efficient one.

5. Only do full loads of laundry. I used to be the type of person that would do laundry ALL the time. If I wanted to wear a shirt but it was dirty I would just wash that shirt. Not any more. Since it is just me and my husband I try and do laundry every 2-3 weeks as opposed to every week.

6. Using the eco-wash cycle on the dishwasher. When my husband and I bought a new dishwasher I saw that it had an "eco-wash" setting. I never really thought to use it because I really didn't think it was going to clean the dishes as well as the normal setting would. Well I tried it one day and it worked great. It air dries the dishes so it uses less energy. I normally run my dishwasher in the late evening (I always delay it to run at 3AM) so by the time I get up in the morning the dishes are clean and dry.

Any other suggestions for being "green"??? I think my next step might be composting. I hear it is easy but I just don't know.