Goals For 2010

Before writing this entry, I decided to have a quick lunch. I made my favorite meal of plain noodles and a side of veggies. I decided to make up the last of the green beans. Sprinkling a little bit of parmesan cheese on the noodles makes the meal tasty.

















OK on to the resolutions...or should I say goals. I'm trying not to make any of the goals too large or too broad, and if they are too broad I will try to scale them down into smaller goals.

Goals for 2009:

1. Be patient and understanding with myself. If I need to take a break from exercise I will not beat myself up about it. If I feel any discomfort at all I will stop what I'm doing and take the necessary break. I will not gripe or whine about being off my exercise routine. I will find alternate ways of getting exercise in. When I need a break from the elliptical I will do a couple of workout videos from the SparkPeople site.
2. Stretch twice a day. This helps me tremendously. It is a fact that everybody needs to stretch, but for someone like me who has cerebral palsy, it is an absolute must. Stretching my legs not only makes them looser but also improves my balance slightly. When my legs are tight it causes me to have more issues when I walk. My legs don't straighten all the way if I don't stretch.
3. Keep up with various writing goals. I would like to keep this blog active and write frequently. Other than this blog I also want to write more personal journal entries located at another site that I keep locked. Venting to my private journal allows me to get my frustrations out and not blow a gasket. Hee hee. Another writing venue I wish to still continue with is a few freelance writing sites. In the last year I've made some side money so I can buy some fun things that I would not normally buy for myself. And the final writing goal I want to partake in is to write more creative works. Participating in 2009s NaNoWriMo was a good start for me to take up creative writing again.
4. Continue with positive thinking and positive self talk. When I catch myself thinking negatively I will make a point to stop mid thought and change it to something positive. If I catch myself calling myself nasty names or telling myself that I'm stupid, I will stop and take a deep breath and keep moving.
5. Work on balance and walking. I'm not setting an end date for this goal, this is something that I will be working on forever. I will start out slow by standing up while watching TV and balancing on one foot as long as I can and then switching legs. I did this for a while last year and I think it helped a bit. I will also use my walker to get around this room. Having three cats will be a challenge for this goal, but I will do my best. The floors out in the kitchen and hallway areas are a bit uneven making my walker seem like I'm pushing a shopping cart with one bad wheel. So I will not practice out there quite yet. I will get there in time though.

I'm sure there are more goals that I can set, but these will do for now. Through the next year I will add to my goals and maybe modify my current ones as I need to.

Have a happy new year and I wish you all the best for 2010.

Goals For 2010

Before writing this entry, I decided to have a quick lunch. I made my favorite meal of plain noodles and a side of veggies. I decided to make up the last of the green beans. Sprinkling a little bit of parmesan cheese on the noodles makes the meal tasty.

















OK on to the resolutions...or should I say goals. I'm trying not to make any of the goals too large or too broad, and if they are too broad I will try to scale them down into smaller goals.

Goals for 2009:

1. Be patient and understanding with myself. If I need to take a break from exercise I will not beat myself up about it. If I feel any discomfort at all I will stop what I'm doing and take the necessary break. I will not gripe or whine about being off my exercise routine. I will find alternate ways of getting exercise in. When I need a break from the elliptical I will do a couple of workout videos from the SparkPeople site.
2. Stretch twice a day. This helps me tremendously. It is a fact that everybody needs to stretch, but for someone like me who has cerebral palsy, it is an absolute must. Stretching my legs not only makes them looser but also improves my balance slightly. When my legs are tight it causes me to have more issues when I walk. My legs don't straighten all the way if I don't stretch.
3. Keep up with various writing goals. I would like to keep this blog active and write frequently. Other than this blog I also want to write more personal journal entries located at another site that I keep locked. Venting to my private journal allows me to get my frustrations out and not blow a gasket. Hee hee. Another writing venue I wish to still continue with is a few freelance writing sites. In the last year I've made some side money so I can buy some fun things that I would not normally buy for myself. And the final writing goal I want to partake in is to write more creative works. Participating in 2009s NaNoWriMo was a good start for me to take up creative writing again.
4. Continue with positive thinking and positive self talk. When I catch myself thinking negatively I will make a point to stop mid thought and change it to something positive. If I catch myself calling myself nasty names or telling myself that I'm stupid, I will stop and take a deep breath and keep moving.
5. Work on balance and walking. I'm not setting an end date for this goal, this is something that I will be working on forever. I will start out slow by standing up while watching TV and balancing on one foot as long as I can and then switching legs. I did this for a while last year and I think it helped a bit. I will also use my walker to get around this room. Having three cats will be a challenge for this goal, but I will do my best. The floors out in the kitchen and hallway areas are a bit uneven making my walker seem like I'm pushing a shopping cart with one bad wheel. So I will not practice out there quite yet. I will get there in time though.

I'm sure there are more goals that I can set, but these will do for now. Through the next year I will add to my goals and maybe modify my current ones as I need to.

Have a happy new year and I wish you all the best for 2010.

Recap Of 2009 Goals

Friday begins the start of a new year. Normally at this time of year people make resolutions. I used to "try" to do this, always making the same resolutions. Such as lose weight. Do such and such so many times a day every day. And other things to that effect. I started out every year OK, but I always lost steam about two or three weeks after the new year. If I had one bad day or did not accomplish what I set out to I would give up. And that would be the end of my resolution.

Last year I set some long-term goals for myself to accomplish in 2009. Actually, as I look back at it, it looks like I only had one long-term goal and the rest were short term goals or a continuation of what I had already been doing. I am copying and pasting my goals from last year into this entry.

1. Maintain my weight. Pretty sure this is a done deal.
2. Strength train 3 times a week.
3. At least 5 days of cardio. Even better would be a full 7 days even if it's only 10 minutes. I don't HAVE to do a full mile each and every time I get on the elliptical.
4. Positive thinking, positive self talk and meditation. These three things have always helped in the past, so I need to really make them habits. I tend to start these and over time they fade away. May I need a calendar reminder, lol.
5. To check in monthly with myself to see how I'm doing on my goals and how my body feels in general. See where I'm slacking and needing improvement.
6. Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. I really need to take my time and not rush through this. Twice a day, morning and evening.
7. Continue to work on my walking alone. I DO INTEND to be walking unassisted at the end of 2009. This is my MAJOR goal.

For number one I'm sorry to say that I was not able to accomplish. I ended up with quite a few injuries in my lower legs and feet and had to take several months off from my cardio. I am about 10 pounds heavier than I was last year. This is technically OK as I am still in the healthy weight range for my height. My pants still fit and that's what I go by for the most part. The scale can go up and down, and I understand that is normal. I will not be concerned too much about the number on the scale unless my pants become too tight.

For number two, I was able to stick with it. I had days off certainly, and this is normal. It's not realistic to think that I will do strength training three days a week every week for the entire year. Life gets in the way, or should I say life happens. Illnesses, vacations, and unexpected houseguests are part of life.

Number three I've come to believe was a bit more of a challenge than I should have set for myself. At the end of 2008 I believe I was doing five days a week of cardio, so I thought that I would be able to continue that. I'm not sure if trying to complete five days a week was a contribution to my injuries, but it might have been. I was stubborn and figured that I'd be able to push myself to do the same intense cardio routine every week.

Number four I did pretty well with. For the most part I did not talk to myself in a negative way. I tried my best to think on the bright side of things. I can't say that I did much in the way of meditation, but that's OK. The main thing I accomplished was positive thinking and positive self talk.

For number five I started out fine, but I slacked off after about three months. I had it in my mind to write an update on the first of every month. That obviously did not happen one month and I kept delaying getting it done until I just skipped it entirely. And of course once I skipped one month, I skipped a second month, and then I skipped a third month, and so on.

For number six again I did OK. I did go weeks and months at one point without stretching at all. But essentially I came back around to it and got it done. Stretching twice a day is good for me. I tried doing it three times a day that that was a bit much. And once a day was not enough. Doing it twice a day makes it so my legs don't completely tighten up so it feels like I'm starting from scratch the following day.

And finally number seven. My big, huge, main goal. I did the mistake of setting myself an end date, saying I wanted to walk on my own buy the end of 2009. I think this put a lot of pressure on myself and I felt like I had two get it done in record speed. The first week of January 2009 I did fairly well, but I did not take the time to do it the right way. I wanted to walk on my own so badly that I skipped certain steps. What I should have done was to set a certain time each day to practice walking with my walker. If I had done that I could have worked my way up to not needing my walker at all. My main obstacles were balance of course, but I think even more than that... I know that even more than that it was an issue of confidence and fear. Not so much confidence I don't think, although it does play a part. I still find myself concerned with what people think of me when they see me walking. For some reason it's still hard for me to get it through my head that people do not care about what I am doing or how I am doing it. They're just worried about what they're doing and how they're doing it. But the absolute main obstacle was fear. I have a fear, a deathly fear, of falling. I need to work through the fear and once I do that the rest will come easily I think.

This entry is getting a bit long, so I will post my new year's goals tomorrow. My question to you all is do you set resolutions on New Year's Eve or a week before new year's? Do you set an end date for your resolutions or do you leave them open ended? Do you have large resolutions, that you might be able to break down into smaller goals to reach your main objective?

Recap Of 2009 Goals

Friday begins the start of a new year. Normally at this time of year people make resolutions. I used to "try" to do this, always making the same resolutions. Such as lose weight. Do such and such so many times a day every day. And other things to that effect. I started out every year OK, but I always lost steam about two or three weeks after the new year. If I had one bad day or did not accomplish what I set out to I would give up. And that would be the end of my resolution.

Last year I set some long-term goals for myself to accomplish in 2009. Actually, as I look back at it, it looks like I only had one long-term goal and the rest were short term goals or a continuation of what I had already been doing. I am copying and pasting my goals from last year into this entry.

1. Maintain my weight. Pretty sure this is a done deal.
2. Strength train 3 times a week.
3. At least 5 days of cardio. Even better would be a full 7 days even if it's only 10 minutes. I don't HAVE to do a full mile each and every time I get on the elliptical.
4. Positive thinking, positive self talk and meditation. These three things have always helped in the past, so I need to really make them habits. I tend to start these and over time they fade away. May I need a calendar reminder, lol.
5. To check in monthly with myself to see how I'm doing on my goals and how my body feels in general. See where I'm slacking and needing improvement.
6. Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. I really need to take my time and not rush through this. Twice a day, morning and evening.
7. Continue to work on my walking alone. I DO INTEND to be walking unassisted at the end of 2009. This is my MAJOR goal.

For number one I'm sorry to say that I was not able to accomplish. I ended up with quite a few injuries in my lower legs and feet and had to take several months off from my cardio. I am about 10 pounds heavier than I was last year. This is technically OK as I am still in the healthy weight range for my height. My pants still fit and that's what I go by for the most part. The scale can go up and down, and I understand that is normal. I will not be concerned too much about the number on the scale unless my pants become too tight.

For number two, I was able to stick with it. I had days off certainly, and this is normal. It's not realistic to think that I will do strength training three days a week every week for the entire year. Life gets in the way, or should I say life happens. Illnesses, vacations, and unexpected houseguests are part of life.

Number three I've come to believe was a bit more of a challenge than I should have set for myself. At the end of 2008 I believe I was doing five days a week of cardio, so I thought that I would be able to continue that. I'm not sure if trying to complete five days a week was a contribution to my injuries, but it might have been. I was stubborn and figured that I'd be able to push myself to do the same intense cardio routine every week.

Number four I did pretty well with. For the most part I did not talk to myself in a negative way. I tried my best to think on the bright side of things. I can't say that I did much in the way of meditation, but that's OK. The main thing I accomplished was positive thinking and positive self talk.

For number five I started out fine, but I slacked off after about three months. I had it in my mind to write an update on the first of every month. That obviously did not happen one month and I kept delaying getting it done until I just skipped it entirely. And of course once I skipped one month, I skipped a second month, and then I skipped a third month, and so on.

For number six again I did OK. I did go weeks and months at one point without stretching at all. But essentially I came back around to it and got it done. Stretching twice a day is good for me. I tried doing it three times a day that that was a bit much. And once a day was not enough. Doing it twice a day makes it so my legs don't completely tighten up so it feels like I'm starting from scratch the following day.

And finally number seven. My big, huge, main goal. I did the mistake of setting myself an end date, saying I wanted to walk on my own buy the end of 2009. I think this put a lot of pressure on myself and I felt like I had two get it done in record speed. The first week of January 2009 I did fairly well, but I did not take the time to do it the right way. I wanted to walk on my own so badly that I skipped certain steps. What I should have done was to set a certain time each day to practice walking with my walker. If I had done that I could have worked my way up to not needing my walker at all. My main obstacles were balance of course, but I think even more than that... I know that even more than that it was an issue of confidence and fear. Not so much confidence I don't think, although it does play a part. I still find myself concerned with what people think of me when they see me walking. For some reason it's still hard for me to get it through my head that people do not care about what I am doing or how I am doing it. They're just worried about what they're doing and how they're doing it. But the absolute main obstacle was fear. I have a fear, a deathly fear, of falling. I need to work through the fear and once I do that the rest will come easily I think.

This entry is getting a bit long, so I will post my new year's goals tomorrow. My question to you all is do you set resolutions on New Year's Eve or a week before new year's? Do you set an end date for your resolutions or do you leave them open ended? Do you have large resolutions, that you might be able to break down into smaller goals to reach your main objective?

"The Spark" By Chris Downie

It's official! I have a quote in the book written by Chris Downie called "The Spark". The book appeared on store shelves today, December 29, 2009. My quote can be found on page 60 in chapter four. It's exciting to see my words in print, attached with one of the most popular healthy lifestyle web sites on the Internet today.

SparkPeople.com has helped me in many ways. It has not only taught me about nutrition and exercise, but it has also taught me how to set attainable goals. It has provided me with all the right tools to track by progress not only with my food intake and exercise tracking, but also with public and private forums to get support from other members on the web site. The site has a special section where you can ask the "coaches" for advice and with help in general. The questions are answered very quickly and the coaches are very knowledgeable.

I have yet to read through the entire book, but I'm about to sit down right now and start reading. I did have to skim through the book right away to see if my quote did in fact may get into the book. I was very pleased to see that it had. Hopefully people who are struggling not only with losing weight but accomplishing other goals will see my words and feel that anything is possible.

The book "The Spark" is available in stores everywhere and I highly suggest going out and buying it right now. I feel that Chris Downie and everyone associated with SparkPpeople.com have the right approach when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy. They understand that there is no quick fix or magic pill to lose weight. It takes a lifestyle change and a want within oneself to make that change. They help people to set attainable goals and help them accomplish what they start.

Also I go to start reading, and I will be smiling the entire time.

"The Spark" By Chris Downie

It's official! I have a quote in the book written by Chris Downie called "The Spark". The book appeared on store shelves today, December 29, 2009. My quote can be found on page 60 in chapter four. It's exciting to see my words in print, attached with one of the most popular healthy lifestyle web sites on the Internet today.

SparkPeople.com has helped me in many ways. It has not only taught me about nutrition and exercise, but it has also taught me how to set attainable goals. It has provided me with all the right tools to track by progress not only with my food intake and exercise tracking, but also with public and private forums to get support from other members on the web site. The site has a special section where you can ask the "coaches" for advice and with help in general. The questions are answered very quickly and the coaches are very knowledgeable.

I have yet to read through the entire book, but I'm about to sit down right now and start reading. I did have to skim through the book right away to see if my quote did in fact may get into the book. I was very pleased to see that it had. Hopefully people who are struggling not only with losing weight but accomplishing other goals will see my words and feel that anything is possible.

The book "The Spark" is available in stores everywhere and I highly suggest going out and buying it right now. I feel that Chris Downie and everyone associated with SparkPpeople.com have the right approach when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy. They understand that there is no quick fix or magic pill to lose weight. It takes a lifestyle change and a want within oneself to make that change. They help people to set attainable goals and help them accomplish what they start.

Also I go to start reading, and I will be smiling the entire time.

Adapting But Still Moving

I've been inspired by the blog called Carrots 'N' Cake. Tina shares photos of her day and posts them to her blog. I decided that I will try and do the same thing, maybe not every day or even every post, but I will try to post some pictures here and there as I see fit.

My exercise routine is going to have to change some again for a little bit due to more shin splints. This time I have shin splints in my left leg, while the last time I had shin splints it was in my right leg. They seem to be switching from one leg to the other. I had just gotten back to doing one mile again after not being able to do a mile for a few months. I just started to have pain in my left ankle and shin last week. Instead of trying to force myself to complete one mile every time I was on the elliptical, I decided to take some time off. I think I caught it in time, because it does not really hurt when I'm off the machine. When I first had shin splints I remember it hurt no matter where I was, I could be standing or sitting or even lying down and it would ache. So I am being smart this time and am not pushing it.















Next Monday is the beginning of Spark People's boot camp called Spark Your Body Boot Camp. It lasts for one month, just like all of their other boot camps. During this boot camp they will show a ten minute workout video everyday for the first week. After that the videos will replay for the following three weeks. Also five days a week they say you should do some sort of cardio exercise for 30 minutes every day. I hope my shin splints are gone by then, but if not I will do some sort of cardio other then my elliptical. Spark People has a few cardio videos that last for ten minutes that I can do as a replacement. The instructor, Coach Nicole, gives alternate ways of doing the movements which I love. These videos are adaptable to anyone's needs.

So because I have to stop my elliptical workouts for now, I need to really pay attention to what I eat. I adjusted my fitness goals to reflect my lack of cardio. Doing this changed my calorie range to 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I'm going to try to eat in the lower range as much as I can. If I have to eat half a sandwich then I will. I am in control of what I eat for breakfast and lunch, but dinner I have no control over as I do not cook that meal.


















For today's lunch I had the last of my left over Domino's pizza. Two slices of Philly steak and tomato pizza, an apple, and for my drink I had my usual water. Not the best lunch, but it could have been worse. Two slices of medium pizza was about 360 calories. So far today I am at a total of 647 calories. My dinner can be anywhere from 563 to 913 calories. I intend on having a banana for a snack in about an hour and I honestly have no idea what dinner will be. Hopefully it won't be anything too heavy.

As far as today's exercise went, I did do my strength training routine, which consisted of my normal ab routine, floor arm routine with eight pound weights, standing arm routine with eight pound weights, and standing leg routine. I did two sets of the arm routines and for the most part I felt fairly strong while doing it. I did get on my elliptical for about five seconds before deciding there was no way. It would be too uncomfortable and I would have injured myself further. I did that last time, and ended up taking a two month forced break.


















On my off days, which are Tuesday and Thursday I intend on doing my workout DVD which is a pilates DVD entitled Pilates Beginning Mat Workout. I bought this DVD about four or five years ago before I really got serious about losing weight and getting fit. I bought this DVD because it has the entire routine on the floor, so I don't have to worry about my balance during the exercises. The trainer in the video, Ana Caban does, the routine the traditional way while her assistant does the routine in a modified format. During this video I try to do the traditional version but on occasion I have to do the modified version. My legs are not as flexible and they won't straighten out totally. While she has her legs straight in the air, I place mine in a tabletop position (90° angle).

This is turning into a long entry so I will end this for now. I will have more things to say soon. New Year's Eve goals, and things like that are to come.

When you have an injury how do you compensate for it? Do you find alternate ways of getting exercise in or do you just take a complete break and do no exercise at all?

Adapting But Still Moving

I've been inspired by the blog called Carrots 'N' Cake. Tina shares photos of her day and posts them to her blog. I decided that I will try and do the same thing, maybe not every day or even every post, but I will try to post some pictures here and there as I see fit.

My exercise routine is going to have to change some again for a little bit due to more shin splints. This time I have shin splints in my left leg, while the last time I had shin splints it was in my right leg. They seem to be switching from one leg to the other. I had just gotten back to doing one mile again after not being able to do a mile for a few months. I just started to have pain in my left ankle and shin last week. Instead of trying to force myself to complete one mile every time I was on the elliptical, I decided to take some time off. I think I caught it in time, because it does not really hurt when I'm off the machine. When I first had shin splints I remember it hurt no matter where I was, I could be standing or sitting or even lying down and it would ache. So I am being smart this time and am not pushing it.















Next Monday is the beginning of Spark People's boot camp called Spark Your Body Boot Camp. It lasts for one month, just like all of their other boot camps. During this boot camp they will show a ten minute workout video everyday for the first week. After that the videos will replay for the following three weeks. Also five days a week they say you should do some sort of cardio exercise for 30 minutes every day. I hope my shin splints are gone by then, but if not I will do some sort of cardio other then my elliptical. Spark People has a few cardio videos that last for ten minutes that I can do as a replacement. The instructor, Coach Nicole, gives alternate ways of doing the movements which I love. These videos are adaptable to anyone's needs.

So because I have to stop my elliptical workouts for now, I need to really pay attention to what I eat. I adjusted my fitness goals to reflect my lack of cardio. Doing this changed my calorie range to 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I'm going to try to eat in the lower range as much as I can. If I have to eat half a sandwich then I will. I am in control of what I eat for breakfast and lunch, but dinner I have no control over as I do not cook that meal.


















For today's lunch I had the last of my left over Domino's pizza. Two slices of Philly steak and tomato pizza, an apple, and for my drink I had my usual water. Not the best lunch, but it could have been worse. Two slices of medium pizza was about 360 calories. So far today I am at a total of 647 calories. My dinner can be anywhere from 563 to 913 calories. I intend on having a banana for a snack in about an hour and I honestly have no idea what dinner will be. Hopefully it won't be anything too heavy.

As far as today's exercise went, I did do my strength training routine, which consisted of my normal ab routine, floor arm routine with eight pound weights, standing arm routine with eight pound weights, and standing leg routine. I did two sets of the arm routines and for the most part I felt fairly strong while doing it. I did get on my elliptical for about five seconds before deciding there was no way. It would be too uncomfortable and I would have injured myself further. I did that last time, and ended up taking a two month forced break.


















On my off days, which are Tuesday and Thursday I intend on doing my workout DVD which is a pilates DVD entitled Pilates Beginning Mat Workout. I bought this DVD about four or five years ago before I really got serious about losing weight and getting fit. I bought this DVD because it has the entire routine on the floor, so I don't have to worry about my balance during the exercises. The trainer in the video, Ana Caban does, the routine the traditional way while her assistant does the routine in a modified format. During this video I try to do the traditional version but on occasion I have to do the modified version. My legs are not as flexible and they won't straighten out totally. While she has her legs straight in the air, I place mine in a tabletop position (90° angle).

This is turning into a long entry so I will end this for now. I will have more things to say soon. New Year's Eve goals, and things like that are to come.

When you have an injury how do you compensate for it? Do you find alternate ways of getting exercise in or do you just take a complete break and do no exercise at all?

Long Time No Post

Well, let's see. The last time I entered anything here was at the beginning, or near the beginning of November. I was busy with NaNoWriMo, and I'm happy to report that I completed it and am considered a winter. As a winner I received three pictures that I have saved on my computer. The one you see here is one of those. It was a great experience to have taken part in the NaNoWriMo, and know that I can complete 50,000 words in one month if I push myself to do so. I am looking forward to November 2010 so I can do it all over again. I will need to do some preliminary work, such as more detailed character creation and also storyline direction.

As far as my exercising goes, I am back to where I was about a year ago. I am back to doing one mile three days a week on my elliptical. I took my time and didn't rush myself. I started out slow doing three days a week at 3/10 of a mile then the next week I did 4/10 and so on. I am still taking a few breaks during my mile, but I am finishing it.

I had to take about a week off, or maybe 10 days because I was sick with a really weird cold. Everybody in this house as well as the entire family got this nasty bug. We had everybody down for a joint anniversary party, and our two year old niece was running around the house with a runny nose and sniffling. We also went to Outback that night for dinner, so it's possible we picked it up there, but I am inclined to think it was from our two year old niece.

The cold hit anybody in a different way. For me, it started out as a sore throat, and then worked its way into my ears and nose. I also had a headache and was very tired, having no energy to do anything. My husband, mother in law, and our 18 year old nephew had those same symptoms as well as a very nasty cough as well as an upset stomach. My brother in law kept teasing us saying that we all had the swine flu. We did not have the swine flu, thank you very much, it was just a nasty cold.

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on. I enjoyed some time off from writing after a whole month of getting in two thousand words every day. I am slowly getting back into writing however, and that is a good thing.

For now I will keep this short, but I will write more later. I've got a few ideas that I would like to write about. Until then, keep on moving.

Long Time No Post

Well, let's see. The last time I entered anything here was at the beginning, or near the beginning of November. I was busy with NaNoWriMo, and I'm happy to report that I completed it and am considered a winter. As a winner I received three pictures that I have saved on my computer. The one you see here is one of those. It was a great experience to have taken part in the NaNoWriMo, and know that I can complete 50,000 words in one month if I push myself to do so. I am looking forward to November 2010 so I can do it all over again. I will need to do some preliminary work, such as more detailed character creation and also storyline direction.

As far as my exercising goes, I am back to where I was about a year ago. I am back to doing one mile three days a week on my elliptical. I took my time and didn't rush myself. I started out slow doing three days a week at 3/10 of a mile then the next week I did 4/10 and so on. I am still taking a few breaks during my mile, but I am finishing it.

I had to take about a week off, or maybe 10 days because I was sick with a really weird cold. Everybody in this house as well as the entire family got this nasty bug. We had everybody down for a joint anniversary party, and our two year old niece was running around the house with a runny nose and sniffling. We also went to Outback that night for dinner, so it's possible we picked it up there, but I am inclined to think it was from our two year old niece.

The cold hit anybody in a different way. For me, it started out as a sore throat, and then worked its way into my ears and nose. I also had a headache and was very tired, having no energy to do anything. My husband, mother in law, and our 18 year old nephew had those same symptoms as well as a very nasty cough as well as an upset stomach. My brother in law kept teasing us saying that we all had the swine flu. We did not have the swine flu, thank you very much, it was just a nasty cold.

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on. I enjoyed some time off from writing after a whole month of getting in two thousand words every day. I am slowly getting back into writing however, and that is a good thing.

For now I will keep this short, but I will write more later. I've got a few ideas that I would like to write about. Until then, keep on moving.