Fitness

By no choice of my own, I was sick for a lot of the break.  I was never deathly ill stuck to my bed, but I was not feeling good enough to run or work up any type of heart rate for a lot of the days.   I was kinda lazy for a few of the days after I started feeling better and didn't want to exert much energy. So all in all, I didn't work out as much as I would have liked, but its ok, I did what I could and now that I have taken adequate time to rest and am feeling 100% better, I'm seriously looking forward to this week and my workouts! For the last few months, I have been tracking my workouts almost every day in the Fitness tab on my page.  I have now archived that page and have begun a new 2010 fitness  page.  I'm not doing anything special on this page, just logging my workouts. I thought it would be fun to start from scratch for the new year.  I got a heart rate monitor for Christmas, but it didn't have a distance tracker, so we sent it back and today I am going to try and pick out a monitor that logs, distance, calories and heart rate, etc. 
(any suggestions for a good one around $175/180?) 
We're going to have to spend a bit more to add the distance tracker, but I'd really like to have it. My hopes are to incorporate more running into my workouts, if my body will allow.  So far I've done great and have had no pain, but I am a bit hesitant to get super excited about running since I've had problems in the past with my back.  I am going to take it slow and see how I feel and set goals based on my body and how It reacts. If possible I'd love to run a few races and build my distance.  Speaking of races, why do they cost so stinking much? There is a race called the "Ragnar" that Dave and I have been thinking about running, but it is $100 a person. Blah. Maybe if it was just me running it wouldn't seem so bad, but $200 for us to run a race….I just don't like the sound of that.  I think $25 or $50 a person is more like it.  There is a race in San Francisco called The 12k across the bay, which I'd love to do. We did it once a few years ago and it was so much fun! We met my parents in San Fran and shared a hotel room. We hit all the hot spots, ate at yummy restaurants and then ran the race on our last day there.  We had not trained at ALL and by the time we made it to the airport that night we were both limping, Dave so bad that he thought he broke his foot. I had to push him in a wheel chair around the airport.  After a few days we both ended up being just fine…but that's what we get for not training for a 12k run.  We hadn't even really even been exercising.  What were we thinking??
There is also another race i'd love to do. It's a 1/2 marathon in May. It starts in the canyon and the trail goes around a large damn and then down the canyon…it would be so beautiful. I guess I'll have to play it by ear and see how my body does. My tentative plan is to run 3x a week and strength train 2x a week. I plan on taking Friday's  and Sunday's off.  I think this schedule will keep me motivated, strong, and give me the rest in between that I need. It's just a tentative plan, but a plan it is.

Goals

 Tonight Dave and I are going to have Family Home Evening. Click on the link to learn what Family Home Evening is.
We are going to review our goals from last year and see how we've done. We have of course reviewed our goals throughout the year, but we still like to sit down and review them at the end/beginning of the year and see how we've done.  I'm excited to see what we have accomplished and excited to set some new challenging goals.  I love the new year.  Even though I'm really unhappy about being at work right now, I'm happy about today and about starting a new year. I'm excited for 2010 and everything that will happen.  Living in our new house, a new baby (not mine, sissys), lots of vacations, holidays, summer, new traditions……there is just so much to look forward to! I'm excited for a year full of healthy living, positive attitude and continued improvements.  I think 2010 will be my best year so far.  

Check out this bucket list I posted on my personal blog a few years ago. The highlighted items are all things I've done. This is not a personal list I created, just a random bucket list that was fun to do.  I've been able to add a few  highlighted items to this list since then.  I'll underline the one's I've done since originally posting this (there are 4 new ones).

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Slept on an overnight train
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen an Amish community
Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted (drawn)
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling-
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Been on a speeding motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published something
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Visited the White House
Had chickenpox
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Lost a loved one
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Ocean
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee
Seen Mount Rushmore in person
Learned to play an instrument
Held a tarantula
Touched an iceberg
Changed a baby’s diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Had a snowball fight
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Ridden a roller coaster
Visited all 50 states
Taken a road-trip
Milked a cow
Been in a movie
Crashed a party
Made cookies from scratch
Gotten a tattoo
Rafted the Snake River
Performed on stage
Been to Las Vegas
Eaten shark
Bought a house
Been in a combat zone
Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
Touched a stingray
Broken a bone
Ridden a horse
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the newspaper
Gone back to school
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Dyed your hair
Caused a car accident
Saved someone’s life!

That was fun for me to read through all of them and remember each memory one by one.  There are still quite a few things on this list that I'd love to do. Here they are..

Bungee jumped
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Run a Marathon
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited Africa
Visited the Great Wall of China
Taken a martial arts class
Served at a soup kitchen
Gone sky diving
Stood in Times Square
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Had a baby
Visited all 50 states
Taken a road-trip
Saved someone’s life!

There are obviously many more things not shown on the list above that are on "My list of things to do", but I'll save that list  for another day.

Vacations

Every year over our anniversary Dave and I go on a tropical vacation to celebrate.  Around this time each year, I start making the arrangements. This year we aren't sure where we want to go. We've been to Maui twice and last year we did an all inclusive in Mexico. Since we just bought a new home, we need to try and find something a little less expensive this year.  We still want to go tropical, but have not yet decided exactly what to do or where to go. 
Any IDEAS???  We've thrown around the idea of a cruise…but to where? I've been A LOT of cruises and but Dave has only been on one, so this may be the right way for us to go this year…??? 
If you have any great cruise spots, or any vacation ideas, let me know!