Ten by 30: THE END

Welp, I'll be 30 in two days, folks.  It's been a marvelous year, and even though I didn't exactly accomplish everything I set out to do--I got a hell of a lot done, people.  I'm a die-hard goal setter, and as long as I have goals, I'll live an amazing life.  I love pushing myself to my limits (in a good way), and the experiences that come with that are... incomparable.  Here's a recap:



1)  Create--and regularly update--a blog.  Yeah, sure, I did that.  I may not have blogged every day or week, but I did serve up *almost* one entry per month.  That's good nuff for me.
2)  Be more social.  Definitely!  I embraced my awkwardness instead of allowing it to cripple me.  I went out more, had people over more, and even ran with a running group.   I also went on a couple of group trips.
3)  Paint more often.  Nope, not really.  But I managed to eek out a sketch or two.
4)  Do the Warrior Dash.  Totally!!!  I did the Dash in Maryland in May with my hubby and a few of his friends.  I had a blast and can't wait to sign up for next year!
5)  Train for and complete a 10K.  Sure did!  I trained for several weeks and ran the Run4Shelter Race in Chestertown, MD in September.  It was hard and I didn't run the entire time, but it was a great start for me.  Half-marathon, here I come!
6)  Wear a bikini.  Check!  I hired an amazing virtual trainer in April and lost 10 pounds over the course of a few months.  I certainly did sport my kini at the beach with my family this summer.  And halfway through Insanity, I wore it again in October during a trip to the lake. 
7) Design and construct a wearable garment from scratch.  Didn't get to that, but I definitely want to reach this goal next year.
8)  Sell stuff on Etsy.  No dice, but also planning this for next year.  I'm getting my ducks in a row as I type this.
9) Grow my biggest fro ever.  I'll say YES.  Because my fro is still on the grow, baby.  Every pic I take is the "biggest fro ever."  Can't wait to see how much bigger it is next year.
10)  Take a birthday trip.  The trip didn't happen this year, but I love to travel and plan to see many places before I die. :)

I don't really want to think about the things I didn't do.  Though I did try to make this blog into more than it was, I'm thrilled with everything I DID accomplish. 60% ain't bad at all!  I'll take it.  And I'm already setting goals for next year.  ;)

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2 Weeks Til the Warrior Dash!

I am officially freaking out.  Only two weeks left until I do the Warrior Dash in Maryland on Saturday, May 19th.  I am so excited!  I have been training for this my whole life... well, actually since January.  This may not really be a big deal, but it is to me, because I'm not typically the adventurous type.  I'm definitely not athletic, but I think this race will be fun.  I intend to try my best and have as much fun as I can. 

Which leads me to wonder... what am I going to wear?  Many who've done the Dash wear casual, typical workout clothes--nothing they would miss if their clothes were permanently grunged.  Those who are extra adventurous show up in costume. 

What do you think?  Should I wear the usual plain old tee and shorts, or should I go in costume? 

Bikini or Bust

Numero seis on my bucket list is "Wear a bikini."  How's that going, you ask?  Welp...

Two weeks ago, I embarked on a journey called The Female Body Breakthrough, a workout plan designed by Rachel Cosgrove, a renowned fitness guru and owner of a gym called Results Fitness somewhere out in California. The FBB is a 16-week strength training program in which I will be busting tightening my hind parts.  I am banking on killing two birds with one stone on this program---getting into a bikini and training for the Warrior Dash (number 4 on The List).

Many women do tons of cardio to slim down.  I've been there and done that.  Even after losing dang near 60 pounds over a year and a half, my body never looked better than when I started weight training last summer.  This was me before I even started working out:

And this was me last March, when I started P90X:

I've changed my diet quite a bit since starting the FBB.  Since your body needs protein to feed the muscle (and burn the fat), I've been focusing on getting more protein.  I've also been eating a lot more fruits and veggies... sometimes in juice form.  Several months ago, my husband told me about a documentary he'd watched about some dude who did a bajillion-day juice fast.  He was motivated to start juicing for health benefits... so I bought a juicer.  Fast forward a few months, and here I am just starting to use the thing.

This weekend I made a recipe from this book:

Four carrots, one apple, and half a pineapple later...

...I had a frothy orange potion of detoxifying deliciousness. 

I wonder how many more carrot drinks I can have before I start to look like this:

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10 Things to Do Before I'm 30

I've jotted several mini-bucket lists in my day.  1,299,102,472 things to do before I hit puberty.  23,382,190 things to do before I finish high school.  289,192,018 things to do before the Apocalypse...  I'm a list-makin son of a gun, folks.  I love to start projects.  But I lose interest pretty quickly, especially when there's a glitch in my plans.  And then, it's on to the next, leaving fragments of unfinished projects all over the place.  My life is a lie mess!!!  Well, kinda but not really.  Seriously, I just need to work on my follow-through.  So, I am giving myself until November 17, 2012--my thirtieth birthday--to accomplish all 10 things on this list.  For if I do not, the spell cannot be broken, and I shall remain a beast forever.

Without further ado *toot that horn*:

1)  Create--and regularly update--a blog.  I've blogged a bit before, through LiveJournal and Yahoo Geocities.  I pretty much used my blogs as an online diary, venting my woes to my closest friends and perfect strangers.  *blink*  This blog is perfect for my commitment phobia. It's only relevant until I turn 30.  After my birthday, I can drop it like a hot potato.  Hasta la vista sucka.

2)  Be more social.  This should really say "Be less socially awkward" but you are what you eat, so...

3)  Paint more often.  Ever since I was a tiny tot, I have loved art.  I love drawing, painting, sculpting... the whole shabang.  I took a painting class in college and made a whole lot of crappy paintings, so I'm going to devote the next several months to pretending that never happened, and I am actually an artistic prodigy. 

4)  Do the Warrior Dash.  In case you didn't know, the Warrior Dash is a 3-mile obstacle course chock full of rope climbin', tire hoppin', fire dodgin' adventures. That's right.  I'm a fire dodgin' son of a gun. Training is already under way for the race, which takes place in my home state in May 2012.

5)  Train for and complete a 10K.  Notice I did not add "race."  I randomly decided to start running (like, for the first time in my life) in June 2010.  I did the Couch to 5K program to work up to running 3 miles.  I never actually did a race.  Just kidding--I did a 5K at work before I started running, but I walked most of it.  Anyhoo, I am perfectly happy not running with tons of other people.  I will settle for running all by myself, 6.2 miles straight without dying.  My life will not be a lie.

6)  Wear a bikini.  In a public place, you may ask?  Ha HA! *twirls mustache*  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I haven't worn a bikini since I was 6 years old.  It was black with multicolored stars.  (Just kidding--I wore a bikini to the beach last summer, but quickly destroyed the evidence.)  Why is this a big deal?  I am conquering my weight and body image issues once and for all.  Plus a healthy life is a happy life, cleanliness is next to Godliness, a penny saved is a penny earned...yada yada blah blah splat.

7) Design and construct a wearable garment from scratch.  When I was 5, I wanted to be a doctor.  When I was 8, I wanted to be a lawyer, and then a teacher.  As I got older, I fell in love with fashion.  I sketched constantly.  I watched my mother sew and became totally inspired.  I made my own bell bottom pants, a couple of dresses, a pair of PJs, and doll clothes galore.  The one thing I haven't done yet, is to see one of my own designs come to life.  I'm totally gonna do it.

8)  Sell stuff on Etsy.  Okay, I have to admit--this one makes my stomach hurt.  I wouldn't know what to sell... can I sell my car?  I wish I could sell on Regretsy, because I would totally sell the humidifiers I bought that sound like a freaking airplane engine.  Whatever that sounds like... they're loud, dangit.

9) Grow my biggest fro ever.  I've been growing my hair out, naturally, sans chemicals, for over a year now.  I have no frame of reference for my biggest fro to date, as it's been a jolly good 17 years or so since I last wore my hair un-chemically treated.  If my fro ever made the Guinness Book of World Records, I'd want my pic to be captioned:  "Fro-growin son of a gun."

10)  Take a birthday trip.  I've narrowed it down to two places.  The question is... Vegas or NYC?