Tag: goals

moving forward

Wednesday’s adventures!!!

Movin' it with Michelle

Running:

I actually ran today, and it didn’t suck…I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath, and my goal was 25 minutes, which I achieved. Also…I did a thing…The hubby, my youngest daughter, and I are signed up for the Gasparilla half marathon in Tampa FL. It will be my first live race in 2 years and I am terrified and stoked all at once, LOL.

Recipes:

Dinner is usually pretty simple these days, but that doesn’t mean it can’t taste good. Tonight we had good ole canned green beans (beans are the only vegetable/legume I will buy canned), doctored up with some garlic, salt and pepper-let simmer for 20 minutes to get the “canned” taste cooked out, and add crispy bacon at the end. We always have microwaveable brown rice/quinoa in the pantry, which I add a pat of butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a drizzle of avocado oil and garnish with fresh cut scallions. Lastly we had sautéed shrimp, which I patted dry, and seasoned with some Cajun seasoning and cooked in a screaming hot pan with butter for maybe 1 minute per side as they were precooked.

Simple yet so good.

Real life adventures:

The world seems so full of cruelty, hate, and overall negative people these days…its honestly started to wear on me. So in efforts to try and put forth some positivity, I have made a daily goal of doing something kind for someone every single day. So today I emailed our lawn service, thanking them for going above and beyond when they trimmed our yard yesterday. They not only trimmed between our Oak and Crepe Myrtle trees, but they actually trimmed a lot of the overgrown branches on the Oak tree. I also asked them to pass my kudos on to management, and the customer service representative that got back to me seemed truly touched.

Are you running any live races this year, or have you already? How do you keep weeknight meals simple? Tell me the last kind thing you did….didn’t it make you feel good?

Cheers!

Michelle

moving forward

Monday motivation

Movin' it with Michelle

Happy Monday, everyone! Well, when you’ve only got about 30 minutes to squeeze in a workout, you do your best!
Weights, 3 sets/20 each:
Triceps
Biceps
Shoulders
100 crunches/daily plank
20 minutes walking

How was your day?

#mondaymotivation

How was your Monday? How do you adjust your workout when time is an issue?

Cheers!

Michelle

moving forward, real life adventures

Self-love

Movin' it with Michelle

This year on the blog I will be talking more about some good ole real life adventures and life in general. My goal is to write more, and knowing I have struggled with making myself a priority over the last several decades, I thought this would be a good Saturday evening topic.

Looking back on my life, my priorities have always been targeted on something other than me. My husband and taking care of things while he was gone on deployments, my kids and their happiness, and my job and juggling work and home life have always left “Me” at the end of the very long list of things I have been responsible for over the last several years. Because of the large bucket of balls I have juggled over the years, I have lost friendships, and somewhat have sort of lost myself. Now that my kids are getting older (one is grown and so far still out of the house but still struggling to find her way, and one is now 12 and is becoming more independent and self sufficient), I really want to see how I can make ME a priority this year.

Here’s a few things I have in mind for the upcoming year:

  1. I’ve updated my resume and am ready to start looking at progressing in my career. I’ve always taken the back seat to make sure I am home for my family, but I think the time is now to see if I can actually move forward in my career.
  2. I’ve signed up for a half-marathon the end of February with my husband. My training is on hold during the course of fighting this horrible cold, but I’ve still got plenty of time to properly train.
  3. I will make more time for the friendships I’ve made here in Florida. I’ve been lucky enough to be blessed having an old Air Force girlfriend here, and have made a couple of friendships I hope to develop. I’ve learned as you get older, it really is harder to make friends.
  4. Write more, and more often. Be it short excerpts, recipes, or just simple dialog, WRITE.
  5. Above all else, love myself a little more. Stop counting the grey hairs and wrinkle lines, and remember that I have been through so much in my life. I have earned every grey hair and every line that is carved in to my face.
  6. Lastly, continue on with my mantra of “Keep Movin’ Forward.” Yes, I am middle aged, yes, I will be 46 in a little over a week, but my life is far from over. I need to remember that it really is NEVER too late, and I still have time to do the things I want to in this life.

I watched one of my favorite movies tonight, “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” and was reminded that life may not always turn out how we wanted, but if we can touch other people’s lives and make this world a better place we should have no regrets.

receving-love-mlm-quote

What are your goals for this year? Do you have a favorite movie that resonates with you? I’ve thought about renaming the blog…any suggestions?

Cheers,

Michelle

Keto adventures, weekly wrap up

Weekly wrap up

Movin' it with Michelle

This week we celebrated our one year anniversary of closing on our house here in Florida.

Hard to believe it’s been a year since moving in!

Work was fairly uneventful which is a good thing.

I got two tough runs in. One solo.

And one with our neighborhood run club. We’ve missed previous weeks due to our daughter’s voice lessons being on Fridays so it was a blast to be able to go!

We had another quiet weekend at home. We incurred some much unwanted debt with our move and our doggy vet bills over this year so we’re trying to get caught back up. We did enjoy another weekend of fun and sun at our neighborhood pool.

Speaking of dogs-can you get any cuter than this?

He’s worth every penny.

❤️🐾❤️🐾

We are on point with Keto eating. We’ve wrapped up our 6th week and I’m down almost 6 pounds and the hubby is rounding out at an 18 lbs weight loss! Our goal is to continue with this lifestyle once we hit our goal weight, but allowing ourselves a cheat day every now and then. Here are some of my easy, go-to meals.

How was your week? Tell me something good!!

Cheers!!

Michelle

moving forward, real life adventures

Two things…

Movin' it with Michelle

So while most enjoy extended holiday breaks there was no rest for this weary chick. The alarm went off at O’dark 30 and I headed out to work. I was half asleep (as per usual) so didn’t notice the temps until I pulled into the parking lot and noticed the lady next to me getting all bundled up. What the heck was she doing!? This is Florida…it can’t be that cold, can it?

Yes. It can. It was 41 degrees as I stepped out of my Jeep. Brrrrrr. I had to dig out my winter coat from Alaska as my Chicago coat has gone MIA. Temps are going to continue to drop as the week goes on.

I’ve got the hubby on board with working out, at least for now. Since my toe is still extremely tender we did a modified circuit training workout.

I’ve also recommitted to watching my calorie intact and stayed on point until my daughter made white chocolate peppermint cookies. In my defense they were small and I only had two…I’m attempting intermittent fasting again, where I only eat in an 8 hour eating window. The cookie happened during that time so I’ll call it a win.

What are your goals for 2018? Does your spouse workout with you?

Happy Tuesday! Bear with me while I get back into this blogging thing. My goal is to share, inspire, motivate and have a place for me to share a little bit of my adventures with the world!

Cheers!

Michelle

moving forward

Happy New Year’s Eve!!!

Movin' it with Michelle

As we celebrate the last day of 2017 I have to smile from the inside out.

My family spent the evening at our (my) very first NFL game, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t disappoint. They pulled off a win with just seconds to go.

As I look back on this year one word comes to mind. Growth.

I let go of many fair weather friends, I stopped settling for less than what I deserved, andI chased my dreams of living near the beach.

So after surviving hurricane Irma, moving half way across the country, buying a new house, celebrating my 4 year anniversary on WordPress and starting a new career, I say this…Happy New Year!!! May all your dreams come true!!

Cheers,

Michelle

moving forward

2018 goals

Movin' it with Michelle

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. We’ve been so busy getting acclimated to our new home and I’ve got so much to learn at my new job. I no longer have a computer, either, so posting from my iPad mini can be a challenge.

That being said, I really want to commit to some solid goals this year. Here’s my list, in no particular order:

1. Start writing again…maybe even start the book I’ve been talking about for years. 3 days a week I want to commit to at least 30 minutes of writing, but hopefully more often than that. I also want to post 2x per week on the blog.

2. Run at least 3 races, but more would be great. No time goals, just more running. Lift weights 3x per week.

3. Lose 10 lbs and keep it off. Menopause has reared her ugly head, and my body isn’t responding well at all. Once we get settled I plan on seeking healthcare, but for now its eat less and move more…

4. Get back in the kitchen. Once each week work to create and/or learn a new recipe or technique.

5. Continue to explore Florida and all the beautiful things it has to offer. So far we’ve visited Disney and Epcot several times, attended the food and wine festival, been to Siesta Key beach, St. Pete beach, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs and Anna Maria Island. Anna Maria is by far our favorite but for a quick trip to a more local beach we’ve been going to Pass-a-Grille beach in St. Petersburg. Here’s a few pics from the past year!!

Highlights from 2017 are:

1. Hubby returning from deployment

2. Disney world family vacation

3. Getting a job at the VA in FLORIDA

4. Moving to Florida (obv!!!)

5. Exploring Florida with my family…

6. Being able to go to Florida in December-sure don’t miss the snow!!

How was your 2017? Have you set goals for 2018?

I hope you all had a great year, and are enjoying the holiday season!!

Cheers!!

Michelle

Celebrate the good, depression, moving forward

Finding my happiness…

Movin' it with Michelle

This morning I was reading one of my favorite blogs over at Suzlyfe. I love her blog because its raw, its real, all while being informative and entertaining. I needed a little respite from the funk I’ve been in, so when I opened my email this morning to get my daily dose of Suz, I found myself moved to tears.

See, between not getting promoted and not hearing back on any prospective leads I thought I had, along with dealing with some resentment and anger issues (don’t ask, we can save that for another post, or not…) I’ve found myself in a funk. My mood sucks, my running sucks (if you can call running twice a week actual running) and my cooking has even started to suck. The ONE thing I actually think I am half way decent at has fallen flat and left my family (more so me) less than impressed. This has been ongoing for the last few weeks, and with each dish I prepare, it’s either under/over cooked, over seasoned, or just plain blah. And this is quite unlike me, I’d like to think at least. So last night when my hubby had to take my oldest to the dentist, I thought, HEY, I will make the steak for the tacos we planned on having along with getting the beans and corn ready. Too easy, right? Wrong…I cooked the steak with beautiful grill marks and set aside to rest. I then decided it necessary to mutilate the beans, overcooking them by a good 15 minutes. Just before they got home from the dentist I went to slice in to my beautifully grilled and rested meat to find it was still RAW. And not just slightly raw, I am talking, the cow may have had a MOO or two left in him. Ugh…I threw it back in the pan, and sighed a heavy sigh.  

After dinner we cleared the plates and I told my family I was on a hiatus from cooking. If I can’t joy in cooking, I simply can’t cook. With that, I headed upstairs to take a shower and have a good cry but when I turned around my oldest daughter had decided to come up and comfort me. I don’t hide my emotions very well, and my family knows me better than most. She gave me a huge hug and said, “You ok, Mom?” and I broke in to a sob. “Don’t settle in life honey,” I pleaded with her. “Write your books, chase your dreams, just please don’t get stuck like Mommy is. While I was in the Air Force it was ok to have this job, but now I feel stuck.” And she just hugged me tighter, promising she’d chase her dreams. We even pinky promised which is like a golden seal in our house. Yup, my almost 18 year old still will pinky promise with me. ❤ And suddenly I found my happiness again, right there in the comfort of my first born daughter’s arms. Funny how the tables can turn.  

My takeaway from last night was twofold. Yes, I am feeling stuck, and I think RUT might be my new middle name. BUT…I had a beautiful moment with my daughter that no one can take away, and I need to focus on moments like these vs. feeling a little stuck. Because we can’t be stuck if we are still making the choice to get out of bed every day and do our best.

OX10L

 

My time will come. I just know it. And I am so thankful for the beautiful people in my life that have helped me see the brighter side of things. Thanks Suz, this one is for you!

 

Cheers,

 

Michelle

 

Deployment thoughts, Uncategorized

Strength, decisions and 9 weeks of deployment down!

Movin' it with Michelle

So I’ve totally failed at regular blogging.  Guilty as charged!  I’ve been terrible at commenting on people’s blogs.  Guilty again!  I truly apologize, because I really do enjoy blogging.  Please don’t give up on me!  LOL!!!

But I am pouring myself in to my job, my KIDS, and improving my home right now, and that means some things have to give.  First being, blogging 3 times each week.  It’s rough finding spare time as we all know…so I’ve decided that I’m 99.9% not running the Rockford half marathon on the 22nd of this month.  (I originally signed up for the full, and that’s a definite NO). I haven’t trained, because that would mean taking far too much time away from my kids.  I’ve never not ran a race that I’ve signed up for, so the pride thing is still nagging at me a little, but I think I am ok with my choice.  Who knows, maybe I’ll wake up next weekend and change my mind.  Stranger things have happened.

So instead of marathon training, I’ve really jumped in with my weight training while maintaining cardio by running on the treadmill at least 2-3 times per week.  I can do this from the comforts of my own home, and that alleviates the guilt of having my 16 year old constantly babysitting her sister.  I’m in week two of weight training and am really seeing early results that please me, and make me smile. It’s nice to feel proud of ourselves from time to time, and while running will always be a love of mine, I’ve been lifting weights nearly just as long in my life and it feels good to feel strong again.  I’m also planking daily this month still, and I’ve started doing more core work every day.

week9.7

So while I started this deployment with high hopes and plans, I am realizing I just need to take things one day at a time.  Because you just never know what life will give you on any certain day. And accepting that is tough for someone like me, because I plan…well…everything.  Here’s to flying by the seat of my pants!  LOL!!!!

Highs for the week are highlighted in photos:

Longest plank this month!
My beautiful daughter’s that took me out to dinner after work, on Mother’s day
Getting stuff ready for care packages for my hubby
My little one made me this for Mother’s day!

Lows for the week were a little all over the place.  Without disclosing details I’ll say that the communication with my hubby has been minimal, and I had a really hard time after the kids went to bed on Mother’s day.  A good cry fest, and I was feeling a bit better the next day.

I will say, I can proudly add the title of “Plummer” to my list of titles, LOL.  Yup, gotta love the deployment curse!!!

Are you a planner?  For the Moms, did you have to work on Mother’s day?  Do you enjoy weight lifting?

Thanks for your awesome love and support, and patience during this crazy time.  I’m with y’all in spirit, I promise, and I will make a better effort to hang out with everyone! ❤

Cheers,

Michelle