Updating the List...

1. See a baseball game in every Major League Stadium. (I've done Colorado, Boston, and Arizona so far. BodyBuilder has talked about doing this with me, in which case I would have to start over with her)

2. Go to Mount Rushmore.

3. Master a signature dish.

4. Eat pizza in Italy.

5. Flamenco dance in Spain.

6. Drink in Ireland.

7. See the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center.

8. Get married.

9. Become proficient in Spanish.

10. Write a book.

11. Publish that book.

12. Give birth.

13. Learn to surf.

14. Visit all 50 states.

15. Learn to ballroom dance.

16. Go to the Summer Olympic Games.

17. Attend the Kentucky Derby. (or one of the other races that makes up the Triple Crown.)

18. Run a 1/2 Marathon in under 3 hours.

19. Hike Machu Picchu.

I'm really falling behind. I need to get serious. 

Dirty Shirley doesn't know it yet, but she is about to start getting ready to head to Peru for a little hiking adventure...

Wow

I just ran across this post.

It spoke to me.

Especially this part:

There are people who can walk away from you.

And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone.

When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.

Wow.

That is all.

Just wow.

She's A Grand Old Flag

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One Nation. Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty. And Justice for All.

There are few things I love more than the American flag. The sight of it inspires an emotion in me that can not be described.

It stands for so much.

                                                            Freedom.

                                        Liberty.

                        Justice.

                     Sacrifice.

Love.

Happy Flag Day!

Like A Girl Scout.

I don't actually know if Girl Scouts are all about being prepared - I only made it through like two meetings of the "Brownies" before my mom gave up on that.

Either way, I have learned that preparedness is the key.

This weekend my eating was all over the place. I just didn't plan well. I wouldn't say that I went crazy and ate a bunch of stuff that I shouldn't - just that I need to be better about packing snacks and planning meals. That is the goal for the coming weekend - wish me luck!

Yesterday, despite a few setbacks, I prepared for the week:

This is what my counter looked like after an afternoon of chopping and cooking. That way, I can just grab something to put in my lunch box in the morning. And when I get home, veggies are already chopped up and ready to be cooked. I try to cook some kind of protein ahead of time as well so if it comes down to it I can just heat it up.

I'm all about planning!

Randomness

Ok - so this is likely going to be another random post.

Sorry - this week has been weird.

I'm not in the right state of mind.

Either way, let's get started...

First, I forgot to tell you about P90X yesterday. Probably because I was half dead. The yoga workout totally killed me! We discussed before, yoga is not really my cup of tea.

                                           I'm not good at it.

                                        I don't understand it.                                        

And I don't like to do things that I'm not the best at. (It's a character flaw, what can I say?)

Either way, a friend of mine who has done yoga for a long time said that the P90X yoga was hard for even her. So I don't feel so bad, but holy cow - it was hard. I was sweating like a... well, you get the picture.

This morning was legs and back. It was hard, no plyo or yoga, but it pushed me. I am really struggling with the chin-up/pull-up portion - I bought one of those chin-up bars that you hang in a doorway and I'm using it with a chair for balance (which is recommended by Tony Horton), but it is still hard. I tried the bands, but the way that my bar is set up and the band that I got aren't conducive so I stick with the bar. I'm thinking that I'll start getting stronger and it won't seem like such a chore.

The other problem is that the bar is hanging in the door of the office which is next to Dirty's room and I don't want to be loud and wake her up at the heinous hour in which I am exercising, so I'm torn.

In other news, (apparently I use this phrase a lot) I'm "sleeping the night" with Biggie and Tiny tonight and I can't freaking wait!

I love those boys!

Finally, some Friday morning glee - regardless of your party affiliation, I think you can laugh at this video:

PSA

I interrupt our regularly scheduled (yeah, like there is anything regular or scheduled about this blog...) programming for a very important message:

As some of you may know, I am an alum of Leadership West. For LW, as with many leadership organizations, class members are required to undertake a project, sometimes as individuals, sometimes as groups. For LW it is groups.

This morning, I attended the Synthesis Day for Class XVI - the day that they present their projects to the their classmates, alumni, board members, and community leaders. The first group's project spoke to me.

It was called "Learn Don't Burn." Their mission was to educate the public on the prevalence and dangers of skin cancer and to provide information and resources on skin cancer prevention strategies.

Did you know:

• Arizona ranks number 2 in the world for skin cancer instances, only Australia ranks higher. 
• More than 20 Americans die each day from skin cancer, primarily melanoma. One person dies of melanoma almost every hour (every 62 minutes).
• 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer over the course of their lifetime.
• The UV rays in tanning beds increase the risk of skin cancer 75% for people who start using the beds before age 30.
• 
  

I scheduled a skin cancer screening for next week. And I suggest you do too.

Wednesday Wisdom

I am going to try to post a little piece of wisdom each Wednesday. We'll start today.

The following quote is framed in one of my doctor offices at least three times. I finally decided that I would capture it and share it with all of you.

You may or may not know that I love quotes. My senior year of high school, when Sissy had moved to college, I wrote out lots of my favorite quotes and hung them all over my room. They make me happy!

"The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity...these are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity without looking back; for there is never a wrong time to do the right thing."

The author is anonymous, but brilliant.

This quote speaks to my soul.

In P90X world, day 3 has been completed. And it is still hard. I started with 5 and 10 pound dumbbells and I think that I need to get one in between and maybe one a little heavier. The goal is to push myself. I am not trying to get bigger muscles, more of a lean look, so I'm going with the 12-15 rep model, but either way the last three reps are supposed to burn, and for some exercises that just isn't the case. So I'm on the hunt for more weights at a good price.