in like a lion

It's APRIL! I haven't been holding true to pretty much ANY of my resolutions, including #1, posting once a week on either of my blogs. I wasn't feeling super creative or inspired, but finally posted over there, and it gave me a really good jumping off point for future posts. 

1. Post once a week on my music therapy blog and on this blog

I guess I am overwhelmed with all the sharing that is done via Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and on and on and on. I like taking pictures with my phone, which makes it easy to update FB, but honestly at the end of the day I'm flipping exhausted and remembering to post on here is the last thing on my mind. Maybe I need to just focus on a couple things that I want to talk about on here - I think I've talked about this before. I love my friend's running blog because it is oh so very inspiring, it gives her a place to reach out to other frunners, and her blog is a reflection of the awesome journey she has been on from a non-Runner to a marathoner. 

As I'm typing this I see my Clematis is blooming, and my jasmine, and my garden is going nuts. I think getting that to-do list up and printed has helped me organize my brain a little better, which should lead to more posts on here. Bear with me.
 

2. Sew through the One Yard Wonders book I just got for Christmas

Haven't even done one of these. Eeks.
 

3. Run a successful (read: profitable) Etsy shop

I SOLD SOMETHING! So it was kinda profitable. Now I need to make more stuff. My creativity has been suffering as of late. I realized that all I have been doing is giving and giving and giving of myself and not really taking in anything. Even the books I read - most of them are self-help books, which just gives me another project. This has meant I've had to do some editing of the media I consume. Chaos and violence is out (thank goodness Walking Dead is on hiatus) and I've been trying to spend more time just cultivating peace and beauty through poetry, music, and enjoying my garden. I've committed myself to creativity-ifying my craft room, which has just recently gotten a couple coats of purple paint and will be getting some hardware upgrade thanks to IKEA.

Hopefully making my space more creative and organized will help me actually be in the mood to create.

4. Cook my way through the Lee Brother's Simple Fresh Southern

Now that it's Spring, I have a good excuse to do this. So many of their recipes are seasonal to warmer months.  I have been in a food rut as of late so I need to pull this book out and get to work.

5. Use raw veganism to get myself to my goal weight

Phew. Okay. I've been using raw vegan PRINCIPLES to get me to my goal weight. I started at 172 and am now down to 167. I have only health snack choices in my house, and am making daily use out of my Magic Bullet to concoct awesome smoothies. A few friends of mine are trying out Shakeology, which looks really interesting. I don't know if I'll ever do it in the future, because I know what to put in my smoothies and so far it looks pretty much exactly like what they do, except I have the time and the resources to get the fresh stuff. So I'll stick with what works for me right now. My current obsession is my after workout snack of a piece of toast, almond butter, banana, honey, and chia seeds. HEAVEN!

6. Run a half-marathon

I chose a half-marathon - it's going to be in September here in the Dallas area! To get me there, I've been using the Hal Higdon training method - I have so long between now and when I would need to start training for the half that I am currently running the Novice 5K schedule. This is my fifth week of running consistently and happily, and I'm so excited that I've stuck with it. 

I am also biking a lot - a friend sold me her bike trainer so I can bike in my living room while the nugget sleeps. I am riding in the Bike MS in a couple weeks and I'm kinda nervous about it. I've never ridden in such a big ride before. I also put together a team for Livestrong Foundation's Ride for the Roses in October, and have committed to biking 85-100 miles. We'll see if that happens.

7. Publish my thesis in a music therapy journal

8. Beef up my thesis and publish it as a book

blargh. It's hard to be in the music therapy world and connected when 99% of my day is my child. Every day is a struggle to have that balance. I adore the field and know that it's what I am meant to do, so it is important to me to stay connected somehow. I just need to DO IT.

9. Go to yoga at least once a week

HA! neither this nor the yoga DVDs have been touched in MONTHS. Did I mention I'm already working out 6 days a week?

10. Only watch 1 hour of television a day. Weekends included.

This one comes and goes. We're talking about getting rid of cable and I honestly couldn't be more excited about it!

11. Find a church and attend regularly

! We found a church. Or rather the church found us. I don't mean the building stalked us and hunted us down but as it turns out lots of people in our community go to this church because it's walking distance from our house. So, it makes sense that if we already know people and their kids and are already doing community together, that we should join this church. Plus, their baptism services are really beautiful, and the inside of the church kinda looks like Hogwarts.

12. Buy no clothes new for myself or my family (notice that I didn't say "no new clothes.")

I've blown this one for baby girl because right when the weather got awesome and warm I realized she had no shorts or short sleeved shirts, so I had to go shopping quick and didn't have time to dig through a consignment shop. Although, I love doing it - it's kinda tough with a toddler. And by that I mean impossible. 

Okay so, that's where I am right now. I said that I hadn't been holding true to any of my resolutions but it turns out I kinda have been on some. If I promise to post I won't do it so I'll just say see ya for now :)

Resolution Roundup

Well so February is nearly over and I believe it's time to do a checkup on my Resolutions. Accountability, y'all.

1. Post once a week on my music therapy blog and on this blog.

Working on it.

2. Sew through the One Yard Wonders book I just got for Christmas

2. Be a better musician

This one deserves a blog post all its own, folks. It'll probably happen on a Monday.

3. Run a successful (read: profitable) Etsy shop

Good news: I opened my shop this month! Bad news: Nobody's bought anything yet. But I do have a custom order coming in that I just finished, so that'll get posted soon.

4. Cook my way through the Lee Brother's Simple Fresh Southern

Haven't. Even. Started. But if you don't have this book, you should get it.

5. Use raw veganism to get myself to my goal weight

 I just discovered Jenn on Twitter and am loving her and her raw vegan resources.

6. Run a half-marathon

Working on it. A little every day.

7. Publish my thesis in a music therapy journal

No progress.

8. Beef up my thesis and publish it as a book

No progress.

9. Go to yoga at least once a week

So good for me and yet for whatever reason SO HARD TO DO. Even with the yoga DVD's. (see #10)

10. Only watch 1 hour of television a day. Weekends included.

I have zero self-control. Hopefully my new revised #2 will factor into this.

11. Find a church and attend regularly

Sigh. No. I am, however, spending more time in spiritual pursuits (prayer, reading, etc.) and talking about Jesus with friends. That Ash Wednesday service really lit me up with inspiration.

12. Buy no clothes new for myself or my family (notice that I didn't say "no new clothes.")

Blog post about this comin' atcha. You didn't think I would go to San Fran and not return with any goodies?

The Year of the Runner

I love to run. I didn't always love running, and it took me a long long time to get to the point where I really loved it. In fact, it was during my pregnancy when I COULDN'T run where I really fell in love with it. It's not always the way I feel before, during, or after, or even the early wake ups for the races. I love being around other runners, and there's a rush in the crowd that I get a contact high from just being there.

I said a long time ago that before I do another triathlon I'm really going to focus on my running. That was a couple years ago, and I am currently inspired by all the things the Livestrong Foundation does, so I'm going to get back in shape so that I can do some more races to raise money for cancer support. To that end, I have decided to take up the Hal Higdon method of training and since I am nursing a couple weird knee injuries, I am going to just go ahead and start all the way over. I walked my 30 minutes today, intending to do the walk/run in the middle but my left knee protested, so I just walked. I don't really have a 5K in mind at the moment, though there's one in my hometown in June that is quite tempting. I'm just going to start training and see how it goes - turns out there's a half for pretty much every month of the year in Texas. So yeah - here's to getting to that goal weight and joining the half marathon crowd!

fingers to the bone

Welp, I was going to open my Etsy shop on January 1st buuuuut...let's face it. The Christmas cards aren't even out yet and I feel like I have been on a Tilt-A-Whirl since Thanksgiving. These next couple weeks I'm going to spend getting my house back from 2 weeks of being swept up in the family holiday madness, taking the tree down, going through A's old toys (and a lot of other stuff in the house) to give away or donate, generally putting everything back together again. I said I would post at least once a week on this blog, so here it is! Checked off the list! 

The other thing I did today was a mad grocery trip to Whole Foods. I did the "meh - holidays" thing in terms of my diet and exercise and found to my horror that I'm up SEVEN WHOLE POUNDS since Thanksgiving. Seeing as I'm giving my leg a break from running, I'm going to have to 1) get my walk on every day. EVERY DAY. and 2) STOP EATING SO MUCH. I have the WORST self-control when it comes to portion control. Awful. I love love LOVE food, and I don't have an "off" switch with the whole fullness thing. I'm trying so hard to be more mindful of when that still, small voice in my head stretches back and says "yup. Full." because my tendency is to sucker punch it and eat the rest of what's on my plate because hey, the hubs and I are excellent cooks.

The good news is that being back home means being out of the Land of Casseroles (the Midwest) and back to our regularly scheduled veganism. Phew. On the menu today includes a delicious apple, kale, ginger smoothie, some tomatoes and hummus for lunch, apples and oranges for snacks, and some black eyed peas with greens for dinner tonight.

My days are filled with sorting, organizing, tossing, composting, making food and the like, and I've decided that if I'm going to run a successful Etsy shop, I'm going to have to dedicate at least an hour every night of making something. Last night I crocheted a chunky navy blue headband/earwarmer, inspired by my cousin Calley who was wearing a grey one at Christmas. I have some ideas on what kinda flair I want to add, but first I need to make a bunch. The good news is I whipped it out in an evening while watching Our Idiot Brother. Heartwarming and hilarious, in case you're in need of a good flick. Okay, back to the grind. Happiest of Happy New Years to you!

delirious

Wow, time flies when you're not getting any stretches of sleep longer than 4 hours! Addy is almost 8 weeks and next week I go back to work. I went to yoga twice last week and hopefully can make it tonight if K gets home in the next 15 minutes. I had high hopes of getting right back into running and such but that was before my abdominal muscles were stretched like crazy and then cut into, so yoga (and maybe swimming as soon as my mom gets up here) for now. I'd like to get my core muscles strengthened before I go running and jiggling everything around, to avoid any injuries in the future. I have been attending the beginner class and my pride hates for me to say this considering I've dabbled in yoga for the last 8 years but YOW! I am suuuuper sore the next day! It's a great time for me to get refocused and start from square one. 

Adeline is...all kinds of amazing. She's a smiling bundle of wonderful and I'm pretty sure she's been taking lessons from Tyra 'cos she totally has the smeyes going on. She's babbling and cooing and having longer stretches of quiet alertness before passing out so I've been reading books to her in English and Spanish,  playing guitar and singing, and overall having a ball with her. Going back to work is going to be really, really tough. We are still trying to figure out a long-term childcare plan but for now are relying on the help of our moms.

This is definitely not the most interesting of posts but hey, at least the Bachelor is on later?

labor and triathlons, a love story

I wanted to get into triathlons because I wanted to have more of a goal than just "lose weight." I wanted to be fit, I wanted an excuse to be active, to get a new bike, to wear fun spandex. Most importantly, I knew the hubs and I wanted to start a family soon and I wanted to get into something that I would crave while I was growing a person. That desire is REALLY strong - I've already started perusing the 2011 tri circuit, trying to pick at least one to do next year. I'm thinking a Dallas race. In the mean time, I also am getting really excited about other running and biking races along the way. I've signed up for the Dallas MS150 and fully intend on doing a whole mess of 5ks. I'm going to take it slow, I'm going to listen to my body, but WOW am I excited to get back out there :)

On an unexpected note, things I learned from my triathlons have helped me get ready for this crazy race called labor. Did you know there are three stages of labor? Early, Active, and...er...I forgot the 3rd stage, but I like to call it "gooey." (the part where you push out the placenta. eck.) I can't help it - I associate each with the stages of a triathlon. There's even a "transition" stage in labor! It's really helped me put things into perspective. Like in early labor, the same as in swimming, the goal is to relax, enjoy, and do some work, but be sure to conserve your energy for the next two phases. I'm planning to give birth at a birthing center, where I get to eat and drink the whole time, so we've got a bag packed for the two of us that looks a lot like a tri snack bag: lots of coconut waters and energy bars.

Something else that triathlons helped me frame up mentally is how much the encouragement of others can help you get through each of these stages. More importantly, the influence of my hubs. I remember during the horrendous, brutal last leg of the Austin (olympic distance) Triathlon. K followed me around the track on foot and when I was sobbing and shivering he was right there, fetching me water and saying things like, "This is the strongest you have ever been," and, "I am so proud of you."

I'll let you know how it actually goes, and I am definitely ready to get back out there...January 1st it's so on.

Super Fun Happy Friday!

This past week really made me appreciate the support that music gives to us, and those in need. Music and song is healing, it is expressive, it is a necessary part of the grieving process, just as whispered words of prayer.

I love that I get to use music and help people every day :)

In other news, this weekend K is turning 29! There are lots of friends coming into town and I'm excited to be running the Dash Down Greenville again, complete with tye-dye shirts and green tutus! Hooray!

running running running

there's been a whole lot going down in the stockhausen lately, some of which I WISH I could hurry up and divulge (NO I'm not pregnant, promise) but for now we're going to talk about running and food.

Dude. The last time I did the Couch 2 5K program, I ran the standard 3 days a week but always felt way behind and like I would regress because I had to have a couple days rest in there somewhere and inevitably the next run after two days off would be killer. So, I've decided to follow the plan again, except I do it 4x a week. Last week I doubled up on my long run (20 straight minutes! YEAH!), and this week I doubled up on my first run (intervals of running and walking for 29 minutes) - there's no rhyme reason or formula to it, I just get one day of here and there and the next I'm running. Doing the 4x/week thing has done wonders for my endurance.

Another thing that I'm throwing around is the idea of REALLY cleaning things up in my body and going vegan in the new year. I don't even totally know what that is going to look like, if I'm going to start out vegetarian and just go vegan for a week out of each month or if I'll be mostly vegan and then go raw part of the time....no clue. All I know is I LOVE what the green monsters are doing for me detox-, energy-, and satisfaction-wise. I would even throw a clamp down on my barbecue fetish. I know. Crazy talk. While we're talking about detoxification, I've decided to kick the Nuvaring aka "glowstick" to the curb. Again, not for the purpose of trying to have kids (yet) but because I am SO DONE with a) synthetic hormones and b) shouldering all the contraceptive responsibilities. So far, things are great. I feel really good and just kind of better in general. Taking these baby steps toward cleaning up my body have been really, really empowering. Anyway, I'm just taking the months of November and December to try and do as much reading and research as I possibly can so that I can formulate a plan.

If you know me, you know I love this time of year, the quiet reflection before resolving to do this or that in the New Year. I know some of y'all did some resolving in 2009 - how did those things turn out? Have you started throwing ideas around for your glorious resolving self in 2010?

Oh also, we've finished repainting/sanding/painting again/replacing hardware in the guest bathroom! Feast your eyes: