Week 1(ish): Down 6.2 lbs!

Week 1(ish): -6.2 lbs!

Pretty good start for a first week, though that is usually the biggest (shocking your system and all). I did really well on my gym commitment, too!

Keys to this week:

1. Going to the gym three times. I want to go more, but it's a very solid start.
2. Resisting the booze damage during Birthday Season kickoff weekend. I only had two drinks on Friday and two on Saturday. Less beer = less beer bellies.
3. Thinking before eating. "Do I really want a hamburger - or will a turger burger be just as good for less calories?" "If I order a side salad, I can always steal one or two of Nick's fries to satisfy my craving without eating a whole pile."
4. Competition. Made a bet with Steve. Loser buys dinner in June.

New things to try this week:

1. Vinyasa Yoga class at BSC.
2. Recipes from Fitness magazine (will post on how it goes!).
3. Minimizing booze damage during Birthday Season

"Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was."
[Robert Louis Stevenson]

One-Sentence Commencement Speeches

Northeastern graduated two weeks ago and BU graduates this weekend (along with a plethora of other schools). Our speaker was Dr. Kenneth Cole (and yes, he is now a doctor) - who was surprisingly good - and if anyone has a copy of his speech I would love it.

PostSecret's Frank Warren delivered a commencement speech at St. Mary's College in Maryland this week and asked students to submit "one sentence speeches."

I did not know what to expect by tapping into your collective wisdom, but I was soon thrilled by the insight, humor, and inspiration I felt in your earnest one-sentence commencement speeches. Here are just a few.

Be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks.

It’s okay to fail – learn from it and you will succeed.

It’s better to be pissed-off than pissed-on.

These next three all offer solid advice about making the transition from St Mary’s to the real world.

With the increased prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria and the increasingly epidemic worldwide outbreak of swine flu, WASH YOUR HANDS . . . RELIGIOUSLY.

In the real world, you must wear shoes.

I know some of us are going to walk off this stage today with no idea about what comes next – embrace it, find something that makes you happy, and follow it wherever it leads.

The comments section of PostSecret also has thousands of others. Some of my favorites:

You can do anything. But not everything.

No matter how low you consider yourself, there is always someone looking up at you wishing they were that high.

It''s okay to be afraid, but don't let that fear hold you back. Instead, have it push you forward, breaking through the barrier you thought was there.

It's ok to be scared and it's even ok to fail; you don't have to be perfect.

"to do is to be" - nietzsche
"to be is to do" - kant
"do be do be do" - sinatra
only your song matters in the end

Resolution Update: Scale Victory #1!!

So, in sticking with Resolution #1 I started this week by making a menu for each day. Then the boy and I headed to the grocery store for a massive healthy-food shopping trip. It was quite the success. I basically chose recipes inspired by Tosca Reno's Eat Clean book mixed with recipes for my new Crock Pot!

This week, following the "just eat a little healthier, eat a little less, and drink more water" plan, I lost 4.2 lbs! Which means I'm only 18.4 away from my goal for graduation on May 1!!

For a little inspiration I wrote a bunch of my favorite quotes on my scale in brightly colored Sharpie.

They say:

• "Don't Stop Believin'" [Journey]
• "It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." [James Gordon]
• "Don't be afraid of changes. Don't be afraid of your life." [Eclectic Collective Changes]
• "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." [Nelson Mandela]
• "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal." [Thomas Jefferson]
• "Regret is an appaling waste of energy." [Katherine Mansfield]
• "You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner." [Barbara Sher]
• "Did you ever think that maybe if you're not happy it's because of you?" [SK6ERS]
• "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occure when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." [M. Scott Peck]

And now off to eat some home-made chicken soup before my first day of work tomorrow!!

Resolution Update: Getting back in the black

So today I have my first successful attempt at working on Resolution #4 - balance my checkbook. I used to do this regularly, back when I opened my first bank account and my mom helped me monitor my finances very closely. With her help, I established a fantastic credit history. I got offers nearly every week to open new cards, usually with 0% intro interest rates. And then I started taking them up on their offers. That was the start of my troubles. I was offered a $5,000 limit on my first card without my mom. To an 19 year-old who had just discovered a passion for shopping (my entire wardrobe used to fit in one suitcase, now I can barely get it in 8 drawers + my closet), it was total freedom. That summer I was also working about 55 hours each week, so I was never worried about paying the card off - there was always enough. But one month I spent $800 - and this was before I had any real bills - so it all went toward eating out, movies, and clothes. That was the first month I didn't pay the card in full. I don't think I ever have since.

By balancing my checkbook each week, I hope to come to terms with my bank account - no matter how depressing it might be right now. At least knowing is much better than not knowing, which leads to overdrawing my account or missing card payments. Tonight I spent about 20 minutes after dinner cross-checking my online statement with my ledger. It was actually pretty painless, and I feel so accomplished! I'm also going to try to pay for more things with cash. Why? Because then I won't pay interest, then I'll see how much it REALLY costs, and it will make balancing the checkbook even EASIER!

Everything in Hollis is so green

I finally wrote my speech for Kyle and Laurie's wedding this weekend.

Being home, ie away from actual life demands in Boston, has been really nice for the last half a day. I feel more productive and focused.

I've only had time to Tweet lately instead of really blogging, but I'm going to try to write more. I promise. It's just hard in the summer, you know?

Also, everything in Hollis is such a lush shade of green.

For a smile they can share the night

This afternoon we had an all-you-can-eat sushi, drinks & karaoke extravaganza for SB. I mustered up the courage to ask him what his plans after leaving were. Then I asked him if he could do anything, what would he do? He told me a whole story about "This Is Your Brain on Music" and how he wants to do something with music, but he's not sure what. He's such an incredibly personable man. Engaging, awe inspiring, and still down to earth. I really want to read that book now. I'm glad I got a chance to just chat with him one on one. If I'm ever in Chicago I will look him up.

I also sang "Don't Stop Believin'" all by myself... sober. In front of my co-workers (the entire department -- creative, proofing, and account services), my bosses, and apparently the chairman of my company. I know I cannot sing. I usually reserve the pleasure of my singing voice for my closest friends and strangers driving by in the car. But KP told me to do it, SC can't sing and she went all out, and then the last straw was KS giving me the song book to pick out songs. MT helped me pick a song. I can't believe I sang it. And I made everyone get into it. People were so supportive. It really doesn't matter how bad you are. They were impressed I had the guts to do it. MT gave me props.

I feel incredible. "You gotta go out with a bang, hon."