Weigh in Monday - 1/31/11

I'm not even going to post a photo of my tracker because I didn't track for even a single day last week. Not one doggone day.


I fell off the wagon this past week. HARD. I didn't eat a single meal at home, only went to one session of bootcamp and drank like an Irishman on more than one night. In summation: last week = mega fail. The only thing I could have done worse last week was to start smoking again (I quit at 21)!


Since I announced my business was closing, I have been indulging in all of my less-than-stellar coping mechanisms. And I feel terrible.


Not in the "I'm going to beat myself up about this" way, I feel physically bad. I'm tired, dehydrated and mentally drained. 


Alanna, the super-trooper, total bad ass chick that has kept me sane for the past two years, and I were put through the ringer Friday and Saturday, working from open to close during Sew Crafty's mega sale. Friday night I was struck down with either mild food poisoning or stress pukes (lovely right? :o) and Saturday's lunch was a McDonald's hamburger eaten while standing at the desk and checking someone out. Except for a best friend's 30th birthday party (which was Mad Men themed, so damn cute and everyone was adorably dressed up!), I didn't see or talk to friends, and even that wonderful time was cut short by the reemergence of my upset stomach on Saturday night. In a word: this weekend sucked.


Why is it that when we need to be taking care of ourselves physically to meet the world's demands, we start punishing our body with bad food and other poisons? Yeah I went there - I never realized how much my body hates fast food, fatty, greasy food and excess alcohol until this week. It's poison people!


Down to brass tacks: All of this led to a decently big gain, but I'm not surprised at all. This week I'm back on the wagon and ready to feel good again. 


Today I went to my meeting and heard something that I won't forget: the leader had an egg in a baggie and was walking to the podium when she dropped it. "Whoops! I broke an egg!" she said, while pulling out a whole carton of eggs. "I guess I better break the whole carton, right?" and flung all the eggs in the air (they were Easter eggs at this point)*. 


Just because you break an egg, doesn't mean you have to break the whole carton. Don't let a weight loss or life setback stop you from living the life you want. I'm not. This week it's back to eating right, working on my fitness and relaxing in healthy ways!


Today's weight loss gain: 1.2 lbs
Total weight loss: 2.0
Pounds left to lose: 28


*I said eggs like 10,000 times in that paragraph - neat!

My new Sew Weekly post is up!

This week I tackled something vintage and made a burgundy skirt to boot!

Sad news - I'm closing my business.

Dear friends who read this blog (all 4 of you),

I'm closing my small business - it's sad and a relief at the same time. Has that ever happened to you? Like you want to cry and take a deep breath at once? I know it's the right decision, but it's still tough - 3 of the best years of my life were spent doing this.

More info is here - I just wanted to say something personal about it for a minute. Business Sarah and Sarah Sarah overlap quite a bit, but I wouldn't tell all our students that I just hopped off my husband's lap after quite literally crying on his shoulder.

I'm excited about the future, but today is about the past - here's my favorite memories from the past 3 years:

• Painting pizza party with Alla, Scott, Erin, Chris and Ryan at the first location
• Meeting with Culture Pilot for the first time - and every time since!
• Maker Faire - full of fuzzy hats and friendship
• Getting to go to the UK for a whole month each year - just because I could!
• Meeting Amanda, Ruthie, Renee, Alexandra, Alanna, Melissa Woods, Jill, Patty, Shawn, Abby, Gretchen, Tobiah and all the folks who came through the doors. 
• Getting to talk fros and domo hand warmers with Melissa P on a weekly basis.
• Getting Domo handwarmers and a crocheted Bender B Rodriguez doll from people I love (Mo and Patty respectively)
• Having a kid call me a grumpy old lady.
• Meeting Boden, Riley and tons of other babies that I knew before they were born, thanks to their moms coming in to the shop!
• Making tons of new friends - people I would have never met otherwise.

That's not a definitive list - I could go on for days about what was great about Sew Crafty, but the two big things that made me close it were the stress and the cash. It was simply too stressful and too expensive to keep doing long term and I want a more balanced life. 

Thank you to everyone who made this place possible - I love you all.

Sarah

PS:Have you ever had to make a decision like this? If so, how did you cope? 

Weigh in Monday - 1/24/11

Weigh in Monday will be back next week - I have to miss my meeting today because of general craziness (dog to the vet, work, meetings!)! I did manage to track all week and exercise a lot, so I'm pretty happy with my progress - some days were high point days and others were low point days, which I what I expected. Next week's focus: track every day and more low point days!

*note I also ate 3 pieces of pie for national pie day yesterday, so maybe this is a good thing.

One-word resolution: what's yours this year?

Gretchen Rubin from the Happiness Project just shared a great video about creating a one-word theme for the year. By setting your attention to one word as a guide for 2011, you can easily measure up what you are doing currently against how it fits this word. It can also be a great motivator - using your word is a mantra can help you smack yourself out of complacency and bad behavior.

My word for 2011: consistency. Each one of my goals boils down to this one concept - being consistent - and I know that when I'd rather get eat my way through a box of donuts or skip sewing to watch TV it will help keep me focused.

What's your one-word resolution?

My new Sew Weekly post is up!

This skirt and top pants broke my heart, like Summer in 500 Days of Summer, but we're friends now and I think we're both richer for the experience. 

Weigh in Monday - 1/17/11

Wah wah waaaaahhhh - I gained a bit this week. Not so bad though - only 2 ounces - which is, according my my Leader, maintenance gain (i.e. when you're less than 3 ounces it's just a body fluctuation). I'm cool with that explanation, but I know it could totally be the fact that I had quite a bit of wine and cupcakes on Saturday night.

Another issue: tracking! As you can see, I didn't track all week or track all my meals, so that's happening this week. Call me out in the comments next week if I don't!

Today's weight loss gain: .2 lbs
Total weight loss: 3.2
Pounds left to lose: 26.8

Bootcamp Week 2: Electric Boogaloo

Today I started going "Grrarg" when going up the stairs at work. Each step made my thighs think twice about the next one and every time my foot would hit the wood, my abs braced themselves for impact. Welcome to week 2: bootcamp fatigue.

During week 1, your motivation to be fit in the new year is at an all-time high. You're ready for battle - the battle of the bulge (sorry - I couldn't resist) - and each session is like "Thank you ma'am! Can I have another!?!?" You're a workout machine! Or at least I was. My warrior spirit was ready to kick some circuit training ass and take names.

Then it's week 2. Your body is a little tired. You had a hamburger this weekend. You think you know the routine. Day 1 is ok - you make it though and aren't too sore the next day. Then day 2 rolls around - BAM! You're having trouble doing the easiest parts of week 1's workouts.

Normally, this would be the time that disillusion sets in. "Oh!" your mind says "This is why I stopped doing this before." And you would start to slack off.

It's a highway to the danger zone people. If you let your mind wander and start to phone it in, your motivation is going to start to suffer and before you know it, calling in sick to exercise is happening.

No dice mind. I'm not falling for your tricks anymore. And you shouldn't either. Let's push through it and keep going - we'll all thank ourselves later. Let's go out there next week and kick some butt!

My first Sew Weekly post is up!

Check it out here and let me know what you think - it was so much fun making this first dress! I can't wait to see what the other ladies have made - viva Sew Weekly!

Weigh in Monday - 1/10/11

Success! This week I had another loss of 1.8lbs, bringing total loss to 3.4lbs - well on my way to my goal!

Working out with the Mandy (bootcamp!) and being more mindful of what I'm eating, yet not obsessing over every calorie (this is important! It's easy to burn out if you're constantly stressed about food), seems to be doing the trick. Next week's focus: keeping up the good work!

Today's weight loss: 1.8
Total weight loss: 3.4
Pounds left to lose: 26.6

Irish up that coffee!

When we visited the town of Foynes in Ireland last summer, I was surprised to learn that this was the birthplace of the world-famous Irish Coffee. Apparently, what is now the Foynes Flying Boat Museum used to be a hotel, which was also a terminal of sorts for planes flying into Shannon. Literally. The civillian planes flew into the River Shannon from America during WWII.

The chef at the hotel felt for the cold, wet and terrified passengers who had just made the harrowing flight across the pond and wanted to give them something warm to calm their nerves. If you have ever tried an Irish Coffee, I don't have to tell you how this turned out. After a few sips here I fell asleep in the van on the way to the next town and apparently snored really loud. I'm claiming jet lag, but you all know the truth.

Here's me and the delightful manager of the museum making Irish Coffees - it was so much fun and honestly one of the coolest parts of our trip. If you are ever in Ireland, don't miss Foynes!

PS: Hat tip to Max D. for the video!

Week 1 of Bootcamp - Fun Times Accomplished!

After a week of bootcamp (2 sessions plus the regular personal training session) I can say that's it's working. Something about the consistency of working out is helping me keep my eating in check and making me feel trim (looser pants? Yes please.) I'm sore, but not "OH MAH GAWD" sore. 


Each day of bootcamp was varied and split into several circuits you never knew what was coming next. We were constantly moving around and honestly the time passed faster than I thought it would. I need this kind of thing - I get way bored with doing the same thing every session and this variety helps keep me motivated.


After I get this schedule down I'm going to start back at Nightclub Cardio and might try Zumba - on eof my best friends, Alla, does it and really enjoys it and JessB commented on the last post that her sister, who had recently lost weight, did Zumba. Perhaps it will help me dance like this baby, who is totally killin it.


What do you do to exercise and how do you make it part of your life? 

Bootcamping it up!

I was worried today that Mandy was going to kill me. Up until today, I have done one 30-minute session each week (excluding Christmas and New Years, etc.). Today was the start of the one hour bootcamp. 


One. Whole. Hour. I have to come in for a whole hour and work out for one whole hour?! I mean - come on!


I'm not saying that it was easy - Mandy, don't read this as it was easy and make me do intense stuff on Thursday - but it was a whole lot of fun. I feel good and my body wanted the exercise so bad after all that holiday resting. 


Being my first real bootcamp, I have no idea what to expect! Have you ever taken a bootcamp before? If so, what did you learn that will help you with your fitness goals?

The Sew Weekly - I'm a contributor!

In 2011 I'll be contributing to one of my favorite blogs, the Sew Weekly, and trying to make one garment a week for a whole year. EEEP! Me, Mena, Adey, Debi and Veronica will all be showing off what we make each week while giving folks a peek inside our creative process when sewing garments.

I'm so excited and super nervous - can I do this? Can I really keep up with that pace and sew adorable things consistently? I'm so ready to see and I can't wait to share all the things I make with you all!

Weigh in Monday - 1/3/2011

YES! I lost 1.2. BAM! I didn't track at all during the holidays, which is bad, but apparently I kept it together enough to not post a significant weight gain. Back to tracking this week and back to getting my butt kicked by Mandy - eeep!

Today's weight loss: 1.2
Total weight loss: 1.6
Pounds left to lose: 28.4

New Year's Resolutions

After reading The Happiness Project last year, I was inspired to better my life and improve my health through making (and actually sticking to) resolutions. Things I accomplished, like taking a meditation class and joining Weight Watchers again were successful, but my goals for spending less, making more and working less didn't work out so well. In 2011, I'm going to pick up where I left off and add some new stuff to the mix!

Here's the 10 resolutions I would like to do this year (I'm saving 3 at the bottom as TBD so I can add more later)!

1. Lose 30lbs - I'm turning 30 on March 7th and I want to be close to my goal by then, but I'm cool with it taking longer. Thirty pounds is a lot of weight and it's going to take time to shed it plus it's going to take some adjustment to keep it off for good.

Ways I'm going to make it happen: stick with WW and track every day, work out with Mandy once three times a week, walk once a week, go to Nightclub Cardio and ride my bike with Ryan once a week!

2. Make my own wardrobe - I want a stylish, mix and match wardrobe that works for my lifestyle and fits me perfectly. In 2011, I would like to design this dream wardrobe - including things I already have and things I want to make. After I figure out what I need, I'm going to start making my own clothes!

Ways I'm going to make this happen: sketch out my dream wardrobe, clean out my closet - pull pieces from my current wardrobe and donate/sell the rest, source patterns and fabric for stuff to make, make sewing schedule and get going!

3. Become a (most of the time) vegetarian - I love animals and have read that a vegetarian diet can reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. While it might be hard to give up meat eating in all situations, I can at least have most of my meals be meat free while I'm at home. I'm no good with an all or nothing approach, so striving for 70% to 80% vegetarian will be flexible enough to keep me going!

Ways I'm going to make this happen: study up on good vegetarian foods, stock my pantry and fridge with foods that are filling, delicious and healthy, and hit up my veggie/vegan friends for tips!

3a. Learn to spell vegetarian - spell check was like "Dude - you spelled this differently 3 times in the same paragraph. Get your sh*t together!"

4. Go back to Marfa - that little town way out west has something special about it that I can't put my finger on. Every time I think about our trip there in 2009, I keep wanting to go back!

Ways I'm going to make this happen: Make Ryan take me back to Marfa!

5. Create and stick to a monthly budget - saving money is a virtue and I would like to be better at squirreling money away for a rainy day.

Ways I'm going to make this happen: write a budget by identifying things I want to splurge on/save for/not spend on, and track it like Weight Watchers.


6. Volunteer - I'm already committed to Interfaith Ministries for both the AniMeals on Wheels program and the Friendly Visitor program, so that's something I would like to remain consistent with.

I also want to raise money for PugHearts )because, as you may know the love of my life is a handsome, chubby curmudgeon named Tex, and these people so damn much for his type!) and start a new coat drive in the fall to help those in need.

Ways I'm going to make this happen: continue with Interfaith volunteering, contact PugHearts about how to help and start organizing coat drive by contacting local businesses who can help, putting the word out and getting some coats!

7. Meditate every day - just like flossing, sometimes you need to do something every day to make it stick and I am going to do this every day just to have some quiet time in the morning. I think it sets a nice pace for the rest of the day and helps you be less harried.

Ways I'm going to make this happen: butt on the cushion every morning for 15 minutes.

8. TBD

9. TBD

10. TBD