So, the past two days have been good with getting cleaned and organized. The living room and the kitchen both look very good... all cleaned, mopped and de-cluttered. Tonight I am going to complete my room and the bathroom, so that I can get groceries on Friday and then tackle my sweet Valentina's room on Saturday. I know that one is going to be scary, she has the large bedroom and neither one of us can barely walk around due to the papers and toys... many people have told me to let her clean it, if I did that her room would never be cleaned... she would be way to overwhelmed. What she needs is assistance to really purge so that the bedroom does not get out of control in the future. I do believe that as she gets older she should be maintaining her own room but until she is a little older I will help her so that she will not become completely overwhelmed.
Tomorrow is weigh in day, it will be 28 days of walking and eating healthy. I definitely feel better, I don't get as tired or out of breath when I walk up a hill, I don't have to take a break, I can just walk from my home to the bridge which is two and a half miles and roughly 45 to 50 minutes. The next challenge for me is actually crossing the bridge to the bus station in Dartmouth and then taking the bus from there to work, that would add roughly another mile to my morning walk. Although I am afraid of heights, I need to get passed this one so that I can continue to challenge myself with the walking. I don't want it to be easy, if it was I am sure it won't be helping me to tone up or lose weight. I am also contemplating buying a bike in the Spring, I should most likely have 40-50 pounds taken off by that time and then I could bike around the city. I know many people who bike all year, that will not be me... the winter and the rain are not a fun idea of traveling for me, nor are they safe.
Now if I can convince Valentina that biking is fun, that way we could bike together... some of my fondest memories of growing up was when my two sisters and I would go biking all over the city. We used to have quite the escapades, once time we thought we would take the back entrance into Clayton Park (Fairview and Clayton Park are built on hills) we came face to face with a massive hill and not one of us were able to drive the whole way up, we learned to drive in from Fairview so that the incline was more gradual. That would be a great hill to walk up, it would really challenge me, I might do that the next clear day... one where there is some wind. I am continually tying to think of things that I can challenge myself with... The one think I really need to work on is strength training as I have the weakest upper body, I am taking things slowly with that though, I don't want to injure myself... I want to build muscle slowly and learn how to do these exercises properly.
I am also going to swim this year, I used to love it so much but as I became bigger... I felt less comfortable with it, so I am going to get past that fear and just go swimming for the love of swimming. I am hoping by the time the winter hits, I will be so involved with many activities that I will find a way to keep it up, no matter how cold it is outside. I also want to set a good example for Valentina so that exercising and eating properly will become second nature to her. I just read on FaceBook or Instagram that someone I know was looking for tips on how to get in shape, she advised she didn't have time for the gym as she is a working mom... that used to be my excuse. Now I make time, that is the only way anyone can get into shape and get healthy. Until we are willing to do what we need to do to get healthy, we will have excuses that will hold us back... I had excuses... until I stopped with the excuses and got moving, I continued to gain the weight and came up with more excuses. I am the only one who can lose the weight, no one can do it for me... I had to just start and keep going... it is becoming second nature for me. If I can make it a priority, anyone should be able to... I am a very busy girl with working, traveling back and forth, being a mama and blogging regularly.
I think I have been one of the best excuse makers I know, if someone made a suggestion on how I could make a change, I had an excuse why it wouldn't work. By changing the way I ate and exercised in the past month... it has made me think about the other excuses I come up with... the one about being able to clean my house, it just wasn't a priority. Once I decided that it was top priority it is now getting done, unfortunately it is as simple as that... I am a girl that has looked for excuses all my life so that I could get away with my choices and behavior, now I am a girl is constantly coming up with solutions. Which girl or guy do you want to be... the one with excuses or the one with solutions?
I cherish my past, I accept my present and I dream for my future ♥
