Resolutions check-in

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5Kthing.jpg

It's only been a month, but resolutions have fallen apart in shorter order than that. Here is how I've been doing since I proclaimed what I want to get done this year.

To run a 5K (or more) before this pregnancy is over.
Status: In progress.
I got sick a few weeks after I made this resolution and getting sick knocks me way further back on my heels lately than it normally does. Prior to being pregnant, I would maybe take one or two days off if I got sick from working out but I liked to get back to it as soon as possible so not to feel too out of shape when I got back to it. This pregnancy, though, I need to full-on rest as much as possible until I really turn a corner. I'm just laid out. So anyway, there was a week where I didn't work out at all but I'm still at it. When I work out on the treadmill I usually run/walk (one song on, one song off.) Saturday I took Paul for a jog in his stroller and it was really damn hard, but once I got into a pattern of doing one block on, one block off, it felt a litlte bit easier. I have a 4.5 m run coming up that I'm nervous about but if I have done 4 I can do 4.5. After I do the 5K (my ideal would be to run the entire thing, but if not, no big deal) I may pull back on the running and just do it a few times a week and add in more swimming and keep doing my workout videos (the "JM" and "BH" you see on the photo indicate where I did Jillian Michaels or Bob Harper videos.) My dad got me a sweet waterproofed Ipod shuffle for Christmas that makes swimming way less boring than normal. But at any rate, I'm glad I've been working out because I have entered a very pasta-heavy portion of this pregnancy and I waver between "I'm pregnant! I'm gonna eat what I want!" and "Yeah, but...you can do better." So at least the exercise mitigates that somewhat. 

To finish my novel and maybe even send it off by the time this baby is born.
Status: In progress. I'm happy to say that I wrote a tiny bit every day this month (minus holidays and weekends.) I wish I had done more but whatever. My work count on January 2 was 56,643 and today it's 61,442, which may not seem like a lot but it is in that I deleted several thousand words, which was painful for me because it sucks to turn back on that sweet, sweet word count but the parts that were there just had to go. I won't really be able to say how I've done on this until the baby is born (and also, I know full well that this book just might not be done before then, which is okay.) Here is my plan for the next few months:

February:
Finish off actually writing the book
Edit chapters and fill things in where necessary
March: 
Take time off
April:
Read through. See where needs filling in/answering questions/cleaning up/redundancies
Get to work
May: 
Finish work/mark what will be filled in later. Try to send off.
Have a baby and rest.
No big deal, right?

To stay off Facebook and email on the weekends and holidays.
Status: In progress, but mostly a success. I cheated once or twice, mostly the weekend that I put up the baby's ultrasound on Facebook because, like my son, I am a tiny person who needs constant attention and affirmation that I exist. But by and large I have honored this and it feels really good. I took Facebook off my iPhone (although sometimes I just call it up on Safari, but not on the weekends anyway) and turned off my phone's email notifications so it doesn't buzz anymore when I get a new email. This is probably obnoxious but I even put an away message on my personal mail on the weekends--mostly for family or friends who *might* be trying to get in touch about weekend plans, so it just lets them know to text or call. I still check Instagram and Twitter on the weekends occasionally but those don't pull me in as much or dominate my mood, and I'm happy that on the weekends I have been doing a lot more reading and/or accomplishing tasks without going to my computer as much without that little "reward" of a check-in. I hope to keep it up.