My Year of Meaningful (2011)

(hours in the day, that is)

How is it possible that when both me and The Mr. work until 6:30pm nearly every day, that we are supposed to be able to run this ship effectively???

Here is a sample schedule of what I'm up against (note: as we alternate days working from home, this is strictly for the one of us who's on office duty):

- 6:30pm - lock up, drive home
- 7:00pm - arrive home (if not required to stop by grocery store or other some such)
- 7 to 8 - help out spouse with baby dinner/adult dinner/bath/feed dogs/adult sanity check/relief baby duty, etc
- 8:00pm - throw baby in bed
- 8:10pm - eat dinner
- 8:30pm - finish dinner
<  1.5="" hour="" key="" magical="" period!!="" time="">
- 10:00pm- read
- 10:30pm - sleep or extra reading
- 11:00pm - sleep

OMG! It's like that key magical 1.5hr time period is all there is for either watching tv, communicating with friends online, taking a swim, or a shower, playing the banjo or viola, teaching the husband his gee-tar lesson, or tidying up or having a glass of wine with your dearly beloved or playing with the pups or making a phone call or reading the newspaper or whatever!   And don't even get me started on if I am really going to be able to write my thesis this year...AGHH!

I refuse to deprive myself of the valuable nighttime sleep that enables me to get through my already hectic work day, so I'm not going to all of a sudden start screwing myself out of sleep & reading.... although I have acquired a guilty pleasure of watching syndicated episodes of "Medium" which is now on weeknights between 10-11, which has on occaision been known to nix my reading time in favor of mind-numbing television.

But ALL that stuff that happens between the crazy-ass hour of 7-8 is just out of control.  I leave the office most days in a tizzy, only to come home to the even greater tizzy that is 7-8.  eish. 

However, I see where this is headed (the land of complaint and moaning) so I'm gonna stop right here and call for a re-focus on finding my 2010 hat!!

People are slipping, all around me!  Seriously, what's up with that!  Just because it's February and no longer "the new year", doesn't mean we get to go back to the same tired old negative jive.  Suck it up and get it together, people!  Focus!   Is this 2010 or 200-Moan!!??   Positive shit, NOW!  Move it!!

Cue Mitigation Mode:

Here is a Top 10 Most Excellent Things About My Daily Routine List:

10. I can go to the gym at lunch whenever I want
9. We always have good coffee in the office. DAMN good coffee.
8. I don't have a boss
7. I AM the boss
6. I like my co-workers & they like me
5. Four Words: Billy the Office Dog
4. The kiddo stays up til 8 so I get to see her
3. My husband typically has dinner nearly ready at night
2. The kiddo sleeps like a rock, 100% reliably, meaning so do I
1. There are WEEKENDS,  EVERY WEEK, and they're never more than 5 days away!!!

Yeah just think of all those janitors out there, or even worse, the folks with jobs where they're away from home all the time or don't know if they'll even HAVE a job this time next week or next month or next year.  Try maintaining stability and sanity with that kinda routine.

OK.... negativity crisis averted.

In other good fitness news I am consistantly maintaining 51kg in weight and up to 40 crunches and 20 pushups (proper ones) in my daily morning routine.  I wanted to see how it would work so January was kind of a trial month.... every morning before coming downstairs I did 10 pushups and 30 crunches.  With the goal of adding on an extra 10 (to each) per month.  So near the end of January I added an extra 5 pushups, and the extra crunches were no problem because I'm pretty good at those from all that gymming...  So this first week of February has been the new total, which I struggled a little with (the pushups not the situps) during the first few days but now it's all good. Albeit sore.  But that's how I like it.

And I am pleasantly surprised with my abdominal definition - something I've been chasing for oh, about a hundred years now, but never managed to get.  I realize now it's because I was never working my abs daily, and was only doing them at whatever interval I was going to the gym or yoga.  Which can be sporadic and often as little as once a week, depending on my schedule.  Once I started the 7 days a week thing it was just like - bang! results!  AND it only takes 5 minutes or less.  So regardless of my taking this many years to finaly delegate 5 minutes of my morning to this little experiment, I've settled in to it now and have come to the realization that it IS actually quite manageable despite my acute bad attitude toward mornings and everything they stand for.  I am absolutely fascinated by the idea that by the end of the year, if I CAN actually keep adding an extra 10 per month.... I could be doing as many as what, 100+ pushups???  That would be one hell of an accomplishment for me, anyway.  Especially since I'm not talking about the girly kind of pushups here.  I believe yes, I would probably feel like quite the badass if I can get that one nailed.

Labels: The spirit of 2010, weight