Doing well/not so well

I'm pleased to say that, so far, I'm doing well with several resolution goals. I have yet to have any soda this month and it's been an almost Herculean effort on several occasions. There are a couple of cans of Coke in the door of my fridge that taunt me mercilessly but, instead of just taking the easy way out and putting them in the basement pantry, I'm choosing to leave them there so that I feel like I've earned this one when the month is over. I've been drinking a lot more in the way of green tea and hot chocolate when I get to the point where I just can't bear the thought of drinking any more water so I'm getting by. I had Mike pick up some flavored mineral water at the grocery store last night so we'll see if that's any good.

Speaking of trying new things, I did try two foods that were new to me this month. Mike and I went out on a lunch date to Boston Market and I tried his barbecue chicken. A couple days after that I made Eli sweet potatoes (from an instant Betty Crocker mix he'd insisted that I buy him the last time we were at Target) and tried two bites of those. They were not fantastic but it was really encouraging that I was able to push myself to do it when alone. My friend Stephanie and I had lunch at Psycho Suzi's yesterday and she suggested that I might like deviled eggs but I wasn't even close to being adventurous enough to take a shot at those. I know to really be successful in overcoming my weird aversion to trying new things I need to employ a bit of cognitive behavioral therapy but that's definitely easier said than done. I wish I could set myself some sort of reward to motivate me to really make great strides but I can't think of one single thing that would motivate me and is also realistically attainable. I'm pretty sure that meeting RuPaul would motivate me to try all manner of things but that isn't likely to happen.

I did make some great headway on my running goals though due to a realization last Sunday. I went out to do my long jog/walk, which is almost a perfect four mile route, and discovered that, if I don't listen to the voices in my head that tell me it's time to walk, I can jog the whole thing without walking at all. Now, don't get me wrong. These aren't voices that are screaming "OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP THIS HURTS." It's simply the worldview that I've had for a long time that I'm simply not a "runner." I've always been a "reader," prone to sedentary activities and viewed as nonathletic. Once I worked through the mindset that I "couldn't" move that long without walking some of the way, I was able to just jog it out and ended up at right around 12.5 minutes a mile. So, progress! I wanted to run outside more than I did last week due to alternating cold and/or precipitation and this week appears to be starting off the same. Just because I have run 3.1 miles in single digit temps doesn't mean I want to do it regularly!

Now, for the not so well. I need to get started on my crafty project for January and I still have "mom dates" to do with all three children as well as a museum to visit. This weekend doesn't lend itself well to crossing any of those off the list since I have a pastoral care training most of the morning and into the early afternoon on Saturday and Mike and I are going to use Crowd Cut deals at a shooting range for AK-74s. (The irony of spending Saturday at a church and Sunday shooting automatic weapons is not lost on me.) I should still be able to fit something in with Ada this Saturday evening. My initial plan for an activity with her was to take her to Edina to Little Enchantments, which is a miniatures store. I think she'd love looking at the dollhouses and other tiny things but they're only open until 5 PM and she still naps most weekends. Saturday the 26th would work for that after a membership committee meeting I have at 9 AM so perhaps that's what I'll plan on. Otherwise, she's still impressed with a trip to Perkins with just mom so I can always fall back on that.