Impossible things!

I stumbled up on Joel Runyon's Website Impossible HQ and was immediately intrigued!

Then my friend Christine (check her out. She organized a 5k last year and earned $20k for Haiti) sent a Facebook message to a bunch of us listing the 10 impossible things she did in 2011 and the 10 impossible things she wanted to do in 2012... all based on Joel's Impossible HQ site.

I decided to play along.

10 Things in 2011

1. Completed a half distance triathlon. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1mile run
2. Became a sponsored triathlete
3. Worked at two Rev3 events and had two of the most epic weekends of my life
4. Moved my Great Uncle into a home and organized his entire portfolio of
art - including 150 canvases and nearly 1000 pieces of original art on paper.
5. Simplified our belongings and donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff we did NOT need.
6. Completed my 4th marathon despite fighting an injury
7. Rode the MS150 with my family from Houston to Austin
8. Tried my hand at Personal Training & eliminated another thing that does not quite express my passion
9. Kept pushing through physical obstacles to keep on running.
10. Discovered that I am physically and mentally stronger than I thought I was.

on Tap for 2012

1. Run Across America with Rev3
2. Raise $100k for Ulman Cancer Fund w/ Rev3
3. Race my 2nd 70.3 at Rev3 ME
4. Start ECH Fine Art and Designs and sell my Great Uncle's Art
5. Send 1 hand written card every day for 365 days
6. Do 52 Random Acts of Kindness with my kids
7. Compost {Again}
8. Downsize our house
9. Return to my {mostly} vegetarian diet for my health and the environment
10. Go 1 month, 2 months, 3 month w/o purchasing anything BRAND new. (except running shoes)

As the year goes on I will be constructing a "life long" list of IMPOSSIBLE things. Like a bucket list, but, like, way cooler! :) I encourage you to reach for the stars. To put that thing out there that rolls around in the back of you mind.... that you never speak. SPEAK it... to the world... and watch impossible things happen! Make IMpossible POSSIBLE!

Speaking of impossible things. Here are something to inspire you to think of IMPOSSIBLE things and walls YOU can shatter!

Jim Wilkes a Team RWB triathlete. His doctor USED the word IMPOSSIBLE when he asked if he could ever do a triathlon. Look at him now! Like him on Facebook!!!

I'm Not Sitting Down Till it's Over!

so you may or may not know, but me and Jesus share a birthday. I'm cresting the hill and riding the slope down starting on December 25th.

I turned 35 last year and it was the first birthday to give me pause. Every other year I truly felt AT LEAST 10 years younger... well in the last 5 years I guess. Last year was different. I was facing 40 as my next milestone. How in the HELL did that happen? Well, I'm mostly over it. Though I'm quite aware that it is a slippery slope. Why do I care about being 40? Who the hell knows. I don't give it a lot of thought really, but I'm really not to excited about it truth be told.

I can really identify with this song lately. It's in more than one of my spin play lists and it always gets me fired up during class!!



"I'm not sittin' down till I'm older and I'm not shuttin' up till it's over!"

What's my point? God, I'm sure there is one!!! I've got things rolling around in my mind (when don't I).... no, not just the normal mundane BS that is usually rolling around in there, but stuff that is SO MUCH cooler.

In the last couple of years I've not been 100% satisfied with how the year closed. (even though I've had perfectly fine years.) Well, who do you think is to blame for that feeling? Um, sheepishly raising hand, ME!!!

In 2012 I'm going to try some new things... LOT'S of new things. Some big ideas and some small ideas. I've given some hints on Facebook and will provide just a few more below. I'll detail each of them as the weeks pass on and I will invite you to join me on many of them.

Impossible HQ

I'll be modifying this. Since XMas is soon to be over.

With EMPHASIS on the NO WHINING. And I'm not just talking about my kids.

I'm looking forward to sharing with you and to hearing all about what you've got planned for 2012!!!!

Let's LIVE LIFE LOUD!!! I'm not sitting down.

2012.. it's a comin' in a big way!

I've got a bunch of projects in mind for 2012.... who's getting excited for the 2012 debut!? I think I must have accidentally had caffeine this a.m. bc I have been JACKED all day. It's either that or the anticipation of all of the cool things on the horizon has me super FIRED UP!

Right now I'm working on looking at all I hope to be involved in and accomplish in 2012 and prioritizing and scheduling my time. I feel like through the process of all of this I'm FINALLY starting to find myself or grow into myself and I'm not going to lie... it feels glorious. Who went through their 20s feeling like they were having a midlife crisis and feeling ill equipped to deal with it? THIS GIRL! I called it my quarter life crisis.... then I had kids... couldn't really have a cognitive thought... follow through = FORGET ABOUT IT!

And now suddenly - surely has something to do with the full day kindergarten thing - I can have a cognitive thought... and now I work on the follow through. By way of a plan and simplification of the things I need to and want to get done.

(Mom, hold onto your hat.. I'm about to implement things you've been harping on me telling me about for YEARS!)

From Zen Habits:
"Design a simple system intentionally, making a routine that works for you, and alter it if it doesn’t make sense. Write out the system, so it is formal, and try to stick to it as much as possible — religiously, if possible."

Schedule all those little things! Make a plan... and it will get done. Just running around and 'filling in' is inefficient and sucks up a lot of my time. (It's not like this is a new thought... I've been doing this with training plans for years now. Time to apply to other aspects of my life.)

Designate day for each task: I'm working through this. Here's what I have so far
- laundry
- meal planning (1week out) - day before grocery day (sunday)
- grocery/errands (monday)
- clean (friday)
- review finances (thursday - 2x/mo)
- spinning/training (tuesday & thursday)
- workout/train (I've been scheduling this for years... it's 5-6 days a week for me at various times/locations.. all written in my calendar and updated weekly.)

Schedule time to complete your NEED to do tasks: (think of your projects and things you need to do to complete them.)
- workout (9:30a m/w/f, 12pm t/th)
- write (6am-7am m-f)
- photograph
- blog
- email (ie. top of the hour, 3x/day for 30 mins)
- create spin and training plans

How do you make sure it all gets done? Do you prefer a paper calendar, icalendar, pda calendar?

Oh... as to what all these projects and super fun things I'm looking at for 2012.. and the elusive race schedule. Well, it's coming together.... but I won't be unveiling it until closer to the new year... come on people there is still 1.5 months left in this year!!!!! :D Maybe on my birthday I'll do that post... but only if you PROMISE to check in here on my Birthday Christmas!!!

Prepping for the week. Food time savers.

Yes Rev3 Cedar Point is around the corner, yes it is taking up a lot of my brain power, but - as you mom's know - life still goes on regardless of mommy's race. The family still needs to eat!

School is under way and I find that I'm going to need to prepare a bit more than I did when we were free forming it over the summer. LUNCH and SNACK need to be ready and out the door by 8:10am. EEK! I had a panic attack last night after we got home from Boston, but I pulled it together and was able to come up with something for their lunch without having to venture out into the world again. I had already poured my wine and hated to leave it sitting there waiting for me to come home!

Anyway.. for each week I'm now going to spend some time prepping food. Things I've done today:

1. Made home made granola bars! Had to make them NUT FREE for their classroom snack. (we eat a lot of nuts in this house so I feel pretty challenged in this department.. a nut free snack that won't get squashed and is easy to eat.. nuts and raisins are our go to grab it quick snack.) I digress. The bars are cooked and cooling so I can't give you the low down on how they taste or what the texture is like. Okay, I tasted the pre-baked "batter" and it was pretty good. I did cut the honey in almost half and used a little coconut oil. I do like the fact that there is NO FLOUR in this recipe.

2. I froze banana chunks for our smoothies (okay.. mostly MY smoothies).

3. Froze grapes. Sounds weird, but both my grandma's did this and they are pretty tasty. Figure they might defrost a bit before the kids eat lunch. We'll find out.

4. I'm making a double batch of rice to eat with dinner tonight and freeze for the rest of the week. I bake it per Cook's Illustrated and it comes out perfect EVERY TIME! No burnt rice on the bottom of the pan w/ raw rice on the top! I then spread what we aren't going to eat on a pan and freeze it for a bit then transfer the semi-frozen rice to a zip lock bag. Works like a charm. Then I just heat it up for the next meal! Here's the details on how to bake your own rice! I like to use home made chicken stock in place of the water, salt and oil when I've got it laying around.

1 1/2 cups Long, Medium or Short grain brown rice
2 1/3 cups water
2 tsp unsalted butter or olive oil
1/2 tsp table salt

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread rice in 8in square glass baking dish.
2. bring water, butter or oil to a boil, covered, immediately stir in salt and pour water over rice. Cover baking dish tightly with a double layer of foil. Bake rice 1 hour, until tender.
3. Remove baking dish from the oven and uncover. Fluff rice with a dinner fork, then cover dish w/ kitchen towel. (I just replace the foil loosely.); let rice stand 5 mins. Uncover rice and stand 5 mins longer, serve immediately.

5. I'm also roasting a chicken in my Crock Pot.. makes for quick easy lunches/dinners throughout the week.

What do you do in prep for the week?

If you haven't checked out Cook's Illustrated I highly recommend it. My Brother and Sister in Law got a subscription for us MANY MANY years ago and I maintain it still. Great tips and recipes. (particularly if you are carnivore/omnivore!)