Tag: Dance Walk


Jan
2013

Weight Lost Wednesday #1

categories: Birmingham, goals, weight

I’ve decided to call these ‘Weight Lost Wednesdays’ because, taking a lead from my goal setting workshop last night at Iron Tribe, I WILL have lost weight every week so NAH! (I have to visualize it to help make it real.) And yes, I’m aware that the new year started on Wednesday, January 2, but I like to be fashionably late. I’m kidding. I didn’t start last week because even though I had decided to lose 100 pounds this year on January 1, I hadn’t formulated a plan or timeline yet (at that time) so didn’t weigh in last Wednesday. So, I’m a week behind, but I’m in it now! Here we go:

Beginning Weight: 287.5 (1/5/2013)
Current Weight: 287 (1/9/2013)
Gain/Loss: -.5 lbs

Not a great loss, but I’ll take it!

Iron Tribe Fitness Transformation Challenge

Not a great loss, but I’ll take it. I’m gearing up for the next Iron Tribe Fitness Transformation Challenge that starts Monday. That will consist of 40 days of workouts, paleo eating, and lots and lots of water. I’m participating in the Weight Loss Division so hopefully this will be a nice kick start to my weight loss goals.

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I’m also planning the next Birmingham Dance Walk. It’s set for February 2nd – Groundhog Day – at 2:00 p.m. in the Loft District. You can find out more about it and RSVP here. We’re meeting on the corner of 2nd and 24th Street North, in front of Erdreich Architecture. We’ll dance walk down 2nd Avenue North so be sure to let your friends at Urban Standard, Rogue Tavern, Charm, Pale Eddie’s, What’s on Second, Jim Reed Books, and Sojourns know to look for us as we round the block. And EVERYONE is welcome; the more, the merrier. If you’re not familiar with dance walking, check out the video that started it all here. And we have heard rumors that Madge, the Magic City Dragon, may make an appearance.

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


Jan
2013

Climbing Everest – How Far I’ve Come (2012) and What Lies Ahead (2013)

categories: 2013, goals

“Canon in D” just came on my Pandora radio station. I absolutely love this song and not just because it makes me think of weddings. I love the song for the melody, the crescendos, and the lulls. It is, quite possibly, the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. I can listen to it over and over, getting lost in thoughts of love and hope. It was fitting that it came on as I was starting this post. I’ve been pretty reflective the past few months and that culminated in a great discussion with my fiance about our futures – together as a couple and for each of us personally. I spent the better part of today in complete silence, not doing much of anything besides staring into space thinking about the past year and my future. I have never been one to list personal highlights of the previous year or goals for the new one, but it feels like the right time to start. Not to toot my own horn, but a few of the things that brought me great joy last year were:

  • Starting Birmingham Dance Walk
  • Joining together with friends to start a very tasty and intellectual Supper Club
  • Supporting, donating to, and volunteering with more charities and non-profits than I ever have before – most of them local to Birmingham
  • Building a remarkable relationship with Daniel Walters
  • Getting my first freelance writing assignment (Artwalk article for Magic City Post)
  • Starting some fitness regimen again, first with G57 Training and Fitness and now with Iron Tribe Fitness
  • Joining See Jane Write – possibly the most exceptional group of women I have ever met.
  • Hearing First Lady Michelle Obama speak in person
  • Completing 2 5Ks – the Color Run and the Race for the Cure
  • Fundraising with free hugs for the Crisis Center of Birmingham at Naked Art – truly one of the best nights of my life
  • Rescuing a pup and finding her a home
  • Developing some of the most meaningful and empowering female friendships I have ever had. We are doing GREAT things in 2013!
  • Learning more about myself this year than any previous year. And it helped me realize my biggest passion along with focusing on the direction I want to take with it.

My friend Jen West recently wrote about a new iOS app called Everest – where you can live your dreams by setting personal goals and then breaking them down into smaller steps to help you achieve them. I downloaded the app today and spent most of the morning thinking about what dreams I have for the years ahead. Here are the dreams I came up with and posted in the app, along with the rough time frame that I set for them. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have never been one to set goals, but this seems like a great (and fitting) year to start. Here we go (in no particular order):

  1. Volunteer with children. I’ve thought about this a lot the past year, off and on, and I really want to pursue this dream. Children light up my life and I would like to give some of that back if possible. I thought about McWane Science Center, but am leaning more toward Big Brothers & Big Sisters or something akin to that locally. By When: 3 months
  2. Create 365 blog posts. Yup, I’m going to do my BEST to blog every day for a year about something. Fingers crossed on this one! By When: 1 year
  3. Ride a bike again. I know the saying, but I’m telling you – I’m scared to death to get my big ‘ole butt on that tiny seat. My knees aren’t good and I can see me falling right over. But I have to start somewhere..even if it’s going to Cahaba Cycle and baby wheeling it around the show room floor for a few. I would like to get a bike and ride around Birmingham. By When: 6 months
  4. Meditate. I did this for a Chopra Center challenge earlier this year for the first time and loved it. I would like to make it a part of my daily life. When: Ongoing
  5. Work out at least 3 times per week. Enough said! When: Ongoing
  6. Read 1 book per month. By When: 1 year
  7. Run a 5k. I HATE running. Let’s rephrase that..I can’t run. Not for more than about 200 meters currently. I get too winded to keep going without passing out. And I hate it. So, I walked the 5ks that I did this past year. I would like to run one and I know I can do it. It just takes practice. Running practice. Lots of running practice. Ick. Blech. Whatever. By When: 9 months
  8. Lose 100 lbs. I originally had 50 on there, but I changed it to 100. Fifty is more realistic, but let’s go for gold and see what happens. #GetAfterIt By When: 1 year
  9. Get 100 people to participate in Birmingham Dance Walk. We can make this happen, but I will need your help. 🙂 By When: 1 year
  10. Give back to Birmingham; figure out the who, how, and why. I recently talked about starting a non-profit to help the sponsors of Birmingham Dance Walk make tax-deductible contributions while also sharing with other non-profits in the area that need help. I still like that idea and want to do that, but I’ve thought about my original intention some more and realized that a) I am most passionate about Birmingham and all she has to offer and b) I love doing things for other people. So I plan on figuring out exactly how to put those two together and what that means for me…how I can give back to Birmingham, exactly who I can help, and definitively state why I want to help. HOW, WHO, and WHY will be my 3 words for 2013. This will also help with today’s 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge item: Create the blog you want to read. By When: 1 year

There you have it. My 10 goals for 2013. Here goes nothing!

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


May
2012

Whirling Dervish

categories: accident, friends, happy

It’s been an interesting few weeks. I feel like some bullets:

  • My super sleuth neighbor found the man who hit me and left. My insurance has left him a few messages, with no luck. I am now filing a Hit and Run report with the police department. (Who knew it was a completely different entity and you have to file separately from the actual accident report?) I am hoping he will respond to either the police or someone soon so I can get my car fixed. If not, I will pay for it myself (deductible, rental car, etc.), but it’s a bit frustrating. I gave all of his info to the reporting officer last week to add to the report. I am going to try to pick up a finalized report this week to send to my insurance company since it seems they have not gotten it yet. Thank you for the encouraging words and hanging out for the crazy journey.
  • I wasn’t able to go to Montgomery this past weekend as planned because I wasn’t confident in my car or the gas tank. It seems to be ticking down miles a lot faster than it used to. Could be paranoia on my part, who knows.
  • My brother had hip surgery this week. I’m not positive on the details, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t replacement surgery – just something to alleviate the pain that he’s been having. All went well and he’s in recovery in the hospital for the next few days. Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts.

Now for the rest of the fun.

I am excited to be doing a bit of moving and shaking in my own little part of the universe. I went to a wonderful GNO at The Melting Pot here in Birmingham last night and enjoyed watching friends from different circles get to know each other. It was myself, Lee, Billie, Rachel and Cheryl. The evening was full of fabulous food (only once a year!), wonderful conversation and amazing ladies. It was neat to watch the different ladies find things in common among our age and background differences. I would venture to say some great new friendships were formed last night. I love when my online world collides with my real world. There were a few tweeps missing that would have added even more, but I’m hoping they can come next time. I need to plan that once a month around town and see these ladies more often!

I’m equally excited about a fun little meet up we’re having in a few weeks. I saw this Dance Walk video a little bit ago online and decided to share it with my Twitter followers and FB friends. It proved especially fun for those who were having a rough day like my tweep Jennifer. She got just as excited about it as I did and mentioned how fun it would be. That’s all it took – one equally excited person, a few tweets and people were excited for the #BHAM #DANCEWALKTWEETUP. We’re meeting at Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham on June 2nd at 3 p.m. to Dance Walk around the park. We’re piggy backing off the Birmingham Kitchen Table picnic in the park that day, so we’re hoping for a fun, great turnout. I’m still working on sound and trying to get the Dance Walk Master Guru to come down from NY, but it will be fun no matter what. We hope to see you there – you can RSVP here: www.facebook.com/events/304200246330605.

A few other highlights – my friend Stephen Vinson hit a HUGE milestone last week by hitting the 300 lbs LOST mark! I cannot believe how far he has come and how many people he inspires everyday..and his impact is just growing. He has steadily been gaining friends and fans since he started the journey and they even did a TV special on him on our local NBC station. He’s also having a celebratory dinner to mark the occasion – details and RSVP are here. Congrats, my friend! You continue to amaze and impress me everyday with your commitment, dedication and attitude.

I am still “up in the gym working on my fitness.” We recently got re-measured to see how far we’ve come in the first month of personal training. I was floored to find that I had lost 6 inches total over my body during this month! I couldn’t believe it. I posted it on my FB page and was instantly overwhelmed with wonderful comments and “likes.” I believe it’s my first post to receive that many “likes.” I am humbled by the outpouring of support and love that people are sharing. I am going to keep it up and hope to increase to 3 days with G57 Fitness and Training soon.

Another highlight of the past few weeks was getting to try Little Donkey for the first time. It was as delicious as everyone said and our table made a friend in one of the owners/chefs/managers after our meal. He treated us to a complimentary cocktail and dessert (popsicles). These divine treats are a MUST if you have room after your meal.

The rest of my world is pretty good. There are still some things I’m struggling with internally, but know clarity will come the time is right. I’m working on myself and that’s all I can do at the moment. I am hoping things work out the way I’d like, but know they will work out the way they should no matter what.

Also of importance: I have decided I’d like to be a whirling dervish when I grow up. Do you think it pays?

Signing off for now, but remember….

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.