Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 3

Senses Day Spa at IP Casino Resort Biloxi (source Spatrips.com)

Did you know that January 17th was "Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day"?  I haven't ditched mine, although some of the exercise induced euphoria from last week has worn off.  Fortunately, I was able to take a 4-day weekend to refresh, recharge, and celebrate my mother's birthday.  On Friday I visited the Senses Day Spa for a deep tissue massage to work out some knots in my neck and back, plus spent time in the whirlpool, steam room, arctic room, and sauna.  Gotta love that!

Whirlpool (source Spatrips.com)

As a refresher, here are my resolutions for 2014:

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

 

I made no slow cooker dishes this week, but did make some sausage and cheese English muffins.  These satisfy my cravings for their more unhealthy cousin from McDonalds, the sausage egg McMuffin.  I added some bell pepper to 4 crumbled precooked turkey patties and 4 oz. of Colby/Cheddar cheese, nuked it in the microwave, and topped six muffin halves.  You can then bake them (I used my NuWave cooker) until they are slightly browned.  They freeze well and reheat nicely, making a great on the go type of breakfast.  Add fruit and you've got a reasonably healthy and satisfying meal!

I attempted to incorporate running into my work out regime this week, with mixed results.  I used to run regularly but started experiencing tears in my right calf muscle.  I'm surmising it's because the right side of my body is very tight (that's the side my muscle knots are on) due to my slight scoliosis.  I was able to run for 20 minutes one day and 25 the next, but I could definitely feel it in that right calf and was afraid it would go at any moment.  I'm hoping the regular Pilates/yoga will help stretch my muscles with time, allowing me run a few times a week.  We'll see. I should probably consult with some of the Physical Therapy faculty I work with.

I like logging my exercise type and times on a calendar, as it gives me a good visual overview of how I'm doing.  So far so good and I can already tell my strength and form is improving with the Pilates and yoga :-)

I managed to make some baby steps decluttering the house.  Realistically, I'm not going to be able to tackle an entire room at a time unless I've got a whole day to devote to it, but I can declutter a drawer or bookcase.  So, I cleaned out my supplement stash and threw out the expired items.  Ummm, I had stuff as old as 2002, I kid you not.  I go through phases where I'm pretty good at taking vitamins/supplements, and then I'll forget about them and they sit untouched.  For years, apparently.

Before

My other mini-declutter project was my stereo system bookcase, which had accumulated dust and multiple CD's both in and out of their jackets.  Much better and going forward, only the CD's currently in the player are allowed!

After

My makeup no-buy is going strong, and receiving my subscription boxes is helping in that area.  Now, getting something in the mail feels more exciting, as I'm not jaded by multiple arrivals each week:-)  My wish list currently stands at 3 items, but may or may not grow depending on what product Hourglass is hinting at here:

COMING SOON - New this spring is a revolutionary take on color makeup that is out of this world. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/bONedPfn1p

What were the highlights - or lowlights - of your week?  This month is flying by for me and I doubt it will slow down anytime soon, so I'm savoring this long weekend:-)