ReVerb13 - Challenges

What challenges lie ahead in 2014? How might you meet them boldly?

One of my biggest challenges for 2014 is to remain active and STAY injury free!  I have only been really healthy for about four months this year.  Between my knee healing and then having the slipped disk and pinched nerve in my back has made it just about impossible to be active at all this year.  I taught Zumba maybe once and just "ran" my first 5K since August 2012.  I have all the tools and know how to stay injury free and I definitely plan to use them.

This year I want to eliminate my credit card debt and use my credit card the way I originally used it.  Gas for my car, maybe some groceries, some music on iTunes, etc.  Then pay it off when it posts to my bill.  With my GI Bill covering my classes AND putting a little extra in my pocket, I am able to continue to put $200 - $300 towards my balance from my paychecks AND an additional $400 - $500 with my GI Bill.  That is coming close to $1000 a month.  I already payed $500 this month and once my bills for the second half of this month process then it will possibly be another $400!  That means I will finally owe less than $3000!  I have not seen my balance that low in a couple years.

I have already made it over six months without smoking so I guess it is safe to say that I have officially quit so there is something off my New Year's Resolution list that I can finally scrub out forever.  I might have to take a look at that list from last year to see what I still need to address!  I have crossed out what I have accomplished!

• Make my lunch to take to work
• Quit smoking for good
• Run in five 5K runs with my mom (I will save the Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon for a year that I do not have horrible knee pain)
• Complete the Zumbatomic training
• Eliminate half of my credit card debt (it would be nice to eliminate all but I will settle with half)
• Move out on my own
• Re-enroll in school and take at least three classes
• Continue to find myself and better myself to make me happy (this one is an ongoing)
• Share my feelings more and not shut people out so much

From that list, this is what I still want to accomplish:

• Make my lunch to take to work
• Run in THREE 5K runs (it would be nice to do them with my mom but if I can do them with a friend of BF then I am happy!)
• Participate in a ZJ session, Pro Skills or a "Boost"
• Complete Zumba Kids & Kids Jr (formerly known as Zumbatomic) or Zumba Step
• Eliminate my credit card debt
• Get a raise and two days off per week

Until next time!

Reverb 13 - Shifting Gears

Living life on auto-pilot can feel disorienting and dull. How did you cultivate a life worth loving during 2013?

How can you turn off your auto-pilot button in 2014?

I found that I was stuck in a rut.  I was living each day waking up, going to work, going home, sleeping and repeating.  It was no way to live.  When I started dating BF, I got my social life back.  It was something that I had seriously been lacking and that I desperately needed!

I have taken on a lot of new tasks and responsibility at work that I believe will earn me a significant pay increase and if it doesn't then it might be time to start looking for something else.  I can't live with my mother forever and it is driving me nuts that I have no idea what I own anymore because it is all boxed up and in storage.

I have become pro-active.  I have gone back to school.  I have completed two courses (one not so successfully) but I have kind of gotten out of my mundane routine.  I start teaching Zumba again in a couple of weeks and I cannot wait!  I have signed up for one 5K and will be signing up for another one shortly.  I want to make my life better and I think I am on the right track!

Until next time!

Almost 2013

I gave up on New Year's Resolutions a long time ago because I never stick to them.  I mean everyone makes the same ones almost every year, right?

I will eat healthier

I will go to the gym/get gym membership

I will quit smoking

I will quit drinking

I will blah blah blah

But how often does one actually stick to their resolutions?  Yeah...it would be nice if I ate healthier...do not get me wrong...you put a plate of raw veggies in front of me and a small amount of lite ranch and I am a happy camper!  I love salads and fruits and all that healthy stuff BUT my sister hit the nail on the head.

You work out to support your bad eating habits!

Really, it is kind of true.  It is totally not intentional but it is true!  I mean I would work out, teach Zumba or go for a run or something and then eat a quarter pound big bite hot dog and a grab bag of Doritos from 7-11 for lunch the next day!  Totally disgusting but so yummy!  I get the worst cravings!  I had a craving for Tostino's pizza and pizza rolls...so I went to the store and bought four pizzas (because they were four for $5) and a bag of 90 count pizza rolls.  Totally disgusting but so good!

I do however pay for a gym membership (however it is currently on hold because of my knee injury) and I want to start going more often once I can.  I am not too sure if I will continue with the 6am workouts with my boss though...that is just too damn early!

I do not drink nearly as much I want to and not even remotely as often as I talk about it so quitting drinking is not on my list.  I love my Bud and Bud Light and Jose Cuervo is one of my close and personal friends.  It would be nice to quit smoking.  For me it truly is just a bad habit that I need to break.  I do not have the addiction that most people have.  If I am at home, I do not smoke.  If I am out and about running errands with someone, I do not smoke.  I tend to smoke out of routine.  I get in my car, I smoke.  I take a break at work (only when I am working outside on the line...never take a break when I am upstairs in the office) after a few hours, I smoke.  I can even go out with friends for drinks and if no one smokes, I do not smoke.  I really is just a habit.  I have gone days without smoking never NEEDING to smoke.  It will be a little more difficult to break than when I was biting my nails...because I put tape over my finger nails to keep myself from biting them and that is how I stopped.  I know I can do it because I have done it before.

Now I do have some goals for 2013:

• Make my lunch to take to work
• Quit smoking for good
• Run in five 5K runs with my mom (I will save the Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon for a year that I do not have horrible knee pain)
• Complete the Zumbatomic training
• Eliminate half of my credit card debt (it would be nice to eliminate all but I will settle with half)
• Move out on my own
• Re-enroll in school and take at least three classes
• Continue to find myself and better myself to make me happy
• Share my feelings more and not shut people out so much

That last one is going to be a tough one...same with the credit card debt and the moving out on my own.  I am sure that I will make add and maybe subtract from that list over the next few days but once I finalize it, I will write it down and post it somewhere that I will see it every day so that way I might stick with it!

Until next time!