Life has a way of forcing our attention in so many directions if we let it. I have been letting it, but the point is that I no longer want to . One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, one word after the next, so it goes. 

I began week two with mixed feelings, wondering if I will keep this blog up, or if I will let myself down. That would be fitting for a resolution blog, since resolutions often fall by the wayside as we continue on with our new year. I do hope I do not fall off with my resolutions. I hope that by breaking up these goals into monthlong nuggets they are more manageable. The idea being that after a particular month is completed that I don’t just stop with that activity as I shift my focus, but rather learn how to better incorporate what I’ve learned overall into my daily life.

This week, tired of the great video I used last week, I found a collection of 30-minute workouts on Popsugar.com. I forget how I came across them, but they will come in handy as time is money people (she says with a smirk). Really though, time is precious. I like to fit as much “me” time as I can in when my son is napping! In an efficient hour I can work-out, shower and prep our next meal, do the dishes, or even write a blog-post. The problem of ‘me’ time in the past is that it has also meant ‘free-time’ meaning, generally, time without the boy. This translates to time I have to do everything I need to do, leaving my mind generally revving up and racing about remembering all the things I think I need to complete in the little time that I have. One problem with this is that I don’t generally need to complete all the things I am thinking about. My husband even said, do less, at which I scoffed. Truth be told, I don’t think I’ve ever done less, unless I am absolutely removed from the ability to do it.

I also bought a set of 2kg and 4kg kettle bells last week, something I have always wanted and have integrated into my work outs this week. This week I also resolved to not have passive rest days. On days I am ‘resting’ I will do yoga or something similar from here on out.

Week two:

• Day One: I put the video from week one on in the background and used the smaller kettle bells when moving my arms, which really (really…really!) kicks up the workout.
• Day Two: I found this kettlebell workout from RealSimple, plus 3 sets of ten push-ups, squats and side-lunges along with walking in place in between exercises. The post workout stretch was AMAZING!
• Day Three: Rest (sore!)
• Day Four: I completed a modified version of this  jump-rope workout from PopSugar. I don’t have a jump rope, so I just did jumping jacks and actually only competed one of the two rounds. It really kicks your butt! Throughout the day I also did sets of ten push-ups at a time. I’ve heard that this helps improve your metabolism, plus it helps keep me energised. Plus, I ended up completing 100 push ups! Yeah!! (Breaking up the push-ups over the course of the day makes them so much easier to complete!)
• Day Five: Oh, my MY! My arms are so sore today!! I repeated the PopSugar workout from day four and pushed to complete the two rounds. Phew!
• Day Six:  Being that I am still sore, but do feel like a lion instead of a whale, I figured an active rest day was in order. I found this 40 minute beginner yoga sequence by Yoga with Adriane and found the time flew by. This may inspire me to complete the “30 days of Yoga” she has promoted on her YouTube page at a later month. Hmmm. The sequences look to be as quick as 15 minutes to as long (so far) as 35 minutes.
• Day Seven:

There were a number of “yoga before bed” sequences I discovered while looking for yoga videos for future active rest days. So many that I may utilize one or more of these when I have my month of no caffeine and/or no alcohol. I may need help getting out of bed and then, alternatively also need help relaxing enough to fall asleep! Those two months make me the most nervous, by the way.

Even though I was sore this week, I felt stronger and thus, had to really restrain myself from over doing it, or jumping off the deep end. Part of me really feels like I just need to keep going, now! But, my rational mind knows that doing just that would cause me to injure myself or simply burn out and that isn’t the point of this. I could do more and I will build up to doing more, like hopefully jogging by the end of the month, but for now – this is good. My body feels good and I mentally feel accomplished for being active and taking time for myself.

Here is the image to show the world I have been working. Hopefully the world can see it, I can. Then again, I’ve heard that it takes about two weeks for you to notice a physical change in yourself and at least three weeks for others to begin to notice. In other words, I won’t be offended if I am the only one who notices the changes in my body.

left: end of week one. right: end of week two.
I can see a differene there, even if it is only a little one.

The North American Gray Wolf,   image from animalfactguide.com

This week, I was trying to think of a thing from nature that has been driven to near extinction, but has bounced back. Then it hit me. I see news reports about wolves  being reintroduced back into places like Yellowstone National Park and flourishing. What I’ve come to find out it that the wolf, and the Gray Wolf especially, isn’t threatened generally speaking, but is in danger regionally due to hunting. This made this week’s inspiration that much more relevant to me. I see these wolves as a fierce animal, ready and able to take down their prey (the task at hand) and their predators (naysayers, one’s own mind, convenience, comfort). Yet, depending on the external forces that be (regional hunting practices), these wolves might be severely beaten back in strength and number (ie: they might feel like there is no hope, to surrender or give up), but given the opportunity to persevere, they do. And right now, although I might feel that in the past or even now at times I feel beaten, I should not give up!