Today's "Streamlined Sunday" has been cancelled. Instead we bring to you an extremely overdue episode of “60 Day Sprints”. By now you should know that this blog was born out of the Veggie Vixen’s desire to whip my own own butt into shape- to get out there and finally start achieving my “Before 26 Bucket List”. The plan was to pick a handful of goals every 60 days, get ‘em done and keep a running blog documenting those goals. And while I have been pretty good about accomplishing those goals, I haven’t been very good sharing those goals with you all! So please excuse the interruption in our regularly scheduled programming as the Veggie Vixen backtracks all the way to August (I told you I haven’t been good at sharing!).
The Bathroom Goal Board
For the months of August and September I set my sights on achieving the following goals:
-Training for the Devil's Chase 10K
- Running the Rugged Maniac 5K
-Swing Dancing
-Cooking a full (vegan) Vietnamese meal
- 30 Day Monkey Mind Challenge
-Begin six month challenge to go without cable or internet TV & Movies
-Camping (?)
-Training for the Devil's Chase 10K
- Running the Rugged Maniac 5K
-Swing Dancing
-Cooking a full (vegan) Vietnamese meal
- 30 Day Monkey Mind Challenge
-Begin six month challenge to go without cable or internet TV & Movies
-Camping (?)
Bow and Arrow @ King Richard's
Even without my efforts to achieve these goals, August and September were two very busy months. T-Rex and I attended summer family parties as well as various wedding festivities that preceded a giant (300 guests!) family wedding in September. We went on a fun weekend trip with college friends to Mohegan Sun, attended a friend’s wedding and went to King Richard’s Fair with our soon to be roommate (thus achieving a goal I hadn’t even had on the list for Aug/Sept- “Shoot a Bow and Arrow at a Renaissance Fair”!) We also held a giant yard sale as we prepared to move out of my parent’s house and into our new digs. On top of all that I walked the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk with my dear friend Kimmy! You’d think that with such a busy end to summer that I would have slipped up and skipped out on a few of my goals, but nope I achieved each one (except camping, which had been a tentative goal from the start).
Getting pumped pre-race!
I dove into a thirteen week 10k training session, running between 30-45 minutes three times a week, with my heart set on running the Devil’s Chase on Halloween weekend (a 6.66 mile run in Salem, MA). But as I mentioned in my post on running, a gnarly cold, post-marathon walk recovery and the process of moving out threw me off my training schedule at the end of September and I ultimately decided not to sign-up for the official race (a good decision in hindsight since this year’s Halloween weekend blizzard had us all thinking it was Christmas!)
But while I didn’t run my 10k, I did run my way through a obstacle ridden motocross course better known as The Rugged Maniac 5K. There were 6 foot walls, pools of water, a giant slide, a “Super Man” jump and there was mud, lots and lots of mud. When we first saw the track, observing the winded competitors winding their way up and down the hills T-Rex declared “Why is everyone walking? We’re gonna go hard! None of this walking business!” I fully agreed, but once we got out there I realized why they had been walking. That shit was tiring! I was grumbling and bumbling while T-Rex nimbly navigated the course (I swear sometimes I think he’s part videogame character or part ninja or something). Though he was clearly agile enough to have blasted his way competitively through the race, he stuck with me and we ended up finishing in just under an hour.
But while I didn’t run my 10k, I did run my way through a obstacle ridden motocross course better known as The Rugged Maniac 5K. There were 6 foot walls, pools of water, a giant slide, a “Super Man” jump and there was mud, lots and lots of mud. When we first saw the track, observing the winded competitors winding their way up and down the hills T-Rex declared “Why is everyone walking? We’re gonna go hard! None of this walking business!” I fully agreed, but once we got out there I realized why they had been walking. That shit was tiring! I was grumbling and bumbling while T-Rex nimbly navigated the course (I swear sometimes I think he’s part videogame character or part ninja or something). Though he was clearly agile enough to have blasted his way competitively through the race, he stuck with me and we ended up finishing in just under an hour.
All swinged out.
T-Rex is a fun dude to hang with. So it’s no wonder why the Rugged 5K wasn’t the only goal I achieved with him in August and September. He also was there as I crossed “Swing Dancing” and “Cooking a full (vegan) Vietnamese meal” off my list. We went swing dancing one weekend in the middle of August at the Leominster Elks, where Dance2Swing Studios hosts a public swing dancing lesson every weekend. I had been looking for an opportunity to take an inexpensive dance lesson so when I heard about this through a musician coworker who frequently sings at the event with the swing band, I was all over it! I can’t say that T-Rex and I were any good (in fact, we pretty much bombed) but we had plenty of fun laughing as we stepped and mis-stepped all over one another.
We had much more success in the kitchen a week later as we prepared a deliciousVieganese meal of Pho and Banh Mi. I’ve always wanted to cook a full Vietnamese meal, but since I’ve gone Vegetarian and (mostly) vegan I decided to switch it up and Veganize our Vietnamese thus, Vieganese! I didn’t miss the meat for one second and even T-Rex, a lifelong diner of authentic Vietnamese cuisine, gave it two thumbs up!
We had much more success in the kitchen a week later as we prepared a deliciousVieganese meal of Pho and Banh Mi. I’ve always wanted to cook a full Vietnamese meal, but since I’ve gone Vegetarian and (mostly) vegan I decided to switch it up and Veganize our Vietnamese thus, Vieganese! I didn’t miss the meat for one second and even T-Rex, a lifelong diner of authentic Vietnamese cuisine, gave it two thumbs up!
A peaceful spot of forgotten railroad
Only two of my goals didn’t include T-Rex as they were personal challenges I set myself on. One of them being a "Monkey Mind Challenge", 30 days of daily meditation sessions, while the other was the beginning of a six month challenge to "Go Without Cable or Internet Television & Movies". I'm happy to say I successfully achieved both. I began the Monky Mind Challenege on August 3rd, track, keeping track of each meditation session until September 1st. I'd dabbled with meditative sessions before, but there was something different about creating a space and time each day to simply sit in silence.
So many folks think that meditation is a hard thing to do, that they'd "love to" but they "just can't do it". I'd wager that if those same folks would see serious results if they carved out just 20 minutes a day dedicated solely to meditation for 30 days. In my 30 days I found that I could meditate anywhere, any time. Case in point, the picture at left by a broken railroad track where I enjoyed a calming out door meditation session in mid-August. I also found that I was better able to maintain levels of serenity and contentedness, even in the face of stress. And the fact that I was simultaneously staying away from media certainly couldn't have hurt my sense of peace. I chose to abstain from all forms of television and movies precisely because I found it at times to be jarring. It's so easy to sit in front of the television and lose track of time as we are inundated with mindless mediocre information. Even when we're actively choosing our programs via the internet, DV-R or on-demand there comes a sense that we have to "keep up" or "catch up" with our favorite shows. I wanted to take a rest from that to see how it would free up my time and my mind. And so far so good.
So many folks think that meditation is a hard thing to do, that they'd "love to" but they "just can't do it". I'd wager that if those same folks would see serious results if they carved out just 20 minutes a day dedicated solely to meditation for 30 days. In my 30 days I found that I could meditate anywhere, any time. Case in point, the picture at left by a broken railroad track where I enjoyed a calming out door meditation session in mid-August. I also found that I was better able to maintain levels of serenity and contentedness, even in the face of stress. And the fact that I was simultaneously staying away from media certainly couldn't have hurt my sense of peace. I chose to abstain from all forms of television and movies precisely because I found it at times to be jarring. It's so easy to sit in front of the television and lose track of time as we are inundated with mindless mediocre information. Even when we're actively choosing our programs via the internet, DV-R or on-demand there comes a sense that we have to "keep up" or "catch up" with our favorite shows. I wanted to take a rest from that to see how it would free up my time and my mind. And so far so good.
The Goal Board again
Abstaining from television and movies is something that I continued into the months of October and November as I set out to achieve the following"
-Sing Karaoke
-Haircut
-Host Thanksgiving
-Attend a Wine Tasting
-Habitat for Humanity
-100 pushups in a row
While I didn’t complete everything on this list (namely the first two items), October and November were two very fulfilling months as the roomies and I unpacked, organized, threw a couple of successful parties and readjusted to living on our own again. T-Rex and I hosted our first Thanksgiving , inviting my parents and grandmother over for an almost all vegan meal (there was the minor detail of, you know, the turkey). We prolonged the holiday of Thanks here at the X-Mansion with a “Friendsgiving: Thanksgiving Part II” celebration having a few folks over for T-Day leftovers (and my leftovers I mean desserts, lots and lots of desserts!).
-Sing Karaoke
-Haircut
-Host Thanksgiving
-Attend a Wine Tasting
-Habitat for Humanity
-100 pushups in a row
While I didn’t complete everything on this list (namely the first two items), October and November were two very fulfilling months as the roomies and I unpacked, organized, threw a couple of successful parties and readjusted to living on our own again. T-Rex and I hosted our first Thanksgiving , inviting my parents and grandmother over for an almost all vegan meal (there was the minor detail of, you know, the turkey). We prolonged the holiday of Thanks here at the X-Mansion with a “Friendsgiving: Thanksgiving Part II” celebration having a few folks over for T-Day leftovers (and my leftovers I mean desserts, lots and lots of desserts!).
Wine & Cheese Party
October and November were certainly the months of hosting. In addition to Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving we also had a Halloween Housewarming and a Wine & Chesse party. The Wine & Cheese party was an excellent excuse for me to knock "Attend a Wine Tasting" off my list. T-Rex, our roomie Matt and I had gone to a "wine tasting" at a local wine shop in our neighborhood. However, I hardly can justify that as a satisyfing wine tasting event, as we sampled only a few wines. I'm not sure if an at-home wine party officially qualifies either, but there were an ample amount of wines to choose from. And while I didn't learn the finer points of wine craft or how to discern a wine's quality, I did figure out that I actually DO like red wine (or at least I know I like Nero D'Avola. The rest of the red family has yet to strike my fancy)
But Autumn wasn't all about parties and food, there was some community service and a physical challenge thrown in there too! I spent a day in in late October on a Habitat for Humanity build site in Boylston painting my way through each ceiling in the house. I met some great seasoned volunteers and learned quite a bit about the great organization. And in mid October I set out to jack up my upper body strength, taking on the "100 Pushups" training program, a system devised to have you doing just that- 100 pushups in a row! Initially I started out only able to achieve a mere 14, but worked my way up in 6 weeks to 60. I'm still working my way up to 100, but it's taking me a bit longer than expected so that goal'll have to roll over to December/January alone with a haircut and karaoke.
But Autumn wasn't all about parties and food, there was some community service and a physical challenge thrown in there too! I spent a day in in late October on a Habitat for Humanity build site in Boylston painting my way through each ceiling in the house. I met some great seasoned volunteers and learned quite a bit about the great organization. And in mid October I set out to jack up my upper body strength, taking on the "100 Pushups" training program, a system devised to have you doing just that- 100 pushups in a row! Initially I started out only able to achieve a mere 14, but worked my way up in 6 weeks to 60. I'm still working my way up to 100, but it's taking me a bit longer than expected so that goal'll have to roll over to December/January alone with a haircut and karaoke.
The full list of goals for December/January includes:
-Haircut (Bangs!)
-Karaoke
-(Finish) 100 Pushups
-Learn to Play Chess
- Sew Quilt of College Tee’s
-30 Days of Giving
-Save $$,$$$ by January 2012
--Continue 6 months without TV/Hulu/Netflix
December and January tend to be a hustling and bustling time of the year, but I think these goals are manageable enough to obtain admist the holiday cheer. Let's just hope that blogging about them is something I can obtain as well !:)
-Haircut (Bangs!)
-Karaoke
-(Finish) 100 Pushups
-Learn to Play Chess
- Sew Quilt of College Tee’s
-30 Days of Giving
-Save $$,$$$ by January 2012
--Continue 6 months without TV/Hulu/Netflix
December and January tend to be a hustling and bustling time of the year, but I think these goals are manageable enough to obtain admist the holiday cheer. Let's just hope that blogging about them is something I can obtain as well !:)
