What is that annoying noise? Oh yes, my alarm.

6am came awfully early this Monday morning. I was blessed with a two week holiday from work and I slept in most days. I don't normally need an alarm since my circadian rhythm (and two 4 1/2 yr olds) has a +/- 10 minute window of accuracy; however, this cold morning required an extra step. I'm back to work, the kids are back to school and so goes the weekly routine.

I will be walking/running 4 miles today after work. Inside of course -- it is still 10 degrees outside. Currently my pedometer has 2106 steps. This little contraption is very sensitive. I went to check my progress yesterday, after running errands with the kids, and my forearm must have hit the reset button because total steps equaled 601. Only 601! I know that before the movies I was over 6,000. To be fair, I didn't want to estimate. My first day of tracking ended up being n/a.

Today's goal -- not fall asleep at work. daily naps during the holiday is the culprit.

Diet tidbit -- fat makes you fat. Only the good fat will do!

A kick in my step. A pedometer on my hip.

Health practitioners say you must walk 10,000 steps a day. One of my Christmas gifts this year was a pedometer. I measured my stride, attached it to hip and have my begun my journey to 10,000. One of the races I'm participating in this season is the Annapolis 1/2 marathon. My training partner is H and we couldn't be more excited to be racing together. Our plan is to spend every Sunday doing our 'long' segments. Week 1 was a 4 miler. Not today. It is currently 22 degrees with a -12 wind chill. We don't live in Chicago or Buffalo where that type of day is a walk in the park. Our closets are not filled with the necessary layers of wool, cotton and fur. We decided that hot chocolate and a movie were our better option. We start next Sunday.

A savvy young lady shared with me her favorite diet tip - you may love food, but you have to love thin better. As I embark in my first 10,000 steps, I'm also designing a new eating regime of less of everything, but more fruits and veggies.

breakfast - egg white omelet w/ roasted red peppers
snack 1 - apple

lunch - 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ pumpkin
snack 2 - trail mix

dinner - veggie pizza w/ goat cheese and tofu sausage

total calories consumed = 1500. total steps taken =

first goal = 10 pounds lost = a brand new nook from Barnes & Noble.

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A cold weekend wouldn't be the same without a trip to the movie theatre. The twins have been begging to go see Alvin and the Chipmunks (the Squeakquel). Today I will make their wish a reality. The Washington Post movie critic, who is usually disappointed in sequels, wrote that this one is bearable. I hope he is right or I just wasted $27 + money for snacks.

I rubbed my eyes and the calendar said January 2010

This blog appears every time I open internet explorer, but I just realized that my last post was February 2009. That was 10 months ago. What a year it was. I won't type a long summary of 2009, but let me just say that we hit some major bumps in our lives. On to 2010!

I may be the only follower of my own blog, but if you happen to read my posts from time to time, you'll remember that I challenged myself to a triathlon last year. I am happy to report that I finished four and added a few 5ks in for fun. I was one proud athlete. The problem with signing up for so many was I was physically exhausted most days. I have decided that in 2010 I would continue on my path to keeping active and healthy, but my body has kindly asked that I not do so much. I will do longer, more challenging races, just fewer of them. So far I have one triathlon planned in August and a 1/2 marathon in June. Having taken the last three weeks of December off from training, I am excited to be back in the gym as of this morning.

I don't like making too many resolutions, because I must be 100% dedicated to them in order for me to complete them, but I do have many 'must dos' in 2010. I will share a few:

• Post at least three days a week (with training schedules and diet goals)


• Relearn how to sew and continue my knitting


• Enroll the kids in Girl/Boy Scouts


• Be a better recylcer.


• Save $2,000


• Use less bad language.

I am currently purging closets, drawers and storage boxes. A clean slate for the new year.