Motivator

It's been a strange week. I worked out on Sunday, again on Monday, and during my Monday workout I heard and felt my shoulder go *POP!* Idiot that I am, I kept going until my workout was done, I just took it down a few notches. I should have stopped altogether, but no, so now I'm having slight shoulder pain. I decided that this wouldn't stop me - my arm is what's tender, not my legs, so I can still get my walks in! I made it almost 4 miles yesterday, a little over 11,000 steps. Tonight I'm going with my boss to Miracles Fitness to give that a go. We'll see what all it entails.

A friend of mine - ok, a few friends of mine - went to Dani Johnson's First Steps to Success a few weeks ago and brought back some awesome information. They've challenged themselves to be content with what they have, putting to use the things they already have at home and not purchasing frivolous things. Even the food in the kitchen is being used up completely before they buy more. I liked this idea, so I decided to take the challenge as well. Our grocery list is getting long, but we still have food at home that could be used. It makes for a very interesting attempt at making dinner. The other day, I laid out two chicken breasts to thaw. When I got home, I chopped them up, put them in a casserole dish, and added the last of the frozen mixed vegetables, and a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and sour cream to it, baked it for 20 minutes, then added cornbread mix to the top and popped that back in the oven for another 20 minutes. The result was amazing. Like a chicken pot pie without the bottom crust. Zach loved it so much that I figured out about what the measurements were for everything, and wrote it in my recipe book to make again later. I hope to do something similar tonight, but I didn't thaw anything out, so we'll see what I come up with. There's a lot of deer meat in the freezer that I'm not entirely sure what it is, so I'll have to try and work with that.

I have been putting off writing this all week. I love writing, I love the likes and comments this page gets, but if I'm not in the mood to write, it just isn't going to happen. Last night, I got a call from a friend of mine, and before we hung up the phone, she said "Keep writing, keep posting - you're motivating me to be better and healthier!" Maybe those weren't her exact words, but it's the gist. I practically floated off my chair with joy, as my ultimate goal is to be an example for someone else, and I have achieved it. It's also just what I needed to hear to ramp back up again. I love knowing that what I'm doing isn't just helping me to be better and healthier, but others are taking notice and making changes to make themselves healthier, too. It's such an awesome feeling! It also pushed me to email dad and ask if I can use his weight equipment. I want to do a few weeks of weight lifting before I start round two of Body Combat, really get some strength in to rock the second round! 

So for those who use this as a motivator, good! For those who think this is just a phase I'm going through, those that think I'm on a diet, those that think I'll quit when I'm done - I've got news for you. This isn't just a phase, it's a lifestyle change. This isn't a diet, because diets are short term answers to long term problems, and they don't work. I'm not quitting. In fact, I'm not going anywhere - I have a new goal, and it's to motivate the haters. 

Bring on your worst. You're in my territory now.