Reflecting on Goals...2008 (age 23).

I have lists and lists of goals. 

I was looking back at one of my many journals.

There are so many repeats and patterns in my list of goals.

This one is from fall of 2008.

I was 23 years old. 

Happy to know I've accomplished a good number of these.

*Train for a marathon

*Run a marathon

*Complete a triathlon

*Write a book

*Stop swearing

*Stop biting my nails

*Worry less. Stress less.

*Spend less. Save more.

*Grow closer to my family/friends.

*Live one day at a time.

*Be friends with those who love you.

*Grow closer to God.

*Find a church. Become a member.

*LOVE.

*Be patient.

*Stay focused/productive at work.

*Volunteer. 

*Discover "what I am meant to do"

*Pray more.

*Read more.

*Enjoy life's little pleasures.

*Fix my stomach!

*Peace

*No regrets.

*Challenge myself.

*Eat healthier

*Don't be such a pack rat

*Scrapbook more.

*Listen better. Learn more. 

A Gym Story

I lifted heavy yesterday at the gym. 

I'm starting a new program to increase my strength.

I'm excited because I get to squat three times a week on this program. Yipee for me, and thanks to my husband for recommending this program to me. 

I'll be doing heavy lifting three days a week and adding in 21 Day Fix workouts the other days. Lots of good fitness going on. 

I like to finish my workouts with a quick sweat session of cardio. Usually this is no more than 20 minutes. I've been trying to increase my speed, so am running between one and two miles on the treadmill as fast as I can. It's going surprisingly well for the "not fast runner" that I am.

Upon finishing, I was cooling down at a walking pace and noticed a woman to my left. I had seen her walking a few days earlier and had the same thought I did previously, "That's awesome. Good for her."

I've been going to the gym off and on for years. There are "gym types." You see your super skinny runner-type people, the lean bodybuilder type, the bulking hulk-type, the ripped-out-of-their-mind women, the big upper body/small lower body middle aged newly retired men, the skinny non-muscular type, the athletic type, the curvy type, the basketball player type, the wrestler type, the super strong middle-aged man with a belly, the elderly man or woman who are there every day, the pregnant woman, new moms, overweight individuals, the freshman 15-ers ... and the list goes on. Yes...I am classifying, but only to make a point.

My point being, you hardly ever see obese individuals at the gym.

The woman walking to my left was obese. I thought to myself..."I should go talk to her." And then I thought, "No...maybe she doesn't want to be bothered." But then I thought, "I'd love to say hi and offer her encouragement." Then I thought, "Maybe she doesn't need or want any and will take offense to your offering."

I left my treadmill, grabbed a cleansing wipe, and returned to my treadmill to de-germ it. I looked at her again.

I decided.

I walked over to the left of her treadmill, looked up and said, "Hi."

She looked down and shyly smiled back, "Hi."

I said to her, "I've seen you in here a few times."

She replied, "Yes, I'm here every day."

I said, "That's awesome. What are your goals?"

She smiled, cocked her head and said, "Well...to keep losing weight. I've lost 127 pounds so far." (she beamed...obviously proud)

Amazed, happy, and excited, I said, "Wow...that's amazing! Good work! How did you accomplish that...by walking? Do you come here alone or with someone?" (I was curious about her support system)

She said, "I come here by myself every day to walk. And I only eat healthy proteins and vegetables."

Truly floored, I exclaimed, "That's great! Wow. I am so impressed! So, what are your goals now?!"

She responded, "Well...to lose another 125 pounds and to get healthy."

My heart was just overjoyed!  This woman, is a champion. She was confident, and SO proud! She is losing weight the healthy way, by exercising and eating healthy. She is consistent. She has goals. She has experienced the results of hard work and dedication. And she isn't giving up. Yes...she may be starting "small" by walking every day, but I guarantee you, this women won't be walking forever.

I went on to talk to her about adding strength training to her routine (which she already does "some" on the weekends when she "has more time." I introduced myself at the end, found out her name and said, "I'll see you around, then!"

Joining a gym can be daunting, especially if you don't know anyone else or understand how to use the equipment.

My goal was to give her a friendly, recognizable face to see at the gym, and I think I succeeded! Can't wait to see her continue to shine!

Stuffed Peppers

This was one of the easiest and tastiest meals I've made. The recipe was adapted from Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo cookbook. 

You can use any color bell pepper. My favorites are red and orange.

We had extra lean ground beef, so I decided to use that for the stuffing, but really any type of ground meat would work (chicken, turkey, venison).

First step is to preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Ingredients:

Bell peppers

Oil/grease - eg. coconut oil

Veggies: tomatoes, onions, spinach

Seasonings - Italian, pepper, sea salt, etc.

Garlic

Ground meat of your choice, 1 lb.

Basil

First step is to preheat the oven.

Then you'll want to clean and halve your peppers. 

If you are adding grape tomatoes, you can clean and halve these as well.

Place facedown in a pan and cook for 10 minutes if you wish your peppers to be a little softer ... otherwise you can just skip this step (I should have...mine where too soft).  When they are softened, turn over in pan so peppers face up.

 If you like onions or other veggies, you can saute those on the stove top and mix in any of your favorite seasonings. I like to heat the pan first, then add a little coconut oil, and then add the veggies.

Next you can add your meat of choice. I used ground beef. Here you can add your chopped basil or wait until later to add it. 

When this was done, I just scooped the meat mix and filled the pepper boats. I then added a little basil to the top of each one and dropped in some tomatoes. 

Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes.
This will blend the pepper and meat flavor together. 

Remove from oven and there you go! Stuffed peppers!

You may eat right away, store in the refrigerator, or freeze for later!

Get your lists ready.

I think it is important to stay focused on goals one wants to achieve in life. This can prevent one from becoming complacent. I truly believe each one of us should be making the most of the time we have on this Earth. We only have one short life to live, and not much time to make it meaningful or to impact the lives of others. We need to be purposeful with our actions, which means making specific goals and taking actual steps towards achieving those goals. I have been recording my goals on pen and paper for over a decade. Writing specific goals down can not only help hold you accountable (especially if you share them with others or hang your list on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror), but your goals tend to become more meaningful and attainable when you put time and consideration into them.

Setting realistic goals helped me achieve so much early in life. Not only was I confident and fearless in my younger years, but my thought process was this: "If so and so can do it, why can't I?" I truly believed this wholeheartedly when I graduated high school and continued onto college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Freshman year, I decided I either wanted to be a sports journalist (i.e., ESPN/FOX sideline reporter) or a pediatrician. By the time I was a sophomore in college, I was working for the Wisconsin Athletic Department and representing the Badgers (a dream come true). Through this position, I was able to interact with various media personalities, including those at ESPN, FSN, Big Ten Network, etc., and even was hired by the network (ESPN paychecks came from Disney...how cool?!) for the glamorous job known as "grips." Basically this meant I was the camera person's shadow and needed to make sure the cords didn't get tangled or allow him (usually a "he"... the camers are heavy) to trip on his camera cord (ya gotta start somewhere, right?). Through my experiences with the Badgers, I realized I preferred to be on the side who had all the information to give, keep secret, or spin (and not on the media side). Public relations, people! I was so much better at it than journalism.

I digress. My point is, if I wanted to be a sports journalist for ESPN, I can guarantee you I probably would have done it, or something similar to it. I set goals, worked my butt off (not literally), and made connections with the right people. I made detailed checklists under the lists. I had so many lists. Lists of lists of lists. And still do.

I've used the same small "journal" for the last few years or so to write random things in. Poems, financial planning, and lists of goals dated back to 2005 are in this itty bitty journal my mom bought for me for Christmas in 2004, before I headed to Italy to study.

Here are items from my 08/2005 list (on the real one, I also included the anticipated timeframe to accomplish each):

1. Intern for ESPN or a national news network (I interned with the Badgers and the American Junior Golf Association out of Braselton, Georgia) -- Check-ish
2. Volunteer with Africa Relief (I wish, sigh)
3. Get accepted into the "J-school" (Journalism) -- Check
4. Snowboard with no fear -- Still working on this one
5. Get an A - AB average -- More like a 'B', until J-school
6. Save money (impossible to do in college, right?)
7. Write a book -- In progress
8. Pray often - Check
9. Support and help others, believe in a cause - Check
10. Stay healthy and exercise (of course this is on here) - Always in progress

And here are some things from my most recent list written on 12/17/13:

1. Get better quality sleep with less sleep.
2. Remember to take prenatal vitamins daily.
3. Have many babies (okay...maybe one this year if we're blessed)
4. Write and publish a book.
5. Save money for a house, children, travel, life...
6. Plan date nights with my husband.
7. Plan nights in (or out) with my girlfriends, at least once a month. 
8. Stop biting my nails once and for all! 
9. Learn to photograph like a pro using manual mode. Take an online class.
10. Learn to edit photos using Lightroom. 
11. Go on a medical missions trip.
12. Learn to croquet or knit.
13. Become ACLS certified (in March!). 
14. Drink more water.
15. Practice yoga.
16. Strength train more (yay, squats!).
17. Decrease intake of sugar and dairy and increase protein, veggies, and fiber.
18. Start a photography business.
19. Find a church I like and go to it.
20. Start reading the Bible, front to back. 
21. Use Facebook less.
22. Be a better advocate for myself.
23. Spend more time outdoors. Hiking, biking, snowboarding, snowshoeing...
24. Learn another language (Italian or Spanish).
25. Learn to play the violin or piano (one can dream...).
26. Start a blog and write more:)
27. Learn HTML to create a more aesthetically pleasing blog. 

So there you go. How many do you think I'll achieve in 2014? The list is longer, but others include the obvious being a good wife, friend, and family member.

While ringing in the new year is a time to set goals and to dream big, it's also a time to reflect on the past year and be grateful for blessings. I have so many from this year. I became engaged and married to the best man I could possibly imagine, we traveled to the Dominican Republic and Colorado, my sister and her boyfriend were given the opportunity to live abroad in Belize, my family and friends are healthy, I gained a new, amazing family, I continued my career at Mayo but in a different city, I finally have a reliable vehicle, and I have my health. Our families also faced new and "old" grief (it never goes away) as we lost family members and continued to remember those we miss so dearly. Here's to a 2014 filled with love, light, health, and happiness!

Love and cheers!
Erin