Yo corriendo!

Day 8

Yoga - 3
Spanish - 5

and so begins week 2.

i'm at about 38% for yoga and i'm really not inclined to be upset about that or push it further. i didn't run all weekend to allow my knee to recoup and was able to do a solid 4 this morning which got me to my goal of 40 miles for the month. i am *so* happy to be able to average 10 miles a week!!!

Spanish is a much more respectable 63%. not bad for a week that included a long weekend with the outlaws, a picnic and a baby shower. nothing slated for evenings this week so i plan to hold steady.

Lesson 4 is long! i also (finally) clued into the fact that they spend a lot of time sending you back to review parts of previous lessons. completely logical and useful, but also slow going for the long lessons.

i fear my accent is simply too horrendous. even with a new headset microphone, i still got buzzed a little too often. i am a mouth breather, so i tried holding my breath before each attempt which seemed to help. what's a little lack of oxygen for the good of an education, right?

sunday ranty sunday

Day 7

Yoga - 3
Spanish - 4

After getting lost coming and going, baby gift bingo and a car with a mind of it's own, i was in no shape to accomplish anything but ER on Sunday night. The first episode i put on featured Ray Liotta (almost solely) and went a long way to improving my mood. take out (and by that i mean delivery) indian was equally uplifting. sometimes you have to just go with it.

Yo llevo pantalones

Day 6

Yoga - 3
Spanish - 4

Hanging with the outlaws in the 'burbs for the weekend. The foot and leg are miraculously feeling much better, likely because i didn't bring any running gear, assuming I'd need the weekend off. not going to complain:) didn't bring the yoga dvd either, but may give it another go tomorrow night upon returning home if the leg is still feeling good.

made a dent in lesson 4 tonight, whereupon we began to count as well as buy and wear clothes. i see the ability to assert that I wear the pants coming in handy.

Donde esta mi taco?

Day 5

Yoga - 3
Spanish - 3

Couldn't run or lift legs thanks to the sore knee and with my wrist still not completely healed, there was nothing to do but sleep in again on Friday morning. Then after a jam-packed work day, with emails pouring in until the very last minute, we hurried to pick up the rental car, packed and headed out for the weekend. by the time we arrived, we were starving and taco night, complete with margaritas and other fun beverages, immediately began. So yet again, no structured relaxing or learning. but it's hard to feel guilty about missing my goals first because of socializing with co-workers and then with rarely seen family.

detour

Day 4

Yoga - 3
Spanish - 3

Thursday conspired against me. I slept in then went for a run. while i planned to run longer since i had the morning free, the ache in my foot, shin and knee told me to turn around and make it 3. i blame this on the yoga, which seems like a good idea, stretching and all that, but actually puts additional stress on my knee in strange ways. so i wasn't going to make it a priority to do yoga that day.

i had the morning off because of a staff day, when we officially closed and instead met up for a BBQ in the morning and headed over to a Phillies game in the afternoon. the weather was perfect, everyone was in good spirits and it was a great day. and of course beers were drunk. having two beers was the only thing that made sitting in the nosebleed section not paralyzingly terrifying! so while it was still early by the time i arrived home, i was suffering from that "i drank in the daytime" lethargy that was in no way conducive to learning a second language. somehow i managed to finish the book of the week (strong indication of how good it was), but that took all the energy i could muster and it was an ER evening the rest of the way.

de nada

Day 3

Yoga - 3
Spanish - 3

RJC wanted to grab a beer after work. of course i was game but had serious concerns about the effect it would have on my motivation. We went to Headhouse, formerly Zot, which has sooo much potential that is sooo being wasted. huge bottle selection, 20 taps, but suffering from a massive identity crisis (sushi?)? we thoroughly enjoyed our beers and chatting with the bartenders and will likely continue to go back...for as long as it lasts.

so anyway, one (22 oz) beer later, i get home, drink a few glasses of water and dive into some yoga. nothing exciting, no complaints, just some general good feeling about sticking to my goals despite a potential detour.

not much Spanish tonight. just enough to finish lesson 3. if i can complete lesson 4 tomorrow, i'll be through unit 1!

buzz off

Day 2

Yoga - 2
Spanish - 2

it's amazing how a little goal setting can shift a mind. for the first time in the nearly 3 years i've worked there, i "accidentally" forgot my work phone on my desk tonight. it was one of those afternoons of meetings after meetings following meetings after which some urgent last minute business took me to 5:30. at which time i shut down and gtfo. wasn't until i was on the bus and about to do my first of many compulsive blackberry checks that i realized said blackberry was not in my bag. i'm ashamed to admit that i had a moment of panic and very nearly went back. but i didn't, and made it home with plenty of time to spare for worthy pursuits.

shit got real in Spanish tonight. i had to disable the voice recognition or risk throwing my laptop out the window as it repeatedly buzzed me for mispronouncing "bi". really? then, content made a leap in lesson 3. went from "what is it" to "what are you (he, she, they) doing?". knowing this phrase would be so much more relevant to me if i knew the words for "the hell". RS really should include a cursing unit.

que es esto?

Day 1

Yoga - 1
wow, my hips weren't ready for that. it will be interesting to see if this has any effect on my ability to run. i've found that my running is enhanced by lifting legs, simply because when i do, i thoroughly stretch my legs in between sets. i've been able to work up to running 3 x's per week sans yoga. wouldn't it be nice if yoga allowed me to go to every other day? but even if it doesn't, holy crap is it so awesome to be back to running full-time!

Spanish - 1
i'm actually ahead since i began my RS education yesterday, but if i counted that my numbers would be off and that would irritate me. RS is *awesome*. it's as much "immersion" as you can get through a piece of computer software. no English translations. i started at the most basic level, which i'm not exactly after 2 (or 3?) years of high school Spanish and a community school class. but it's serving as a good refresher and intro into how the program works. the only problem so far is that my macbook microphone is overly sensitive, so it's hearing something (not me), judging me incorrect and buzzing me. i've found that if i can say the required fast enough, nearly as they finish saying it, i can beat out any other noise and be "correct". i must look ridiculous, though, on the edge of my seat, hunched over the laptop, trying to mock whatever it says the instant it says it.

evening of meaningful, horizon-broadening extracurriculars - check!

a new leaf?

i work too much. this statement should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. I go in early, stay late, check my blackberry excessively and respond to emails on the weekend. until now.

don't get me wrong, i truly love my job. i am blessed to work with a fantastic group of people at a well-respected, "visionary" non-profit. i believe in the mission and in our ability to do good in our little corner of the world in better, more dignified and more efficient ways.

but all work and no play, well, you know what they say. so it's time for a change. and i've already begun! for the past few weeks, i've been doing my best to leave work promptly at 4:30 or as close to that as possible. this allows me to catch a reliable bus (which will become *much* more important as the seasons change) and to get home with the time and energy to do non-work things.

so far that has resulted in an exceptionally (for us) clean apartment, progress on my ER obsession and more books read. while the latter two activities bring me much joy, a well-balanced life they do not make.

so i asked myself, "kelly ann" (i wanted to be sure i got my attention), "what are the things you keep meaning to do but never seem to get around to?" two answers immediately came to mind and the gauntlet was thrown.

The goals:
(1) learn spanish, like, for real.
(2) get back into yoga, just a little bit

The tools:
(1) thanks to my incredible man-friend, i am now in possession of Rosetta Stone (which both of us insist on calling Rosetta Stoned unconsciously) for Latin American Spanish.
(2) my yoga dvd collection is rather extensive. most especially relevant, and since purchase underused, is a lovely offering by ms. Shiva Rea called Daily Energy, which is made up of 7 stand-along 20-minute practices.

The challenge:
I'm not going big here. my motivation for anything but ER or Sci-fi novels has been less than stellar lately, so i'm setting the bar low. they say it takes two weeks for a habit to stick and that's all i'm aiming for. starting today, and for the next 14 days, i am committing to 20 minutes of yoga and at least one session of Spanish every day.

can i commit a daily hour to my goals? sure! can i get myself out of work with more than an hour's worth of time before bed? slightly harder. but it can be done! here goes...