Tuesday’s 10 in 2010!

Happy Tuesday everyone. Ok, it’s about time that I outlined my 2010 goals and/or resolutions. I tend to make half-hearted resolutions, but this year I’ve essentially made my “To-Do List.” The Hubby will tell you how much I love making lists, so here goes:

My 10 To-Do’s in 2010!

1. Stop Biting My Nails: This is a terrible habit I’ve had for years. Just when I think I’ve got the problem kicked, I start biting again. 2010 is the year for it to end.  

2. Become a Real Winter Runner: Usually, my outdoor running days become few and far between from about Dec – March. This year, I want to run continuously throughout the winter. I’ve signed up for a few races to help me with this goal.

3. Eat Cleaner: In 2010, I want to try even harder to eat fewer processed foods. I can certainly tell a difference in how I feel when I eat cleaner foods, but I also think it’s a great way to support greener initiatives and clean food producers.

4. Read More: I go through ups and downs with my reading. When I really love a book, I fly right through it. I need to be more consistent by reading at least 1 book a month. Stay tuned – I’ll be posting more on my long-distance book club idea soon. 😉

5. Be Grateful: The Hubby and I have soo much to be thankful for, but sometimes I forget that. I vow to stop pestering the Hubby about moving upstate and be grateful that we are both healthy, employed and have wonderful families and friends who try to include us in their lives as much as possible even though we’re far away.

6. Shop Less, Save More: This one seems to roll over just about every year, but this year I am going to set a budget for myself for each month.

7. Keep in Touch: We do live kind of far (2.5-4 hours) from most of our family and friends, so you would think I’m on the phone all the time catching up. The truth is – I hate the phone. But I am going to try very hard to get better at returning phone calls and calling friends and family each month (or week) to check-in and see what’s new.

8. Expand My Horizons: Blogging has pushed me to do some pretty fun and different things – attend an interesting book reading, participate in a blogger dinner, try quinoa for the first time, go on a run with this fun lady, and more! In 2010, I want to continue to broaden my mind with new experiences.

9. QT with Hubby: I think I’ve started incorporating more quality time with him already with our movie dates. But in 2010, I want to start an official date night once a month with the Hubby where we go out and do something – not just watching movies together in the apartment.

10. Qualify for Boston! The Hubby is groaning for sure (although he did buy me a Garmin – what did he think I’d be using it for?) as he reads this one. This is a huge goal. My first marathon time was 3:54:57 and I’d need to get down to 3 hours and 40 minutes to qualify for Boston. My Garmin will be put to good use in 2010 – that I’m sure of.

For more on resolutions, check out my latest Examiner.com article on “How to Set Realistic Resolutions.” I am hoping I can follow my own advice (minus the whole “don’t shoot for the moon” one – because I am certainly doing that with my Boston goal)!

And without further ado, here’s my food recap for Monday!

Breakfast yesterday was oatmeal with raisins and agave, and as always a side if light cranberry juice.

I really wanted veggies and didn’t have time to prepare anything this morning, so I grabbed my usual salad: romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, carrots, walnuts, dried cranberries and chic peas.

For my first afternoon snack, I pulled out my Greek Oikos blueberry yogurt. It seemed like there was an unusual amount of air inside the container. When I opened it up, it looked like this – all bubbly.

I don’t know why I even bothered, but I tried it. It was horrendous! Yuck, yuck, yuck. If you ever get a yogurt looking like this, throw it out immediately! Bleck. I checked and the whole 4-pack is like this. I think I might write Stonyfield about it.

Fear not, I had snack reserves on hand – including two clementines and an apple.

After work I forced myself to go to the gym. Seriously – when is it going to get light out again? This was my workout:

4 miles in 34:14
75 crunches
50 twist crunches (25 on each side)
20 leg lowers

When I got home I threw together this dinner.

Close up

Here’s what it is:

2 free-range organic chicken breasts pounded thin (only 1 shown, but hubby ate the same), stuffed with spinach (frozen – thawed and pressed), cheddar cheese, roasted red pepper and onion. Rolled up and pinned with two wood toothpicks – salt, pepper and spices on top. Baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. And a side salad with romaine lettuce, cheese, carrots and then topped with Newman’s Light Balsamic vinaigrette (not shown).

It got the Hubby seal of approval. Nuff said.

And dessert was:

Lastly, some interesting health stuff in the news…

Resolution: Get a Deal on a Gym Membership

Omega-3s Help Stave Off Age-related Vision Loss

Stay tuned for my Reflections on 2009 post coming tomorrow! 🙂 Have a great Tuesday!