checking progress

So, it's the 24th day of January...how many of you are still working hard at your resolutions/intentions? I've often heard that it takes 30 days for something to become a "habit"...for it to feel natural. We're almost there...

I thought today I would make check on my progress...if you'll remember, I listed three intentions that I want to work on in 2006.

1. I want to take better care of my hands. I am doing quite well with this intention! My nails have been painted every single day of 2006. I bought a beautiful neutral color, and my hands look so much better just having that on my nails. I'm keeping them filed, putting lots of lotion on them, and my nails are actually growing a little bit. Amazing! So, Intention #1 is alive and strong.

2. I want to be at work at 8:00 a.m. every single morning. I am actually doing very well with this intention too! There have been maybe two mornings where I have gotten there a little late, and that is only about 8:05 or so. Which is an improvement over the 8:15 - 8:20. I am proud that I am dedicated to leaving the house at 7:55. I feel MUCH better by making this tiny little change in my life. All you people out there who like to be on time for everything, but tend to never be for whatever reason out of your control, you know what I'm talking about! My day starts off so much better, and less tense.

3. I want to find my inner peace. This is the intention that I am struggling with. I can't get into meditating at all. So that is not something I can do to center myself and find calm. My morning workouts are sucking too...meaning that I am having the hardest time getting my lazy ass out of bed early!! I will will will make this happen. Once I get rolling, I'll be fine I think. Just can't get rolling! :)

So, overall, I am pleased with my progress so far. I am also doing quite well on the South Beach diet, which I did not include in my list of intentions. I did that on purpose, because that is always the easiest thing to stop doing. It's so cliche. So, I am just making a major lifestyle change in the way that I eat, and it's not something that I am going to fall back on. I am so so impressed with myself. I am more than halfway to my goal, and I am eating so so healthy. Lots of veggies. Fruit. Just good healthy stuff. I'm not eating very much bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. That is making a huge difference. Hardly anything processed. And here's the kicker...no sugar. NO SUGAR for the CHOCOLATE ADDICT! I can't believe the difference I am feeling. My blood sugar level is constant, no dips and peaks. I don't really even crave it anymore. So bizarre. I do have a piece or two of sugar-free candy a day, and that is tiding me over. Spenda is good. I have only had sugar once since the beginning of the year, and it was so yummy...but I felt icky afterwards. I never thought this was something I could do!

And can I just brag on Chris for one minute?? I am so impressed with him!!! One of his qualities is that he gets gung ho about something, goes gang busters, and then loses interest pretty quickly. So when he told me that he wants to run a marathon in March, and that he has a training regimen to follow, I was skeptical. That man has stuck with it...he's running his regimen! I am so so impressed. It does help a whole lot that he has a heartrate moniter that tracks his course, his heartrate, his everything. He's a techno geek, so that kind of stuff rocks his world! The heartrate moniter has changed his life forever!! Go baby! Keep on trucking!

Okay...so let me hear...how are YOU doing in 2006?