I know it’s been too long since I published a new blog post. Life has been kind of hectic lately and I have a lot of irons in the fire, but welcome back to Carol’s Corner. Later in this post, gonna have an awesome guest blogger for you. So, this photo was taken outside at my daughter Jenn’s house. Funny story about the Sunflowers. Will, Jenn’s husband found a packet of Sunflower seeds and decided to plant them. He wasn’t sure if they would even come up, but boy did they ever grow! They are taller than I am. Thought it made a cute backdrop for this ensemble. I love this blouse but it was too long, so my mom shortened it and now it’s just right. Diane Panda Sabbath won the captioning contest with,” Feeling Flirty”.
I had a perfect set of jewelry to go with this awesome blouse; jewelry I had made, and my ring and FitBit band are a perfect fit.
I love to use these mini clasp covers for my FitBit bands. I like to mix up the colors that are in my ensembles. I always have fun putting things together. Fashion should always be fun and exciting at any age.
I am an avid watch collector. I like watches that are like a piece of jewelry and I love uniques ones like this. I have a tiny wrist so sometimes that’s a challenge. This year I found an awesome place on Amazon that sell ones that fit small wrists like mine and are totally inexpensive.
So let’s get down to business. Welcome guest blogger for tonight: Virginia Haunz Phillips. We are kind of kindred spirits because we were going through foot issues at the same time. I had fractured my foot and ankle in two places and was laid up for months and she was recovering from foot surgery during the same time period.
Here’s Virginia, with her guest blog on Setting And Accomplishing Goals. Take it away Virginia!
The trouble with not having a goal is that you spend your life running up and down the field and never score–Bill Copeland
We all have goals or we wouldn’t be looking for motivation and inspiration, right? I would like to talk about setting goals–realistic goals.
But first you have to get started. It’s easy to get discouraged when you see people posting these huge step counts. I know! I had foot surgery in January and my foot still isn’t totally normal. I can put weight on it but 10,000 steps a day? Forgetaboutit! The key here is to do what you can. Figure out what YOU are capable of doing right now. So where to start?
I started asking what is holding me back and what can I do about it? It may or may not be very obvious. For me, I started realizing that having that foot in a boot also meant my ankle had gotten weak. So, right now I am working on strengthening my ankle and also getting it more flexible. As I do this, I am noticing bonus perks, like going down steps is also getting easier. ( Watch sometimes and see how your ankle flexes when you go down a step!) What’s holding you back?
When you set your goals, make them specific. Do you want to lose weight? How much? By when? For me, I started realizing I don’t really care about the scale. I care about how I look and how I feel. So my goal is in units of dress size, not pounds. I am a nurse and in nursing school we learned to make goals (except they were called outcomes) accurate and measurable. Is your goal accurate and measurable? And realistic? If you have a long way to go, set incremental goals so it won’t be so overwhelming. It just seems easier to lose 5 or 10 pounds five times rather than 50 pounds. At least it does to me. So right now my main focus is dropping down to the next size, the ultimate goal is off in the distance somewhere. Like next year.
I have read many places that you should tell everybody you know to help with accountability and support. You can also turn to other places for support if you don’t feel comfortable telling those around you–Facebook groups, SparkPeople, My Fitness Pal, or even joining a club like TOPS , or maybe Weight Watchers might be more to your liking.
Make your plan and then divide it up into manageable steps. You have to walk around the block before you can walk across town. After my foot surgery my first goal was to walk to the end of my street! So start small and keep building. ” Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Also you don’t have to do it all at once- it’s easier to walk around the block three different times a day than to walk three blocks all at once. It all adds up. But you have to start!
If you run into obstacles, instead of letting them stop you, look at them as a challenge, analyze them and look for solutions. I complained that the weather here in Kentucky kept me from walking outside so much. It seems like 75% of the time it’s too-something! We have 4 definite seasons, sometimes in the span of a week! That’s where the Leslie Sansone workouts come in. I also had my husband drag my stationary bike into the family room where I can hop on and pedal. No more excuses there, it’s not too hot, not too cold and I don’t get wet inside my house.
And finally reward yourself. It can be related to the goal or not (just not food!!) I saw an interesting article that suggested to reward yourself with experiences rather than stuff. If you have too much stuff, go to a concert, or get a manicure, or something you can enjoy and look forward to.
I’ll close with my favorite quote: Success is the sum of small efforts-repeated day in and day out. Robert Collier
Here are a couple articles if you want to read more:
Wasn’t that an awesome guest blog by Virginia? Loved it all. Thanks Virginia! We commiserated a lot about our foot situations. It was also in January when I injured mine. I remember the first time I went to take a step when my boot came off. Oh my God I thought I was going to fall. It was like I had to learn to walk all over again. I didn’t know how to step on my foot at first, and I thought it would never feel normal again. It was a real challenge at first, but in my case the more I walked and pushed myself the better it became and now I am stronger than ever. Every person is different. Remember to do what you can do every day, and above all never give up. That is my motto, along with my favorite saying that was my grandmother’s and one I use frequently;
“Where’s there’s a will there’s a way”. Find your way and keep up the journey. Till next time, God Bless!
Carol's Corner 