SMARTly Acquiring Green and Running Into The Floss Police

Amberli of The McCoys left this quote in one of her comments last week so I thought I would share it in case you didn’t see it.

“All good things require effort. That which is worth having will cost part of your physical being, your intellectual power and your soul power.” (David O. McKay)

Habits are obviously hard to make, but hopefully we are all making progress even if the progress is measured in baby steps. As long as we are moving in the right direction, that is what counts. After all, life itself makes habit forming difficult. It’s not like dishes will just stop being dirty or the laundry will just stop piling up or toddlers will all of the sudden start changing their own diapers and cooking their own meals and stop being sick so we can attain our goals … I wish! Instead, we are trying to make permanent changes in our life while still attempting to live in the middle of it. It is going to take time, it is going to take patience with others and ourselves, it is going to take practice, it is going to take sacrifices, it is going to take the desire to stay motivated, but we can do it.

For the most part I enjoy working out, but for the last few weeks I have been in a rut which means it is time for me to switch things up a little. My solution to help me stay motivated and in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, was to purchase this to go along with my new habit:

I have had my green envious eyes on one of these things for a LONG time now and consequently I am thrilled beyond measure to get this all ready to use. My new habit is to run at least once a week, on the treadmill or outside weather permitting. I normally go to the gym five days a week and do a variety of things (cardio classes, elliptical machine while reading, lifting weights), but I want to add running to the repertoire. I used to be able to run 3 miles pretty easily, but running for more than 5 minutes now seems like a chore. However, music has a powerful impact on my mood so I am excited to download 240 high energy songs onto my new postage stamp size device that will get me groovin.

My other habits? Flossing my teeth once a day is moving along nicely even though my dental hygienist last week proudly proclaimed herself the Floss Police when I went in for my appointment. Apparently the floss I use isn’t her favorite because it is too slippery. My philosophy is at least I am flossing … and give me a break, I have only had one cavity my entire life … so there! I am sure she means well, but I am sticking with my Glide. And does anyone else find it annoying funny that when people try to clean your teeth they also attempt to carry on a conversation with you? Hello people, my mouth is currently out of commission, not to mention it is hard to hear anything over the noise of the spit and water suctioning vacuum.

Going to bed on time is still also progressing in the right direction … rather slowly. Amazingly my body has adjusted to the new time change as far as the night is concerned, but getting up in the morning has been positively dreadful. I am hoping, though, as the days get longer and the sun rises earlier that I won’t find it so difficult to drag myself out of bed.

For more information on SMART Habit Saturday, please visit Lara at The Lazy Organizer.

I hope everyone has a fun and Happy St. Patrick’s Day, unless your name is Nerd Boy and then I hope you have a fabulous birthday! And speaking of St. Patrick’s Day, Keri has been obsessed with leprechauns this week since part of her homework assignment for the month was to design a Leprechaun Trap.