My 30 Day Challenge

Thanks to my wonderful friends and colleagues at Colorado State, I was challenged to participate in their 30 Day Challenge Program. The idea being you commit to doing something for 30 days straight that will better you or society, knowing that it takes 15 days to make or break a habit. Welcome to day 10 of my 30 days.

Meet my friend... Mr. Elipitical. He's my partner in this 30 day challenge. Well, one of my partners. My 30 day challenge goal was to do something active each day for 30 days.

See before Mr. Connor came along, I was in really good shape. Probably the best shape I had been in since high school. I had lost weight, toned up, and was super committed to working out every chance I could. And with a free gym 20 steps from my office, it was easy to stay motivated.

Well then pregnancy came, and with it was the uncertainty of workout and the impact it could have on the baby. Just like with most things baby related, there are opposing answers to every question and you have to find what works for you. Well then work got busy, my feet swelled, and even walking became a chore so working out was not in the cards. Then the little man came and poof, its six months later and time to get motivated again.

So on day 10 I am happy to report that I have done something each day to be more active than a normal day (Joe and I walk a little less than a mile to work from our bus stop everyday so this is above that.)

Here's the other thing about this challenge, I HATE running. No seriously, running and I don't get along. Never in this lifetime will we be friends and want to spend all of our time together. However, running on Mr. Elipitical is teaching me that running with him is not so bad. So maybe in this 30 day challenge, I'll not only create a good habit but learn to like something as well.

What would you do if you could do a 30 day challenge? These are not meant to be BIG commitments, just small ones that might make a difference. A friend of mine gave up drive thru fast food restaurants for 30 days. Another decided to take one minute before getting out of bed to center themselves for the day. What's stopping you?

It's Been A While and So Much Has Changed!

Whew. Life got too busy there. I think that we've slowed down a little but I feel like I'm always on defense waiting for the next move to come along.

Connor will be 6 months next week... that's right! 6 whole months this cute baby boy has been a part of this world and Joe and I are loving every minute of watching him discover it.

Recently, in Connor's adventures has been in the introduction of real food. That's right... real, pureed, eat it with a spoon food! And just like his Daddy... he LOVES to eat!

So far this is the score-
Connor 0 Carrots 1 - you would think carrots are like chocolate to him!
Connor 1 Squash 0 - spits them across the room
Connor 0 Sweet Potatoes 1
Connor 0 Sweet Corn 1
(are we seeing a theme here?! He is DEFINITELY a Dinise.)



On deck for this week, green beans. Joe is predicting that Connor will only like the same vegtables as Dad. And so far he's right. Which makes this veggie loving Mom sad.

I call this one Sweet Potato explosion!

Look out! Spoon in hand!

Really Mom?! While I'm eating!

In trying all these new foods with Connor I've been thinking what it must be like to never know flavors or textures different from the one thing you've been eating for 6 months. It makes me excited for him.

And it makes me think, do we as adults ever have opportunities to discover anew again? Do we ever have a blank slate with no influences, preconceived notions, or thoughts about something new we are going to try?

Unrelated, kind of, there was a fire in the condo complex down the street from our house this weekend all starting from a BBQ. 8 units are effected, 4 burned and the others with smoke and water damage (I think that water can be just as damaging as fire- too much time in the residence halls has taught me that.) And now these 8 displaced families are trying to figure out where to live, what to do, and how to make sense of life.

While life may not be new to them like it is to Connor, I've been trying to put myself in their shoes as well wondering how Joe and I would do if everything we owned burned. Luckily, we (yes, all 5 of us, Joe and I , Connor , Teter and Rocky) we all coming back from an attempted hike (long story) to the black smoke billowing out of our neighborhood. So every person I love in our house was in the car, safe and sound. (I did run through my head the list of things that could have been left on possibly starting a fire in our own home.) And in thinking about it, there are very few irreplaceable things in our lives- other than people and dogs.

Don't get me wrong, its not that our lives are not full or rich- its just that the value of "stuff" has changed for me. I appreciate what I have and worked hard to get it. But if it was all gone tomorrow and I still had Connor and Joe and the dogs, life would be good. So seeing the world through Connor's eyes and the eyes of tragedy have just made me look at the world differently.

I wonder if this is how our neighbors are feeling as well... I'm sure everyone is reacting differently. Please put these people in your thoughts and prayers this morning as they try to make sense of life and learn anew again. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!