Expectations Reduce Joy

Kerri Carpenter, , , , , , ,

This is Month 3 of my completely made-up diet called The Sparkle Plan. Check out Month 1 here and Month 2 here. The Sparkle Plan consists of big and small goals. The big goals are to keep you motivated throughout the year and the small goals are your monthly objectives.

My BFF went on a trip around the world (literally) and came back with this little nugget she likes to throw in my face when I’m being particularly annoying and/or hard on myself, “Expectations Reduce Joy.” The Diva Kerr-ina

I expected to be down about 7-8 pounds by this point. Guess what? I’m not. Naturally, I got all angsty and agitated about this and was ready to berate myself. A hard task, when I gave up criticizing myself for Lent. So let’s take a positive look at this situation.

I haven’t gained any weight, I’m still recovering from an injury that turned out to be a lot worse than I thought and I have finally started running again. Sounds awesome to me!

Let’s take a look at how I did with last month’s small goals and set some new ones for the coming month.

Small Goals – Month 2

  1. No eating after 9pm and eat M&Ms only one day a week at work.
  2. Walk three times a week for at least 40 minutes – either outside or on the treadmill at the gym.
  3. Do 10 pushups (yes, of the girl variety) a day, as well as arm circles.
  4. Do 50 crunches (in various forms) a day.

I did really well with these goals. In all honesty, I think there were only a couple nights I ate after 9pm. I stayed away from the M&Ms. Happily, I got my walk on! Not only did this give me more physical energy, but I just felt better mentally. And toward the end of the month, I finally started running again. Short distances – 1 mile – but I’m really proud of myself. I did the arm circles, pushups and crunches ALMOST every day.

Tip of the Month:

This comes courtesy of Mary Ann – one of my roommates from college. She suggested that you either flex your hands or form fists while doing arm circles. This works different muscles. I did this, as well as regular arm circles and definitely felt the difference! Thanks, Mary Ann!

Small Goals – Month 3

Every year, I have an incredibly busy March and April, due to my day job. This year, I will be doing A LOT of traveling in addition to a very heavy work and writing schedule. So my goals for this month are to continue with my small goals from months 1 & 2 and to give myself a bit of a break. Here is my one goal:

  1. Throughout all of my conferences, travel, etc., I vow to get at least 8,000 steps per day.

Your turn – I want to know how you did! If you made a goal last month, share in the comments your challenges and successes. If you’re new to The Sparkle Plan, feel free to let us know what your goal is now. Or just give us all a supportive box of marshmallow peeps and Cadbury eggs. Wait, no! I meant give us an internet hug. 😉

*I am not a doctor or anything close to a doctor. In fact, I wouldn’t even be able to play a doctor on TV – too many technical words and I don’t look cute in scrubs. Always consult your own physician before embarking on any fitness or eating plan.

Writers & Writing & Weekend Retreats: A Match Made in Happy Town

Denny S. Bryce, Marketing, mermaids, Writing, ,

Denny (PortRoyale)This past weekend, I had a fabulous time in Boonsboro, MD, hanging with a bunch of writers I know from the Washington Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA) serving the Washington, DC area.

First, you may not know about Boonsboro (Nora Roberts hangs out there a lot, but not this weekend:). Three years ago, I didn’t know it from any other small town in Maryland. But each year since first attending this gathering I’ve had a tremendous time, but this year, I don’t know, this year was a really, really, good time. Why? What made it different? Well, this year, here’s what happened:

  1. I learned about writing romance and how characters can fall in love – thank you Kathleen Gilles Seidel.
  2. I also learned I will do almost anything to receive the ARC for Lavinia Kent’s next book. Actually, I’ll do anything.
  3. I learned that with a gentle nudge J. Keely Thrall can (and did) update her website:)…
  4. I learned not everyone had heard my story about my date with Denzel Washington (back in the day, people, back in the day, but he’s on broadway now in A Raisin in the Sun – need tickets:).
  5. I learned that a good laugh can be had by all when I tell my story about how then President of the Harvard Law Review, Barack Obama, helped me out by holding my three-year old son.
  6. I learned that I can laugh to the point of tears at Meryl Streep and Adam Baldwin in “It’s Complicated” while learning about character arcs and story structure. Thank you Evie Owens.
  7. I also learned that Evie Owen’s next release, Witch Boy, has a kick-ass cover.
  8. I learned that Lisa Dyson’s debut novel, A Perfect Homecoming, debuting from Harlequin in June, has a shiny new and beautiful website, and her book cover is fantastic. So mark your calendars and stay tuned for launch parties, blog tours, and all sorts of goodness.
  9. I learned that Emelle Gamble, author of MOLLY HARPER, is a marketing all-star, and we’re thinking about putting together a marketing workshop – details to come:)!
  10. I learned that a weekend with writers, focused on their writing careers, their writing, their next book, their marketing plan, their writing world, always includes good times with good friends!
  11. But mostly, I learned that I’m damn lucky. These women writers are part of my circle of writing buddies (which also includes the wonderful Waterworld Mermaids), and in April (4-6), during the WRW In the Company of Writers 30th Anniversary Retreat I’ll get to see them all again!
  12. Also, look how happy (and gorgeous) we look! So tell me, what’s your ideal writing getaway?

 

DSC_0047

Mermaids & Friends: Leah Cypess

Alethea Kontis, Mermaids & Friends, ,

Good morning, everyone — Alethea Mermaid here, wishing a happy book release week to fellow author Leah Cypess! Her young adult fantasy DEATH SWORN released this Tuesday, March 4th. It’s a gorgeous book…congrats, Leah!

I asked Leah to join us in the lagoon today to talk about three favorite reads. And not just any reads…her favorite WRITING reads. Take it away, Leah!

*********************

Leah Cypess, AuthorI’m going to combine the “three favorite reads” with “three things every writer should know” and give you a list of “three favorite writing advice books.” Is that cheating? As I’m writing this, I don’t know, but if the post is up, I guess it’s not. Either that, or I bribed someone to put it up anyhow.

I read lots of writing books, and most of them have nuggets of wisdom, inspiration, or thoughts to ponder; there are few that aren’t worth reading. But these are my favorites – the ones that, after reading my library copy, I bought so that I could have them on hand and keep them as references. Here are my top three and the reasons they’re on my bookshelf:

How To Write Killer Fiction by Carolyn Wheat. Although most useful for mystery and thriller writers, this book has advice on structure and clean writing that would be useful to any writer. It also has a detailed “Four-Arc System for Organizing Your Novel” — which is the closest thing to an outline I’ve ever made use of. Although I am incapable of strictly following an outline, I use this one to help me figure out what’s wrong when my story starts to feel muddled.

The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. Here are things my characters do on every other page of my first drafts: lean against walls, stare at each other coldly, and smile menacingly. I’m sure your characters have a few tics of their own (narrowed eyes? holding breath? glaring?) So when your editor says to cut out “cold stares” and you have 66 of them, what do you do? Sometimes I watch tv scenes with the emotions I want to show and write down every character gesture and tic I see. And sometimes I open The Emotion Thesaurus, which has an emotion at the top of each page (from “adoration” to “worry”) and a list of facial expressions and gestures associated with that emotion.

The 10% Solution by Ken Rand. This is a really short, concise, hands-on book about how to tighten your writing. I read it about a year ago and am both (a) glad that I read it before Death Sworn was finished, and (b) chagrined that I hadn’t read it before I wrote my first two books!

*********************

Bio: Leah Cypess used to be an attorney living in New York City, and is now a writer living in Boston. She much prefers her current situation. When she is not writing or chasing her kids around (or doing both simultaneously), she is usually… well, let’s be honest; sleeping. But in her rare moments of spare time, she enjoys reading, biking, hiking, and drawing.

Visit Leah at her website: http://www.leahcypess.com/

And be sure to check out her fabulous new title, DEATH SWORN.

Death Sworn, by Leah Cypess

 

In Memory of Karen E. M. Johnston

mermaids, Pintip Dunn

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same.”
— Flavia Weedn

“Don’t cry,” Karen said to me, after she told me her doctor had given her two months to live. “I’m not afraid. I want to see my dad again.”

Funny that in this scenario, she should be the one comforting me. But it shouldn’t surprise me. Throughout the duration of her illness, this has been her refrain. “Don’t cry.” “Don’t cry.” “Don’t cry.”

And so I didn’t. For Karen’s sake, I swallowed my tears and I talked of my writing, about which she never failed to ask. I told her (and Stephanie and Sharon, with whom I often visited) how my kids were doing, and we reminisced about old times.

I saved my crying for later, when I was in the privacy of my own home. Because it’s one thing to be strong for someone with as much grace and dignity as Karen, even in the face of her own passing. It’s another, nearly impossible, task not to shed tears over the loss of someone so special.

Why is Karen E. M. Johnston so special? This is where my powers of writing fail me. I’m afraid, deep down to my bones terrified, I will never be able to do her justice. And so a big part of me doesn’t even want to try. That part wants to shut myself away and grieve in private, where my feelings and memories can’t be judged unworthy.

But I won’t. Because Karen would want me to try. She believed in my writing from the very first time she read it. Her faith in my abilities exceeded what I dared hope for myself. I think Karen would tell me not to be scared. To do my best, and that it would be enough.

More than anything else, Karen  deserves to be remembered. For whatever small memories I or anyone else can contribute. And so, for one of the kindest and most beautiful individuals I’ve ever known, here goes:

I met Karen when we both volunteered as time-keepers for the pitch appointments at the WRW retreat. She had the shift after mine, and I was free to go after she arrived. After exchanging a few words with her, however, I was entranced. By her smile, her earrings, her scarves, her charm. Instead of leaving, I sat with her for the next hour, and we talked about everything from writing to family to life.

A few months later, I came across Karen’s contact information on an SCBWI database and emailed her to see if she would be interested in critiquing together. Now, you have to understand Karen had plenty of CPs.  She was already meeting two other critique groups on a regular basis. All she had to do was explain the situation to me, and I would’ve understood. Instead, she offered to form a third critique group, just so I could be in it. When I protested she was already overextended, she laughed. “I love writers,” she said. “Who couldn’t use more writer friends?”

As a writer and CP, Karen was unparalleled. In addition to her published middle grade novels, she had wide-ranging interests, from YA to women’s fiction. She went to Wegman’s every single day, where she sat from 8am to 2pm, and dedicated herself to her craft. Her words made me laugh out loud, marvel at her wit, and choke back deeply-felt emotion.

When I was on the agent search, she dictated to me word-for-word what I should write in my correspondence. When I was in revision mode, she would be “on-call” for days at a time, where she would respond within five minutes to the ten or so scenes I would shoot her throughout the day.

The writer in Karen never left, even when she got sick. After she was diagnosed, she immediately came up with four new story ideas inspired by her brain tumor — one picture book, two women’s fiction, and one erotica. During the last two years, she wrote and queried a picture book, as well as continued to revise and resubmit one of her women’s fiction manuscripts. What’s more, even when she lost the use of her hands and could only read large-print material, she continued to serve as my critique partner, offering her wisdom on pitch paragraphs and story ideas and first chapters.

In the end, though, all these memories are just facts, and Karen is so much more than that. I think my daughter summed it up best.

Last summer, I took my kids to have lunch with Karen. Before we arrived, I said to my six-year-old: “Now, I don’t want you to be surprised. Karen’s been sick, so she might not look the same as a healthy person.”

But my warning proved unnecessary. Maybe it was because kids understand so much more than we give them credit for; maybe it was because, even at her young age, my daughter sensed something in Karen we all knew and loved. Maybe, like her mother, she was simply entranced. For whatever reason, over the course of the next two hours, she stood next to Karen’s wheelchair for long minutes at a time. Neither of them spoke. Neither engaged in busy work with their hands. They were just being together.

Afterwards, my daughter said to me, “Mommy, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Karen didn’t look sick; she was nice.”

I think, in one simple statement, my daughter captured Karen’s essence more thoroughly than I ever could. Because she wasn’t talking about Karen’s pleasant demeanor or her exceeding generosity — to which anyone who ever knew her can attest.

My daughter was getting at something else entirely. The intangible quality that is so hard to define. The spirit that made Karen who she was. The something so unique and powerful and beautiful in Karen E. M. Johnston even a six-year-old could pick up on it.

Karen, I will be forever grateful you have entered my life, however briefly. You move my soul to dance. You make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. You have left a footprint on my heart.

And I will never, ever be the same.

***

What footprints has Karen left in your heart? If you would like, please share.

 

All I need to know about writing I learned from a cartoon cow!

Carlene Love Flores, mermaids, Writing,

Mermaid CarleneWell, maybe not everything, but what I did learn was HUGE!

It was Sunday morning and ahem, I was watching Nick Toons. 🙂 Back at the Barnyard was on with an episode called “Cowdyshack”. For the record, I did not plan to come away with this writing nugget but I’m pretty much convinced that I was meant to receive it. And share with you.

So, Otis (the main character, a boy cow) is out with his posse of barnyard buddies and wrangles them a day on a golf course from his friend, a human named Crazy Louie, who sneaks them in. Once they’re all on the golf course, Crazy Louie bids them adieu. Otis and his buddies are practicing their swings when Pig takes a whack. He lets it rip and the golf club goes flying. It travels through the air and lands smack in Crazy Louie’s back, knocking him to the ground! Otis and friends run to his side. Crazy Louie is in udder 😉 agony and says his appendix has been hit. He vows he’ll be a goner within hours but is happy with the life he’s led. The animal posse are distraught for their human friend and feverishly brainstorm for ideas on how to save Crazy Louie. It’s then when they spot a sign posted on the golf course. The “Appendix Golf Classic” just so happens to be taking place there today and the prize? Did you guess? Yep- one shiny new appendix! All hope is not lost for Crazy Louie after all. At this point, you shouldn’t be surprised…Of course the barnyard animals best the human pro-golfers to win Crazy Louie his new lifesaving organ.

What I loved about this preposterous episode was how the writers asked and trusted me to enter their world of fiction. 300_DSCN2296

However improbable these particular circumstances would be in my everyday life, they invited me to play in their world for those twenty minutes where it WAS possible. They asked me to forget the fact that if you lose your appendix, you don’t need it replaced!

I took a second to ask myself, why with all the ridiculousness, was I willing to overlook the insanity hatching up 😉 all over this episode?

It was because of the highly loveable and entertaining characters. I wanted to hitch a ride on their unbelievable adventure, no matter how far-fetched because I cared about their uniqueness and their plight.

Three cheers to writing AWESOME characters who bring us our audience and then allow us to entertain. And three cheers to the readers who are willing to jump on the Barnyard band wagon with them, no matter how crazy the ride.

Life is short. Write what YOU want to write. Have fun and your readers will too.

Fishy kisses,

Carlene Mermaid xoxo

 

The Harsh Light of Day

Alethea Kontis, ,

I seem to be having a problem with reality.

Mom and I just finished watching Austenland, an exceptionally cute romantic comedy that is Every Austenite’s Wish-Fulfillment Fantasy. Not surprisingly, one of the major themes of this flick is wondering just how thin that line is between fantasy and reality.

I read fantasy. I write fantasy. I’ve been a princess and a pirate and a pig-keep and a lady knight. I’ve been a sorceress and a scullery maid. I live the adventure, revel in the romance…and then I finish the chapter and either shut the laptop or close the book. I feel like I have a fairly good handle on What Fantasy Is.

Reality is a bit of a puzzle for me, though.

And don’t even get me started on “Reality” television.

What is reality? Is it paying bills and mowing the lawn and collecting receipts for taxes? Is it the stubbed toes and the tears and the extra fifty pounds? Does “reality” always have to focus on the bad things? Because I know there are happy things too. I know what it is to look into the eyes of a friend you haven’t seen in far too long. I know what it’s like to come home to a house full of a family that couldn’t wait to see you. (Granted, this only ever happened to me once, but it happened.) I know what it’s like to kiss someone you have lost your heart and soul to completely. And sure…that person may eventually be the wrong person, but inside that bubble of a moment life is blissful perfection.

So why is it that when we read that last sentence, when we write “The End”, when the credits roll, that reality seems like such a slap in the face? If our lives are what we make of them, then why does the coming-up-for-air portion feel like such a heartbreak?

Or is it just me? Have I spent too much time writing again today?

When Mom and I finished the movie, we put away what was left of dinner, did the dishes, threw in another load of laundry, and then I came in here to bare my soul and ask the world what my problem was.

What do *you* do when Coming Back to “Reality” seems too harsh for you?

But It’s Pretty, Right?

mermaids, Pintip

pintipYesterday morning, I was annoyed. The snow had started too late for school to be delayed. When I opened my car doors, flurries of snow rushed inside, only to melt on the floor mats. My neighborhood roads were a mess, and I slipped and slid out of my driveway. There was so much traffic on 495, it took me THREE times as long to drive my kiddo to school. So, even though we left early, we arrived late. (Although: not really. We got to school after the bell, but *everybody* was late, so no tardy slips were given). Needless to say, I was not happy with the white flakes fluttering from the sky.

But then, I passed another mom dropping her student off. She smiled at me and said, “But it’s pretty, right?” These four little words made all the difference in the world.

Let’s unpack this sentence a little bit. She didn’t say, “It’s pretty!” with so much Pollyanna cheer someone (not me, but you know . . . someone) might be tempted to punch her in the face. “But” at the beginning of the sentence acknowledges all the annoyances of the morning. “Right?” at the end involves me in this observation, inviting me to affirm or disagree. When backed into this corner, I was forced to agree. It was pretty. A blanket of pristine snow, unsullied by dirt and footprints. A continuous sprinkle of flakes, transporting us to the winter wonderland of a snow globe.

It was pretty, and as soon as I appreciated this, my annoyance disappeared.

Amazing, isn’t it? I was so impressed with this change in my mood, I’ve decided to apply this little trick to my future frustrations.

My manuscript making me want to bang my head against the wall? I’ll think, “But you love writing, right?”

My children fighting for the umpteenth time about something ridiculously insignificant? I’ll tell myself, “But they’re cute, right?”

Traffic on 495 backing up at completely random times of the day? Well. If you come up with a sufficient come-back, be sure to let me know!

What about you? When was the last time you were annoyed, and what did you do to combat the frustration? Please share!

My Lying Eyes

mermaids

Because it’s 4am and because I can’t think of anything witty, interesting or half decent to write, I will force upon all of you, what will soon be forced upon me:  to talk about myself.  Blech, ech and barf.  And, to make matters worse, I have to do it in front of a large crowd of work people.  String me up by my toenails and hang me in a car wash.   The only saving grace is I have completely lost my voice.  Hand puppets, here I come.  However, in the spirit of giving, I will make this a fun game.  Give five fun facts about yourself, with one of them, being a lie.  The rest of us have to guess the untruth.

Me:

1.  I was selected for the Russian Olympic gymnastic team
2. I speak 4 languages
3. One of my previous jobs was as a dental assistant:  I helped yank out tooth gunk during root canals.
4. I once pretended to be a stripper
5. I ate an ear from a ram’s head

Your turns!  Go!

Writing through the Fog

Kimberly MacCarron, mermaids, Writing, , ,

Caution Heavy Fog pic

This past weekend I attended the SCBWI conference in NYC, and while we were waiting for the next great speaker, random quotes would appear on the mega screens to keep us patient.

One quote by E.L. Doctorow kept with me during the weekend, and I wrote it down in my handy-dandy composition notebook. It was this: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Wow. That’s it exactly! Each scene, each chapter leads you to the end of the book. That made me think about WIPs and the obstacles that get in our way while we’re writing. I started to see all these similarities between driving in the fog and writing a book.

Then I did what some writers do best. I distracted myself and started Googling. I found a bunch of warnings for driving in fog, and I realized many of them would also apply to writers. Let me share with you my epiphany. ☺

1. Drive with lights on low beam. High beams will only be reflected back off the fog and impair visibility further.
As writers, we tend to shine a very bright light on our current work. We try to see every little mistake as we’re going along when maybe the best course of action is to put on the low beams and see the work in progress as it’s meant to be. A rough draft.

2. Reduce speed.
This is a pretty straight-forward warning. I’m guilty of participating in NaNo and writing full-steam-ahead, but often times, after November is over, I’m looking at a rough draft that has lots of random information that doesn’t add anything to the plot or character development. Sometimes taking things slow is the way to go.

3. Listen for traffic you don’t see. Open your window a little, to hear better.
Take a breath and listen. Listen to what our characters are trying to tell us. They know where they should be going better than we do. If we open ourselves up and just listen, they will speak.

4. Use wipers and defrosters as needed for better visibility.
All writers have special tools that work for them. Some may be as simple as a pen and notebook. Others may use the beloved post-its and highlighters. Some have three-fold poster boards divided into three or four or twenty acts. When we are having difficulty seeing ahead, sometimes writing aids can help us.

5. Use the right edge of the road or painted road markings as a guide.
As a pantser by nature, I used to have a hard time with following an outline. I thought it stunted my amazing creativity. Now I realize that those outlines can be guides to just keep me on the right path. Otherwise I get very distracted and tend to off-road.

6. Allow more distance between vehicles. Never get too close, and don’t rush.
As writers, we tend to compare ourselves to others. We look at the deals of those who just signed with an amazing publisher. We ask ourselves when it will be our turn. Sometimes we follow blindly. Sometimes we follow trends when we should be starting our own. Take your time. Don’t follow too closely to other people. When the fog clears, you very well may find yourself all caught up. ☺

7. Don’t drift. There’s a natural tendency to wander to the middle of the road when visibility gets bad.
Oh, yes! When we lose sight of the story, we start drifting. I once put a random stalker in a story when it didn’t make any sense. I didn’t have a clear plan, so I panicked and drifted myself and my characters right out of the story. Don’t drift!

8. Be patient. Do not pass lines of traffic.
Many of us are tempted to self-publish, but sometimes it’s okay to wait. Sometimes it’s okay to hone our craft and work a little longer on that manuscript. By changing a few things here and there, we’re making it better. With some deeper editing, books can always be made better–even ones that are already published. Having said that, if your manuscript is ready and has been edited and the only thing holding it back is that a publisher doesn’t know quite where to market it, then self publish that baby!

9. Pull over when there’s no visibility. Wait for the weather to clear.
Sometimes the best thing for a manuscript is to set it aside and wait. It’s better than throwing in a random stalker, I can tell you that much from experience. If you find that you’re having a hard time seeing at all, then there’s something wrong. Ask yourself why you’re banging your head against the table in despair. It may be that you’re writing your character into a corner with no hope for any resolution. Or you’re having your characters do or say things that aren’t true to them. Put the manuscript aside for a limited amount of time while you think.

Passengers

Critique partners and passengers. Not all that different.
Pintip, Holly and me at SWBWI in NYC.

10. It’s okay to ask for help. Have passengers look for obstacles in the road.
Critique partners are with you on your journey. If you’re traveling a very foggy road, ask them why you can’t see it clearly. They will likely see better than you do. The writer is so focused on a certain portion of the book that they can’t see what’s happening in other places. My critique partner told me point blank that the stalker wasn’t working. She also told me that she hated my newest main character’s best friend. So, I changed that character’s best friend, and now the manuscript is very much improved. Ask your critique partner for help! Just as you almost always know what’s not working in someone else’s work, they will see the same in yours.

It’s okay to drive through the fog as long as you heed the warnings. It’s okay to keep writing even when you don’t have a clear idea of the ending or where the story is going. But sometimes, it’s even better to sit back and wait for the fog to clear.

I set my book aside for a while, and now I know how it’s supposed to end. Now I know those few scenes that pull the whole plot together. But, I decided to wait out the fog in the comfort of my home and not even venture out into the bad weather. I’m not stressed out, white-knuckling my steering wheel through the fog. There may be times when visibility gets rough, but that’s when I’m calling on my passengers. That’s when I’ll put my low beams on, drive slowly and follow the marking on the road.

How do you get through the fog?                      Car in Fog

Still Sparkling

Kerri Carpenter, , , , ,

Last month I introduced you to my completely made-up diet called The Sparkle Plan. Check it out here. The Sparkle Plan consists of big and small goals. The big goals are to keep you motivated throughout the year and the small goals are your monthly objectives. Here are mine:

Big Goals

  1. I would like to lose 25 pounds by the end of 2014.
  2. Run a 5K.

Small Goals – Month 1

  1. Since my back is still getting better I can’t do too much in terms of exercise (which is killing me!). But once I get the green light from the doctor, I’m going to start small. I would like to do 30 minutes of exercise 6 days a week. It doesn’t even have to be 30 straight minutes. Just purposeful movement for 30 minutes. Dog walks not included.
  2. No eating after 9pm.
  3. We are on M&M overload in my office. I don’t want to deny myself completely. So I will allow myself one day to have some M&Ms. The other 4 days I’m at work = no chocolately goodness for moi.
The Diva Kerr-ina

If only I looked like her!

I know you’re all dying to find out how I did. Big, deep breath… here goes.

The bad news is that I didn’t lose any weight this month. The good news is that I stayed at the same weight. What in the hell am I talking about? Well, turns out that straining one’s back takes longer to heal than I would have liked. So exercise was not easy to do without reinjuring myself. (And apparently I shouldn’t try shoveling my car out of the snow either.) In the exercise/eat healthy balance, I’ve always been better on the exercise front. That means if I didn’t gain weight and I wasn’t working out that I did much better eating. Yay me!

Eating after 9pm – for the most part, I rocked this goal. There were a couple nights I derailed – a couple birthdays, one night involving the movies and wine afterwards and one night when I seriously forgot to look at the clock. Silly Kerri! But overall, I’m happy with this one.

M&Ms – same here. I rocked it. Giving myself one day to have them helped me not see my goal as a challenge or a threat. I could have M&Ms one day, so the other four days weren’t hard to get through.

Now, it’s time for the Month 2 Goals.

Small Goals – Month 2

  1. Continue the no eating after 9pm and M&Ms only one day a week.
  2. Walking doesn’t seem to hurt my back and my doctor cleared me for it, so I’m vowing to walk three times a week for at least 40 minutes – either outside or on the treadmill at the gym.
  3. My arms are beginning to resemble large balloons filled with pudding. So I’m going to do 10 pushups (yes, of the girl variety) a day, as well as arm circles.
  4. You don’t even want to know what my mid-section looks like. Seriously! I’m going to do 50 crunches (in various forms) a day.

I watch a lot of television. Proudly! Goals #3 & 4 are designed to do on commercial breaks. We’ll see how it goes.

Your turn – I want to know how you did! If you made a goal last month, share in the comments your challenges and successes. If you’re new to The Sparkle Plan, feel free to let us know what your goal is now. Or just give us all a supportive box of chocolate. Wait, no! I meant give us an internet hug. 😉

*I am not a doctor or anything close to a doctor. In fact, I wouldn’t even be able to play a doctor on TV – too many technical words. Always consult your own physician before embarking on any fitness or eating plan.