March Madness Year 2

"So what have you been up to lately?" Emily asked me when she was here from Geneva.

"Uh, I dunno," I answered, "Watching reruns of The West Wing."

I have not see the girl in months and THAT's the news I had to report about my going-ons. She is not the person who would judge me for saying that. She probably forgot that I answered in this way. But it made me feel boring.

Friday night, my friend Meagan tells me the blog has been boring lately. I know, I am living it.

Call it depression, call it the winter blahs, but I haven't done much of anything the last few months. While I have intentions to be active and accomplish my goals and be fun, it just seems easier to sleep late, sit in front of the television set and eat cookies.

There's the overwhelming success of last year's March Madness, the idea that in 31 days, I can accomplish greatness by being very disciplined in my eating, exercising, writing and artistic inspiration. I kept it going until July which even surprised me. But I felt so good doing it. People have been asking me if I am going to do it again, and while it seems like a good idea, my excitement can be best summed as "mild." Then again, I don't feel excited about anything lately, so it's no different than anything else.

Today marks March 1 and thus I have decided that the madness must rise again. I cannot say that I have the gusto I felt last year and perhaps this will be a problem. But I do believe in the idea of momentum, that if you move forward in the direction you want to go, even if it is in little ways, eventually your life will carry you there, sometimes in forces beyond control.

So my ultimate goal with this year's madness is more about finding that spark back, and that through living healthily, treating myself well, indulging in my passions, that through momentum, I will start to feel like myself again. It's only 31 days.

The rules are similar as last year. For the month of March I will:

Health-wise, I will
1. Exercise 5-6 times a week
2. Drink 2 liters of water a day
3. Eat healthy. Lots of fruits, vegetables, fish and chicken
4. Avoid white carbs (whole wheat only)
5. No soda
6. No snacking after dinner
7. Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep a night
8. Dessert and/or alcohol only twice a week.

Creative-wise, I will:
1. Write almost daily. Since the Jacksons have been in town, I have been doing a lot more writing. I think seeing Adam's movie and hearing about Brett writing daily habit motivated me--which is good. This will be the hardest goal for me.
2. Take time each week to do something that inspires me creatively--photography, drawing, going to a museum, cooking etc.

Today I reluctantly went on a run. I am so out of shape. But I felt badass because it was flurrying.

Wish me luck!