GUT CHECK TIME - 2017 Goals Progress Report

GUT CHECK TIME!

100 days left of 2017. How close am I to achieving my goals set for 2017, keeping in mind the absolute shit-show this year has been? Not an excuse, merely a bigger obstacle than I anticipated.

Physical

- Lose 30 lbs (5%) - This remains the white whale (pun intended). I've lost 5lbs. I am shooting for at least 10 more before 2018

- Do full splits on both sides (50%) - I can do full on the right. Left is taking her time. Hip trouble is not helping, but dancing every day totally is

- Full headstand w/o the wall (5%) - I can lean my body against the wall. This is still possible before the end of the year though!

- 6 halfs and 3 fulls (10%) - not nearly enough races this year. However, I have New Mexico in Oct, a 5k this weekend and at least 3 more 5ks before the end of the year. Will most likely get another half in there as well now that the weather is gorgeous

- Run/walk 2017 miles (64%) - I am on track to complete this one!

Money

- Pay down $20k (15%) - I'm chipping away at this. Still have 5 years of debt ahead of me, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

- Build emergency fund (6%) - I have $400 in savings. More than I've had in the past. Less than ideal.

Travel

- SDCC for full 4 days (50%) I was able to go out for 2 days and it was wonderful

- 2 new marathon states (50%) I'll get NM done but probably not a second state

- See family 4 times (50%) January show and 4th of July celebrations! Will see them in Nov and December

Career

- Book shows consistently (100%!) I have worked my butt off and have booked a show every month in 2017 so far. My career is moving forward!

- $5k in income (100%!) I thought I set a too lofty of a goal here. But I set it and I achieved it! It feels good to be validated!

- Get an agent (0%) This is still on going. I need an agent so I can make more money and quit my "day job", allowing me to be a full time entertainer. I know it's possible!

Looks like I have some work to do! #LetsDoThis

My 2012 Resolutions and Goals

I love New Years Resolutions and I love setting goals for the year. I believe they are two different things that need to be laid out as such and then attacked as such.

Resolutions are things you promise yourself you're going to do: change eating, give up something, stop swearing.......things like that. They are daily or weekly changes you intend to make for the entire year. And they are only for a year. My best friend gave up soda for 2011. You best believe on 1 Jan 2012 he has a Coke. Resolutions are simple changes that last one year, initially, and then you move on. It's like a challenge.

Goals are things you set out for yourself that are long term, may take the entire year and are meant to improve your life in the long run. They are what you would like to see happen this year. You take steps every day to achieve these goals, but it isn't a challenge to yourself to change your life for a year. Unless that is your goal!

I always have a few resolutions and then a TON of goals. The goals are sometimes lofty, sometimes totally attainable. And sometimes they are on the list specifically because I know I will attain then and I can check them off. I set really big goals because I believe life can be really big!

Goals are fluid because life is fluid. Resolutions are constant.

Amie's 2012 Resolutions
- Run a mile a day (allowing myself to make up the miles missed weekly)
- No soda or fast food
- give up chocolate for Lent
- Write two blogs every week
- Keep a daily log of my activities (not emotions), a la Samuel Pepys

Amie's 2012 Goals
- Get my Masters degree
- Graduate with distinction
- run Paris in under 5:30
- book two professional shows in the UK
- sign with a bi-coastal (ideally international) agent at the NY showcase in October
- get weight down to at least 150 by end of third term (29 June) and maintain for rest of year
- get completely out of credit card debt
- work 20+ hours while at school
- understand and initiate portion control with my food
- travel to a new country once a month for the weekend
- maintain a positive relationship with the man I love and keep us moving forward
- work out 5 times a week
- run Asia marathon
- skype with my family weekly to maintain relationships
- watch the 2012 Olympics live in London
- don't get further into debt

I know people don't make resolutions because they believe they can change their life any time during the year. I believe that too. You can change your life every day if you want to. But how much fun to have a challenge, a tangible thing to say you did for the entire year! Go do it!

What are your goals this year and how can I help you attain them?

Happy New Year!!!

Good-bye Desk, Hello Future!

It’s not easy to go after your dreams. It’s not easy to say “no” to the easy and push for what you want. A dream can be anything- weight loss, houses, kids, travel. The list is endless and each of them are attainable. Sometimes reaching for your dreams means having the right platform to jump from.

I quit my job in Feb with the intention to never return to an office. At the time I hadn’t been accepted into school and I had no idea how I was going to fulfill my big dream shoes. I just knew I had to leave the office. After I got into Birmingham for my MA I knew I needed to fill my days, and my bank account, with work and a temp office job was the most logical. No one was going to hire me knowing I was leaving in six months. So once again I found myself sitting at a desk.

Today, at 4:30, that ends. The next time I will be at a desk I will own the company. Now is the time to dream big. It’s so exciting! I’m not sitting at a desk again. I’m not going to be a waitress. I’m not going to DJ parties for rich people. I’m not going to do anything that doesn’t move me forward creatively and artistically. I’m no longer sacrificing my dreams and goals for the easy.

This is a risky move, packing up everything and leaving for a year, but I know it’s the right move for me. I’m trusting this is where my life is supposed to go in order for me to fulfill my purpose on this earth. I have known for years that sitting at a desk is not for me so I’m taking the steps to change it. My dreams are going to come true. My dreams are reachable, attainable, and so completely doable it scares me.

When I walk out of this office at 4:30 today I’m not looking back. I’m not going to think about how I’ll pay my bills or have health insurance or work experience. I’m not going to think about the calming routine of a job where I don’t have stress or have to over extend myself. I’m going to walk out these doors and look to the future.

A future filled with promise and performing. A future filled with amazing food and wonderful friends who continue to support me. A future where I am in charge of my destiny and where I take myself.

These office jobs have served me well. They’ve provided a place to practice monologues and write my blog. They’ve given me supplies to print out resumes and submit myself. They’ve given me a safe and secure place to live. (Twice in my nomad life I have actually slept in the offices where I worked.) They’ve fed me. They’ve provided me lasting friendships. They’ve given me paychecks.
More than anything, they’ve given me a strong platform to jump from in order to reach for my stars.

Thank you, office jobs, for giving me a future to look forward to.

Marching Towards a Bikini Body

What you do makes a difference. And you have to decide what kind of a difference you’re going to make.- Jane Goodall

Anyone who knows me knows that I have big dreams. And I sometimes have a plan and I always need a timeline. It’s easier for me to start at the beginning of a calendar something….. the start of a month, start of a year, start of a decade. Yesterday was March 1^st. There is my start.

I currently am overweight. I am easily 20lbs overweight. My BMI puts me into the overweight category. My measurements put me into the overweight category. I have been telling myself that it’s muscle weight and of course I’m going to be a little bigger. I’m training and I do weights. No no no. That lying to myself ends today. Putting it here and admitting it is one step. I can’t hide the facts by saying I carry it well. No- I am 20lbs overweight and it is time to take that off. Hard core here I come.

I am so proud of my body. I do not take it for granted. I am proud I have completed 16 marathons and will finish 17 in less than three weeks. I am thankful that I wake up every morning and can get out of bed without help. I am thankful for the fluid movement and the health of my body. I thank it every day. And I want to do more for it. I want to thank it by making it the best it can be. By taking off the extra strain I put on it and let it work more easily.

Our body is a machine, like a car. I fully believe that. Our body is the most amazing creation I have ever had the pleasure of learning about. Like a car, you have to put fuel into your body to make it run. Who wants to put crap in their car? No one. It amazes me that people take better care of their car than of themselves. Someone will take their car to the shop, the car wash and the detailer, spend $300 to make sure it’s working well and then hit the drive-thru for a burger and fries. Like our cars, our body will run fine for a little while if you put crap into it, but eventually the thing is going to break down. There will be little hints (an extra pound here, loosening one more belt notch, trouble walking up steps there) but they will be so small you won’t even notice it. What’s one donut? What’s the harm in dessert? Some fat is good for you- I read that somewhere, so pass the sour cream please.

That’s all well and good. I fully believe in enjoying life and the desserts that come with it. But we can’t be oblivious. It’s all “just one more bite” until you’re sitting in the doctor’s office complaining about numbness in your toes and you’re told you have diabetes. Or you’re lying flat on your back at the ED because you just had a heart attack. Or stomach pains become pancreatic cancer. Or you just die. We’re all going to die, that isn’t what I’m trying to avoid. I’m trying to make sure I feel this good when I’m 70. And the only way to do that is to take care of the body I have now.

One of my main resolutions for 2010 was no fast food of any kind. No drive-thru, no midnight burgers, no Taco Bell. I’ve been really good about that. But that isn’t to say I haven’t eaten poorly. Trust me, Cheetos and a Snickers bar have been my midnight snack on more than one occasion these past two months. That ends now. March began my no processed sugar, no dairy, no meat brigade. My goal is to return to my vegan ways. I know I can’t do it in one fell swoop. It took me a year to change my lifestyle when I became vegan in 2002. A slow steady change; taking into account the finances ($.50 organic yogurt instead of $1.20 soy yogurt), the busy schedule I keep, and start making the smart choices.

That’s really what it boils down to. Smart choices. Last night I had trail mix instead of cheese. An easy exchange- but I had to make the conscious choice. I had black beans and avocado instead of pizza. Today I had a wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana instead of cream cheese and jam. Small changes that are going to make the big changes.

I am going to get more sleep.

I am going to the gym 5 days a week, even if it’s just for 30 min. I have to.

My goal is to lose 7 lbs by April 1. My actual goal is to lose 10lbs, but I’ll be happy with 7. Baby steps is how I am going to be able to do this.

I am Marching Toward My Bikini Body. That is this months slogan. I am excited to see where my body goes. I’m excited to watch the weight come off. I’m excited to push myself and make this happen. I’m excited to wear my cute clothes again. I am excited for this month.

March on!