Beginning a New Decade--YES!!

"Ten in 10"
I'm not wishing away my time, but I am so ready to wave bye-bye to the first decade of the 21st century! As I told my son's principal when we finished 3rd grade with a horrible teacher (we prayed for her every night), OK--we made it through, but please don't ask me to put up with crap like that again.

Whatever comes, I'll deal. My plan is to be better prepared personally and I've already begun.

There are many, many books, blogs, programs out there to help us get a better start, but I found one that really appealed to me. 'Ten in 10' from The Recipe Girl: http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/12/12/ten-in-10-ten-weeks-to-healthy-in-2010-here-are-the-details/

This isn't about things that will magically happen overnight, when the calendar turns to January 1st. It's about making a personal plan to become a healthier person in 2010, and taking the first ten weeks to work on ourselves. Ten weeks is not too long--it's not too short--it's just right! So, come on Goldilocks, let's get started!

Check out the website, and then work on your own thoughts.

Here are mine:

There are a ton of ideas out there about beginning the New Year with a plan...but your Ten in 10 idea really appeals to me for several reasons. First, it's not an 'all or nothing' sort of attitude. I really believe life changes happen gradually, and while I'd like things to be different TODAY, I know that's not going to happen. Also, Ten Weeks is a good amount of time to really implement good changes...make them become good habits, and hopefully a real part of 'the rest of our lives'. But it's also not an overwhelmingly long amount of time. My first thought was, 'Yes! I can devote ten weeks to making changes that will improve the rest of my life.'

So, I'm Annelle Williams, Martinsville, Virginia. Sixty years old with high blood pressure, high cholesterol (both controlled by meds), twenty pounds overweight, and family history that says: lose the weight and move more!

My passion is cooking...I'm a retired pharmacist, wannabe really good cook! And I also enjoy writing about it all.

I play tennis a couple of times a week...love it! But need to add a good doggie walk every day (for me and the dog!)

I've tried to convert to healthy cook, but that did not satisfy, or interest me...I'm sorry!

I love to use fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, but I also love meat, cheese, butter, sauces, olive oil, fresh pasta, homemade breads---good food.

My plan is: 1) Write everything down in a food diary. My sweet daughter-in-law who is very successful with a healthy lifestyle taught me the importance of the food diary. She also taught me about working out, but that lesson didn't stick quite as well as the diary. Now we're going to do yoga, which is very appealing to me!

2) Get control of portions, with more fruits and vegetables, less meat, bread and pasta.

3) Take the dog for a walk every day.

4) Incorporate yoga classes.

That's it for now, but I like holding the thought that I can change as I go.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

If you're interested, check out The Recipe Girl--I think you'll like her!