You might want to run and hide ...

I'm still battling the winter doldrums here. Not enough sun. Not enough warmth. I keep intending to get out and exercise. Oh how I'd love to lose those nagging fifteen pounds. But somehow the end of the day arrives sans exercise. But I've not given up. In the sage words of Maria Robinson "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

I have been attending my weekly dance class (tap and hip hop). Whew boy does it stretch my limits. I've never tapped before and my dance skills are rudimentary at best. I need practice. Quite a lot. Perhaps I ought to take my shoes to work and tap into the exam room like a roller skating car hop. Then again maybe not.

And then there are the bagpipes. Another goal of mine for 2011. I've been taking lessons for a year and a half but only recently purchased a set of pipes. They were quite an investment. As such I really ought to learn to play well. My teacher is setting up a pipe and drum band. The goal is to be parade and contest ready -- marching and playing in time. My secret goal? To play an event or two so as to recuperate the money spent on the pipes. But that takes practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Rather than working towards these goals I've been prone to distraction. I've been felting acorns, knitting coffee cozies, making cupcakes in jars and dyeing wool. I'm transforming coffee sacks into curtains, reading books and growing wheatgrass. I'm considering cultivating tomatoes indoors and am debating whether or not to buy a cow share for fresh raw milk (with delectable cream on top to make homemade butter and ice cream and sour cream).

Once again I've proven to belong to the group Solidarity League of Creative Women Distracted by oooooh! Shiny!

I need to reign myself in and focus. Focus, focus, focus. And I've decided you get to help me (aren't you terribly excited?). I'm going to use this blog as a forum to keep myself accountable and to help me reach my goals.

First off I weighed myself today. Ouch. 137.5 pounds. This on a 5 foot 2 inch frame. Back in the day (before children) I weighed 120 pounds. That was a good weight for my particular frame. How amazing would it be to get back there before I turn forty on July 1st?!! I have committed to a half marathon at the end of May. Three months remain to train. I'll begin listing my progress here.

And the pipes. Oh the pipes. Here is what they sound like today (listen if you dare). Lovely 'eh? Clearly there is work to be done. Again I will be posting my progress. You may want to invest in a nice pair of ear plugs. Seriously.

Now off to shower and then to my pipe lesson. Thank you for participating in this exercise of self mortification. I'm putting myself out there -- whether to dance on stage (and in front of the mirror), to huff and puff along the trail or to squeak and squawk in a room full of firemen (the other pipers I play with) -- I have chosen to be open and vulnerable and silly. After all what is life for if not that?

Thanks for stopping by and have a stupendous day!