The Colorado Trail | Free Range Human

Monday once again! I hope you all had a relaxing, fun, and restful weekend! We didn’t end up doing much of anything. I have decided that talking about hiking on the blog is akin to talking about a “no-no” (baseball reference!). Almost as soon as I mentioned we were going to try to hike this weekend, it became obvious that the weather wasn’t going to corporate. Rain and a serious cold front was suppose to hit around noon on Saturday so John and I came up with an alertnative plan.

I think I’ve mentioned before that our little town is home to “the world’s highest hill.” Cavanal Hill comes in at 1,999 ft. falling just one foot short of being a mountain. Don’t let the name “hill” fool you, though. You gain that almost 2,000 ft. in just 5 miles making it a pretty good workout! John and I use Cavanal to train for backpacking, and, since we only had a few hours Saturday morning before the weather hit, we decided to strap on our packs and head up the hill.

Max came too, of course, but he was not happy about his pack. The look he gives us is hilarious, and I can’t help but laugh at his indignation. We always start off from our house which stretches the trip to about twelve miles total. We didn’t end up going all the way to the top this time since the rain was coming in quickly, but we did manage to put in a ten mile day which is definitely respectable. Be ready to hear about lots of Saturdays doing this very same thing as we start to prepare for the Colorado Trail!

The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful. We took in a movie Saturday afternoon, I cleaned house on Sunday, and then spent the remainder of my time finishing up the book about Highclere Castle. It was a perfect lazy (semi!) weekend.

Before we get to our Monday feature, I wanted to quickly mentioned that yesterday marked the end of Week 1 of Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp. I plan on recapping the week fully tomorrow, as well as setting some goals for Week 2. For now, let me just tell you that I love this program! I am a person that very much needs a plan in most areas of my life, and working out is no different. If things keep going like this, I can definitely see me signing up again!

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for-Friend Makin’ Mondays! This week’s theme is “Interesting Things.” Enjoy!

Interesting Things

1. What is the last movie you saw in a theater? We saw “This Is 40” on Saturday. It was hilarious! Even though we are a decade younger than the couple in this movie, John and I could relate to a few parts!

2. How old were you when you had your first kiss? I was 12 which horrifies me today. A 12 year old has no business kissing!!

3. Share the coolest thing that you’ve done so far in 2013. I became a Downton Abbey fan this year :). The second season is in the mail, and should be at my doorstep today. Can’t wait!

4. What kind of cell phone do you use? Do you love it? This is just embarrassing. I swear I’m going to upgrade soon!

5. How many times do you plan to workout this week? I’m going to get six times in this week. Boot Camp, baby!

6. What is your favorite movie from the ’80s? Easy peasy! “When Harry Met Sally”! My favorite movie from the ’80s, and my favorite movie of all time!

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7. If you could choose one character from a TV show or a movie to fall head over heels for you, who would it be? Speaking of the ’80s, that would be Johnny Castle from “Dirty Dancing.” I had a huge thing for Patrick Swayze when he was alive, and that was by far my favorite role he played.

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8. If you could eat one food everyday for the rest of your life without gaining any weight as a result, what would you choose? Ice cream. No question. Every day, every meal. End of story.

9. What is your favorite flower? This is a wee bit difficult because I’m not that into flowers. I think I’ll go with hydrangeas. They’re beautiful!

10. Did you watch the Golden Globes last night? I sure didn’t, but I hear that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler killed it!

What’s your favorite ’80s movie? Please answer #7. I think that’s a fun question!

Happy New Year! How was everyone’s night? John and I spent the evening at the firehouse as planned, and I actually had a lot of fun which is saying something for an unsociable person such as myself! I knew beforehand that cards were on the agenda, and I had hoped that spades would be the game of the night. In years past, I was quite a spades player. I love playing pretty much any card game. Unfortunately, the guys wanted to play poker which is one I just can’t get into! Instead I spent the evening chatting with some lovely ladies, and watching the kids (and some of the firemen!!) have a blast on the huge bouncy castle.

I told you all yesterday that I’m not one to focus too much on New Year’s resolutions. I’d rather focus on small, measurable monthly goals, and what better day than Jan. 1 to lay out my plan for the coming month? Before I get to those, let’s see how December went, shall we?

I kept things simple for December since it’s a busy, busy month. I had four goals that I wanted to accomplish, and I think I did pretty well!

1. Focus on strength training

I didn’t do as well as I liked on this one so let’s get it out of the way first. I did do a few more core and arm workouts than I have been doing, but it’s still not enough. I have a plan to fix this though which I’ll tell you about in my January goals!

2. Walk 75 miles

Done! I clocked 90 miles this month. I was proud of that considering all the things going on during December.

3. Try a holiday Starbucks drink

I accomplished this one as well. I tried a Gingerbread Latte, and I was not overly impressed. It was alright, but it was super expensive and I’d rather have hot chocolate. Live and learn ;).

4. Enjoy myself!

I really wanted to make a conscious effort to be present during the holiday season. At times in the past, I’ve let my anxiety over food take precedent over being in the moment and enjoying the people I love. I wanted to make sure this didn’t happen this year, and I believe I did a pretty good job. I had so many wonderful moments with friends and family. I didn’t overindulge when it came to food, but I also didn’t obsess (too much!) when I ate something less than healthy for you! I think this is something I need to make a priority even outside of the holiday season. Wish me luck!

1. Walk 85 miles

I really wanted to say 100 miles for this month, but the reality is it will be a lot harder for me to get that kind of mileage in during January. I don’t have any school breaks which would make it easier to get in big mileage days, and there’s a week towards the end of the month that is going to be insane. More on that later!

2. Read Dr. Zhivago

This book has been on my “to-do” list forever. I put it on the bucket list I made when I first started the blog, and it’s on my 30 before 30 list. I am finally almost finished with all of the Stephanie Plum books so I’m going to start this one immediately after.

3. Spend more time with Max

We do spend a lot of time with Max, but it tends to me in short snippets. He’s an outside dog so he’s not roaming around the house and around us all the time. I really want to make an effort to take him on more walks this month. This is especially important because I think we’ve decided to take him with us when we do the Colorado Trail this summer so he needs the exercise as much as we do!

4. Give 100% to Best Body Bootcamp

That’s right-I signed up! Those of you who have been in the blog world for awhile have probably heard of Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp. I follow Julie’s blog, and have noticed her talking about it for some time. Since I transitioned to working out exclusively at home a few months ago, everything but cardio has suffered. I was looking for something that I could do that would motivate me to strength train. I’ve heard great reviews about this program, and I’m so excited to get started on Monday. I will be reviewing the program on the blog to let you all know how it’s going. I think there’s still time to sign up if anyone is interested!

So that’s what January is looking like for me! I think I’ve got another great list of attainable goals, and I’m ready to get started. Enjoy the rest of your holiday everyone, and don’t forget to eat your black-eyed peas!

What are some of your goals for January? Did you make it to midnight last night?