I have a few balls in the air vis-a-vis personal development experiments. I wanted to take a minute to update you on how things are going…

6WBMO: Yesterday started my fourth week of the Six Week Body Makeover. I’ve been following certain principles of this program (eating frequently, eating more protein, carrying pre-made meals with me, 5 days of low-to-medium intensity cardio per week, 2 strength training sessions per week) pretty faithfully. I’ve substantially altered others (eating meat 5 times per day). The biggest changes I’ve seen have been increases in strength and stamina. If I were following the program as it is written, I’d expect to see more weight loss than I have.

One thing I’ve learned from this experience is that I do well with a more flexible and less prescribed approach. 6WBMO tells you to eat at your given mealtimes regardless of whether you feel hungry. As an emotional eater, I’m trying to train myself to eat only when I’m hungry, so that rigidity regarding meals doesn’t really work for me.

Daily routines: Sunday was the first day of my third and final week for the Daily Routine 21-Day Makeover. I LOVE my routines! I feel so much more organized and less chaotic using them. I highly recommend that you consider establishing morning, after-work (or afternoon), and bedtime routines if you don’t already have them.

Alcohol: Today is Day 3 of my no-alcohol makeover, and I feel great! I got a few emails asking why I chose to do this, so I’d like to explain my reasoning…

1. Alcohol is nothing but empty calories. I’d rather “spend” my calories on FOOD!
2. Alcohol has been shown to significantly raise your risk of breast cancer. Even though I had the surgery, there’s still a very slight risk for me. After all I’ve been through, why take the chance?
3. When I look back on most of the bad social experiences of my life, alcohol was involved.
4. I still have just as much fun when I don’t drink.
5. I’ll spend so much less money on dinners out without the accompanying wines.
6. Speaking of dinners out, I read that alcohol consumption can actually (over time) diminish your sense of taste!
7. I have a tendency to use a glass of wine to “relax” instead of doing something healthier like going for a walk or meditating or reading or talking to someone.
8. I want to have kids in the next few years, so that means I’ll have to stop for at least 9 months. Then I’ll have a baby and I won’t want to drink around the baby. So if I’m going to wind up stopping anyway, why wait?

Cheerleaders: My personal cheerleader and I  kicked off our Get Fit for the Marathon program yesterday! We’re doing weekly checkins on Mondays, in addition to emails, texts, and phone calls whenever one of us needs some additional support. We’ve established both ongoing goals and goals with deadlines to track our progress, and we’ll reward each other as we reach our goals. How are you doing with your cheerleaders?

So there you have it. What’s new with you?

I’ll be continuing the “thirty” theme until my birthday tomorrow, after which I’ll return to normal posting. In the meantime, this is a list of 30 things I must do before I turn 50. (I was going to make it 40, but I can kind of already feel 40 breathing down my neck if you know what I mean…)

1. Visit the 16 states I’ve never been to.
2. Build a snowman.
3. See the Northern Lights.
4. Sit on a jury.
5. Visit the Louvre.
6. Learn to tango.
7. See the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.
8. Visit the pyramids and the Sphinx.
9. Learn to rollerblade.
10. See Mt. Rushmore.
11. Ride a bicycle built for two.
12. Kiss the Blarney Stone.
13. Cook Beef Wellington from scratch.
14. See the Parthenon and Acropolis in Greece.
15. Stomp grapes for wine-making.
16. Visit the Vatican.
17. Ride in a gondola in Venice.
18. Milk a cow.
19. Visit Stonehenge.
20. Go scuba diving.
21. Attend a Presidential inauguration.
22. Visit the not-yet-completed Harry Potter theme park.
23. Cross the Equator.
24. Drive Route 66.
25. Ride a mechanical bull.
26. Jump on a pogo stick (they make them to support up to 160 pounds, so I totally could!).
27. Learn to knit and knit something functional.
28. Attend a major sporting event (Superbowl, Olympics, Kentucky Derby, etc.).
29. Visit Transylvania.
30. Visit the Taj Mahal.

What’s on your list?

I just got back from the Memorial Day parade, which is one of the many huge DC events I’d never been to. It was very, very cool–I highly recommend it! I went with my husband, my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and furry niece. We had a great time, and I got to cross another item off my 101 Things list!

As most of you already know from my incessant whining, my 30th birthday is fast approaching. In honor of that momentous occasion, I humbly present Thirty Things You May Not Know About Me. Enjoy!

1. I’m a coal miner’s daughter.
2. I grew up in a log cabin in the woods. Not metaphorically, but literally–an actual, honest to God, log cabin. (It’s not a one-room shack or anything. It’s a two-story, three bedroom house, but it’s still a bona fide log cabin.)
3. My parents have lived in that log cabin since I was born and they still live there now.
4. I have one sister who’s 14 months younger than me. I’ve always been the rebellious troublemaker, and she was the solid, dependable one. We’ve both evolved toward the middle of the road. We’ve always been very close.
5. I had an imaginary friend named Clara when I was younger. Sadly, we’ve drifted apart.
6. I was accidentally betrothed to an Indian boy when I was 3. My mother was close friends with his parents, who’d just emigrated from India. We were born two days apart and went to the same preschool. One day, his mom told my mom that we should get married when we were older. My mom thought that sounded adorable. One week later, they began presenting me with bridal gifts (a jade earring and necklace set, a silk sari, etc.). My mom realized they were serious and convinced them that they should wait until we were older and let us decide for ourselves.
7. On my dad’s side of the family, I have three aunts and three uncles (with three more of each by marriage–grand total of 12), 13 first cousins, and 24 first cousins once removed. I love having a huge family!
8. I had scoliosis in high school and had to wear a big pink back brace.
9. I also had braces. And headgear. And a really bad perm. High school was hellish.
10. I had two stepdaughters from my first marriage. They lived with us the entire time we were together. When we got divorced, my ex forbade me to contact them. I still think about them often. They’re now 23 and 21 (I got married at 17 and he was 12 years older). I’ve considered trying to find them, but I don’t want to upset them and invade their privacy.
11. I went by Jeni as a child (that’s how my mom spelled it). When I hit high school, I decided that I didn’t like the spelling and went by Jenny. My ex-husband said that Jenny sounded too young (TIP–maybe he shouldn’t be dating teenagers) so I went by Jennifer. After we got divorced, I shortened it to Jen and I’ve been Jen ever since.
12. I converted to Catholicism as an adult.
13. I speak Mandarin Chinese (I lived in China for 9 months), but I’m horribly out of practice.
14. I have a deep appreciation for the absurd and the ridiculous.
15. I love literature–Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison, H.G. Wells, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Vladimir Nabokov are particular favorites.
16. I also love really really cheesy supernatural fiction. I loved Charmed & Dangerous, Witchling, and Broken (which is about a pregnant werewolf).
17. I was a nuclear propulsion technician in the Navy.
18. When I enrolled in undergrad, I had two years of college credits from the Navy so I only had to go for two more years.
19. At first, I wanted to go to Berkeley to study theoretical physics. Seriously. We had to study a lot of physics in the Navy, and I LOVED it.
20. After talking to a real physicist and realizing how completely unsuited I am to scientific research, I abandoned the idea.
21. I decided that I wanted to be an anthropologist instead, and I went here.
22. Two months in, I changed my major to peace and conflict resolution, which is what I ultimately got my degree in.
23. I also got a Master’s in International Affairs. I worked full-time for the government and went to school full-time at night. I barely remember those two years of my life.
24. I still love reading about physics and anthropology–particularly the religious and spiritual traditions of other cultures.
25. I’m SO not a picky eater. I will eat absolutely anything. I had the chance to test this during my world travels, in which I ate a deep-fried bumblebee, a scorpion, a baby bird (complete with bones & beak, but no feathers), a turtle, a bull testicle, and many other… delicacies.
26. I cry at the drop of a hat. The Humane Society has this commercial out to the tune of that “In the Arms of an Angel” song. I have to actually change the channel or leave the room when it comes on because I will cry like a baby if I sit through it.
27. My fallback job has always been librarian. It sounds like such a peaceful, stress-free job, and I’d be surrounded by books all day. I mean, what kind of horrid library emergency could there possibly be?
28. I’m scared of birds. I don’t trust them with their pointy beaks and beady little eyes. I don’t like to go in someone’s home if they have a bird as a pet.
29. I’m also scared of basements (particularly my parents’ root cellar). Oddly enough, I’m not afraid of heights (went skydiving with no problem) or the dark. Nope–I like my fears totally irrational.
30. I’m also not scared of death. I sort of can’t wait to find out for sure what happens afterwards, but I’m in no hurry to leave the world of my husband, hot fudge sundaes, squirmy babies, and action movies.

Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Wow. This month has FLOWN by! I only have two full days left at age 29. I’ve been pretty freaked out about the whole birthday thing, but as it gets closer, I’m getting to a more Zen, it is what it is kind of place.

My husband and I had dinner outside at a little Mexican place on Capitol Hill. Then we walked downtown to the movie theater at Gallery Place in Chinatown to see the new Indiana Jones movie (I’d give it a 6.5 out of 10). Here’s a picture of the Chinatown gate that we took on the walk there.

Pretty cool, huh? We feel pretty lucky to live within walking distance of so many awesome places!

My sister, bro-in-law, niece, and furry niece (Lana the yellow lab) are coming to DC tomorrow and we’re all going to walk downtown to watch the Memorial Day parade, which will fulfill one of my 101 things. What are your plans for the holiday?