Just two days left until school’s out and it’s summer vacation!! Woot Woot! I’ve got 2 kiddos home with me - one is 7 and the other 6. We’ve discussed our summer plans and figured out what each of us wants to do.
There will be lots of cottage/family time and local day trips. My kids have 3 weeks of swimming lessons along with some day camps. We’ve got birthday parties and friends to visit and somewhere amongst all that my husband and I need to fit in actual work - lol!
Along with these plans, I have an agenda of my own. I have summer goals that I intend to achieve. One thing I have learned, especially since having my kids is that if I don’t make a plan, my goals will turn to wishes that never actually pan out.
I have found that living each day with intention makes all the difference. If I don’t plan ahead and “run the day” then the day runs me and my goals fall by the wayside. Do you ever feel that way?
Staying fit and healthy is very important to me but assigning a goal like “I will lose 5lbs this summer” is super boring. Once someone offers me some ice cream or s’mores, I can pretty much kiss that goal good bye. Making my goals fun and motivating assures me that I will stay on track.
Here are my Summer Fun & Fitness Goals:
1) Run a 10K race in Muskoka
I’ve already done 8 weeks of training and I have another 8 weeks left. It’s been pretty easy to be consistent with my training. But now my kids are going to be home all day and they aren’t at an age where I can leave them by themselves so it will get a bit tricky to schedule an hour long run! And once my husband gets home at 7:30pm, I am not super motivated! I will find any excuse not to train so having this race as my end goal keeps me pushing myself!!
2) Complete a full Sun Salutation on the SUP - without falling off!!
So, this is obviously a cottage goal. The Stand Up Paddle board is fun and surprisingly challenging! Last year my goal was to do yoga poses on the board without falling off - mission accomplished. This year I intend to practice a yoga flow while staying on the board. I have a terrible fear of weeds (and creepy things) in the water so this motivates me MUCH more to NOT fall off - hahaha!
3) Complete 10 Pistol Squat (Unassisted) on each leg
Pistol squats are a challenging exercise. I know that if I accomplish this goal I will have gained a lot of lower body strength. As some of you know, I can do these with the assistance of a chair but I can only do ONE Pistol squat on my left leg unassisted and NONE on my right. Pretty bad. This will probably be one of the hardest goals for me to accomplish this summer.
4) Cook a meal from a different country each week
This goal involves my family. My husband is a food LOVER and it makes him happy when I cook new things. Plus, I love to try new (and healthy) recipes - with a glass of wine of course - lol! So I got an atlas from the library and my kids and husband each picked 2 countries. We can all learn a little bit more about each country as we go. It’ll be like a vicarious vacation through food :)
My husband picked Italy (obvious choice since his parents are both Italian) and Sweden. My son chose India and Australia, my daughter chose China and Mexico. My choices were the Ukraine (cause that’s where by Dad’s family is from) and Portugal. It’ll be interesting - and we may be ordering in pizza more than we should - hahaha!!
I will keep you posted through the summer as to the progress of my goals and the disaster that may occur (especially in my kitchen!)
I would LOVE to hear what you plan to do this summer!
Natasha