Blogging with purpose

I am back to blogging again but this time with purpose. Sunday I will embark on my first adventure with the Whole30 program. As of right now, I am so psyched! For the last week I have been reading (and re-reading) the program on the website, reading the book, researching recipes and making up my shopping list.

I couldn't be starting the program at a better time. Being a single mom I often rely on my parents for help. My dad picks up my son after school most days and assists with homework. I go to their house after work to pick him up where we often have dinner with them. I treasure this for many reasons. My parents are wonderful people and my dad is such a positive male role model for my son. Also, eating with them saves me time and money. Alas, all good things must come to an end. My mom is retiring and my parents will be making a much deserved move to a farm our family owns in Illinois. My dad will be gone for a few weeks as they are making preparations at the farm for the move. Are you starting to see why this is the perfect time to do the program? I will be shopping and cooking for my son and myself. This will be the perfect time to try new recipes and start the process of changing our meal time habits.

I am ready to start this new journey and will be blogging about it every step of the way. Since as part of the program I cannot step on the scale for 30 days, I will share my start weight and measurements and will be taking pictures along the way as evidence of my progress. I will also be sharing recipes I love and how I feel throughout the journey. Stay tuned, Sunday will be day 1 and the start of something wonderful!!

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Another beginning...Desk to 5k

Yesterday I ran and yes, I did it on purpose. You see, I signed up for the Desk to 5k program at work. In 10 weeks I will be participating in my first 5k. I am not a runner and have never been a runner but with the help of my co-workers and a lot of work, I am determined to run the entire 5k. I'm sure most people are thinking that a 5k is no big deal, including my family members that are all runners, but for me it is a daunting task.

I am 70 lbs over weight and have horrible knees due to my younger athletic days. Yesterday morning we did 2.7 miles in 42 minutes by walking 4 minutes and running 1 minute. Each minute we spent running was the longest 60 seconds of my life. I spent time last night icing my knees and have taken the maximum amount of Advil for a 24 hour time period. I was so excited to sign up for this program, excited to start running... and now... I'm worried that my body might not be able to actually do this. I can handle sore muscles...I welcome sore muscles because I know that when my muscles are sore that I worked hard for them to be so. What I am unsure of is whether or not I am doing permanent damage to my knees.

I know this post doesn't make a lot of sense. I promise I will start at the beginning.

Love and sunshine,
Sarah

On how to close a blog post

 

I have seen many people ending their blogs different ways. Some people end a blog with a standard closing like "good bye" or "have a nice day". Other people end their blogs with a quote that was relevant to their topic that day. Another group of bloggers end by simply signing their name. And so I began pondering how I could end my blog in a memorable way.

I started by thinking about memorable television news anchor sign offs. Katie Couric realized the importance of a good sign off line by trying a different on each night and even askeing for suggestions online. Couric's replacement on the CBS Nightly News, Scott Pelley, had no trouble with his line and closes the broadcast with "From all of us, all around the world, good night." CBS Sunday Morning's Charles Osgood has a different approach and ends each Sunday with  "...until then, I'll see you on the radio." Peter Jennings used to end his broadcast by saying "For everyone at ABC news, I'm Peter Jennings. Good night." Edward R. Murrow ended with "Good night and good luck." Perhaps one of the most famous sign offs in broadcast history was Walter Cronkite who confidently stated "...and that is the way it is."

Many other types of closings can be found in other genres on television. Conan O'Brien used to end his show with a song which normally took place after the broadcast ended, but did on occasion make it on live TV. "Criminal Minds" on CBS ends each show with a quote as a take away for the lesson they hoped you would learn. We all remember Porky Pigs famous closing of "That's all folks."

Screenplay writers all know that the last line of a film and make or break the movie. The Rocky Horror Picture Show ended with the line, "And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race. Lost in time, and lost in space and meaning." We can feel the love of family when Dorothy says, "And oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home." at the end of The Wizard of Oz. And who can forget when at the end of Casablanca Humphrey Bogart said, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

What are other closing lines that you remember? I encourage you to think about what you closing line would be. What is that one sentence that you will etch you in to your reader's memory. I close this with what I think will be my sign off. It stems from the way I used to sign letters to my older sister when she went to college.


Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah