Here I am . . .

Yes, I'm still alive.  It's been forever since I blogged.  Guess I should introduce myself since I'll probably have millions of new followers shortly (ha ha).  I imagine this blog will talk about things I'm doing, things I'm interested in, and things I want to accomplish.  But first an intro and the main thing on my mind today (my birthday!).

My name is Amy.  I'm a Civil Engineer, I live in Florida, and I have an awesome job working as a design engineer at the St. Johns River Water Management District (http://www.sjrwmd.com/).  We are one of five water management districts in the State of Florida created by the State back in the 1970s to manage Florida's water resources.

I have three awesome kids:  Connor (10), Cailyn (9 - just had a birthday!) and Colin (6 - going to be 7 in a few weeks).  They're great.  Our lives are insanely busy sometimes, but we seem to be successfully chugging along as a team.  We've made it through the tough early years, and haven't yet reached the tough teen years, so it's all good at home.

My kids before the school Halloween party - two Harry Potters and a child sailor.  The school required literary costumes so the pirate zombie (my daughter) and bloody skeleton (my youngest) had to pick something else!  And, no, my youngest  isn't freakishly short - he's on his knees :-).

Since the last time I blogged, things have changed in my life - new job, minor move across the state of Florida, new home, kids have gotten older, and so have I.  Things are just fine for me work-wise, kid-wise, and with life in general.  But health-wise I could use some work!  The thing is, I have always read about nutrition and fitness and am TOTALLY educated on what I ought to be doing - it's the follow-through that's tanked during the last 10 years.  And after I hit 40, the metabolism totally tanked, too.  I currently weigh WAY too much (number shall not be revealed until I've lost some).   I drink too much wine.  And milk. I don’t exercise enough (though I have been doing a bit more lately).  I've even been eating junk food on occasion (Yo Quiero Taco Bell!), and that was NEVER one of my issues.  All in all, I’m setting a TERRIBLE example for my kids of how a person should live their life.

Today is my birthday and I'm 44 years old.  My lifestyle must change.

My ultimate goal is just to eat cleaner.  But in the short term, I have some specific strategies I'm going to implement to kick-start the old fat burner.

1.  Get back on CR - Caloric Restriction.  Shoot for net 1200 calories per day.  Not going to explain CR here.  Another post for another day.

2.  Get my butt running again!  Going to re-start the Couch-2-5K program.  Easy beginner program.  I used to be a runner.  I loved it.  I will again.  I just need to get out the door!

3.  Yoga!!!  Some mornings and some evenings. My hamstrings are as tight as a drum and I'd always prided myself on my flexibility.    

4.  Strength training.  Haven’t done anything for so long that I’m going to ease into it.  Gonna do some free-weight style strength training 2x per week.  I have some 5 and 10 lb weights, and there’s no reason I can’t be squatting and lunging.  Doing bent over rows.  Tricep kick-backs.  Push-ups.  Basics.

5.  For my kick-start diet:  low carb.  No wine - this is a biggie for me :-).  No breads or starchy carbs.  Minimal dairy.  I have specific goals for protein, carbs, fiber, fats, etc. but I don't want this first post to be the "War and Peace" of blog posts, so I'll save that for another day.

So there you have it.  Clean living!  And blogging once again.  Hello accountability!