Reverb 10 Prompt #11: 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

My, my, my. I really had to think about this one. Here’ s my list, in no particular order…

1. Multitasking. I think multitasking is a good thing in moderation. But I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve physically hurt myself (running into furniture, breaking nails waaaay down in the nail bed, dropping things on my toes, falling into the pool and smacking my head on the deck) in a mad rush to get AS MUCH DONE AS POSSIBLE. And then there’s the multitasking that takes my attention away from my children. “Uh-huh.” {Nodding head even though I have no idea what the child just said to me.} While doing two or three things at once is sometimes necessary, making an effort to focus is important to me and to my family.

2. Procrastination. Doesn’t everyone have this on their “11 Things” list? I go through these bipolar-ish swings where I put everything off for days, then get all crazy motivated, drink a Rockstar energy drink, and go to town. Let’s try some balance in 2011.

3. Compulsive planning. My friend Diana mentioned this in her 11 things: “Chances are if you’re ‘organizing how to get things done’ you’re not getting things done.” This is SO me – making lists and schedules and routines and trying out new apps and charts designed to help me be more productive. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and can think of only two things that have ever helped: My Daily Habits list and HabitForge.  I’m done wasting time planning how I’m going to get things done. Getting things done is easy: Make a list, do the stuff, and check it off.

4. Bitchiness. Otherwise known as complaining, snapping, heaving heavy sighs and slamming doors. Hate this about myself. Would love a magic wand to wave it away. It’s all about self-control, which I really need to practice.

5. Yelling. Cut/paste #4 here. I despise seeing other people yell. I know how much mental damage it can do. Just stop it already.

6. Drama. I’ve been involved in a lot of drama this year. It’s hard to walk the line between being a friend and being dragged into drama. Here’s how I plan to do it: Stay out of other people’s business unless I’m specifically asked for help.

7. Self-doubt. I’ve actually been working on this in 2010. I just keep telling myself that I am AWESOME. That I totally rock. And I keep moving forward. Don’t dwell on the past or on things you can’t change. Every day is a new chance to bring the awesomeness.

8. Weight. Ugh. I guess I have to concede that exercising, but eating whatever I want, does not work. Bummer.

9. Bearing the Burden: I tend to take on too much, then complain about it and expect everyone to feel sorry for me. I know that squelching this tendency will help improve #4, #5, and possibly #8.

10. Guilt. Another one that I bet is common on “11 Things” lists. But I honestly have no idea how to eliminate – or even cut back – guilt.

11. Frowning/Scowling. You might think this falls under #4, but I have this natural expression on my face that causes people to ask me “What’s wrong?” I’ve heard it said that your face speaks volumes. My facial expression and body language alone can affect my kids’ behavior. Maybe I should get one of those rubber bracelets that says “Smile.”

Do I really think I can eliminate these 11 things from my life next year? Absolutely not. But I’m going to print this list out and look at it every day so I can significantly cut down on destructive behaviors that are getting me nowhere.

Yes, I’m a bit behind in the prompts, even though I had a nice quiet weekend (hello #2, procrastination). Prompt #12 is “Body integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?” I’m skipping this prompt because I have absolutely nothing to say on this topic. I’ve been completely hyper-aware of my body and uncomfortable in my skin this past year. See #8 above.

I’ll catch up with prompt #13 tomorrow.

In case you didn’t know, my son loves to cook. He’s got some videos on YouTube like this one:

He especially likes to decorate cakes. He DVRs “Cake Boss.” We’ve been experimenting with all kinds of icing techniques and tonight he ventured into fondant.

I’ve never used fondant, so this was my first try at it also. I’m not a fan of the taste, but it’s pretty awesome for decorating. It’s basically play-doh made of sugar, so you can roll it out and cover your cake or cut it into shapes or mold it into whatever you want. My son (the one who wants to be instantly good at everything and hates it if he has to try and I don’t know where he got that from and p.s. I’m growing out of it) got frustrated at first and we had some minor tantrums. But he worked through it and went on to create a lovely test cake.

We bought a sampler of four colors of fondant and didn’t have enough to cover the bottom layer, so that one is just frosted. Pretty sweet for a first try!

One week from today I will be running/walking about 3 miles through Central Park with some awesome bloggers and supporters of a wonderful cause. The BlogHer 5K is something I threw together last year at BlogHer ’09 in Chicago. I almost opted out of organizing it again this year because I’m trying hard to say “no” to potential stressors in my life, but I’m so glad I decided to stick with it. It has grown into something amazing that I’m proud to be a part of.

Shortly after I announced the details of the 5K event, I was contacted by Kristen (Shredheads) and Catherine (Her Bad Mother) about partnering with Tutus For Tanner to raise awareness for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). And things have just exploded since then. Here’s what’s happening:

• Tanner will be at BlogHer. He’ll be at the start area (the lobby near Bridge’s Restaurant) with Catherine, so be sure you give him a high-five.
• Many of the 5K runners/walkers will be in tutus. And I propose that anyone who wants to support Tanner should just wear their tutu all day on Friday at BlogHer. You can make a tutu for about $10 in under an hour with Design Mom’s awesome tutorial. I’ve got my supplies and will be making mine this weekend.
• Jon (Black Hockey Jesus) has gone above and beyond. After he runs the 5K, he’s going to keep going as long as he can to raise money and support Tanner. Tanner’s mom Chrissie will be running with Jon. See that ChipIn widget in my sidebar? Jon’s raised nearly $2,000 already. Please donate and spread the word so we can raise $5K at the 5K!
• Scott (@unmarketing) is organizing an auction and a Tweetathon this Wednesday. You might win an iPad, a weekend in Vegas, or a trampoline. Seriously.
• Maya (@thinkmaya) has created a book for Tanner. It is a great way for you to introduce your kids to other special needs kids and teach them to look beyond the physical. Check it out and donate for Tanner.
• Tutus For Tanner has a Facebook page. Go like it. Now.
• And don’t miss this post with all the background and info you need about Tanner and how you can help make his dreams come true.

I know there’s more happening to raise funds for DMD, so if you’ve got something planned, please leave a comment!

I’ve been busy training with the TeamGOsmart training program from Omron. They gave me a wonderful pace and distance tracker and a few extra that will be given out at random to BlogHer 5K registered participants! Be sure to come back to the 5K breakfast after your run/walk and you might be one of the lucky ones who get an Omron pedometer in their swag bag!

Even if you’re not participating in the BlogHer 5K – and if you can get up at 6:30 am Friday morning – consider taking a short walk to Central Park or down Broadway to watch the tutus go by. It’ll be a photo opp for sure!

I’m excited to announce the second annual BlogHer 5K is scheduled for 6:30 am on Friday, August 6, 2010 in New York City!

My goal in organizing the 5K Fun Run is to give BlogHer conference attendees some time out of the hotel, exploring the city and bonding with other BlogHers through a fun, healthy event. This is not a timed race, but you can always time yourself!

This year’s event is still coming together. It could be anything from a bunch of gals getting together for a run and some sight-seeing to a sponsored event with swag and a post-run refreshment room.  Let me explain.

Last year was the first year I organized the 5K and it was less than organized. My  supportive roommates helped me unpack boxes of swag in our hotel room and stuff the bags. They tripped over the 50 bags and endured the 5:30 am wake-up call. Other wonderful volunteers helped with swag and even sat in the lobby for a couple hours handing out bags and being assaulted by non-5K participants hovering around to collect free stuff.

This year I had hoped to organize an awesome run through Central Park and secure a small conference room to hand out swag and post-event refreshments, and possibly meet with some sponsors. But this does not seem to be in the cards. Central Park will not allow us to run more than 20 people and there is no conference room space available at the Hilton. I am still investigating other options, including the possibility of a room at the Sheraton across the street from BlogHer’s Hilton. Advice, assistance and suggestions are appreciated – please contact me!

As of this writing, the BlogHer 5K will be two separate run/walk events. One will be in Central Park and will cover a distance of 3.4 miles (5K is 3.1 miles).  There is a limit of 20 spots for the Central Park run due to permitting issues. If there is lots of interest, we could do two sets of 20 people, one running at 6:30am, the next starting at 7:30am. The second event will be a walk/run of approximately 3 miles down Broadway.  This won’t be a guided tour, but I will be emailing a map of the route for you to follow.

Please check the BlogHer 5K page or follow me on Twitter as plans may change and evolve!

Registration is now open and there is no charge.  To register for either event, email me with your name and email address and which event you want to register for (Central Park or Broadway).  Due to the 20 person limit, I ask that you only register for the Central Park event if you are seriously committed to attending.

Thanks to all for your continued interest in this event!

The weather is warming up and I’ve decided to get back into running. After last spring’s failed attempt, it is still my goal to run a half-marathon at some point in my life. There’s only one place I really like to run and as I returned to that trail last week, I thought I might vlog it.

So this is my first attempt at video blogging. I’ve been sitting on this for 5 days, deciding whether or not I was going to post it. Obviously I’ve decided to go ahead, but I’m still pretty squeamish because:

• I’m not used to seeing/hearing myself on video.
• I see my Mom’s face and my Dad’s facial expressions. Not that this is a bad thing, but it’s weird to me.
• I haz no video editing skillz.
• The video is unrehearsed, unlike a lot of vlogs I see that seem scripted and perfected.
• I’m neither bubbly nor funny.

But this is me.

If you know me, or have followed any of my previous blogs, you know that I’ve struggled with a few extra pounds for the past few years. Like many people, I am on and off the fitness wagon.

My biggest fail is food. I love to eat and tend to view food as comfort, reward and entertainment. And, in part, food is all of those things. But moderation is the key and that’s where I fail. I also tend to be an “all or nothing” sort of person. If I give in to a tempting food, I just indulge all day because I’ve already “messed up.” Must. Stop. Doing this.

For the coming week, I’m going to work on taking my focus off food and on exercising and drinking 60 oz of water daily. I know that when I exercise, I not only drink more water, but I am less likely to make poor food choices.

My two favorite online tools for fitness-tracking are Livestrong and HabitForge. Livestrong makes it easy to track your daily calories consumed and burned, while HabitForge works on the premise that it takes 21 days to forge a habit and sends you an email each day to track your success. So far, my success rate for drinking enough water is 40%. I will increase that by next Friday.

What are you best tips for sticking with a fitness regimen?

I used to be totally super-psyched to make resolutions every year, but it seems as I get older I get less organized, less motivated, and less interested in these silly promises we call resolutions. And yet I cling to the idea that this year will be different than the last, that this will be the year I take action and accomplish lasting change.

I’ve been following along with Michele’s 2010 Intentions Plan at Scraps of My Geek Life. I love her plan to create intentions and pick a word to help you focus on them. I’ve decided on “Zen in Ten” (props to @wbgookin for suggesting this 2010 mantra). Here are my intentions:

1. Focus on one thing at a time. I’ve always been a fan of multi-tasking and in some cases it works great. But when it comes to blogging, designing, creating, teaching, and spending time with my family, multi-tasking can ruin me.
2. Lose 40 pounds and develop a healthy lifestyle. I’ve got lots of support here — family, friends, and online. Check out Bookie Boo and Shredheads if you’re looking for online motivation.
3. Stop yelling. I’m with my kids nearly 24/7 and we get on each others’ nerves. Sometimes I feel like my house is a battle zone. I want peace. Zen. And that’s gotta start with me.
4. Develop my blog design business. Take a graphic design class, learn more about PHP, and create a few themes for WordPress. I also want to continue growing this blog, comment more on blogs I enjoy, and try vlogging.

It’s all about focus for me this year. No more plowing along, deepening the rut I’ve been in. 2009 gave me quite a few eye-openers. People close to me (as well as me myself) have experienced illness, stroke, cancer, accidents and death more so than in any other year of my life. If there’s one thing this year has taught me, corny as it may sound, it’s this…

Everything in your life can change in an instant. Make the most of now.

I used to make homemade bread with a bread machine quite often. Then the bread machine broke and I never replaced it. A few weeks ago someone in my homeschooling co-op posted this link, which has apparently made the rounds on lots of news programs. Who knew making homemade bread could be so easy?

Here’s my result:

And my little girl who loves the bread, as well as getting her hands all messy making the dough:

I had this crazy idea.

I’ve been reading a few bloggers who are into running marathons. And in my experience at the past two BlogHer conferences, I know I like to get out of the hotel and see the sights around town.

So how about a BlogHer 5K? I’ve searched online and found running paths with fabulous views of the sights around the Chicago lakeshore. We could do this Friday morning. If we start around 7 AM (which isn’t insanely early), we’d be done by 8 AM or so, which still leaves time to shower and get to the opening keynote. If we get enough interest I might even get some T-shirts made.

Who’s interested? Anyone… anyone… ?

On Sunday, in 40-degree weather, overcast skies and occasional sprinkles, my sister and I walked 13.1 miles in the Philadelphia Half Marathon. Here we are after crossing the finish line.

Philly is one of the few marathons that allows walkers, so my sister and I decided to give it a try this year. We did much better than I expected. It was my first marathon and I didn’t train as much as I could have. The longest I had ever walked was 10 miles.

I wasn’t in it to “race,” but once I got going it was so easy to get competitive. Every mile marker had a clock, so we soon began challenging ourselves to go the next mile faster. We even started running a bit and once did a 12-minute mile. And while there weren’t that many people on the streets cheering (I suspect the unpleasant weather kept many indoors), those who were really made us feel great about our accomplishment.

My goal was to finish in 4 hours. My official time was 3:30! As soon as we saw the finish line and realized we could make it in 3 1/2 hours, we started running. It was an awesome feeling crossing that finish line and I’m so proud of us.