Perfect 10 Challenge Week 2 Update

Week 2 of the 10 week challenge and I'm not, I repeat NOT feeling very confident.

Goals and Progress

1. ACSM - I have been studying but not as much as I think I should be this week. I did spend some time talking to a couple certified personal trainers in my area who have successfully taken and passed the ACSM exam themselves. Good info. I found out that I'm way over-thinking it and freaking myself out when it's not as bad as I'm expecting it to be. One woman I talked to was super helpful and gave me a list of things that I can expect on the exam so I'll be focusing my studies on those things. I also took a practice exam online. For only being a couple weeks into studying for it, I did OK I guess. 60%. It's definitely not a passing score BUT I got a much better idea of how the questions are worded and what kinds of things to prepare for so that was helpful. I'll be using the practice test to study as well.
2. House stuff - Not yet.
3. 8 of 10 action items - Um....nope. I don't even want to break it down this week. It'll just make me feel bad. I was totally slacking on a bunch of stuff this week. I haven't been feeling very well so things have sort of slipped here and there. I'm definitely not falling off the wagon or anything, just not feeling 100%.
4. 5K - I looked at the couch to 5k program and started doing it on Monday. That was the last day I've been to the gym this week. I've been dying to run though. This taking it easy thing is not my favorite. I know I'm unnecessarily hard on myself and I'm not slacking but I haven't been doing what I want to be doing so I'm feeling, I don't know, stir crazy I guess. That's probably a good thing actually. My body is screaming for some good exercise. I've actually been thinking about continuing to train for a half marathon at the end of the year. I was originally thinking a full marathon but upon reading more on proper training for marathons, I definitely don't have enough time to properly train for that. And I don't want to hurt myself anyway. So, I MIGHT think about a half in November....IF I decide I like running after doing the 5k in April.
5. Lose 1lb every week - Not this week. I stepped on the scale on Sunday and showed a 0.2 lb gain. I was hoping for a good loss this coming weekend but since I haven't been to the gym and I have been a little lax about tracking all my calories for a couple days, I'm not expecting anything mind blowing.
6. WW 4Week Challenge - Week 2 Tasks... a) add 2 filling foods every day - Check. b)earn 2 more activity points (aka burn an extra 200 calories) - Um...I definitely did that on Monday but because I haven't been back to the gym since I'm going to say "nope". c)ask for help - Yup.
7. Skiing - Not yet. Set the date though. February 20th. :)
8. Nephew - Not yet. This is still rolling around in my head. I go back and forth. One day or moment I miss my brother and want a family, then the next moment or day, I'm thinking "not a chance in hell". I just don't know what to do. And I'm terrified. My family really fucked me up for a very long time and even though I feel healthy and happy now, I just don't know if I'm ready or WILLING to invite the possibility of chaos back into my life even if for a little kid that is perfectly innocent. You know that I'm going to be dragging my feet on this one until the last possible moment right?
9. Pasta - Not yet. I haven't done much cooking this week at all. I'm hoping to be back up and riding hard by next week.
10. Yard - Still not time to do this yet.

Just in case you're interested, here is Steve's week 2 update.

Oh...and a little something about me: I never want to have kids. Like EVER.

Now I can already hear all you kid friendly people out there thinking "you're still young, you have time to change your mind". I'm 32 years old. I haven't ever wanted kids and the older I get, the more sure I am about that. This is a subject that I can speak passionately about. I've had more people than I can count try to talk me into having kids, argue with me about the reasons I choose not to have kids, look at me with those eyes that say all the things they don't have the balls to say to me out loud, tell me about all the wonderful things about having kids, etc. We're just going to have agree to disagree. I accept and respect your views, all you have to do is find a way to return the favor.

So in the spirit of the Perfect 10, here are 10 of the reasons I choose not to have kids. They are in no particular order nor are they chosen for any other reason than they are the first 10 to pop into my mind.

1. There are millions of unwanted, abused, neglected, homeless, starving, dying children in the world already. Bringing another one into the world is not helping ANYONE.
2. There are millions of idiots out there breeding every day. You know what they say? Stupid breeds stupid. Anger breeds anger. Well, all those stupid and angry people that are populating the world are doing so with more stupid and angry people. Some of us not stupid or angry people are going to need to clear our schedules to help set the world straight. Relax, I'm not saying that everyone who breeds is stupid or angry. It's statistically proven that the uneducated population tends to breed in greater numbers than those who are properly educated and in a higher socioeconomic class. Look it up!
3. Mothers are far more likely to experience stress and anger than women without offspring to care for. I've had my own experiences with anger and stress management growing up, I don't need or want any other reasons to reintroduce it or enhance what is already present in my life. Stress is also the leading cause of just about every ailment you can think of including heart disease which is a leading cause of death in women.
4. Marriage. Marriage is hard enough with just the two participants. I want my marriage to work. Bringing children into the mix adds additional stress and strain on the relationship. I'm not willing to sacrifice my marriage for children.
5. I think women's lib has been blown way out of proportion. You can hate me for saying that if you want. I'm mostly liberal in every way except for one. I think women and men should have to choose what is most important to them. Women who say they can do it all are doing no one any favors, most of all, their prescious children. Raising a family PROPERLY is a full time job. Working moms can't be the best mom nor the best employee. One or both end up suffering every time. You want to have a family, dedicate yourself to it and do it right. Personally, I don't want to sacrifice the rest of my life to a family. So I choose to work. It's called prioritizing and making decisions based on your priorities. Responsible.
6. Money. There I said it. I don't want to have to spend my money on kids. I'd rather have a nice nest egg to survive on. I'd rather have the option to fulfill every one of my goals and dreams in my life if I so choose.
7. Time. I feel bad enough owning dogs that are alone for 10 hours every day. It takes time to raise a family properly. Time that I'd rather spend doing so many other things. Also, the time that I don't fill up raising my own family can be spent affecting many other children's lives that are already in need now.
8. My body. Call me vain if you want but I have no interest in pancake boobs.
9. There are enough screwed up people having screwed up kids. I don't need to add to that equation. Rephrased: I don't want to have a kid and screw it up. Although I'm a very loving, caring, loyal, generous person, I'm also harsh, critical, judgemental, opinionated, and selfish in some respects. I'd hate to know that I unintentionally emotionally harmed a defenseless child. It's easy to say that I'd never do that on purpose and that I'd love my child but you and I both know that there are times when people just get on your nerves and you explode. I don't want to even have the opportunity to explode. I'd rather be the solution than the cause of another problem in the world.
10. I just don't want to. Looking at all the good that can come from having children and a family doesn't seem like it's worth all the struggle and heart ache and stress and crap you have to go through.

This doesn't mean that I'm not willing and interested in having children in my life. I'd absolutely love to be everyone's favorite Auntie Salina. And I'm even willing to consider adoption sometime in the future if I decide that I'm in a place in my life where I'm ready and willing to sacrifice everything necessary to influence a person's life like that. I just know that I will never give birth to another human being. Perhaps a little heavier of a share than you were bargaining for but hey...that's what you get for knowing me. I'm always good for challenging your beliefs to your core.

I dare you to watch this!