Happy 2021 and Setting New Goals

A new year, a vaccine and hopefully things will be looking up for the world. A rather spontaneous series of circumstances is the basis for our New Year’s Eve celebration. Instead of having a formal meal on New Year’s Day we opted to have a dinner with family and friends on December 31st. So here’s how we welcomed in a happy 2021.

I am a big believer that setting the mood for an event happens as soon as your guests arrive. That’s why having a champagne bar out of the back of my vintage 1974 Triumph TR6 seemed like a good idea.

My son’s girlfriend, Delaney help create the vintage/luxury theme by using a fur stole, crystal garland, a tapestry shawl and sparkly trees. A copper tub holds the champagne and Prosecco and hot mulled apple cider is also offered as a non-alcoholic beverage.

Our neighbor who always finds fabulous things, brought over a jar of hibiscus flowers she found at Trader Joe’s. What a festive addition to the champagne! To see how I decorated the TR6 at another event, click here.

A sit down dinner for 10 on the back porch included: smoked turkey and ribs, salad from the garden, French onion soup, twice baked potatoes, bread pudding, mincemeat pie and persimmon bread. Then the sparklers came out which is a fun way to end a year. More fireworks were occurring on the cul-de-sac next to us, so it was an eventful night!

Onto New Year’s Day

Rather early to bed on NYE and up in time to see the first sunrise of 2021. Since we have so much foliage we never get a good view of the horizon, but it was still quiet and peaceful to watch it.

Implementing a Resolution

Probably the most important resolution for me is to get back to habitually exercising. In 2021, I am committed to doing something at least 6 days per week. For me, this doesn’t mean a high intensity workout daily (at least not yet), but easing my way back into the habit of exercise. So on New Year’s Day I took a long walk, getting my heart rate up enough to qualify as exercise. Whether it be hiking, biking, walking, going to the gym or Pilates, I am attempting to exercise each day.

Last year for Christmas I received an Apple watch. I was seeking a way to monitor my heart rate as three close friends (in my age group) had cardiac issues (one fatal). Instead of some sort of heart monitor, the family bought me this watch. I actually love the fact that it records my movements, heart rate and can also let you know if something is amiss.

Setting Goals

Here’s an example of what it records. There are 3 circles that represent your activity. Blue is for standing, yellow is for exercise and the red is for calories burned by moving. You set the parameters for this. My goals are: 12 hours of standing; 30 minutes of exercise (I should increase that); and 560 calories burned by moving. When you reach your goal, the watch notifies you and the circle is complete.

As you can see I did pretty well January 2020. To give you an idea, I completed 31 workouts for a total of 21 hours 32 minutes of exercise and burned 5,044 calories. So I started last year with good intentions. But you can see what happens over the course of the year (and COVID didn’t help). In November 2020, I did 13 workouts, 12 1/2 hours and burned 2,400 calories. Pretty pathetic.

The watch also tracks the # of steps you take per day. Lots of areas to set new goals. If you have a smart phone, the Health App also tracks several items too.

I am also using the Lose It app, which monitors your caloric intake. Surprisingly, when you write down what you eat, you tend to eat less.

So I am hoping that the combination of exercising, tracking my food intake and reporting back to you will help me in 2021.

A few of you asked about my exercise goals and hopefully this will motivate you to get started. Remember to check with your doctor if you are doing something out of the ordinary. What works for me, may not work for you. But let’s get started together. I hope to publish my monthly results in order to make myself accountable to you.

I hope you had a wonderful New Year’s celebration. Now let’s make this a fabulous year!