The 7 Week Plan Postscript - Keep the Faith

The seven weeks of my 7 Week Plan have come and gone. I didn’t do everything that I set out to do, however, I don’t feel like any of it has been a failure. Here’s why:

To Do Every Week

1.       Stick to my Isagenix program

I did pretty well at this for the first month, then I started to fall off the bandwagon. Wanting to eat actual food got in the way. Being really busy at work fueled off-program decisions. An abundance of pre-holiday and Goodbye celebrations rounded out my social calendar and my waistline. I have no regrets though. I’ve started to change my thinking and find myself making better choices more often than before. In terms of long term change, I’m happy with baby steps. I’m also pretty proud of myself for sticking it out through a total of four cleanse days. I have enough stuff left to do the program for probably about two more weeks when I get back from holiday, which I’ll use to try to get back into the healthier mindset to start off the New Year right.

2.       Exercise 2 hours per week

I did pretty well at this, achieving three or more hours each week (except for Week 7, cause that just wasn’t going to happen), mostly with thanks to my exercise buddy Penny. Penny has returned to Australia now, having finished up her time in the Sols, and though she will be missed in so many ways (not least of which are her baking, sour dough bread making abilities and general awesomeness) and is irreplaceable, I’ve already started to pull together a few friends interested in being exercise buddies in the hopes that we can work out some kind of schedule in January. In related news, exercising is hard but it also started to feel good (even when I was sore, it was the good-sore way).

3.       Connect with at least one friend that I haven’t been in contact for awhile

This was fun and the list of people I want to write to outnumbers (by far) the 7 weeks that I had to achieve it. There is literally a list, and I intend to keep making my way through it. Just making the list was immensely gratifying – there’s something really fulfilling about being able to name so many awesome people that I’m connected to even though I don’t get to keep in touch with them as much as I’d like, and to know that I’m doing something about it. Also planned for the future: getting better at responding to the messages I DO get.

 (Sharm, I swear, I’m going to respond soon – you’ve been up to some seriously interesting stuff!)

4.       Extend an invitation to do something with someone

5.       Do at least one fun thing on the weekend

I’m putting these two together because I never got particularly creative with my invitations or weekend plans, but the whole point of including both of these was to recognize that although I’m a homebody and am perfectly content (and somewhat inclined) to stay home, there’s a difference between being content and being happy. I may find contentment napping all weekend and watching tv, but I get much more active enjoyment out of hanging out with friends, catching up and having a few activities or events on throughout the week. That said, most of my invitations to do things were to go to dinner, often on the weekend, so in terms of the Plan I killed two birds with one stone on numerous occasions. The end result was the same: a lot less time in my room, and the good people of Honiara now know that I am, indeed, still in the country.

6.       Update this blog

Well, I was here more than I had been in the weeks and months before The Plan, so let’s call that a success too. Thanks to everyone who has been following along and being part of my cheering squad. You rock. As a thank you, I promise at least one post about online dating fails early in the new year.

To Do Before the End of the 7 Weeks

7.       Host a dinner party

8.       Find a hobby or start a project

9.       Learn Twitter

10.   Learn how to do something new

11.   Make a new friend

12.   Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for Christmas

My tortilla making dinner party was a success and I think I’ve managed to make our Google Gourmet Goddess thing ‘stick’ – we’ve got the third one planned, though the theme is yet to be decided (I’ve been arguing for menu with tofu as the main ingredient, though I think I’m going to be outnumbered by a the majority, who want to learn how to make bagels and different types of cheese – I’ll be on deck to lead the ricotta making.)

I’ve figured out Twitter but certainly haven’t integrated it into my usual social media consumption. I don’t know why it doesn’t do it for me, but I’m going to keep trying.

The app is still in the planning stages and Paul is trying to get some information about privacy to make sure that we have all the information we need to make sure that we don’t get into trouble, while I’ve been busy sketching things out. I should be buying a URL soon, which will make it feel like it actually might happen. It continues to be a fun project to have on the go.

I can’t say that there’s any new people that I became friends with during the 7 weeks, but there are definitely a few people that I transitioned from being ‘friendly’ with to actual friends, and that’s pretty awesome. Some I’ve even got as facebook friends now, so that makes things officially legit.

Last but not least, as I’m writing this much past the actual end of the 7 Week Plan, I can now tell you that my Christmas plans ended up being an excellent blend of Brisbane, Bon Jovi (with a first kiss captured on the jumbotron and therefore witnessed by 40,000 people), getting blown away in windy Wellington, a coach tour of the North Island, geeking out on Lord of the Rings and getting to play around with some online dating (more on some of that to come).

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, and thanks for following along!

Xo

H

Everybody needs somebody to love

Everybody needs somebody to hate

Everybody's bitching

'cause they can't get enough

And it's hard to hold on

When there's no one to lean on

Faith: you know you're gonna live thru the rain

Lord you got to keep the faith

Faith: don't let your love turn to hate

Right now we got to

Keep the faith

-- Keep the Faith, Bon Jovi

Update: Week 5 – This Ain’t a Love Song

Here’s an update from Week 5 of my 7 Week Plan.

Every week:
1.	Stick to my Isagenix program	I sucked this week. I feel guilty about it, but I was hungry. And SO sick of shakes. I wanted to eat actual food. And then when you’re feeling deprived it’s so much easier to make bad choices. It’s so annoying that I’m the only person in this history of the universe who has tried to lose weight and has had this problem. Note: The universe decided to call me out on my shake-hating week by having the Chinese restaurant that I picked up lunch from on Thursday add a bit of shell fish to my sweet and sour chicken. Which I’m allergic to. So that was a fun afternoon which totally reduced my actual calorie intake. Total weight loss since last update:  <sticking fingers in ears> lalalalalalala Total weight loss since Day 1:  grr. This week’s Bon Jovi lyrics are dedicated to my IsaJourney It made me so mad cause I wanted it bad for us baby Now it's so sad that whatever we had, ain’t worth saving If the love that I got for you is gone If the river I’ve cried ain’t that long Then I’m wrong, yes I’m wrong, this ain’t a love song
2.	Exercise 2 hours per week	Snuck in just over 3 hrs this week, including over an hour of a Bootcamp DVD that seriously kicked my butt. In related news: I did 5 burpees. It’s not much, and I did the easy version, but considering that until now I skipped that part of the DVDs, I’m rather proud of myself.
3.	Connect with at least one friend that I haven’t been in contact with in awhile	Yo, Sharmila. I wrote to you! Waiting to hear back...
4.	Extend an invitation to do something with someone	Tried to organize a dinner out on Wednesday but it didn’t work out. Still counts.
5.	Do at least one fun thing on the weekend	Went to the pool on Sunday for lunch and a swim (and met a few new people), then came home and hooked up our new BBQ and grilled up some chicken and finally broke out the Diana sauce that I’ve had hidden in the cupboard for a year and a half waiting to have a BBQ. Finally having a BBQ is very exciting!
6.	Update this blog	Check.
By the end of the 7 Weeks
7.	Host one dinner party	Completed: Week 4 Tortilla Making Extravaganza
8.	Find a hobby or start a project	App project still under way but haven’t made much progress in the last week except to continue to do research. The app is going to be related to online dating, and as a result I’ve spent a lot of time reading up – I had NO idea how much the online dating scene has changed in the last couple of years! Tinder? Grindr? Blendr? Coffee meets Bagel? How About We? There are so many options! I downloaded a couple to my phone to see what it’s all about, starting with Blendr and Tinder because they seem to be among the most popular. The premise of each is for people to sign up, and the app will use GPS to show you photos of other singles in geographic proximity to you. If you like what you see you say so, and if the other person also likes what they see they can say so and you’ve made a match and can chat. I’m sure there are lots of people out there that love this new way of doing things, and that they have helped fuel a hook up culture that many people are enjoying. They don’t seem like the kind of apps that I’d want to use if I were living in a city and actively searching for love but as a bit of research, it’s quite interesting. And by interesting, I clearly mean uneventful since I live in Honiara and when I signed in to Tinder there were all of 3 men for me to reject.
9.	Learn Twitter	Follow me on @HeatherCQuinn please I haven’t worked up the nerve yet to send out an actual tweet. I think I figured out why. I tried back in 2009 and my cousin never responded. Or whatever it is that you’re meant to do on Twitter. (I’m still figuring it out). I'm struggling to decide what to write in the "about me" section, and am open to any 160 character suggestions you may have. So far the only suggestion I've received is "Been more places than Carmen Sandiego. And a better dresser too". But we all know that style ins't my strong suit and he was just being nice. So, any other ideas?
10.	Learn how to do something new	Completed: Trying to learn how to build and launch an app
11.	Make a new friend	I’m actually not sure that I’m going to make this happen by the end of the 7 weeks. Only 2 weeks to go.
12.	Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for Christmas	Dec 13-19: Brisbane for Bon Jovi Dec 19-24: Wellington, New Zealand Dec 24-31: Coach tour of North Island, New Zealand Dec 31-Jan2: Brisbane Jan 2: Honiara

5 weeks down, 2 to go.

Correction from last post: My Grandmother wants everyone to know that she won’t be 82 until January.

(I think I’m just lucky that she didn’t call me an ass, since only an ass would talk about another woman’s age in public. Told you my Grandma was awesome.)

Update: Week 3&4 – Welcome to wherever you are

So, clearly I slipped a little since this is a joint Week 3 & 4 post, but I have a slew of excuses reasons at the ready, to help explain myself, the largest of which is.... I got a wee promotion! My boss Meghan has abandoned us to take up a fantastic opportunity in Cambodia, and I’ve recently been asked to take over until my contract (and current funding for the program) ends. Actually, it just occurred to me that I haven’t officially told anyone official that I’ll officially accept for that long, so I guess I better make a note to speak up tomorrow.

Today’s Bon Jovi lyric has been selected in honour of Meghan, the new adventure her and her family are about to embark on, and the relationship we developed over the last year. Inevitably whenever someone moves on to the next part of their lives, it is easy to think back to the start, which we’ve been doing a lot recently. For Meghan and I, the start was pretty rocky. It was a difficult time and not the best introduction. And yet, we totally found our way through it. As she described to someone in the office just before she said her final goodbyes, it didn’t take long before I was her “Person” in the office and she was mine... for me, it will take awhile to adjust, not just to the empty desk at the front of the room but also to all the other implications that vacant space means to me personally. I’ve promised to let her continue to life coach me via email (I need all the help I can get -and she knows it- which is why she eventually intervened and said she was taking over). It won’t be the same here without her, and I’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill, but I’m lucky she didn’t leave me with the mess she arrived to a year ago.  

Welcome to wherever you are

This is your life, you made it this far

Welcome, you gotta believe

That right here right now, you're exactly where you're supposed to be

Welcome, to wherever you are

When everybody's in, and you're left out

And you feel your drowning, in a shadow of a doubt

Everyones a miracle in their own way

Just listen to yourself, not what other people say

When it seems you're lost, alone and feeling down

Remember everybody's different

Just take a look around

Here’s an update from the third and fourth week of my 7 Week Plan.

Every week:
1.	Stick to my Isagenix program	Ok, so I totally didn’t expect to lose much in the last couple of weeks, considering I had plenty of weak moments (like caving on my Week 3 full day cleanse and eating chicken and cabbage for dinner), or making questionable choices (instead of doing a Sunday cleanse day I decided to go in a different direction aka the Sunday Night Roast Buffet dinner at Honiara Hotel), or simply having some tantrum-esque, “EFF-THIS” moments (and eating pasta for breakfast), but I’ve actually done surprisingly well. Total weight loss since last update: 5.5 lbs Total weight loss since Day 1:  7.8 lbs
2.	Exercise 2 hours per week	Thanks to 2x a week Zumba class and my workout buddy Penny, I’ve exceeded my 2 hr goal for the last two weeks. Bring it on!
3.	Connect with at least one friend that I haven’t been in contact with in awhile	I’m actually doing pretty badly at initiating this even though I totally thought it would be an easy one. Closest I’ve come is having a catch up with a dear friend Caroline (of “why I don’t like to ride things” story fame), who had amazing news to share: she’s going to be a mom! And not only that, the baby is due the day after my birthday, so clearly this kid is going to be phenomenal. Am super excited for her and Charlie!
4.	Extend an invitation to do something with someone	Week 3: I invited Meghan’s husband to dinner to satisfy this requirement (no joke) but ended up going to their place instead. Week 4: See #7
5.	Do at least one fun thing on the weekend	Week 3: Another dinner with friends (still fun, still counts) Week 4: Dinner at the French restaurant with friends and, See #7
6.	Update this blog	So I’m a little late, but who’s counting?
By the end of the 7 Weeks
7.	Host one dinner party	So on Sunday evening I had 8 friends over for dinner. The premise was simple: I’d google a couple of new recipes and then we’d all convene to cook and then eat together. It’s the second time I’ve done it, and we learned how to make homemade tortillas and flat bread (last time was perogies – which were incredible – and gnocchi – which wasn’t). Despite one friend saying she thought my original request for her to bring a few of the ingredients was “bossy”, I successfully won her over and everyone had happy bellies and a great time. Special shout out to my exercise buddy Penny who made an awesome mexican beef stew that totally stole the show (and really necessitated my participation at Zumba on Monday).
8.	Find a hobby or start a project	Needless to say, it’s been a bit hectic at work, and who knew that exercising a few days a week, socializing, keeping up with interesting reading/blogs and trying to start a side project would mean that I have significantly less time for my one true love: tv. As for a hobby or project, I remember telling a friend somewhat recently, that I really wanted to create something. Something to add to the world, that wouldn’t be there otherwise. “Um, a baby?..” he responded, hesitantly, cautiously Which I found funny at the time because it’s totally not what I had in mind, though was super on point and is totally up for grabs as an option if anyone wants to partner with me on that venture... ...anyone? Don’t answer right away, feel free to sleep on it. Anyway, since being home last, I’ve found myself spending a lot of time thinking about all the amazing things my friends are doing. Things they are creating. Not just marriages and babies and relationships and well rounded lives for their dogs, but other stuff too, like businesses and “projects”, and hobbies/side gigs that actually are something. A contribution to the world. That wouldn’t otherwise be there. I was inspired. And jealous. And then decided that I could probably do something too. So what am I doing, you ask? No, I’m not writing a book (sorry Teri Herbert) Don’t laugh: I’m building an app. Like, not totally on my own, I’ve got a partner in crime (coincidentally, Meghan’s husband, Paul). More details to follow as we wade through this. It’s pretty exciting though, and also a bit intimidating and it probably won’t go anywhere, but it’s been invigorating to learn about something new, consider possibilities and basically, just try. It's going to cost a bit of cash, but probably way less than if I choose to pursue my back up plan of scrapbooking. Stay tuned for details!
9.	Learn Twitter	Follow me on @HeatherCQuinn I still don’t really get it. I mean I get it, but I don’t really understand the appeal. Or all the shortened link names etc. Nevertheless, I’m trying.
10.	Learn how to do something new	I think trying to figure out how to design and launch an app counts.
11.	Make a new friend	No progress yet – but I have a lead.
12.	Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for Christmas	THIS JUST IN: yesterday I booked myself on a 9 day tour of the North Island of New Zealand, from Wellington to Auckland. So holidays still start with 5 days in Brisbane for Bon Jovi and hanging out with a friend, then 5 days to explore Wellington and hit up some Lord of the Rings Tours because I’m really cool, then 9 days making my way up to Auckland via tour. Back to Brisbane on Dec 31st in time to stock up on essential supplies (like cheese) before the shops close for New Years Eve, then back home to Honiara Dec 2nd. Much love and thanks for the friends who offered to have me, but I think this is going to be a good Christmas Orphan option, but who knows when I’ll get a chance to see New Zealand in the near future. Of course, I’m probably going to end up with a bus load of old people, but if they’re as hilarious as my Grandma is, I should be good. (Grandma, please don’t get upset that I called you old. At 82, it’s more a fact than a judgement and you should be proud  that you're still awesome. Also, don't forget that you can't hit reply to this email. Love you!)

4 weeks down, 3 to go.

Hard at work, tortilla making

Update: Week 2 - Something for the Pain

Here’s an update from the second week of my 7 Week Plan.

Missed my Week 1 Update? Click here for that.

Not sure what I'm talking about at all? Click here for details of my 7 Week Plan.

WEEK 2:

Every week:
1.	Stick to my Isagenix program	Oh what I wouldn't give for a zucchini. After waiting patiently for the days to slowly creep by until the magical date that the lady at OzFresh said the boat would arrive and she would have fresh vegetables, I went bursting through the doors to the shop and was met with devastation: there were no zucchini. Zucchini has an incomparable way of brightening up any meal. I’m not the only one who squeals with excitement when they are available, snatching up as many as might fit in the fridge and then happily designing a week worth of meals around them. “I can’t find the zucchini...” I said aloud, trying to cling on to some semblance of hope, partially asking, partially processing, while standing in the middle of the shop that consists of three large clear glass front refrigerators that very noticeably failed to contain any zucchini. “They didn’t package them right so they were damaged,” she told me, barely making eye contact. In the shameful way. My heart grew heavy in my chest, my puppy dog eyes emerged, my mouth was on the verge of producing a pout. “But I’ve been waiting for weeks” I said, glumly. “I know”, she said, at least with an appropriate amount of sympathy, considering the devastating blow she just delivered. I did my best to regain my composure, instead picking up a head of some vegetable that is a version of cabbage that looks a bit like lettuce, and  that I don’t know how to cook with. At least she gave me a free garlic to compensate for my pain and suffering (and to round out the basic recipe she suggested for cooking up the cabbage I begrudgingly settled for).   Let’s overlook that she always throws in a free garlic or couple of onions – for me and everyone else - probably as a last ditch effort to try to atone for her ridiculously high prices. She always double checks the bill tally too, probably because she is also just as surprised by how little you can get from her shop for quite a lot of money. Still, she’s lovely and I’m happy that sometimes she has great stuff that I’m happy to fork over all of my money for. I went back to my car to sulk alongside all the other ingredients that I had purchased under the now foiled grand plan to chop everything up into a delicious and exhilarating dinner of baked zucchini boats. It was then that I realized something else: She didn’t have any fresh cauliflower either. I just can’t catch a break. Anyway, the point is that sometimes it’s really tough to eat healthy here, because getting ingredients is a crap shoot. Here’s to hoping the next boat has better packing and loading staff, and that overnight I might grow vivaciously fond of bok choi. Dinners of chicken, cabbage and onions are getting a little boring. In other news, I’m happy to report that I continue to massacre my water intake AND have now successfully completed a full one day cleanse... TWICE! (once in Week 1 but I forgot to toot my own horn about that last post). My first time on the program, I only managed to make it through one day –and was pretty miserable about it – and then caved and ate dinner the second time I tried, subsequently swearing that I would never subject myself to the misery again. This time around, it wasn’t quite as bad as I remembered, but I did learn is that the trick is to do it on a Sunday and come to the office to hide from the fridge and occupy my brain with other stuff (like writing blog posts, sending epic emails to friends and researching potential hobbies). Total weight loss this week: I don’t want to talk about it. My methodological error from last week has come back to bite me in the ass, as expected, AND I feel like considering I did (almost) everything right this week, the scale should have been a little more supportive. Full disclosure: I did succumb to a bunch of finger sandwiches yesterday, which was an exercise in poor judgement and strategy considering I had to get on the scale today. But like, still. Ok fine I’ll tell you. If I go with my misguided weigh in from last Wednesday I gained weight, so let’s just chalk that up to a miscalculation, and instead report that from Thursday last week until this morning (Thursday), I lost 0.9 lbs. (Note: I totally just resisted the very strong urge to include the word ‘only’ in that sentence, because maybe positivity will help. I think that's what a positive person would say). Total weight loss since Day 1:  only 2.3 lbs This sucks.  Here’s to staying on track and having a great Week 3. PS. If anyone tries to talk to me about building lean muscle and how it weighs more than fat etc I might thump you.
2.	Exercise 2 hours per week	Last week, my exercise endeavours fell victim to circumstance (and lack of motivation to reshuffle, since I should probably take some responsibility). This week however... Wait for it... Wait for it... I did: ·         An hour of Zumba on Thursday ·       50 mins of an aerobics DVD followed by 25 mins of a pilates DVD on Saturday morning (MORNING!) ·         Another hour of Zumba on Monday and ·         A 30 minute Cardio Box DVD workout on Tuesday* I wimped out of swimming on Wednesday like I had planned because my swimming buddies were busy and I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm or motivation to go on my own. I was tired and had a few other things I needed to work on, but even still, not only did I achieve my goal of 2 hrs for this week, but I also made up for the exercise deficit from Week 1, so I’m going to enjoy that victory. *We had considered following this by doing the 30 minute core stability DVD right after but sat on our yoga mats watching it instead, grateful that we weren’t actually trying to do it. That shit looked hard yo.
3.	Connect with at least one friend that I haven’t been in contact with in awhile	I didn't initiate any of these conversations, but I sure replied with gusto when the opportunities were presented to me. This week I sent an epic reply to my friend Carmen, formerly of Honiara and now back in Melbourne, and was part of a five person Skype call with my current house mates here and two of our former friends/temporary house mates who happened to be together in Manchester at the moment. It was great to crowd around the tiny computer screen with Annalisa and Elio, and tease Alessandra and Rodolfo; technology is great because in many ways it felt just like back in my early days in Honiara when we would all spend far too many hours loitering on the porch talking garbage. So lovely to connect with all three and be reminded that even though it’s normal that people leave, I've made some great friends to keep in touch with.
4.	Extend an invitation to do something with someone	My friend Dani recently turned 30. She apparently wasn't very happy about the idea, so her housemate Claire planned a surprise birthday party for her on Wednesday last week, with a ‘kids birthday theme’. I was in charge of making the pinyata. It was a strawberry. Nevertheless, I've never hung out with Dani without Claire, and since Claire is now out of the country until the new year, we made a plan to go to dinner...
5.	Do at least one fun thing on the weekend	Our quiet dinner turned into a quiet dinner for 14 at the Korean Restaurant, but was great fun and a chance to spend a bit more time chatting to some people I don’t know that well. I wonder if a pattern is emerging though... every time I initiate plans with someone it turns into a big group thing. Might have to keep my eye on that.
6.	Update this blog	Tick!
By the end of the 7 Weeks:
7.	Host one dinner party	Invitations sent.
8.	Find a hobby or start a project	Still working away at this in the background....
9.	Learn Twitter	No progress yet
10.	Learn how to do something new	No progress yet
11.	Make a new friend	No progress yet
12.	Figure out what the heck I'm going to do for Christmas	Carmen has confirmed that her invitation to spend Christmas with her and her in-laws in Melbourne still stands. Alessandra has confirmed that she’d be pretty stoked if I were to come to Adelaide to see her and her family (and warned that it will get pretty loud. Italians.) And Charlie from the New Zealand Tour operator keeps writing me to ask if I’m going to sign up. He informed me earlier that their usual demographic is from age 30 – 60, but another colleague also seems to have replied to my query saying it’s 35 – 90. Yikes. I’m considering writing to Charlie to see if he’s single, under 50 and wants to come along.

Two weeks down, 5 to go.

Come on, come on, come on

Give me something for the pain

Give me something for the blues

Give me something for the pain when

I feel I've been danglin from a hang-mans noose

Give me something I can use

To get me through the night

Make me feel all right,

Something like you

- Something for the Pain, These Days (1995), Bon Jovi

Update: Week 1 - If that's what it takes, then that's what I'd do

Here’s an update from the first week of my 7 Week Plan.

Every week:
1.	Stick to my Isagenix program	Getting back into the habit of having two diet shakes per day (breakfast and lunch) after being on holiday with amazing food and buffet breakfasts sucks balls. I did pretty well though, considering, but have been putting a frozen banana in with at least one of the shakes because it tastes significantly better that way. I have been having a boiled egg as a mid morning snack most days, and have some cucumbers and carrots in the fridge for afternoon snack bug haven’t yet touched them because I’ve been busy at work and apparently not hungry enough to feel the need. I drank the right amount of water 5 out of the 7 days, but man it’s tough sometimes! I sit in an office with 4 other colleagues and they’ve been really supportive and now know what’s going on when I blurt out that “I’m killing my water today!” because I keep track on a little note by my desk and sometimes a little outburst is enough to keep me motivated. Dinners weren’t all as healthy as they could have been on account of the Indian restaurant being the best food in town and everyone’s favourite restaurant these days, not to mention that the roti with ‘generous use of fat’ is obviously amazing. Am going to have to see what I can do to eat better things in Week 2. My week starts on a Thursday and ends on a Wednesday, and I weigh myself first thing in the morning. I weighed myself on Thursday as my starting weight for the week and then again on Wednesday morning for my ending weight, for a total loss of 3.8 lbs. YIPPEE! Then I realized the error of my ways (it really should be Thursday to Thursday, with the end weight for one week also being the starting weight for the next, silly me). I realized this because on Thursday morning (start of Week 2) I was significantly “less light”. Still, lesson learned, but I’m keeping the 3.8 lb loss because even though false it feels good, and will deal with the repercussions next Update.
2.	Exercise 2 hours per week	I feel like despite some solid, well intentioned efforts, I was destined to fail at this task this week. What I did manage to achieve was one evening swimming, with a total of 10 laps. The first 6 were serious aerobic efforts, but then Annalisa arrived and my arms were tired, so the last 4 were much more recreational. Still, better than sitting on my butt at home. Elio and Annalisa have promised to be my swim buddies and help keep me motivated, though we won’t hold our breaths in the hopes that the Honiara hotel sorts out their water quality so that we can actually see the lines at the bottom of the pool and swim straight. Combat class was cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday Zumba lunch was also cancelled, so my plans went out the window, but I did find an additional friend to be an exercise buddy so that should help significantly next week.
3.	Connect with at least one friend that I haven’t been in contact with in awhile	Hadn’t had a proper catch up with Laura in a long time so I stayed up late on Saturday night and she got up early on Saturday morning and we fit in a solid hour long Skype chat. I continue to be excited and inspired by her entrepreneurial endeavour and can’t wait to hear more about it!
4.	Extend an invitation to do something with someone	Penny and I have been friends for awhile, but I don’t think we’ve ever actually hung out just the two of us. We made a plan to go out for dinner and then watch a movie but one mutual friend was in town temporarily and was having dinner with a bunch of people, including another friend who was about to leave the Solomons, so we went to that instead and it was great (and still totally counts!)
5.	Do at least one fun thing on the weekend	I’m double counting this because the dinner I just mentioned was on Saturday night and it was really great to sit around and chat with a bunch of people, especially Elizabeth who was in town just for a few days before heading back to her job in Papua New Guinea.
6.	Update this blog	Ta-da!   A little belated but I’ll get better.
By the end of the 7 Weeks
7.	Host one dinner party	No progress yet
8.	Find a hobby or start a project	I have some ideas, and had one conversation with someone integral to the realization of a possible project. I hope to chat more about it this week.
9.	Learn Twitter	No progress yet
10.	Learn how to do something new	No progress yet
11.	Make a new friend	No progress yet
12.	Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for Christmas	It basically feels like the two reasonable options are to either visit a couple of friends in Australia (I’m lucky enough that some have already offered), or to go to New Zealand. I’m not the best solo, independent traveller (and am not into the backpacking scene) so I started looking in to tour companies and am considering a 9 day tour of the South Island as a possibility. If I choose this option though, not only will I spend Christmas with a bunch of people I don’t know, but would have no idea until I get there the type of people they are. It seems highly likely, knowing my luck, that I’d end up on a coach full of senior citizens.

One week down, 6 to go.

The 7- Week Plan: Feeling like a Monday but someday I’ll be Saturday night

I have been professionally trained to set objectives, create plans, decide how to determine if the goal or objective has been met, and then set up systems and tools to track progress against the objectives. In its most simple form, this is basis of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).

My boss likes to laugh at me sometimes when I talk about stuff or make suggestions– “oh my god you’re such an M&E person!” , which, I suppose, is a compliment considering that’s what they pay me for.

So, it will come as no surprise to her that while on vacation, I decided that I need a plan.  A Clear Away The Gloom Plan. A You Are In Charge Of Your Own Destiny Plan. A Happiness Now Plan. Generally, the main objective, or thing we want to have achieved with this plan is “Heather is happy and healthy”.

To do this, I’ve decided, rather unilaterally and without any remorse because I’ve already consulted the only direct beneficiary of this program – me – to make myself a 7-Week Plan.

Why 7-weeks?

Well, I read somewhere that it takes 6 weeks to create a new habit, and considering how stubborn I am, the extra week seems like a reasonable buffer if I want some of this stuff to stick. Also, it’s a practical marker because 7 weeks from the start of the Plan, I’m flying to Brisbane to:

a) Kick my Christmas holidays into full swing, and

b) Sing my face off at a Bon Jovi concert, and

c) Meet up (for the first time) with someone who I’ve enjoyed getting to know and has become rather important to me over the last 6 or so months*, and has promised to be totally ok with me singing my face off at the Bon Jovi concert

* unless he’s reading this, in which case, clearly what I mean is “someone who is alright and meeting will be cool, cause I’m super casual etc, no biggie, I super love platonic relationships”.

So the plan. 

For the next 7 Weeks I will:

1. Stick to my Isagenix program  

Isagenix is a nutritional cleanse that my brother introduced me (and multiple members of my family) to; I sometimes suspect that this was his way of retaliating for the fact that I would occasionally steal his Halloween candy growing up. Or maybe it’s just that karma is only a bitch if you are? Isagenix mainly involves replacing two meals per day with their shakes, having a couple healthy snacks throughout the day and then one healthy meal featuring lean protein and vegetables, and drinking loads of water (your weight in lbs, divided in half, and then drink that many oz per day). Additionally, once a week you are supposed to do a ‘deep cleanse’ by not eating anything at all and just having their ‘deep cleanse’ powder, which is, obviously, so fun. I signed up and did it for a couple of months after I got back from Canada in July, but quit doing the deep cleanses after the first one because I was a monster to be around (I tried to hide it on the outside, but in my head I was stomping on helpless villagers and purposely aiming my fire breath at their fields and easily flammable structures). I think I lost about 12 lbs, but I’m really not sure because at the time I started I had a crappy scale and the new fancy scale I got wasn’t quite fancy enough to figure out what I weighed 2 months before I bought it. I’ll probably tell you more about that experience as we go along, but for now know that I’m back on the wagon.

A selfie I took around lunch time the first time I tried to do a full day deep cleanse. The fire breathing commenced around mid-afternoon.

2. Exercise 2 hours per week

I wanted to say 1, on the premise that it’s 100% more exercise than I currently do and I want to set myself up for success rather than failure, but then someone suggested that you’re really meant to do like 4 hrs per week generally, so this seemed like less of a cop out and perhaps more in the spirit of the challenge.

3. Connect with at least one friend that I haven’t been in contact with in awhile

Like everyone else, I get caught up with life and work. I’m pretty good about keeping in touch with people that I see online often (ie. on Gmail chat, or Skype), but considering the time difference and the fact that a surprising number of the people I like best in the world aren’t as consistently online as I am (yay iPhone!), I’ve decided that I’m going to put in a little effort here.

4. Extend an invitation to do something with someone

On the same train as putting in some effort with people in other parts of my life, I’m going to put in a little effort to connect more regularly with the people that I like that are easily accessible here. Sure, it’s going to be more difficult to do that now than maybe it would have been in the past because a lot of people I really like have left, but there are still plenty of people still here. It’s easy to sit back and wait for people to invite you to do things, but I think a more proactive approach might be in order.

5.  Do at least one fun thing on the weekend

A homebody at heart, I find it really easy to spend the entire weekend at home, watching TV or fiddling on the internet. But there is a clear distinction between being content and being happy, and between spending time and making use of time. For the next 7 weeks I’m going to make sure that I’m actively making good use of my weekends by doing at least one fun thing, with other people. Lucky for me, there’s a beach not too far away!

6. Update this blog

So, I kinda like writing this blog. And even though I do get enjoyment from knowing that some people are reading it, or from having you leaving comments or letting me know that you are reading it (thanks!), I also get a lot of my enjoyment from the actual process of writing and posting it. So I’m going to try to do it a little more. As luck would have it, weekly updates on the 7 Week Plan will count.

Additionally, there are a few smaller goals I feel I should set for myself – small victories people, small victories. 

By the end of the 7 Weeks I will:

7. Host one dinner party – we haven’t had people over in awhile, and usually when we do, it’s because Annalisa suggests it. Since I don’t want the invites I get to dry up, I’m going to take the reins one night.

8. Find a hobby or start a project – Apparently “watching TV” and “online dating” aren’t great hobbies. So I’m going to sort out something else.

9. Learn Twitter – I get it, but only sort of. I don’t have any 8 year olds around to explain it all to me, so this is my chance to figure it out on my own. Will you tweet with me?

10. Learn how to do something new – We should all be constantly striving to learn new things. Twitter won’t count, and I’m not sure what this might be yet, but I’m open to suggestions (as long as you don’t suggest that I learn Instagram, because: baby steps people).

11. Make a new friend – People are always leaving and I like to joke (read: not joke but wish I were joking) that I’ve used up all the time and energy I have for making an effort to make new friends. I know there are some really solid new people kickin’ about. So to one of them I say, “I’m coming for you”.

12. Figure out what the heck I’m going to do for Christmas – If I haven’t figured this one out by the end of the 7 Weeks, I’m going to be really panicked. The plans I thought I had fell through, going to Canada will cost an unreasonable $4000 so that I can get sick on the plane and spend a week on my mom’s couch, and staying in Honiara just seems like an undeserved lump of coal (when I definitely deserve to be on the Nice List).

Also, in celebration of being reunited live and in concert with my man Bon Jovi, and in keeping with my claims that he writes the soundtrack to my life, I’ve decided to try to infuse a little Bon Jovi lyrical flair over the next 7 Weeks – as if you needed something else to be excited about.

So, that’s the Plan. 7 Weeks, 12 things. 

I have a tracking sheet and everything.

I'm telling you about it to help keep me honest. Let’s see what happens.

PS. I ran out of steam writing about the final days of my holiday, which means you’ve missed a bit of stuff like...

... the story I was going to tell you about the truck full of little people who were driving around town making lots of noise and trying to get people to come watch their ‘midget fight club’ matches

...or how I was going to try to explain to all the non-Aussies in my life about what a ‘bogan’ is and how a big group of them walked in to pizza hut in only their bathing suits (and probably later went to see the midget fight club)

... or a little chat about how the second last hotel inspired Nisha and I to coin a new term for ‘something that looks great until closer inspection’ (“we totally got Puri Bunga’d”)

... or my suggesting that maybe I was a little old for the very last hotel we stayed at because I truly believed that the poolside DJ was playing his music louder than necessary and was not at all inspired to line up along the side of the pool to have anyone pour alcohol directly into my mouth  

Maybe next time.

Note: I’m writing this at the same time as my Week 1 Update. Click here to read that.

And if you want to read the posts I did get around to writing about my holiday and missed them before, you can check them out here:

Bali: Day 1 - 3 (or please stop reminding me)

Bali: Day 4 - 6 (or, Second Honeymoon Begins)

Bali: Day 7&8 (or, Thanks for the Lift)