Random Monday quick hits....

• It's 7:42 a.m., and I'm proud to report that I've been home from my workout for more than an house. Jazzercise, 5:30 a.m. I went once last week. I hope to go at least twice this week. 
• I have an idea for Random Act of Kindness Day, which is coming up on Thursday. It involves Cadbury Cream Eggs. I apparently don't know how to do something kind without fattening people up. We'll see if I stick to this idea or figure out something better in the coming days.
• I made one of my 20 Little Things to fast once per quarter. Well, guess what? Quarter one is just about up. A week or so to go. Which means I'm going to be doing a one-day fast in the coming days. I'm considering doing it tomorrow. That means eating dinner tonight and then no food again until dinner Tuesday. I worry a bit though that I'm not "prepared." But I don't know, maybe that's missing the point. Part of me feels like I should go on a mini-fast to prepare for my fast. Or at least eat, like, mostly fruit today.
• MSU is in the Sweet Sixteen! One of the best buzzer beaters I've ever seen from the Spartans. Shots like that never seem to fall for them. I have doubts they can go much further without Kalin Lucas. But still very cool to see them back in the Sweet Sixteen. Where they belong. :)
• I rearranged my family room yesterday, and I am so wishing I'd done this, oh, three years ago. Now we need to get two new armchairs, and that room will finally be a comfortable place. Yay!
• And finally, I never take photos of my cat anymore. Luke eats up most of my camera attention. But the other day she was curled up in the sun, and I took a few photos for old-time sake. Enjoy, and enjoy your Monday, too!

I woke up EIGHT times last night!

I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

—Proverbs 24:30-34

I'm wearing a FitBit for the next week to track my every waking move. Specifically, it will track my calories burned, the number of steps I take and miles I walk, and my sleep patterns. I started wearing it yesterday, and it's already been pretty revelatory. Because of FitBit, I know I woke up eight times last night, that I got in bed at midnight and that it took me 14 minutes to fall asleep. I also know I've somehow burned 500 calories today just sitting on my bum reading the internet. (I sort of want an explanation for that one -- having trouble buying it.)

But I'm excited to wear this thing throughout the week as I try several different forms of fitness. I plan to wear it running, to a Jazzercise class, doing some exercise DVDs, and possible in a yoga class or other fitness class. I'll be writing about it for that work place in a couple of weeks, so I don't want the article to be all about how I burned so many calories sitting on my bum reading blogs, ya know? So if anything is going to get my workouts back on track, I think this could be it.

And by the way? My workouts are way way off track. I'm just out of the habit completely. I blame... winter. Is that fair? Whatever, I still blame it! I was just too down for a lot of it to drag myself out of bed. I was a sluggard of the highest order. Dragging my feet, fog in my head, dreariness personified. I shook it off here and there, but never completely. I let myself go, as they say. Let the walls crumble around me, as I laid back and took a nice rest.

Did I turn to God and pray about my general malaise, to ask for strength? No, sure didn't. And it just kept on.

I don't want to beat myself up here. Did I stick to my goals? No. I am disappointed about that. But I'm not superwoman. It's OK to struggle at times. It's normal.

But I do want to do better for myself, including working out regularly. Spring will help. And so will this little FitBit! Sluggard, be gone!

Reading elsewhere

Go on six dates with my husband

Here's a blogger who is shooting much higher than me. She's doing a date each week with her husband. They stay home and don't spend money, which is makes it interesting. They take turns figuring out what they'll do during their designated "date" time. She has a contract on her Web site if you want to participate. I feel like I could never do this! But it's a great idea.

Drink more water
Here's a five-step plan to help anyone who is trying to drink more water.

Establish a 6 a.m. workout plan that works.
Another mom who blogs is also playing with working out in the morning. Maybe she's on to something -- going to an actual class to ensure she's up and working out. It's really easy to tell myself I'm going to skip it (as I did all week) when I'm just going downstairs to workout to a DVD.

Make something crafty
I love these mosaic garden planters. So cute. Maybe this will be my craft project? We'll see. I'm going to collect a bunch of ideas before picking something.

Eat more whole grains
Oprah had Michael Pollen on her show this week. He's the writer who came up with the phrase, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." On the Big O's Web site, she has a little guide to cooking with whole grains. I think that can be the stumbling block for a lot of people who look at these bird seed looking stuff and think, 'What the heck am I supposed to do with that?'

Do a Random Acts of Kindness each month
I noticed this story. Kind of cool. Someone dropped a pair of rings into a Salvation Army bucket, and it's being chalked up as a random act of kindness.