I should have known I wanted to be a writer when I requested my own personal card catalog. Sure, mine was a tin recipe box instead of the massive chest of many tiny drawers, but even as a youngster I had a dream of writing enough stories to need a catalog.

Writing became a compulsive habit in middle and high school, and my favorite place to write was the closet because it was a handy spot to hide out from chores. Eventually, I moved out of the closet and to the University of Tennessee where I met my own Prince Charming. Then I did some time teaching Spanish. (Because that’s what you do with an English major, folks.)

I just finished my Masters in Professional Writing and am now wholly devoted to mothering and writing, i.e. herding cats. My novel Beulah Land and the Happy Hour Choir, won the 2010 Duel on the Delta Single Title category, finaled in the same category for the 2010 Maggie Awards of Excellence, and is a 2012 Golden Heart® finalist.

Fitness is another passion although it’s at war with my love of food. I had lost over thirty pounds, but I did a little too much stress eating while finishing my Masters and working on the conference. Part of my journey as a Healthy Writer will be to get back into the exercise groove, to figure out why I allow myself to eat poorly, and to come up with strategies to lose weight and make that weight loss permanent.

• Michelle Butler
• Mary Curry
• Sally Kilpatrick
• Trish Milburn
• Anna Sugden
• Tawny Weber

• Rachel Graves
• Keri Mikulski

     

• 2012 Golden Heart (R) finalist!

The Cleaning-Painting-Moving Fitness Program?

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick May 11 2012, 6:19 am

Whew, this has been quite the week.

I’m fervently cleaning out the front room to be my future office, helping a friend paint, and helping her move furniture. Oh, and another friend has been helping with some things around the house, so I’ve been helping move doors and things like that, too. Apparently, all of those non-Exercise things have paid off, since I finally posted a solid loss on the year. I’m -1.5 for the week and -5 for the year. I’m a little concerned some of it is that hard earned boot camp muscle, but what evs. I shall take what I can get.

Aside from the physical benefits of painting and moving heavy objects, here are my other top discoveries of the week:

5. Running Made Easy. Our own Anna Sudgens recommended this book. I’m halfway through and really enjoying it now that I’ve googled how many pounds are in a stone. Expect to see a review on this a little later.

4. A little bit goes a long way. For the past two weeks, I’ve been stopping once ever hour or two to do a set of push-ups, wall sits, tricep dips, and some plank. I’m hoping it’s enough to not lose muscle mass, and those little bursts seem to be surprisingly effective.

3. Chai. Plain ol’ chai. Yes, I have a hazardous addiction to chai lattes, but even the Starbucks variety with soy seems to be healthier than a coffee drink. It’s still 160 calories for a tall, though. Tazo tea bags are good, but loose leaf chai from Teavana is divine. Either way, if you make it at home with splenda, it’s calorie free.

2. Vitamuffin Deep Chocolate Muffin Tops. We’ve become reacquainted in the past two weeks, and it’s love at second sight. At 100 calories but packed with fiber, these babies make a satisfying afternoon snack AND satisfy my craving for chocolate.

1. Publix Greenwise Pizzas. Finally! A pizza I can eat that won’t cause me to gain weight. Margherita pizza is awesome, comes out crispy, and tastes great.

What about you? Found anything new to eat or do that we should know about?

4 Comments

All Because of Clutter?

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick May 4 2012, 12:14 am in Charge of the Light Brigade, clutter, Feng Shui, Sally Kilpatrick

I’m at war with clutter. Usually it feels like a losing battle, but I’m so frustrated at the haphazard state of affairs and of not having an office that I keep charging into the fray like the ill-fated Light Brigade. In addition to clearing out the clutter, I’m trying to decide on decorating schemes to [...]

5 Comments

Return of the Clutz: Boot Camp Reaches a Bitter End

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Apr 27 2012, 12:07 am in boot camp, injury, Sally Kilpatrick, the perils of fuzzy socks

I can’t say I’m going to miss the 4:55 wake up call, but I’m sorely disappointed to end my boot camp experience early. You see, I did what I so often do: I managed to injure myself to the point that I’m out of commission for the next four weeks. Yes, I went over to [...]

13 Comments

Boot Camp, Part Deux

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Apr 20 2012, 12:04 am in boot camp, delirium from lack of sleep, Sally Kilpatrick

So the best thing I can say is that I’m still standing. I’d love to give you some measurements or tell you I’ve lost five pounds, but that’s not how a program like this works. Boot camp is about conditioning. It’s a lot like when you start a strength training regimen and you don’t lose [...]

9 Comments

Private Benjamin, I Am Not

Posted by Sally Kilpatrick Apr 13 2012, 12:22 am in boot camp, burpees, Dante's Inferno, Private Benjamin, Rory Gilmore, Sally Kilpatrick

Seriously. I remember thinking in high school that I didn’t want to join the military because I knew myself well enough to know I would end up in serious trouble over early morning reveille. This is one of the few instances in which teenage Sally had a clue because I’m relatively certain 5:30 am Boot [...]

4 Comments