“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.”  ~ Robert Frost

A year ago I entered the new forty with a promise to self – write every day for me. That promise was the genesis of this blog. A year and over 217,000 blog views later, one could say that my life is somewhat of an open book. Over the past three hundred and sixty-five days on the Area Voices blog site I have shared my thoughts, opinions, trials and tribulations, questions about life, and snippets of who I am.  And delightfully, many of you have likewise shared with me – either in your blog comments, emails offline, or as we run into each other in our daily lives.  It has been a great honor and privilege to be able to connect with you like this and truly the best gift I ever gave myself.

So here I am at the outset of year two of the new forty – today I attain the label of 51 – and with my second year in the new forty comes an opportunity to commit to another promise to self.  This year’s promise, as I stated in an earlier blog post, is to attain my best body ever.  As I said in my previous post, that means better than the body I possessed in the old forties, or the thirties, or even the twenties – a body designed and sculpted purposefully with the knowledge of diet and exercise I have gained over the years and with a level of determination that has come to be the hallmark of my new forty.

I have been fortunate to enlist some assistance in my year two goal.  My progress will be documented by a former student and friend, Misty, of Dreaming In Color Photography.  Misty did the first photo shoot with me last Tuesday so that we could capture a start point for my goal.  The idea is to give a sense of where I am presently so that progress can be documented.  Misty took a number of photos, but the below photo is the one I think best shows the key areas I’ll be working on (without having to create a hard-to-forget half-naked Biggest Loser spandex moment).

My friend Jeanine says the above photo looks like an album cover image for an old eighties rock band like Whitesnake.  I guess it kinda’ does…perhaps I never left the eighties after all. 🙂

I also have to note that I have received some stellar advice on diet and building muscle from a man who has left no muscle on his body untended (thank you Lee) and other folks who have fitness savvy and have been supportive of my goals.  I will be rolling all of that into my workout agenda.

So, here is where I begin.  Misty will capture my progress as I move forward and pursuant to requests that I have received from a number of you, I will share information about the things I am doing as I go along.  This is the year where I will prove to myself that I am the master of my own body and that my determination is what shapes my success (and in this case my fanny, upper body, abs and legs as well).

Thanks again to all of you who have been so supportive of my blogging efforts – I hope you’ll join me in year two of the new forty – it just wouldn’t be the same without you. 😉

Day three hundred and sixty-five of the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C