On to the Next! Updates and other foolishness...

Wow, how quickly two whole months go by!

After four months, I decided to take a break from virtual training to go my own way.  Fitness has become a top priority in my life ever since I set a goal of living a healthier, more active lifestyle.  However, I need to re-evaluate my goals.  I have been neglecting myself in a way I can't really explain.  I'll just say that my soul is sad.  I have not made time for hobbies that used to make me feel happy and productive, like I was tapping into who I was created to be.  Yeah, really. 

My sewing machine is no longer in commission.  While I'm saving for a brand new one, I turned my attention to my second-favorite hobby--painting.  I devised a plan to spend Friday nights with my paints, a glass of moscato, and some great tunes while I transfer my deepest dreams to canvas.  I set out to start this ritual last Friday night.  And then my son got sick.  And then he was up late with a tummy ache.  And I was up with him, trying to coax him to sleep.  And then I didn't really feel like painting anymore, or doing much of anything for that matter.

This happens all the time.  I come up with a plan and I get stoked.  And then stuff happens and my plans get derailed and I don't know how to feel the way I did before-- like conquering the world.

If you come across a remedy for this, fling it my way.  Please?  Thanks.

Reaching for the Stars: Why I'm in Love with Goal Setting

I have always loved stargazing.  There is nothing better to me than sitting underneath a blanket of stars.  Even better to catch a glimpse of a shooting star or rare comet.  I have loved astronomy since I was a small child.  For a week of my life, I seriously thought I wanted to be an astronaut.  But I kind of suck at science, and I hate math so…

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I grew up believing that I could be anything, and that the possibilities for my life were as endless as the starry universe.  All I ever wanted was to know my purpose, and to truly live my life, free as a bird, with no regrets.  To be honest, I often have no idea what I’m doing.  I still don’t have a solid grasp of what my purpose is.  I don’t even know if I think I have one purpose.  Maybe my purpose is an underlying thread that ties all of my experiences together.  Maybe my purpose is not what I do, but who I am/who I will become.  #deepthoughts

I love setting goals.  It makes life more exciting for me.  When I pinpoint a goal, I get giddy with excitement.  My imagination runs wild.  My heart races.  I start to focus instead of floating randomly through life, like a feather through the air.  It gives me a sense of purpose.  I immediately start researching and figuring out what I need to do to reach that goal.  I become obsessed and relentless until I reach it.  No matter what your goal is, the steps to reaching it are pretty much the same:

1)      Ask yourself:  Is this goal reasonable?  Like, seriously?  If it is, give yourself a deadline.

2)      Ask yourself if you are really willing to do what it takes.  The only thing stopping you is yourself.  That pretty much eliminates excuses.  You will always find a way to do what you truly want to do.  You can't always rely on inward motivation or outward inspiration.  Sometimes you are not going to feel like doing anything.  Stuff happens. The goal becomes bigger than yourself, and a consistent effort is what will produce results.

3)      Do some research.  Read stuff.  Ask people who have done what you are trying to do… how did they do it?

4)      Break it down into small steps so it’s not so overwhelming.  If your goal is a big one (like running a marathon or purchasing a house), set some mini, short term goals as stepping stones to the end result.

5)      Surround yourself with like minded, positive people.   Get yourself a support group.  There is power in numbers.

6)      Eliminate anything (or anyone) that is not helping you reach your goal.  If your goal is weight loss, get rid of the junk food in your house.  This also goes with #5—if there are people in your life who will not support you, cut waaaaaaaaay back on the time you spend with them.

7)      Get organized… okay, try to get organized.  Do your prep work.  Do your homework.  Work toward your goal a little bit each day/week.  Results come with consistent effort.

8)      Spend your time more wisely.  I am a die-hard procrastinator with a love/hate relationship with schedules.  I hate the monotony of following a routine week after week, but I need it so badly!  Haha!  I made a block schedule of my week in 30 minute increments so I could figure out where to fit in various activities (like my daily workouts). 

9)      Reward yourself for reaching your mini-goals.  This doesn’t have to be anything big and expensive.  Give yourself a pat on the back, or a sticker or something.  Enjoying the journey is just as important as the end result.

10)   Once you’ve reached your goal, set another one right away!  Rinse and repeat.  Don’t stop until you die.

So basically, if I didn't reach any of the goals on my 10 by 30 Bucket List, it's because I probably faltered on one of the above steps.  Or maybe I set too many goals at once.  That’s been known to happen… 

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Random Thursday: Does this butt make my jeans look small???

Oh.
Em.
Goodness gracious, sweet Baby Jesus. 

That is what ran through my brain as I tried to figure out WHYYYYY I could not get my jeans (the same size 10 skinnies that fit so great, a mere 3 weeks ago) up over my tail this morning.  The Hubs reassured me that I was looking "much better" than when I started this new workout program four weeks ago.  He observed that my waist looks smaller, and my booty is rounder.  Of course, he's got no complaints.  Who am I mad at???

Voice of Reason says:  Why you trippin?  You know you are sore as crap today.  Yesterday, you were whining that it hurt to sit down.  So there is quite possibly a whole lotta water being retained in your glutes and thighs, thanks to DOMS.  Or else you are building muscle, and it's probably pushing out the fat before burning that biznatch. And don't forget that your body composition is changing.  You are eating well, working out HARD and generally doing the gollygoshdarn thing.  Either way, there's no need to panic.  Chill out...

I'll admit it.  I was tempted, for a minute, to give up.  But that is sooo Old Me, and I'm trying to find a New Me.  So I'll just press on and see what happens. 


In other news, remember when everyone was cised over these friendship bracelets?

I remember making tons of these in middle school, and selling them for 50 cents a pop.

Target is charging $4.00 a pop.  Maybe I should start my bracelet business back up!  Whatchu think?

Random Wednesday: Intrepidacious(ness)

I made up a word today.

I don't remember exactly how I tried to use it--you know how people talk about experiencing "fear and trepidation"?  I think I was thinking of that phrase.  Which would have been redundant anyway, because--wait for it--trepidation is just a schmancy word for fear.

As it would turn out, intrepidacious (which I was using wrong as the day is long because in-trepidation is pretty much the absence of fear) is not really recognized by dictionary.com as a word.

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In other news, I had a seemingly 10-year-long conversation with a gentleman at work about why he paid $400 for a blender.  That's right.  He got himself a Vitamix.  His reason:  he was sold on the lifetme-lasting blades and the delicious smoothie demos.   Seriously though, I was jealous.  Not because I'm not ballin quite at the level where I can drop point-4 G's on a blender.  But because I have seen rave reviews and tons of recipes online that I have been dying to try.  For now, I'm content to try out recipes with my Ninja blender.


Why do I always forget that *one thing* whenever I pack my stuff the night before I need it?

The first time I packed myself up early to hit the gym first thing in the AM--I forgot my shower shoes.
No biggie...

The second time, I forgot my bra.
Plan B:  I MacGyvered one out of a bandana, toliet paper, and a couple of staples.  Don't ask.

This morning, I forgot to pack my daughter's snack for preschool.  Thankfully my amazing husband packed her a much better snack than I would have--celery and peanut butter.  Everybody happy.


One of the things I'm diggin about changing my diet is that I have better skin, hair, and nails.  One of the things I hate is the ridiculous egg-farts I get from veggies and dairy and anything that has tons of fiber in it.  What kind of trade off is that?  Sure, I look and feel better.  But now I smell worse??? 

Would you rather be out of shape and smell wonderful all the time (like, ALL the time)...

...or...

...be really fit and healthy, but always smell of egg-farts?