Weekly Motivational #7

Just a quick one for you all today.

I quit my old gym, which had a free weights section that was always crawling with body-builders... you know, the ones who lift way more weight than they should, get it to their kneecaps, drop it, then scream and make the Hulk pose. Needless to say, I felt uncomfortable venturing into No-Neck-Land.

I joined a new gym, Planet Fitness, and it is exactly what I need in a gym. No classes, no kids care section (which means no one bringing their bratty kids with them and they screaming the whole time), and the best part is, they have a zero-tolerance for the extreme body-builders' behaviors like I mentioned above.

So, my motivational this week is simply to get back to it! Pick up that old habit (a GOOD one of course!), and get back into routine of being better for yourself. Don't do it for anyone else but you, and make YOU a priority!!

<3

Weekly Motivational #6

TGIF!

What a week. Back to school routine has gotten off to a rough start, and my work schedule, as nice as it's been, is now a full-time schedule and closing me in on 40 hours every week. I am glad to have the full-time benefits and pay (no pay increase, Thanks Obama!), but of course that does mean I actually have to show up 5 days a week instead of 4, and work full days instead of the 4 hour shifts I once got. I'm thankful to have a job, anyway.

There is lots of excitement going on next month, so I am preparing myself mentally for it this month. As you might have read from my July/August Road Trip Update, I am so far behind in the challenge that I need to make about 5 miles per day in September and October just to complete this and make it to the finish line! I am not one to quit, nor am I one to give up, so I will bust my ass any way I can to do this. Although it is not life or death, I tend to dramatize things and think that this is that type of situation, and this "time crunch" I feel just might be what I need to get my ass in gear to complete this.

And so, on to the weekly motivational. This week, I had a lot to learn about communication. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a talker, and do so loudly, proudly, and with lots of hand gestures. It occurred to me that in the interest of my sanity, my health, my marriage, and my life in general, that it may be time to shut up more often to truly listen to the world around me. I might be gabbing away and miss an important opportunity in my life, or I might mishear something that just may be crucial to understanding the person I am talking to, or maybe something truly beautiful is happening and I'm too busy talking to be an observer in the event.

So I ask you, how often do you stop talking and truly listen? Maybe not listening to words, but tone of voice, emotions, maybe just standing outside and listening to the sounds all around you? You might miss some beautiful sounds. Hearing my nephew's laughter tonight made my heart ache with how little I see him and how fast he's growing.

To make my point, I could be talking out loud to myself right now as I type this, which is something I do (I have a lot on my mind and talking out loud gets it off my chest even if John's not around to hear it!) Instead, I am quiet. I am listening to the clicks of my fingers on the keyboard. I am a fast, although not perfect typist. I am listening to the fan do its weird clicky thing, and now have another item for my Sunday honey-do list: dust the fan!

But, the most beautiful sound of all right now, is the sound of my car purring away next to me. And it's not a soft, pretty, purr; No, Patrice purrs so intensely it sounds like he is trying to start a lawnmower! And it is the most perfect sound I could hear right now. It means I am a good caretaker, that he loves me, and this sound can make even my darkest day a little brighter. When my grandmother passed away in December, Patrice was there to comfort me the only way he knew how. He laid on my chest, buried his head under my chin into my neck, and purred that heavy, deep purr until I had no more cry left in me. It was therapy. Patrice knows what I need, when I need it. Damn I love this cat!

Weekly Motivational #5

"Only You"

A day late, a dollar short. Seems to be the story of my life this week.

I'll keep this short. I have not moved since my last blog. I have not gone to the gym once, and I definitely haven't changed my eating habits. I haven't made any real excellent food choices, and I also don't feel any regret. I know that change begins with me.

Only You can decide when to start.

Only You can make you happy. 

Only You can make the changes you should.

Only You can decide not to give up.

It's up to me. My lack of motivation is no longer an excuse. A new semester of school has started, and with it I hope to start back on the bandwagon of the gym. If I can last 21 days, I can make it a habit. That's my plan.

I have set up mini goals for this week:
Immediate/Next couple of days - Get all of the "new semester" attendance verifications out of the way.
Soon/This week - Plan out my gym schedule for days I am on campus for class. Stick to that plan.
Make it happen/This month - Lose 5lbs before September begins.

So.... Only You can make the changes you need. What else are you waiting for?!?

Weekly Motivational #4

Do you ever have that "A-HA!" moment in your life where something that you did that NEVER made sense, finally makes sense?

I think I had a revelation like that over this past weekend. I have, for so long, been hiding behind time as an excuse for EVERYTHING, that I think it is finally working against me now. Time, that is.

"I work too many hours."

"I go to school AND work. I never have time for anything else."

"When I have a day off I have house-chores to do!"

"I don't get hardly any ME time, so my days off are for that!"

"There just isn't TIME to go to the gym!"

"I worked a long day YESTERDAY..... TODAY I am tired!"

.... I think I contradict myself many times, but the message is always the same: I'm not making the time because my priorities are not in line with what I think they are. I feel that fitness is a very high priority for me. But in reality... it's near the bottom. Food habits and determination to eat better seems like it's high on my list, but yet I have found myself reaching for the snack-sized Milky Ways in the pantry instead of the arm-length carrots.

And of course, week after week, I feel like a failure and a slob. I know what I did wrong, but yet I don't take responsibility for it. What the hell is wrong with me?

This Carl Jung quote hit home with me. I am lonely. I feel lonely. And it's because I have managed to push most of my friends away, or they have themselves moved on with the passing of time. Don't get me wrong. I love my besties to death, and in an instant I would drop what I am doing to help them with whatever they need.... but I am lonely in my day-to-day life. My besties are miles, and countries away. They do not call me at 5:15am to go running. They do not run on the treadmill next to me at the gym. They do not help me cook dinner and sit and eat a proper meal with me. Do you see what I am getting at? I am standing in a room full of people who love me and whom I love, and I'm screaming, yet I am not heard.

This feels less like a motivational post and is reading more like a pity party. For that I am sorry. My motivation this week is to curb the loneliness. Ask for the attention I want. Plead for the support I need. I am worthy of it all, and so are each one of my friends and loved ones. This week, I will not sit idly by and watch the world spin, I will go out and help make it spin faster and the sun burn brighter.

Weekly Motivational #3

Happy Friday to everyone! How was your week? I hope it was filled with little triumphs and met goals, sweat, fun, and some relaxation in there, too!

My husband was away again this week to Orlando. I spent the week watching Grey's Anatomy reruns on Netflix, watched half of the most recent season of Supernatural, watched a few movies, played some video games, and had landscapers come out and revamp my planters and start a weekly lawn-mowing service which we needed pretty badly.

Notice anything missing? Yup. I did not once hit the gym. Again. Another week, another failed attempt at getting myself back on that horse.

But I'm not going to be upset. No; I was upset last night after having a shitty day and while talking to my husband on the phone he said something that hurt my feelings. I was upset that I got my annual performance review and even though (on a 5-point scale) getting any 5's is impossible (and I'd have to walk on water), I was pissed that I deserved at least one 5 and did not get it. I don't toot my own horn often (not seriously anyway... I put on a pretty egotistical front just because) but I know I deserved a 5 on my people skills. The criteria for a 5 is to "consistently EXCEED expectations while also increasing productivity/profit of the store's performance". That's what I do. All the time. Not some of the time, not when I feel like it. But when I clock in, my gameface is on and I LIVE that description. Anyway, thinking about it makes me all pissed off again and will lead to more crying.... so let's move on.

It is the end of the month. Amy and I have a monthly recap to get to, and that might take a few days. The lucky lady is off camping and enjoying some quality family time and although she's around the web, I am letting her off the hook to get her update up until she gets back! :-)

So, I want to leave some words of wisdom for you to take in.

Practice it, every day. Take the time and do one thing you love to do. Take a walk, read a chapter in a book. Do a crossword puzzle. Call a loved one. Write a letter and MAIL it. Self love leads to loving others, and leads to brighter futures, and leads to success.

Isn't this the truth! In life, you will never learn the lesson before being given the test. Take what you can from the test, take the knowledge you gain, the high of success, or the humble of the defeat, and apply it to life. Make mistakes and learn from them, take in the lessons that life has to offer.

This week I want you all to take a look at a test your life recently put you through. Find the lesson to be learned, and apply it somewhere else in your life.

Have a good week everyone.

Weekly Motivational #2

Happy Sunday Y'all!

How was your week? I stood still all week. My food choices are back on track (mostly) and I'm hoping to pick back up logging it soon to help me even more.

My fitness, on the other hand, not so much.

I make plans. I do. Big plans. I even have a cool calendar I made myself that has 7 columns for each day of the week and 5 rows so I can plan my week out.
Row 1: My work schedule
Row 2: Husband's work schedule
Row 3: Philosophy homework
Row 4: World History homework
Row 5: Gym/workout schedule

I have it color coded. I highlight my OFF days and make sure with homework I give myself OFF days, too. Husband's work schedule has been crazy lately, tomorrow he leaves for another week in Orlando but comes back and will work through the weekend on Saturday. My own schedule has been steady, but I am still working every damned weekend morning, so I have missed my favorite zumba class for 3 months now.
As for the gym schedule, well that is just for show apparently. I write down classes I want to take, or simply write in cardio/weights and which gym I should go to (there is one by my house and one by my work, so I truly have no excuses). And I just don't go. Why do that when I can be at home watching reruns of Grey's Anatomy? Hah. I haven't been to the gym more than twice this month.

So, my weekly motivational is pretty simple.....

Forget about what happened last week. Forget about July and what it brought you. Today. Today starts a BRAND NEW WEEK. For all of us! Start fresh with new motivation and renewed drive!

Today, be thankful. Today, make the right choices. Today, look at what your week is planned to be, and follow through!

That's all. Take this week, and OWN it. Be in control of your outcome!

Weekly Motivational #1

You know what happens every time, you get a new car and all of a sudden everyone else and their mother has the EXACT SAME CAR???!?!

They say pregnancy is like that too, but I wouldn't know about that one.

What I do know, is that I have felt the pains of failure in my fitness and food life lately, and it seems many of the women I follow in blog-land have too. July has been the month of set-backs and lost motivation, and we are all trying to dig our way out.

So, once a week (hopefully on Fridays), I am going to post a motivational blog. It might just be a picture, or a quote, or something I found on Pinterest. It may be a health article, or a recipe for something new, or maybe just a shout out to my own accomplishment for the week.

The point is, I lost my will to get fit, lost my willpower against my favorite foods (Yup, I ate 2 bags of cereal in less than 5 days. TWO.) But I see now that I'm not going to find that willpower anywhere but inside of myself. It's not on the shelf, not lost in my purse. It's not inside Amy, although she is a great reflection of my subconscious and that's a scary and yet comforting thought. (<3 U!)

My will to move on, move forward, and get back on track is within me. So, I expect tears of refusal and child-like tantrums of "I DON'T WANNA!!", but I also expect to "suck it up buttercup" and make the best of what I have. After all, I'm relatively young, healthy, and have the ability to control my outcome. And my outcome is a bikini. Or at least a flattering sundress!

So, in honor of the first Motivational....