encouragement – Page 3 – sassyfitnesschick

Simple Blessings

thanksgiving

Brace yourselves. Thanksgiving week is upon us. I’ve got a daily to-do list plotted out like a military commander preparing for battle.

Food to be prepared in various stages, cleaning and organizing to be done and any final trips to the store ( an adventure unto itself).

Of course I will start each day with some kind of workout ’cause that keeps me balanced and sane in a busy week 😉 For the past few years I’ve headed out before the morning gets started for a quick run, no music, no distractions, just me on the road watching the sunrise and thinking about all the ways I’m blessed in my life. Basically, getting centered before the day takes off and gets busy.

Thanksgiving is a day to reflect and think on how much we have and how blessed we are. If you’re reading this post from another place in our vast world and you are of course, not, celebrating Thanksgiving I hope you at least leave this post thinking in a new way about the good things you have each day in your own life =)

I got to thinking the other morning when I hopped in my car and started it how grateful I am for that… just having my car start. Pretty simple, right? You expect it, right ?

Years ago, in tighter times, we drove some really uh…classic… cars… haha a nice way of saying they weren’t super fancy but (usually) got us where we were going… actually some of them were horrible 😛 And there were many times I hopped in and the crazy thing didn’t start.

I remember one year, we were sooo poor, our car had died and a car dealership in town was “giving” away various cars. You showed up, put your name in a drawing for the chance to get it. If you won the “free” car you just had to pay tax, title and license on it. I was down there with a zillion other people.

They called my name. I squealed. I never win anything. I got evil eyed stares from others who were hoping to get the car.

I waited and wondered what our new wheels would look like.. something small? Sporty? It didn’t matter… we were gonna have a car.

Then they pulled it around. It had leaves all in the windshield. It was dirty.

It was huge. Massive.

It was a Plymouth Fury. Solid steel and could probably hold a football team. My brother was with me and checked it out under the hood and we took it for a test drive.

It handled with the efficiency of an army tank. The hood was probably 12 feet in front of me. It seemed unending.

And for 120.00 it was mine and we drove it home. I had never felt so grateful.

We christened it with the name White Fang… don’t even ask me …why ?? ’cause I don’t remember. I just seemed deserving to have a name.

We fixed it up and used it for quite awhile before we sold it and blessed someone else with it 😉

So I just got to thinking besides being grateful for cars that start, all the simple, sometimes ordinary things, in my life I take for granted but really am grateful for. This is by no means an exhaustive list….

Waking up and being given another day at this thing called….life.

Feeling my heart beat.

My health, my strength, and physical abilities I’ve developed. My body can run, lift, ride a bike and do so many things. I never take that for granted.

Eyes to see, ears to hear, senses to explore the world around me.

My God and My Savior who has given me life.

My beautiful children and grandchildren.

My awesome husband who loves me, supports me, cheerleads me, tells me I can do anything I put my mind to, tells me I’m sexy and still means it 😉 spoils me rotten, challenges me, listens to me when I need to vent, let’s me be myself and overall has always taken amazing care of me… how did I get so blessed with an amazing man for 33 years ?? Seriously.

Then there’s all those other things in life (we) I take for granted…..

an abundance of good foods, the ability to shop and buy those foods, a closet of nice clothes and shoes, a beautiful home with things in it to make me comfy, air for when it’s hot or cold to make the house cozy, my bed! snuggling with my pillow, the feel of my husband against my body, hot showers, waking up to the smell of coffee ’cause I can set the timer to have it waiting for me in the morning (spoiled!)

Our country and all the blessings and good things we’re afforded here.

Music. Is there life without it ?

A variety of friends in all ages.

People who believe in you.

My church home and family I love there.

Chocolate. Fresh bread. Summer strawberries and watermelon. A perfect banana. The smell of homemade cookies coming out of the oven. Turkey cooking on Thanksgiving morning.

Soft, thick sweaters on cold days.

Blustery, crisp fall days.

An unexpected card or message from a friend.

Resources that meet my needs.

The sound of my husband sleeping next to me.

People who make me smile and laugh.

The ability to love and feel emotions.

Long talks with good friends.

The loud and sometimes crazy chaos when allll the family is gathered together.

Sloppy clothes, a fire, and a hot cup of coffee on a dreary day.

The sound of my husbands voice.

Laughter.

Seeing an old friend.

Unexpected gifts.

A perfect sunny day.

Long hugs. Soft kisses.

Random lazy days.

Bubble baths.

I guess I could go on and if you’re with me to this point, thanks for reading this far. Hopefully, I’ve made you think a little bit about the things in life that might seem common or ordinary or maybe that we think we’re “entitled” to when really, everything we have is a blessing.

What are you thankful for ?

Thanksgiving Contest - What Are You Thankful For?

Making An Impact

I love new reading material almost as much as I love getting my hands on new music. There’s something about diving into an untouched book or magazine that I love.

Geez. I’m a nerd.

That being said, the only magazine I subscribe to ( no surprise) is Runners World. It’s always loaded with info I find useful as well as amusing. I love reading about elite runners and soaking up what they do and implementing whatever might work for me. Of course there’s always some inspirational runners story that makes me feel proud to be a part of the running community.

This month I’ve been reading with avid interest as it features “every day, ordinary” runners. They had a big contest you could throw your name in the hat to be the cover person for this months edition.

I contemplated it. And didn’t.

Oh I have in the past, and was blown away when I was selected to be a part of the Dec 2012 “Runners Body” feature ( you can read that in another post) it was an amazing experience to work with a professional photographer and be photographed in such a way that showed the strength, power, and athleticism of my body.

Some of the winners selected for this months feature included cover winner who lost over 100 lbs. running and how her life has been changed, others who have overcome great odds, some run crazy numbers of races and miles, they have battled through diseases, abuse, and emotional trauma. They train, teach, inspire and are these beautiful shining examples to the people they are around.

Running has been a sanctuary, a place of healing, hope, and strength for them. I read these stories and cry. I get inspired. I dream bigger.

That’s when I think…. “yeah, now I know why I don’t toss my name in to those competitions. I’m just so… ordinary.”

I haven’t done or experienced the things these people have gone through.

I mean, yeah, running let me drop the weight of a hefty toddler and I do relate to it being a place I go to for thinking, stress release, peace, and my personal escape.

But the thought came again… I’m just…so… ordinary.

However, as I thought on that and reflected on those stories, things started coming to my mind…

All the times people have messaged me, responded to this blog, or talked to me in person to tell me that I inspire them. To keep doing what I do because it motivates them to DO something…. to make changes, to get moving, to be strong, to make better food choices, to be the best “me” they can be etc.

When my crazy running posts have people wanting to go and try running. They ask about shoes, gear, and how to start. I share from my meager education on being a runner. I rejoice when they really start embracing it.

When someone tells me they finally signed up for a race. Best feeling ever.

Or comments that if I can be out ( running, cycling, or whatever craziness) they too, can get out and do what they need to do. I remember a friend messaging me to tell me how she was struggling through her workout and she remembered seeing my post that I was doing 28 miles that morning. She said “remembering you were out running, I told myself if you could do that, I could get my workout done!”

When I counsel/mentor/encourage someone and they “get it” and start on their health and fitness journey… and start walking that road of freedom…nothing feels better.

Like… nothing.

That’s when I realized…. I might not ever make it in a magazine by doing something “spectacular” but I am making a difference in my personal world that I live in.

Being me… in all my odd, fun, weird, non-conforming, quirkiness doing what I do….does touch and impact lives. I don’t have to be anyone else or do what they’re doing.

I just need to be me and use the talents, gifts, and abilities that God has given me and that can make an impact in the world I operate in.

You too, my faithful 1.5 readers, never underestimate, the impact you have in your world.

You can inspire, encourage, build up, and challenge those around you =)

Tell me…. how do you inspire or encourage in your personal world ?

inspire

Life Is Beautiful

Life is beautiful. It’s really pretty amazing, isn’t it ? For a brief moment in time we’re given this glorious gift by our Creator to live out to our fullest.

New days. New moments. New opportunities.

Life can be glorious and beautiful and also full of struggles, hardships and down right overwhelming moments that leave us on our faces wondering if we will have the strength to stand for another day, and another shot, at this thing called life.

None of us move through this world immune to the difficulties that are a part of it. As much as we have good times and are blessed like crazy the hard stuff goes along with it.

Kinda like a painful ying/yang thing.

I was chatting with my childhood friend not so long ago ( ok, that is one of life’s blessings isn’t it? To still have a wonderful friendship with someone you’ve known since 5th grade??) and we were discussing lots of different things

When she tells me this…..

With you, I know you have all this energy and you’re always bouncing around, but I don’t get that kind of stressed-out, nose-to-the-grindstone kinda thing . Your vibe is so HAPPY, like even though you have a million things going it feels like you’re having a good time at the same time, you know?

Wow. I won’t lie … that meant a lot to me.

It meant a lot that in some ways as I moved through stuff in my life I’m able to still maintain a positive kinda attitude. When I share stuff on my personal Facebook page I try and maintain a positive vibe, even when I’m going through rough stuff. I will share things that are going on in my life that are hard, but I (over all) feel like those taking time to read my stuff have their own issues and don’t need me being down in my posts. It’s a choice I make.

I thanked her and shared with her several things I was currently dealing with… the real hard stuff.

No. My life isn’t perfect. I’m not, nor my family, often not daily circumstances, or situations I can’t control or other things that can come along.

Actually, nothing in life is “perfect” is it ? We do learn to appreciate the good times and blessings we receive, but hopefully, we learn how to stand, learn, and grow in the tough times.

Therefore, even when I’ve been in some of the thickest parts of the most painful experiences of my life, I try and keep in mind, life… beautiful, glorious life…. is still going on. I can take the good with the bad, the pain with the joy and embrace it or I can become hardened and bitter in the process.

My life has been blessed in more ways than I can count. Sometimes I wonder what I’ve done to deserve such blessings. Really, I’ve done nothing. To me, God has blessed me, beyond measure.

In the past few years though, I’ve gone through many sorrows, difficulties, and much pain.

For example:

Child issues… it can be a rocky journey getting them to adulthood. There were many sleepless nights and a lot of tears with my kids.

My brother unexpectedly dying a few years ago. Holding my sobbing mother as we stood over his lifeless body, somewhere inside, I was screaming but it never seemed to make it’s way out. I drew on the strength that has always seemed to live in me as I helped her through those days. Yet as we moved through those days and months, I tried to find the beauty of life, and more importantly the beauty of what he saw in life. It was a surreal process we moved through.

My moms gradual declining health and struggle with various illnesses eventually led to her death last year. The sorrow of losing her and dealing with her affairs has been challenging at times. There are days I’m still wondering… how does one live in this world without a Mom ? And then I remember, I live in the ways she taught me. To be a strong woman and to handle what needs to be dealt with. When I do these things I honor her and her memory lives on.

Taking over care of my dad who has Alzheimers. He has declined a lot since her passing last year. It’s a horrible disease that is awful to watch taking over. When a grown man shows up on your door step wanting to know where he lives and how long he’s lived there, it breaks your heart in fresh new ways, mainly because there’s nothing you can do to change things. He’s I tears. I’m in tears.

Trying to decide what things will be best for him and how to help him leave me sleepless at night because I feel so inadequate.

My husband went through a career change last year after 22 years of the same work. There are many new adventures with that, but those are areas that are private to us, therefore I won’t share much on the topic. Again, something new and challenging in life.

Of course then, this past summer, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer which was an interesting speed bump in our lives. He is doing great and the prognosis is very good but we are still taking the necessary medical steps needed to make sure he is totally cancer free. We are beyond grateful for how everything seamlessly came together for rapid surgery, doctor appointments etc. Grateful that he has been able to return to work and that he is getting stronger.

Then let’s not forget just other things that can show up like an unexpected house guest on any day.

In all of that…in all of LIFE…. I had a choice. I could keep embracing each day as good that held blessings ( even in the midst of hardship, sorrow or difficulties) or I could curl up and become bitter, ask the “why” question and miss out on all the fun, good, lovely and beautiful things that were still happening.

It really is a choice, isn’t it ? Oh, don’t get me wrong. There were days I wondered if I could stand. There were nights I’d creep into the shower, let the water wash over me, and sob in the corner praying for strength to keep moving forward. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you I hit those struggles like anyone else. I didn’t feel strong…. or courageous then… I felt weak and helpless.

Maybe it’s how we are individually wired? Maybe it’s the faith each one of us may possess?

Perhaps, it’s a stubbornness in me that chooses to see the beauty of life, even as it has the nerve to keep moving forward while I’m in my pain, difficulties and struggles… life keeps moving on…

In my loss. In my grief. In my sleepless nights. In my struggles.

Life is beautiful people.

In the midst of all that makes up life, the good, the bad, the joy, the sorrow, don’t allow moments to be stolen from you that can be embraced.

We might not have a choice over the things that happen in our lives but we definitely have a choice in how we respond and how we embrace life in it.

You my friend… have a choice.

In the words of one of my favorite Sixx A.M. songs called Life is Beautiful……….

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.

Always.

50Something

So in earth shattering world news, I turned 51 on Saturday. You know what that means ? I survived a year of being 50 and am now officially “50something” 😉

I can tell you…. being 50 was pretty darn ok so I’m kinda geared towards 51 being rockin’ too.

Last year saw me hitting some of the biggest goals and challenges of my life.

Athletically, I ran my second marathon knocking 33 minutes off my previous years time. I attribute that to harder training and getting my nutrition even tighter.

I moved from that, into training for a 50K (31.7 miles) in March, doing that a little over 6 hours. I also did two half marathons in March.

By that time I had reached a point of being in the best physical condition of my life… at 50.

I had also increased time on my bike for cross training as well as challenging myself more with weights to build more muscle and make me an overall stronger runner.

Getting older ( I’ve learned) also means just getting down right comfy in your own skin and embracing who you are. I’ve allowed myself to pursue and do what I want to and not be hampered by the rules of others or the secret unwritten code of society that seeks to put women to sleep after they reach a certain age.

Shhh… and ladies… it’s ok to keep your edge… really 😉

And the other thing I’ve learned (really in the past couple years) if you wanna do something…do it. What are you waiting for ? It’s your life…live it…do those things you think about… do something that’s been hanging out in your mind… dare to be different.

And in saying that…. I just got my second tattoo on Thursday and I’m totally in love with it. I’ve had the idea cooking for awhile in my head. When I contacted my artist and told him what I wanted I sat back to eagerly await what his rendition would look like. So when he contacted me for a Thursday appt and shot me the design to approve, it seemed like a perfect birthday present for me (there’s a good way to kick off birthday weekend )

I’ve had a few people tell me that it fits me perfectly…like it belongs there….and it does. …

My explanation? It’s like an inner piece of me revealed. It’s been a part of me for awhile… now it’s just visible.

I’ll share with you what’s behind it…. life… has been teaching me.

In the past year or so I’ve learned it takes a lot of courage to live… not just exist…but to live. To stand when you don’t think you can stand… to see beauty in life when the storms are crashing in. To have courage when you feel like hiding or running away.

The rose represents the beauty and fragility of life. The sword piercing the rose is a reminder that although life is beautiful, it’s often harsh and not always a bed of roses.
The sword is a powerful weapon, one that is taken up to stand and fight, to stand against the trials and difficulties that come. The sword represents a warrior spirit, courage, and a never say die attitude towards life. It represents the strength to endure. Spiritually it’s a reminder of the One who’s strength, courage and power rest in me.

Together, it all tells such a beautiful story.

You see, even though I had some amazing personal triumphs in my 50th year, I had some painful losses and life things that brought grief and struggle. Life takes courage to live.

I lost my mom in April and had to face my first birthday without her… a milestone birthday she should’ve been here to share with me. This year… as loved and surrounded as I have been by family and friends I’m aware of her presence not with me. Losing her meant taking over with my dad who has Alzheimers and maintaining his home and trying to make the best choices for him. His condition has rapidly declined with mom’s passing.

My husband parted ways from his company after 23 years to take a new job that involved traveling and being gone from home all week, and sometimes two weeks at a time. I learned to step up even more handling and dealing with everything on the home front and then.. there’s just all the life stuff in general.

And of course, let’s not forget, our most recent adventure with his thyroid cancer.

I don’t tell you these things to whine. Or to feel sorry for me.

I won’t negate my feelings though… it has been hard at various times… sometimes… crushing.

that’s when I started thinking about how life demands so much courage for us to keep living and finding beauty and laughter and joy in the dark places.

Courage demands I take a stand and fight back to live and appreciate life, even in the hard times.

So it was with an overflowing heart and fresh awareness through out my birthday weekend at how blessed I am.

To have an evening celebrating with all my kids, niece and nephew and their kids and other family… was wonderful. On the day of my birthday, just time being home and later dinner out with hubby for some one on one time was nice. I wrapped up the weekend on Sunday by picking up my gift I had asked for….. a new little road bike. Nothing fancy at all, but I’ve almost worn the wheels off the mountain bike I got a couple years ago. ( I’m slowly creeping along to becoming a cyclist… eek… THAT is a pricey hobby) but you know what? My body doesn’t know if it’s on a pricey bike or not… it’s just out there working hard 😉

So yeah, I’m grateful. Another year. New challenges and goals to tackle. New opportunities for growth.

Who wouldn’t be excited?

That Stupid Cancer

Hello blog world. Yes, I’m still here…and alive….but boy has life been going down hard and fast in my world the past few weeks.

I’ve missed all of you, my 1.5 readers. I’ve thought about what to write and how to write it. The words piled up in my head among other thoughts waiting to be put into organized, readable context.

And somehow…. weirdly… I’ve struggled with sitting down and getting it done.

This is a post on life.

I promise to resume my health/athletic(y) blogs soon. But even as we do things to maintain a healthy body and mind, there is this big thing going on around us called life…

And you know what? There are times life is just freaking…. hard…brutal, take no prisoners, hard.

So where I’ve been the last couple weeks in life…..

to start with, my son unexpectedly lost a close friend in a tragic car accident. This friend was also to have been one of his groomsmen in his September wedding. He has lost many friends in the past few years of his young life. Once again my heart ached for him, his friends, and the young mans family at his swift removal from this world. As I sat at his memorial service and saw his beautiful face, my heart was pierced at how wrong it felt that this 22 year old young man was gone.

No words… simply no words… could make this right…or take away the pain from his family. Nor could I as a mother, absorb it for my son.

During this time, my husband had gone in for his yearly check up. He mentioned to the doctor he had a lump on the side of his neck and thought it was a swollen lymph node. Doctor sent him for a sonogram that day. A few days later they called wanting him to have a CT done (this was on a Friday) Monday we saw the doctor who told us the report indicated possible malignancy, but without a needle biopsy they can’t officially confirm. Somehow, they got us in that afternoon. He returned to Houston afterwards where he had been working. We could only wait now for the biopsy results which they have promised to have for us by Wed. ( amazing and fast indeed, right?)

Both of us were positive and upbeat knowing we had to take these steps to rule out the dreaded “C” word.

Cancer.

I mean, it wouldn’t be, right? Why would it?

Wed afternoon I got the call from him. Results were in.

Tests confirmed he had thyroid cancer.

How does one respond? How does one act? I felt semi-numb and felt myself immediately kick into the zone I go to when difficult things come. Stay focused. Keep on task. Think about what I can do or what needs to be done.

Cry or freak out later if need be. That serves me no purpose when I need my head about me.

Meanwhile, hubby had immediately ended his contract where he was working, closed out of his apartment and was headed home. I felt helpless not being able to be there and help him after getting that news or knowing he’d have hours to drive home thinking about it.

Things were already unfolding though as we had an appt. the next day with the surgeon to discuss everything and surgery was set for Friday.

When I say things moved with lightening speed and were all beautifully orchestrated is putting it mildly. We know and personally believe God’s hands were all over this. No one gets the diagnosis and then two days later is having surgery to remove it. I can’t tell you how unheard of this is.

Thyroid cancer as we’ve been told is highly curable and treatable. But whoa… still… you have…. cancer.

The surgery went well, doctor felt he got all cancerous tissue and removed thyroid as well as the tumor. A short hospital stay and we had him home. The next step now is a one time radiation treatment that will literally kill any thyroid cells left in his body, but only those cells. How cool is that ?

Of course, we’ve made all kinds of jokes teasing him about being radioactive and glowing. Or with his neck wound if it had been Halloween he would’ve made an awesome Frankenstein 😉

You must… need to…..find humor… and moments to laugh… when you are feeling scared, anxious or worried. Laughter relieves and relaxes tense moments.

We met with surgeon on Thursday to remove sutures and discuss the next step. Right now, that’s what it’s about, the next step to crush this thing, get him better, but most of all, to keep living life.

That’s been my goal as we’ve moved through this. To not let it define our lives or be the “thing” that has center stage.

Beautiful, glorious life is still going on.

Things to be celebrated. Moments to be shared. Laughter to partake in. Tears to cry. Family to be loved on. Friends to be appreciated. Feeling your partner nestled next to you during the night. Normal days to be embraced. Sunrises to be seen. A full, bright moon hanging in the dark night sky. The sounds of your kids voices to be treasured. The smell of your grandson. A hot shower. A good meal. The smell of coffee brewing. Waking up and knowing you’ve been blessed… entrusted… with another day.

Another day…. a pure, precious, breathtaking gift so often taken for granted.

Do you ever just wish, you could wrap your arms around it ???

So yes, we are looking forward to many more days. His prognosis is very good. We are doing all things necessary to ensure his complete health and removal of all cancer cells. His attitude has been good and he’s strong and determined…. um….stubborn…. to use his word….well… he was under the influence of drugs after surgery when he said that… does that still count ??

Like, he admitted that to his nurse… I think that counts… don’t you ? 😉

It’s ok… stubbornness can be quite useful in life .. ask me… I might know a lil about that haha

So as we’ve moved through these past 2 weeks of difficulties in losses of loved ones and treasured friends, and dealt with the unexpected, dreaded “cancer”, and contended with other life issues going on I’ll tell you what we have been confident of….

God has been with us. He has been our Strength and Peace and I know He is our Provider. I don’t understand a lot of what happens in this world or life… I’m merely human with a very limited, short perspective in this vast world and universe… but by faith I rest and trust in One who is bigger than I am.

I just want to encourage you, who are reading this right now. Life might be smooth sailing and you have no current issues…. they will come…. or you might have just gotten out of difficulties….Or you could be having a life like I’ve dealt with recently.

Stay strong. Know this will pass. Breathe. Live and deal with only the moment you are in, running to far ahead can only offer fear and worries that might not ever even happen and only steal the joy from your current day. Appreciate random moments. Stop and smell the flowers. Value small things. Wear the fun dress. Get out the “special” dishes… use them for all their worth. Turn up the music and sing loud. Do that thing you want to do.

Most of all…. live…. embrace your life… and don’t let your circumstances define you.

Love Yourself And That Whole Self Esteem Thing

Love yourself.

Yes, I went there with that.

And no, I’m not talking about it in a narcissistic way, but a healthy value of who you are and what you bring to the world. Confident in your skin and loving yourself, warts and all. However, we can often be our own worst enemies when it comes to valuing who we are.

You don’t have to look far today to be inundated with magazines and the internet showing you pictures of “how” you should look and what the “ideal” image is. Media seems to scream at us from all angles.

It largely seems directed towards women, but I know you guys get it too.

Almost seemingly, perfect, flawless, toned and non-defective bodies glare back at us.

No stretch marks. No loose skin. No scars, blemishes or imperfections. Thighs with space big enough to drive a truck through. Large breasts, tiny waist and equally balanced hips are offered up on the body buffet challenging us to up our game to reach that goal.

Guys, you might deal with the perfect 6 pack abs, (big) strong arms and shoulders all the while being challenged to not have an ounce of extra flesh around your waist… you have your own challenges too… I get that…. and don’t leave you out of this equation.

Honestly, it can mess with those of us who have the best self-esteem and confidence levels.

How does one achieve such standards of perfection? More importantly, does it even exist ? And bigger question yet, do we want it ?

A few things that are obvious and clear but I’ll go ahead and state. These people often make a living by their bodies and what they look like, they have been in fitness/health industry awhile so it’s important to maintain a standard. They have to absolutely live a particular lifestyle to maintain their bodies and what they’ve achieved.

Nothing wrong with that, it’s just a higher calling than most of us will ever embrace.

Ok, and then, let’s not forget, photo shop does a pretty good job at shaping things up too before our eyes view it.

Whatever…. we see it. And it can leave us feeling defeated before we leave the starting gate.

Getting comfy in your own skin really does let you appreciate others beauty without crippling your own self-esteem. That is a process that takes time and certainly not learned over night.

I think in life lessons learned it’s important to get ok with who you are. Your flaws (real or perceived) imperfections, or other things that make you feel “less than” valuable or worthy.

Please pay attention: none of those things make you broken…. or lacking…. or flawed.

It does reflect your life and what you’ve lived and gone through.

Your story. Your own one of a kind story.

Every mark or scratch, scar, birthmark, the way your body is shaped, the angle of your jaw and set of your eyes…. all those things make you uniquely you.

Yet… we can struggle in it.

Watching my teenage daughter grow up is vastly different from having teenage sons. Body image is obviously huge among these young girls trying to grow into their own confidence and budding self-esteem which is often at an all time low.

If there is one thing I want for her is to teach her to love and embrace herself and not fall into the comparison trap, the trap that leaves us feeling like we aren’t good enough, adequate or whatever, although I know it just goes with the teenage years, heavily.

Opportunities can abound in daily life for teaching…for instance…. one day we are driving along and she says…

“Do you think my thighs are big ?”

It is the moment in life when you think… “OMG do I have to answer this?” and for a brief moment I feel pain for all the dudes who have ever had the female in their life ask them “do these pants make my butt look big?” and they get that deer in the headlights look about them….seeking escape….

But I’m driving…and can’t escape….

I take the easier way out…. and say… “How do you feel about them? And why would you say that?”

She launches into how her friends have thinner ones and one had commented on hers…. the reason now for the question… the question that has caused her to view herself in a different light.

I ask her if her legs let her dance, kick and jump? run? walk? Were they strong for the things she did in her life?

She answered yes….

I reminded her I didn’t have “skinny” legs but I was ok with that…. they were strong and muscled and had carried me many miles running and done several long distance races. They were big, but powerful, and I liked the strength they had. She has always been proud of my running accomplishments and immediately got what I was saying.

I told her she needed to be proud of her strong legs and know that all of her life she’d be seeing women who would be shaped in different ways and that she couldn’t compare herself and decide she was “lacking” in some way. She needed to love herself and appreciate her own unique beauty of who she is.

I can admire another woman’s beauty, without compromising my own self esteem or feel like I’m inadequate. I can appreciate the gifts she’s been given while not devaluing my own.

I want my daughter to be able to do the same. To know her own beauty and worth because when she does she will be able to build other women up and not tear them down. To love herself means she will be able to love more fully.

The same goes for you, my faithful reader.

I personally believe I have a Creator.

I love a particular verse in the Bible that says “I am fearfully and wonderfully made”

I take that to mean…. I’m just rather cool and awesome how I’ve been put together….. and so are you.

Be comfy in your skin…. love yourself. Maybe you’re on a journey with some specific goals…it’s ok… love who you are and where you are right now as you travel along.

Have you ever struggled with these issues? Do you now ? How do you deal with it ?

Those Days In Life

Yes, I’m still alive. Yes, it’s been one of those weeks.

Life, you know ?

Life can throw things at you left and right, good and bad. Tell me you relate? That you understand and get it too ?

Somehow in the mix of life these past few days I’ve been distracted in my writing which bothers me ’cause writing really is an outlet for me. Yet there have just been times I’m hard pressed to connect two words together.

When I launched my blog my primary intent was to talk health, sane fitness and weight loss, lifestyle changes and new habits, and of course, running. You know how much I love to run =)

But there are so many other things in life that make up who we are and so, I will have times that I will address those topics as well.

Family, kids, happiness, grief, maybe even some life questions in the mix, oh yeah, and humor ’cause I get amused by some random things 😉

Topics to write on abound and so I will continue to share my passions of health, fitness etc but also those things we all contend with at one time or another in our lives.

Now, on with the show…..

Last week I was ~~a lil excited~~ THRILLED to get my first ultra medal and official ultra shirt ( does the word “first” imply there will be a second ??) the shirt… I decided with the color I could stop traffic with it or get a job as a highway worker 😉

I’m stupid proud of this medal. It represents a ton of hard work and sacrifice, and I don’t mean just running the 50K distance either.

20150410_114316 — That Ultra medal…. and ignore the fact I look like a lemon

Also, March was my most productive racing month…..ever… since I started running… I got some cool runners bling to prove it too 😉 2 half marathons and the 50K….

Ugh, my mileage has reallllyyy come down and I hate it. I think I hate knowing I’ll have to rebuild to that all over again. In a smart way I also know and understand my body must have recovery time from such heavy mileage. I’ll be hitting my bike more, doing boxing and some more weights to strength train and a few days running for awhile. I do have a marathon goal for year end so I know I need to give myself some lower mileage before I ramp it up again in a few months.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll never be the fastest out there or be the most impressive, but I hope to show that being older isn’t a reason to not be strong and physically fit. I hope to consistently encourage others to get out and do something, to find their “thing” and be good at it, to be empowered by what they can achieve and accomplish.

Really? Is there anything better or more rewarding than setting a goal for yourself that seems huge and daunting, and then, doing it ?? Crushing it ?

So now you know my plan to take over the world……

In other life news, things that kinda derailed me this week. My otherwise, seemingly healthy dog, turned sick and basically after an emergent trip into the vet on Sunday to see if she was having a reaction to some meds or if she was dehydrated, they informed me that she had liver and kidney failure and did I want to put her to sleep…. now ?

To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. No, I couldn’t do it then… I couldn’t go back home with a dead dog and not give my kids a chance to say good bye… I needed that too.. but I also knew if I loved her I would need to act on it quickly. Her condition just rapidly got worse.

Stella was a golden husky mix. At one point my sons dog, she came to stay with us till “he got settled somewhere else” the rest is history on that. In my early days of fitness when I walked, she came with me, as I started running, she easily kept up. She was never on a leash and loved running in and out of the hill country where I lived. She plowed up hills with me like it was nothing. Whatever she was mixed with, she was made for endurance.

As I got stronger, and my mileage increased I worried about her going farther from home. I started to leave her. She cried and howled in the beginning. She didn’t want to be left.

It was fitting at the end, it was just the two of us. I won’t lie. I loved that dog. She was quiet and laid back, lady like when she laid down with her paws crossed at the ankles. She had such thick, thick fur. It filled her ears which I loved to play with and pet.

Watching her go was as much painful, as a blessing to know she wasn’t in pain anymore. Taking her home, burying her, I sobbed and petted those ears over and over trying to commit them to my memory… knowing I’d never stroke them again…or see her keen eyes watching me… or laugh at the way her tail always curled in a jaunting way over her back.

Agony. Pain. Heartbroken.

I finally made myself leave her… pick up the shovel and finish the process. Even now two days later writing this, the grief is welling up in my heart.

I looked for her this morning. I looked for her last night. I know better. But I miss her presence.

I know from experience it will become less painful… less agonizing to think of…. right now it’s still raw… mainly I think… ’cause it came out of nowhere.

So yeah, life. Stuff happens, good and bad. It’s where I’ve been this week. Moments of triumph cloaked in moments of agony and pain.

I hope to be able to continue to chat with you about not only my passion for people to find their way to health and fitness, but also those other real life things that define and shape us.

Have you had particular moments in life that you know have shaped and defined you more ?

Setting Realistic Fitness Goals

When I kicked started my little blog a few short weeks ago, it was to hopefully, share, encourage and motivate those who stumbled across me in the vast cyber world of blogville.

It’s a big place out there boys and girls. And wow, ya’ll have been so…. nice……

I wanted to take my voice into the world to do what I’ve been doing in real life and through my Facebook page, motivating and encouraging people to pursue a lifestyle of health and fitness.

As you know, and as I’ve shared in other posts, I’m a runner and love running and will talk a lot about it ( as in, I have a half marathon this weekend, so spoiler alert, you know what’s coming 😉 however, there’s a lot more to me, a person, and much more to our lives we deal with so I will also venture into other topics and ideas to share with you as we move along.

I think when people are setting out to do something as (big) as get on their health and fitness journey, they really need a cheerleader, a mentor, and someone who’s plowed the road in front of them to say “hey, I got through this, you can too!”

It can be hard…. frustrating… overwhelming. As one reader commented to me the other day on my post, they hadn’t “thrown in the towel yet”…..

That means a lot … if you can press on taking one day at a time and just focusing on it…. and not the rest of your life….or that you feel like you’ll be fat/out of shape/ unmotivated whatever… you WILL make progress.

Trust me.

There will be days you’ll look at yourself in the mirror in that self-loathing way (don’t… do … that… or I will…come beat you) and you think there’s no progress going on… but there is…. you must give your body time to adapt and adjust to what you are doing. Remember part of the process is knowing that there’s a lot of changes going on…. not just physically inside and out ……but mentally and emotionally as well….

Our bodies really are this cool science experiment. Work them, feed them good foods, be consistent in that process and in this slow steady way…. stuff happens….

Honestly, I’ve been at this for 7 years now. I’ve kept my weight off, built muscle, gotten stronger, leaner, have more energy and can physically do more than I did half my age ago. I realllllyy l that 😉

Did you notice something ?

7….. years…..

I’ve made forward progress by being consistent and letting changes happen in the way they need to……over time.

Are my fitness goals different now, than when I started this process? You bet they are ( and that, boys and girls will be another post)

The important thing is this. I just lived my life each day…. purposefully and intentionally with forward progress. This is not something you can manhandle out quickly. You’re living your life, settle back and enjoy the journey.

I still have people who will see me and say “when did you get like that??” and my response is “I’ve just been working at it for awhile”.

May I offer some suggestions if you are thinking of starting your journey or maybe you’re on it and need encouragement.

Ready ? Take notes 😉

Be kind to yourself when you start the process. Firm, but kind.

Don’t tolerate excuses from yourself (you can read more on that in my “No Excuses” post)

Set reasonable goals.

Make a vision board of ideas or goals you want to achieve. My closet door is littered with ideas/quotes/goals.

If you’re serious… tell people! My Facebook page has been a place where I post what I will be doing and I know at least one person is going to ask about what I’m doing and if I did it. Not only that, you are also going to motivate someone else… win/win!

Educate yourself in what you are doing… read and learn.

Finally, make it fun! You are doing this as a “lifestyle” enjoy what you’re doing!

With consistent daily progress you will hit your goals.

But no matter what….. don’t you give up and throw in the towel. You will never reach your goals by doing that!

Have you thrown in the towel before? How many times before it “stuck”? What things helped you ? Share =)

That Nutrition Thing

What came first? The chicken or the egg ?

I think it’s like asking in the health and fitness world, what came first?

The knowledge your body needed movement and exercise for better health? Or that you needed to eat better and make intelligent food choices for better health ?

We all arrive in different ways. If you are gonna get out there and kick your butt in some hard physical activities , do you really wanna come back in and feed it garbage ?

Oh, in the beginning it might be like that. “I worked out today! I deserve this!” as the cheeseburger and fries go down… or the fancy sugary coffee drink or whatever your poison is. There’s a sense of entitlement.

It might take awhile, or not so long, for the shift to occur. To realize if you’re doing this hard work you don’t want to undermine your efforts. You start looking at things in a different light.

If your physical activities are really hard and demanding it doesn’t take long to understand that what you put in you IS fuel and you need a) enough fuel and b) the right kind of fuel to sustain your activity level.

Last year I picked up a sports nutrition book for endurance athletes to read and teach myself more of what I needed to do. Training for that 50K I knew I needed to really eat…. intentionally.

Let’s just say, there were a lot of days I wasn’t eating enough for what I was physically doing. It takes planning and forethought to consume foods to not only support your daily living and activities but also your purposeful exercise.

I’m learning. I’ve learned a lot and don’t think I’ve arrived at getting it right. It’s a constant work in progress.

Anyway on my journey of the foods I eat, salad has always been a standard for me. Not as a “diet” food. Not because I “had to”… I’m a weirdo… I just enjoy them.

Before I became somewhat knowledgeable of foods and nutritional content one of the food groups I enjoyed in my salad was…… Ranch… yes, Ranch dressing.

It is a food group, isn’t it ? 😉

Then I started getting smarter and realized I was killing and totally negating any positive effects of salad by the dressing on it. Now I was horrible about it, not like some salads I’ve seen where the lettuce is buried under a sea of white dressing, almost no longer visible….

Over time, I slowly weaned myself away from it. Oh, I have it occasionally ( I like it with my salad and pizza 😉 but this is rare for me.

Let me say this. I often eat salads. Most days of the week they are my lunch staple, because I really, honesty, enjoy them. And, you can seriously get all your daily servings of veggies in with it….. double win.

My salads are not just the standard lettuce, tomato, cucumber kind of salads. I throw all kinds of colorful veggies in, sometimes a fruit of some type, some nuts, seeds or other crunch along with some protein. I’ve learned to use spinach as my “lettuce”. It’s a creative venture for me each time 😛

Seriously, spinach is like a powerhouse of amazing, good for your nutrient rich stuff for almost zero calories. You wanna eat that stuff. Our store has been carrying locally grown and it’s spoiling me!

So I learned, if you add enough texture and variety of tastes and flavors to your salads, dressings are only needed in very minimal amounts.

But, as mentioned, when you are on a health and fitness journey, you do begin to look critically at how and what you eat to support and sustain those goals.

20150312_115649 — A sample of a lunch salad…lots of fresh spinach!

One of the main “suggestions” I offer to people who are wanting to lose weight, is to keep a record of what you eat for about a week, and really consider all the little “extras” you might consume but don’t consider empty calories piling into your days.

Things like an over abundance of salad dressing, mayo, and other creamy sauces and the like really do add up. When you can see from your food journal what your consumption of certain items are, you can then begin to examine what you don’t need or could eliminate to help you on your journey to shed weight and get healthier.

Small steps can lead to big, long term changes!

Approval Not Needed

So with the big hoopla in the media this week about Kelly Clarkson and her (gasp) weight (is it anyone one else’s business but hers?) it really stirred up a topic that’s been rolling around in my head for awhile to write on and this was just the catalyst to let it out.

No, not her weight. Not yours or mine or the family dogs. Actually, this has nothing to do with that topic.

I was more impressed and high fiving her for her ” I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks, I’m awesome” attitude and comment over that issue.

Approval. She pretty much thumbed her nose at the idea she needed someone else’s approval to be happy and be herself. Kudos to you Kelly.

Approval.

We come into this world almost wired for it. In the beginning it’s our parents/ family, we get in school it becomes our peers, later it becomes our boss, co-workers, friends, still family, sometimes even perfect strangers.

If we’re fortunate as we grow up and mature becoming more comfy in our own skin and who we are, we become less concerned over the need for approval of others.

I mean really, at the end of the day, approval given is based on personal opinions, values, beliefs, how we were raised, and even what our personalities are.

I was recently chatting with a young friend who was expressing to me the idea of doing something and I said… “well, just do it”.

His response was… “yeah, but I just worry about what other people are gonna think”… I laughed and told him I didn’t care anymore….

He responded with… ” yes, but you’ve had more life experience to get to that point” and he’s right. I have lived enough life to get to that point. I’m grateful for that ’cause honestly, it’s total freedom.

My “approval needed” list is tiny, one digit, small now days.

I reminded him that approval can be subjective, or it can be a “control” thing with some people. Withholding approval, not giving it, can often be a silent way of expressing personal displeasure, which is then projected onto the person.
Basically, their way of saying they don’t like what you’re doing or have done or that they wouldn’t do it . As stated above, that would be based on personal feelings, beliefs, values, etc.
I reminded him that it can be those closest to us who might withhold it but if he wanted to grow and move forward, he’d need to live his own life and pursue his own dreams.

It can be a hard step to move into. But it’s also seriously freeing. You have your own life to live….. to be yourself.

You don’t need approval to embrace your life and live it to the fullest being who you are.

So hat’s off again to Ms. Clarkson for reminding the rest of the world to smile and say “I don’t care what you think, I’m awesome”

You…. go be awesome.