Last Night...

...I went to sleep in my workout clothes.

On purpose.

I had had that random thought on Sunday night but didn't do it. Then yesterday I was inspired by my sister who old me that she had slept in her workout clothes on Sunday night in order to minimize excuses to getting up early.

So I tried it last night.

Other than waking up at midnight, 2:30, and 4:20, there wasn't much difference.

Unfortunately, that's kind of a big difference... So I'm not sure if I'll do it again tonight or not.

But, I did finally wake up - and GET up early!

And here are the fruits of my labors (not bad for being done before 6 in the morning, right?) -

this was during my three minutes of cooling down (rounding out the 45 minutes).

the other 42 minutes were split 50/50 between running 5 mph at a 4% decline (totally works the abs)

and walking 3.5 mph at a 15% incline (with 1 minute of 40% incline thrown in there just for fun).

 i'm sore.

Coping

So... I'm turning 30 this year. THIRTY. I remember when my oldest sister turned 30 and I thought that was a long way off for me. Well, now I'm staring down the barrel of the gun that's shooting the number 30 out at me. I'm not freaking out about it yet... And I've thought of a way that would totally help me cope with turning 30.

I've had my eye on this cruise for about four years. I'm thinking it might be time to go. And I'm thinking that the perfect time to go would be on my birthday. Who would mind turning 30 while spending time on the Mediterranean?

I wouldn't mind.
Not at all.

We'll see if it happens...

If not the cruise, then I'd *settle* for some time spent in Italy.

I'm easy to please.

Turning Over a New Leaf

(not a leaf... but I like the picture)

My life is in need of drastic changes.
So I'm working on changing.

- I'm in the process of volunteering at a place I've had my eye on for about two years.
(it's about time I actually did something about it)

- I'm working on fixing my sleeping habits with a little help from one* or two things...
(kind of looking into an item like this too)

- I'm doing a {currently} temporary overhaul on my diet.
for a few reasons
1 - my eating habits have been awful lately
2 - I'm planning on walking/running a marathon in a month and need to be in better physical condition than I am now
3 - I told myself that if I went back to my mission reunion this year that I would be thinner than I was last year
(right now, I weigh less than I did a year ago... but there's a lot of room for improvement)
4 - I know that I'll feel better if I weigh less, I've been feeling pretty *blech* lately

- Dietary changes that I told myself I can make for one week**
(just one week...)
1 - no refined sugar
2 - no white flour
3 - all fruits and vegetables
- with some whole grains thrown in
(I'll be making a stop at Great Harvest tomorrow)
4 - no eating after 8
(maybe 7)

Feel free to check up on me during the week.
**This begins tomorrow.

*just fyi - this is a rare "help"
I don't -nor do I want to-
use it every night.

ps - popcorn is okay - no butter of course! (:

There Are Really People Like This Out There???

Listen.

It Really is Amazing

... how quickly I feel a change when I start eating healthier food. Already I've been sleeping better (it helps that the pups didn't wake me up at 2 in the morning this morning), and I just feel better - physically, emotionally, mentally. It's incredible.

I've been reading "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman (again). Extremely compelling. I highly recommend it.

Oh My Goodness - A Breakthrough!

Remember when I wrote this? I do. Remember how frustrated I got with him on Friday?

Oh.

Nevermind.

I didn't write about that.

I was extremely frustrated with him on Friday.

Maybe ready to strangle him even.

But don't worry, I didn't.

Anyway, today, shortly after he came in he walked over to my desk and I said, "I need you to not play music when other music is playing."

And that was that.

He did ask about it a bit and even said, "But your music is boring sometimes." I told him he could survive for a few hours a day. Then I mentioned how I'm not always playing music and when no one's playing music it's fine for him to put his on.

He was fine with it.

And, I reminded him that classical music makes you smarter.

It's like a bonus.

Our little exchange kind of reminded me of this.

I Like This -

the words we speak and think hold great sway over the kind of life that we create for ourselves. many people live their lives plagued by negative thoughts and never even realize this. they tell themselves and others that they are doomed to fail, not good enough, or not worthy of love, yet they are amazed when their reality starts reflecting these words. just as the subconscious mind accepts as truth the critical statements we tell ourselves, however, it is also equipped to instantly accept the veracity of our affirmations.

affirmations are statements chosen and spoken consciously. once they enter our realm of consciousness, they also enter our subconscious mind where they have the power to change our lives. the affirmations you create should be specific, not too long, worded positively, formed in complete sentences, and spoken in the present tense as if what you are affirming is already true. it is a good idea to repeat your affirmations daily. you may want to tell yourself that you deserve to be happy or that you are in control of your destiny. or, you may want to focus on a particular goal, such as attracting new friends. rather than telling yourself you want to be well-liked, say, “i am well-liked.” your subconscious mind will pick up on these positive messages, and you will begin to live your life as if what you are affirming already has happened. soon, your reality will begin to reflect your affirmations. if you find that you are thwarting yourself with negative thinking, try repeating ! your affirmations several times a day. write your affirmations down and say them aloud or in your mind. allow your conviction to grow stronger each time you say your affirmations, and your negativity will be overridden by your motivation and positive thoughts.

affirmations are a powerful tool for creating our desired reality. we consciously and subconsciously invite opportunity into our lives when we say affirmations. trust in the power of your affirmations, and you will very quickly create what you have already stated to be true.

from dailyOM

This Post is About...

BOUNDARIES

It's something I've struggled with for... my life. Setting good boundaries. My mom has a book in progress about the need to set good and safe boundaries for yourself and with other people so you don't get overused and then upset about how you're being overused.

That's it in a (very small) nutshell. There's more that goes with it.

I was able to hear her give a speech on boundaries last year at the "Office Professionals... whatever Conference" for my job.

While listening to it I kept thinking, "me... me... me..." and these weren't good things that I was applying to myself. It was all about not having appropriate boundaries.

I let people take advantage of me. I don't like being seen as the "bad guy" so if someone asks me for a favor or anything that could slightly fall in that category... if there is any possible way for me to do it, I'll say yes. Even if it means bending over backwards while tying my shoes and walking on my hands and balancing on my head. Impossible, right? Just let me try it, and I'll show you that it can be done.

Of course, I may end up resentful of you for asking me to do it, and even more resentful of me for not being able to say no and set my own boundary in order to protect myself, but I'll get it done.

The reason for this post is that in my personal "fun" reading, I came across the following:

"Playing the part of a charitable soul was only for those who were afraid of taking a stand in life. It is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness than to confront others and fight for your rights."

Then it continues:

"It is always easier to hear an insult and not retaliate than have the courage to fight back against someone stronger than yourself; we can always say we're not hurt by the stones others throw at us, and it's only at night - when we're alone and our wife or our husband or our school friend is asleep - that we can silently grieve over our own cowardice."

The Devil and Miss Prym, Paulo Coelho, p. 44 (emphasis added)

After I read that, I realized - I'm the coward. I hate confrontation and tend to avoid it like the plague. Even if I know I'm being taken advantage of I'm much more likely to roll over and do what's asked - no, demanded - of me than to stand up for myself.

Pathetic, isn't it?

This has really given me something to (continue) thinking about.

I love smart people.