Monthly Archives

September 2017

About Me The Journey

Wandering/Wondering Wednesday

September 27, 2017

When I haven’t been on an airplane for awhile, I get a little antsy. The travel bug is very, very real. My last trip, to the southwest in April, was one of the best of my life. The completely stunning scenery in Nevada, Utah and Arizona had me marveling more and more with each mile I drove (over 1300 of them!) and it was incredible how different the landscape was as I moved from place to place.

Now as the year moves into fall (how did it get to be the end of September already?), I find my mind drifting to where exactly I may want to wander in 2018. One of my big goals with my quest to get healthier is to have the ability to be more active when I travel, so I definitely want to embrace and plan around that goal. Each year, I like to do one ‘big’ trip and I think next year will be no different, but I’d also like to sprinkle in a few more trips throughout that will take me to new places.

Our country and our world are such huge places that it’s hard to even start narrowing down the destinations that are at the top of my list. But just like any other traveler, I want to hear about other people’s trips and favorite places. So, I’m throwing it out to you all…where in the world can I absolutely not miss? Why is it so amazing? When is the best time to go? To jumpstart, here are a few places on my shortlist for next year…

-Nebraska (no, I’ve never been)

-London

-Banff National Park

-Austria

–Another Uncruise

-Minneapolis (I’ve only sprinted through the airport)

-Spain

-Toronto

-Glacier National Park

Been to any of these? Anywhere I’m missing? Tell me in the comments! And happy wandering.

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Getting Fit The Journey

Multiple Choice(s)

September 13, 2017

I can feel my body getting stronger. I see the amounts I’m lifting going up. I can feel my body changing.

I ordered protein powder.

I ate the cookies slowly.

I don’t hate the alarm going off at 5:30 a.m.

I’ve kept the kitchen clean for over two weeks.

I finally ordered the art I’ve been wanting to hang above my sofa.

Who the heck am I?

Still me.

Making a thousand little choices every day.

But trying to make the best ones I can. Even when it comes to ice cream.

And definitely getting stronger.

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The Journey

Slow Cookies

September 8, 2017

The world is absolutely obsessed with going fast.

Work fast. Read fast (isn’t reading supposed to be relaxing?!). Clean fast. Connect fast. Drive fast (fine, I do this one). Eat fast. Life is moving fast fast fast.

But does it have to?

I’ve always been a fan of slowing down sometimes. I love me a lazy Sunday in comfy pants on the couch vegging out. But as I’ve started tip-toeing into minimalism and working on myself, the idea of the meaningful slow has especially jumped out at me. Slow down, find out what’s important to you, do that slowly so you can savor it.

One of the things that I love (obviously) is food…especially sweets. And food has to be important to us…it keeps us alive, after all. That’s why when I started my nutrition coaching along with my training (I use Precision Nutrition, by the way), I was blown away by what they identified as their first meaningful habit.

Eat slowly.

Whoa.

It’s not just one of the many habits this coaching is walking me through, it’s actually the anchor habit of the entire program. That when everything else gets off track, just focus on eating slowly. One meal at a time. There are plenty of excellent reasons to eat more slowly: you are more satisfied, you digest better, you can use meal time as a relax break instead of a rush. But somehow, I had literally never considered this an important concept, and neither had any other plan I’ve every tried.

The fact that this idea coincided with my exploring the idea of a slower lifestyle was a coalescing moment for me. I eagerly downloaded the app my nutrition coaching suggested (it’s called Eat Slowly) and decided I’d keep more normal pace for a few meals to see how quickly I throw down a meal.

Spoiler alert…I ate fast. Real fast. But I always have.

And to be honest, slowing down was not that easy. 20 minutes to eat dinner? I need, like, seven.

But I kept trying and slowly (ha!) but surely, my times started to go up. And after a few weeks of practice, I typically hit my goal. I decided was ready to add a bit of a different challenge to this whole “eat slowly” idea.

So I bought some cookies.

To be specific, I bought a plastic container of six football-shaped sugar cookies decorated in black and gold icing. It’s not fun to admit, but usually those six cookies (and they’re not small cookies) would last two days in my house…tops. And the kitties don’t eat cookies. It’s all me. For some reason, when I get a “bad” food in my house, I want to eat it/get rid of it as fast as I can so I can forget I ever bought it in the first place. So when I got home from the grocery store, I looked at those cookies and told them I was only going to eat one of them a day.

And I kept my promise to the cookies. I ate my last one after dinner tonight.

Now you might say they’re just cookies, and you’re right. But to me they represent more. It’s a commitment to slow down, to savor what is good in my life, to be mentally present and to celebrate little victories in a path to change.

Thanks, cookies.

 

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About Me The Journey

Tuesday Thoughts

September 5, 2017

So these last couple of posts have been lists because my brain hasn’t been up to long paragraphs and whatnot. Here’s one more, but I’ll be back to really getting at it soon! Until then, here are a few things that have been on my mind.

-A couple of things have made me really feel the concept of how small I am in the universe. The first was Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I tore through this book in just a couple of days and was completely enthralled with the story. It’s about the choices we make, the roads we don’t go down and the people who make us who we are.

The other, of course, was the total solar eclipse in August. I was so moved during those two and a half minutes that I actually cried. I felt so small in that moment in the most beautiful way.

-I don’t send enough cards to people. Plan for this winter…send more cards.

-I haven’t known what day it is for weeks.

–Chris Brogan’s weekly email this past week hit home extra for me this week. It’s about having a personal brand. My mind is spinning about what type of person I want to be professionally and personally. Where am I now? Who do I want to be? A lot of it hinges on why do people come to you…what comes to mind when they think of you? I want to cultivate that for myself based on the values I treasure. Also, sign up for the weekly email. I love it and it’s one of the only weekly newsletters I get that I always read.

-I bought my first mum yesterday. Now to keep it alive.

-When I haven’t been anywhere in a few months, I get super antsy. My head is so full of where I want to go next.

-Do I need a skincare regimen?

-I need to dig out my life list. See what I’ve accomplished. Figure out what’s next.

-It’s getting darker earlier. Promises of sweaters.

-I’m feeling physical things becoming less important to me. I don’t need lots of stuff. I don’t need to buy and store and consume. It’s a subtle mental shift that has me saying “no” more, that has me oddly excited about cleaning out my closet, that believes my mindset can be altered and I can continue to grow. Pretty amazing feeling.

-“When you have a growth mindset, there is no failure. Only feedback.”

 

 

 

 

-And finally, this lady. My incredibly talented, sassy, wonderful friend moved to Tennessee this week, and I miss her like crazy. We were both surprised to meet someone as adults who we connected with so closely. I love you tons, Brenna, and I can’t wait to come see you in Knoxville!

 

 

 

So what’s been on your mind lately? I’d love to hear about it!

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