I love Snail Mail!

Yes, the internet is all the rage;
it gets things to and fro, back and forth,
at very quick speeds!

But.... snail mail can sometimes be the best thing in the world! With it, you get something tangible, something you can hold in your hand, read at your leisure, carry with you even. Sometimes, getting a picture in the mail (like I do of my granddaughter at times) can be so special. I enjoy being able to return time and again to re-read something sent to me. Don't get me wrong... I like email too .... I sometimes save email to a Word file to save and print for the same reason, if it's special enough to me!

Recently, I read a book that was made into a movie.... Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, a japanese author who has become one of my favorite authors. The movie is Japanese, and my bestest friend made a copy of it for me so we could watch it. Along with the dvd, there was a note, with a quote, that I will treasure always!

Thank you, my friend :)

And because I can't be the only strange one in this world.... Do you have friends who might enjoy some snail mail as well???? If so, then take a minute to write out something personal, just for them. You may be the reason that person smiles all day!

snailmail HUGGGGS to everyone!

Got Motivation?

Today, like every day, was gym day for me. I clocked out from work and walked to my car to put my purse away and get my gym back. I turned, locked the car and was about to head in when two Border Patrol vehicles pulled in and parked. With the sun beating down, I watched in what seemed like a choreographed movie slo-mo ..... as four doors opened, and out got four good looking, well built men, heading into the gym. I'm not sure if my tongue hit the ground, but .... boy!

Because I lagged behind (to watch a few wrangler'ed behinds), they went in before me. I didn't notice them anywhere, so I went to the locker room, got out of street clothes, and into workout clothes. I hopped on the elliptical and galloped my way through my 35 minutes, partly smiling from the memory of my walk in :) Then it was time for the treadmill. As I was heading onto one of the machines, my path crossed one of the guys'. He smiled. I smiled back. And boy, did the next 35 minutes go by fast! Literally fast, as well, as I sure didn't want to look like a 'slacker', so my speed was up, I was standing tall (like the Goddess that I am!! hehehehe) and I was smiling to myself.

Talk about a great motivator!
Maybe 24Hr will send a personal invite to more of their kinds to ... motivate us some more :)

After 5 completed weeks, the scale hasn't budged (in my opinion),
but I've logged 58.72 miles. I'm not sure if I'm feeling better or not,
but I really enjoy doing the workouts.
Now its time to start pushing some limits, see what I can accomplish.

Motivated HUGGGS to everyone!

Finally.... Progress!

Ok, so it's not exactly what I'm looking for.... it's measured in such small increments for what I feel is the effort, the output, but finally, FINALLY, there was some progress this week. A loss of three pounds, and a gain of tremendous accomplishment! It isn't easy trying to stay motivated to work out, eat right, and hope for successes. Based on the scale, the goals are not as measurable as I seem to need. I'm a numbers kind of gal, so I decided to set some concrete goals that are measurable, and quit depending on the scale so much. (Because of the amount of water we drink here in the Valley of the Sun, 100 ounces can pack on what seems to be pounds from day to day.) Here's what I've determined will be my goals each week for the next two weeks:

1. Drink 100 ounces of water a day
2. Log 300 minutes of cardio between the elliptical and treadmill
3. Lift 20,000 pounds (remember, 10 reps of 10 lbs = 100! )
4. Log all foods using SparkPeople page
5. Log all gym activities in Excel
6. Only weigh in twice a week (every day without progress can be depressing!)

I'm hoping for better results than I had the first four weeks of gym time. I've been told that not eating enough puts the body in starvation mode, and maybe that's why I wasn't losing weight? Personally, I'm attributing a lot of it to just being more aware, and taking my vitamins on a daily basis. And knowing that no matter how much I'm working out, or cutting back in some areas, I cannot eat tortilla chips AT ALL. Even ""one serving"" does terrible things to me on the scale. Of course, back to the paleo style diet means not having any of that processed food stuffs -- but I'm finding that I do better if I have an intake of carbs -- whole wheats, oatmeal (I can wholly recommend Clif Bar Oatmeal Walnut Bars ... they're chewy, tasty, and stick to the ribs!)

It's not an easy thing to make changes ... but it took me 50 years to get to this point, so what if it takes years to get back to where I really want to be. :)

Happy, Progressive HUGSSS to everyone!!

Coping....

How do you cope with disappointment?
Are there any tried and true cure-alls that work for you?
I thought about it today, and seem to think there are
different cope mechanisms based on the disappointment.

Right now, I currently have two different disappointments. (Neither of them are earth shattering ... just normal stuff!) First... all my hard work at the gym hasn't paid off in the expected results (weight loss, of course). My first cure-all coping device is usually chocolate related! but... this time, it defeats the purpose, and I've not given in. Yet!! And I haven't given up going to the gym either ... I"m still plodding along. I changed a few notes to myself, and reset some goals (like 300 minutes a week of cardio--- which means I have 80 minutes to do on Friday-- 10 mins more than I normally do!)

The second is a trip I'd planned that fell thru (mostly) because of changes in my work schedule. I was really looking forward to it! So, I'm rescheduling it for May or June, depending on how things pan out in the next couple of weeks. My work schedule changed abruptly because the gal who works for me went off for some surgery. Which left me with no coverage, no one trained to do what she does. Which left me to cover her shifts, AND to train someone all at the same time. This disappointment has been harder to cope with. And I don't feel like I've found a successful way to do it, other than to keep overly busy to keep from dwelling on it. (It's Thursday night right now, and I should have been packing, anticipating, and getting excited about leaving in the morning!)

In the meantime, I've been training a nice fellow to take over. And I'm impressed with how methodical he is, and his desire to get the claims correct. He also has a knack (ok, for me, its my OCD! hahaha) of putting things into the claims box all neat and orderly. (ever noticed how some people have a knack for being able to fit shapes into a box? any Tetris fans out there??) Well, he has those skills, and for me, it fits perfectly. The only issue he and I have? I don't speak Spanish, and his English is limited. We do OK getting our messages across, but every once in a while... it gets all discombobulated! hehehehe

Disappointment is part of life... and it can shake our confidence and ability to deal with life if we don't develop effective and healthy strategies to deal with it. Keeping busy is definitely a productive way to cope with disappointments. I have moments where I let myself wallow in some of the bigger disappointments in life (we all have them, right?) but I don't let it hang around for long. I get up, get out, get moving. Take a walk, take a few pictures, change my focus, my routine, my habits.

And it helps to remember: "This too shall pass"

HUGGGS to everyone!

Gym Rat .... 4 week update

An update from this Gym Rat:

• Started 28 days ago.
• Missed 5 days (1 day off a week, plus one)
• Getting home more than an hour later from work than I used to
• A total of 890 cardio minutes logged
• A total of 50.74 miles logged
• A total of 41,675 pounds lifted (10 reps @ 25 lbs..... all adds up!)

Sad and discouraged, I show no results whatsoever on the scale. I was hoping for 10lbs to come off, but was realistically assuming that 5 would be an achievement. Some people say "oh, you're just adding muscle at first" -- or "it just takes time, keep working at it". *sigh* Yeah, those are all good and reasonable, but darn, there should be some kind of payoff. Am I feeling better? I can see in my progress that I can go longer on the elliptical and treadmill (for cardio) and I'm lifting more on weight circuit days. I'm certainly more tired :) Do I sleep better? That's hard to say, with other factors going on.... Are my clothes fitting better? Not so I've noticed. *grim-face*

When I started, my eating habits were leaning toward the paleo style diet of no processed foods, no grains, little carbs, mostly proteins. This week, I switched back to what was working before: PB sammich and banana for lunch, hoping the carbs and stuff would make me feel better (along with the added potassium to help with leg cramps at night!). I'm crossing my fingers for better luck this week, and trying to stay strong to my calorie intake. But I'm beginning to think... not all calories are created equal (google it, there's some new info out..), so that what I eat seems to be more important than how much I eat. The other change I've made is getting back to taking my vitamins again. They're an important part of a good healthy regimen!

We'll see what the next month holds.....

HUGGGS (with added ooomph) to everyone!

Got Doubts?!?

We all have doubts from time to time ... about our job, our goals, our finances, our loves, our decisions (or lack thereof!) I think doubts are a way of life; but they're also nothing to fear, and quite frankly, a heathy way of looking at things in order to make better, more informed decisions. I looked up doubt on wiki and found this:

• Doubt: a status between belief and disbelief, involves uncertainty or distrust or lack of sureness of an alleged fact, an action, a motive, or a decision.

Albert Einstein says: The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Great doubts...deep wisdom.
Small doubts... little wisdom.
~Chinese Proverb

True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance. ~Akhenaton

Shakespeare's quote: Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.

All this in an attempt to figure out some angst I have been feeling, and am ruling it as doubt, which of course seems to be a manifestation of fear. Or is it our fears that leave us with doubts? Either way, they seem to go hand in hand. When I read these quotes, though, I got to thinking: How are doubts good for us? When faced with a temptation, or something that sounds too good to be true, and we have doubts, its that doubt that would steer us in the right direction. In my own case, however, it's the fear the is creating the doubts: fear of being wrong, fear of being hurt.

Although opposites, "trust" and "doubt" complement each other. From doubt, we learn what and who to trust. From trust, we learn what and who to doubt. Doubt means you don't understand things but need to dig deeper, investigate. Trust implies, to varying degrees, that "I know you" (whether "you" is a friend or is a product). Trust implies, in some way, that I have given what I trust some power over me, whether the power is to influence or to love or to buy.

So it seems that when we have doubts, or even fears, we still need to use that old standby, trust, to help us figure out what to do. One of the things I've always used to help me make (semi) reasonable choices, is from Ben Franklin's take on doubt, I like this the best:

When in doubt, don't.

Doubt-less HUGS to everyone!!

Good luck / Bad luck

One of my favorite authors, Victoria Holt, said: "I've always thought you have to believe in luck to get it." So ... how do you tell good luck, from bad luck? Ever had one of those moments where you weep copious tears, only to find out that if you'd known the whole story, you'd have been happy, celebrating your good fortune?? Country's Garth Brooks sings "Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." Sometimes its the things we don't know, can't see, that turn out the best in the long run.

March celebrates St. Patrick's Day, which brings to mind the role luck plays in our lives. Some days, I feel very lucky. I'm not feeling very lucky lately, however. I'm caught up in a confounding romantic relationship (yes, on the internet!) and I was trying to set up a mini vacation in his part of the country so we could meet. But issues on his end, as well as work issues on my end, has conspired against my plans. So it's easy for me to think that it's a case of bad luck?? Or... is it good luck, and I just can't see it yet??? All I seem to know is I keep waiting for my prayers to be answered (in the way *I* want them to be, thank you very much!) So here I am, waiting for my luck to change. But what are the chances of that happening?? Would I bet money on it?? Nope.

Are you like me? and expect the worse to happen and making contingency plans for that? In so many other areas of my life, I feel so blessed and incredibly grateful. But I've not always considered myself overly lucky.

You may consider yourself lucky in love, and unlucky in other areas of your life. That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you take a look at the area of your life where you're wanting and waiting for your luck to change. Luck is equal parts grace and gumption, and both of these things require active participation.

When you change your belief, you change your behavior.
Change your behavior, and you change how you make choices.
Change your choice, get more chances.
Get more chances, take more risks.
Take more risks, find more four-leaf clovers.

The seemingly random pattern of luck seems quite undeniable. The writer, Amy Tan, asks "How can you say luck and chance are the same thing? Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterwards."

Take a chance, make a change today, and see what luck comes your way!
I made a few small changes, and I got closer to my prayers being answered! You can too!

Lucky HUGS to everyone!

Annnnticipation

What do you do when something you've been anticipating for a long time falls through?? Over a month ago, I put in for some much needed vacation time, and just like the last time, something happened at work to make it impossible for me to be gone for four days. By the same token, it wasn't working out on my friend's end either, so maybe this is the universe's way of conspiring ... er.... of letting me know that the timing isn't quite right! (yeah, yeah, I'm trying to keep that in mind!)

But it's difficult to get past the disappointment, or to dwell on all the reasons why, or why not. If it feels like I'm talking in circles? That's because I am! I wish I could say I'm understanding it all. But most of the time, its difficult to see and understand the bigger picture.

In the meantime, a lot of that free thinking time I've been using at the gym. 21 days into it, and I've logged 38.67 miles. For a total loss of 2 lbs. Which comes right back on, and more, depending on how much water I drink. Have I lost inches? nope. I think the only thing I've lost is my sanity.

This has not been a good week at all !!
Except for my friend, David, who just started a new job --- congrats !!!!

HUGS to everyone!