Monday, October 29, 2012

Choose to Love your Life!

I really like my life, and I hope you do too.  I am pretty sure I think that at least once everyday. "Gosh, I love my life." It doesn't mean I don't have hard days because I definitely do, but at the end of the day, I always have everything I need. If you repeatedly say that to yourself, you will begin to look at your life differently. Take time at the end of each day to think of 3 things you are thankful for, and put away the bad. You don't need it dragging you down!

I went to the podiatrist for my plantar fasciitis, and he gave me cortisone shots. This was a week ago tomorrow. He said to wait a week, and if they start hurting, I will have to do physical therapy. If they don't, I have to wait another week and can start running a little! Well, I went until just this morning without my feet hurting. The right one is sore today. I might call tomorrow to order some physical therapy. This has been such a long journey. It has been really difficult not having one of the most important things in my life--running. Running is my time, the only time I relax and think about nothing. It gives me endorphins like no other exercise does. I miss it so much. I forgot what it was like to live without pain until I got these shots. It is amazing how much it was weighing me down and I didn't even realize it. I know I am on the road to recovery, and I have discovered a lot about myself during this time. It has also forced me to give my body a break from running which will be a good thing in the long run. As hard as it has been, I know there is a lot of good that has come out of it. For now, I will dream of running and know I will get to someday soon!

I haven't blogged lately just because I have been lazy, but I try my best!  I hope everyone is doing well, and you choose to love your life today! 



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Early morning alarms on cold, dark mornings

The weather is getting colder. It is darker in the morning. It is so easy to stay warm and snuggled in bed this time of year. Our bodies naturally tell us it is time to hibernate. When you have that alarm set to get up and work out, but it goes off and you want to stay in bed- FORCE yourself to get up. Remember that it is worth it to get up and do it! 

I go into work later on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I could easily sleep in. It takes a lot to make myself get up. Nate and I swim together on Tuesday mornings, so I have to get up early with him so he can do it before work. I really wanted to sleep in this morning, but I didn't. We went, and I felt so amazing. My whole day is going to be great because of it. If I wouldn't have woke up, I would have missed my time with Nate and our converstaions we had. We swim together and we chat in the hot tub after. Why would I ever want to miss that?! I would have missed having a good breakfast and a great work out that got my metabolism and endorphins going. If  I would have slept in, I would have felt like a slug and been down all day with this gloomy weather.  The positives on this situation FAR outweight the negatives. The only positive of sleeping in is that you get to lay in bed a little longer. That's not worth it for everything you get out of waking up---so do it! Get out of bed a little earlier in the morning to start your day off right. Rushing through the morning will only cause you to rush through the entire day. Life is too short to miss out on having a great day!

A few updates:  Friday, I was coming out of teaching my TRX class, and I walked passed the front desk. "Oh, I know them." and it took about 10 seconds for me to register "oh my gosh! they aren't suppose to be here!"  It was Sydney and Mark from Cedar Falls! Sydney came to my yoga class at the rec center, and Mark is her husband. They had me to their house for Easter this past year. I couldn't believe my eyes!!! I screamed and hugged them! It worked out perfectly because I was just finishing up at work, so they took me out for lunch! They were on their way to Door County for the week and thought they would surprise me. How sweet!! It made my whole weekend!  I met Melissa, Kelsey, and their Dad in Dubuque Friday night to go to Chicago with them. Melissa and Kelsey ran the marathon on Sunday, and I went along to cheer. I was suppose to run, but I couldn't because of my plantar fascitis. Stupid injury! I have hope it will go away! I can't wait to run again!  They both did really well in the marathon. I had been sick since Wednesday, so I wasn't 100% all weekend. It was so nice to spend time with my best friend and relax in our hotel. She is coming to stay with me the first week of November, and I am already looking forward to that time together as well. She is the most amazing friend I have ever had, and we have a pretty incredible friendship. I'm really lucky!

I came home on Sunday, and being gone all weekend made me miss Nate so much. Whenever we are forced to have time apart, I always fall more in love with him. I have felt a connection with him like no other lately, and I can't imagine it getting better, but I know it will!  I'm sure you are reading this, my love---I love you! :)

Currently, I am doing the Advocare 24 day challenge, the Burpee challenge and the Eat this Book Challenge.  The Advocare challenge is awesome. I did it once before, and I had never felt so amazing. You take their products and eat really healthy. It is such a good way for me to "get back on track". We go through phases with our eating, and it is the perfect amount of time to go back to those healthy habits. It is only day 2, and I already feel better--someone just told me I had an extra "glow" to me today. There is proof right there!  Today is day 17 of the burpee challenge. I even did them when I was sick which was really hard.  I am attempting to do them all in a row for the whole challenge. It is already getting pretty hard. It is going to be tough, but I know I can do it!  The Eat this Book Challenge is a bible reading plan through my church. Everyone in the church is reading the same passages each day and there is a study guide online. In the end, we will end up reading the entire bible in a year. I am on about day 20 of that, and I have not missed a day. It's amazing how much better my life is when I am in healthy rhythms. It is hard work---HARD work--- to be healthy, be a good person, do the right thing, etc., but it is 100% worth it. The outcomes of doing so will make your life the life you deserve to be living. 

I hope everyone is having a great week. Remember to get out of bed in the morning--you won't regret it! Heidi said so!