Bones Don't Jiggle

**Quick notice: Today is June 1st, so it is the first day of our new "Mission: Move It To Lose It"!! Check out our page on this blog named: "Move it 2 Lose it" to track our goals and progress!!**

I just watched the rerun of the "Mike & Molly" pilot episode over lunch today. I had forgotten how much I loved Molly's response to her mom's explanation of "you've just got big bones" as an legitimate reason for her being overweight. I just had to use it for the title of this post. It makes me giggle every time I hear it!

Don't worry, kids - I know better than to blame my weight on the size of my bone structure. I'm not even sure what size my bones are because they're buried deep...deep....deep down! On the bright side, I've never broken a bone. I think the impact required to get through all of my...ummm...padding...would probably kill me at the same time, so I am safe. At this point, I'd settle for just being able to see one of my bones. Maybe a kneecap? Instead of a large, padded, pocket of fat it would be nice to actually see a kneecap in there. I trust I have them! I just haven't seen them in a while. One day.....

I also just watched the first episode of "Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition". Did any of you watch it? I thought it was OK. Trying to pack that much time (one year) into that short amount of time (one hour) is hard when you're dealing with something as diverse as obesity. (Man - I really hate that word. I'm going to call it "Remus-ity" instead. I urge you to do the same.) There were a couple of things I thought were interesting about this show. I think the most shocking part for me was when the trainer made the family members carry her weight around the track. I remember when they had Bob put on the weight that Michael had lost on Biggest Loser. He couldn't move! All I could do was imagine my poor skinny family trying to walk around weighing what I do. Holy hell! That would be horrible. I can sort of see why he did it - this girl lived at home with her family, and they were going to be a huge part of her success (or failure). But at the same time - I wouldn't want my family to have to do that. They didn't make me fat. They didn't hoover Big Mac's and sit on the couch all day....every day.... I think it was nice of them to do it - but I wouldn't ever want my family to have to do it. They'd collapse. Seriously. They're too tiny.

It did also provide me with a good reminder - one I am reluctant to believe - and that is: it isn't so much what you're doing, as what you're putting in your mouth. That poor girl was working out 4-5 hours a day, but wasn't watching what she was eating close enough. She only lost 3 pounds in 3 months. Now - "only" might seem like the wrong word choice here - she'd lost 130 pounds in the six months leading up to that. But anyone putting in that kind of time at the gym should lose more than that! I keep wanting to fight it. I keep wanting to believe I can still eat what I want if I work out. And I can - if I want to bounce around in the same 10-20 pounds for the rest of my life. But since that is not my goal, I best remind myself numerous times a day that it's what going in that's going to decide my success. And why do I want to beat the hell out of myself at the gym to not see results. It's easy - I don't. So put it all together, I must. At least it's getting warm. It's always easier to eat better when it's nice outside.

Do you find that your eating and exercise habits change with the seasons?

All-or-Nothing

There is something about me that really loves to hold onto the "all-or-nothing" philosophy. I had been doing it for years where my health was concerned. I was either 100% on a "diet" (to the point of eating only carrot sticks before going out to a beer bash, and then falling down at the bar because I was so hammered) and exercise - or 0%. It was salads and the gym, or pizza and the couch. There was no middle ground.

I was at a going away party for a friend on Saturday night (he is heading off to some war area to keep us safe for 6th months - SHOUT OUT to everyone willing and able to do it, because I am certain I couldn't) and realized another all-or-nothing area of my life. Booze. Now sure - as part of a healthy lifestyle, I probably shouldn't be going out to get fall-down drunk, but that isn't my largest deterrent. I don't do a lot of drinking because of the cost - because I don't think it's wise in my current financial situation to spend a lot of my dolla dolla bills y'all on booze. But the largest is - I don't need another DWI/DUI (I had one when I was 19, on Super Bowl Sunday). So when I go out I am the driver and have diet coke, or I am not the driver and have 1,000 drinks. Let's face it - I could have a drink or two, and still be safe to drive. But a drink or two is only going to succeed in making me tired, or want more. So why bother? I like to know that I am safe to drive home without the possibility of being arrested. It makes me feel superior. And honestly - I'm too pretty to go to jail. =)

It was shortly after declining the offer of cocktails at that party that yet another instance of this all-or-nothing life plan popped into my head. I realized I had been adopting this as my mantra since I was like 14! When I was 7th and 8th grade, I was trying to be a fastpitch pitcher. My uncle Jeff had pitched for the mens' team my dad coached, and I thought it might be fun. For those of you that weren't subjected to my unique style of pitching, I will try and paint a picture. I was horrible. My dad - who wanted me to be the next great talent to walk the halls of Owatonna Jr High - suffered the most. He nailed a 2x4 in the back yard to act as the pitching rubber, and then he tried to catch. I say "tried" not because he wasn't capable of catching, but because he would have been better suited with a soccer net and lot of pads. I couldn't throw two pitches in a row that were catchable, much less in the strike zone. I broke a window in the top of the garage (easily 30' off the ground). I can only imagine the quantity and pain of bruises I caused him, because I have failed to share - I could throw hard. No control, but it was movin'. I remember throwing over the backstop on more than one occasion. Not sure if they were all at practice, or maybe some were at games? Looking back, I have no idea how anyone could tolerate catching for me. My apologies to everyone that had to try. I think they spent more time running to the backstop to retrieve my errant pitches than they did behind the plate.

When I would throw in games, I was all (strikeouts) or nothing (walks). Rarely did anyone get the bat on the balls I was throwing. The summer after my 8th grade year we had our first summer fastpitch team. I believe there was one game where I went in and faced eight batters - I hit four of them, and walked four of them and was then relieved of my pitching duties. The highlight of my summer was my first no-hitter. It sounds great, doesn't it? A no-hitter! What an accomplishment! But wait....no one got a hit, but I walked....wait for it....NINETEEN!! I walked 19 batters in what I'm sure was only five innings (we tended to beat everyone by like 30+ runs). The other team still scored seven runs, because I was sponsoring my own walk-a-thon. My apologies to everyone that had to try and play defense behind me, as well. I can only imagine how boring that was.

So you see - I have a long history of this all-or-nothing attitude. It is at times where I am in danger of totally derailing that I remember that at FC they told us we'd have times where we fall off track. Where we temporarily resort to our old lifestyles. It doesn't mean we need to make it permanent. We can get back on track at any time. Obviously it would be better to do it sooner, than later - but you get my point. I have fallen off numerous times, but hauled myself back. And I'm doing it again. I'm ready to start this new mission in a couple of days, and I'm going to follow through on it. I'm going to make myself proud this summer. Not because I'll be in the "all" category all summer, but because I'm going to dwell comfortably in the gray area in between. I'm going to balance my life with my health, and it's going to be fantastic.

How about you? Are you an "all-or-nothing" type, or a "gray area" type?

Mission: Move It To Lose It - - the details

Hi all! I have had some questions about the mission starting June 1st, so I thought I'd put together a little information on it.

• It is a build-your-own mission! The basic premise is movement - miles, minutes, etc. You decide what you'd like to accomplish, and set that as your goal. You get to be your own boss - and who could ask for more than that?!?! But you also get to do it with some other folks, and that always makes it easier.
• You decide how often you'd like to report on your goal. Do you want to set weekly, monthly, or mission goals? I set monthly goals, but am reporting weekly. Otherwise I'd end up with a million miles to do at the end! Some of you probably have better discipline than I do, and you'd be fine with the monthly or mission reporting. I would like to say - I am going to have a page for this mission on my blog. The more you report, the more others can see you moving, and maybe be motivated to move it a little themselves. =) (hint, hint) You can also "self-report" as often as you'd like on our Facebook page, and I urge you to do so! I am sick of monopolizing that thing! =)
• I would like it if each participant would write a little bio - your name, where you live, how you plan to move it, and anything else you'd be willing to share. I like to learn about the participants, and I think everyone else would as well!
• Send me an email ( natalie@slimmingdowntosexy.com ) or a comment on this post or a note on Facebook/Twitter with your mission plan. I will set the page up with participants, bios and goals on June 1st and post it to my blog. 
• Send in your updates weekly (or monthly, or missionly) to my email address or on our Facebook page, and I'll post them to the page on my blog.
• If you have any rewards for yourself, please share those as well! I'll add them to our page!

I am looking forward to being a much better mission participant this time around! I will actually stick with it. That is my promise to you, and myself. I will post my daily activity on our Facebook page to hold myself accountable. I would love it if you guys would do the same!

Here are my goals and rewards: (I figure you guys already have enough of a bio on me - right?)

• June: 110 miles. If When I reach that goal, I get to get myself a glitter headband. I have wanted one for months now, and it is a cheap reward that will make me happy.
• July: 120 miles. Smallish prize TBD
• August: 130 miles. When I reach this goal, and have moved a total of 360 miles in 3 months, I will get myself an iPad2 (or whatever the latest version is at the time). I will use money from my last book payment to fund it. This is something I REALLY want, so it will be a good incentive to keep my ass moving!

my ultimate reward

 So who's going to join me? The more the merrier! =) If you have any other questions, please comment here, on Facebook, or send me an email. Hope to hear from a bunch of you soon!!

I'm on a Mission....

I received an email a couple of weeks ago, requesting that we have a summer mission. At first I was just going to say probably not. Let's face it - I have been less than inspiring to myself, and others, on the last 2. But then I figured: why the hell not? I'm going to be doing it anyway, so what is the big deal if we have a mission? It might get a few more ladies and gentlemen involved - and there is always strength in numbers...right?

So here we go. I got a suggestion from Meg to do total miles from June - August. I liked that idea. So I am going to name this one Mission: Move It To Lose It. If you'd like to participate, please email me at natalie@slimmingdowntosexy.com before June 1st. Just let me know the total number of miles you're going to move this summer. Also let me know how often you'd like to report (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly.....). I'll make a page for our mission, and update it as you send your updates to me. For my part, I will actually follow through on this mission. I've been slacking long enough. I can breathe again, now it's time to start kicking a little ass.

And I have one more little thing. I had another less-than-supportive comment on our Facebook wall. I thought I had made my opinion on negativity clear after the comment made a couple of months ago, but apparently I did not. So let me say it again...for the cheap seats....

Dear Negative Nelly's/Ned's,

While I understand that I have opened myself up to public scrutiny with this blog, I really don't need any additional negativity sent my way. If I am not accomplishing what you think I should be accomplishing, or doing all that you think I should be doing, or losing all that you think I should be losing, or you are just tired of hear about my struggles (many of them repeated) - I would ask you to simply stop following my blog. Don't follow our Facebook page. Don't follow me on Twitter. If you are so disgusted and disappointed by what I am doing in my attempts to improve my life - I would prefer you stop following instead of trying to tear me down. Obviously this is something that is hard for me, that I struggle with every day. I don't have all of the answers, but I am trying to figure it out. Either you understand that, or you don't. You relate, or you don't.

That being said - I hope you stick with me. I have a few ladies that have offered up gym dates, and I will be taking them up on it shortly, now that I finally getting over this cold. I have been looking into some local groups to check out, to see if they might help me figure this all out. And regardless of all of this - I haven't gained all of the weight back that I have lost, and for me that is a victory. I typically would have gained it all back and then some, and completely given up on going to the gym. I am a non-stop, never-ending, work-in-progress. And I'm still trying. I have lapses. I have times where I am just flat-out lazy. I have times where I eat nothing but crap. But I come back. And I will figure this out for myself. And hopefully along the way I will help some others figure it out for themselves, too.

Negativity breeds negativity, and we don't need it here. Please go ahead and take that crap elsewhere.

Love,
Slimming Down to Sexy....Eventually

Update: As of 6:02pm on Monday, the negative comments have been removed from our wall by the author. Phenomenal!

Being Tested

Wednesday is trying to test me. Maybe I'm being documented to see how I deal with irritation? Granted, I probably caused it (a running theme in my life) - and compared to what is going on with other people these things are nothing - but I'm still going to vent about it a little bit.

I woke up to find myself feeling about 86.4%. I wasn't coughing as much. There was less phlegm than I've grown used to. I had actually gotten to sleep without hacking for 2 hours. The biggest problem continues to be that I cannot take a deep breath without launching myself into a coughing spree. Needless to say, it is getting old.

So after putzing around for a little over an hour (Facebook and Twitter are like my morning coffee - - I can't get my day started without them) I was off to the gym. I get out of the car with my 2 iPods, headphones, gym card, keys and sweatshirt (it's in the damn 50's here today!!!) and head to the door. Once I am in I realize I dropped my card somewhere. Fantastic. So I head back out into the whipperwills, and retrace my way back to my car. Nothing. Look in my car. Nothing. Grrrrrrr. So I am heading back to the door when Maggie (seriously the nicest girl EVER who works at the front desk) was on her way out to tell me someone else found it. Good. Problem number one taken care of.

he is one good lookin' man!

I was looking forward to attempting a nice long cardio session today, and was looking forward to watching "The American" on my iPod. I haven't seen any of it, and thought it would be a good distraction to get me through my workout...oh, and George Clooney's in it. Yum. So I plug everything in, get my machine started up and hit play. The left side of my headphones won't work. SHIT! Now, I realize this isn't a huge deal, but it kind of drives me crazy. Plus, the gym is loud, (and I swear I'm sometimes partially deaf) so I have to have the volume up to hear what I'm watching - and didn't feel like deafening myself in my right ear. Damn it. Oh well. That can wait for tomorrow. Then I look up and realize the TV that usually has SportsCenter on it is still on TNT. I have no idea what was on it, but it looked sort of "Buffy and the Vampire Slayer"-esque. No thank you. I got innovative and made it through my 60 minutes on the elliptical.

I wanted to stop about half way through when it felt like someone punched me in the gut, but that passed soon enough. And the good news is, I ended feeling at about a 91.7% - so things are lookin' up!

I just wanted to share one other troubling thing that I read. I don't know for sure if it is true. I will do some additional investigating - maybe I could start a series: Slimming Down to Sexy Investigates.....? I wonder if anyone would watch it? Anyway - I read that when it comes to water consumption you should take your weight, divide it by two - and drink that many ounces. HOLY CRAP!! I might as well just grab a straw and head to the largest body of water I can find....

Are you up for the challenge?

It is Monday as I type this, and I have a number of challenges extended to myself. Some fitness-based, some nutrition-based, some career-based, some overall-life-based. I'm makin' plans. I refuse to call them goals, because as many of you know - goal-setting for me tends to produce the opposite, undesired, outcome. I am my own worst enemy. I have self-destructive-personality disorder. And I apparently sometimes think I'm a doctor. =)

These "plans" aren't anything I haven't set as goals a million times - but it is necessary for me to start getting some structure to my days. Hopefully I'll be going back to work soon, so I might as well get used to actually having to get things done! Here's a little idea of what I'm working on:

• Finish my damn resume! I have some really great references, but am stuck at trying to turn (I seriously just typed "tern" before I was like...duh! It's TURN!) my non-skills into things that a company cannot live without. I am an under-seller, so this job is proving to be ridiculously hard! (and apparently I have to leave "competent speller" off my list of skills!)
• Get my ass to the gym at least 6 days a week and lift weights 4 times (2 upper body days, 2 lower body days) per week. The weights start this Thursday. It could be dangerous. Hopefully I can straighten my legs and touch my face by week's end.
• Stop eating like crap. I have 1800-2000 calories per day. It would be in my best interest to not use them on Cheetos. It would also be in my best interest to start planning before going to the grocery store, and STICK TO MY LIST!!
• Enough of the salt lick. I am going to limit myself to 2000mg/day of sodium. I seriously feel so much better when I do. 
• Get working on my book. I started a book of my own a few months ago, and it's just been sitting there. It is time to get cracking! I have so many genius insights to share with the world! I think at least an hour, three times per week, is a good plan. I know I can't force it, but that seems reasonable.

Those are my "plans" so far. I think my dad would be proud of me - I have even made spreadsheets to track a few of these things. I am finally feeling about 80% on my ability to breathe, so it's time to get moving!

I also had a request to start a summer mission, or challenge. I asked for ideas on Facebook and Twitter - but will ask here, as well. Do you have any suggestions, or requests, for a challenge? I'd like to have the first day be June 1st, and we can run it June - August. I have gotten a "total miles" suggestion, which I really like - but wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas. If you do, please comment here, or email me at: natalie@slimmingdowntosexy.com . I'll make a final decision by Wednesday or Thursday, so everyone will have enough time to sign up if they'd like! 

I hope things are going great for all of you, and none of you were affected by the crazy tornado's last weekend! Have any of you been making "plans" for yourself? I'd love to hear about them!

back to it.....

I realized this week, that regardless of how slowly I may be moving - I have made some positive changes. There have been many times in my adult life where I have gone months between workouts, and it didn't phase me in the least. Sure...I would feel small pangs of guilt over the fact that I was just paying my fat tax (see: gym membership) and never using it - but that was about it.

I finally felt like the Remus got his gigantic ass off my chest enough to go the gym on Wednesday. I don't know if I have ever been so happy to be active in my life. There was still a fair amount of hacking to be done while I was there - but I tried to be as courteous as I could, and just cough into my arm. I didn't "fake cough" and then do the gagging face like the guy I had seen at the WAC do. Hopefully it wasn't frequent enough, or annoying enough, for anyone to want to come over and kick me (literally) off my machine.

I did the same on Thursday, with basically the same result. Some hacking, and a lot of bliss. I was just happy to be out of the house, and doing something that is good for me! Granted, I've been following that up with eating like crap - but I'll turn that around here soon, too. I can tell I'm not completely back. I still get winded easier than I did before - but I am able to move at a pretty good pace (for me), so I'm content. I think the thing that has me the most excited about being back at the gym is that I am now able to watch the last few episodes of "Sons of Anarchy" on my iPod. I put the last 4 episodes of season 3 on there with the understanding that I couldn't watch them unless I was doing cardio. It is a trick I have to play on myself, and it seems to be working here. I am down to the last episode, and will watch that Friday while I do the elliptical.

So I'm finally feeling better - but know I am not 100% back to normal. When I am finally over this crap I will never again undervalue the ability to breathe easy. I will appreciate it.

Do any of you have to give yourself workout incentives? I'd love to hear about it.....

Sending Out An S.O.S.

Relationships. It is one of the greatest things to come out of starting this blog. Whether it is just that family and friends may understand me better. Or the fact that I am now contacted and approached frequently people that I have casually known for years. Or - and this is the craziest part for me - complete strangers become a very real part of my life. I "converse" with them frequently - and the fact that it is all electronically doesn't really matter. 

I have never met, or rarely see, some of the greatest people in my life. I've come to know them better via email, facebook and twitter, than I know people I see on a regular basis. And there are people that reply regularly to my blog that I wish I could interact with, but I am too dense to figure out how to do it through the program I use. (Please don't hesitate to send me an email at any time - I LOVE getting them!)

I have now discovered an issue with these virtual friends, however. When I don't hear from someone for a while, I begin to worry. Like they are my little sisters, and have gone missing. I know it is somewhat psychotic, but it is true. If there is someone who comments with some frequency on my blog, and I don't hear from them for a while - I start to grow concerned. Now - I am trying to hold this in check right now, because I have been a total slacker, and when I am completely scattered/missing, it is hard to keep track of me I am sure. But now I will make an effort to get back to at least 3 posts per week, so I can rebuild some consistency. 

But there is one lady - Lia - who I haven't heard from in a long time. Too long. She contacted me via email months ago, and I would hear from her frequently. She was also a part of our Mission: Move Your Ass challenge. She moved from Prague (I think?) to Finland (I believe?) - so I am trying to talk my self into the fact that she's just busy getting settled. I heard from her once or twice after her move, but then nothing for the last couple of months. I sent her an email about a month ago, and haven't heard back. This is the problem. I don't really know her well. I don't know what her currently living situation is. I am hoping winter has finally ended there. I am hoping she is well. And oddly - I miss hearing from her. That is just not normal for me. This person that I have never met, I miss. It is bizarre! 


So this is my S.O.S. Lia - if you are alive and well, please contact me. I understand that I have been less than inspirational lately, but I would still appreciate hearing from you. Just to know that you're OK, and to see if you've gotten yourself another Y.C.


Here is hoping all of my followers are happy and healthy. And now you know - check in once in a while, or I worry!

you gotta know when to hold 'em

I am so stubborn about some things - and the worst part is, I can't even trace back to why. The example for today's lesson is: medications.

I have been a nut about it as long as I can remember. I had knee surgery in 9th grade, and I recall trying to get off of my pain meds as soon as possible. I blame that one on the fact that Keith Millard (a former Minnesota Viking) had a similar surgery around the same time, and became addicted to pain medication. A few years ago I had a bacterial infection that required me to take antibiotics 4 times per day. I am still mocked for the fact that I would set my alarm to get up in the middle of the night to take them, so I made sure to take them six hours apart. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't had to do this for TEN days. I know. I am a little insane.

So about three weeks ago it was my turn to get the cough that's been going around. I was sort of a baby for the first week, but worked out a couple of times. The last two weeks have been nothing but lazy town. This "cold" got to the point where I couldn't go to sleep at night because I was too busy hacking. I took a hiatus from my cold medicine (all over-the-counter) because I don't feel comfortable using it too many days in a row (shout out to my medication neurosis). Last week, when it got to the point where I felt like someone was standing on my chest every time I climbed a flight of stairs, I re-stocked my medicine supply, certain I could kill it myself - using only OTC drugs and my determination. I was wrong.

Saturday, when my cough appeared to be getting worse, rather than better - and after getting told in no uncertain terms by Sara to get my ass to the doctor - I tried to make an appointment. I am an anti-hypochondriac, and feel going to the doc for a cold is ridiculous - but I was ready to surrender. I was out until Wednesday for my physician. Another one of my adorable (a total stretch, but I'm going for it) quirks is that when I decide the time is right for something, I want it done NOW. Needless to say, waiting for Wednesday wasn't going to work. I checked the urgent care hours for a couple of clinics, and headed in on Sunday.

I look like hell!

After sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, with every sick kid in the southern metro, I got in to see the doc. It didn't take long for them to figure out I wasn't getting enough oxygen, and I was wheezing. After listening to me breathe, I was put on a machine (a nebulizer, I think?) for 10 minutes to pump medicine to my lungs ASAP. After listening to me breathe again it was decided. I have bronchitis. Awesome.

So 2 types of meds and an inhaler later, I am on the road to recovery. I guess the good news is that at least I was legitimately sick, and wasn't imagining how crappy I felt. I am hoping by Tuesday I can get back to the gym, because I'm getting a little squirrely. I will never take breathing for granted, again.

What have I learned? That sometimes you just need to go to the doctor, as much as you don't think you do, because you can't always think yourself healthy. Oh - and wheezing is bad.

Here is hoping all of you are in fine health, and un-labored breathing!

Sick and Tired

For the last two weeks I've been non-stop hacking up crap. I know - I can really create beautiful word pictures. But it is true. I know it has been going around - and almost everyone has, or will have, this fantastic form of cold. The problem is me. I turn into a complete baby when I'm sick. It is probably fueled on by the fact that I can't sleep worth a crap - but still.

But enough is enough. Today I went on a little shopping trip. The picture to the left is what I bought for myself. I know, I know - I shouldn't spoil myself in such a manner! But it is necessary. It is time for me to kill whatever illness has taken over my body! And in doing so, I am going to keep the cold meds industry in business.

Hopefully by taking these I will buy myself a few minutes of hack-free time to get to the gym!

On a brighter note - I got to spend last weekend with a few of my favorite moms - my granny Kay, my mama and my sister Wendy. To celebrate mother's day, my mom, sisters and nieces all went for some pampering in the form of manicures and/or pedicures. Those 2 young girls were slightly freaked out by the "bubbling blue water" that they were expected to put their feet in, but they did great. And I think they had a really great time. I think we have a fantastic new tradition on our hands.

I hope you are all breathing easy and free! It is a gift, and should be appreciated! =)

I might need to have my eyes checked

It is official. I am off my game! I am typically a pretty observant person, I think. I enjoy people-watching, and taking in what's going on around me. This week, I have chosen to shut all of that off, apparently!

My gym - LifeTime Fitness - closes annually for a complete-club clean. They rotate locations, so it typically isn't too bad. It lasts about 5-7 days, so it is pretty easy to work around. Usually. But Monday, between the cold and the cramps, and the locker room being closed - I must have been distracted. Nowhere did I see any sign or notation that the gym was going to be closing this week for cleaning. That was until today.

Last night my lower back was bugging me. Who knows what I did to it - probably just slept on it weird. It happens fairly frequently. It bugs me for a couple of days, and then it's fine again. But last night I just couldn't sleep. Couldn't get comfortable. Couldn't get settled in. I was also determined not to take any cold medicine (I have some pretty strict rules about meds, and thought I needed to take a night off) so I didn't have that to knock me out. Needless to say - I didn't sleep worth a crap. I got about 3 hours of sleep, and that is not nearly enough for this girl to function properly.

Case in point: I decided that it would make me feel better to hit the gym for some cardio. I pulled up to the gym - and an almost empty parking lot - and headed toward the door. I was in some sort of daze - or maybe it was just my joy over seeing the sun, because I didn't notice the 2 signs on the door telling me the gym was closed. Right inside the door was a large tri-pod holding a large board describing what services were available during the shut down. I nimbly (yeah right) side-stepped it without registering what it was talking about, and headed for the 2nd set of doors. Now you would have for sure figured the signs on those doors would have stopped me in my tracks - right? Not so much. I threw open the doors and finally started to take in my surroundings. Like the fact that the club was pretty much dark. There was no one at the front desk. There were 3 young ladies across the entry way looking at me like I was out of my mind. And that is when I saw it - finally. The sign on the front desk that said the club was closed for cleaning. Good LORD! What kind of zone was I in that I had no idea? So I turned around and headed back to my car. I had just turned out of the parking lot when I realized I forgot to look and see what dates they were actually closed.

I was going to head to a different location, but realized I had forgotten my phone and wallet at home. I determined if I was struggling this much with such mundane tasks I might as well pack it in for the day and try again tomorrow. So wish me luck, kids. I'll be seeing if I can't make it to the next closes club Friday morning - and don't worry....I've already checked to see that they're open.

Here's to hoping that you're functioning better than I am! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Timing

I am one of those people who is always going to start tomorrow. Or as soon as the weather gets nice. Or as soon as I'm caught up on all of my chores. I am always waiting for the perfect timing on everything. I'm going to start eating better as soon as I can do a complete grocery shopping trip - because what is the point in starting to eat better right away? I need to be fully prepared! I'm going to make sure I start eating more fruits and veggies as soon as the weather warms up - because then I'll be in the mood. I'm going to go to the gym as soon as I get all of my gym clothes washed or my iPod charged or my playlists made. I'm going to get rid of this cold, so I can breathe before I can do anything. Basically - the planets have to align in a way that only happens every 3 billion years in order for the time to be just right. Sure - this is basically just an advanced case of excuse-making - but I prefer to word it as "waiting for the perfect time". 

Then I was flipping through my magazine from my gym. On the last page they usually have some sort of nature-y scene, and a quote meant to inspire. Typically I just roll my eyes, and throw it to the side. But something about this one spoke to me. 

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now." - Mark Victor Hansen

So I got up today, and I went to the gym. I went in spite of my chest cold, and my cough and my cramps. I went, in part, because I would finally be able to watch another episode of Sons of Anarchy (I downloaded them with a birthday gift card, and only get to watch them when I am on a piece of cardio equipment). And you know what? I survived. I was tired, and my breathing was more labored than usual. I had a few limited coughing spasms worked in for good measure. But I survived. And tomorrow I'll do it all over again. Because I can. And because waiting for everything to be perfect is going to do nothing but keep me waiting. I'm not perfect. Life isn't perfect. It's time to start working with what I have - and I could be stuck with a whole lot worse than I am.

Are you getting started now?