the struggle is somewhat real...

Right now, I'm struggling. I see my goals, but my body is fighting me. This week was a little eratic and unpredictable and I have struggled everyday to accomplish my goals. I have not done any 5k training this week. I've only run a couple miles and I only put in about an hour with HIIT videos and/or weights.

We are currently visiting family and I am NOT in my element. I miss (but still hate) my trainer. I miss real gym equipement. I miss my kitchen & cookbooks. I miss my routine of working on my planners on Fridays and making a plan for the upcoming weekend & following week. 

And thats it. I don't have a plan. BUT, today is the perfect time to come to this realization. Its Planner Friday and I can make a plan to keep me motivated, fueled, energized, and rested.

After sitting down and thinking of what is affecting my energy levels and recovery times, I need to focus on two things: food & work out plan. Today I sifted through

Meal Plan Monday is about it be a thing again. I have kept on track with snacks lately with snacks (in LOVE with Simple Squares) and juicing, so those aren't really my problem areas with food atm other than I'm not working out enough to really take advantage of the benefits. Side note, I'm going to steal ALL the juice recipes...  Taking over the cooking at my mom/grandma's house will be HUGE this week.


I have also been saving pretty much every work out from FitnessBlender on youTube. Their videos seem approachable and modify-able. This week I think I am going to work on their fat burning/muscle building challenge as a sort of boot camp to get me back in gear. I really miss my trainer. Who knew THAT would happen...

With a challenge in mind for the week, I think I will keep running goals slow. Continue using the Zombies, RUN! 5K training app 3 days this week (meaning Friday-Thursday) and aim for a sunrise walk with my grandma. She walks a 24ish minute mile every morning. Very mellow. 

Here goes nothing... Do you have any tips for getting back on track? I'de LOVE to hear them!! 

Happy Friday! 

Pinterest got me excited this week with...

Painting leather... which is basically just painting leather but I like it and I would totally do it.

Making juice pops from my juicer!

This Lumpy Space Princess Tank even makes the boy want to work out with me!

Then... my feed was filled with muffins. Oh dear lord, MUFFINS. There is no other choice here but to make these..

and these too...

and these for sure!

now... we know I'm going to be busy working on these pinterest projects because that is totally how pinterest works. (i.e. see project, do project... right? maybe? once in a blue moon?) but I still want to hear, from you! Any good pinterest projects lately? Wanna come over and have some muffins?!?!?!

How I got my priorities back...

simply put... I got fed the fuck up. 

I enjoy volunteering my "talents" to the communities that surround me. This past spring I stuck my neck out just a little too far and was left feeling abused and taken advantage of. With out getting into the ugly details and finger pointing, I can confidently state that I finally learned my lesson of where to draw the line in terms of "giving" my time. 

After the dust settled from the last event I volunteered to chair, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I did wrong; what I could have done differently; what I could change. And the answer to all of the above was nothing. NOTHING. There was nothing I could have done that would have made this fundraiser a more successful event.

Following that train of thought, if I could do nothing. then what was I doing there at all? 

I looked around at our um... lived in house... at our two kids who need nothing more than my time and here I am GIVING it to other causes and I thought "where are my priorities?" 

Once there, I started looking at each thing in my life and I made a list of what I wanted to do with my time and where it ranked. My list looked something like this:

1. Our Family (live an active life with my children, encouraging and nurturing them into the amazing human beings they have the potential to be)

2. My Marriage (spend time and effort cultivating the relationship I have and hope to have with my husband) 

3. Health and  Fitness Goals (regain control of my eating habits and activity levels) 

4. Future Planning (spending time and effort adding to our financial goals/gains and security) 

5. Friendships (grow true and meaningful relationships with friends from the past, present and future)

Volunteering and helping others (on a MUCH smaller scale, with smaller roles) was and still on the list, but, RIGHT NOW, its not a top five priority. 

Once I could articulate my priorities, I could really see that I have been missing the mark on the things that were and are the most important... at least in my head. I found it heartbreaking that I gave away so much of myself when it was in no way beneficial to my goals. BUT, it marked a change in me and a change for the better. Since sitting down with my broken heart and my list, I have made changes and I'm seeing results. While my example of a "breaking point" is completely a first world problem, it was enough to have me evaluate and strive towards goals that truly impact MY life and I am a better person for it.

Have you taken time to think about your priorities? Are you living your life how you want to?

a long road ahead...

For the past year or so, I have been working on my personal health... or at least thinking about it. It all started with a fitbit. Tracking movement (or lack there of) really got me thinking about what I do everyday... How was I moving? What was I eating? Where was time going?

Over the summer of 2014 I moved more and I ate better and I lost 25lbs or so going into the fall. Then traveling husband and holidays happened and off the wagon I fell... tumbled... crashed in a horrific fiery explosion. KA-POW! In the spring of 2015 I started moving again but I also was working on a fundraiser that pushed me over my stress edge and into the land of eating out and playing video games. Along with some family drama, life was causing problems and I really didn't have motivation to do more. 

So I never really fully got back onto the wagon after all. Long story short, the stress of the fundraiser got me to my breaking point of "eff this, i'm out..." drops mic... 

Which was good in reality. I looked deeply at my obligations, where I spent my time, and what was valuable to me at the end of the day. I found the power to say no. To stop. To take the time to do what was important to me. I MADE PRIORITIES. 

In the list of my top 5 priorities, my personal health popped back up. Somehow I got it into my head that I wanted to run. There was a goal... How was I going to get there? When was I going to run? What did running mean? 

How? I was going to find a place where childcare would not be an issue and I was going to work out. I was going to move. 

When? Star Wars Half Marathon in January 2016. Done. (ps. is it crazy to sign up for a half marathon with out running ever before in my adult life? lil bit? k.) 

What does this  mean? It means I'm going to develop healthy habits and gain a more active lifestyle. Weight loss, strength training, endurance training, sweating a lot... 

One day, I wrote in my planner to look into gyms. You know, find some... price them... see about childcare... then not do anything about it. Later that day, I stopped into a local gym... and joined. 

Just. Like. That. 

Now, just about two months later, I've made some gains, hired a trainer, have experienced pains I didn't know could exist, and typed a very long post. There is more in there... but I'll talk about that more later... just happy to be moving again, no matter how long the road ahead of me is...