Sunday Funday

On the weekends I take time to have fun.

Well, as much “fun" as one can have in the midst of wedding planning. LOL!

It’s actually not that bad. At all. But I feel like my mind is constantly buzzing with wedding stuff in the background. Because there’s always something to still do, something to think about. That’s just how life is right now. And that’s OK. It’s all temporary. 

But I do have a birthday coming up.

And an amazing fiancé. 

So we had a lovely night out in DC to celebrate. 😃 

But it got me thinking...

It’s important to take time to have that fun when you are in the middle of LIFE. 

No matter how small it is, or what that means to you. Maybe it’s your favorite show on Netflix and takeout. Maybe it’s an evening walk or morning run. Watching the Sunday game together. Something that connects the two of you.

For us we continue to have date night one night during the week. And, for the most part, we have good chunks of our weekend together.

But you may be thinking “You’re co-habitating! How hard can it be?!?!” 

Believe me. With our late school schedules and my private teaching in the evenings (not to mention I’m a lark and he’s a night owl!), sometimes we do have to intentionally carve out that connection time to be “us”. And the weekends are often filled with errand running, various domestic chores, connecting with friends and family, and oh…wedding planning. 

Today I spent most of the day catching up on things I had meant to do during the week. And several loads of  laundry. And vacuuming (we live with a feline friend). And dusting. Watering the plants. Stuff like that. 

But getting to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely brunch? Good times.

This deliciousness was followed by a back/tricep workout. Our “fun times” last night took its toll in the gym today, but that OK. I got it done.

Make time to have fun.

Spend time with people you love.

Do what makes you happy. 

To those who inspire us and don't even know it

I woke up at 4:15 am this morning. 

On purpose.

I know. Craziness.

Why?

Because I needed to be at school earlier but still wanted to have time for my morning routine and workout.

Turns out the 5:30 am gym vibe is quite different than the 6:15 am vibe. I actually really liked it. Everything I wanted was available. The 6:00 am training crowd hadn't rolled in yet. It was quiet. All things I love.

This definitely won't be something I can do consistently. Just Fridays (we started our before school choir program today - YEY!!!!).

But part of it is also what inspires me every morning to get up and workout. Well, I guess that's the main part of it. 

Some of you know that I started this blog to keep myself accountable (regarding my workouts) to get in shape for my upcoming wedding. 

But it's not just about that.

It's about being in shape for life. 

Feeling good in my body.

Feeling strong. 

And, just like you, I am inspired by others. People I work with. People I see at the gym EVERY MORNING (and never talk to...LOL!). People in my Facebook feed who I kind of know, but not really. 

Like one amazing woman I met through my figure competition coach waaaaay back.  She set her sights on competing in the infamous Olympia body building competition. She freakin' did it. She is there RIGHT NOW, totally rocking it. It's AMAZING. And incredibly inspiring.

What inspires you? Who are you inspired by? Maybe someone you quietly observe from afar? Someone you don't really know but would love to get to know better? Someone who's podcast you listen to? One of your coworkers? The barista at Starbucks who has the best attitude EVER? 

So here's to those who inspire you and don't even know it.

Cheers to them!

Today's early morning hamstring/glute workout:

Be inspired. 

Become what inspires you.

Do what makes you happy. 

Embrace your flawsome-ness

I am not perfect.

Say what?!?!

I know. 

True story.

And I’m faaaaaar from perfect.  

But I do have perfectionist tendencies. Which can be both a good and bad thing.

I realize that it all has to do with the motivation and energy behind why I am trying to be "perfect." Is it to impress others? Is it an attempt to avoid failure? Is it out of concern of what others will think of me?

Have you read “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown? GREAT book.

Here’s a thought-provoking quote:

Healthy striving is self-focused: "How can I improve?" 

Perfectionism is other-foucused: "What will they think?"

Healthy striving. I love this idea. When I think about all the ways my perfectionism is good for me, it is usually in the "healthy striving" sense. Like learning a new piece of piano music and playing it as well as I can. Or being consistent in my workouts and doing the exercises to the best of my current ability. Or creating a lesson plan that will meet my students where they are, and not one that looks text book “perfect".

This grand plan to appear perfect all backfires when I am trying to impress people. The people I am performing for. Or the folks at the gym. Or my students. 

That's when perfectionism gets the better of me and knocks me down. Hard.

It creates a lot of extra mental noise in my head. Self-doubt. Self-criticism. Self-judgement. All those “self” words that are no good.

Yet owning my imperfections…so incredibly freeing! WOW!

I’M NOT PERFECT!

I am ... FLAWESOME!!!!

 YEY!!!!

I don’t teach my students perfectly. 

I don’t perform pieces of music perfectly.

I don’t write blog posts perfectly. 

I mess up ALL the time. And it takes the pressure off. Completely.

Some of today’s lessons were a disaster. They did not go as planned. Nor did my workout. Nor is the writing process before I press the “publish” button on this post. 

But if I don’t let go of this need to be “perfect”? 

It is PARALYZING. 

I will never get anything done and just feel bad about myself. All. The. Time.

So embrace your imperfections! Do it wrong. Make mistakes. 

Because we are all perfectly imperfect. 

Today’s shoulder/bicep workout:

Be you. 

Do what makes you happy.

And do it all imperfectly. 

The importance of a morning routine

I wake up at 5:00 am every morning. Well, every weekday morning.

But trainers at the gym will be the first to tell you that they don't see me stroll in until around 6:15 am or so. That's because I have a morning routine.

A what?

A morning routine. Or ritual, one might say.

In fact, I thrive on this. My days are very long. And if I don't set myself up for it, I can get incredibly discombobulated and frazzled by the end the day. Ungrounded. Grumpy. Not myself.

I consider myself an introvert, so I need this quiet time to recharge. I like to say I am an introvert leading an extroverted life. 

As an elementary school specialist (Music, Art, P.E., Library, Tech, etc.) you have to be "ON" ALL THE TIME. Seriously. I teach 7 to 9 classes a day. 

(my schedule)

I'm done with one class and the other is waiting outside my door, ready to come in. I am mentally switching gears between grade levels, ability levels, classroom dynamics, kids with special needs, differentiation, the chaos that elementary school can be. And remember, this is only my 2nd year of teaching elementary general music, with no prior experience, so just keeping all the songs in my head is enough of a challenge! 

It is all incredibly draining.

In fact, these first two weeks of school, I did not want to talk to anyone after I finished my school day. I sat in my car in silence. I didn't call my family. I didn't return calls to friends. I just needed to take care of ME. 

And this was not because I didn't want to. I was just getting used to the energy of being "on" all the time and the over-stimulation of constantly being surrounded by music and sound. Non-stop. 

I love silence.

So I begin my day that way.

I wake up to a gentle alarm. Put on the hot water, feed my cat, make my coffee, set up my meditation pillow and inspirational reading, get my coffee cup, light incense, sit for 11 mins, read, journal, drink coffee, pet the cat, accept his love. 

It's not terribly profound. But it really makes a difference. 

What is your morning routine? How do you set yourself up for the day?

Today's workout included legs and plyometrics. Fun times.

Take care of yourself.

Be in silence if you need to. 

Do what makes you happy.

Hydrogen + two + Oxygen

Did you know that the average human body is made up of 50-75% water?

The human brain is comprised of 75% water.

So the benefits of drinking water are pretty awesome sauce.

Like, it...

Increases energy. 

Flushes out toxins.

Promotes weight loss. (YEY!)

Improves skin complexion.

Boosts the immune system.

Is a natural headache remedy. 

Maintains regularity (of you know what...).

Prevents cramps and strains.

Just to name a few. 

You get the idea.

I'm sure you've heard the old rule of thumb about drinking 8 glasses of 8oz of water (or 64 oz) a day. There are other more detailed calculations based on your age, height, how much you exercise, etc.

When I was training for figure competitions, my coach recommended that I drink a gallon of water a day. That's 128 oz! Far from your recommended 64 oz! And once I got closer to a show, I was drinking a lot more. That was mainly to flush everything out, especially with all the protein I was consuming. 

So what do I do these days? Well, I basically try to make sure my urine is on the lighter side (sorry if that was TMI). Well, minus the neon color it changes from certain vitamins I take. LOL! 

I carry around a Klean Kanteen bottle that holds 40oz. My goal is to drink 3 of those a day. So nearly a gallon. And that's of just water. That's not counting coffee and tea. And wine. LOL!

I try to go through one of those when I workout. And all the teachers know that bathroom breaks are often few and far between, so I barely get through another bottle during the school day. Again, 3 of those bottles is the goal. Almost managed it today!

Speaking of which, here is today’s back/tri/some abs workout:

Drink your water.

Do what makes you happy.

Like Nike said. That. Yeah.

Just do it.

Nike got it right.

Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to or don't really feel like doing.

Like waking up early and going to the gym after little sleep.

Or walking the dog in the pouring rain.

Or waiting in a long line at the DMV.

Or in that line behind the guy in the parking garage who can't figure out the ticket machine. 

Or unloading the dishwasher after a really long day. 

Or participating in music class on a Friday morning.

Or being the teacher who has to remind students to participate in music class. 

Ha!

Yeah, the first and last thing happened to me today. Dragging myself to the gym after a restless night and having to talk to my not-too-enthused 4th graders about participating in class. A conversation I never look forward to.

But sometimes we just have to do these things, mundane or frustrating as they may be. 

And when it's done, it's done. Just do it. Then it's one less thing to clutter your mind and energy.

When I don't feel like going to the gym, I try to wear something that will empower me. Like my "Suck it up buttercup" tank. Or in today's case, an Ironman Finisher shirt. It reminds me of my Ironman days where I "did it" regardless of how I felt. Because I had to. There was no "Just Do it Later". LOL!

Or maybe there is... 

Today's two trisets brought to you by coffee. Because that's all I had time for. And just decided to do it. 

Have a great weekend!

Do what makes you happy.

And do it later. Sometimes. 😃 

Words of wisdom from Pete the Cat

I have been getting into a little "Pete the Cat" recently. 

You know, because I'm an elementary school music teacher. LOL.

In particular, "I Love My White Shoes". You gotta check out this video:

Pete the Cat goes walking down the street, wearing his brand new white shoes. Along the way, he manages to step in piles of strawberries, blueberries and other big messes which change the color of his shoes. 

Where some of us might freak out and get all upset about dirtying our white shoes (or anything white for that matter!), Pete has a super chill attitude. 

Does Pete cry? "Goodness, no!" 

Does Pete get upset? "Goodness, no!" 

Does Pete throw a tantrum? "Goodness, no!"

James Dean (illustrator), Eric Litwin (author)

I absolutely LOVE this attitude. It is one to adopt for all that "small stuff" that can easily get under our skin.

HEY! That car just cut in front of me! Do I get upset and honk at them? "Goodness, no!"

HEY! That dude at the gym just took that machine I was going to use on my last set! Do I get upset and give him an evil glare? "Goodness, no!"

HEY! I just got THREE new students today who speak NO English! Do I get all bothered and worried? "Goodness, no!"

Why? Because it's all good. 

So when machines I want to use for my morning workout are unavailable, I improvise with barbells, dumbbells and cables. 

Today's killer shoulder TRIset. 

Did I cry because it was hard?

"Goodness, no!"

Because it's all good. 

Do what makes you happy.