The land of "last time"s...

We're a week out from our wedding.

Quite literally.

We have a 5pm ceremony, so a week from now, I will be officially married.

It's crazy to think about.

It's like something you've been preparing for for a very long time yet doesn't seem quite real...

Or dreaming about since the thought of "being married" was on the radar.

It's an interesting sensation, that's for sure.

Because now IT'S HERE.

Beginning tomorrow I will be entering the land of "last time"s.

Like, this is my last Monday teaching my Monday night private piano students as "Ms." Larissa.

Or my last Tuesday "Date Night" unmarried.

Or my last Wednesday at my women's group as a single lady.

Or my last Thursday running errands for my wedding (because they will ALL be done by this point!).

Or my last day at school as "Ms. Smith."

Or my last morning waking up in the arms of my "fiance" (as opposed to my husband).

Or my last Sunday morning run unmarried...

Again.

Weird. 

Surreal.

But I intend to embrace it all and be present with whatever emotions arise.

Oh, I did workout this morning! I haven't since Wednesday! Gotta get my 4 days in.

I experimented with eating breakfast before working out...

Fail.

I nearly puked.

But that's OK.

I didn't.

And I reemphasized how I cannot eat large meals before workouts.

Lesson learned.

Today's hamstring workout.

Do what makes you happy.

Oh look ... pie!

It’s the day before a long weekend.

Some of us are traveling.

Some of us are chilling at home.

Some of us are working.

But whatever it is we are doing, long weekends like this, especially the Thanksgiving variety, always invoke a sense of wanting to relax and reset a bit.

It might be the season of gratitude.

It might be the time with family (though often stressful).

Whatever it is, there is a hope to come back to work Monday morning feeling slightly refreshed, albeit a bit stuffed. LOL!

But remember, the Thanksgiving meal is just ONE meal. You don’t have to go all out for the entire weekend. Yes, I’m sure there are a lot of opportunities to indulge a bit more than usual, but you can make that choice. 

No judgement.

(I do love me some pie!)

“How do I want to feel?”

I know I want to enjoy myself and all the yumminess that is bound to happen.

But I also want to be able to breathe in the dress I need to wear next weekend.

The kind I only get to wear once.

LOL.

So I probably won’t go too overboard this weekend. 

But that’s just me.

Enjoy the time.

Take time to reset a bit, maybe even take a moment to reflect upon the things for which you are thankful.

Today’s shoulder workout:

Do what makes you happy.

A good question to ask

My brain is tired.

It's the day before we get off for Thanksgiving break.

Folks are already in break mode.

I already noticed that the traffic was lighter on the way to school today.

Teachers are ready for a long weekend.

The kids are ready for a long weekend.

We're ALL ready for a long weekend.

Time to regroup, spend time with loved ones, eat some good food, relax.

Yet it won't be total relaxation on my part.

I'm really hoping to get all those itty-bitty wedding details taken care of (you know, like stuffing hotel guest bags, finalizing seating, printing escort cards and menus, finishing my vows, etc.) ...

... so that next week I can really relax and enjoy the last few days leading up to my wedding.

Because the last thing I want is to be stressed and tired.

That is NOT how I want to feel.

I mean, I realize there will be an element of that regardless, but if I can manage it even just a little bit...

Here's hoping!

So I ask myself, "How do I want to feel?"

This is an AMAZING question to ask yourself every now and again.

I listen to an awesome podcast every morning, "The Daily Boost" by Motivation to Move, and that is a question its CMO (Chief Motivation Officer), Scott Smith, asks every Friday.  

"How do I want to feel?"

A great question to ask before sitting down to eat a huge Thanksgiving dinner, too... 😉

Or going into a long weekend. 

Try it out.

Today’s leg workout.

Do what makes you happy. 

It will all get done

You know all those things you say you’ll do “later”?

Well, “later” has shown up for me.

BIG time.

And it’s not “later” in the procrastination sense.

It’s “later” in the there-was-no-way-we-could-have-done-this-earlier sense.

[this is all wedding-related, by the way]

Or it wasn’t quite the priority. 

So it’s a lot.

But it will all get done.

It has to.

It always does, right?

Somehow.

Lots of late nights and early mornings. 

LOL.

So, I’m not too too concerned about it.

But I’ll definitely be relieved once it is, so I can have a little peace of mind before the actual day itself.

I suppose that’s the importance of finding that in the pockets of your day, which I try to do as much as possible.

For now, just breathe.

It will all get done, one day at a time.

Today’s back workout:

Do what makes you happy. 

Inner gym rat

As my fiance and I were having breakfast this morning, he jokingly (and lovingly), referred to me as a "gym rat". Probably because I had just come back from the gym. 

I gave him a look (I'm sure it will turn into my wife "look" ... LOL!) and replied, "I am NOT a gym rat." 

Hmph.

What is a "gym rat" anyway? 

According to Urban Dictionary:

A gym rat is "one who spends entirely too much time partaking in muscle building, strength training, cardiovascular, or aerobic activity. Specifically, one who does so at a health club or gym."

Gotcha.

I will admit to being a gym rat in the past.

But now?

I lovingly replied to him, "I workout 4 days a week for about 45 mins ... that's barely 3 hours a week! How is that being a gym rat?" 

And to look good in a wedding dress, for that matter.

Well, I do it for more than that, but that is my more immediate goal.

#15days

But it got me to thinking about how things change.

Yes, I was definitely a "gym rat" before. But my goals were different. 

[that being said, I don't really like the term "gym rat" because I don't see it begin excessive if you are working towards something that requires a lot of training in order to succeed]

I was training for a marathon.

Or an Ironman.

Or a figure competition.

Ironman training was by far the most time consuming. (3 sports, 3 times a week, 2 strength days = 11 workouts, 2 of which were looooooooong ... 20 hrs/week!)

But now? 

I want to minimize the time I spend but get the most bang for my buck.

I know once I start training for something again, or have a more specific goal, I will spend more time at the gym.

For now I am happy with how things are.

It's my lifestyle.

And yes, I do have an inner "gym rat" for sure. That part that enjoys being in the gym way too long. Just not letting her out at the moment...

Today's hamstring workout:

Embrace your inner fill-in-the-blank "excessiveness".

Do what makes you happy. 

Haste makes waste ... and other musings

In our elementary music classes we study a composer each month.

It's super cool actually.

It's neat knowing that we are often these students' very first introduction to some of the world's greatest composers.

This month we are studying Beethoven.

On top of that, we learn about a musical word each week.

This week it's "sonata".

No, not Hyundai. LOL!

So, being that Mr. Beethoven composed 32 piano sonatas, of course we are listening to some of his piano music.

More specifically, his most famous and familiar: The "Moonlight" Sonata. 

I like to play this recording of the 3rd movement:

I actually had my students in my advanced high school piano class learn this piece for their recital 2 years ago. They weren't quite at the ability level to tackle the 3rd movement so I decided to take it on myself. 

It was a nice challenge and I actually enjoyed preparing for it.

But I played it waaaaaaay slower than that amazing pianist did.

Well, maybe not waaaaaay slower. But a few metronome markings lower.

I actually have a recording of myself playing it and tell my students after the fact that it's me.

They get a kick out of it.

Then I play them a "presto" version of it.

And I find myself telling them what I always tell my piano students: never play anything so fast that you can no longer play the notes correctly. 

Not faster than beautiful. 

Not so fast that you no longer honor what the composer has written. 

And it kind of reminds me of life. 

Like trying too hard. 

Or rushing through things.

It gets sloppy. 

You have to meet yourself where you are.

If you jump ahead to where you want to be, that often doesn't get you there. Because you didn't take the necessary steps to get there. 

So meet yourself where you are.

Accept where you are.

Because only from there can you get to where you want to be.

A TBT to a past performance (which reminds me of how much I love playing and collaborating with others):

CLICK ON THIS LINK (the video wouldn't upload)

Today's shoulder workout:

Meet yourself where you are.

Don't rush through things.

Do what makes you happy. 

One foot in front of the other...

...because sometimes that's all you can do.

One day at a time. 

One hour at a time.

That's my life right now.

Working 1 1/2 jobs AND wedding planning puts you in that position. 

And with the little bits of time you have left? You prioritize things that are important to you.

For me that happens to be working out. Because otherwise I would definitely be “bridezilla”. 

Thus the blog. LOL.

I workout = I write.

It’s a nice creative outlet since I sure as heck haven’t been playing much piano recently. 

Spending time with my fiancé is another priority. Obviously. 😃

Yes, we spend TONS of time together because we are immersed in all this wedding planning. But finding time for “us’, the point of ALL of this, is super duper important.  

Weekly date nights are definitely a “thing” for us.

And that’s about all I have the energy for at the moment.

I hang out with some friends, but that’s mostly wedding-related. 

And I have to be OK with that.

Because there’s a part of me that wants to a good friend to all my friends which I really can’t be right now. 

Again. That’s OK. I have to accept that.

We go through phases in life. 

This is one of them. 

Which will all enter a new phase in 17 days…

Today’s leg workout:

Do what makes you happy.

One step at a time.