Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Inevitable

I'm totally stuck in a cold-induced fog right now. Ugh. It's so disorienting and frustrating. Yesterday I couldn't remember the word for cafe au lait so I just said coffee with steamed milk, and it took me a couple minutes to come up with that one! Sigh. It was so scary that I couldn't remember what seems to me such a simple word/phrase.

It's very tough and scary and actually kind of hard to apply mindfulness to this situation. My brain has been in slow mode for about 4-5 days now, and I'm just ready to think like myself again!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Haiku

A great haiku from the New Yorker.

I am busy now;
The Internet has stolen
So much precious time.

There's a lot of truth in this haiku. What would you be doing if you weren't online? Let's start with me...I'd be reading words printed on actually paper.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/10/25/101025sh_shouts_marks#ixzz16VACZ8Gd

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Great Quote

"how you do anything is how you do everything"

I read this yesterday on Jenna's wonderful blog, and I've been trying to make it my new mantra. I've heard it before, but the way her post set-up the quote really made it hit home for me. I suggest you check it out here.

PS--can anyone tell me why I can't make this italic font go away?? haha

Friday, November 19, 2010

Running from Goodness. Why?

I just did a quick, 5 minute meditation. Why don't I do this more often? Why do I mentally run from meditating regularly? I always have, even when I was meditating daily. But it is so good for me. It makes me feel calm and balanced. Running away from good things is kind of a theme in my life. Or it has been since around 7th grade. I'm trying to fix this. It just takes slow, daily commitment.


This is a great site from UCLA with several meditation downloads available: http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Wandering Mind and Happiness

Whatever people were doing, whether it was having sex or reading or shopping, they tended to be happier if they focused on the activity instead of thinking about something else. In fact, whether and where their minds wandered was a better predictor of happiness than what they were doing.

Click to read the whole article.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

I Am Me and That's Okay

I woke up this morning feeling a little guilty. You see, the previous night I went out with my old, fabulous co-workers for happy hour. We drank a lot of margaritas and then parted ways around 8:30. I then proceeded to go to a party where I was definitely the most drunk...okay, maybe not the most drunk, but the most drunk-acting. See, put a couple of drinks in me, and I'm outgoing, giggly, silly. I woke up this morning worried that maybe I had been too outgoing, giggly, silly, etc. But after a couple of seconds of worrying about this, I realized that this is me. This is how I get after a drink or two. Okay, confession: I even get that way after a particularly strong dose of caffeine. It's just in my personality to be silly. And that is okay. It's who I am. Besides, if I need to rationalize, I can always point to the fact that there were people at the party who were arguably demonstrating much worse behavior than me. :)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Big, Fun Announcement

I've decided to do the Broad Street 10 miler in 2011. This marks me getting back into running. This is huge. I have effectively taken a 2+ year break from running in order to mentally disassociate running from a weight loss activity. As I begin running (and exercising regularly in general) again, I am constantly thinking about how the activity makes me feel strong. I'm taking care to fuel my body properly before and after exercise. And I feel good. My self esteem is actually even gradually getting better!

So, tonight I ran 2 miles after work! Haha, I have to laugh because it's just so funny after how much I used to run. Anyway, I took it nice and slow. The first half mile I ran at a 12 min pace. The second half mile a ran at a 10:34 pace. The next half mile I alternated between 10 and 9:40 pace and then for my final half mile I alternated between 9:34 and 8:34. I ran around 5:15. At 3 I ate a 200 calorie energy bar (which is about what I would eat for a normal afternoon snack) and then drank maybe a cup of sports drink. I did some basic, easy lifting after running to cool down and because it's fun.

Anyway, that run was actually pretty challenging for me! I'm excited to increase my endurance and super pumped to be challenging myself in this way again. :)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

I just watched White on Rice. It's so good, and it's on Netflix watch instantly. I highly recommend it. I also made a fort to watch it in. You know, one of those old-fashioned blanket and chair type things. I needed some good, quality blanket fort time. It makes me feel so wrapped up and safe. I woke up very anxious and still felt that way after yoga so blanket fort to the rescue.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Hanging on

Annnnd....I'm done. I need the weekend to catch up and rejuvenate. I'm exhausted from 3 weeks of lots of weekend activity. I feel a little lost right now. I feel like everything is swirling around me out of control.

Between now and Friday I simply have to go to work, meditate, work out tonight, acupuncture (yeah!!!) tomorrow and that's all. Maybe I'll yoga on Friday night.

Saturday I am babysitting and Sunday I'm going to try to go to yoga for free at Lululemon. It helps to write it all down.

Oh and I'm reading Portia de Rossi's book. Review to come. It's very insightful.

Monday, November 1, 2010

wooohooo

No real time to talk, but I went to spin tonight and it was AMAZING. I felt/and still feel so STRONG! I'm still pretty pumped, hence the title. Now to eat dinner and do my midterm...eh.