Validation

So a new JournalSpace was born this morning. WOW! It's a bit different but there is a Home page and some cool features. If they offer up a fav's only feature, I will be way happy. For now, I am keeping this blog for health and fitness stuff and I will use JS for life and stuff that I used to. I was not planning on having two blogs but I am keeping my options open.

I did got othat holiday party yesterday and I DID NOT have any alcohol. Yes, I did indulge in some party fare but in moderation. I was so proud of myself and I even worked out in the morning. I still had fun..LOL! and when I was leaving, the host and my dear friend, pulled me to the side and told me" You look really great! What every you are doing, keep doing it."

Validation! YES1

The weekend is upon us...and a dry one

It's Friday afternoon. It's been a good week. I worked out 6 days. Not like a crazy person. Good intense workouts...25 minutes of HIIT cardio or 40 minutes of weight training...75 minute yoga class. Tomorrow is a rest day. The nutrition was on target..clean, good proteins, lots of veggies. Feeling good. Feeling focused.

Now the weekend is here and this is where I usually screw up...and it's usually not from eating...it's drinking. Yes, this girl loves her wine, and her beer, a margarita, a sassy martini. BUT these are empty calories and I know it...plus I just know it screws with my metabolism and makes me retain water. Ugh! I wish it were not true but it is. I believe it's the one thing that has thwarted my efforts to get into shape and sabotage all of my hard work.

And I am working hard...planning my meals and workouts...working up a daily sweat. So why would I want to mess up my week by throwing back a few stiff drinks...because I like it...LOL! But I won't...at least not today and not tomorrow.
On Sunday we are supposed to go to a friend's annual post-holiday party. At this writing, I am not planning any alcohol consumption. The plan is club soda..it's a good plan.

It's supposed to snow 4 - 8 inches and then turn bitter cold. That means we might be stuck at home...me, hubby, my mom ( who lives with me) and my two sons...age 4 and 5. UGH! I know, I know...I need to find another fix for stress besides generous libations. I SHOULD jump on the
treadmill for a nice run...I know! {{{{deep breath}}}

One day at a time...or in my case, it will be evaluated hourly...LOL!

No excuses when you have this!

This is a panoramic view of my home gym...weight set (a gift from my hubby on the left, elliptical and treadmill
This is the weight bench set...it is sweet! It barely clears the ceiling.

I have a complete gym so I have no excuses not to work out. Up until about June last year, I was working out here about 5 times a week. The best streak I had was when I was getting up early, before the kiddies woke up, and getting my workout done first thing. For some reason, summer is harder for me to hit the weights. Then in July I discovered Power Yoga! Love it...it's a full body workout...intense and in a heated room...a good sweat. Throughout the summer, I was going to yoga about 3 times a week, biking and keeping up with the kiddies.

I'm still going to yoga about twice a week. And last month I got my ass back in gear and back in to my weight training routine. I really have no excuses. Any excuse I can come up with will now be deemed "LAME". Even If I just have 20 minutes, I can get so much done.

My January routine:
weight training 3x per week - Push day/ Pull day/ Leg day
Cardio HIIT training on treadmill or elliptical - 3x per week
Power yoga - 2 x per week

I'm back to clean eating again and I feel so much better. It's a good start!

It wasn't so bad

2008 is over and for the first time, in a long time, I can honestly say that it was a good year. While the previous year's had their trials, challenges and stresses, I still do not call them bad years. Yes, they were hard...I was so stressed, but who doesn't have THAT kind of period in your life when it all seems so hard...and even hopeless. When you feel like everything in out of control so you try even harder to control it only to exhaust yourself...feeling totally burned out.

I'm not saying that last year did not have its moments but somehow I felt more equip to handle them. Is that what goes with getting older? Maybe. I think much had to do with the fact that I started taking better care of myself and putting some of my own needs first.

This was the first year that I kept up with my fitness and nutrition stuff. It's such a HUGE part of my life right now...finally. I've finally learned that it will never be perfect...I will never be perfect BUT everything I do is one step to taking better care of me.

I still have a long way to go and I like that. I want to keep learning and to keep progressing. I am excited about this year...not just for the health stuff, but for my marriage, my children, my family and friends, my business...my whole life.

I don't know how long this feeling will last but I am going to revel in it for as long as I can.

Sometime a girl needs her privacy

When I first started JournalSpace, I blogged anonymously. I needed my own space where I could write freely and semi-privately. I used no names or pictures so that I could talk about whatever I felt like writing about. It was therapeutic, really. And when my life went on a roller coaster of stress and problems, I could freely write about the stuff in my head and heart. For some reason, I found comfort in the arms of strangers. Sometimes the feedback and comments I got really helped me sort through my thoughts and sometimes they served as validation that someone out there was listening to me. Not that my real life friends don't give me that. However there was a different type of objectively given to me by those who didn't know me.

If I had a deep or personal issue, I enjoyed be able to post a "fav's only" entry and not worry about friends or family seeing it...especially if it was about them...LOL!I reserved pictures of me and my family to "fav's only" as well. It wasn't until late this year that I actually showed my face publicly. I noticed that when I did that, my writing changed and I was reluctant to get into the deep stuff. Aside from family, I feared that my clients could find my blog and read about my personal life and that's just not good for business.

So now I'm in an open journal with my mug clearly for all to see. I'm keeping it this way for now as I hope to find more of my JS friends but it will only be a matter of time before I will either need to go "private" for only fav's to see or set up an anonymous journal for my deep stuff. I really don't want two journals and I WISH that Blogger had fav's only posting capabilities.

Take for instance that right now I have some stuff that I would love to rant about but I can't. Everything I would say is based on facts but if it were read by certain people, feelings would be hurt and drama would begin.

Damn you, JS, for shutting down! I need my private entries! AND I paid for ProAcess for a year. I'm not counting on a refund but the administrators could have at least sent us an email and apologized and explained. Not very professional. Okay, rant over.

What day is it?

I woke up today not knowing what day it was...Saturday, Sunday...no, it's Friday. The holidays have thrown me off. With Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve falling on Wednesday, the weekend feels like it's 8 days long. It's thrown me off...with eating and working out..sleep and everything.

I look forward to Monday and I can get back into my routine. I crave routine for getting my stuff done. It was nice to have a break from the monotony...I got to sleep in, I got to spend time with the kiddies and I had some fabulous celebrations. But now that it is all over, I am looking forward to getting back to normal.

I know that so many people are counting on a great 2009...there is some strong optimism for this year. I don't know where it is coming from but I feel it too. Maybe if we all feel this way we will throw some positive energy into the universe and it will indeed be a good year. It's better than the alternative...feeling sucky and then having a sucky year. I'm done with that. Make it happen!

A New Year, A New Blog

Happy New Year!~

We had a great evening with friends here at the house. There was so much food....yummy! I made paella and a few appetizers and my friends brought more yummy food, desserts and lots of wine. I got to bust out my new karaoke system which was a huge hit with everyone. The kiddies love it and the adults loved it even more. How could you not have fun singing Blondie "Heart of Glass" or the Police "Message in a Bottle" or B52's "Love Shack"? Tons of fun.

I am OH so happy that I've found some of my JournalSpace friends...thanks to Westy for having her forum where we can post our new locations. Somehow most of us will be able to reconnect and rebuild our online connections. Still it will never be like JS. I'm going to miss not be able to post "fav's only" entries when the mood strikes me. Now I can't bitch about personal stuff as I am no longer annoymous...hmm...maybe a second private, friends only journal. Well...not right now, I can barely keep up with one journal. And although my life is far from drama-free, I hope that this year I can become less reactive about it. Yeah, right! LOL!

At the same time, there a few things about JS that I will not miss...the few, but true, assholes who's mission was to spread hate and anger in the most cowardly way...behind a computer screen. These are the same jerks who formed clicks banding together to pick on the nice people. Good riddance! I'm glad that is part is over.

If I had the technical knowledge, I would be rebuild JS myself but I do not so this is my blog home for now and it will all be okay.

I have many things that I WILL accomplish this year. I'm working on a lists...you know how I love lists...not resolutions...I don't do those. I am goal-oriented so a list of new goals is always a good way to start my year right....fitness, professional, family, house stuff and "me stuff" a brand new category.