Little triumphs

I am actually noticing a difference this week, in my time, my run and my breath. It is so nice to see improvement. This is week three and I only have been out two days, but it has been good. I don't like the temp though, that is my one complaint. Too cold to not wear my sweater and then too warm after I start running to wear it... But then if I take it off my arms freeze. Can't wait for a bit warmer temps in the morning. I think that will help with my breathing too. Now it is time to chill and drink my coffee. Beautiful morning.

On the Road Again

Again I was back up and about this morning. I didn't want to run. I didn't want to be awake, but I did it. I did better than I had any of the other days I went out. I was pretty excited, but I also ended the run with a horrible cramp. Fun. Now it is time to get things done. Work, clean, take care of kids and drink coffee, lots and lots of coffee.

Memorial Weekend

This weekend we walked downtown Saugatuck, went to the beach, walked downtown Holland, went to the farmers market, zoo, got sushi, made homemade pizza, went to the amusement park, took a bike ride and went to the beach twice. Yes, it was that busy. I am still somewhat exhausted and while I had planned on getting up to run somehow Mike and I slept through the alarm clock. He woke up with barely enough time to get ready and head to work and I decided to get up at 6:30 even though I could go out and run. Figured getting back into the early morning wake up would be best. So I can officially run tomorrow and Friday because Thursday is Mike's early day. It feels like this week might be a bust. But with that said my legs have been sore this weekend and it isn't like we sat around and did nothing for 4 days. I am hoping that even that little bit of exercise we participated in helped twords the getting healthy goal. As for today, I have so much work to get done I am somewhat dreading it. :( Time to edit photos and sit at the computer for hours today.

Sunday Daze

Ok, so I didn't run today. I didn't run yesterday. We have company and have been so busy that I am literally exhausted by 9PM. Today we said we were going to get up and run. Since Mike and I could leave together (our company could watch the sleeping kids) and we kept putting it off. I told Mike to just go without me and then I would leave when he got back, he said he needed 30 more minutes of sleep. And our morning went on like that. I still got up at 7:30 but no running, just bread making, breakfast making and cleaning. Now we are trying to decide what to do on this horribly hot day...

Two Weeks!

It has been two weeks, I can't even believe it. I am so happy and so much more productive. I even woke up today at 6:45 before everyone but my beautiful daughter was up! It was raining outside so no running but I did read, drink some coffee, put dishes away, cuddle with my baby girl, shower and just enjoyed a dark and dangerous looking sky. I am so happy yet filled with sadness at the same time. It is such a conundrum. I want more and in that it means actually taking less. Less junk and more quality. More time spent with loved ones, more time enjoying the glorious wonders that God gave me. Less stuff, less clutter, less consumption. It has been a splendid morning. I am so glad that I got up.

The Morning

I noticed today that pretty much every morning is greeted with a negativity that identifies itself with the idea that I might just walk today. I didn't really notice it till this morning when I practically screamed to myself, I think I am just going to walk today! I can still pat myself on the back for waking up early and getting out on the road but I just don't have it in me today. I don't have the energy or will power to even attempt to move my feet faster than a slow meander. And then I just do it. I am not sure if it is sometime between getting up and getting dressed or starting my music (that has been so awesome every morning) or actually getting on the road, but all of the sudden I just decide to do it. And while today I ran more than I walked and actually ran more than I have on any of the mornings I still went slower than I did on Monday. I guess it was a super slow jog this morning but instead of walking two and running three, I did a few walking one and running two. It was terrible, but I did it. Maybe one day I will head out in the morning and run for 30 minutes straight. I sure hope so! But on top of my run, elliptical and weight lifting I also walked into town with the kids, to the post office, coffee shop and farmers market and then back home. I mowed the lawn, got my hair done, did laundry and dishes, fed the children, laid some flooring in the basement and will be heading out for a mini shoot shortly. It was a busy day and I had energy the whole time, no afternoon slump! Yes! Thank you God. It has been almost two weeks and I think I am starting to get use to the early wake up. That being said Thursday is my day off. I usually do a bit on the elliptical still but tomorrow I am taking it easy. I have to let the hair color set and I have so much to do I am going to need the time. I am still going to get up early but not 5:50. ;) Time to get ready for this busy weekend we call Memorial Weekend! So excited.

Perspective

I am on the second week of early wake ups. Today I felt a bit OCD as I ran around the house tackling one projected but getting side tracked by another. I accomplished alot but also thought about perspective alot. Why I am doing what I am doing. I am getting up and running, I am eating healthy, I am working hard. I am not doing it because I am obsessed, I am not attempting to put it before God. I am doing it to be a better me, to treat my body as a temple and to be comfortable in my skin. I do not weigh myself every day, maybe twice a month. For me it more that I want my clothes to fit better again, I want to not have to buy new clothes and I want a change that will last a life time. I really hope this early morning wake up helps because I am getting mildly sick of it already. ;) I love the challenge, I love what I get done in the day but man do I hate getting up so early. :(

Oh Bugger!

I have officially decided to do Seven. I knew this would happen. I love the book, and I love the idea of limiting our excess. So excited to get rid of stuff... not sure if that is how you are suppose to go into something like this. I did decide to do them in a different order than in the book. I will start with giving away 7 things a day for a month. Then we will go to media, shopping, waste, clothes, food and then stress. I have to do this because of the months that they will take place in and because I will be out of town. I also like putting food (which is the hardest in my opinion) before stress. :) I would love for other people to do it with me... wonder if I can get anyone on this page. Hum....

Huge Fail

My alarm clock didn't go off because I forgot to turn it back on after yesterday. So my mad rush out the door to have 20 minutes outside didn't really seam aqueduct. On top of that I barely had time to get dressed let alone use the restroom. Thus, I ran with the great need to pee. Ugh, this is not fun for a women after birthing two children. I am sure it isn't fun for anyone, but that just seamed to be the tone of the 20 minute workout... gotta get home, gotta get home, etc. etc. After this little run I headed downstairs to use the elliptical, and of course my baby girl came walking downstairs 5 minutes into the workout. So I took a break, headed upstairs to dress her and brush her teeth. Then I did what I was actually trying to avoid by waking up early. I turned on the tv so I could go finish my workout. 10 more minutes into that she came back needing to pee. So I stopped again, headed upstairs and helped her, even though she knows how to go it alone. I finally finished up my 20 minutes on the elliptical and then did weights. But while I felt whiny about the failed morning from the moment I woke up I realized that even though it wasn't perfect, I got up. I laced up my shoes, I went outside and I ran a total of 10 minutes. Heck, that is better than the days I wasn't doing any running outside. And now I have my workout completed, showered and have one kid ready for the day. I am drinking my breakfast (lovely green monster smoothie) and it's only 8AM. Time to start the day! A week ago I would have just been rolling out of bed. :) So in light of my small failures I am going to call today a win.

Nighty, Night

It is 9pm and of course I am turning in for the night. I will be up by 5:50 but will still get a good 8.5 hours of sleep as long as I knock out fast. ;) I am reading 7 right now and would love to stay up and finish the book, it is soooo good. But I will wait till tomorrow and maybe post a bit on it here. I am so concerned that I will be tearing up my views and replacing them with more extreme views very soon. Time to become even stranger than I was before?

Day 4

Today was a cheater day. Once a week I won't be able to run outside because Mike heads to bible study. So today I woke at 6:30 instead of 5:50. However I succeeded in Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I ran all three days, did the elliptical and also lifted weights. I didn't make it through Tuesday, I had to take a nap. I reinstated nap time at our house, since my daughter doesn't seam to want to anymore. I had to though, there was no getting around it. I didn't nap on Wednesday though and stayed up almost till 10! Yikes. I think maybe my body is adjusting to the time change. It is amazing how much I can get done before noon when I am up at 6 though. I am kind of loving that aspect. This morning I worked out, did laundry, put dishes away, read my bible, made waffles for the kids, got everyone ready, ordered a few things for the business, sent emails, posted blogs, cleaned up a bit of the basement (it flooded a few weeks back and we are still working on it), went to the library and the health food store and now I am wondering what to do with the rest of my day and it is only 12:30! I could get use to that. Oh and I also filled out our preliminary adoption application! Finally! That was a nice little reminder of what we will be undertaking this year. :) On a funny note I do believe I am still rather sleepy in the morning and tried to shave this morning with the cap on the razor. Oops. I couldn't figure out what was wrong for longer than it should have taken. So sad.

Day 1

The first day was a powerful and tiring one. I was up at 5:50, yes I did it. I was out the door at 6 and ran/walked for 30 minutes. My running was better than I anticipated, but still can't do a full mile. I am happy that I succeeded in the first day but boy was it hard to get through the entire day. I was in bed by 9. I am usually in bed closer to 11 or 12. I got so much accomplished though it was almost worth it.

The Begining of the End

I always find excuses. I want to run, I want to be able to run farther than a half mile. But... I don't want to mess up my hair, I hate running with the stroller, it's hot, it's cold... rain, wind, the elements, I am sure I can think of many more. So the day before mothers day I attended a conference and while it was a very emotional and spiritual time what I took away from it was I needed to start waking early. I needed to get my butt out of bed and get running when I could (before the hubby went to work). This is a challenge because I love sleeping, almost as much as I love reading, coffee or even my kids. I stay up late because of course I am a night owl and like to read and escape said children for a few hours at night and then in the morning I have to drag myself out of bed. Every morning felt like a horrible task to accomplish. Get through this and night time will be here soon enough. Well those days are over...? Maybe? While Patsy Clairmont was chatting at this women's conference the funniest thing was she actually gave tips to waking up in the morning. Something about how she isn't a morning person and needed the help, so she googled it. So on top of being convicted of my laziness and excuses I was given tips for waking up early. So it was decided. And as I left I started to make a plan. Because that is what I do. I plan. I had it all worked out in my head and then there was an excuse.... or a dilemma? I was in Midland, not my home at my sisters house, kind of on a vacation. So I could just start on Monday instead of on Mother's Day! I mean I'm a mom and deserve to be pampered on that day, right? Well, no. I don't deserve anything at all. So I decided it was time to start and not make excuses. Sunday morning I got up a bit later than I will be during the week, 7:00. Not really early, but when you like to hang on to that 8:30/9 am wake up call of youth, 7 seams like 5. It was successful, not much of a run because it was cold and my lungs handed adjusted and I took my momma along with me. But I did it. My first day, waking up, working out and getting ready before 8AM. Now for the rest of the week it will be a 5:50 wake up call since my dear hubby leaves at 6:30 and I have to be done by then. I figure for now I will do 30 minutes outside, 15 on elliptical and 15 lifting weights. Not sure what I am in for. ;)

On a side note (but actually far more important than the morning wake up and running), this was actually the day where I had an ah ha moment as far as our adoption goes. I sat in a scrap booking/memories meeting (totally not my thing, I already have far too many pics and moments captured of my family and many more to come) and I suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of need and want. For the first time I felt confident that I wanted this child. I wanted what God has waiting for us, special needs and all. It was a moment of total clarity and I pray I can hold on to it through the struggle of adoption.