Friday For The Win

Whoever invented the "delay brew" button on coffee makers is a genius. 

There is just something amazing about waking up to the smell of fresh coffee. 

Also, look how great I'm doing, keeping up with my blog, you guys. I don't know what it is, I blog and then don't for months on end and here I am now, blogging a couple days in a row. Funny, this is one thing that my Taurus, routine stricken self cannot hold on to. Well, this and working out. I'm reminding myself that it's all in my control and I'm rootin for you, Parr! 

Yesterday, was absolutely a win, in my book. I woke up at 6:10AM slept in and drank my coffee, poured my thoughts out into the blog world and felt total, and complete ease. It felt like a Saturday. I find it hilarious how just having one more day during your weekend, can make you so freaking happy. 

I went for a hike. By myself. Have you ever done this? Can I compare it to eating in a restaurant by yourself? I still haven't done that one. Well, sit down. I ate by myself at the Subway in a food court when I worked part time at Rosedale Mall in high school. That doesn't count. There was just something amazing about blaring my music, turning it off occasionally and being alone with my thoughts. Joel and I had spontaneously started the hike once on a whim, and didn't go the entire way. I needed to finish it. You know, the Taurus in me was eaten up by the fact of starting it and not finishing it.

I was almost to the top, power walking, like I do normally, when I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. He was half way on the trail, blended in completely by the rock and sand around him. You can imagine how high I jumped. Picture a cat, with a banana peal. He slithered away and gave me quite the aggressive rattle. Nothing more surprising and shocking than snakes in nature. I can hold and be in the company of Joel's snakes at his parent's house back home in Minnesota, but snakes in the wild? No thanks.

Yesterday, I also did a little shopping. I'm rationalizing my few purchases by reminding myself that I haven't shopped since before the first of the year (can you believe it?) and it's my Birthday month. I usually make a way bigger deal about my Birthday month than I'm doing this year. I honestly don't know why because I love Birthdays and I love growing up. I live for it. Literally. I haven't shopped since the first of the year because, well, I'm trying hard to limit myself, as well as save money for our move back to the Midwest in a couple months. My parents aren't paying for the moving truck this time around and I don't blame them. They have helped us out tremendously in the past and continue to. It's time to be adults and buy the moving truck on our own. We can do it!

I babysat for one of the boys in my class last night, him and his Brother, who is four. Kids are hilarious and I find so much joy in spending a Friday or Saturday here and there for a few hours, flying airplanes around the house, reading too many books and having silly conversations about fire truck beds. Especially, with kids that are too smart for their own good. Kids that use words like, "Similar" and say, "Well" instead of good. Early childhood centers, you make children so smart. You are a great thing.

You bet your bottom he put all those books away.

 As for today, I'll be cleaning the house in preparation for Joel's return home tomorrow morning, listening to Vance Joy on repeat. I'll be having a serious movie date with myself, because Divergent came in the mail yesterday. I'll probably spend some time outside, starring at the recently bloomed tulips. Odds of a solo dance party to Kiesza's "Hideaway" are good because I seriously cannot stop watching that video and wishing I were in it. A solo dance party, that's self-love, isn't it?  I'm going to dream about kissing my boyfriend and then tomorrow, I get to do so, for the first time in a little over a week. Yay!

Guys, this weekend is way cooler than the other side of the pillow.

In a perfect world, Easter candy would be healthy.

I had a normal Saturday planned yesterday. Wake up, drink my coffee, catch up in the blog world, shower at some point, run some errands, stop at Barnes and Noble and make my way to Whole Foods. Well, I Skyped with my Mom at about 10AM and then 7PM rolled around and I still hadn't put a bra on or taken my sweat pants off. I got as far as catching up in the blog world and blogging myself. I figured at that point that I should probably do something with myself.

I decided to work out. 

I realized, I hadn't done laundry and that my only pair of yoga pants that were clean, were purple. Now, I don't know about you, but I can't work out in purple yoga pants and a shirt that's a different color than white or black. I just can't look foolish. Even if I'm working out in the comfort of my own home. I honestly don't think there's anything that gives me more motivation to work out, than new work out clothes. I haven't always been this way. In fact, years ago, I owned this soccer T-shirt of mine from high school, that said 'Gestalt' on the back. "An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of it's parts." First thing in our season, my soccer team had decided that that would be our motivating word for the year. Anyways, I wore the shirt to practice and worked out in it so often, you know exactly what happened. The armpits became holy and I ended up bringing scissors into the picture and making it a cutoff. I don't know why, but I loved working out in that shirt. Probably because it showed off my arms and my torso, somewhat, but each time I did, even years later, Joel would laugh and tell me I looked like a lesbian. Well, I know a handful of great lesbians, so I just wore the shirt more often. Joel could laugh all he wanted. 

I'm a Taurus. I'm stubborn. I figure, in this life, if I own something that gets the job done, why spend money on something new? This rings true with my tennis shoes. The Nikes I own, I've had since probably 2005 and when I bought them, they were great workout motivation. I can't say the same for today. "You can link up your ipod while you run and track how many miles you've gone, calories you've burned," said, the salesman. Well, at the time, I didn't own an ipod, I was seriously the only one. But I still bought them and felt great motivation in just wanting to wear them, not necessarily work out in them, and I did eventually buy and ipod too.

Over this last Christmas, my Mom brought a book for me to read. I've always been thin but that doesn't necessarily mean I've been healthy. Thank you, Dad, for the high metabolism, because if my body looked the way it eats, yikes! The book she brought me, is called, "Keto-Adapted" by Maria Emmerich. Have you heard of it? If you have any interest in becoming healthy, I say, "healthy" instead of "healthier" because it's an 'all or nothing' commitment. Honestly, I would have to seriously dedicate myself and try with everything in me to eat entirely the way she does. I love dairy, cheese in general, and carbs! I am a carb girl! And cupcakes, I love me some cupcakes. Maria believes in absolutely no gluten or dairy, no sugar and a diet that is low-carb, low-protein and high fat based. Yes, high fat, the good fat though. The book is super interesting. It pretty much tells you that everything we've been taught about the foods we eat, is inaccurate and that's why people have so many internal health issues. Even things like autism and asthma, joint pain, sleep deprivation, head aches, you name it, it's all effected by the food we put into out body and it makes total sense. A prime example of this is the fact that I give my cats only all natural dry food and yesterday, I let them lick the extra tuna out of a bowl of mine. Well, Olive is now throwing up next to me and I was lucky enough to step in a pile with my bare foot after hopping out of bed this morning. This is how the day greeted me, you guys.

Everyday, I think to myself that I could be healthier. Eat better, work out, go on bike rides, walks, but it's so hard for me, probably because I don't look out of shape to myself. And after a day of work, chasing two year olds, I want to just sit when I get home, sometimes in complete silence. And, well, because I convince myself that chasing two year olds, running around outside with them, well, that's physical activity, right? Gosh, I don't have a clue how you Moms have any sort of work out routine, finishing a work day, working out and being a Mother. Power to you! Hopefully, some day, I can relate. 

As for today, I'm going to be present. Joel is in Alaska on tour and scheduled it not having a clue that Easter was this weekend and not at the end of April. Interesting that Easter is based on a lunar calender. Now, that I think of it, the first year we moved out here, Easter was on his Birthday, March 31st. So, today, I'll be alongside the people who have become my family here in Colorado, the people I am most thankful for here, the people that are most similar to my own family in terms of acceptance and loving in a non-judgmental way. You better bet that I'll be pushing them together for, probably the last family picture I'll be able to take of them. I'm taking in all these final moments of our life here in Colorado. 

Now, Happy Easter from 2010. 

Go be present today.