Determined. To Be…

…a runner, a sister, a lover…living a fit and happy life.

Tag Archives: work


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a FULL life.

Right now, my life feels so FULL.

In SO MANY good ways. SO many.

And I will NEVER lose sight of that, or how blessed I am <–just in case it wasn’t clear already by my gushy posts of late ;-)

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But right now, when I say full, I mean, full, like WHOA, full. 

As in, somuchhappeninginthenexttwomonthswhatshouldidofirst….full.

Let’s just lay it out there so you can see what I mean, mmk?

4/20: POUND training! This is going to be super fabulous new class at barre n9ne, and I cannot wait to spend the day training for it, but it also means more work gearing up to learn, learn, learn before we launch!

4/25-4/28: Napa! A little jaunt to Napa with M, as he has a work conference to attend and *twist my arm* – any trip to wine country and I am THERE. It will be so fun to explore Napa  a bit together as we have typically stuck to Sonoma Valley/Healdsburg in years past, and a little trip away is good timing for a few days away from it all.

4/28-5/1: From Napa, we fly to LA and head up to my company where I will work Monday and Tuesday and FINALLY, after two years, get to show M where I work, meet some co-workers and show him around. AND to have him WITH me on  a ‘work trip’ is so awesome,  especially as it just so happens THIS girl and her sister will be in Long Beach the same weekend and we can finally all meet up (my second time meeting Heather, but my first meeting her fabulous sister!!).

5/7-5/9: Vegas. Yep, criss-crossing the country within LESS than a week to go to a conference for work. Erghh. Everyone thinks Vegas is awesome to go to for a work trip, but since I legit will be seeing the inside of an expo hall at Mandalay Bay for all of 36 hours, and then stepping into a cab and heading to the airport, I find it a titch difficult in seeing the glamour of it all. But I digress. It’s part of the gig and given I really DO like my job, I will go it, shift my focus and enjoy what I can, right??

5/30: We CLOSE on our house!! Yessss!! (and move two days later, June 1). BUT, approximately the same week? My boss goes on maternity leave for 12 weeks and that leaves ME with a shitton more to do covering for her and me for those months. Impeccable timing. Not. (once again, I will shift my focus, I will look at this as a huge learning opportunity once again, as this was why I was hired two years ago, to cover her leave, and step it up…so this time around should *hopefully* be a little less chaotic since I know what I am doing at this company now…for the most part…)

6/17: Fly BACK to LA/Costa Mesa for another work trip. Um yeahhhh. That’s like 6 criss-crosses across the country in less about a month and a half. Shift, shift, shift…

There you have it. My life? She be FULL. VERY full. So my plan to get ahead of the chaos is putting a moratorium on plans on weekends where I can in order to simplify my life as I head into one of the more hectic times of my life, and one of the most exciting, all at the very same time. 

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I vow to shift my focus.

Sometimes, shifting my focus is harder than others. But as I have gotten the hang of it as I have needed to shift my focus and perspective at times, I am at a point where I want to make it a vow…to always shift my focus. Because when you do, it does wonders for the soul.

For example…

Instead of dreading my Sunday morning flight to the annual sales kick off for my company in Southern California, complaining that I *only* have one weekend day and will be sad to leave M….

I will shift my focus and embrace every minute of my abbreviated weekend, I will plan ahead, I will pack early, I will get settled so I can thoroughly enjoy what I do have. Teaching at barre n9ne (yay), seeing a few open houses (double yay!) and then a leisurely date night in dinner (triple yay – recreating the first meal M ever made for me!).

Instead of stressing over un-routine while away Sunday – Wednesday…

I will shift my focus and embrace it, plain and simple. There is nothing I can do to change it, so I will adjust, I will plan ahead, I will be normal, and I will go with the flow (something incredibly difficult for me but I am learning!!). I will also enjoy the 60 degree temperate jump (from the 1 degree it was here yesterday…) even though it will rain almost the whole time (shifting, shifting…)

Instead of complaining about having to travel for work…

I will shift my focus and give myself a huge dose of reality: this is my last work trip alone for the foreseeable future (M will be with me on my trip in April, yay!) and let’s be honest: I work from home. I have flexibility with my job (and it is a job I love!), and when I do travel, it’s to sunny, warm Orange County. Seriously right now?! Self: stop being lame.

Instead of wishing and wanting to run longer, farther, better…

I will shift my focus and realize that my IT band is getting stronger, and I got to run TWICE this week with ZERO pain (yay!) and I am able-bodied to do so many other things – spin, walk, barre…this is just a blip in the radar, and far bigger issues in this world than the inability to run for a month or two.

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Writing out my thoughts sometimes helps me process them, of course, but also see how strong the mind really is. If you let it go haywire, you will lose perspective, harness a skewed reality, and focus on the wrong things…and be negative.

If you shift your focus and really see the bottom line on the things that nag at you? You will harness them into a better, happier, more positive reality – the REAL reality of life…that in the grand scheme of it, these ‘things’ or frustrations are just that – things. In the grand scheme of it, life is amazing, and every obstacle, frustration or challenge is an opportunity to flourish and prove to yourself what you are capable of, in mind, body and soul.

I vow…to shift my focus. Always.

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An update and tidbits.

Today’s an update and quasi random post kind of day.

An update on the knee. 

Well, it’s not much of a surprise to me, but after my first PT appointment today, it is indeed IT band syndrome that is affecting my knee when I run.   What was a surprise is that it is BOTH IT bands that are uber tight, yet, only my right knee is bothering me. The loose plan is for me to foam roll the crap out of my IT band (on both sides) between now and Friday’s appointment. At that appointment, she will have me run for a few minute and watch my gait (side note: I am ridiculousness excited to run, even if it is just for a few minutes!) and prescribe some strengthening exercises that we will work on for the next few weeks. I cannot run for at least a week, maybe two, and then she will have me slowly ramp up running again (yay!).

I actually feel really good about this and think, per today’s She Reads Truth, it all has a point. I am meant to learn from this – already, learning – I don’t stretch enough, nor foam roll (barely) at all, and I could only stay un-injured for so long, in my opinion. I am grateful to catch it early and fix it now. Now, to make this a habit, long term. I WILL. I MUST. It also tells me I need to continue to cross-train, keep my legs strong, spin, walk, work on stronger hamstrings (suggested exercises for the ole hammies welcomed!). 

Branching out, of the food variety.

It’s no secret that I have a love affair with oatmeal for breakfast. And wraps for lunch (of the Joseph’s, Flatout, and Fiber One variety!). Love, love, LOVE them. But lately, I have started to wonder if I need to branch out a little. Try some new options and intersperse them with my standbys. I will alternate lunches and do up some loaded salads (tuna, chicken salad, hard boiled eggs etc), but I always go back to wraps. And oatmeal for breakfast? Forget it, I never change this one. Hardly ever. Maybe eggs and toast for breakfast on a weekend day. But beyond that, not much.

I started a new board on Pinterest on all things Greek yogurt, because I want to play around with alternate breakfasts, like yogurt and fruit bowls, maybe a smoothie if I can find one that is fueling yet not uber caloric either. My mind is a little all over the place here. Because I like my go-to’s. I LOVE them. But I think change is good. So I look to you, friends, for your latest and greatest finds and suggestions! Please share :-)

Travel upcoming.

It’s that time again. More work travel abounds! A week from Sunday, I am off to California for my company’s sales kick off. It’s my third year attending, and while I hate leaving on a Sunday, I am actually looking forward to it this year…in large part because this girl is ALSO going to California for her sales kick off and it’s a town away from MINE (WHAT are the odds?!), so what did we do? Booked our return flight home from LAX together! That’s right, 6 hours of straight up FUN flying home. Probably the first time I will ever look forward to a long flight. We may have too much fun of the let’s have a drink (or 8) variety, but I think it shall be epic ;-)

And?

In April, M and I are going to Napa!! No, it’s not Healdsburg, BUT it’s a close second. He has a conference in Napa and of course I am tagging along. OF COURSE. Who wouldn’t!? So off we go in late April to Napa for a few days and then…to Southern Cali so I can go to work for a few days and finally – finally – show him around where I work, meet co-workers etc. I am REALLY excited about both parts of this trip!!

So, there ya have it, some random updates and tidbits on this Tuesday-can’t-believe-it’s-not-Wednesday post ;)

(PS bet you are surprised I didn’t write anything about barre n9ne in this post. Me too. Hehe. More on that later this week, I am thinking!) Don’t forget to share your latest foodie finds with meeeee! :-)

 

 


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Happy things Friday

It’s yet another FEF up in here people. Finally Effing Friday, for those that are just tuning in ;-)

Good GRIEF has it been a long long LONG week of travel. Let’s see, 4 planes this week, 3 planes last week, thousands of miles in between, and I am toast. While the first leg of two weeks of travel was for pleasure, this week was just.so.tiring. So I think I deserve to revel in the fact that I am home, I am in my own home, my own routine, my own FOOD.

So here are a few things that are making me happy – beyond the fact that I am home ;-)

Getting a promotion!! I had my review while I was in the office this week in California and not only did I get a pretty sizable raise, I got a promotion! I was floored. I was hoping it would be coming soon, but had no idea my boss had been working on this for months.

Feeling like a hugely valued employee. Combine the aforementioned with the nicest, most heartfelt, most complimentary email I have ever ever received from ANYONE and I am a very happy employee. My boss’ boss (who becomes interim boss for me when she is on maternity leave – again – next summer) sent me not only a Christmas card with a gift card inside, he sent me an email that said – in effect, this: Perhaps the most special thing about you and many won’t realize, is that you are making people around  you better than they were before they met you.  I can guarantee you that in their next job they will take the things you have taught them and they will look much smarter and accomplished than they are…some will give you credit, some won’t, but I will know they are improved because they worked with you.

Um, wow. Speechless. Utterly.

(with such a tough travel week, and feeling challenged by the time change and inability to choose my own meals 90% of the time, the aforementioned, plus feeling like I ate so mindfully this week and so peacefully felt like a huge accomplishment!!)

68176_10151285028751170_1225021644_nMeeting the one and only Lindsay Cotter (AND her dog AND her husband!!) While on my cross-country ‘tour’ this week (first in California, and then in Austin), I was extremely fortunate to meet Lindsay Cotter. Finally. It’s been years of following her blog, and really becoming friends – aka blends! (blog friends!), so I was thrilled to finally meet her. We walked around the lake, we talked, we met up with James and her brother in law and their cute as hell pup at the dog park, and then I got a treat by seeing the Whole Foods HEADQUARTERS store, oh em gee. I could spend all day in there. It was a perfect afternoon and capper to one long ass week. Thank you Lindsay!! SO much! (AND for the Healthy Bites treats you gave me for my flight!!)

And a weekend ahead that is almost planLESS. Yep, you read that right. An almost planLESS weekend. I. Cannot. Wait.

Happy Friday, friends, make this weekend a goodie!


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Bits and pieces.

**Just some bits and pieces flitting through my brain that don’t quite make a post in of itself, but together, make a lil potpourri of thoughts that I don’t want to lose!**

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Can someone first explain to me, how is it *only* Wednesday? Whenever I travel, it feels like a time warp, backwards and forwards! Starts off with a bang and then mid-week, starts to wane, like whoa. I know I will catch my second wind for the tail end of my trip, but man, does traveling mess with me. Routine, baby, it’s where it’s at ;-)

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I am supremely amazed at how differently I’ve handled eating during this trip. While I have had several trips across three time zones since I started the barre n9ne challenge last year, which has made me more mindful and aware of eating when hungry, not out of habit or mindlessly, but this trip has just felt the most different of them all. For starters, I was *really* worried I’d be ridiculously hungry during Monday’s flight since it left at 8 am, and arrived at 2:30 pm (in my brain, but 11:30 PT) where I would have to endure what should be breakfast and lunch, yet only be barely lunchtime on the West Coast when I arrived.

For the first time, I forced myself to retrain my eating into West Coast times from the minute I stepped off the plane. And surprisingly? It worked! I wasn’t heinously hungry the entire flight, either. I scored some steel cut oats at the hotel (last minute score! Arm pump!) and just needed a banana to sustain me until I landed and could grab a bite once I got my car, maneuvered my way out of LA and go to my office, around 12:30 PT. That has seriously been my golden ticket this week. I haven’t woken up famished (hungry, but not wilting!), and I’ve generally been hungry at the ‘right’ times on the West Coast. Score.

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I ran outside – alone – for the first time EVER since  I started this job 18 months ago. (well, that’s not entirely true. I did run on the beach AT my hotel when I first started…but that doesn’t feel quite the same, since there were people everywhere. If that makes sense). I knew I wanted to finally run outside, when it would be light enough to do so safely (many of my trips up until this point have been during winter months where it was just too dark to do it previously). And so I would not get lost, I came up with a genius plan (if I do say so myself!). I ran FROM my hotel TO my office. Since I know the route by heart and it’s about 2.4 miles one way, making for a solid just about 5 mile route.

What most surprised me, beyond loving being outdoors and running IN Cali and ON flat, flat, FLAT roads was how PRETTY everything smelled. I smelled flowers everywhere. I heard birds chirping. I even heard the electrical wires above me buzzing. It was quiet, even on usually-busy main roads (it was 5:30 am, I guess I can see why). I LOVED it.

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We had our long-awaited event this week for work. (the reason I am out here this week) And it was SO cool to see an event come off without a hitch, one that my boss and I have been working on for months. It was fun to interact with those that arrived, from the students from a local college (that were part of the competition for this particular event), to my company’s executives, to the media that came, and to my co-workers, too. I finally felt comfortable chatting on the fly with people and not feeling like I stuck out like a sore thumb. Perhaps it goes back to feeling confident in who I am, for the first time pretty much ever, huh?

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This whole shifting focus, thing? Yeah, it’s REALLY working for me. I have not dreaded this trip much at all (besides the always hard goodbyes to M), I have looked forward to it. I have embraced the challenges, I have done new things (running alone, as I mentioned, for starters!), and I have just enjoyed the time and the opportunity. It has gone a long way, and I couldn’t be more glad, or more relieved at that.

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So far, it’s been a GREAT week. And I guess the bits and pieces flitting through my head culminates into more than I thought it would, huh? ;-)  

~

PS – THANK YOU to everyone for all of your feedback, compliments, and support on my post yesterday. It meant so much to see such positive feedback and enthusiasm. I was nervous to post before and after pictures for a number of reasons, but am so glad the message I wanted to get through as part of that came shining through, rather than it being uber focused on numbers and such. THANK YOU!

I wish there was smellavision (er, blogavision?!) – those flowers smelled GOOD!

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