That Time it Rained All Weekend

Remember this: All great weekends start with a Friday night workout. 

No, I don't have any crazy mountain-tops or blue sky photos to impress you with today. Portland saw nothing but rain this weekend and as a fair-weather hiker, this girl stayed inside. That doesn't mean I was a lazy panda though, it actually means that aside from the work-work I had to do I actually had a crazy productive weekend.  

Here's some of the wonderful I got myself into.

Workouts

+ Heated Yoga at Yoga Pod Pearl (my most challenging yoga class yet)

+ Headstand Practice: 15 seconds in the air, personal best!

+ Twerk Practice: 1 Hour, still never enough time

+ Barre Class at The Bar Method

+ Restorative Yoga Class at Yoga Pod Pearl

Home

+ Laundry, fresh sheets, dishes, cleaned fridge & freezer, grocery shopping.

+ Removed everything I don't wear ever. <-- this is refreshing!

+ Meal prep: Chicken, Ground Beef, Kale, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower Rice, Sweet Potatoes

So Much Lazy

+ Four hours cozied up in my favorite coffee shop

+ 150 Pages of Eleanor and Park for Plucky's Book Club

+ Entire Netflix Season 1 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt thanks to Melissa

+ 2 Hour Sunday Nap

Things I Love

+ Google Hangout with Melissa!!

+ Scheduled a 75 Minute massage for next week

+ Scheduled my week of ClassPass workouts

Weekends like these make me happy. Doesn't this all sound wonderful?

To add on to the first sentence of this post, I also obviously believe a mid-weekend sweat and a Sunday night sweat are essential to keeping balance, but the Friday one is the most important of them all. 

The Early Morning

Sunday morning I woke up too early. 

My eyes felt heavy.

A deep inhale invited fresh air into my lungs while I forced my eyes open to the morning in front of me.

The blurry glow of red Christmas lights above me reassured me that I was in my own bed. They've been strung around my room since last December and I continue to sleep under their glow most nights no matter what my electricity bill reflects. 

The blurriness of the lights was also proof of my success in taking my contacts out the night before, a small victory by my standards. 

Reaching over to my nightstand for my phone, the sight of a half-full bottle of cider reminded me of the tears that ran down my face no less than five hours before. 

The tears that had dried on my pillowcase by morning were for nothing in particular. Their presence represented a sincere collection of feelings I've been trying to understand as I navigate this world of mine.

Sadness wasn't the only theme of the event. There was happiness, honesty, presence and warmth in the pearls flowing from my eyes. The kind of emotional release that reminds me that I am a human. That I've made mistakes, that I am good, that I am kind, that I have a beautiful life in front of me if I respect it, believe it and nurture it.

With a quick splash of cold water on my face, I slinked back into bed and into the warm cocoon of covers that I'd say are just about the only exciting thing about being in a long distance relationship. 

The soft red glow still illuminating the room and the peek of sunlight through my bedroom window sent me back into several hours of sleep - the quality sleep that I can only describe as the nap you take after your Thanksgiving meal. 

When I woke up for the second time on Sunday, the haze had lifted like it always does.

I snuck away to my favorite coffee shop for some quality "me" time.  Suddenly, everything felt better.

The rest of the weekend was amazing, I just wanted to tell you about what happened when I woke up too early on a Sunday morning.

Being Your Best You: Total Package

Hello and Happy Thursday! 

For the whole month of July there's been a fun Thursday link-up over on my fitness blog along with the wonderful Chelsea and Rebecca. 

The theme? Being your BEST you!

While this series has been over on Not the Average Bear, I figured my JumpingJE readers/lovers would want in on a little bit of the fun! 

If you haven't already been able to check it out, here's the archives:

Be Your Best You: Balance

Be Your Best You: Energy

Be Your Best You: Strength

For the final day of the month (and of the link-up!) we're going to wrap it all up with what Chelsea calls the "Total Package".  Simply put - what's the best thing you do for yourself to be your BEST?

My secret weapons?

Water and clean eating. Boom.

Ever since I made the wise decision to clean up my eating act (by following 90% paleo) and to give my body the respect it deserves, I've reaped the rewards. 

I function better.

My skin is clearer.

I have more energy.

I have a healthier relationship with food (and the occasional indulgence).

I'm genuinely a happier and better person to be around.

I'm becoming my best version of me (so far!)

Try it, I swear you'll see the same thing. Tell me all about it!

Plus, if you know me... the sweaty selfies also get me through the day :)

Confessions: Hey, I Just Met You

As you've seen us all rave about, I finally got to meet Melissa (hey new blog layout!!) in person over the weekend here in Portland. 

Meeting someone in person for the first time after corresponding over the internet is more cool than it is weird, but really forces the issue that you are a real person in real life with real quirks. Sure, if I was just meeting Melissa for coffee I could mask some of the weird to not scare her away, but when she's sleeping across the hall and we're doing all the things together in a jam-packed weekend - there's nothing I can hide.

Here's some Hey, I Just Met You Confessions that were spotlighted this epic weekend!

:: My inability to parallel park under "pressure".

:: My inability to wake up to alarms. Multiple alarms. Multiple loud alarms. 

:: My Messy Messy Messy car that made it awkward to fit 4 people comfortably. 

:: How I didn't realize I could use my tea kettle to boil water for some sleepy time tea

:: My willingness to #notpaleo so hard when I'm out entertaining.

:: The way I take the "scenic route" when I don't know which way to drive. 

:: My ability to lose credit cards, wallets, keys and other personal items.

:: How I can't say "bag" like a normal person. It's something more like "baieyg".

:: My personal life is deeper than the blog life I share. 

And other more awkward things that you'll just have to see for yourself when we meet in person!!

Link up with Kathy for Hump Day!

Or just stare at Ian SoDamnHotter for anther minute like I do for this link up. 

Guest Post: Being Your Best You - Balance

Today on my fitness blog we're taking over with the July Challenge with a post on how to be your BEST you.

Get excited because it's about one of my most favorite things - Balance!

Just click my face (or bicep) below to find me!

The First Run

If you used to follow this blog back in 2013, you'd know me as a pretty serious runner. Serious about my mileage  - not so serious about entering races, PR'ing or even seeing any improvement. As long as I met the mile quota, my work was done and there was nothing more to gain from it.

It all started in the fall of 2009 once I realized that being an ex-collegiate athlete would mean I'd have to fill the void of the workouts I wasn't forced to do getting anymore. I was tired of lifting weights and "bulking", so my sweat of choice became running. I'd always enjoyed running because it was a great way to escape from my own mind and was also an opportunity to explore the beautiful city that I lived in.

When I decide on something, I've been known to go all out with it. So starting in November of 2009 I set a goal of running 100 miles a month. Crazy, right? Well I was flawless with that goal for nearly four years up until September of 2013.

If you hate math like I do, pretend I ran 10 minutes per mile on average meant 1,000 minutes on the road PER MONTH. This investment of 17 hours per month easily turned into a solid day after you also factored in the time it was taking to change, stretch, shower and of course stop mid-run to take the necessary instagram selfies of my right leg in running tights.

When I look back at the amount of time I put into running, preparing to run and thinking about running - I wonder what all I missed out on. I know for a fact now that my body responds better to weight lifting, but never gave it the chance. I know now that I hurt relationships because I placed running on a higher level of importance than people. I also know that I spent a lot of money on all things running and that was even after a huge discount because of the company I work for.

When I missed my goal by 16 miles in September of 2013 it was a huge relief. The pressure was off and it was much like the first 'B' I got in a college course I slacked off in my freshman year.

From that point on I decided that I'd cut my goal in half. Only 50 miles a month and focus more on weight training and keeping my body healthy. It was three quick months of that regimen before we entered 2014. I found myself opening up my schedule for living.

Surprisingly, I didn't run a single mile in January or February, and just laced up for my first run of the year on Saturday. The beautiful thing about the run on Saturday is that there was no "plan" in mind. It was to get out in the sunshine and start my lifting workout with a shake-out.  It was also strategic that I chose to run a route I'd never done before so that I wouldn't be able to count the mileage.

The experience was blissful.

I think I'm okay with being a recreational and fair-weather Portland runner. It looked good on me.

See Ya Never, February!

The last day of February is usually pretty exciting because there's always been something about the idea of March that gets me in a good mood. March usually means starting to see the sunshine, 10 times during the month if we're lucky. March means Madness (NCAA basketball if you were confused)! March is easier to say than February which I shorten to Feb any chance possible. 

March has a lot of bright to look forward to, especially kicking it off with a closet purging and organizing Saturday with mom. A little spring cleaning, if you will! Brooke I'll have a closet for you to shop through before the Goodwill dump. 

Mom already came by this week to make good on her housecleaning gift from Christmas, so it'll be good to get straight to the projects to make up for my less than productive last weekend.  

To finish off the week right, let's see what I've been up to the last 5 days - in GIFs! 

Monday:

I'm back on a hair-curling kick (this happens every spring / summer) and was told I was rocking a Kate Middleton look (IT WAS 3RD DAY HAIR, GUYS!). Here's your proof.

Tuesday:

Joined Influenster! ....Now what? Ladies, help!

Wednesday:

Legitimately serious that I'm not quite ready to enter the dating pool. I'm just going to spin around here on this deck, dude detox to the max like this wise and happy orca! 

Thursday:

Don't make fun, but I got 16 comments on Thursday's post about the tail wagging the dog (puppy gifs included). I say no jokes because that's my top # since moving over to blogger. I'm not much of a blog-stat junkie but this makes me feel good about my life choices. High five for you guys!

Friday:

Saying goodbye is never easy, at least this bear is adorable and makes my heart warm.

SEE YA NEVER, FEBRUARY! oh yeah, till next year.

Going to send you off with my recent late-to-the-party pump up anthem:

June Accountability Check

When we started this month I was high on life. We had just ended a successful 4th quarter, I met Dan's family and I was looking forward to getting after a lot of exciting work when life was supposed to slow down during the first quarter of our fiscal year.

Very quickly, I found out that the world doesn't always work the way you hope it will and that being open to change is an incredible asset to have.

That being said, June's Eight Great Goals are due for an accountability check...

via

1. I've used up 4 of my 5 early work mornings (6am) and have done a great job at sticking to it even though work has required me to have a lot of tasks complete in just a short amount of time. 

2. My attempt at lifting weights hasn't gone any further than holding hand weights during some longer runs. Starting today (no, really - today!) I'm going to hit the gym and get in front of some iron. Then I'll pick it up, and I'll set it down. My muscles feel good coming off from Tough Mudder and I want them to continue to feel the burn.

3. I've hardly called any friends and really have only talked to family on the phone for Father's Day wishes. Work in progress.

4. No meal schedule for Dan and I - but I've been consistent with packing good lunches as always.

5. No, I'm such a snack fiend - more on that in tomorrow's post.

6. Only daily doubles I've completed this month were on weekends, but with a run completed this morning and weights (as mentioned in #2) this afternoon I'll be on a better schedule.

7. No time off has been scheduled and I don't know if I'll be able to make time this month.

8. I've been pretty good about eating lunch away from my desk, I just need to get better now about actually getting away from the office (conference rooms, etc) so that I can really clear my head.

Expectations lowered? Good!

I'm tracking to my running goals and I'm getting a lot of good sleep (from exhaustion, not relaxation!).

That counts, right?

The Happiness Advantage

Let's slow it down, shall we?

I have a desire to get more intellectual, so that means you're going to be taken on the ride with me whether you'd like to or not. Lately I've only been feeding my brain with business details, spreadsheets and the occasional leisure-read of my favorite blogs - but there's a need for new thoughts to expand my brain and get my creative centers firing.

Today I'm sharing a TED Talk (love 'em) that was published 15 months ago but was recently brought to my attention. Shawn Achor, researcher and teacher of positive psychology, walks us through the first time positive psychology crept into his youthful mind and in the twelve minutes of footage had me convinced that my brain is capable of showing me any world I want to see.

In his humorous presentation, he inspires me to challenge myself to reverse the formula I've always used for happiness and success.

For many of us, our picture of success is measured as the following:

If you work harder, you'll be more successful | If you're more successful, you'll be happy

I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I work harder and am successful - I just keep placing the bar higher and higher. While I may experience short-term elation and pride, I'm never fully being satisfied with my accomplishments nor experiencing the "happiness" I'd expected in all the hard work placed into my goals.

Shawn challenges us to re-write the formula for ourselves by training our brain (as we train our bodies) to seek out the happiness and optimism in the world. He cites that your external world does not predict your happiness - but rather the way your brain processes the world around you can create happiness and boost productivity, creativity, understanding, clarity and attitude.

Afterall, perception is reality.

If you do anything today, please click 'play' below and engage in an inspirational conversation with your subconscious:

[ted id=1344]

The Happiness Advantage is also a book you can find on Amazon - I'll be downloading it for my Kindle on iPad soon!