This is your life...

"This is your life. Are you who you want to be?"

Source

I've been going through some stuff. Stuck in a dead end job. Looking for a new one. Feeling frustrated. Needing change.

In my life, I've had the following jobs:
Piano teacher
Preschool music teacher
Church pianist
Accompanist
Graduate assistant
Graduate student
Teaching assistant
Yoga Instructor
Adjunct professor
Group Exercise Coordinator
Gym manager
Group Exercise Instructor
Personal Trainer
Librarian

(I have also waited tables, but I was just awful at that, so I don't count it... much...)

So, it took me a while to decide what I wanted to be when I grow up.

I love being a librarian, but I'm not very valued at my current job. I don't make as much money as the national standard for librarians with two master's degrees.
I loved being a group exercise coordinator, but it wasn't enough money to do just that.
I love teaching group exercise, but can't do it 40 hours a week.

So, I'm thinking, with all these different skills I have, I should be able to do what I love AND feed my family (and maybe even consider paying off the student loan I accrued getting all these skills...)

I would call the place I am now *uncomfortable*. I'm "in between". I don't like it. I'm a control freak. I like to know exactly what I'm going to be doing, when I'm going to be doing it.

But I finished my workout today and was walking back to my office. The song "This is your life" came on.
Here's the song if you don't know it:




And you know, I got a little emotional. The words got to me:

"This is your life. Are you who you want to be?"

It is. It *is* my life. I don't get another chance. Is this who I want to be?

Part of me feels really lost, but part of me kind of knows who I want to be.

I want to be someone who is remembered for helping other people.
I want to be remembered for making them laugh, making them feel happier, making them feel they can do anything.
I want to be kind. I want to see good in people.
I want to show people they are capable of things they never thought they could do.

So, I know what the right choice is. Is it the choice that's going to make me rich? Probably not. Is it going to mean I might have to have a "job" as well as a "vocation"? Maybe.

But I only have one chance. I'm 38 years old and it's time to decide.

Counting Blessings

Source

I have to confess: I'm troubled. The news depresses me. There are some terrible things happening in the world. In general, I try to avoid it, but sometimes I come across a story that just horrifies me.

It's very easy to get overwhelmed with sadness. I mean, anyone with a soul of any kind would have trouble. So I'm going to use this space right here to count my blessings.

1. Healthy happy child, number 1: 

Look at that happiness!

I know I'm very lucky. I was 32 and had pretty much stopped thinking about having kids after it didn't happen... and then SURPRISE! Here comes this boy. I can't believe it's been almost 5 years.

This little boy is my buddy. He comes up to me for no reason and says, "Mommy, I love you A LOT!" He says hilarious things several times a day (and I quote him on Facebook to share his hilarity). He is a sweet, smart boy and I must never forget what a huge blessing he is to me.

2. Healthy Happy Child, #2:

"I'm in a box!"

It's a similar story. I was incredibly thankful for my son, but kind of wanted a little girl. But I realized I was getting older, and it wasn't very likely. Then, another SURPRISE! I got the little girl I always dreamed about (now I have a complete set!)

She is heading into the "Terrible Twos" (I shouldn't even call them that), and is already quite challenging. But she's as sweet as she can be. And she's also showing signs of her brother's clever wit. Another reason to be thankful every day.

#3. My health

I work on a college campus, and it never fails. If I'm feeling grumpy about something, or starting to have a pity party, I notice a student walking by who is blind and using a stick or a guide dog to get along. Or a student using a wheelchair.

My own brother has a form of muscular dystrophy that caused degeneration. As a child, he was able to run and play, but the disease got worse, and by the time he was a teenager, he was confined to a wheelchair.

I try daily to be thankful that I have the ability to move freely, to run, to exercise, and am basically very healthy.

There are so many more, but I'm going to go ahead and stop at three. It's funny- just listing these three blessings right here has improved my mood greatly.

So, I want to challenge you. Can you list three blessings right now? They can be small or big. You can either post them in a comment, or just keep them to yourself. But please, do it. I guarantee it will improve your day.

The Power of Awesomeday!

Every Wednesday, I participate in something called "Awesomeday". It came about when I heard someone say, "Today is so awesome I should just call it 'Awesomeday'!" I thought about it, and I started making every Facebook status post a "Thing that is awesome". On that day, I made a rule for myself: I was not allowed to whine. I was not allowed to be negative. Everything had to be awesome.

The next week came around, and I did it again. I had a few friends join me. Some people surely wondered what we were doing, but we didn't care. Our attitudes were starting to change.

Soon I started a Facebook page for Awesomeday, and found that people I didn't even know were starting to post "Things that are awesome" on Wednesdays.

I honestly don't know the official dates that it started, but I know there are 183 fans (at the moment) of the page, and hopefully they are brightening up their little corner of the world

 Now, let me tell you, there are Wednesdays when I don't feel awesome. Today was one. I had a rough morning. You know those mornings where *nothing* goes right. I found myself dreading the day ahead and thinking for a moment, "Well, that's it. Today's not going to go well." But then I remembered that it's Awesomeday.

Now, I can't post anything negative on Awesomeday (well, I try not to post negative stuff anyway...). However, I feel like I'm expected to participate in Awesomeday, since I helped create it.

 I had to turn around my bad attitude and participate in Awesomeday. So here's what I did:

And with that, my attitude started to change. People "liked" this status. And I realized, things are not so bad.

The whole point of Awesomeday is to count your blessings. When you count your blessings, they seem to multiply, and it takes your attention away from things you *don't* like.

So, if you want to participate in Awesomeday, I would love to see you there. You don't even have to "like" the page, or post "Things that are awesome...". Just count your blessings, and watch them grow.

Source

The Plan This Week...

Normally, I plan my workout week on Sunday, but I'm a little behind this week. I had Turbokick and Piyo training all weekend, so I'm just now getting to it. Planning is important, have I mentioned this?

I want to practice the formats I trained on this weekend, so I'll be doing that in the mornings. I also want to run twice and lift 3 times.

Monday: Rest. I'm sore in places I didn't even know had muscles.

Tuesday:
AM: Turbokick Practice
PM: Upper Body at Gym

Wednesday:
AM: Piyo Practice
PM: Lower Body at Gym

Thursday:
AM: Turbokick Practice
PM: Run 2 miles

Friday:
AM: Piyo Practice
PM: Upper Body at Gym

Saturday:
AM: Run 2 miles
Possible practice class at my house combining Turbokick and Piyo (and hey, if no one shows up, I'll see if the kids want to do it...)

I'll do an entire post on training this weekend later, but for now, here's this:

Look at all those future Turbo instructors!

High Five New Friend Weekend Warrior Friday!!

We made it to Friday! High Five!

Wait. I look a little tired in that one. Here's a better one:

I'm joining in a couple of Blog Hops today. I'm feeling very social:

So, hop along with me, and let's talk about the greatness that is Friday!

Okay, actually the great part is this weekend. I'm super psyched. Turbokick and Piyo training. Oh yeah, oh yeah...

But first, I have some questions for you:

Question 1: What was the best part of your week?

For me it was probably my workout yesterday. It was one of those magical, spiritual, "everything's okay" kind of workouts. I wrote about it a little...

Question 2: What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Two days of fitness certifications. Hanging out with energetic instructors. I hear there's some kind of game on Sunday... but I'm not really interested... (don't hate!)

And.... Go.

We *Don't* Want The Funk...

Today, I was in a little bit of a funk. And not the good kind...

Sorry, George (source)

 I want you to keep in mind, even in my funks, I still try to be positive. But everyone has days when they're just not feeling it. My daughter was very energetic way past bedtime last night, and then I went ahead and just put her in her crib, and she CLIMBED OUT (which I did not realize was possible) and landed on her head. So I kind of slept with one eye open all night. You know how you just want to be sure...

Then this morning I didn't get my mood lifting cardio... I snuggled with my baby instead, so it was okay, but there was something missing....

I also wasn't really wanting to go to the gym. Yesterday, the college boys were especially rude and sometimes just plain offensive. I didn't really want to deal with them, but I needed to do my shoulders and triceps... no excuses... so I went.

I haven't listened to music at the gym in a while. I got a cover for my Iphone for Christmas, so ever since, it doesn't fit in my arm band... but today I wanted some music, so I put the phone in my cleavage. Because I'm super classy.

I'm amazed at the difference the music made. I was singing (in some cases "rapping") along, feeling like I was super bada$$, and my spirit was totally lifted.

So I wanted to share some of the songs that lifted me up today. Keep in mind, I don't listen to the radio (I'm too much of a control freak), so some of these songs may be driving YOU nuts at this point... but they're still pretty fresh to me.

Fly


Dog Days are Over



Good Feeling



Hey Soul Sister (Glee Version)



I Gotta Feeling (I love this song, but dang, the grammar always makes me mad!)


And then, I went out, and had a much better run than last time, in beautiful weather.

Do you have a song (or several) that get you out of your "Funk"?

It's Ok Thursday #2

It's Okay...

-- To send my 4 year old to school today in cowboy boots because we couldn't find his sneakers.

He does love the cowboy boots

-- To spend 30 minutes snuggling with my 17 month old princess instead of doing my morning cardio.

Well, could *you* resist?

-- To reel from the fact that I turned 18 20 years ago this month.

High School Graduation. 1992. OMG.

-- To wear socks that absolutely don't match, as long as no one sees them.
-- To love peanut butter.
-- Coffee. Something about coffee.
-- To know there's some kind of sporting event happening this weekend, but not really be sure what it is..
-- To have the kind of day where the brewed coffee is just not strong enough, and you have to add a packet of Via. Yawn.
-- To enjoy Phineas and Ferb more than your children do.

Seriously. Best part of my day.

-- To kind of, temporarily, suck at running.
-- To lick your glasses to clean them, as long as no one's looking.
-- To fill a post with cute pictures of your children.

What's okay with you today?