Resolution or New Tradition?

It's that time of year again! 

Since getting healthy, I have come to some realizations about New Years. Resolutions are just another way to tell ourselves, we suck....we're not enough... and if you're like me, they tend to be the same ones every year...so let's add EPIC FAIL to our unspoken self realizations. 

Instead of resolutions, this is the time of year I like to take a pause for all my accomplishments (it just makes me feel better about myself!).  Like everyone else, I beat myself up enough throughout the year, so why add to it while ringing in the new. 




 My 2015 was all about that change! And Jack Johnson's lyrics have become my new theme song. 

"Move like a jelly fish. Rhythm is nothing. You go with flow and don't stop."
~Jack Johnson
  
My Top Twelve From  2015: 
(I challenge you to make you own!! Even if you favor resolutions this time of year, it's a fun way to give yourself a pat on the back for what you've accomplished! )

1.  Left a position I adored and thought I would retire from. (This was a very necessary change that snowballed the rest of my year into exciting things!!!)

2.  Accepted a new position that would prove to be an amazing journey. 

3. Discovered my love obsession  for podcasts!!

4.  Bought our second home (a beautiful Craftsman! I LOVE our new home!)

5.  Spent the summer working w/ my best friend on our old house to get it ready for rent (and simultaneously increased his patience threshold!) 

6. Became a landlord and found some  really awesome tenants!

7. Yielded a ton of yummy eats from our first official garden in our new home! Mmmmm butternut squash! 

8.  Had our first dinner party! (never entertained because our other house was just tiny)

9. Let go. (I mean this year gave me serious practice!)

10.  Became flexible (and I'm not talking about fitness--- which will go back on my Resolution list :/  ) 

11. Tried my hand at kale  recipes and LOVE  them!! (from our garden) 

12. Accepted that I may never be a yogi, but during PMS, it is paramount that I play the part!   

 

Change, Friend or Foe? Struggles, Epiphanies, and Change....

This is a blog I would normally write in January, but some how, September has always had a "new year" feel to it, with the start of a new season and the beginning of a new school year. 

I have always been highly motivated to learn and grow through change. I accredit that to my childhood and always finding ways to adapt and rise above adversity. This year has been chalk full of change in just about every aspect of my life. 

HORMONES:
Oh lordy! Can we just have a real moment and a glass of red to toast this right of passage we all dread? If Hormonal shifts in your 40's don't humble you, nothing will! I have spent a great portion of the last 2 years studying, researching, and seeking out the right type of holistic approach to bring some balance back into my life. I have seen what women before me have gone through and that is motivation enough to cut the bullshit and get real with myself. Diet, sleep, exercise (and I don't mean the counter productive, obsessive, 2 hour a day kind I had practiced a couple of years ago... yeah I said it!), supplements, and  stress reduction have been a great learning curve for me, but one that I finally feel a bit on top of.

This one change alone completely rocked my world with fitness and my body image. Having been a recreational body builder for a few years and then see the changes in my body when I transitioned into a more realistic and balanced approach to fitness was incredibly difficult and discouraging. There were times when I gave up on fitness and only worked out 1 time a week in lieu of all the other changes I was going through. I will tell you, when you develop  that type of physique, after having been overweight, it does a real number on your head when you let it go and try to navigate a more balanced approach.  I still have some definition from weight lifting, but I'm quite a bit softer and it has taken some time to get use to. 

I am still struggling with navigating balanced fitness but I find that I am really enjoying a holistic approach of freely doing what my mood and body want and not following a strict weekly plan of a lifting split. Yesterday my plan was to have a heavy lift day. Instead, I wanted to take some equipment to our Stadium Bowl and hit some stairs and track. I did with no regrets and had a blast! I may not have the esthetics of my body building days (which not only wreaked havoc on my joints, but took away from my family time), but now I am building a more care free relationship with fitness where the motivation is fun, good health, and flexibility.  

All of the other changes in my year have been pretty huge, yet positive (although not all of them felt positive at the time). Among them was an amazing job change and the purchase of our second home. We are also new landlords, as we decided to keep our first home since it's paid off and rent it out for additional income. It's been an interesting ride  and our first tenants are moving in as I type. 

The point of this blog? Change is amazing!! It doesn't always feel like it though. Most of the time we resist any kind of change and fight it like it was a dingo going after our baby. 

What I learned this year is that change doesn't change your life, it adds to it and gives way to new experiences and possibilities. I have learned a lot about myself this year. Most importantly, I have learned not to take life (or fitness)  too seriously; for life is hilariously unpredictable and meant to be fun.... and so is fitness!