Eat. Move. Rest. Pray.

It's been a week of learning for me,  a lot of praying, and a little crying (mostly because of This is Us....my gosh I haven't cried so much over a TV show since Parenthood).

On Thursday, I met my friend Shannon at Caribou!  We've been friends for years, but it's been many moons since we have actually gotten together.  Whenever we would run into each other somewhere we would always say "let's get coffee!".  And so...we finally did and it was so great :)

We spent a couple hours sipping coffees, catching up on each other's lives, and sharing our health journeys.  Without telling too much of her story (it's hers to tell and she's more than happy to share it!) I will say that she has made some incredible changes to her health and has inspired me in a big way!  God has a way of making things happen at the just right time, and getting together with Shannon was definitely a God thing :)  

So, I was pretty excited about my "Half-Brained Healthy Life Plan" last week when I wrote about it.  To be honest, I thought it would be relatively easy.  I drink water all day long, I love vegetables, we have an awesome new workout room, and I had already made changes to my sleep habits for several months now.  Going to bed by 9-9:30pm and setting my alarm for 6am has been working great for me...until the last week or so.  Our dog Macey has been whining at night and despite trying many things (moving her kennel closer to our room, fluffing up her bed, giving her treats, putting on a fan for white noise) we can't figure out HOW TO MAKE IT STOP.  

We don't get it. She has slept in her kennel most nights of her life.  She loves her kennel...seriously, she does.  It's her den.  She usually goes back there on her own before we even go to bed and has never had a problem, until she was sick a couple weekends ago.  She's better now, but still wakes up at night and thus wakes US up with her whining.  Ugh.  It's almost like having a newborn again.

So...I've been tired. And when I'm tired, life is hard.  And when life is hard, I want to eat. And when I'm tired I don't want to work out.  Kinda like if you give a mouse a....dang it, now I want cookies.

I have made some good choices this past week though...let's focus on those, shall we?  

I've been bringing this snack to work everyday.  The picture makes it look huge, but I promise it's a normal sized apple.

And this has become our favorite evening snack.

Salmon patty and peas for my lunch on Sunday....one of my fav's!

Journaling the other morning, I had an epiphany.  My devotional reading was about (another God thing) cravings.  We were made to crave closeness with God, but too often we try to fill that craving with other things.  Things that never truly satisfy.  Food has been my biggest craving all my life.  And as soon as I try to limit what I eat, the cravings go crazy and in that regard, this week has been no different than any other time I have tried to get healthy.

Except this time I prayed for God to show me what to do.  I asked Him to show me how to live, and eat, and move, and rest.  And as I wrote out that prayer in my journal, there it was in my own hand writing...my answer.

Eat. Move. Rest. Pray.

Simple.  Sustainable.  Not always easy, but I can do hard things.  

I CAN DO HARD THINGS.  

It was a good day for a date day!

We knew before going to bed last night that we wanted today to be a date day.  It's been a while, probably before the holidays, since we had a weekend with no plans (and neither one of us were sick).

Our date days often don't have plans, we usually just kind of wing it.  We get in the car with a vague idea of where we are going, crank the tunes, talk about this and that, and end up where we end up.  It's therapeutic for us....a reprieve from our busy work weeks, gives our minds a big deep breath, and helps us focus on "us". 

Some of our best "us" memories are made on days where we didn't have a plan.

Today started with Mr. Wonderful declaring that we were going to Bonnie Rae's for breakfast and I wasn't mad about it.  I threw my hair into a ponytail, got dressed, and out the door we went...to the best breakfast place in Minnesota, right here in our little town.

Love this man.

Most of our date days involve coffee, and Cabin never disappoints...

They also very often involve Barnes and Noble, and today was no exception.  Since we already had our coffee for the day, we just sat and talked and I picked out some books that I want.  Most of the books I read tend to center around spiritual growth, but I also love memoirs.  People writing about their own life experiences are fascinating to me.  Especially stories about overcoming adversity of some kind.

And then, well, there is my fascination with serial killers, but that's a post for another day.

I left with two and added the others to my wish list. 

After picking up some bargains at Savers, perusing the mall, and restocking my body creams at Bath & Body, we decided on this new place for supper before heading back home...

Hot Chip!  What a great name!

It was awesome.  Good atmosphere - kind of a sports bar feel with industrial decor.  And the food was amazing, it may even beat out Newts as our favorite burger place and that's saying a lot.  

I love how they used mini jars with holes poked in the lids for salt and pepper shakers!

I also love my husband's dimples :)

I'm going to have to eat nothing but vegetables all day tomorrow to make up for this, but...worth it!

PS...this is my 400th blog post.  I think I should get a prize for that or something.

20/20 Vision

Today was a good day.  First thing I did after waking up this morning was read my devotional and write in my journal.  My best days always start with that.  I'm not sure what it is, but I have always struggled with prayer.  I get so distracted sometimes and my thoughts go all over the place (shocking, I know).  Like I can be driving and praying about my day and a song comes on and suddenly it's 1984 and I'm in my best friend's basement wearing jeans and a hot pink sweatshirt singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" with too much eye shadow and a side ponytail.   But when I journal my prayers, I stay focused.  I start writing things I didn't even know I thought.  Or felt.  And I start to hear from God.

That's what happened today.  Usually in January I think about what my dreams and goals are for the new year.  MY vision...MY experiences...

But today, God gave me a new perspective.  What does HE want for me this year?  Not just what He wants me to do for Him, but He has dreams for me.  Things He wants me to experience, accomplish, and dream.  He wants me to experience JOY!  Jesus died to give me life, not just in Heaven but here on earth too.  And not just a life (as if that's not enough), but an ABUNDANT life!

"...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

I have always struggled with the concept that God wants us to have an "abundant life".  He wants us to be happy?  It seems kind of self-focused and shallow.  We aren't supposed to care about our own happiness, right?  I mean, the world chases after happiness and it often eludes us.  God wants us to bless others and not be focused on ourselves, that's true.  I get that.  But according to His Word, He also wants us to be blessed, full of joy, and to prosper...which doesn't necessarily mean wealth or the absence of trouble.  (I'm not a believer in the "prosperity gospel").  We can have joy, even in the midst of heartache and trials.  I've experienced that.  And I understand that He wants us to be fulfilled, spiritually and emotionally in Him.

But....the idea that He wants me to be happy.  That He has dreams for me.  The God of the universe has dreams for ME.  He wants me to experience things in this world for no other purpose than to enjoy them?  I'm going to have to pray about that some more.

Without the side ponytail.

Which I rocked, by the way.

My Half-Brained Healthy Life Plan

I have a plan.  I'm calling it my half-brained healthy life plan and here it is:

1. Exercise 1/2 hour every day.
2. Drink 1/2 gallon water every day.
3. Half my food is fruit and veggies.
4. Get 8 1/2 hours sleep every night.
5. Run a half-marathon.
6. Baa haa haa...yea, right! Maybe a 5K, tho?

So, that's the plan.  Simple.

I've had this idea for years.  Up until now it's just been an idea, but now that I'm officially half a century old I figure it's about time to actually do it.  Commit.  Lay down my excuses, my doubts, my apathy.

It's time.

I've tried other things through the years to get healthier...books, pills, supplements, gym memberships, low-fat, low-carb, counting steps, counting calories.  Nothing has worked for me.  Not really.  Not because those strategies don't work, but because I didn't.  They were all either too complicated, too restrictive, or too something I wasn't willing to stick with.

I need something simple and practical, a plan I can live with for the rest of my life...and I think this one isn't half bad!

Ba-dum-bum!

That's all for now.  I plan on doing weekly updates on Wednesdays, starting today.

There, I said it.

Things I know...for now anyway

It's late and I can't sleep.

We still have our Christmas stuff up.

I'm ok with that.  I am still enjoying it all,

for now anyway.

We are getting a blizzard this weekend.

I'm ok with that too.  I like winter,

for now anyway.

Will & Grace is the funniest sitcom ever,

because...Sean Hayes.

The old show, I mean.

Not the new ones.  I haven't watched them.

Too political.

This Is Us completely wrecked me last night.

I mean, Randall...

standing in his living room staring at the guy who broke into his house

while his wife and girls are asleep upstairs...

I almost peed my pants and I can't believe I have to wait a week to find out what happens.

GAH!

Know what's better than coffee?

Espresso.

I'm tired, but still can't sleep.

Sometimes things from the past still haunt me

and cause me anxiety

and keep me awake,

for now anyway.

God will come through and this will not last forever.

I'll get through it

and let it go

again.

And I will get tired 

and fall asleep

soon.  

And stop writing like Shel Silverstein

for now anyway.

It's funny what turning 50 will do!

Half a century.  I remember teasing my dad when he turned 50 that he was "half a century old"!  I thought I was hilarious then....and now, here I am.  50.  Half a - well, you know.

I have sort of read the book "The Blue Zones" (sort of, meaning I have read alot of it and skimmed the rest).  It's about certain areas in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives.  They have the highest concentrations of centenarians...people who live to be 100 or more.  Essentially, their secret is simple:  stay active, don't stress, don't eat too much, eat healthy (whole foods, mostly plants), slow down, know your purpose in life, have faith, spend time with your "tribe", love your family, and (my favorite) have a glass of wine!

Just kidding, that's not my favorite.

Ok, sometimes it is.

I love it.  It's so simple, isn't it?  It makes so much sense to me.  So, why then is it so hard to actually live that way?  

Now that I have crossed the bridge of being a "half century old", I am finding myself doing a life review of sorts.  That's nothing new for me, I do this every year around this time and during various changes in the seasons of my life...like empty nest, new job, new husband, new kids, new church, yoga pants.  But this turning 50 thing feels a bit more significant to me.  How have I lived my life so far...and how do I want to live the rest of it?  There is a temptation to think that I am in the "later" years of life now.  Yuck.  Society says I'm only 15 years from retirement.  That may or may not be true for me.  My mom died at 71...that's only 20 years away for me. (Swallows hard).  That's a little more unnerving.  My mom died far too young, and she got old way too early in life.  I loved her, but honestly, she lived like an elderly person for much of her life.  Even when I was a kid she was very sedentary, and limited herself more and more with each passing year.  "I'm too old for that" was a common thing to hear her say.  It was annoying and also sad to watch.

I don't want that to be my story.  I refuse to let it be.  

I heard a quote recently...aging is inevitable, but getting old is optional!  I LOVE that!  I am determined to live my best life.  I'm not there yet.  To be completely transparent, I weight twice what I should.  I have diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.  They are controlled with medication for now, but I am determined to change that and hopefully get off this medication all together.  I know I can, I have the means and the ability, and now I have the motivation.  It's not too late...as long as I don't put it off any longer.  

Living my best life is not only about my physical health...but that is a big part of it.  I want to not only improve and hopefully eliminate the conditions I have, but I also want to have the energy and stamina to do things.  Like hiking in Hawaii and Colorado, climbing the trails to Garvin and Sugar Loaf.  I want to run a 5k, bike the trails around Lanesboro, and heck - walk around the big lake again.  I want to enjoy these things with my husband, our grandkids, and my girlfriends. I want my weight to no longer hinder me from living a vibrant, active life!

Will I live to be a centenarian?  Who knows...maybe I will!  But however long I have on this earth, whether that's 20, 30, 40 or even 50 more years, I want to live my best life, my healthiest life, without limits.  

Being a half century old isn't so bad after all, Dad :)