Transitions

I'm beginning to think life is all a series of transitions. Maybe I'm a little late on this revelation, but it really is true nothing stays the same. I always knew college would end and I would have to move on. And, I always knew that I wouldn't realize this until I wasn't going back to school. To be honest, its a little bittersweet to think I will not be returning to Happy Valley to go to class, go to parties, eat downtown and so much more. Part of me wants that life forever and its hard to imagine the changes I'll have in the coming months.
Its scary and exciting to change and grow. I believe that life is constantly evolving and try as we might, we cannot stop it. Someone once asked me if I think people change. In my heart and in my head I truly believe we do, but I was scared to tell him that. I tried to explain that people change but the fundamentals of our being do not. But, aside from breathing air and drinking water, everybody changes all the time. I am not the same person I was 4 years. I'm not even the same person I was a few weeks ago. I face my challenges and insecurities only to wake up with new challenges and insecurities to work through. I'm not saying this because its bad... in fact I accept the challenge.
I am always looking for a way to be better and that only come through growth. Growth can only happen through change and sometimes (most of the time) change is hard. I know a lot of my peers are at similar crossroads right now and most are lamenting about the transition into 'the real world'. We will always want the good things to remain the same, but the truth is we will never be in the same place at the same time ever again. And that's not such a bad thing. Enjoy the challenges, even when it hurts and continue to ever evolve into a greater version of you. 

Listening to your body

... is a hard thing to do. As fitness and health enthusiasts, a lot of us know our bodies very well. I try my best to stick to a schedule of healthy foods and exercise. When this is thrown off, my body knows it. And when I am on my schedule and my body still doesn't feel right, I know something is wrong. I believe it is so important to know your body inside and out. Your body is constantly telling you what it needs and how it reacts to change. It can also be a great insight into your emotional well-being as well. Our bodies are amazing machines that deserve to be fueled, maintained and treated properly... don't take your body for granted: it does amazing things for you.

That being said, it is sometimes SO HARD. The past few weeks I have been really busy fitting everything into my schedule. Last week I was horse showing and working at the farm. This week I was babysitting and working at the farm. Meaning 10 days that my alarm went off at 6am or earlier. I was moving my body for a majority of the day and sometimes woke up feeling like I was run over by a horse during the night. I'm simply not used to the activity I've put my body through. I thought that I would finally be able to get a good workout in on Tuesday, my first day off. I was hurting in the morning and feeling really tired, but I set my alarm for 7am (sleeping in!) so I could  fit in a workout. Throughout breakfast I was second-guessing a workout because I still wasn't feeling right, but decided I was being lazy and I could push through 20 minutes of cardio. Not quite.

I made it through about 15 minutes when my body started shaking and my muscles felt so fatigued I had to sit down. BUT I WASN'T DONE WITH MY WORKOUT was all I could think. It took a lot of self-talk to remind myself of all the things in the first paragraph. Pushing my body when it was exhausted was not going to make me stronger, and could actually hurt me more.  My body was telling me it couldn't do it. Not because I was lazy, but because physically I was exhausted. While I've wanted to try to workout during my free time this week, I've decided that riding and working at the barn will count. I will take the weekend off, sleep in on Sunday and start with a light workout on Monday.

As someone who is so into fitness, I love the challenge of pushing myself... almost to a fault. I know a lot of my fitness instructor friends know the feeling. But you have to draw the line. Long-term is much more important than short term in the fitness realm. Make sure you listen to your body... it really is your temple that holds a lot of secrets to your health and well-being.

Have a happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!!!

Tuesday morning pondering

I've been super busy the past week or so and I really wish I had the chance to blog... I think this is the first time I've missed blogging. I got the wonderful opportunity to show a horse at The New Jersey State Fair last week. I spent the week running back and forth from my house to the show to work and take care of the horses, show and hang out at the fair. We did really well... everyone got at least one blue ribbon!
Being at the show made me realize how fortunate I really am. Not only do I get to show horses with some very talented people whom I am lucky enough to call my friends, but I get to have horses in my life all the time. While at the fair I met some people who had never seen or pet a horse before in their life. I have been around horses since I was 7 and I forget what it was like when they were not in my life. I can see horses every single day if I want to and I spend a lot of time caring for and riding them. Not everyone gets this opportunity, but there are few people I have come across from outside the horse world who don't want to spend more time with horses. I am surrounded by people involved with horses and for some reason assumed that everyone else has the same experience. I do this with so many other things in life and I have to actively remind myself constantly that my world experience is not the same as the rest of the world's. 
This is something I have needed to think of a lot lately. I've been struggling with balance and have overcommitted myself far too many times. I sometimes feel over-capable (not a word but another self-diagnosed flaw of mine) and stretch myself thin to a fault. I need to stop saying 'yes' so much... it always gets me in trouble. This, coupled with 14 hour days has made me a little bit of an emotional wreck...think crying over a spilled blueberry-peanut butter rice cake. While rice cakes are important to me, they're not worth crying over (I later laughed about this... probably because its so pathetic).
As usual I'm trying to fall back into a routine. This has become routine and I am beginning to think I'm chasing something that doesn't exist... but thats the American way, right?
I have one goal for this week: ACTUALLY COOK SOMETHING.
I have been eating way too many cut up veggies, hummus and rice cakes. I need variety. Let me know if you have any good recipes!

Friday!

Like I said, things have been a little hectic lately. And I have been having SUCH a hard time waking up in the morning. I don't know what it could be because normally I love waking up early to get things done. I must be staying up too late reading, but even then I'm asleep before midnight and STILL have trouble getting up at 7. Needless to say morning workouts have fallen by the wayside. I have breakfast and then try to motivate moving and really working out. Yesterday I didn't plan so well and I could only get in 10 minutes before heading to the barn.
I couldn't decide if I should even try to workout since I was so crunched for time but I figured 10 minutes is better than no minutes! And I am so glad I did, I felt a lot better physically and mentally even after only 10 minutes. I picked 5 moves, did them for 30s each and repeated 4x for a total of 10 minutes. Easy and quick! And if you do it 2 or 3x a day its almost the equivalent of a 'real' workout!


I also didn't eat my normal six meals. I was babysitting and didn't bring enough snacks so I ate several handfuls of cereal while I was there and because I snacked all day I wasn't super hungry for dinner so I had 2 rice cakes with hummus and tomatoes and a rice cake with peanut butter and blueberries for dinner. SO.BORING. 


But, its FRIDAY! Meaning I have a TON of work to do this weekend:
- Clean out my car from everything from moving out (poking needles in my eyes is more fun)
- Pack for the horse show on Sunday
- Do my laundry (for a funny laundry post... see my BFF's post about laundry in the Philippines!)
- DO THE LAST OF MY SUMMER SCHOOL HOMEWORK!! This has truly been the bane of my existence and constantly hangs over my head because I am worried about getting it done. I am glad to be done with schoolwork! (notice I'm not glad to be done with college... that's another post)


Another goal: Fitness Friday WILL happen. I'm going to ride and work at the farm later, but I really want to do something quick this morning!

Mildy Exciting Adventures

My day in D.C with the girls was lots of fun. Tuesday morning I woke up for a run that was only supposed to be 30 minutes. However, my navigating skills combined with the confusing roundabouts in D.C made my run about 60 minutes instead.  I can't complain though... one of the things I like about running/getting lost in new places makes you run for as long as you have to in order to get back and isn't boring at all, even if I did get a little panicky that I would be lost forever in spandex and a tank in the city forever (yes, thats how I think). 
After the run we went shopping in Georgetown. We stopped in a few stores and one look at the price tag sent us running for the hills. The only store I could afford some things for the girls and I was H&M which I can find in the mall near my house, but shopping with the girls was fun.
The apartment we're in is super close to a Trader Joe's, so we stopped there for some healthy lunch supplies. The girls got some sushi, I got a salad and we all shared some mango, hummus, flatbreads, salsa and berries. I wanted to explore lots but an 8 and 11 year old are not so excited about organic vegan food. 
We spent the rest of the day at the rooftop pool overlooking the city... It was really cool.


Wednesday was a little hectic as I had to drive home to get to work. The trip took longer than I would have liked, but I made it back in time to lunge a horse before working at the farm. Needless to say, I didn't workout yesterday and I hope shoveling horse poop and pushing a wheelbarrow can count as an arm workout!


Here's my What I Ate Wednesday:
- Breakfast: 2 slices whole grain toast, peanut butter, blueberries
- Lunch: veggie wrap, Kind granola bar
- Snack: mango
- Snack: Kashi Go Lean Bar
- Snack: carrots, celery, peanut butter
- Dinner: salad with Cannelini beans, 1/2 sweet potato with hummus


Now I'm off to walk the dog, get a quick workout in, ride some horses and babysit! My day is filled already!