Perspective...

When we begin to change our perspective and center our attention on something other than what we have been so focused on, our eyes become open to new and sometimes even better experiences.

When I decided to be a vegan, I became aware of some amazing recipes, restaurants, books, etc. that I wasn't necessarily aware of before. And I benefited from those new experiences.

I can tell you when I shifted my energy on being happy, my life changed for the better. And whenever I find myself getting angry, sad, or frustrated, I remind myself that by focusing on those emotions I am only closing myself off to better and greater moments.

Of course, throughout our life, our perspective will continually change, however I hope to never lose sight of what I know to be most important. Happiness.

Planning...

I read in a book recently that planning your life in advance will help you be more successful. And while I believe this to be somewhat true, I do feel that too much planning  can get in the way of living.

I use to plan every meal of mine for the week. I knew what I would have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I rarely strayed from it. It was one of the ways I lost the weight that I did. Since I've been home, I haven't been planning. I've allowed myself to enjoy not having so much control.

It's not always easy. Sometimes I stress about what I will have for dinner...how many calories I've eaten...but overall I've found that not planning has made my life a little more enjoyable.

It is also the reason I have gained some weight this last year, but as long as I continue to work out my 5-7 days and eat healthy for the majority of my meals, I do believe I am doing OK.

I've learned that as we go through life our priorities continuously shift. I know what I would need to do in order to lose this extra weight, but in my life right now, that isn't a priority.

There are far too many other aspects of my life that take the lead and I like where it is taking me.

A Year In Review...

A year ago today my life changed for what I now see as the better. But it doesn't make the memory of last year any easier. What I do know, I don't need my EH to celebrate Valentine's Day. I have my family and friends to celebrate the wonder that is love.

I read through all my posts from the last year, and I am so proud of how far I've come and all that I have accomplished. In the beginning, I wrote about wanting to crawl up in a ball and just not have to face what I was going through. I didn't do that though. Instead I went on with life and made myself do things I didn't always feel like doing. But that I knew would benefit me when the year ended. Here are just a few of my highlights from this year. 

I moved home.
I invested in therapy.
I've had 6 different hair colors.
I got 3 new tattoos (sorry mom and dad).
I bottled, waxed and labeled my uncle's wine.
I made new friends and kept the old...turns out both are gold.
I traveled to San Diego, Colorado, Canada, and Boston.
I had an artist sing me a song on YouTube.
I received 2 promotions at work.
I went to the opening of Carsland and went to Disneyland many times.
I had the privilege of visiting Walt Disney's Apartment.
I broke up with Adele...and am currently back together with her.
I bought a new car.
I signed Divorce papers TWICE.
I watched a movie in the park.
I went Skydiving.
I went on a couple blind group dates.
I went vegan for 6 months.
I forgave myself.
I forgave my EH.
I took myself to dinners and movies, and enjoyed many dinners and nights with my friends and family.
I consistently blogged.
I ran a half marathon.
I tried new exercises, including the Santa Monica stairs.
I surprised my dad with my mom and niece for his 60th birthday.
I went on hikes.

 And there we have it, the short list of things I did other than crawl into a hole and hide away from life.

As I said, a year ago today my life changed for what I now see as the better. And today was no different.

Every Valentine's Day my dad gives me a piece of jewelry usually with a heart on it...each one means so much to me. And my heart necklace from my dad today has been a constant reminder of the love I have felt from my friends and family. I consider each of you my Valentine this year. Without you, your love, and your support, this year would not have been filled with all the smiles, laughs and joy that it was filled with. Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Challenge Myself...

One of my favorite things to do on my days off, is to try a new exercise. I love to challenge myself and set new goals, ones that are not easy to accomplish. Thursday of last week, my friend and I decided to meet up and head to the Santa Monica stairs.

This would be the first time I would run these stairs. Since I didn't know what to expect, I decided to read reviews. I'm not sure if that was a good idea because some of the reviews made me question my decision to go along with my friend. I thought maybe we would run 4-6 sets of stairs, seeing as though most reviewers had said after 4-6 sets they couldn't walk for a couple days after. Well 4-6  quickly turned into 10 when my friend said, "I'm thinking we can do 10 stairs!"

Sure, why not. I mean, I did just run a half marathon, so 10 stairs can't be that bad. I began to mentally prepare myself for what was ahead. I couldn't have imagined what was to come.

After the first set of stairs, I knew it was going to be a challenge to finish 10 of them. What I didn't anticipate was my friend saying we should do 13.

You'd think 3 sets more would be nothing...let me tell on set 10, three more is almost unbearable. But we did it, and now, now I am setting a goal to accomplish 20.

I have to say, running the half marathon was in some respects easier than the stairs. And with the way my new exercise adventures are going, I'm curious with what is in store for me next : )

13.1...

Yesterday I completed my first goal for 2013. Running a half marathon. This was no easy feat for me as I am not a long distance runner. I'm a sprinter. In high school, I was on the track team and running the mile was painful for me. So painful in fact, that my sister could hear my labored breathing from the stands as I was running around the track. And after high school, I lost motivation to run...to exercise...to be healthy.

That was before I lost the 50 lbs... more like 40 these days. But nevertheless, at the beginning of my weight loss journey I had wanted to run a half marathon with a friend. When we started, I couldn't even run a mile. We never got around to it that year or the three years after, but when a friend of mine asked me around Christmas time a little over a month ago, if I wanted to run a half marathon, I jumped at the opportunity.

I knew it would be one of my many goals for 2013. I couldn't risk signing up for one later on in the year, I knew I had to do it as soon as possible. So I signed up for the February 3rd race, and I had a little over 4 weeks to prepare.

It wasn't easy, but nothing ever worth working for is. My first 6 mile run was brutal...I had the wrong shoes, and my feet were in so much pain. My brother in law decided I needed the best of the best, and for Christmas gave me a new pair of running shoes, which carried me through my training and race. My training consisted of a 9 mile run...8 mile run...and last but not least I ran 10 miles before the big race. Each run was different, beautiful in its own way.

When I run, I enjoy the nature around me...I enjoy the music in my ears...and my mind lets go of all things taking up space. It's like meditating.

On the day of the race, I got up at 4am, left at 5am and drove an hour and a half to where I would be running. I met up with my friend and got situated. Then it was 15 minutes before the start of the race, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, and go time. Unfortunately, my Pandora wouldn't work....my running station I had worked to perfect would not play because of the sea of people around me. Luckily, I had backup music, just not what I was use to listening to.

 I had a difficult time adjusting at first..with so many people around me, I felt claustrophobic. I couldn't relax and enjoy everything around me, as all I saw were people. Then there was the water stops. It was a hell of a time figuring out the best method in which to get the water cup, drink while running, and then tossing the cup in the trash, as I felt strange throwing it on the ground like the others. It was all very different than what I was expecting.

As was the GU they pass to you...or the mini protein bars. I'm pretty sure every picture taken of me during the race is of me eating. At one point I had a bowl in front of me from a person on the sidelines...and after grabbing what I thought would be more energy snacks, I realized I had a fist full of M&Ms...and instead of tossing them aside, I ate them. Thinking I was doing what all the other racers were doing.

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that person wasn't a staff member and I probably took M&Ms from a stranger. Nevertheless that snack got me to my 8 mile mark. Which was like mile 13 for the marathon runners. And if you're like me, you'll not realize until much later the markers for the marathon runners, are NOT the markers for the half marathon runners, and therefore you are not at mile 9 or 13 you are at mile 4 or 8.

In my practice run, mile 8 had been a challenge. Toes burning, calves cramping, quads aching. But mile 8 in the race was much different. I didn't feel too bad. Mile 10 on the other hand...mile 10 called for a 10 second calf stretching break. And I'm happy that I did...it helped with the remaining 3 miles.

At 10.5 miles, I decided to put on relaxing music. A little George Winston to calm me down. It was great until I hit mile 11. At mile 11, a love song written by my EH and brother in law, to my sister and me came on blasting over my earphones. LET ME TELL YOU...that is the LAST song you want playing at mile 11. As soon as I got my bearings straight and slowed my run to a fast walk I was able to change the song and finish the remainder 2 miles. And nothing felt more amazing then the last tenth of a mile. I felt my speed pick up, I had strangers cheering me on, strangers saying they were proud of us and it was incredible. The feeling at the end of the race is like no other.

And getting a medal...well that's just icing on the cake. 13.1 miles, a few blisters, and a medal later, I'm proud to say I completed my first goal of the year. I can't wait to see what the next 11 months look like.