happiness

The Rebuild

One of the greatest facets to taking a break from running is starting back up again.

Those first few steps during your first official “training” run, or rebuilding your base run, feel so light and easy (for me at least). Then you hit the wall of “OMG, I have lost all of my conditioning”, only to be soon followed by the victories of every longer run from there on out.

Sometimes, I can’t help but see the parallelisms between running and life. I love running because each run is an opportunity for victory (or defeat). The outcome is more dependent on my attitude about it rather than the actual run itself, kind of how you can treat your day.

Each new day offers an opportunity for victory or defeat. Whether you are conquering that pile of laundry, getting a promotion or bombing a presentation. Whatever it is, YOU decide whether you rocked your day or failed at it, and your attitude, not the checks marks on your to-do list, can determine that.

I don’t know how we just went from running to my soap box of positive thinking, but there you have it. I guess what I set out to say was that my efforts to get my base back and prep for a spring marathon are working 🙂

I hope everyone is having a very happy holiday season so far! I know this guy is:

He’s so mad!

Love these words of wisdom

“Cutting people from your life does not mean you hate them, it simply means, you respect yourself.”

—	(via beyoursledgehammer)

The Oddity of Human Nature

Humans are a funny species, and sometimes not in the “ha-ha” way. I am often surprised by the hurtful things that people can say and the terrible things that people are capable of doing. I just sit back in shock thinking, “how can someone be so disgusting?”.

Call me naive, but I still find it hard to believe that some people can be so evil and thoughtless.

I am no saint. I make mistakes, I put my foot in my mouth, but I never act with the intent to hurt. I have always said that I want to live my life like my mother did: with grace and humor. I may not always succeed, but I do my best.

Times like this, I try to focus on the good that people do. Good deeds with no agenda, no want for reward, and no need for recognition.

Without the negative we wouldn’t know the beauty that this world is capable of, and I try to do what I can to add to it.

I pray that you all get daily reminders of all the good in this world and that you are able to flush away negativity that comes your way.

Happy Thanksgiving, and love to all ❤

This photo always makes me smile 🙂

An arthritic 19-year-old dog named Schoep is cradled by his owner, John, in the waters of Lake Superior, where the buoyancy eases the dog's pain, allowing him to fall asleep comfortably in his owner's arms.

This makes me so very happy….

(from Buzzfeed)

Is This Real Life?!

Relationships are tough, in the best way possible though. Paul and I aren’t even married yet, but I see what people are saying when they say that marriage is hard.

I am learning though that the hard part isn’t us, or making “us” work. That is the easy part. The hard part is making sure that I am giving it my all every day, because that is what Paul does. He is such a great example of what it means to love unconditionally, always treat me fairly, and to be consistent in his love and what he gives to the relationship.

And then there is me… the hot mess of the duo…

The great thing about a healthy, loving relationship (in my mind) is that it demands the best of you, but loves you still at your worst. It forgives your faults, reminds you of your strengths, and kicks you in the ass when you need a push, making you grow. I can only give as much to my relationship as I am giving to myself, if that makes sense. If I am suffering, my relationship suffers.

Paul, sometimes to my chagrin, knows what I am capable of, knows what I deserve, and is there to push me if he thinks I am accepting less or performing below my best.

I am a creative soul who happens to be a Gemini, and painfully stubborn (sorry about this, world, it is just the way my cocktail was mixed), so sometimes I need this push (as I am confident he will in the future… he can’t be perfect forever!), and a reminder that I owe it to myself to bring my A game every day.

Damn, I hate it when he is right.

Just to prove I’m not the only child in the relationship

Adventures at Art Prize

Paul and I had the pleasure of heading to the west side of Michigan yesterday for a friend’s birthday party, allowing us to sneak into Grand Rapids on the way home to check out Art Prize.

I have referenced my love for Grand Rapids in previous posts, but I love the city more and more with each visit, and this time was no exception.

Art Prize is an art contest in which artists from around the world create, install, build, etc. art throughout the entire city; in restaurants, businesses, hotels, on the street, in the river, and the public vote on the winner.

This was my first Art Prize experience, and it did not disappoint.

This guy, who was in Founder Brewing Co., was a little bit scary. Very cool at the same time because it was made entirely of natural materials like moss, sticks, etc. (except for the light up eyes).

My angle could have been better on this photo, but he is actually fishing…

There was an amazing Buddah fixture that looked to be made of hanging tiles

Buffalo sculpted out of wood

My favorite of the day

There was also a baby panda 🙂

The pandas were made out of bike tires

I am not even sure what this was made out of. Some sort of media art, but it was beautiful.

The art was amazing, but it was invigorating to see the city so alive with energy. There were people every where! Grand Rapids always has a great vibe, but adding in street vendors and performers gave it a whole new atmosphere.

Juggler

And then there is the architecture in Grand Rapids. There are streets that, to me, feel like Chicago collided with Europe. It really is a beautiful downtown.

Beautiful Grand Rapids

The sweet sound of bath water “tap-tapping” onto your dining room table…

Not the norm for a Wednesday morning? … It was at least an exciting way to start the day.

I was taking a shower, all innocent like, when I noticed that the water wasn’t draining. After attempting to clear a hair clump from the drain, and only realizing there was not one there, I decided that the stopper must be down. Low and behold, the stopper was broken. The water continued to collect in the tub, but it was a shaving day, I had to keep going!

Five inches of water and two bare legs later, I step out of the shower, take one quick glance at our new plumbing issue, and decide it is best to wake up the manlier half for him to deal with (sorry, hun).

Assuring me he can handle it, I head down stairs to make breakfast and continue my beautifying ritual to start the day. My english muffin preparation was interrupted by a slow “tap… tap… tap” sound coming from the dining room. I walked over just in time to see it turn into a solid stream of water coming from the ceiling.

“Paul!?” I yelled up the stairs.
“Yeah, I need you!”

I can’t explain the mechanics of it all, but in an attempt to check the stopper, another piece of the drain system revealed itself as broken, draining water out of the tub.

Paul, kneeling in an attempt to stop the bleed made an ever so calm request: “I need you to hand me towels and go get a bucket or something to get the water out of the tub and pour it into the toilet.”

I frantically dashed downstairs, knowing full well the only bucket we own is in the basement. Forget that! I don’t have shoes on, it is scary, and it smells. I opted for a crystal bowl (it was the first I could find). FYI, lead crystal is not the easiest thing to scoop water with, but my arms felt amazing later that day.

Once that situation was somewhat under control, I headed back to the hazard zone that was our dining room. Water was now coming out of two spots in the ceiling and dripping down the wall.

Paul came down to join me in the containment process once he had the bathroom situation under control. After tag teaming towel placement and the strategerie of various bowls and chairs, we stepped back to admire our work.

Paul just put his arm around me, kissed my head, and said, “good morning, beautiful. I’ll call a plumber today.”

And we just moved on with business as usual. I’m lucky to have such a calm, capable, loving partner in crime 🙂

I hope you all had a less adventurous hump day. I will have more to come later 🙂

A hiatus of the mind and the body:

I will be the first to admit it: I have been pretty lazy the past month, and I am completely okay with that. Sometimes, you just have to give yourself some time off.

Running wasn’t fun or motivating for a while, it had become just a chore. Workouts weren’t getting me excited for my next bout at the gym. I didn’t know what to write about. I just kind of wanted a break.

So, I took one.

This isn’t saying I was unhappy in anyway, I think I just recognized that things had started to shift from passions to items on my to-do list. After taking some time to reflect on the first two-thirds of the year, I realized that my body had been through quite a bit. I deserved some time to just slip back into neutral and recharge the batteries.

After about a month off, I started the final third of the year yesterday, went out for a great, fall run; no pressure, no goals, just a run, and kicked off a refreshed mind-set.

Sometimes we need breaks from personal pressures. I, personally, have a very hard time staying in the moment, always thinking about the future and my next run or where my career is going to take me. Where am I going to go to grad school or where will my next job be? How will I reach my goals? I don’t want to be so caught up in the next step that I miss the beauty of getting there. This is why I sometimes need to give myself time to do a status update on life.

What have you missed?

A Michigan Society of Association Executives Diamond Award that I took home for my association’s e-newsletter. It was a big win and a huge honor for my whole team who help put it together.

George Blaha was the MC that night. If you are not a Michigan sports fan, you probably don’t know who that is, but to Spartans, he is the voice of Michigan State athletics. When I bounced across the stage in shock and amazement at our win, I was so excited I didn’t even shake his hand! When I realized I had passed him by I just turned around and cheered, “Touch Down, MSU!”

I felt like an idiot the whole way home for not shaking his hand. Any respectable Spartan does not pass up the chance to shake George Blaha’s hand!

They always say when God shuts a door…

The very next night, who would happen to be sitting at the next table at the bar, but Mr. Blaha himself.

God had opened a window!

Freaking out, I told Paul that God does not present you with George Blaha two nights in a row only for you to not make up for your social blunder from the previous night.

So I walked up to his table, introduced myself and explained that I was the girl who was too excited to shake his hand the night before, and I just wanted to take the opportunity to do so now. He couldn’t have been nicer and more congratulatory on my award 🙂

Other than that, I am down about seven inches of hair. I decided that I needed to refresh my look while I refreshing my mind. I now look more like my mother than ever (not a goal, and not a bad thing, just something I noticed after it was cut).

With my body and soul restored, I am feeling pretty damn good.

I hope all of you are also doing well 🙂

Cheers!

As the Sun Sets on Summer…

In typical fashion, summer has flown by almost with the essence that it has been far too short for me to have actually done anything. Looking back, though, I have done so much. For being 29, this was somewhat of a “coming of age” summer for me.

First of all: Anxiety medication withdrawals are not fun (at least they weren’t for me). It was a tough go for about two weeks, at its worst, because I cried all of the time. I was sensitive, upset for no reason, and there was no telling what would set me into a crying fit. This is very much NOT like me. Finally, I am over that hump and feeling like myself again.

I had a few weekends that were tougher than others, especially as it pertained to my weight. It is hard when nothing fits and that is how you start every day. I was avoiding seeing friends and going out because all I could think was, “nothing looks good on me and all people see is the weight I have gained” (giving way too much power to negative thinking, but I digress). I am sort of known as the athletic one. I am always running, doing races, eating healthy, what have you, and all I could picture my friends saying was, “wow, looks like she let herself go”, which wasn’t the case at all!

My dear sweet Aunt Janice, seeing my distress, gave me on thing that I would have never given myself: a shopping trip to get clothes that fit. Ignore the size, just feel good in the fact that it fits.

She was totally my Richard Gere that night and I her Julia. We went to a number of stores, and trying on clothes that actually fit and felt good to wear made me feel instantly better. The next day as I put on my first new outfit for work, I felt more like myself than I had in months. I wanted to cry out of joy instead of sadness. It was such a generous and huge gift, not just the clothes, but sense of self and confidence. It is always great to spend time with her, but I will always be thankful for her generosity and kindness.

BUT, now that I have new clothes and have been off of my medication for a month and a half, this past weekend I finally saw my weight start to drop. It is just a bit every day, but is has been consistently going down daily for 5 days now.

It feels good to feel like myself again. Looking back, I wish I had never begun my medication, or wish that I had had a doctor who was more familiar with the medication I was being prescribed. I firmly believe that only psychologists should be prescribing medications in this class, not the GPs always get it wrong, but it is better left in the hands of those who specialize in it. Not all medications in this class affect people as it did me, and they work wonders for many people, but I just don’t think it was the best choice for me.

I have never taken for granted being a happy person; I always have been and I have always been thankful for that. It was so hard having Paul see me cry and be so upset, I just wanted to reassure him that, “this is not me off of medication. This was not me before, this will not be me now”. Thank God he is such a wonderful man. He just held me and assured me that he knew that it was just a phase and my body needed to readjust again.

It is good to know that I am still a happy person, I just needed to work things out to get through some dark days.

I have also learned further how to stand up for myself and protect the life that I lead. No one deserves things that make them unhappy or threatens their well-being. I read a great quote yesterday that said:

“No” is a complete sentence. It requires no explanation or justification.

It is ok to say no and to build boundaries to protect the life that you have built. Sometimes, there is just not a healthy place in your life for some people.

There have been so many things that I have wanted to write about, but just haven’t sat down to get my ideas out. I will get back to my regular randomness, I promise 🙂 For now, I just wanted to update on my “progress”, and who knows? Maybe someone out there is struggling with the same thing and this can help spark a light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope you are all well, readers, and had a wonderful send-off to summer this past weekend!

Adventures of S

Maybe life can be a collection of experiences that make you smile