Let's make a promise to ourselves

Eight years ago I made the choice to start exercising regularly. I made a deal with myself that if I bought an Ipod then I would have to start using it to exercise. This was a big deal for me financially at the time as a college student so it motivated me to follow through. I was also sick and tired of feeling awful about myself and my body. 

I was a little freaked out and embarrassed the first few times I went into the gym. Luckily I started out slowly enough that I didn't get overwhelmed and it became a habit. Then I started running outside and it became a lifestyle. I loved getting stronger and with that strength the weight came off and my clothes started to look better. I started to love going shopping for the first time. 

Now 8 years later, the weight has started to come back on. There's lot of explanations for this. With working I have less time than I did when I was in college. I could go home for lunch at college and I had a lot of time to exercise. I didn't drink much alcohol and I never drank beer. For a few years after college, I wasn't really social at all in terms of going to restaurants and bars. My first year in Chicago I didn't know anyone so I definitely wasn't going out to bars. So honestly, it's partly because I'm really happy and have a great social circle. I also started to think (wrongly) that because I exercised I could eat A LOT and drink A LOT and it wouldn't do anything. Yeah. No. I still exercise 5-6 days per week. I weight train, run, and do yoga. Sometimes I divvy bike to get around. But it doesn't change the fact that you can't do whatever you want and to heck with the consequences. 

It's time to get back and track and get rid of the excuses. And it's about mindfulness too and slowing down. So I'm putting this out there because it needs to be a promise to myself. And public accountability is one of the best ways to ensure you keep your promises. 

So go out and there and make good choices for yourself, I did it once. I can do it again. And so can you.

20 Things that make me Happy

In honor of spring and the amazing shower I just had, it's time to make a list of 20 things that always make me happy:

1. Traveling somewhere new
2. Sleeping in
3. Having the time to make breakfast and coffee and enjoy all morning
4. Brunch!
5. Getting your shower the exact right temperature
6. kitty snuggles

7. The first day of baseball season
8. the smell of a new book
9. seeing the mountains
10. being reunited with family and friends after a long time away
11. Christmas morning
12. candles burning
13. a bonfire
14. hiking
15. laughing with little kids
16. naps under my electric blanket
17. yoga
18. the first warm days in spring
19. when the seasons change
20. doing something spontaneous

Spring is in the air....FINALLY

Today is the first day I could really feel spring coming. It's about 40 degrees, which after weeks of below 20s, feels like 65 or 70. I'm more than ready for my New York City trip with my beautiful friend Ciara in April. I've been dreaming of going to New York for years and we're finally making it happen. This is one of the five things I put on my New Year's promises to myself. I'm trying to make things happen. Life goes by too fast to just sit around. At the end of this year, I'm going to buy my plane ticket to Europe. I will probably then jump around my apartment like a crazy person and die from excitement.

Get out there and make things happen. The Atari's said it best, "Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up. These are the best days of our lives."