Strong Not Skinny

…yet!

I was texting with one of my work friends last night and we got on one of our favorite topics:  following your dreams.

Easier said (or texted) than done.

I’m a dream employee!  There, I said it.  I know I rock.  My bosses always adore me because I work my booty off and never complain.  I’m ALWAYS early to work.  I take my work very seriously and care (a lot) about accuracy and timeliness.  The problem is, I don’t love the work I do so even though I care about doing well, I don’t necessarily care about what I do.  At all.

To make matters worse, the past few months have involved quite a bit of overtime and some travel.  Leaving me with less time and energy for the things I do enjoy.

I know I need to be my own boss.  Why should I kill myself stressing out over something I don’t even care about, or work my butt off while someone else gets rich?  I shouldn’t. 

There are opportunities at my current place of employment if I want them.  But I don’t.  I don’t care about getting promotions, raises, recognition, or perks.  I care about being happy.

My dream for the future is to be a personal trainer.  I love exercise and helping people, and I could be the boss of me.  I started pitching the idea to my husband a couple of years ago and he’s never really warmed up to it.  Without getting into all the gory detail of our relationship, his goals are just different from mine and he would prefer I focus on making as much money as I possibly can.  He doesn’t feel that personal training is as lucrative a career as I would have otherwise.

But I’m a dreamer with mountains of confidence in my abilities.  And, if I’m not a great personal trainer, or if I decide I hate it, I can always go back to the office and make lots of money. 

With any luck, there will be big changes for me in the next year or two. 

And maybe then I’ll have time to blog more than twice a week!

The Husband Loooooooves Famous Dave’s.

The only problemo is that I don’t eat meat regularly.  I think the cool kids call it being a “flexitarian”.  I try my best to eat a primarily plant-based diet and, since The Husband doesn’t cook, he does as well.

I’m defintely not Vegan or even Vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination, although I think both are excellent for your body, the environment, the cows and chickens, etc.  Honestly, it can just be very inconvenient and I’m just not that disciplined! 

Usually our house is meat-free, but definitely not free of eggs, ice cream, or cheese. 

When I do purchase meat, I buy free range/organic/grass fed/$$$.  The Husband isn’t down with this so I don’t do it very often.  When I buy meat just for him (pork), it’s the usual stuff because he doesn’t share my feelings on the subject.  When we eat out he always order a meaty dish.  And, heck, I may have a bite or two! 

This is how I roll at a BBQ joint:

*Baked potato with BBQ sauce, salt & pepper.

*Side salad with ranch (because they make their own and it’s the bomb!) on the side.

*Complimentary cornbread muffin

*Stolen fries and mac & cheese from The Husband.

Famous Dave’s has a baked potato and salad lunch combo, and they always kick me down with the same deal at dinner time.

I use the same strategy whenever we visit any BBQ place.

So there you have it!  I got some food in my belly and The Husband got ribs.  Everyone goes home happy!

This week has been nuts! 

Monday was my first day back after having been on vacay since the 8th.  It was also my last week in my old department.  I’ve been working in 2 different positions in 2 different departments at the same company since April.  We FINALLY got someone in to replace me, and a big chunk of my time and energy this week went towards training her.  I also had a deadline to meet in my new department….craziness.  Just.  Plain.  Craziness.

Monday:  Worked a whole heck-of-a-lot and then drug my sorry butt home.

Tuesday:  Left work on time for my standing exercise date with my BFF Becca.  We spent the time dying each others hair and drinking beer.  We’re classy ladies. The Husband cruised over and we went to Costco.  I had cheese pizza for dinner and then went home and ran 3ish miles.

Wednesday:  I think I got off on time…  I came home and did the Stronger and Hotter workout (I’m a proud Body Rocker).  Then I ran 5ish miles.

Thursday:  I had my standing exercise date with Becca, but the extent of our exercise that day consisted of walking to the grocery store to buy beer.  I told you we were classy.  We also did BFF Sara’s belly cast since she’s about to pop any day now.

It is completely normal (for me at least) to model a friend’s belly cast!  I did it with her last one too.

Friday:  This was a looooooong day!  I got off work late and then went directly to The Husband’s cousin’s casa to watch her 3 small children.  I don’t think we got to bed until midnight which is crazy late for old farts like us.

Today:  Woke up around 7, fixed breaky for The Husband and breaky #1 for me.  I had toast w/ organice PB&J before heading out on my run. 

Yeah, that’s the same outfit from Thursday…not I didn’t wash it (see plaster on right shoulder).

I did 8ish miles, came home, showered, shopped for a new laptop bag/option, hit the library, did laundry, fun stuff like that!  I’ve got a date coming up tonight at the fine local eatery Famous Dave’s.

Now for a little somethin something…

Why I Don’t Want to be Skinny

I do not consider myself to be “skinny”.  And I’m not just saying that as a way of fishing for compliments.  I don’t consider “skinny” to be a compliment. 

There was a time in my life when all I wanted was to be skinny and to have other people think of me that way.  I counted calories, did crazy diets, and exercised only to lose weight.  And I hated exercise.  I mean I REALLY hated exercise. Consequently, I didn’t exercise very much or very hard.  I’m pretty sure I tried my hardest to not sweat during a “workout”.  I was miserable and I never even felt skinny despite my efforts and the fact that, yes, technically, I was already pretty skinny.

One day I decided to get up early and go for a run outside.  I loved the fresh air and the time alone to just listen to music and clear my head.  I couldn’t do much running at first, but I kept trying day after day after day after day…  I started to really enjoy it.  I wanted to run further and faster and push my body and mind as hard as I could. 

My appetite increased with the added activitiy.  I found myself less concerned with calories, and more interested in eating the right foods to fuel my workouts. 

I also started adding in short weight-training sessions and yoga.

My body started to change.  I was probably losing weight, but I didn’t really care about weighing myself at that point.  What I was most excited about was how strong I felt.  And I liked it!  I was running and doing pushups for the first time in my life.  I could even run uphill!  I was doing things I couldn’t do when I was (or was trying to be) “skinny”.

Since then I’ve said goodbye to “skinny” and never (or rarely) looked back. 

Skinny girls aren’t Body Rockers. Skinny girls don’t run Marathons.  Skinny girls don’t help their hubbies lift jetskis into trucks…ok that part isn’t awesome.  But still, ***BEING STRONG IS THE JAM***

Yes, I’m using the default first-post-title.  We’re strangers, what do you want from me?

Allow myself to indroduce…myself:

I took 3 pictures that day and this was the best one.  I’m sweaty, my clothes don’t match, no makeup on my crazy face, and my lighting is BAD.  Like, really bad!

This picture is me.

I look sweaty and bedraggled because I just got home from a 10+ mile run.  I had to walk part of the way because it was crazy hot outside.  I could have run earlier in the morning, but opted to stay in bed and cuddle with my husband.  Priorities people!

And the snazzy gray and orange top is courtesy of the Ragnar Relay I participated in earlier this year.  My legs of the course were brutal and I had to live in a van full of strangers, but it was the most fun ever!  That shirt makes me feel like a warrior, even when I have to walk.

Pink shorts and crazy face…well, that’s just how I roll.

Let’s see how long I can make this blog thing last.