Discomfort

Let's all just be honest for a second....no one enjoys being uncomfortable.  Myself especially included.  And for the sake of being honest -- I must confess that I did not stay on track as I was so hoping I would, when I shared about doing a month long work out challenge.  And while I'm being honest, I can say that it's mildly embarrassing to admit that I couldn't stick with 30 days of working out....30 days of doing something active each & every day.  Why you might be wondering (if you're not...it's ok, I'll just pretend you are)?  Because it was or did get uncomfortable.  

My chief response to discomfort...excuses.  Where do most excuses lead to? Letheragy.  Yup that was me the past 2 weeks.  Barf! Talk about lame!  I did however stick to my Turkey Dash sign up on Thanksgiving.  First time I had ever signed up for a "race" or fun run by myself....literally with no plans to run with any one.  I ran in to a few people at the start line, and thankfully caught up to another coach's wife who had encouraged me to run it (she's a crazy good, fast runner...despite what she might say to you!).  So I ran the intervals with her & her daughter.  I can almost guarantee you she would have blown me away if she were running on her own, and for that I am thankful her daughter was there!  But how sad that the last 200yds I was dying! The time when you kick it in gear and I was hurting!  Talk about discomfort!  I did finish...I finished that 5k in about 37-40minutes (I'm the dummy that didn't start my watch!).  I even got a mug to prove it!

So I'm trying to just lean in to the discomfort in my life -- because I'm finding that even if I avoid the short term discomfort, the long term is much worse.  How do you "lean" in to the discomfort and ride it out??

Post Football Life!

Hooray!! We've survived our first season as Head Coach & Head Coach's wife!  Though I was sad to see Honey Isaac's season end last week, I must admit I'm so thankful to get to some post football-season life!  
We spent a good portion of the weekend together, which was nice.  And on Monday we took a little time to go window shopping downtown.  On the drive Isaac made a pretty poignant statement -- he mentioned that we really have been all engines a'blazing football wise for really 18 months.  How is that you might be wondering?  Well -- last year football started in August, went thru the normal season routine & while on our trip to Hawaii for Christmas the job opened at his current school.  So wasting no time Isaac hit the ground running to prepare for application submission, interviews, etc.  Then once he got the job it was planning, planning, planning.  You probably get my point.  As soon as he made that comment, a light bulb went off.  No wonder we've been so tired -- feeling like we're running on fumes -- tempers a little more short than typical.  It's been non-stop for months on end.  

But here we are! Isaac home before 5.  Ahhh...it'll be so nice.  And we're only 37 days away from our Mexico vacation.....can not wait!  Still trying for those few pounds, but you know what I'm going to try to mostly focus on doing something positive each day.  And ultimately I know those positive choices will just start compounding.  Mexico is one event -- but my life is far more important.

Plans for next week's Thanksgiving festivities???  
Happy Thursday my friends!

Jillian Michaels is a B...

That's right I said it.... I've been tackling her 30 Day Shred DVD the past couple weeks (and only seriously in the last week), but let me just tell you... She is a B.  

Oh sure you think 20 minutes won't kill you.  You can do anything for 20 minutes.  But let's get real my friends.  It's a non stop 20 minutes (that statement alone makes me feel like a lazy fatty....) that honestly has left me pouring sweat after each segment.  And I hate sweating.  As in I really, truly, painfully dislike sweating.  But I digress -- mostly, it's just uber challenging.  The biggest pain I have are my calves.  It's shocking how much pain I'm in after only 2 minutes of alternating jumping jacks and "jump rope."  The first 2 or 3 days I had trouble walking up & down my stairs!  Let alone the impact on my running.

All this aside, I can say that I can see a little change in myself.  Miniscule change -- but hell, I'll take it!

I even wrote out a pre-planned calendar of workouts for the month.  Each day I get a sticker if I did my work out...yes, I realize how juvenile that sounds but you'd be surprised how flippin' motivating a tiny little sticker can be! I want that sticker each day and I'll push myself thru a brutal 20min Jillian Michaels DVD, a run, Zumba, or anything else just to get that sticker!  

How you do approach work outs? Pre-plan? Go with the flow?  Do you plan out any rewards for yourself? Like a pedicure or massage?
Happy Friday!   

I Will Until....

Real talk....marriage is tough, it's challenging, it's not always glamorous.  Sure I wouldn't change or trade anything about being married to the man I love.  But it would be disingenuous to posture as if life were flowers & rainbows every single day.

That being said - as of let a few of our couple friends have been working their way through some pretty tough struggles.  Situations and conversations that aren't always comfortable, that don't have a nicely wrapped up resolution.  Situations and conversations that sometimes lead to more questions than anything.  But only for a period of time. And truthfully the only thing that keeps popping in to my head is a saying my mom shared with me once (during a period of time when it life in the Parker household was challenging)...."I will until..."  This concept didn't make much sense to me at the time.  But each & every time Honey Isaac & I have come to a conversation or season when life seemed particularly hard this has popped up in my head.  I will do everything, I will try anything & everything, I will share, I will confess, I will surrender, I will apologize.... I will.  A choice.  An action.  An active participation.  

My heart aches for our sweet friends and those around us when these seasons rear their ugly heads.  My heart breaks when people give up or surrender too easily or quickly because it doesn't "feel good."  Feelings are so fickle - I'm always shocked how we, myself absolutely 100% included, make so many life changing/altering decisions based on feelings.

Remember my friends.... I will until....
Stepping of my marriage soap box now 

Small Changes

That's what I'm trying to focus on these days....small, baby-step, changes.  Watching my portions.  Doing something active each & every day.  Hugging my husband, even when he's annoying me.  Slowing down to mind my tone at work.  But let's just be honest - even these "little" changes are incredibly challenging!  And while we're being honest - let me also state that I am not a big fan of patience.  If I'm doing something, I'd much rather see the end result in short order.....none of this keep doing it til you see it nonsense.  Alas, that's pretty much how it works out in life though.

So I suppose I'll keep at my small changes.  And tonight's small change - getting my work out in, finishing dinner, & finally folding the mountain of clothes in my living room.  I've only about about 46 days left til Mexican vacation, so I've got zero time to waste....

How do you hang on to the end goal?  Or find your motivation when things get tough? Send me your tips & tricks!

Random Thursday

I mean really - how is this year already practically over?! I'm really being thrown for a loop - especially considering how in 61 days I'll be flying to Mexico and I've come no where near my goal that I had set...yikes

But that aside I'm trying to get myself out of that ugly funk I mentioned last week...proving to be a bit more challenging. So because I have no content for today (do I ever have real "content?") I'll share some photos from a few weeks ago when Honey Isaac's Mom & Grandma visited us for a few days.  It was quite the whirlwind week for me - they came to visit & then I left for a conference in Austin, TX.  But always fun to have them with us.

 My Friend Morgan & Grandma Chiko at Isaac's game. Grandma is 90yrs old & sat thru the entire game! She's a gem! And has a pretty quick sense of humor!

 3 Generations - Proud Momma & Grandma!

 Honey Isaac & myself with his mom - she made an around the world trip that October, traveling from HI, to CO, back to HI, then back to OR.

 Silly Goose Isaac with Grandma -- all proper!

 Imitating Grandma -- jokester

It's hard I know for Isaac to be so far away from his family, so we always treasure any time we get to be together.  We ate like kings - that's for sure! Tried out the new Korean restaurant in our town (used to be a Korean restaurant that Grandma Chiko really liked, but had since changed owners) - definitely more traditional than the previous owner, but DELISH! And then of course made our traditional trip to the casino for some slots & buffet.  Naturally Grandma was the big winner of the day - she's so gutsy playing the $1 slots! But I tried my hand a little bit at Blackjack & made Ike $100 - which was fun. Considering I usually just kill time on the penny slots.  

Trips like those remind how thankful I am, need to be, for these women who played such a huge role is Isaac's life.  I definitely would not have the husband I do if it weren't for these women.  Sure there are days I would like to throttle Isaac...but all in all I've managed to meet & hold on to a gem of a man.  For most people, to know Isaac is to love him.  I definitely feel that way (but like I said, I'm human...and there are days...) and probably need to remind myself of that more often.

It seems so easy to lose sight of the small, but most important, things in our lives - these past few months that has certainly been the case.  But it's those small things that are what hold us together, give us the courage to keep going, remind us to slow down, and force us to be thankful.

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