Keep GOING....

Are you one of the millions of people who made a new year's resolution to lose weight? Do you have a fitness goal? Well guess what...you might also be the 80% of those millions who give up after 3 weeks. DONT be one of those people!! I promise...it takes time, sweat, soreness, dedication....i didnt say it would be easy...but i WILL say it will be worth it!!

THIS picture really is worth a 1000...maybe even a million words, because i'm not sure how many times i've told people to keep going...that 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks isnt enough! It truly takes time...but in the end...everyone will see the change you've made.

I work for a company called Visalus, which promotes a 90 day health challenge...90 days is also 12 weeks (almost 13)...we did that for a reason...the reason is stated in this picture and because it takes 90 days to set a habit. Do you want the new skinny/sexy you to disappear after all of that hard work because you didnt take the time to make a life change? Do your due dilligence, stick to your 90 days and if you arent there yet...KEEP GOING! If you are there...set another goal and KEEP GOING!!

I prefer dumbbells to people

I saw this on a friend's page and despite the obvious people-bashing that is on the forefront of it...i think there is something more to it than meets the eye.

To me, this is a statement of priority and security. You see, a secure person, a person who knows what they want and what they like will do it...despite what is expected of them. We are expected to run in packs and to be alone is just "unnatural." As humans we are expected to go through certain stages...school, college, jobs, relationships, engagments, marriages, kids, retirement, death...well death is the only one you cant escape here people. From birth to death you write your own story. No one said those had to be the names of your chapters. For instance, i chose about 8 chapters of college and practically made a career out of it. I then did the job thing for about 2 pages, found that dull and wrote my own ending to that chapter known as network marketing. I found freedom and liberation in that chapter. I am not tied down to a boss or a schedule. I fill my 30-31 squares with what i want to do rather than what i'm expected to do. I also have written my own book on how to occupy yourself...alone. I like being alone, people dont get it and they dont have to. It's what I like.

I've also reached the fold old age of 28 where most have expected that i would be married, or at least in a relationship at this point, yet i look around and some of my friends are unhappily married, getting divorced or struggling to make sense of themselves because they never took the time to find out what they wanted. Instead, they did was has been culturally accepted...the path of least resistance. I Chose to write my chapters 1-28 as sort of single, relationship, dating, sort of single again, a few more relationship chapters and the last 3 have involved lots of "i am woman, hear me roar" as i live into the single status again. Spending time alone is a good thing. "To know you...is to spend time with you" So enjoy the quiet, the peace within and revel in loneliness...because on the inside you're growing, learning and shaping who want to be and blending with you are.

I have found as i get older that to do what you want to do as opposed to what you are expected to do it liberating, empowering and really does allow you to be who you were meant to be! So, if you prefer to be alone, throwing dumbbells and capping delts, while most girls hang in groups talking about how skinny they want to be...then have at it. Be you, do what makes you happy and forget what society wants or thinks!

2012...is going to be a GREAT year

GOALS for the new year :)

have you set your goals? "HOW do you know the path....if you do not know the destination?"

1. Spend less....make more

2. Write more

3. Get new sites up and running

4. **AMBASSADOR** with visalus....and then 1*....and then 2* GO BIG OR GO HOME

5. save....save....save (savings= peace of mind...try it...you'll see)

6. Pay off all debt (except school loans and car)

7. Worry less....experience more

8. Donate...volunteer...become a better "giver"

9. Train harder...compete again...compete crossfit

10. Take computer classes (excel, photoshop)

11. Hot yoga challenge

12. Get certified in two other forms of exercise

13. Be the best version of me

14. LOVE MORE...love harder...invest in my friends more (they deserve it)

15. get closer to GOD

Please hold me accountable, ask me about my walk with God, ask me about my workouts, my savings account, my donations, my yoga classes....just ask me...i'd love it!! NOW...go CHALLENGE YOURSELF!! what are YOUR goals!?

LOVE

I'm not sure if you all have this undefined feeling about LOVE like i do...

I think i have a love/hate relationship with...well...love.

There are days when i wholeheartedly believe in soulmates, true love and the passion that can ensue with that connection; forever and after. I want to believe that there is someone out there, that my heartaches werent all for nothing and that i will not be one of the people who dies alone with a pack of a cats and crocheted doilies.

There are other days however where my past creeps in, i feel the jade solidify over what used to be my heart and i am lost in a feeling of helplessness and despair. I watch ex's who wronged me move onto happy, fullfilling relationships...and i wonder...will i ever be the same? Will it always hurt? Will i ever fill that hole where they used to reside? It's not a particular person that seems missing, it's the position of a significant other.

Then there are other days still where i revel in my single status, i wallow in it, i'm obsessed with it and i dont want to let anyone in for fear of losing it. I dont have to answer to anyone. I dont have to call anyone. I am responsible for my own happiness and no one else's. I dont have to shave my legs if i dont want to. I can wear whatever pajamas i find in my closet...yes, flannel seems to be most popular choice. My outfits are put together out of functionality or how they make me feel rather than who they attract or "he will like this." I've found a true focus on my own well being and an inner strength i never had on the "taken" side. So, single definitely is a good stage to be in and right now it's a stage i need and enjoy.

But then, Sunday night happens. I have that desire to watch a movie, pop some popcorn, have my glass of wine and as i curl up, the other side of the couch seems a little empty. Or, holidays happen and happy couples roam about inadvertently throwing it in the faces of those who are facing them alone. And, when you reach a certain age, weddings, kids, engagements seem to rotate around you on an hourly basis...note: facebook needs a filter for this sort of thing. On the oposite side of the fence, relationships seems like a great stage as well and when i thought i had the right people, i was beyond happy so i simply wonder if i will feel that again.

No matter what stage you're in i think the grass always seems greener on the other side. There are ups and downs and pros and cons to each. I know there's no true answer to timing and person until it's there in front of you and "when you know, you know" I just hope that i'll be ready...i'll let them in....and i'll actually KNOW. Otherwise...i'll need to start investing in cats and learn how to crochet.