An update

I have become a person that makes their bed on a daily basis.

Let me back up a minute. Because, you know, it’s been a minute since I posted. 😉

Last October the boy forwarded me an email from one of the senior managers encouraging him to apply for a position at a location in the state to the north of us. The position would mean a promotion for the boy. The position would mean relocating for both of us. So he sends me this email and says “Don’t read too much into it.”

You know what happens next right?

He interviews in December. He gets the job. He starts in January.

So. We are moving. We are moving…

Moving away from the only place that has ever felt like home. The place I fought 5 years before to get back to. Leaving our friends, our families…But, I tell myself, it will take time. TIME! I will surely be here until summer getting the houses sold and details organized.

Yeah, except my house sold in 4 days and his in 12 hours.

By March my small town gets smaller. We close on the sale of both our homes on a Thursday and on our new acreage on Friday.

And immediately rip all the flooring out and begin a mini remodel. We lived in the apartment (which neither of us had done in well over 10 years) that the boy lived in starting in January. We worked day and night on the house while working all day. I would be at the new house at 6:30/7 a.m. and paint until 8/8:30 a.m. Work, take lunch to paint some more, finish work and keep painting. Change out hardware.All the while the flooring guys are installing our new hardwoods, carpet and bathroom flooring. The boy and various friends who came to visit worked on new lighting fixtures, refinishing the garage floor etc.

It was exhausting.

Before.

Glimpse at the after.

Our place is starting to feel like home. We love our acreage. We are still working to find our “home” within the community but have met the nicest, kindest people.

And the making the bed thing? Yeah, ever since moving into this house I make the bed daily. Not perfectly. But it’s made. Throw pillows placed. What the? I mean, I don’t even like people who make their bed. Why would you make a bed you are just crawling back into?

Even I can’t answer that.

Miracle Challenge Day 1

Today marks day 1 of the Miracle Challenge where I commit to 27 days of wellness.

As promised, I was greeted with a custom email this morning based on the wellness track that I chose (boot camp). In my email contained the workout challenge that I needed to complete by the end of the day.

I headed off to the gym and completed my 4 mile walk with full intentions to return over the lunch hour to run and complete my Miracle Challenge workout. But…then life got in the way. Work cut into a so called lunch hour and suddenly I had less than 30 min to spare.

Never fear, knowing I had a packed evening in front of me I improvised. I broke out the trusty yoga mat and did the interval style workout they prescribed.

Notice the cut little workout coaches who cheered me on. 🙂

Interval workouts at home can be a challenge so one thing I have found helpful is the Seconds – Timer for Interval Training app.

Free in your app store.

This app is amazing. You set the number of intervals you will be completing (in my case 3), the duration (1 min), the number of activities (4), name of activity (planks, push-ups, jumping rope, mountain climbers) and length of rest period (if applicable). You can color code your activities, it talks to you and will even tell you when you are halfway through. I may even upgrade to the paid version so that I can begin storing my interval workouts. It would be rather handy when I travel.

All told it took me 14 min to complete, I worked up a sweat and wasn’t totally bummed that I hadn’t made it back to the actual gym.

Hey, some effort is better than none right?

Get Fit

Anyone who has read the sporadic postings I have made over the last few years on this blog knows one thing…I have a passion for fitness. Partially fueled by vanity, partially fueled by trying to out run my heritage that is rife with cardiovascular issues.

Lately, I have struggled to stay passionate. I found myself dialing in workouts. I found myself sluggish. I have just flat out been bored.

But now I have a new reason, filled with new challenges, to reignite that passion. I joined the Miracle Challenge. For 27 days I will be on the bootcamp track and will have a new daily challenge sent to me via email. While working to get fit I will also be working to raise money, specifically for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

If you would like to support this cause please click here to visit my fundraising page. I will also be tracking my efforts each day on this blog.

TSwift

I may just have to admit it. I might start being a fan of Taylor Swift.

I’ve never been a hater. I just haven’t been a fan. In fact, I was largely annoyed that this young female could articulate her feelings better at 16 than I could in my late  20’s. And she laughed all the way to the bank with it.

But now, after watching this….I might have to be a fan.

Friends is just one of those shows I can always watch along with Fraiser (probably my fav), Golden Girls, Criminal Minds, NCIS, Dawson’s Creek and my beloved Beverly Hills 90210 (please put it back on TV!). And this duet is epic for anyone who was riveted by the will they or won’t they conundrum of Ross and Rachel.

Now if only this episode didn’t make me long for the golden era of Brad & Jen.

Love & Hate

Things I am loving right now:

• I swear, I am the last person on Earth to try StitchFix and I LOVED it. From the ease of ordering to the packaging to the selections, every ounce of this experience was on point. I finally caved and tried it after seeing how incredibly personal the company was. Someone I know in town is going through a rough time, her husband is battling cancer, and not only did StitchFix send her clothing they described as comfy and warm to wear while sitting in the hospital but they also sent her a throw blanket she could take along too. In a separate shipment. No charge. I was sold.

• Facial Masks. I found these at Target on the cheap. I love a facial. My budget does not nor does my calendar. I just have so little time in general but being able to do these at home? Score.

• HyVee began offering online ordering with grocery pick-up or delivery service. Order my groceries from home and just pick them up? Heaven on earth. Again, being strapped for time is always a struggle for me so cutting out that hour in the store? Love. I just wish I was were in the delivery radius. Perhaps they will expand. Perhaps my beloved Fareway will get on board.
• The weather has taken a decidedly Fall turn which means it’s all about the Fabletics leggings (I have so many it is scary) and flats. The best part of Fabletics leggings is how versatile they are. From the gym, to errands to being layered they are perfect for all occasions.And really, how cute are these Target flats? They are a couple years old and just so fun.

What I am hating right now?

• That it is feeling like Fall. I am not ready to give up my weekends spent on the boat yet. I am not ready for the white fluffy stuff to be here. Or the fact that I can’t go anywhere without a jacket.
• People who cancel a meeting and then send a separate email explaining the cancellation. You can do that in the original notification. Why duplicate your efforts. Enough. Save me the ding! Save the second pointless email.

NashVegas

Not really sure how Nashville got the nickname NashVegas but it did.

It has also evolved into the go to location for all things bachelorette party/girls trip and most recently for me – corporate conference.

This is how my trip started this past Sunday:

4 a.m. wake up call for an early morning flight. On a SUNDAY.

Yeah….

Arrive at the hotel. Not showered. In cute Fabletics yoga pants and Harley Davidson 3/4 length sleeved t-shirt plus a hat. Not exactly business attire. Which is when I find out that my room is not ready and won’t be until 4 p.m. and I am scheduled to co-present a session 3:30. Yay me!

I start getting ready in the public bathroom. My co-presenter, who arrived the day prior, offers her room. I start getting ready there and the hotel calls with my room.

Woo hoo.

But that is the last time I actually praise our hotel. Because the next day I return to my room for much needed decompression and find that housekeeping had turned my deadbolt so that the room was open….and walked away.

After checking for the boogie man AND ensuring that nothing was stolen I called guest services and was told – sometimes they do that for easy access back into the room if the cart is still in the area. Which it was a good 75 feet down the hall….doesn’t seem “in the area” to me. I asked to be taken off the housekeeping schedule for the duration of the trip. I was told they couldn’t do that. I needed to put my do not disturb sign out.

Oy vey.

Finally I got in touch with a manager who issued the proper apology I wanted. I didn’t need anything. I want them to correct the issue. My mom ran a housekeeping department for years. I am not one to shy away from a freshly made bed and fresh linens but leaving my room open for anyone and everyone to enter?

No thank you.

Then the icing on the cake? Lunch with a client and having our food crash to the floor 10 feet aw ay.

Business travel is glamorous. 😉

Being Me

It’s been quite some time since I have enjoyed an ideal day. A day built to serve my needs/interests/life goals. Lately I have been resentful that I have had so little time to do “my thing.” And the I got to wondering….

Do I even know what “my thing” is anymore?

If I woke up tomorrow and didn’t have to do anything for anyone else; what would I want my day to look like?

I would like to start by sleeping in. It doesn’t seem like I ever have time for sleeping anymore.

When I wake I would head to the gym per usual. I would run, I would do yoga, I would spend time walking so that I could catch up on my reading.

After the gym there would be breakfast prep and a shower.

I would curl up on the couch, drink my coffee and leaf through a magazine.

I would take the boy dog on a walk through town and recall how thankful I am to call this lil place home.

There would be lunch to consume.

I would write. I would write about whatever came to mind. I would write for others. I would work on projects that bring me passion.

I would nap. Because can you ever think of a bad day that included a nap? I can’t.

I would relax. I would be free of stress, anxiety, a calendar. I would just do when the doing needed done.

I would make a dinner for me and the boy to enjoy. The kind that is generally reserved for the weekends but is craved during the week.

I would be me.

Working Remote When Working Remote

Today I am working from Starbucks because the boy and my dog is at the groomers. Most couples who don’t live together have a dog together, right? It didn’t start that way. He started as the boys dog but has slowly turned into being our dog.

So as someone who works remote daily from my home office, I am working even more remote. What I want to be doing right now is not working. It doesn’t help that our Outlook server is out and my hands are relatively tied as to what I can accomplish. Turns out my entire work life is dependent upon Outlook.

You know what I wish I was doing while sitting here at Starbucks?

Planning our next vacation.
Picking out furniture for our next home (not that a next home is on the horizon).
Writing a witty blog post that is fully captivating, read by thousands and earning incremental revenue.
Working on my business plan for my side business.
Planning my next workout.
Planning my next meal based on something I saw on Pinterest.

Basically anything other than work.
Which is why I am writing here today for the first time in months.

Spring Shoes

This time of year, the time of year where the weather is not yet warm but by definition isn’t cold…sucks.

Want to know why it sucks?

It really isn’t appropriate to be wearing my Uggs anymore (Yes, they are ugly. Yes, I know they are ugly and no I don’t care. They are like walking on a cloud and being hugged by your most very favorite person all at once.). And it isn’t warm enough to throw on flip flops or it is too wet because it seems as though it rains here on the daily.

So I get stuck throwing on a pair of “lifestyle” tennis shoes that my ex-husband bought me one year for Valentine’s Day. When I asked for running shoes. But these had pink on them and he thought they were cute.

I cringe every time I put them on.

I’m all for the State