Mom, why are we going in circles?

Today I took a back winding road to take my kids to rock climbing camp. Because there are fewer stoplights it takes just as long as the straighter, more highly trafficked path, plus the scenery is much

nicer. On the way my son asked "Mom, why are we going in circles?" I laughed. "We're not buddy. We're on our way to where we need to go, this road is just winding."
 I thought about this and how it applies to exercise and life sometimes. Sometimes we feel like we are going in circles. We're doing the same workouts or eating the same salads and we don't feel like we are making progress. We still have love handles, we still don't have a six-pack. It may feel like we are just going in circles, when in reality we are making progress. Our muscles are getting stronger. Our cardiac system is cleaner and more efficient when we exercise and eat healthy. But it takes awhile. It's not any one magic workout. There is not any one magic meal and suddenly you have hit your fitness goals. It's about the culmination of thousands of small decisions.
 Sometimes in life I feel like I am going in circles. There are days where I feel like my efforts have not yielded the results I want. I still have debt and this year has shown that things often don't go as planned. Although so many things seem like I am going in circles, I'm still making progress, I am still going somewhere. I have taken almost half the classes towards my Master's degree. Sometimes it feels like we are not making the progress we want to because the road is congested or winding, but that doesn't mean that we aren't getting stronger and we aren't moving ahead. And just because it feels like you are moving in circles does not mean that you should give up!

Reaching For a Better Version of Myself

This morning I popped in my 21 Day Fix workout dvd, and started arranging my equipment to work

out. My husband asked "So is your goal to look like that? (Gesturing to Autumn Calabrese) Is that the body that you're going for?" I thought for a second and said "No!" I am not interested in looking like Autumn Calabrese. (Not that she doesn't look amazing, because she does.) I know that I am never going to look like her. I have more booty and more hips than she does and I am perfectly fine with that. I'm not interested in changing my body so drasticly that I look like someone else. I exercise because I am reaching for a better version of myself. Because exercise makes me happy and gives me the energy to get done the things that I need to. Because I want to be around for my family for a long time. I exercise because I believe that inside me there is a powerful person who can make a difference in the world and exercising is going to help set her free. And if I get killer abs in the process I will not complain. :)

Book Review: Yes, Please

The biggest reason I chose this book is am an Amy Poehler fan. I love that she is funny, a feminist and very outspoken that girls should have opportunities in science and other academic fields. And the audio book is fun because she has some fun actors helping her to narrate it like Patrick Stewart, Carol Burnett and Kathleen Turner. (Also I love audio books because they make catching up on laundry and dishes more fun.) As I started listening to it I thought it was awesome that Amy Poehler is a mom of small children who works full-time who is passionate about life and I think she has some good points for those who trying to juggle all the busy things that fill our lives. Although there is a whole lot of raunchiness, and I did not like the book nearly as much as I was hoping that I would. I don't know that I would recommend it. (I did LOVE the chapter when she talking about making Parks & Rec. I also loved the chapter where she talked about visiting Haiti.) Having said that, I do think there are several worthwhile pieces of advice. So without further ado, advice and inspiring thoughts from Amy Poehler's book, Yes, Please

• Discover what your 'currency' is. What aspect of life is really important to you? Let go of the things that aren't you.
• More women should adopt the motto "Great for her, not for me."
• As a woman, it takes years to find your voice and figure out who you really are.
• Any painful experience helps you see things differently
• Fighting aging is like the war on drugs. It's expensive, pointless and never ends.
• Getting older means you get super powers. :) You're wiser, people notice you less and you can laugh at younger people doing stupid things.
• Ignore what other people think, most people aren't paying attention to you anyway.
• Write. Create. Take risks.
• If you are afraid to look stupid you should probably go home.
• It is easier to be brave when you are not alone.
• Every mother needs a wife, someone to take care of you so you can take care of everyone and everything else. (Of course, that's easier said than done.)
• Doing something together is more fun than doing it alone.
• Other people are not medicine.
• Everyone wants to hear your most embarrassing moment. You don't have to share.
• There is a difference between talent and determination.
• Ambivalence is key to success. You need to not care what other people think of you. You have to not care how you look. 
• When someone is being rude or abusing their power, call them out on it.
• Too often women try to tackle problems that are not our own. 
• Take time to be in the moment.
• Hopefully you can get to the place you need to be.
• Drugs make folding your laundry bearable? (I'll take my audio books, thank you.)
• Going outside in your pajamas makes you feel like you are breaking out of jail.
• What truly heals is gratitude and tenderness.
• A person is more than the tragedies that they experience.
• You can change your story.