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• Balancing parent needs, family needs and marathon training is tough. One day at a time, right?
• Clothes are looser and scale number is lower these days. Once again, consistent exercise + moderate food intake = moving in the right direction. :)
• I have an iPhone app called Meditate that times your meditation practice. Used it yesterday. Liked it. Then looked at stats (it tracks them for you). According to the app, in the last 48 days, I have meditated for an average of 28 seconds per day. Laughed out loud when I saw this. Do you think that's enough meditation to see a significant difference in my life?!?!?!
• Still wanting to buy EVERYTHING Lululemon makes! Saw a woman at an ATM the other day and her butt looked fabulous. What was she wearing? Lulu, of course!
• Did a Pilates reformer intro class last night (included as part of my 30 days/$30 package at the yoga place). Liked it. Maybe after marathon I could do Pilates consistently. Maybe even as consistently as I meditate?!?! Do you think 28 seconds a day is enough to see visible results?!?!

Make today wonderful!

Be the change

Many of my conversations with people are punctuated with awkward silences. And what I've noticed is that most of the time, the silence is because they are distracted by a text message or document or, or, something else. It seems like divided attention is the name of the game these days and I'm getting really frustrated by it.

Last night our family had dinner at Fresh Choice. Towards the end of dinner I noticed that everyone at the table was on their cell phone except for me. (Tim has a pass on this -- he was checking weather conditions for getting to Tahoe today.) I wasn't frustrated as much as I was dismayed and feeling lonely.

So what to do? I think I'm just going to try to be mindful of my own actions, which means when I'm talking to you, that's what I'm doing. Period. I admit, this will be a discipline for me. I like talking in person, but not so much on the phone, so if I'm having a lengthy phone conversation, chances are I'm also checking email at the same time. And to live in congruency with what I want, that needs to stop.

Gotta run!

Random

• Getting old is difficult even when managed well. If you've not taken care of your health, it's nightmarish. My parents are in the nightmarish part. :(
• Running 7 today for a total of 40. I'm a runner again!
• Totally and completely addicted to Lululemon, and want to own every single thing they make. Alas, my timing is incredibly poor, as discretionary spending is needed to be limited (I know I'm not alone in this). But oh to dream... :)
• Weather forecast shows an entire week of rain here. Planning on lots of soups and lots of "I will not melt" thoughts as I head out running.
• LOVING LOVING LOVING yoga! Wish I could remember what yesterday's teacher said that was so meaningful to me. Something about how our practice on the mat is to equip us for life off the mat.
  
• Quote on the spine of the February 2010 Real Simple magazine (I just happened to see this): "A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness." Elsa Shiaparelli Isn't that great???
  

Yogalosophy

Just finished doing Yogalosophy by Mandy Ingber for the second time. I like it a lot, but read a review that blasted it for all sorts of reasons. So I guess it comes down to what you're looking for in a) yoga, and b) a DVD.

While I like the easy conversational style of the instructor, the review thought she babbled.
While I like that she doesn't take herself too seriously (her mantra? I have a great ass!), the review felt she dishonored the spirit of yoga.
While I liked the combination of toning (her word, not mine) and yoga poses, the review thought the DVD was wrong to call itself yoga.

So if you're a yoga purist, this is not the DVD for you. It's $30 plus shipping, so if you're not sure, maybe find some clips on YouTube so you can get a feel for it. But for me? A 30 minute DVD that makes me smile, helps me to stretch and strengthen my muscles seems like a perfect complement to marathon training.

Sometimes you have exactly what you need

Super quickly (which means some typos, I'm sure!) I had what I needed all along! I've had the February 2010 issue of Yoga Journal in my car for weeks now. Finally pulled it out today to read one of the articles I'd dog eared. Article is titled "Aim High" and it identifies four aims of life:

• Dharma (duty, work, responsibility, honesty)
• Artha (prosperity)
• Kama (pleasure)
• Moksha (freedom)

I think these may encapsulate what I'm looking to define for 2010. The article talks about how the goal is to be in balance between these areas, as too much of any is not a good thing (think pleasure and freedom as the only things you're going for -- your marriage and your bank account might suffer). While the words aren't perfect, the idea of balancing areas that might seem like contradictions is one I can really get behind!

Getting ready for my client. More as it becomes clearer... :)

Words for 2010

Still working on 3 words to encapsulate my vision of 2010. (Ooooh -- that sounded almost smart, didn't it?!) :) I've got a piece of paper with 3 word clouds on it. Here's what I've got so far:

First group:
goals, target, commitment, driven, idealistic, future, strength

Second group:
honest, real, grounded, present, truth

Third group:
flexible, good-natured, go-with-the-flow, fluid

So the idea of group 1 is that I want to decide what I want to do, and then do it. Last year was spent in reactive mode, to the point where by the end of the year I was just waiting for someone ANYONE to need me. That doesn't work well.

Group 2 has to do with honest food (once again looking to step away from Clif Bars and protein powder as major food groups, and well as doing more cooking) as well as being honest in life. "Tell the truth early" is something that resonates with me, and I want to do more of that.

Group 3 has to do with balancing my commitments and desires (group 1) with the reality that my parents are having big challenges with big needs, and my "job" of wife and mom means I want/need to be available (just not to the degree I've been available in the past).

More as it becomes clearer...

Topics

I have all sorts of ideas to write about, but haven't taken the time to sit down and write. And right now? Well, it's time to get changed into VERY WARM clothes, take my kid to school, then run 12 miles. But here are some of the thoughts swirling in my head that I want to write about:

starting marathon training
physical universe doesn't lie: strong AND flexible?
yoga so far
limitations and how they free me

Have a wonderful day!

A much-appreciated reminder of who I am

Do you know Tracy Reifkind? If not, you really should. Her story is wonderful. The way she lives is inspiring. And she's the real deal -- she walks her talk, that's for sure.

So I've been away from reading blogs for quite a long time, but when I pulled up Tracy's blog on January 1st, I was delighted to see a picture of us, as well as a post she'd written about something I said the last time we were together. Her words are well worth reading (so go read them!) but what really struck me was seeing me as I ...

(sorry -- a little dog poop in the house interruption, which I've now taken care of)

...so where was I? Seeing me as I ... what? Was? Am? Both? Yeah, both. Last year I lost sight of who I am. By the end of 2009, it was impossible to believe that just one year earlier, I was a runner. A real runner who ran a marathon. But now? I'm an athlete. A runner. And the REAL me is back!