Other October Attire

Again, October recap in November :) but seriously, dressing for massage school has been an adjustment but I think I've found a happy medium :) Also clothes and the act of putting an outfit that works together has totally become one of those happy daily tasks. I think I'm hitting a style of my own...even if it's 1/3 pinterest inspired, 1/3 me inspired, and 1/3 WNTW inspired. Ha!

And if you're on instagram then you've already seen almost all of these :)

Totally comfortable...and made me realize I matched my house!

New top for massage....awesome!

Also both massage and yet everyday appropriate. (And the first time Lady has made her outfit photo appearance!)

IN LOVE with these shoes....and the way it looked against nature!

Massage school day to teaching evening. I changed shirts cause I'd already worn that one to teach in before but I couldn't remember for which day of the week class....(I try not to duplicate outfits within the term...)

Coffee w the gals, freedom/hike day, and work evening. That middle picture tunic and leggings had a 3-4 day run. I'm all about rewearing the same outfit in a row these days if I can! :)

November Update & Randoms

Since I'm so sparsely writing get ready for an all-in-one randoms and updates! :)

1) I get so frustrated with apple updates. Why do I have update in order to continue to use my Icloud?! Frustrating!

2) I've never had a male cat before. I never knew that male cats could and do hump things. I've had to throw said male cat outside twice now in order to get him off (pun not intended) of the dog's fleece blanket. Suggestions from any male cat owners?!

3) I'm tired.all.the.time. Seven hours of sleep in one go seems like a luxury these days. Most weekdays I'm running on 4-5 hours of sleep thanks to being a night owl and my housemates followed by 5:30am wake-ups. Even when I try to go to sleep earlier, it just doesn't happen.

4) The dogs and I had our first taste of freedom on Wednesday (since our hike in mid September) when I bailed on my optional work meeting that was all the way across the city. 45 minutes into the commute I was still on my side of the city and I realized I had been uber bitchy to the gas attendant. At that point I took the next exit and came home to get the dogs before using a Starbucks gift card to get a chai I'd been desiring for three days and heading to our favorite trails. Spontaneous freedom was incredible and much needed---it was an eye opener that I need a day off now and again....and that I hope that what I'm envisioning for January's schedule and load is truly going to be the case.

5) I seriously can't flipping wait for housemate M to get back. He drives me crazy at times and I know he's going to be needy, but man, I feel so much happier and just plain comfortable in my own skin all the time when he's around. Plus he's my built in outdoor/running buddy, he's always up for a beer, and he'd make the perfect massage feedback client. One month-ish to go...

6) So far I've been doing really well in my massage classes and I can't believe how much I've already learned! It's definitely taking more time than I intended but it's pretty incredible how it's all coming together.

7) I think massage school is turning me more into a hipster though.....and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Especially cause I cut my hair (thanks to my hair stylist neighbor!) and so now I have (awesome!) thick bangs :)

8) I can't wait for winter break when I can relax.....and maybe paint my bedroom, and make curtains, and deep clean the carpets in the house....and get a christmas tree, etc etc etc

9) I'm not really hanging out with Tall D again. We're still chatting/friendly some and I'm going to use him as a massage client, but I wouldn't say we're "hanging out" anymore. Which really it was great to spend the summer with him and get affirmation of the fact that we made the right choice last year.

10) I absolutely positively am looking forward to November. I think it's going to go fast. But the leaves are still gorgeous, we're just having frosty mornings, and it just makes me think of fires, coziness, and warmth even with the coolness of the season. This month also makes me focus on gratitude (which I could use right now), and it's wonderful to have a whole month dedicated to being grateful for what I already have.

11) Speaking of being grateful for what I already have, I totally failed on my no buy. I held out great til I bought those black skinnies from Target and then several more trips to Target slid me further down the hill. I'm now up to several long sleeve shirts, a couple short sleeve shirts, a new cardigan, a new winter coat, a leather jacket, a pair of skinny cords, and two pairs of replacement flats. Will I wear it all? Yup and definitely have been! I'm going to TRY my hardest to get back on the wagon for November & December....especially since my finances could benefit from it.

12) Speaking of finances....sigh. I'm SO totally hopeful that this massage licensing will pay out in the end because it's going to be a lot of money up front. And on the financial note, I'm also really realizing that I totally miss my parents being here routinely each month. It's great support and just plain nice to see them for a night. As much as I need to rent out the middle room to create more financial freedom for myself, it'd be great to have Mom and Dad around on the regular again.

13) My personal stress reducer is to be on pinterest. I'm not going to lie. I love it. It calms and yet inspires me....and it just plain keeps me grounded to who I am and where I'm headed. I let myself get on there before I go to sleep and when I'm zoning out on public transit.

14) There is at least one guy who has sort of been hanging around, but honestly I need to just sit him down and have the direct talk. I'm back to that place of not really wanting to date. I never wanted to date when I was serious about my education before...and really, until I'm financially on my own feet again, I just don't feel like I want to try to create something new with someone else when I'm still totally trying to figure it out myself. Plus, I'm not going to lie....I'm just feeling lazy. There still seem to be some great guys out there...but I'm just not there yet. I mean how DO you know who/what the right one is? My gal D is giving me one more year before she starts kicking my butt in gear....and I'm also thinking about re-starting counseling to help me work through some of these thoughts/questions.

15) Two of my gals and I just started a monthly coffee date. I can't tell you how much I've missed them and how good for my soul it has been to have our coffee dates. I'm so inspired by them with babies and new home purchases and work advancements all around!

16) My buddy Randall let me go to church with him a few Sundays ago. It was like the universe (massage school, friends, random events) had been telling me to get my spiritual health back in order. I've been so frustrated and at odds with God in the last year....and I kid you not, the message that Sunday provided the answer I needed. That God strips us of all that matters to us to remold us into what He needs/wants us to be. "Give up YOUR life...." Six months ago, I wasn't ready to hear that....but where I am now and with the future I'm contemplating, it all sort of makes sense again. (This particular church also was all about how we are missionaires in our every day lives....where can we DAILY be of service to others??....for this reason, I have started opening my massages by grounded myself with a prayer of intention to provide what clients/students/friends need....)

17) And so these days, aside from the occasional social outing, weekends studying/grading, commutes, and teaching, My life pretty much revolves around this:

Attempting to maintain balance, choosing to be happy, and lots and lots of massages :)

Exercise Recap, Insights, & Goals

This post is a month overdue. In Sept I wrote this post here, which contained my year exercise stats from the year prior since I had been tracking. I also discussed that I was nervous about the busyness of the fall schedule with all the upcoming changes and being able to maintain my physical activity levels. In order to try to counteract the potential upcoming scheduling issues, to make up for all the "off" days I'd had the year prior AND to set a new challenge, I had decided to spend September working out every single day, even if that meant just stretching for 20 minutes and rolling out on the foam roller. 

So the Sept Totals came to: 82.4 miles ran/hiked, 4 Insanity DVDs, 6 you-tube yoga sessions & 17 miles by bike and a weekend learning to paddleboard. (Also some of the mileage was from the hellish backpack trip.)

But more importantly I learned a few things from that month. I read several bloggers who cover some pretty impressive mileage and cross train a LOT. When I look at what they accomplish, I'm always in awe. If I'm 100% honest, I don't know that my body is made that same way...and that's part of what September reaffirmed for me. Yes, I can up my mileage and I can make myself work out every day. Yes, I'm proud of what my body accomplished and how fast I recovered from that initial backpacking trip, but I'm not going to lie....by the end of that month my body was physically just plain tired. I could still push it (and I did) but I should have listened to my body and taken an easier month for October.

Instead I pushed it because I got caught up in another friend based challenge of trying to push through to make another 80 miles this last month (while also adjusting to less sleep and a lot more stress), and I have no doubt that this was a major reason that I ended up sick this last month. Not taking a break led to my body mandating rest and recovery via illness, and I spent almost half the month too sick and wiped out to do anything physically active.

As much as I love being physically active and it was fun to see my body push continually and efficiently in September, I also know that actual recovery days and breaks are SO important for me. And in fact, I think I actually do better with distance running when I'm LESS active continuously. For example, this last month I was able to run a 13 miler for the first time since last winter, felt fine the next day, and then ran a 8 miler two days later. Back to back "longer" runs aren't the norm for me....but I honestly think part of that ability came from doing nothing many of the other days along the way. In fact I'm honestly contemplating running my first official half race (the Holiday Half) because I know if I can run a half when I'm sick and haven't run for five days, then I should be able to get up off the couch without training and run a half on my old undergrad roads. But we'll see....especially now that I've signed up for a new challenge...but more on that in a second.

Ironically my other thoughts on this are that the 13 miler was....amazing, I felt great, and I could have pushed on. I know that I could run a marathon (and reading everyone's Chicago recaps I actually started daydreaming about it....) but the truth of the matter is that I don't feel like putting the strain on my body or breaking it down. Running that 13 miler, my IT band was tight by mile 8, my feet were sore from the Vibrams (which is another consideration as I'd have to figure out and adjust to a different footwear option) and all the stairs at school have made my knees start to feel creaky and old....I just don't (currently) see the point in breaking myself in order to make distance. I'm not saying it won't happen. I DO have a 20 miler distance on my life goals list...but at this point a full marathon, I'm not so sure. Maybe with regular massage and acupuncture I could make it happen, but I just don't know that it's worth it....

Now...all that being said. It's now November and I've had a month to adjust to this crazy schedule. I'm still hacking (in fact they gave me an inhaler to try to stop the cough from continuing), but I'm tired of feeling too crappy to work out and I only have a month to go til there's a real break with time to sleep, heal, and recoup..so I'm trying to figure out how to get back into some routine exercise. Insert: My gal D's friend Emily (we all went to high school together) has become a huge fitness motivator and just created a FB "group" where we can all motivate/encourage each other along toward our fitness goals. (Awesome idea, no?!....I'm trying to convince her to make this into a job....)

So for this month (and after watching last month), I'm setting realistic, obtainable physical activity goals but ones that will still challenge me due to time constraints etc.

November's challenge is to work out 4-5x weekly (although I can do a double if I need to...and this means 3+ miles of running/hiking, Insanity, 30-60 minutes of a youtube yoga video, or 6+ miles biked) with two long runs (10 or more miles) this month. I also intend to drink 80 oz of water a day (I've been noticing I'm dehydrated)...and not eat any ice cream or candy this month (I almost never do but totally succumbed last month!! although I get a pass on Thanksgiving). On a side note: I'm also hoping to do at least two things for my spiritual health this month--either submerse in the Bible, go to church, volunteer...something.

So there ya have it. I learned some things (I need and do better with major rest days, stretching really helps me, having GOOD vibrams is important) and I'm headed into another month looking forward to getting myself toned up again. (On a side note: I might be trying to end 2013 with 800 miles in the bag. That means that I'd have two months of about 70 miles ahead...but definitely think it's doable!)

And what do you think, can I run a half without training in December mind you? I'm a little nervous about maybe pushing this month and then undermining myself because of it next month. We'll see. But it'd give me something to check off my goal list, as would the sprint tri that I'm contemplating for next summer.....

What are your fitness or health goals lately?!