5k Done

One for the record books, a medal for my bling wall. Completed my first official 5k here in Kansas City with high humidity and slight inclines. Now on to my next 5k the coming Saturday. To God be glory! Pictures to follow!

Road Trip

Well I have one more shift to complete this evening, then I am off for two weeks.  I better enjoy it, because I will have little time off for the rest of the year.  I am working diligently on my run/walks in preparation for my first 5k participation.  I will spend about a week in Michigan, then head back here in KC for my run and just do a basic staycation.  Last year this time, I was preparing for my move and not in the best of moods.  I am making it a point to live my best life out loud for my 50th year, makes some positive changes in my health and exercise and be my absolute best!

After I get off in the morning, I decided to attend my Team Weight Loss class, I will clean the car out, gas up, get my fruits and veggies for the road, stop by the library for some books on tape and run down to the Apple store and have them look at my Ipad for some software issues.  I will prepay my bills so I won't have to worry about them next week while I am home and just basically get some sleep before hitting the highway with the poodles.  I am going to try and do my shift of driving and see how it goes. If I get tired, hotel, motel, Holiday Inn here I come to complete the drive the next day.  I am looking forward to seeing my sisters (two of them celebrating birthdays) and just a change of scenery.  I am prayerful that God will have a protective hedge around me and this will be a 4th of July celebration to remember!

Getting Real

I blog regularly on Sparkpeople.com.  I try to keep up with this blog venue as well, but as you know sometimes life gets int the way.  I like blogging and some folks like reading what is on my mind and what I have to say.  That still surprises me.

Well this morning was supposed to be a training run morning.  Then I had the bright idea to go out and try a practice 5k.  Well they both didn't work.  Not only I missed getting up for my practice run, I didn't have enough time to get over to the 5k that I signed up for yesterday.  I overscheduled myself yesterday on my off day.  Trying to run around and get stuff taken care for next week's road trip, I stayed up after getting off work at 6:40 am, ran around from pillar to post and basically exhausted myself to the point that when I crawled into bed around 6:00 pm last night, it took me a long time to relax and fall to sleep. I did a complimentary strength training session yesterday(yes with that little sleep) and she wore me out.  I felt every other muscle twitch and strain and woke up with an even more swollen left hand.  Well the Dr. told me yesterday that I do not have raging arithitis like the nurse practice tried to spook me with, it is just muscle inflammation, overuse from my job and this new training program I am doing.  So no new drugs to get and thankfully I can say with use hopefully my soreness will subside.

My Nikon cool-pix camera is dead, hard to charge the battery and I can't upload on my computer.  I want to start visually documenting my adventures here in KC since this is home of choice right now.  My Samsung cell phone is making me weary because I can't have a lot of the apps I want on there without the phone telling me I have low storage.  I really do not want to invest in another cellphone at this time, especially since I have some cool cases for my galaxy prevail, but I am frustrated with this low storage crap message that keeps popping up.   I want to make good sound decisions, especially since I am driving home next week.  Oh well, it is always something.  When live gives you lemons, make sweet lemonade out of them...my drug of choice.  And yes, use pure cane sugar in the lemonade-stepping out on the wild side!

Keeping head up high

No moping around this weekend.  After fighting feelings of depression and loneliness, I decided to take the bull by the horns this day off.  I wasn't going to waste time like I did last weekend, reeling from the news of the death of Whitney Houston.  I just sat around, hugging the bed doing nothing.  I hate that feeling of feeling sad and lonely.  I don't know why I am having such a hard time adjusting to working midnights and not being around my usual stuff.  I knew in my heart of hearts, I had to shake things up in life, kick it up a notch and do things differently.  It can't be business as usual and even though I feel like I am standing on shaky ground, I know that God wouldn't send me into territory that He doesn't equip me for, that He has my back and everything is going to be alright!

Respecting God's timing

I had a bout of the blues after I got off work this morning.  Yesterday it was one little thing, then another.  My lack of knowledge on this new job is hurting my self esteem and giving me the blues.  I had to go into my prayer closet and gird up on loins for support and reassurance from God.  I questioned myself if I did the right thing by stepping up to the plate and taking on this promotion in this heavily challenged department.  Then I came across that God equips those He sets the task out before to do.  God will not leave me or forsake me.  God's timing is perfect in His wisdom-not my timing.  God will give me no more than I can bear.  I was missing my Mom real bad.  I wanted to talk to her, really talk to her.  Again God's word came back to me that there is no sickness or disease or tears in heaven.  My heart rested on the fact that Moma is out of pain, disease free and living life beyond measure.  She doesn't want to come back to this stinking earth, she is feeling too good up there with God and family and I know in my heart of hearts, she loves me and is watching over me as I stumble through life.

So pity party is over.  I did some emotional eating damage this morning by eating hotdogs on white buns. And I had a bit of a reece peanut butter cup.  Can't do that anymore.  I will probably show a pound gain on the scale this week,but I am in it to win it, no matter what.  I am going to practice on some weight watcher recipes this weekend, work on organizing my back room so I can have a study and exercise area, purge junk I haven't touch since I moved here in August.  Throw all this old papers and stuff away, inventory my Mary Kay and get ready for my next big adventure!

Keep on keeping on

Almost done with this month, the first of 2012 and I know in my heart of hearts that I still have to kick it up a notch. I began a new position at work, lots more responsibility, different work hours and I know I am definitely out of my comfort zone. Change brings forth progress and sure I want to run and hide and stay within my comfort zone. No, I can't because the pain of remaining the same, stuck in the same rut, doing the same thing became too uncomfortable. I have to break out of my comfort shell, do some possibility thinking and get up and move my duff more! Glory. I am keep on keeping on, stumbling and fumbling at this thing called life and learning to live my best life out loud!

Getting my praise on

I am trying to give this blog its due attention this year. Normally I blog everyday on my Sparkpeople.com page-it has been my lifesaver for the past three years, especially dealing with the loss of my Mom in 2009 and having to uproot myself for my job that same year and move to KC. Life is a journey and what we make of it. I am going to live my best life. I need to take some updated photos of myself, especially since I treated myself to a keratin treatment for Christmas. I am amazed at my my natural hair growth, not giving myself much credit. I have gained some length and I am happy with it, so far.

My weight loss battle stalled for this past week. I am strengthening up my support team, I attend weekly Weight Watcher meetings, even got my girlfriend to drive across town to sign up for a meeting with me. I know I won't see her again because she hates leaving her side of town, doesn't like all that driving. Oh well, life goes beyond my backyard and I can't limit myself to it. Hopefully I will convince her that if she wants to hang, we can do things over here on the Kansas side and I can come over there on the Missouri side. For the past two years, I have been going over there, no more. Time for a change.

I have to get use to working this new schedule, midnights. I seem to have more time to do stuff, but I get a bout of sleepiness around 4:15-4:20 AM and it drives me crazy. I am not doing much before work, forcing myself to stay in bed to at least 2:00pm. My poodles have seen to adjust, but then again they are just dogs. I just mess up my sleep pattern on the weekends, I am off now on Fridays and Saturdays. Yesterday was a prime example, I stayed up late and was too tired to get up for church, for Sunday will be my normal work day now. I ended up catching my former Pastor online for a right on time message. He was discussing fasting and prayer and how it opens doors for God's continued guidance, answers to life and His mercy in our lives. I have not been too great at fasting for the new year, but I am going to get on the good foot, get right and do what I need to do to get the job done. I know that God is going to do exceedingly abundantly great things right now in my life and I am open and receptive to heed His word and receive His blessings in my life today!