September 2019 – Sweat & Sparkle

Take Captive Every Thought

I was gung-ho and on fire when I signed up for another Spinning class this week. When it was time to go to that class, though, I was less than thrilled. I was downright irritated with myself for signing up in the first place. Why would I do such a thing?

I contemplated not going. It’s not like the Spinning SWAT team was going to come after me with sniffer dogs and high-caliber weapons. I even texted my husband that I might just come home instead of going to class.

His response was simple, loving, pushing: “You can do it, baby.”

Pfffft! Didn’t he know the correct response was “Sure, come on home, my hard-working and exhausted wifey. I’ve already ordered pizza and wings, and I have your favorite blanket ready for cuddling on the couch.”

Well, no promise of pizza and wings, so off to stupid, freaking class I went. I dragged myself into the Spinning room, mumbling about dumb old bikes, wishing I was at home instead, when I saw two quotes the instructor had posted on the wall:

The very first words out of the instructor’s mouth were about coming to class when we might want to be doing something else, overcoming the temptation to do nothing and bringing ourselves to class instead, steering our thoughts from sitting on the couch to pushing ourselves to straddle that bike instead. (Okay, she said it all much more eloquently, but that was her pep talk in a nutshell.)

Wow, was this woman spying on me? I felt like every word was intended specifically for me. I reread both quotes several times so I could remember them. I really like “take captive every thought”. That one really stood out to me. I’ve read that passage before but never really applied it to myself before, my life, my choices.

Once I had two nice quotes under my belt, I figured, well, good enough! So I left…no, just kidding. I adjusted my bike, hopped on, and had a good, sweaty class.

I guess it will take a while for me to look forward to my workouts instead of considering them a necessary evil, something to cross off my to-do that I don’t really want to do, like mopping the floors. But I did it, and I am sure I will sign up for next week, so I can swear, grumble, mumble, and complain the whole way to class again.

Protected: Two Years

Mutt

I had set a goal last week of working out at least 20 minutes each day. Believe it or not (I barely believe it myself), I stuck to it and made time each day to do something, as long as I was moving.

After skipping weigh-in last week, I weighed in this week to a nice loss. Then I kept it up over the weekend and had a very active weekend: yard work on Saturday and then a long hike with my stepson’s dog on Sunday. I can’t wait until the weather finally cools off here, and we can hit the trails and not worry about heat stroke or melting.

Since it was just me and my four-legged partner in crime, I decided we would jog a little here and there to burn off some of his extra energy. He loved it, and he got wound up like a hyper puppy, even showing off a bit since he is so much faster than me, darting what suspiciously appeared to be smug glances my way when he had to wait for me to catch up. I am still a certified cat person, but I admit to a soft spot for this stubborn, hard-headed, clumsy mutt.

animals-treatment-quote

Spinning and New Business Cards

I haven’t been to a Spinning class since New Year’s Eve. So going to another class, nine months later, seemed like a great idea when I signed up, all full of good intentions and positive vibes…but as class time approached yesterday evening, I started to have serious doubts. All of a sudden, my good idea felt more like “What was I thinking?”

I didn’t back out, though. I went to class, adjusted my bike, and bravely hopped on. Forty-five minutes later, dripping with sweat, gasping for breath, I was grateful that class was over! My legs were sore already, even after stretching, and I’m still feeling it today. So what did I do? Went ahead and signed up for a class next week!

When I got home, my husband was in the kitchen, washing dishes. (Is there anything sexier than a man who cleans?) He must not have heard me come in, because when he saw me, he got a big smile on his face and said “Hey!” like he was surprised. It was sweet. I love the little things.

I had a surprise for him (after I griped about my sore legs). Quite some time ago, I got a promotion at work to a director position, but since I still had plenty of business cards with my old title, I was just using those until I emptied the box. My co-workers must have decided that I had waited long enough: one of them came into my office and presented me with a box of brand new, shiny, fancy business cards with “Director” instead of my old title. I immediately snagged one to take home to my husband.

It means a lot to me to finally see that title under my name. I worked hard for it. I also like knowing that the kids have at least one positive and strong female role model in their lives. Their only other example is someone with the work ethic of a corpse (and the moral compass of Hitler and the personality of a cockroach, but I digress). I want the kids to know that women can be in charge, can make important decisions, and not just wait for hand-outs like a leech. I want all four of them, not just the girls, to know that they can be anything they want to be, not just what others box them into and try to shackle them into being, because they are better than that.