Monday – Sweat & Sparkle

Set the Tone

I’m never particularly happy when the weekend is over, especially a relaxing and peaceful one like we just had. It rained yesterday, and it was wonderful, staying inside, just watching football, cooking, and snuggling with the Husband Guy.

I won’t lie and pretend that I woke up this morning, pumped up and excited to start a Monday morning. But I look at it like this: Monday is going to come, every single week, whether I want it to or not. So shouldn’t I make the best of it?

Five work days are sprawled out in front of me. Today sets the tone for how the rest of the week goes.

I am heading out soon for lunch with a co-worker and friend, and I am looking forward to that. What are you doing today to set the tone for a good week?

New Week

I knew our weekend was going to fly by quickly, but damn…that was ridiculous. I was just walking through the front door on Friday, and now, rudely and abruptly, it’s the start of a new work week.

It’s hard not to get angry and frustrated and downright cranky, and hurling myself to the floor of my office and throwing my stapler and maybe some folders is still not out of the question. I look forward to our weekend for so long, then it’s gone in a flash, like an ice cream cone melting too fast on a hot day.

But I know that starting the week with a chip on my shoulder is just guaranteeing a long Monday and an even longer and more painful week. So in the interest of gritting my teeth and trying my damnedest to be positive, I have these to share:

Convinced yet? Yeah, me neither. But I do like the idea of using Mondays to ask myself, what do I want to accomplish before this week ends? Over the next five days, instead of just petulantly holding my breath until the weekend, what do I want to achieve…besides, of course, dreaming up plans for the upcoming weekend?

Mondays

I have a co-worker who likes to chipperly announce that she loves Mondays. Despite this mildly annoying characteristic, I actually still speak to her.

Isn’t she sort of right, though? As difficult as it may be sometimes, maybe if we stop hating on Mondays so hard, they wouldn’t be quite so bad.

It’s a tough sell, sure. The end of the weekend isn’t something I will ever celebrate. I adore my weekends, my time with my husband, snuggling in bed, planning our day together, date night, all of it. I love heading outside and fussing over the plants and working on yard projects, and nothing beats staying up just a bit too late because we know we don’t have to set the alarm clock for Sunday morning.

So yeah, I can’t say that I love Mondays. But I will say that waking up with the expectation that Monday will be a bad day is almost certainly a guarantee that it will be a bad day.

Mondays might very well be the end of the weekend (boo! hiss!) But Mondays can also be a new start, a square one, the first step to something you have been meaning to do. Mondays can be a fresh week with possibility rolled out in front of us.

Not convinced just yet? Well, honestly, neither am I. But I will try. In the meantime, I discovered this quote with some inspiration for this week and all the Mondays beyond:

Happy Monday!

…yes, even the Monday after a time change and one less hour of sleep! 🙂

October Will Be Epic!

Thank you for the kind comments on yesterday’s blog post! I really needed them. I’m glad I finally wrote out my feelings and only wish I’d have done it sooner.

It might just be wishful thinking, but I am fairly certain that I am not quite as stuffy today. My voice still sounds funny since my throat is rough from coughing, but maybe, just maybe, I might be starting my comeback to relatively healthy instead of looking like an extra from The Walking Dead.

Yesterday I printed out a blank calendar for October and filled in my planned workout for each day. Now, before you get too impressed, it is basically the same workout from week #1 repeated through the entire month, but I made sure to alternate cardio and weight training days, and even added in a few ab days so I don’t conveniently accidentally-on-purpose leave those workouts out.

Tonight I won’t be able to work out because I’m heading to my stepson’s football game. I missed last week’s game because of work (thanks, work), so I am really excited about tonight and blowing what is left of my voice. No one will be able to understand what I’m saying, anyway. My voice sounds like I chewed on barbed wire as a snack.

My office is starting a wellness challenge that begins on Monday. We have to track our workout miles, and then we will add all our miles together on a map we will post in the kitchen, tracking our progress walking across the state. My competitiveness kicked in, and I want to rack up more miles than anyone else! We are counting actual miles from walking and running, and also converting workouts like aerobics to miles too, based on intensity and length of the workout.

And how awesome is it that the month of October starts on a Monday? New week, new month, all at the same time! It’s like the dieter’s starting-over hallelujah. It’s definitely a sign. Cue the angels singing and light beams shining down gloriously on October first! Toss the glitter and the confetti! Applaud wildly!

…or just write this off as the cold-medicine-induced ramblings of a semi-drugged woman with a raging fever.

Either way, Monday is the new start of all new starts, and it is going to be EPIC! 🙂 Who’s with me?