Half Work and Half Play

I woke up to a nightmare this morning at 5 a.m. And then I didn’t want to go back to sleep for fear or dreaming the same thing! So, I just got started on my day a little earlier.

First thing I did was walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I walked 1 mile. I will focus on the benefit to my body rather than thinking about how it probably wasn’t very many calories compared to running. You see how I think? At this point, any movement is good. I’m going to work on practicing self-love.

As women, I think this is something we tend to do. We discredit ourselves. We compare ourselves with other people, and the funny thing is—we’re all too busy thinking about ourselves that no one is really noticing the things we’re worrying about! So who’s with me on trying to replace negative thoughts with positive ones? If you come across a negative thought on this blog, that I don’t replace with a positive one, you are free to correct me! I might need your help.

I also want to say thank you to those of you who have been supportive of me as I express my very personal thoughts and feelings. I am nervous every time I put myself out there by writing about what is going on in my head. As I mentioned before, my emotions are one of the things that I discredit.

When I post how I feel in my heart of hearts, I await the ridicule, but almost all of you are so supportive of me. It means a lot. It validates my feelings and helps me to process them. I often struggle with feeling like my feelings and emotions aren’t valid—that I don’t have a reason to feel X emotion, that I should stuff it all inside and get over it. The truth is, we all have a right to feel the way that we feel and PROCESSING those emotions is key.

When I mentioned in my last post that I cried instead of eating the brownie, this is actually a break through for me. To process the emotion instead of stuffing it in. Make sense? I am not throwing myself a pity party or whining. I am trying to figure out how to process how I feel in a healthy way. Crying is ok. It’s what our bodies are designed to do. Crying makes us feel better, it releases stress. There is scientific research to back this up. And this isn’t the first time that crying has been the key to dodging emotional eating.

Don’t be like me and stuff your emotions inside. Don’t suck it up. Let it all out. You will feel better. I have a lot of work ahead of me to learn to process emotions in a healthy way. I hope that you won’t mind as I pour my heart out here on this blog. I appreciate those of you who are respectful of my feelings. If you knew me in person, I don’t think you would discredit how I feel. It’s easy to judge people. I’m really not a crazy, self-centered, self-indulgent person. I promise.  

Now, enough with the deep stuff and on with the fun!

For breakfast, I ate a flaxseed waffle with 1 tbs. maple syrup and a sliced banana along with a scrambled egg and skim milk.

Coffee while working. It was technical issue after issue this morning! I felt like I wasn’t getting a lot done. But it was exciting seeing my work published.

On my break, I ate an apple.

And a light string cheese.

When I went out to get the mail, I noticed that the spring flowers are starting to pop up!! That is SUCH a good sign!

For lunch, I ate a slice of leftover homemade pizza and a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, gouda, and ham. I topped it with homemade ranch dressing.

This was my first try at homemade salad dressing. I didn’t quite get the taste I was looking for—but it’s good! I’ll try again.

I also ate some clementines.

A while later, I snacked on a homemade Larabar.

I got off of work early—for a very special reason! So I hopped in the Jeep and started on my journey. I was equipped with more coffee.

It was a gorgeous day to drive. The sun was shining and the clouds were just beautiful.

I cranked up my music and soon the stress started fading away. Such a good feeling.

I had to stop for gas and bathroom break. I was hungry, so I snacked on a banana.

And almonds.

And I bought these beautiful flowers.

So where did I go? I went to visit my sister and family—a state away! I made it in time for supper. She made a delicious chicken dish cooked in a wine sauce, which was served over mashed potatoes. I had a side salad and 2 small slices of homemade wheat bread.

Yummy! It was fabulous! After supper, I played Jenga with the kids. Awww, cute, huh?

Later on, I had 2 small chocolate chip cookies.

I look forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning and to just spending time with family tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. I really need this time away to de-stress and relax! Looking forward to it!