Fine Dining, a Sports Injury and Salad Dressing

Day 9 - Some days are harder than others.  This morning when the alarm went off, I can assure you I was not cheerfully looking forward to my morning workout.  I have to set my alarm for 6am to get my teenage kids prodding along and into my car by 6:55am, so they don't miss the bus.  I am not actually doing much except being a human alarm clock and then a very early morning chauffeur.

So I spend the 6 - 7am hour mostly in snooze sessions.  When I first have to get out of bed and knock on my daughter's bedroom door, I pull my workout clothes on.  Then I sit on the bed and put my tennis shoes on without tying them, before I climb back on my bed to rest my eyes a bit longer.  At 6:50am, I pull on a sweatshirt and wrap it around me tight, pulling up the hood for good measure (mornings are cold) and I inform them I will be out front.

Today, when I returned from my very exciting morning ride to the bus stop, I was cold and tired and bit cranky.  But, I grabbed my water, headed to my gym and chose a new workout dvd to mix things up a bit today.  It was another Leslie Sansone 3 mile workout, this one using stretchy bands.  These workouts are much more than walking, for those who've never tried.  I highly recommend them. 

At first, I was stomping along half asleep while I still had my hood up on my sweatshirt.  A few moments in, I pulled the hood down.  My muscles were warming up and my body didn't feel so stiff.  I was no longer grimacing.  A bit later, I pulled the sweat shirt off completely and felt a bit more energized.  By the end, I was sweating and feeling good!  Good and strong and pleasant.

I think it helps because Leslie tells me how great of a job I am doing.  She smiles at me and tells me all the reasons why my workout is so important, how she is so glad I chose to walk with her today and how strong my body is getting using those resistence bands.  I promise you - her cheerful disposition is appreciated.

Ok, before I go, I want to talk about 3 things...

1)  No, I don't always feel like making my breakfast or preparing my meals.  But, once I start, I am so glad that I did.  As pictured above, I set my breakfast out like I am fine dining.  It feels nurturing and calm.  I eat slowly and savor each bite.  I take note that I am really feeding my body well after an almost hour long workout.  It elevates my meal, my mood and my self-talk.

2)  Last night, while playing tennis with my husband, I felt something pull in my right forearm.  I was enjoying myself and didn't want to stop, but - I am listening to my body!  Everytime the ball hit the racquet with my arm extended out, it really vibrated angrily through that muscle.  I had two choices - I could keep playing and risk my ability to fully workout and be active this week or I could stop.  We had already been playing for half an hour, so it wasn't too awful of a time to stop.  I told my husband, I had a sports injury and had to bench myself and put ice on it.  Then we both laughed.  Still, I did put ice on my arm and I am so glad that I did.  It helped and my arm was back in shape this morning.

3)  Lastly, my wonderful cousin, Colette, sent me the best present ever!  I was emailing her about homemade salad dressings and she sent me this little gift to help make it easier.  I was so excited when I opened the box this morning.  I wanted to take a picture to show everyone and thought it needed to be put up on a pedestal and smiled as I grabbed my bamboo salad bowl (how wonderfully perfect)!

It is hard to see in the picture unless you zoom in, but it has the recipe for eight different salad dressings right on the bottle, with the measurements listed and lines.  This is going to come in so handy!  I am living large now people!

I hope you all have a really great day!

Until next time...  Be well!
~Tracy