The Perfect Day

By now you know that “serendipity” is one of my favorite words…and that a great day is one that begins with no alarm clock, a cup of green tea sipped leisurely, followed by a nice long run with my ipod. 

I am really enjoying the new “genius” feature on itunes which puts together songs I haven’t listened to in a while. I enjoy music. All kinds of it. It can be so moving and powerful.  Today’s compilation was  “serendipitous”! I THOUGHT I had selected one of the saved “genius” compilations.  By mistake I had pressed songs to play in alpha order begining with  “O’s”…what I heard for that hour or so was a wonderful, odd mix! Usually I pick moods or certain tempo music. Today was one surprise after another and ALL “perfect” for various reasons.  Right in the middle of my run, I even heard a version of Pachelbel Canon with the sound of ocean waves in the background. It was beautiful fall morning. I almost felt like I was getting my beach fix!   Then, as I headed down the last stretch into my neighborhood, “Perfect Day” (Josh Bates) came on. It was a perfect end to a perfect run. 

Here are a few of the “P” songs I heard:

Pachelbel Canon 

Paradise (Ana Serrano)

Peaches & Cream (John Butler Trio)

Perfect Day (Josh Bates)

And the “O” song I started with?  Jason Castro’s version of “Over the Rainbow” with his ukulele.

Happy Saturday. Stay strong.

Or so the saying goes…but I have to say I certainly agree!  This weekend I raced in a sprint triathlon with 6 other girlfriends. Some I work with, some I work out with, and some I just met.  Regardless, we entered this race with different aspirations and goals–to win, to place, to better our last time, to finish, to conquer and overcome….but most of all to have fun and celebrate life.  We met at Jayne Ann’s at 4:45 for last minute prep and our “before” shot. We were excited, anxious, tired (me…yawn) and ready to take on this experience.  We couldn’t have had better weather. The pool was comfortable–not too hot and not too cold.  The weather warmed up enough so that no additional layers were needed after the swim. The bike route was hilly and beautiful. And the run was off road, through some woods, on trails and along side a small lake.

You know the poem that talks about friends who come and go. Some are for a lifetime and some for a period of time. No matter how long, each brings a special gift.

My Saturday morning friends are amazing. One has a fear of water…and yet, that does not stop her from swimming several times a week and racing.  One of them has never run before, yet she put everything she had into this race, finished it and did fantastic. Another one I want to be like when I grown up. She runs a 6 minute mile and has a rock hard little bod.  Several of these ladies beat their best times and set personal records. Another one still looks like an amazing beauty after an hour and a half of strenuous racing!  These ladies are so motivating, so encouraging, so STRONG!

Here’s to a great weekend, a lot of fun, girlfriends who rock & more PRs!

Last week, I came home from work to find a couple of plastic bags containing two huge phone books. Typically I recycle the bags, then bring in the latest books inside and swap them out for whatever ones are in the house.  I throw the older versions into my recycle can.  This time, I stopped. I never use the things. Between the internet and 411 Free Info. (If you are not familiar with this resource, RIGHT now enter 411-FREE into your cell phones 1-800-373-3411.  After a brief commercial from the sponsor of the day, you get a free directory assistance. It works about 90% of the time and you can have them tell you the info, get details like phone # and address, or have that same info texted to your phone!  We rarely use our phone books–yellow pages or residential.) So back to the yellow pages, I decided to do a little research and was pleasantly surprised to find the Yellow Pages gang is on top of it.  You can go to www.yellopagesgoesgreen.org and get your name removed from future telephone books. Sweeeeeeet!! They’ve got a pretty nifty little site set up and they also have an option to opt out of catelogs, as well.  See how simple it is to make a difference?  Just one small act, every day. Tell your friends. Together, we CAN make a difference!

Rule out recess, that is. This is one of my sore spots when it comes to children.  WE are responsible for the future of our youth.  We teach them all kinds of things from values to attitudes to how to eat. But somehow, in this “no kid left behind” world, we have become too focused on so called “enrichment” classes and activities to the point that childhood obesity has become an epidemic.

We CAN do something about school lunches. if you cannot influence the offerings, then at least you can send something from home. And, that’s definitely a step in the right direction.

But what about the other side of the equation?  The equation that’s been proven time after time after time: our bodies are meant to move.   We work & perform better.  We think better.  Our bodies heal better.  We feel better…when we are active.  And so do our kids.

No longer do schools have physical education every day…how sad is that? And recess–a physical and mental break which is key on many levels– is often dependent on a slew of factors.  Sadly, an article in Dallas Child magazine says close to 40% of our nation’s schools have reduced or are thinking about eliminating recess from the school day.   My daughter’s elementary school only has PE 2-3 days a week, where the goal is some activity for at least 20 minutes.

Gone are the days when our kids learn various sports in school PE. I learned all my sports that way! In today’s world, the knowledge comes from parents getting kids into extracurricular sports outside of the schools. And while that combats the issue some, it isn’t an option for many under-privileged families.  With parents working, kids are often left to the entertainment of TVs and computer games…and a lot of artificial, nutritiously empty, processed food.

Whole Foods has a wonderful program that is free for schools to participate in. It helps kids log miles that they walk/run in quarter mile segments. In Texas, there is a kick off celebration and 6 months later, a final lap celebration. The children who successfully complete a log that equates to a “marathon” (26 miles) earn a free T-shirt and finisher’s medal. I think it’s a great program for the education, goal setting and physical aspects. My daughter is participating for her 4th year.  The program also comes with a food calendar to count daily fruit and vegetable intake.  It’d be easy to implement in your area and Whole Foods would be happy to help.  We participate as “independents”!

Take a stand and speak up. For your kids or the kids in your neighborhood.   Be a role model.  Let children see you being active and invite them to join you.   And let me know what’s working for you!

This is a fight worth fighting.

A few weeks ago, my kids and I visited family in Florida. Since my folks live on the intercoastal, one of our favorite things to do is to read boat names as they are passing by the dock, or when we’re out boating.  We made up stories about why people chose the names they did.  Then we talk about what we would name our boats.  My dad doesn’t have a name on his boat. He claims it should be aptly named, “Never Used”. I am pretty sure he was talking about the boat…!  My son said he would name his boat, “Sea More I” because that opened the door to a larger boat to be named, “Sea More II” and then “Sea More III!  My daughter, ever the H20 enthusiast, said she would name hers, “Aqua Marine”.  We got quite a few laughs and thought we would share them with you.  Do you have a name on your boat, or have you seen some creative names that made you smile?   A few of the ones I liked were “Conscious Evolution”, “Starting Over”, “Second Wife”, “Scandalosa”, “Smile Doc”, “R&R”, plus our favorite ones below:

And of course, my personal favorite….”Serendipity”…remember my July18th post? Be sure to slow down and take those chances in life…you never know what wonders are around the corner, you just have to be open to the opportunity that is out there………who knows what might happen?!

I’m a fan of David Allen (www.davidco.com ). The man is a master at time management and ways to make the most of your time. I completely agree with his suggestion to write your action plans out, COMPLETELY, so that your mind is free to focus wholly on the effort at hand. But, do you think we’ve now gotten to the point of too much agenda? I know for my ESTJ self, that can quite often be the case. I’ve been thinking about serendipity a lot lately. How in the world can we experience the pleasure of surprise, spontaneity, or fate if we’re too scheduled and just too doggone busy? I think we need to make a conscious effort to plan OPEN time to allow opportunities for enjoyable, pleasurable, non-structured activity. Or, maybe even trying something new. I bet some of your most precious memories to date are those things you didn’t expect or plan–paths crossing, or strangely wonderful, creative ideas. Lets face it, we all know that stress can lead to weakened immunity, anxiety,  depression or heart disease. It’s time to chunk the agenda out the window–at least for some part of your week and see what life throws your way.  I bet it will be an adventure!

  In continuing my “favorite things”…this week’s sharing might come as a surprise—because it is the men’s magazine, “Men’s Health”! I actually subscribe to both Women’s Health and Men’s Health. Seriously- I do.  You’d think there would be a lot of overlap in content, but there isn’t.  I find Men’s Health informative, entertaining (the sex and gadget articles—you gotta love how men think!), and yes, then there are the pictures…But, seriously, I read it for the ARTICLES. (How funny does that sound?!) And what I really dig about the magazine (and website) are the workouts.  While I go to a gym (Lifetime Fitness) and have a mini gym at my house, I really like boot camp type of training—using your body as resistance– AND at-home workouts. I do them myself and like to include my kids when I train. Plus, many friends I work with don’t want to join a gym and I like being able to show them exercises they can easily do with their whole family, at home, with little or no equipment. Let me share a fun one I stumbled upon. I read about it on Men’s Fitness and then looked it up on YouTube. I recommend watching the video from the creators for form and instruction. You can modify it a lot of ways. Then, if you want to be entertained, you can watch a bunch of guys who filmed themselves attempting to do this workout in its entirety! Now, if you don’t have a chin up bar in a doorway or in the garage, just be creative in your modifications. You can use a resistance band wrapped around a pole to get your back.  And, if you want to start with a simpler workout until you get stronger, try this:20 Prisoner Squats, 20 Pushups, 10 Jumps, 10 Inverted Rows (alternate using a band or a towel and a partner!)20 Forward Lunges (10 reps per side)15 Close-grip Pushups, 5 Chin-ups or Inverted Rows (underhanded grip with band/partner or find a solid bar/bench you can use to pull yourself up)  

But seriously, in this age of texting abbreviations, acronyms DO serve a useful purpose!  Anyway,  I came across one I really liked, so I thought I would share it with you. It’s called the “L-I-V-E” formula and it came from the Dawna Markova book, “I Will Not Die an Unlived Life–Reclaiming Purpose & Passion ” So, here it is:

L is for love…what do you LOVE to do? Make a list and then be sure to DO it.

I is for inner gifts…what are your natural talents? What do others come to you for? And back to “L”- what makes you happy?  Go ahead, offer them to the world around you.    

V is for values…what’s REALLY important? How do you want to make YOUR mark in the world? What is your legacy? What do you want to be remembered for?

E is for environment…we have such a grand opportunity to make a difference in our world and the world for our children. Don’t kid yourself. EVERY little bit matters. But the way to make the grandest impact is to surround yourself with those people, places, things, and conditions that bring out the BEST in YOU. It will help your career, your happiness and your impact on our wonderful world.

Go ahead and try it. Dare ya.  L-I-V-E a little…or a lot!  And don’t forget to laugh along the way.