Like Art

Posted on May 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

I literally and truly thought today was Friday. I even asked my direct report why so and so was in the office today since it’s Friday. She kindly informed me that it was actually Thursday and then added, “from your lips to God’s ears.” Noted.

I discovered a cupcake shop near me and they bake vegan red velvet cupcakes. My life is complete. 

Tonight I treated myself to Chipotle. What else is new? This treat was given to me from me for running hard during speed work class. Yes, I often treat myself to Chipotle after my runs. It’s a long-standing tradition. Tonight was the first class of the session. It began with a downpour of rain. No biggie. Two friends joined the class with me. The last time I took this series of classes was in 2009. Wow. I actually ran into a gal who happens to still be attending the classes since I was there last. She said she has been in the class for eight years now.

I was hesitant to rejoin as I thought it would be like going backwards. To my surprise, it felt like no such thing. It’s a whole new gang of people and I’m excited to challenge myself and see myself grow as a runner.

I feel like I’m coming into my own. I’m confident in my decisions, choices, and how I’m living my life. I find that I’m not wasting time on situations that are out of my control.  I’m not basing my happiness on anyone other than myself. I took a friend’s advice and I’m pleased to say it’s working.

Another piece of advice said friend gave me was to take a step back and look at scenarios in a different light. When looking at a piece of art, there are so many angles in which you can observe it. She suggested I view certain instances in life just the same. I’ve actually begun to take these words to heart. Life can be pretty simple and carefree once you let go of the excess nonsense in your head.

This blog post is a keeper. The author, Katie, certainly has a way with words: “Don’t make someone else responsible for your happiness by waiting for their cue to tell you it’s ok to leap; it’s not fair to them or to you. Instead, stand in the power of your own conviction. Decide what you want and go there now.”

Goal for the day: Write down four aspirations that come to mind to start now. Small steps eventually lead us to where we are supposed to be.

My list:

  • Become a certified health and life coach.
  • Qualify for the Boston Marathon.
  • Climb a mountain or teach a yoga class one day (what?!?!?!)
  • Run the 2012 New York City Marathon in sub-4 hours.

What’s on your list?

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

P.S. I cannot stop listening to this song. It makes me want to dance and sing at the top of my lungs.

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Posted in Challenge Yourself, Happiness

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Idealistic to Realistic

Posted on May 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

Yesterday morning upon waking I had only one thing on my mind. I wanted an iced coffee from Joe. A location recently opened near me, so I promptly got dressed and decided to take a morning stroll. Lucky for me, my voice has begun to return after yesterday’s bout of laryngitis and I was able to catch up on phone calls with family and friends during my walk.

I am a total convert. I received a punch card as well – purchase five, get one free. Let’s hope I don’t lose the card.

Later that morning I concocted my own smoothie since I had so many random ingredients in my kitchen. I’m heading out of town later this week and want to make sure nothing goes to waste.

This one’s a winner and I recommend it.

In the mix: a handful of frozen blueberries, a few pours of orange juice, one scoop of wheatgrass, a handful of fresh spinach and a pour of Kombucha Gingerade.

I noticed that many of my friends share quotes with me. It’s quite lovely. Here’s one I received this past week from Real Simple’s Daily Thought which I will now share with you.

This is true, isn’t it? I always envision how I see things playing out or I become excited thinking about scenarios (from beginning to happy ending) in the future. Sometimes things turn out just as you wished and other times it may be that you are actually only seeing the potential in what could be, but the reality of the situation may be completely different.

I would say I’ve always been an idealist. More recently, I’ve opened my eyes to see the reality of situations. If I’m unsure and questioning how someone is acting or reacting to me, rather than giving every excuse in the world and hoping for the best, I take a step back and see it for what it is. It’s easy when looking at things more clearly with open eyes. Decide to welcome into your life only what and who makes you happy.

Catching My Attention

I discovered yet another song which I recently downloaded and listen to on repeat.

For the runners out there, I was reading Women’s Health and came across an interesting race taking place on September 23 in New York City. This race is also happening in other cities on different dates. I may have a conflict, but this race is tempting.

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Posted in Confidence, Positive Thinking

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Memento Vivere

Posted on May 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

Happy pre-summer Saturday. Next weekend is the unofficial kick-off to the summer season. I cannot wait. I’m currently basking in my favorite time of year.

I have so many random thoughts in my mind. So I figured I’d share them all, in no particular order, through my beautiful (blurry/out of focus) iPhone photos.

I hosted my Mom at my apartment for Mother’s Day. It was a blast. I made a quiche and homemade sunshine muffins for the first time. They were a hit as were the mimosas, naturally. I truly love to cook. It brings me joy.

I had a manicure last week and chose a bright, seasonal shade of coral. I’m also quite fond of Kombucha in Gingerade. It’s my new favorite flavor. Any food or drink item with ginger as an ingredient is more than fine with me.

Last week while on the PATH train to Jersey City to run a race, I was secretly trying to take a photo of this cute pup in his dog carrier without his owner thinking I’m a crazy lady. I didn’t do a good job, but you can see his little head. I adored his mushy face.

This past Wednesday marked the completion of a three-week bootcamp program I participated in through Bootcamp Republic. I signed up for the class with two of my co-workers who also happen to be my friends. There were lots of laughs and equal amounts of pain. No pain, no gain. We were proud of ourselves and will be celebrating over margaritas this coming week. I recommend this bootcamp to any New Yorker’s out there. There is something to be said about exercising outdoors. I would also recommend our outstanding, one-of-a-kind instructor, Mr. Courtney Paul. He has one session left and then will be heading over to Barry’s Bootcamp next month.

Last Tuesday evening while giddily walking back to my apartment after visiting a friend who lives only twenty blocks north of me, I treated myself to Pinkberry. I used to live for this frozen yogurt. Sadly, it doesn’t do it for me anymore as it tasted artificial. I’ve lost the love. Funny how our taste buds can change over time.

Earlier today I headed over to The Great Googa Mooga Festival held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. A friend of mine had an extra ticket and so kindly invited me along.

I took a (glaring) photo of my festival attire on the way out.

A few of us got there early when it opened at 11:00am. It was such a good call.

We were able to beat the lines for food early on. I had an iced coffee from Joe which was instantly refreshing. I’ve always been anti-iced coffee until today and now I am a convert. I also had a watermelon lemonade and chicken fingers from Dirty Bird To Go.

For the first time, I tried a veggie pupusa from El Olomega. It was delicious!

 A pupusa is a tortilla made of corn flour (Maseca) stuffed with various flavors of food like pork, chicken, loroco flower, cheese, and beans. The pupusa is stuffed while forming the round pancake like tortilla. It is a culinary art form.

We heard a few bands play while lounging on our picnic blankets – Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens, The Pedrito Martinez Group and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. I enjoyed them all but The Pedrito Martinez Group may have been my favorite. They brought a good energy along with them.

Two of our friends waited in line to grab tickets to the beer garden. An hour and a half later we entered the beer garden to taste a few brews. They were troopers for waiting in line.

By the way, I’ve completely lost my voice so it was a bit of a challenge socializing today, but I made it happen. I didn’t want to miss out on this experience.

I was looking through photos on my phone which lead me to this post. I came across the below photo – “Memento Vivere.”

This means “Remember to Live.” I received this card while on business in Miami this past February. I was experiencing one of the hardest heartbreaks of my life at that time. When I read this on the stationary that day in my hotel room, I promised myself to do just that – remember to live. Today, looking back, I’m really proud of myself. I could have curled up in a ball and fell apart completely. There were many moments I felt like doing just that, but instead I carried on through my many tears. I proved to myself that I am a strong person and that no matter the circumstance, I will always be ok.

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Posted in Happiness, Perseverance

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On With the Dance

Posted on May 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a long one. You’ve been forewarned.

I’ve said this before but I usually fall off the blog radar when I’m going through something that I cannot quite grasp. I always attempt to make my blog posts come off in a positive light rather than talk about things that are upsetting me. After all, this blog is about “finding my gumption” and inspiring others along the way. I like to report on all of the upbeat, happy actions I’m working through on a daily basis. Yet, recently, I did disclose the pain I was going through during a breakup. Since breakups are a fact of life, I was sure many others could relate in one way or another.

Here I am in the healing process after the deep, initial pain has subsided. I’ve heard that the healing process can be harder than the actual pain of heartbreak itself. I didn’t see how that was true but now after this week I may feel differently. It has its ups and downs.

I had a revelation two weekends ago that I proclaimed here. I felt like I entered a new phase of my life. I’m happy about how far I’ve come over the past three months. I was a lost, little girl this past January. I’m finally rediscovering the confident woman who I am and was always meant to be. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about trusting people after what happened to me but I bounce back pretty easily. Truthfully, I’ve always been an overly trusting person my entire life. I can’t change who I am in essence. I’m ok with this fact.

A few weeks ago something occurred in which I was unexpectedly over the moon, but in the back of my mind I happened to get a strange gut feeling. I should know by now to always trust my gut as it has never let me down in the past. Though, at times I find myself kicking and screaming trying to ignore it. Initially I did ignore this particular instance and went professing my happiness all around town. Conversely, actions kept occurring that made me believe my gut was right. This week, actions were sort of blatantly shouting in my face that my gut is right.

I don’t have any definite answers and maybe I’ll be wrong in the end about what I’m feeling today. I’m being a bit vague but would rather focus on feelings that the actual chain of events themselves.

You really think you may know a person and in a blink of an eye things switch and you are left with a big question mark. I’m tired of questioning myself because of the actions of others.  I must be becoming a stronger person as I’m not going to let someone or a situation get the best of me any longer.

I was given this sound advice from a friend:

I don’t think you should put too much of how you feel about yourself in the hands of a man. You need to realize what a fabulous, amazing person you are on your own. What is wrong with you? Nothing is wrong with you. You need to focus on yourself and being happy within yourself. I think you’re missing that. You don’t need a man to make you feel complete or happy. You can do that all on your own. Fall in love with yourself. That’s what I learned recently.

Keep your head up. Don’t worry about what other people are doing with their life. Just focus on you and what you’re doing. That is most important.

Amen.  To clarify, I am a very independent person and I always find ways to better myself and be content with myself. I’m perfectly happy on my own. I’ve never been one to “need a man” in my life. On the flip side, when a man comes into my life that I really care about, then it gets tricky. I have been known to let a man’s actions control my happiness.

I suppose I’m sharing these thoughts as a learning process. Part of me feels like a fool for putting this out there. Ultimately, I know that I can get through anything. Being disappointed is a let-down. Life still goes on.

On a lighter note, here are some things that have been keeping me busy as well as happy:

  • I’m taking a bootcamp class with two of my friends. There have been lots of laughs and it’s a grueling (in a good way) workout for ninety minutes. Nothing like endorphins kicking in to put you in a good mood.
  • I went running with two friends this week and we want to make it a regular routine.
  • I don’t wait around to make plans for those who pretend they are interested in seeing me but in fact aren’t. I immediately fill my calendar with those who do.
  • I signed up for the NYC Marathon!
  • I continue to take my favorite Friday yoga class.

Another friend recently told me that he views his life as a river. He doesn’t stop or try to go against the current. He keeps moving forward. I think I finally get it.

Here’s to continually moving forward, friends.

 

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Posted in Confidence, Perseverance, Strength

Kiss Your Life

Posted on April 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Good Morning. I hope everyone enjoyed a nice weekend. Mine was filled with lots of running, studying and hanging out with friends and family.

As as side note, if you live in NYC or plan to visit, I recommend dinner at Pulino’s. I asked the waiter about his favorite dishes and went with one of them being the Tagliatelle Con Salsiccia Al Vino. This was egg tagliatelle pasta with wine sausage ragu.

In reading my Twitter feed recently, I enjoyed the following tweets and wanted to share them with you. It so happens I’m following this advice wholeheartedly.

Tonight begins my first bootcamp session in Central Park with friends. I have a feeling lots of laughs will ensue. I was so excited that I got myself packed and organized last night.

Has anyone ever taken an outdoor bootcamp? Thoughts?

I’m looking forward to the week ahead. It’s going to be a good one. I’m throwing that out there to the universe.

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Posted in Positive Thinking

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Hang With Me

Posted on April 27, 2012 | 2 Comments

I was reading a blog I’m quite fond of last night. Katie’s posts put me at ease and I always feel good after reading her thoughts. I also tend to discover a new song I must listen to on repeat one thousand times. (See below.)

She wrote something recently that hit home:

“It’s easier to burn than to build. It’s easier to hurt than to heal.” 

 …all the hurt, all the fear, all the doubt does not define who I am. These are just constantly changing emotions. I am constant. Period.

I’ve been on somewhat of a ride with my feelings and emotions lately. This past weekend something shifted in me. I would say I’m now healing rather than in the burning, broken phase of a recent life experience. I’m breathing in the world and ready to take it by storm.

(source)

I was hit hard with the realization that I was looking down a road that wasn’t my path when the right road was in front of me all this time.

I have this huge heart. This bursting heart that always has hope. I love to love. Is that a good thing? I’ll go with yes. Staying positive seems logical.

I must remember to pause, take a deep breath and look at everything surrounding me at this moment. My life is pretty darn good right now. I won’t allow myself to be brought down anymore. I made that promise to myself.

Happy Friday!

Catching My Attention

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Posted in Happiness, Love

Risks and No Regrets

Posted on April 25, 2012 | 2 Comments

Last weekend happened to be one of the best weekends of my life. This is a mighty grand statement. In all honesty, it was great in so many ways and I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. It was one of those perfect spring weekends in New York City.

(source)

The weekend opened my eyes to a whole new world that I think I’ve shut out for so long. Suddenly, part of me that has been lying dormant feels alive.

Recently I wrote about taking a turn down a different path not yet traveled in this post. You never know where it can lead. It’s really wonderful when you open your eyes and take a chance at times. Life is full of taking risks and some turn out for the best while others break your heart. It’s a huge gamble but well worth it no matter the outcome. Having no regrets about my life is one of my best policies for me.

While the last few months have been some of the hardest I’ve ever experienced, in some sense, they’ve also brought amazing people and opportunities into my life. I’ve learned a great deal about myself in the process. Since January feels like a world away, I know now is the time for me to not look backward and only move forward to greet all of the exciting adventures still to come my way.

So, I urge you, if you ever have the opportunity to look down a new path in life, give it a try. You just never know.

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Posted in Happiness

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