Friday! Is it just me or has this week flown by? Busy, at times stressful, the whole thing has been a blur. Not to mention I’ve been dealing with this stupid allergy thing.
You may have noticed that my workouts have been pretty pathetic this week. Well, I still don’t want to admit that I’m actually sick (I was just sick for Pete’s sake) and I’m considering the option that I have allergies. During the day I feel OK – my head is off in some cloud and my nose is running nonstop, my throat itching and whatnot – but I feel OK, I don’t feel sick. So why no workouts? Well, even though I feel alright during the day – I feel like absolute crap when it comes time to go to bed. This has made for some pretty rough mornings and the workouts just haven’t managed to get on the schedule.
I have never in my life had allergies. Neither has Nick. And this week, we’re both dealing with this crap. I picked up a few supplements so wish us luck!
Workout
I decided to go with the Bikini Body workout this morning – it’s nothing much but I can say that I did it!
Breakfast
A coffee smoothie sounded like a good option so I whipped up a new little mix. Pumpkin Spice Protein!
Pumpkin Spice Protein Smoothie
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 Cup Ice
- 1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
- 2 Tbsp Stephens Pumpkin Spice
- ½ Packet Starbucks VIA
**Balance**
Time for a little honesty.
I have briefly touched on the concept behind the name “Family Practice” before – the idea that family life is a constant shifting of priorities, responsibilities and all the fun stuff too. “Family life is a practice in balance and flow….” I have also talked about how the balance gets off and we have to “meet ourselves where we are today” - that we can’t compare ourselves to other moms, we have to accept our abilities of today and move forward with grace and understanding where we mess up or fall short.
These last few weeks have been off balance. When my mom came into town, I enjoyed going to coffee with her in the mornings, shopping after work, going out to dinner. I managed to keep up with my workouts fairly well during that time and I felt good about taking the time with my mom. I told myself “its vacation” and let myself have a little fun. Problem is, the fun hasn’t stopped and I’ve slipped into some pretty bad habits – still buying coffee in the mornings (which I really can’t afford), eating out numerous times a week (I blame this on having family in town, but the reality is that I’ve been lazy), not packing lunch for work and then eating fast food or other crap to fend off my hunger, staying up late and then snoozing the alarm in the morning.
The problem with all of this is that I’m not even enjoying it. I LOVE cooking healthy meals for my family, I would rather pack a lunch than get take out, I would rather start my day with a strong workout and a shower. And yet, I haven’t been doing any of it.
What else haven’t I done? Laundry, dishes, anything. It is honestly pathetic. Go to work, come home, play with kids, watch TV, go to bed. What kind of life is that?
To give you a visual of what my life is right now, imagine that each of the things I want to do, should do, need to do is a shiny white plate. I am the circus performer holding sticks to balance and spin my plates – only all of my plates are smashed and broken on the ground below – not dancing around in some choreographed routine. It’s a mess. Literally and figuratively.
I know that I said we have to accept our abilities today, but let’s face it, I’m not even living up to those meager standards right now.
What do I do with that? Well, I could get really mad at myself – could beat myself up about it, put myself down in my head (both of which I have been doing….) OR, I can decide that this isn’t how I want to spend my days and change my behaviors. It’s all a choice and right now I am choosing to make a better effort. Does this mean I won’t mess up again? No. Of course not. Life is a roller coaster. But part of the balancing act is learning to recognize when we’ve gone off track and then to adjust things and get back to balance once more.
How do you guys deal with the changing tides of family life? What helps you stay on track or get back on track?
