Spring Cleaning Time! Let it Go!

Every spring, I feel the urge to purge.  I rummage through my drawers, closets and den in order to clear out the old and make way for the new.  As I pick up clothes, books, papers and yes even shoes; I as myself a few questions:

1.  Does it make me happy to hold it? If the answer is NO then into the bag it goes.
2.  Have I worn it or am I holding onto it because of sentimental value or the dreaded "I may wear it one day"?  If it is sentimental than I ask myself if the memory is enough and then let it go.  If I am not ready to let it go, I put it in the keep pile.  If it's the "I may wear it one day" answer and I haven't worn it in the past year...out it goes.
3.  If it's paper, I determine if I have it on the computer or can find it on the internet.  If the answer is yes, shred it!  Books that I have read and don't need to read again are either kept for the book exchange group or donated to someone who will enjoy them.

As items are put in the donate bag or the garbage bag, I feel my spirit lighten.  It's very true what they say about spring cleaning improving your mood, decreasing stress levels and increasing creativity.

While de-cluttering your space, you should also consider de-cluttering your mind.  Remove the negative thoughts that no longer serve you and make way for positive thoughts to break through.  As I was removing old items from my space, I found that I was able to make peace with my past and let it all go.  I had a few AHA moments regarding past relationships and felt such inner peace at the end of the weekend cleaning spree.

This picture says it all....

 If you haven't started your spring clean...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??  Get to it!!

All you need is love!

I came across this on Facebook and was completely blown away by it.  Albert Einstein is one of the people on my list of those I would like to have at a dinner party.  He was way ahead of his time and he knew it!!  I really don’t have much more to add.  Give this letter a read…I got goosebumps…know you will too.  All you need is love!!

A letter from Albert Einstein to his daughter:

In the late 1980s, Lieserl, the daughter of the famous genius, donated 1,400 letters, written by Einstein, to the Hebrew University, with orders not to publish their contents until two decades after his death. This is one of them, for Lieserl Einstein.

"When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.
I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.

There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.
When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.
This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.

To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.

After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…
If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.
Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.  However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.  When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.

I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it's too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! ".
Your father, Albert Einstein

 Tell the people in your life that you love them.....don't wait...

Fell off the Wagon and down the Hill

Yep...I had a really bad week this past week.  I got my period and had really bad cramps, things were stressful at work and I stopped eating healthy or exercising.  I increased my sugar and fat intake while lounging on the couch in the evening and wallowing in self pity.  I ate half of a small jar of nutella in a few days...yep, it was bad.  All that did was make me feel worse about my situation and a little like a slug. I even messaged my friend Carrie and told her that I was feeling like a slug.

In the past, I would have stayed down for quite some time.  However, I now know a lot more about the power of the mind and positive thinking.  Instead of giving in to the feelings as I would have done in the past, I decided to change my thinking. By focusing on what I had accomplished and forgiving myself for having a few off days, I was able to lift my spirits and turn it around.  Yes I FORGAVE myself for being a slug for a few days.  It happens to all of us.  It doesn't mean that I am not doing well or should throw in the proverbial towel.  It means that I accept myself for being human and celebrate the fact that I was able to recognize it and pull myself out of the funk.

I picked myself up from the bottom of the hill and dragged myself back up to that wagon.  I'm back on course and feeling fabulous!

Oh, and I'm also working on a few projects.  One is a cook book about dating adventures and the other will be this blog where I am going to document how it feels to fit, fun and fabulous at 40.

Life truly is magnificent!!

New Challenge....Healthy Me

Happy New Year!

I don't do resolutions because I believe you should make changes in your life when you feel the urge to do them and not once a year.  I also believe that you should set challenging goals that cause you to DO something and not give something up.

Right now I'm sitting here writing this blog and drinking a weird tasting concoction because I decided to do a cleanse after the holidays.  Its a way to kick start me into my next challenge.....lose 10 lbs and minimum 1 inch within 8 weeks by eating well and exercising.

I'm on day 3 of 7 days for this one and so far it is doing what I need it to do.  I'm feeling fantastic as the toxins leave my body.  Although the urge to purge doesn't always come at the best times...lol.

I cleaned out my cupboards and replaced all the junk with healthy alternatives.  I purchased a new cook book with gluten free alternatives and have tested a few of the recipes out.  I will be sharing them on this blog and my website.  www.coremagnificence.com

I plan on sharing my work outs as well as these will all be done at home.  I've already inspired a co worker to also take up the challenge so we will keep each other motivated.

Promise to write more as I go through this next challenge.  Healthier me...here I come!!

Goal Achieved - Motivated My Niece!

After the mishap with Day 2 of the training, I checked to see what was expected of Day 3.  The app is INSANE!!  They expect me to run for 20 minutes with no walking breaks.  First thing that went through my head was NO FREAKING WAY!!  I barely made it through 2x8 min runs with a 5 minute walk and now they expect me to run for 20 minutes with no breaks...it's only week 5!

Sunday morning, the alarm went off at 7:30 am and I could not motivate myself to get out of bed to do the 20 minute run.  I knew I had to meet my friend for breakfast before going to the soccer tournament and decided that sleep was preferable to sweat.  In the end, it turned out that the decision was a great one but I felt a little guilty at the time.

Sunday evening is always dinner with the family at my parents.  As we were sitting and eating, my sister in law asked me how the training was going.  I talked about my adventures and the fact that the training was going really well.  My oldest niece asked me about the app because she was feeling bad about not working out all summer.  She said she felt that she was out of shape and was worried because she signed up for gym class and they had to do a 5k run.  We started talking about training and then I showed her the app.  She downloaded the app and then we started talking about how it worked.

A little while later she came to talk to me about it some more.  I mentioned that she could come out with me for my training run on Monday night if she wanted to see how the app worked.  She agreed to join me and I let her know that it was a 20 min run.  She got a little nervous but said that she wanted to do it.  YAY!!

So tonight, I went to her place so we could map out the route for the training.  I was so glad she was there to motivate me.  We started out at a slower but steady pace and stayed with each other through the whole thing.  At the half way point, we smiled.  I realized I was feeling really good. My lungs weren't sore and my legs felt like they were moving on their own.  When we were done, we did a high 5!  She was so proud of herself for finishing it and so was I!!  She also insisted on doing a selfie and posting it on Facebook.  LOL

While we were walking back she told me she wanted to do the training with her friend who suffers from depression.  She thought it would be a great way to help her feel better about herself and keep each other motivated.  As she was telling me this...I felt my heart swell.  This is the reason I created Core Magnificence...and the reason I was doing this run...to inspire and motivate others.

She has no idea what she did for me tonight.  I am so grateful!

Music Mishap and sports bra malfunction - Nothing gonna stop me!!

Week 5, Day 1 was quite the challenge!  The training was:

Warm up
5 min jog
3 min walk
5 min jog
3 min walk
5 min jog
Cool down

I chose to do this run on a cool night after coaching soccer as I was full of energy.  I figured that with the breaks, it would be easier to do the 5 minutes.  I completed the training and fist pumped in the air. I was so proud of myself!

Two days later on Friday night, I set out to complete day 2 of the program.  The previous 4 weeks were repetitive of day 1 so I didn't review the plan before starting out....BIG MISTAKE!

The app announced that I should start jogging.  I didn't listen to what she said but just started jogging...and jogging..and jogging.  I began to wonder if the app had frozen because I knew I had run further than the previous training day and it definitely felt like I had been jogging for 5 minutes.  I didn't know what to do.  I didn't want to stop to check my phone because I needed to keep going but if it was frozen, I was never going to be told to stop.  Just when I was about to give up, she came on and told me to start walking.  WHEW!

As I started to walk and pump my arms, my sports bra decided to pop open.  YEP...it did up in the front and the clasp popped open.  Luckily I had a tank top on underneath and I'm not well endowed so it wasn't a complete disaster.  I still had to awkwardly put the clasp back together while some teenage boys stared at me.  Embarrassment over, I continued to walk. Again, I felt like it was taking forever for her to tell me to start jogging again.

Finally, she came on and this time I actually listened...She said jog for 8 minutes, this is run 2 of 2.  I actually swore out loud at the app and then started to laugh.  I had run for 8 minutes without even realizing what I had done.  Goes to show you that your mind really does control your actions.

As I was running my last 8 minutes, the music decided to go funky.  It sounded like there was an alien in my ear buds and then total silence.  My thought was "OMG, you have to be kidding me!!!" Not only am I expected to run for 8 minutes but the only thing I have to listen to is the sound of my own breathing.  I made the decision to suck it up and settled into the rhythm of my breathing.  It was actually comforting to hear my steady breathing as my feet kept time with the pavement.  I almost felt like I was meditating.

When she told me I was finished, I once again fist pumped the air!!  Look at me go!  I'm a superstar who will not let anything stop me from reaching my goal.  I can do this!!

Week 4, Day 2 - Cooler Mornings!

So as promised, I was up at 7:30 am and out for a run.  The weather was warm but sun wasn't as hot as 10 am the day before.

I started out on the training knowing what I was in for but determined to make it through without collapsing.  Little did I know, I was going to meet the animals in the neighborhood and have a Namaste moment with a stranger.

As I came around the corner on one of my turns, I saw three little bunnies sitting in the grass.  They saw me and froze.  All I thought was...please don't dart out in the road.  I went on the other side of the boulevard so I wouldn't spook them.  It worked...they just stared at me frozen in time.  It was kind of funny and cheered me up as I kept on going.

As I jogged up the hill, I had a conversation with a dog in his yard.  He was making sure I knew he was there and was protecting his property.  I let him know I was staying on my side of the fence and wished him a wonderful day.

By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was in a pretty good mood but the heat was starting to climb. When she told me I was half way done, I was pleasantly surprised.  I did not expect that at all.  YAY ME!

As I was running my last 5 minutes and dreading the heat but not feeling as horrid as the day before, I saw an older Indian gentleman walking towards me.  As we passed each other and did the head bob, I had a weird feeling of Namaste.  For those who don't know what that is..it means "The light in me, acknowledges the light in you".   It's a greeting or blessing used in the Eastern world.  Although we didn't actually say the words, the feeling was there.  It was quite a remarkable experience and stayed with me for the rest of the day.

This training has brought me more experiences than I ever imagined....