No Wining & No Whining

Posted: November 14, 2011 at 10:45 am

Hey, friends! Ready to kick off a great week? I know I’m feeling determined to make it a good one. Just like I had to make this weekend a good one.

I was supposed to be touring beautiful scenery and sipping wine this weekend…

Last year my sister and I purchased a Groupon deal for a day tour to 5 North Georgia wineries and planned to go this weekend. Too bad the tour company closed down. No wine. Bummer! Sad smile

I didn’t let myself whine, though. Instead, I did other fabulous things.

Like get in a 12 mile frosty run on Saturday morning. At least being greeted by a cheerful note left out as a random act of kindness cheered me up at the end.

Isn’t that nice?!

Despite the run being so cold, it actually felt pretty good. Almost refreshing. At the very least, it made the ice bath following the run not feel like such a drastic temperature change. Oh, who am I kidding? It still stunk.

It was only a brief low of the weekend because after that I had a rather important appointment with a testing center.

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I PASSED!!!! I am now a NASM certified personal trainer!!! I don't know my final score since it just shows pass or fail, but I think I did really well. I 100% knew 100 of the 120 questions. There were only 3 I marked that I was really unsure of. The rest I felt mostly certain, but not 100%. A lot of the questions required applying small details of things I had studied, so it was harder than I anticipated, but overall still good. Although the only detail that matters is - I passed!!! It feels so good to say that after the months of preparation and work to make it final. Smile

I finished up the test around 2:30 and hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so the first thing I did was find some food. First place I saw that wasn’t a McDonalds or Arbys? McAlister’s Deli. That’ll do. I did a half and half combo.

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A Savannah Salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, blue cheese, cranberries, and almonds.

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As well as a Cobb Club with turkey, avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a peppercorn sauce of some sort.

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I originally planned to grab the food to go, but couldn’t wait to eat, so I chose to sit and have a little lunch by myself. I don’t ever typically do that (I’m like Rachel), but it was actually quite nice to have a peaceful solo lunch. I finished just in time to hang out with Peter’s family and watch the UGA vs Auburn game.

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That certainly topped off the day on a high note! Although not as great as passing my exam!!!!! Party smile <--- had to throw that in there

The rest of the weekend didn’t hold anything too exciting, which was just fine by me. I had the chance to finish my Nicholas Sparks book.

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If you like his books at all, then you will love this one. It was one of my favorites of his that I have read. Even though his stories aren’t all that original, I find his writing very easy to read and never fail to find myself captivated by the characters. I recommend it. And now, I need some new book recommendations from you all! I’m kind of in the mood for a suspenseful read this time – like my favorite thriller novel Velocity by Dean Koontz.

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You MUST read that one if you like edge-of-your-seat suspense! It’s good!

Alright, enough chit chat. Time for me to hit the gym, then have my very first partent teacher conference for Makenzie. Oh, the excitement! Winking smile

  • Do you ever like to dine out alone?
  • Any good suspense novels to recommend?

Posted by on November 14th, 2011 90 Comments

Self-Love Reflection: Taking The Reigns

Posted: November 13, 2011 at 12:50 pm

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. While I’m enjoying mine as well, please welcome the words of Laura from the blog Scribbles and Sass. Her story will captivate you and make you want to take the reigns of your life as well. It’s a goody!

I was faced with the biggest decision I had to make in my young life. It was no longer about picking a group of friends, the bar to go to on Saturday night, which university to attend, grad school, or which area of town to live in. The trivial decisions that rocked me before couldn’t shine a light on this one.

I woke up one day and realized I was drowning. Metaphorically of course, unless
you count that one time I fell asleep in the bathtub. I was 25 years old and I hid in  my work; work I didn’t like. The constant verbal abuse I suffered at the office daily wore away at my confidence. Every comment that initially shocked me I started to believe. I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t smart enough, I wasn’t talented enough.

It carried over to all areas on my life. I alienated friends; I didn’t date; I traded
exercise for excuses; I ate unhealthy disgusting food, and too much of it. I took no
pride in my physical appearance: I saw no reason to dress nicely, wear makeup or
let my hair down. Because I was no longer working out, I slowly, then rapidly, began
gaining weight.

There was never any time for a fulfilling life, and if there was I didn’t think I deserved it. I was the shell of the normally bouncy blonde I knew. We looked oddly similar but the new girl had dead eyes, a sad soul, and was a little rounder.

Then came the day I mentioned above, my wake up call. Everything presented
itself clear as day. I could no longer hide in the toxic work environment that had
such a violent hold on me. I was going to take control of my own life and snap the depressing spiral I disguised as life.

Was it too much to ask for to smile daily? I finally knew it was actually a very reasonable request.

So I put my trust in myself. My gut said adventure, and my mind said plan. The Universe, my Universe, said change. My physical self decided to compromise. I combined all three. I quit my job (change), didn’t renew my lease, and packed my car and moved across the country (adventure). With a job lined up, of course (plan).

So here I am, two months into the journey, writing for Tina about self-love from a Starbucks in Calgary with the most beautiful view of the mountains and a latte in hand.

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It’s not perfect. I get horribly homesick and lonely. It is colder here than back home. I have no family here, less than a handful of friends, and zero regular comforts. The
good news is I was never looking for perfect and what I do have is my own life that I am creating.

I am doing things here that I never thought were possible. I’ve taken on a new
challenge with my career and am learning daily. I’m writing a heck of a lot more
about a myriad of topics. I am learning how to run again. Oh, and I smile, a lot.

Withevery obstacle that used to render me motionless I now tell myself: You moved
across the country, you left everything comforting behind, if you could do this at any
time it would be now. You can do it.

I turned my can’ts to cans, my obstructions into adventure, myself back into me.

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So what am I trying to get at? I’m not telling you to quit your job, or move across the
country. It may have been what the witch doctor prescribed for me, but that’s me. I
am telling you to trust yourself. You know exactly what you need; you have all the answers. You are more than enough.

I’d like to send a big thank you to Tina for letting me tell my story on Faith, Fitness,
Fun. I’d love to connect so check me out on Twitter (@LaurBridge) or head over to
my bloggy, Scribbles and Sass.

  • Do you handle change well? What’s the last way you went out of your comfort zone or faced change?

Posted by on November 13th, 2011 14 Comments

 

 
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