It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Finished with my Christmas shopping and Christmas cards. I must say that it's a nice feeling. I still have the wrapping and the traveling to do and the 5 more days of work (afternoon shifts, my favorite!) to get through, but I think I'm almost ready.

The one thing I do need to work on is my game plan to avoid the stress and anxiety that comes with the holiday season. I intend to bring my sneakers and workout clothes so that I can hit the road for some exercise which should help some. But I need to figure out how to handle the rest of the stress that comes with the holidays. After all, I'm a nervous person by nature...

Anyway, I welcome your thoughts...

Happy Friday!

LP

p.s. - I know that the song title is "It's beginning to LOOK a lot like Christmas", however I'm hoping that by changing it in my blog post I can ward off the snow that is supposed to fall this weekend... I am NOT ready for another snowstorm :(

Interactive Blog Post

Hi guys -

It's a very chilly December morning and I am getting ready to go for a walk/run. Naturally, I am procrastinating like a champ! I know that once I get started, I should be good to go. That, and if it is too bearable, I'm always less than a half mile from my house (I run up and down the neighborhood streets).

Now that I have my ipod, I love to run with the rocker girls of the 80s-90s -- you know... Pat Benatar, Patty Smyth and Scandal, Heart, Lita Ford... There's nothing like hearing "Hit me with your best shot" or "The Warrior" to make one feel empowered.

But what about you... what music keeps you going through your workouts? I imagine that eventually I'm going to want a "plan B playlist" and maybe you'll inspire me.

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!

LP

With a little help from my friends...

Good morning! The sun managed to come out today (after the deluge last night) and I got to hit the road! I'm back to walk/running... (maybe it will help me to lose the 20lbs I said I wanted to lose before I tried running again). Anyway, it felt good! I did 5 miles in about 75 min... not too bad!

So the friend I managed to inspire while slacking on my own journey (see previous post) is helping me get back on track... We've been checking in on each other daily about going to the gym and our food choices. I am so grateful to have wonderful friends like you all - who give me encouragement when I need it most. Thank you so much for being a part of my journey.

Happy Wednesday!

LP

Nothing like a little guilt...

So, yesterday I received this text from a good friend of mine:

"Hey, guess what? I worked out this am at 5!!! I've never done that before. Thank you for inspiring me, Laura"

While I was proud of my friend for making healthy changes, I couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for myself. It must be that Catholic guilt... it's hard to hear that I am inspiring others when I am barely doing what I need to do myself.

I guess there is only one way to fix that, now is there???

Happy Thursday!

LP

Catching up...

Hey guys!

Can you believe December is here? Sometimes I just don't know where the time goes...

I haven't been the best about blogging lately so I figured I should check in.

I had a lovely Thanksgiving with my family. My parents, sister and niece Jasmine came up to Richmond to celebrate the holiday with me. It was such a delight! Jasmine is getting so big and she is quite the character... but be careful what you say, because this one hasn't developed a filter yet (she told my neighbor's daughter that her room was a mess and that she needed to clean it up... yikes).

Holidays are great, but for me the indulgences of the celebrations tend to linger too long. It's probably a product of not being in the habit of being good right now. Luckily for me, it takes 2-3 weeks to make a behavior a habit, so there is hope I won't repeat this pattern for Christmas. I think I will be well-prepared because I'm starting today!

Training with Sean is back to running smoothly... since I can't get ready there for the time being and I don't do very well working out at night, it was a little rocky for a while there. Thankfully, Sean is working with me on this -- which means on the days that I have to be at work at 7am, we work out at 5am. This gives me enough time to go back home and get ready. I really appreciate his flexibility with this, because I am so not ready to go it alone yet...

So, the 1st of December was the first day to sign up for the Monument Ave 10K. I decided that this is going to be my next race. It will be on March 27, so that gives me PLENTY of time to start training... I want to be able to run most if not all of this one!

Anyway, I think that's all I have to report... have a wonderful day!

Happy Tuesday!

LP