Yoga (Almost) Every Damn Day

I've been doing yoga since I was diagnosed with PTSD my first year of college. The doctor at the health center on campus told me I had to take medication, which I told her was fine for a little while, but I wanted to make sure I didn't have to take it for a long time. We talked about what I did for stress and I told her about journaling and running. She told me to keep journaling and to try yoga and we'd check in after a few months. I practiced yoga and meditation a few times a week that year and was off of medication after six months. I knew this was the start of a beautiful friendship between yoga and me.

In the thirteen years that followed, I did yoga one to two times a week sporadically. I thought of it as one of my workouts, something I did in between running when it was time for a break. I always found comfort in yoga, especially this video, which I had on DVD from the sale rack at Barnes and Noble and used for years and years. 

Yolanda Pettinato's voice was my favorite and that one-piece leotard? Pulling. It. Off.

In September of 2014, I found Yoga with Adriene when I did a Google search for "morning yoga." I started doing this video a few times a week and then decided to tackle her 30 Days of Yoga Challenge in January of 2015. I wrote about it here and here. I went through some crazy job changes at work at the end of January 2015 and wasn't able to finish blogging about 30 Days of Yoga. 

Since January, I've attempted to do yoga every day and it--specifically Yoga with Adriene-- has changed my whole life. The longest I went without a video practice from YWA was about three days when things got too busy or I was sick. However, even on days where I couldn't find time to do a video, I did what Adriene always says--I tried to "find what feels good" for me that day... a forward fold in the shower, laying myself on the floor with my legs up on a wall, three deep breaths in the bathroom stall at work. I've done this every damn day this year. I just love that hashtag: #yogaeverydamnday

There are the things I can't do... yet. I can't do a handstand or twist my legs in cool directions. I'm not flying in crow pose for longer than five seconds. I can't touch my foot to my head while balancing on a rock in the ocean. I mean, I hope that maybe I'll be able to do that someday, but how about some baby steps? 

These are things I did in 2015 because of yoga:

-I spent nearly every morning with Hannah the dog in the first part of 2015. She loved being on my yoga mat with me and I'll never forget our precious time together before we lost her in April. Now I have an awesome and relaxing morning routine with our dogs.

Nipsy preferred her bed, but she still hangs out during yoga. 

-I made it through a stressful job transition, breathing deeply all along the way. 

-I stopped making excuses about not being able to find time for yoga. I've done yoga in hotel rooms (and lobbies) and Airbnbs all over the United States. :)

-I became okay with my giant feet. They are strong as hell and I don't care if they are out for everyone to see!

Takin' the dogs out for a walk. 

-I found a way to deal with my anxiety about the future-- again, the breathing thing.

-I lost weight, but I don't know how much because I stopped weighing myself in 2015. It didn't feel good to always rely on the scale to tell me whether I was going to have a good day or not. 

-I got to know our new addition, Louis, through yoga. 

He likes the mat too. Nipsy still chills in her bed.

-I tried a new way of eating with the Whole30 challenge. I knew I felt awesome from doing all of the yoga, but my stomach wasn't feeling great. I pushed myself to try strict Paleo eating and found that it is the best way for me to eat. I wouldn't have done it without the discipline of daily yoga practice.

-I tried new yoga-related things, like an event in town called Pedal to the Mat, where we rode bikes and did yoga outside. I was too self-conscious about doing something like this before 2015. 

Yoga with live music-- definitely something I'd do again.

-I did 30 days of power yoga with Adriene through her Empower program in August. Most days, I can now lower myself into chaturanga without flopping onto my belly. I also have a nice little line where my tricep is. I sang this song to myself whenever I struggled with chaturanga... hehehe

But the best thing I haven't done because of #yogaeverydamnday?

I haven't had a debilitating back spasm since February 2015. I usually have these 3-4 times a year and it is a painful few days full of muscle relaxers, pain pills, and sometimes visits to the walk-in for numbing shots into my back. My lower back still hurts almost daily-- yoga isn't pure magic, y'all--but now some days are less noticeable than others. This is what keeps me coming back to my mat every day. In the summer of 2014, I broke down during a particularly horrible spasm because I worried that when we decided to try for kids my pregnancy would be terrible because of the spasms. I worried that once we had kids, I wouldn't be able to pick said kids up because of the dang spasms. Now I have some hope that maybe one day the spasms will be completely gone and maybe this future pregnancy won't be so horrible and the future kids won't be so hard to carry. 

Don't get too excited guys... I'm still just carrying the dogs around. 

I never thought I'd get so much from an online person, but Adriene Mishler has been one of the best teachers I've ever had. The community she has created online is one of the most inspiring groups I've ever been a part of. I even got to take a live class with her in Chicago and I felt like a total fan girl. 

It's been a great year of yoga. Looking forward to Adriene's free online yoga camp in January. I'll be blowing up Instagram (@jheymossy) every day tracking my January yoga camp adventures. Please join me!

Some inspiration for ya...

Whole30: Week One Round-Up (And Other Stuff)

Today is officially day seven of my Whole30... the first week is over! Before I get into that, let me get into the sugar binge I had right before I started Whole30 that left me feeling horribly sick for the first few days. -__-

It was fun though. 

First, I had a work trip to NYC, where I ate everything. There are many things I dislike about the city-- the hoards of people, the urine-ish smell that seeps from the pavement when it's hot, the people asking me if I want to go to the top of the Empire State Building or ride a double decker bus every time I walk by. But I LURVE the food in the city. Anywhere, any type of food, any time. I even found a place to eat Filipino food! I was too full to eat there, but next time. Oh, next time, New York. You and I and a fork and spoon and my soft pants.

Over Labor Day weekend, my friend and I had a Pinterest win with these extremely unhealthy treats. 

 

It worked out. I felt guilty for making something healthy so incredibly unhealthy, especially after reading It Starts with Food. However, I was in Last Hurrah Mode, which is the worst attitude to have before starting a diet making a lifestyle change. I'm not gonna lie, it was super fun to make and eat. 

When we got home, I officially started Whole30. Before I started... I don't know, being lazy... I used to cook so much. This is forcing me to get back to those habits. I even made homemade mayo (which made me question every other mayo I've ever eaten because it was delicious) and chicken stock and stored it in jars because I scared myself reading about why you shouldn't store food in plastic containers. 

It's so simple, but I still felt fancy. 

 For my first week, I decided to take Melissa Joulwan's suggestion and do most of my cooking for the week on Sunday (in my case I did it on Tuesday, but whatevs). I used to do this when I was teaching because I was always really tired after school. Then I stopped because I got lazy (see the trend here?). I made chicken in the crockpot, used the bones and make stock, roasted a pan of sweet potatoes, and made bison chili. I made big batches so I could just grab and go all week. 

It worked out pretty well, except for the meat. I ate so much meat last week. 

 I'm okay with meat, but I'm not a person who eats meat every day. I'd much rather have beans or quinoa, or something else with protein like nonfat Greek yogurt. Beans and quinoa will be the first food items to be reintroduced into my rotation when this is all over. 

The good thing about the meat for Whole30 is that you need to look for meat from animals who have been humanely raised and not fed a bunch of junk. More on that here. 

Here is how Whole30 predicts your first week will go and they were on point with most of it:

On day one, I was feeling really great. We were in the car traveling and I even avoided road food and ate turkey and an avocado for lunch. I was missing a veggie, but I made it work. When we got home, I went grocery shopping and I got pissed off. Every. Thing. Has. Sugar. What is normally a forty minute shopping trip turned into two hours. Not cool. I'll write about my prep for this undertaking (and the DENT it left in my bank account) in another post because it deserves its own post. 

At the start of day two, I felt pretty good. I even ordered an extremely healthy lunch when I was out for work. Then, the headache started. 

Worst. Feeling. Ever. 

It was behind my eyes and on top of my head. It spread to my neck. It lasted for three days. I also experienced pretty horrible sleepless night on day two and three. I got about three hours each night and spent most of my night googling "Whole30 can't sleep" on my phone. I thought I was coming down with something-- I had the body aches. Turns out, it was probably just me detoxing from the sugar I so readily and easily consume each day. My body's reaction to no sugar kind of scared me. I'm glad I'm doing this. 

On days four and five, you're supposed to be so irritable that no one wants to be around you. Besides losing my temper at the dog and snapping at the Hubs for a few trivial things, I was all good. 

Days six and seven find you feeling extremely tired according to the timeline. I wasn't any more tired than I usually am, although today (day seven) I could have taken a nap. In fact, it's 9:30pm and I'm exhausted. 

So yeah, not a lot of positives yet because my body is like, "What the eff are you doing to me?" except that my sleep for the last two days has been FREAKIN' AMAZING. 

I ended my first Whole30 week with an awesome event in our community called Pedal to Your Mat, where I rode eleven miles on my bike and ended up at my mat for an hour of yoga. They even had food I could eat at this event!

 

I'm trying to find some way to treat ma' self as I near the end of each week of this Whole30 challenge that is not food related (the food at the end of this event was a bonus!) or crazy expensive.

Doing something healthy and physical after a rough first week of Whole30 seemed like a great reward! Yoga under a blue sky with live music. YAAS! 

Week Two is starting tomorrow... I hope this lasts! 

30 Days of Yoga: The First 10 Days

When I was eighteen, I was really into yoga and practicing three to four times a week. I could get into some complicated poses like crow and plow. I felt pretty good about yoga. During this time, I was also mediating a few times a week and I was so good at focusing and quieting my mind! Granted, I didn't have a smart phone that I felt too attached to-- just my mind and the space I was in.

I wanted to get back into yoga, so fast forward to me to thirty-one. As of Sunday, I've done yoga for ten days in a row. This is the most yoga I've ever done in my life, but I am no where near as flexible as I once was. That's okay. I'll keep working on it. I tried to meditate on Friday and I fell apart. There was too much happening in my mind-- how were the roads after all of the snow? Would I have to go into work? What about the evening? What was the plan? Ugh. It was exhausting, but that's okay. I'll keep working on it.

Despite the meditation failure, this has been quite an interesting ten days. I only have eight pictures because I didn't start recording this challenge until a few days in. I've already gotten quite a lot out of this practice:

1. I tried something new and painted my nails. This might sound like a shallow feat, but it was FUNN (Functional Understanding Not Necessary). :)
2. I spend every morning with Hannah the dog. Nipsy is not a yoga buddy-- I think the poses scare her away, but Hannah? She wakes with me every morning, follows me downstairs, and finds a way to be a part of my practice. I love having this little ritual with her. I was feeling bummed around the December because December tenth was our eleventh anniversary of adopting her. If it was estimated that she was three or four when we got her then, well, she's so old. I'm trying to enjoy all of my time with her and this is the perfect way to do it.
3. I improvised. I didn't have a yoga block, so I used an empty box of Kleenex. This made me laugh.
4. I drank more water and tea over the last ten days. That's just plain good for your health.
5. I decided since I'm devoting so much time to yoga over the next thirty days that I should just do a full body detox and not drink. I don't know if I'm going to last, especially because it's Kalamazoo Beer Week, but I just want to see if I can do it.

Here's to the next ten days! These are my favorite videos from the first ten days:

I have terrible back issues and I can tell Adrienne has had them too by the careful way she protects the back. I did the video on days 5-9 too. 

This video left me sweating and I really felt the detox happening! I can't wait to get better at these poses. 

Anyone else tackling this challenge? How is it going? 

30 Days of Yoga?!

In my last whiny post, I wrote about how I've been sick for too long. That means I haven't worked out the way I like to work out in nearly three weeks.

Me on the inside (and eventually outside) without workouts.

Something I have been able to stick with is Yoga with Adrienne. She has a very helpful and comforting Yoga for When You Are Sick video that accompanied my pile of kleenex and cups of tea over the last few weeks:

I've written about this fantastic YouTube channel before and was pumped to see that she was starting a 30 Days of Yoga Challenge for the New Year. She'll be releasing a video each day for the whole month. Part of me is like, "Yoga every day?! Nope." The other part of me is up to the challenge of trying to do yoga every day for a month-- I'm curious if I can stick to it and how flexible I'll be after thirty days of focusing on yoga.

I just finished Day 4 and I love the way I feel already! In college I was really into yoga and meditation, but as I started getting into life I became more of a casual yogi. Sometimes I forget how much healthier I feel mentally, emotionally, and physically when I make time for yoga. Check out Day 4 if you're curious-- it's only 20 minutes.

Let me know if you're doing this challenge or if you're attempting a different challenge! I love having accountability partners when I'm focusing on my health and wellness.

Yeah... I can't do this pose. Yet. 

Why, Body, Why?!

I've had the last two weeks off and I've spent them being sick. 

WTF?! 

UGH, so frustrating. I had plans for this break, but my body just decided to shut down on me. I haven't been able to work out except for some gentle yoga and I think I've been taking four naps a day. How is my body going to adjust to going back to work?

The worst part about this sickness is that there doesn't appear to be any medicine for it. I went to the doctor twice and both times she just said in no uncertain terms, "Buck up and wait it out. It's a virus." REALLY?! Nothing? Not even a placebo. Not even cough syrup for my hacking cough.

There's nothing like starting a new year feeling totally unhealthy and like there is no way you will ever be healthy again. I've never been sick for this long. I was a three-days-of-feeling-horrible-and-then-feeling-back-to-normal kind of sick person. Maybe getting into my 30s means being sick for inordinate amounts of time. 

Wah.

Wah.

Wah!

So, this is my first blog post of 2015. Seems like a promising year, eh? 

-___-

Hope all of you are in tip-top shape! Seriously, I do. 

#100HealthyDays

Since I'm on my "no refined sugar kick" and trying to develop more healthy habits, I've joined a Facebook group called #100HealthyDays to keep me honest.

It's been awesome.

It's December, so if you're like me, you're like...

Yeah. That's me this month at every holiday party, gathering, dinner... everything. As you know, I love food. And I'm not sad about that or trying to cut all foods from my life. But, I usually gain about five pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. That adds up over the years.

I wanted to make a conscious effort this month to be healthy and #100HealthyDays is keeping me on track. I'm posting more to the wall than I should, but I'm all in.

 The challenge isn't about losing weight or depriving myself of everything. It's about making one healthy choice each day-- being conscious. Not eating ALL THE FOOD on a buffet table. Eating cookies and then making sure I walk the dogs. Waking up and completing yoga for digestion before I go to holiday events:

It's been twelve days in a row of healthy behaviors. Only eighty-eight days to go. I dropped the #100HappyDays photo challenge on Instagram after seven days, so I'm winning this challenge right now! 

What do you do to keep yourself on track during this fluffy and sluggish time of year? 

I'm a Quitter. Of Cigarettes.

This post is in honor of the Great American Smokeout and the Quit for Life movement. It's a long one, but I want to share the darker, more tar-stained side of myself with you, especially if you're a smoker who is trying to quit. It's possible.

Oh, heck no, you don't. Until you do... someday. [via]

I started smoking cigarettes when I was seventeen to be rebellious (even though my dad was dying from cancer and heart disease related to his 30+ years of smoking), to calm my ever-present anxieties, and to look cool and detached. Plus, I loved the feeling of lighting up a cigarette after a day in high school. It felt adult. At the time, I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I start college." 

Here's a timeline of my smoking from age seventeen to now, 'cuz I FER SURE didn't quit smoking when I started college. 

Eighteen: 

Everybody on campus smoked. How was I going to meet people if I didn't smoke?! [via]

College started and smoking was part of my life. It was a way to get away for a few minutes when I was waiting tables or needed a break between classes. It was a way to look "cool and detached" when meeting new people. Cigarettes tasted great with coffee. When I was eighteen and starting to smoke more than I did when I was seventeen, I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I turn nineteen."

Nineteen:

[via]

At nineteen, I started dating the future Hubs. He didn't like smoking, so I told him I didn't smoke. I was a bad liar. There aren't any pictures of me smoking from the time we started dating because I didn't want him to know I smoked. If I knew I was going to see him, I would smoke and then chew gum and spray myself with Bath and Body Works spray. I really thought it worked-- Bath and Body Works spray is strong. In reality, who was I kidding? You can smell smoke on someone the minute you come into contact with them. I didn't know-- my sense of smell was not so good because, duh, smoking. I thought to myself, "I'll quit if we get serious."

Twenty and Twenty-One:

[via]

Twenty came and I smoked for all of the same reasons as when I was eighteen and nineteen. As a someone who has always been a workaholic, the only way I would slow down and take a break was if I was taking a smoke break. At twenty, I moved in with the Future Hubs. After I moved in with Future Hubs, I tried to quit, but it was too hard. I was full of excuses. I just told myself I'd never smoke in front of him. He was, after all, playing with the band in smokey bars and everyone smelled bad when they got home. Like, smelled bad FOR DAYS. Twenty-one approached and I knew I couldn't quit yet-- beer tasted so good when accompanied by a cigarette. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I get a real job."

Twenty-Two to Twenty-Four

[via]

I got my first teaching job at twenty-two. My first year teaching was terribly stressful. My teacher friends and I would leave the school during out plan period and smoke cigarette after cigarette while driving around the block in one of our cars. We'd smoke and laugh and vent-- it was my favorite time of the day. I thought to myself, "I'll just smoke for the first few years of teaching and quit when I'm twenty-five. Then teaching won't be so stressful."

Twenty-Five: 

The Angry Smoking Phase [via]

At twenty-five, I got married to the Hubs. It was beautiful. I was down to smoking one or two cigarettes at day-- did I mention I always enjoyed running for fun and had stuck to my habit of running three to five miles a few times a week this whole time? Running kept the cigarette number down. A few months after our wedding, I blew out my knee while training for a half marathon and settled in for a long year of surgery and recovery. Then the surgeon said no more running, never again. At twenty-five?! A piece of me died and I got really depressed. I smoked to relieve the stress of being injured. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I'm up and walking and less depressed."

Twenty-Six to Twenty-Seven:

[via]

I lost almost fifty pounds by not eating. No exercise was involved-- just very obsessive not eating. I decided to not quit smoking because I didn't want to put any weight back on. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I'm at my goal weight."

Twenty-Eight:

[via]

In the winter of 2010, I tried to quit because my best friend was quitting. I stuck to it for four months with lots of flavored gum and tins of mints, but I eventually quit quitting. I'd put on almost twenty pounds and I kept getting sick with sinus infections after I quit. It was too hard. In the spring of 2010, the Michigan Smoke-Free Air Law was passed. No more smoking in bars and restaurants meant I had to move myself outside during the Hub's shows and now everyone could smell it. I stopped smoking at bars and restaurants. One day, the Hubs pulled up next to me while I was smoking in my car. He called my cell. "Was that YOU smoking while I drove by?!" Busted. I quit smoking in my car. The real quitting had begun. Then it was erased when I went to Paris and everyone was smoking. I succumbed to peer pressure and smoked. It felt great. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I get home. When in Rome..."

Twenty-Nine: The Year of Becoming a Quitter

Thank you, swimming. 

In August of 2011, at the age of 29 and a few months before I articulated all of my athletic goals on my 30b430 list, I finally quit smoking for real. After returning from my second summer in Senegal, I was sitting around and feeling extremely out of shape. I went out and got a gym membership. With the membership came a free health assessment. My weight was back up-- WAY up. The health assessment did not give my a glowing review of my health. And I was still smoking. WTF.

Ran a 10k last April. Boo to you, mean surgeon-- and he was mean. I'm not just picking on him. 

So, I quit. It felt like my 1000th time quitting, although I'm unsure of what number the actual attempt was. I didn't do it with patches, gum, or e-cigarettes. I did it with swimming. I got into the pool and tried to swim one length. I couldn't. My chest was caving in. I thought I was having an asthma attack. I wanted to pass out. "OH, HELLS NO!!!!" I said as I finally reached the end of the pool lane. It sounded more like, "OH" sigh, breath, cough, phelm, "HE" breath, breath, "LLS," cough, wheeze, breath, "NO."

I can bike over twenty miles now. Without wheezing.

I quit cold turkey and started going to a water aerobics class with a feisty group of women over fifty until I could work out for an hour straight.

Not these feisty ladies. Healthier feisty ladies. [via]

Then I took swim lessons. Then I started swimming laps on my own. Then I decided to start biking, then I decided the rebellious thing to do as I approached thirty was to start running again (because EFF YOU surgeon), and then I decided that triathlons were for me.

What I Won (Besides My Age Division) by Quitting

August, 2014: Still tri-ing, still a quitter.

This list isn't from a quit smoking website. It's based on what I noticed about myself after I quit smoking:
1. I can breathe.
2. I can breathe.
3. I can breathe.
4. I smell nice.
5. My car smells nice and there are no burn holes in the seats.
6. I don't have to wash my jeans after each wear.
7. I don't have to brush my teeth to kiss the Hubs.
8. My teeth are merely stained from coffee, not tobacco.
9. I can swim almost two miles.
10. My body is healing itself from the years of abuse. I can feel it, I swear! It's awesome! Regeneration!
11. I don't sound hoarse after a night of non-stop smoking.

12. I get sinus infections a lot less than I did when I was smoking. I don't know if this is something that happens to all people who quit, but it happened to me!
13. If we have kids, our kid won't be the one whose worksheets smell like cigarettes when they turn their work in. It's a thing I noticed when I was teacher. Just go with it.

Check out the Great American Smokeout Tools and Resources if you're interested in quitting. It took me more than ten years, but I did it. So use the tools and resources. Or, just quit cold turkey. Or, get some gum. Or, get Chantix. I don't care how you do it, as long as you're doing it.

November Goals: Money and Hard(ish) Abs

Before I get into November, I have to share a few pics from my last day of October:

Party on.

The sexiest costumes on the block. 

That is all. I hope everyone had an EXCELLENT Halloween. 

This is what my November is all about:
1. Sticking to my budget. I NEED to save money. So... no going out to eat this month even though it's my favorite thing in the world to do. Actually, I did budget $100 for going out to eat. I'm going to try and not go at all and then treat the Hubs to a really nice dinner. We'll see how it goes. I'd estimate that I've been going out for dinner three to four times a week, so the going is probably going to be really rough.
2. Getting a hold of my refined sugar cravings and consumption. I'm starting with candy first. I haven't had a piece of candy in five days. It's terrible. The headaches-- ohhhhh the headaches. Frozen blueberries have been my savior. They kind of taste like candy.
3. Getting one to two days of weightlifting and core work in each week. I've got to get rid of this knee and back pain.Today I went to a Tabata class and the instructor yelled really body positive things-- "THIS IS YOUR FIRST CLASS?! YOU'RE A POWERFUL WOMANNNNN!"-- at me while I was trying to do her insane push-up routine. I like her. I shall take her class every Monday and Wednesday.
4. Making sure I'm on a regular cardio routine. Now that my favorite time change has happened, it will be easier to get out of bed. I'm going to make sure I'm in the pool at least twice a week.

I just realized that my November goals make me sound very old. That's okay with me-- I've been feeling so unhealthy lately and I need to get it together before the holidays get into full swing.

30b430 Goal #4: Bike the Kal-Haven Trail

Well, my butt blisters have healed into calluses, so I feel ready to talk about the hardest goal I've completed to this date: Biking the Kal-Haven Trail... there and back. 

That is 70 miles. Ew.

My original goal was to just bike there and have the Hubs come pick us up after we spent a lazy afternoon at the beach. But this girl wouldn't let me:

She has a 30b430 list too and has supported me in many of my endeavors. I decided to support her list by adding another 35 miles onto my ride. Our friend Joe joined us because he likes biking, beer, and beach, so why not?

I didn't ride my road bike because the tires are too thin. That was probably my first mistake. I rode my hybrid Trek with the nice bouncy and wide seat thinking that it would be more comfortable-- I'll come back to that horrendous decision later. Each of us carried a backpack and Joe had some saddlebags on his bike filled with beer and ice. 

My backpack weighed about 30 pounds on the way there. While riding, I thought a lot about how I've lost 30 pounds and I can't effing believe I carried that extra weight on me! DANG! Anytime I want to stop working out and start eating all the fried food I want I'm going to fill my backpack with books, put it on, and walk a mile. Truth.

We made it there and my seat was already hurting my delicate behind. Those types of bike seats are NOT made for long distances. They seem comfortable and bouncy, but ride more than ten miles and your bottom is screwed. I vowed not to complain, drank a beer in a park behind a tree, ate a delicious and fattening lunch of chips, tacos, burritos, and mojitos at Su Casa, and headed to the beach.

Before the butt blisters wiped the smile off of my face. 

Then it was time to ride back... 

...but not before riding to Dairy Queen for a sundae (lactose intolerance aided by Lactaid)!

The ride back is kind of blur. We all said we weren't going to complain and the conversations began to go like this:

Danielle: Ughhhhh this is--

Me: AWESOME! This is so AWESOME! We should do this every day!

Me: I want to die--

Danielle: Of HAPPINESS! O M G! ME TOO!

We all began to get kind of loopy. When I get loopy, I try to carve my initials into picnic tables with my Swiss Army knife:

Feelin' cray-cray, shortly before I got my lip caught in my water bottle.

I decided that it was too much work to carve a whole word, so I just wrote a message for the next people to stop at the picnic table: 

With about ten miles left, but butt was almost at its limit. It was screaming in pain and I felt like blisters had formed on my cheeks, burst open, soaked my bike shorts with blood, and then somehow caught on fire. I still managed to smile for a picture!

For the last two miles, I threw my no complaining vow into the woods. Poor Danielle and Joe had to deal with this:

Me: MY ASS HURTS!

Me: I HATE THIS!

Me: I THINK I'M BLEEDING!

Me: FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. MY BUTT HURTS FROM DECIDING TO RIDE TO A BEACH AND BACK! I DON'T CARE THOUGH!

and finally in mile 70:

ME: UGHHHHH. HUMPHHHHH.

Gosh, they started riding so fast in the end. Weird.

Then it was over and I rested my sweat-soaked self onto the pavement.

Cars, beautiful cars.

My goal was doubly achieved, my butt wasn't bleeding (although I had some CRAZY butt blisters in the morning), and Danielle and Joe decided to stay friends with me.

Thumbs up.

Plus, I got to take a screen shot of this:

I feel so cool!

I definitely ate all 1600 of my assigned calories and probably all 4172 calories from the ride. But really, what better day to eat Mexican food, drink microbrews, and indulge in ice cream sundaes?

Whew. That was harder than a sprint triathlon!

1. Complete an indoor triathlon. 2/12/12
2. Complete an outdoor triathlon. 6/2/12
3. Swim across West Twin Lake and Rose Lake (or Pine Lake). 7/14/12 and 6/26/12
4. Bike the Kal-Haven Trail.7/30/12
5. Play the piano in front of people.
6. Visit my family in the Philippines (or at least have tickets booked by my 30th birthday).
7. Have a conversation with a dear Senegalese friend in French or Wolof (preferably Wolof).

8. Visit my grandparents in California.
9. Pop a champagne cork with no fear.
10. Make leche flan (it's Filipino, it's amazing, and I'm makin' it).
11. Jar or can veggies, pickles, sauce... something.
12. Revised 5/1/12 because I remembered that I'm supposed to graduate in December and my Master's degree is really important to me!!! Get my Master's degree and submit some of my academic writing and then, maybe, you know... get it published.
13. Travel out of the country with Nate.
14. Pay off at least 50% of my remaining undergraduate credit card debt.
15. Sing karaoke by myself in Kalamazoo in front of all of my friends.
16. Eat clean for one month.
17. Pick berries and bake something with them.
18. Write at least one chapter of the novel that I write in my mind while I'm walking the dogs.
19. Thank my mom for everything she's done for me.
20. Go further into the UP than the Mystery Spot tourist trap and jump into Lake Superior.
21. Get chosen for one more summer fellowship in another country where I am able to work with youth.
22. Go on a police ride along.
23. Get to 200 blog posts.
24. Revised 5/1/12 Make some decisions about my career and/or PhD prospects. Apply for PhD programs.
25. Attend roller derby training so I can learn the moves.
26. Learn how to flip turn when I'm swimming laps. 4/19/12
27. Take a real personal day. 6/8/12
28. Learn how to drive a stick.
29. Go horseback riding.
30. Poach an egg perfectly.

30b430 Goal: Swim Across Some Lakes!

I've been slowly working away at my 30 Before 30 goals and I've found June and July to be the perfect months for one of my favorite Michigan activities: Lake swimming!

I had originally planned on swimming across Rose Lake (a favorite camping spot with friends), but time and circumstance made it look like it wasn't going to happen this year. It's still in the back of my mind and I hope to swim across during my 30th birthday weekend. 

Here is the originally planned Rose Lake swim from our hang-out spot:

One of my friends just moved near Pine Lake (which makes her house the perfect summer hang-out spot... hehe). One afternoon last month we were hanging out at the beach and wanted to kayak. We only had two kayaks for three people, so I started swimming while my kayaking friends stayed close to me. I ended up swimming across and when I reached the other side I decided to swim back. All in all, I swam much further than the Rose Lake distance! What a rush!

Here I am after my Pine Lake swim. I was flabbergasted by the distance because I've never really gone that far:

Swim across Pine Lake: Check!

Now for the big one: The West Twin Lake swim. The last time we went up north to Lewiston I decided it was time to tackle one of my favorite lakes in Michigan and my favorite summer spot in the world. Paris? It's okay. Dakar? Yeah, I love it there. But Lewiston, MI? It's my favorite:

Here is the route:

West Twin is quite large, so I had my Safe Swimmer, the Hubs in the Whaler, and my in-laws on the pontoon in the distance as a marker: 

The Hubs is the best... he didn't mind boating next to me for an hour. :)

 I was aiming for a white cabin that you (or me, really) can't see:

I got all sunscreened up and felt a little nervous:

I hopped in the water...

And started!

For the next hour and six minutes it was just me swimming along at a steady pace. When I finished I felt like Rocky:

I wasn't tired and I contemplated trying to swim back, but the wind was blowing and I needed a celebratory Tom Collins! 

Swim across West Twin Lake: Check!

I can't believe how far I've come with swimming in the last year. Last August I was still a casual smoker when I first hopped into the pool at my gym and attempted to swim one lap. Just one. I could barely make it. My lungs felt like they were going to burst out of chest and my muscles burned. Now I haven't had a cigarette since September and I can swim almost two miles! It's amazing how our bodies heal after we've abused them. 

Next summer I'm going to try a race called Swim to the Moon. It's a 5k swim. Right now it seems like I'll never be able to make it, but we all know that it's probably possible. :)

1. Complete an indoor triathlon. 2/12/12
2. Complete an outdoor triathlon. 6/2/12
3. Swim across West Twin Lake and Rose Lake (or Pine Lake). 7/14/12 and 6/26/12
4. Bike the Kal-Haven Trail.
5. Play the piano in front of people.
6. Visit my family in the Philippines (or at least have tickets booked by my 30th birthday).
7. Have a conversation with a dear Senegalese friend in French or Wolof (preferably Wolof).

8. Visit my grandparents in California.
9. Pop a champagne cork with no fear.
10. Make leche flan (it's Filipino, it's amazing, and I'm makin' it).
11. Jar or can veggies, pickles, sauce... something.
12. Revised 5/1/12 because I remembered that I'm supposed to graduate in December and my Master's degree is really important to me!!! Get my Master's degree and submit some of my academic writing and then, maybe, you know... get it published.
13. Travel out of the country with Nate.
14. Pay off at least 50% of my remaining undergraduate credit card debt.
15. Sing karaoke by myself in Kalamazoo in front of all of my friends.
16. Eat clean for one month.
17. Pick berries and bake something with them.
18. Write at least one chapter of the novel that I write in my mind while I'm walking the dogs.
19. Thank my mom for everything she's done for me.
20. Go further into the UP than the Mystery Spot tourist trap and jump into Lake Superior.
21. Get chosen for one more summer fellowship in another country where I am able to work with youth.
22. Go on a police ride along.
23. Get to 200 blog posts.
24. Revised 5/1/12 Make some decisions about my career and/or PhD prospects. Apply for PhD programs.
25. Attend roller derby training so I can learn the moves.
26. Learn how to flip turn when I'm swimming laps. 4/19/12
27. Take a real personal day. 6/8/12
28. Learn how to drive a stick.
29. Go horseback riding.
30. Poach an egg perfectly.