This is something that I've been thinking about for a while...and the irony (or hypocracy) of how I live my life, and how I aspire to live my life struck me as I was sitting in the bathtub in a hotel "up the hill" last weekend.
For Babe's birthday, we got a room for a couple nights in a little gambling town and since it was the first time in a while that we were absolutely alone--no kids, no friends, no family..just US we decided to do it up right. Needless to say, we lost a ton of money, drank a lot of alcohol, ate like shit (but it was delicious!) and didn't workout.
In the midst of my hangover (and you know after a 2-day bender, they suck ass) I decided to let Babe sleep and I figured I'd take a bath. Since I finished my book the day before, I grabbed the most recent issue of Yoga Journal to flip through while I relaxed in the tub.
Now, I'm not a hard core yoga chick--I love doing yoga, but it's not like I visit a studio or anything--heck I do my yoga in my classroom using this website. I do, however really enjoy it...I've gotten stronger, I think my posture is better, and it really is relaxing. What I don't do is really buy into all the "feel the pulse of the universe through the soles of your feet" stuff. The instructors that teach the classes I enjoy do throw some of the yogi-mystical-eastern stuff into their teaching, but most of the time their advice is sound: listen to your body, don't do anything that makes you hurt or feel uncomfortable, and live in the now. I think we could all do that...
Anyway, back to the point. There I was, feeling absolutely crappy, soaking in the tub (which I'm sure used gallons upon gallons of water) reading this magazine which is all about pure, healthy living. The polar opposite-ness of it all hit me hard. I would LOVE to detox my body: quit drinking alcohol, quit eating refined sugar, quit eating red meat (or most meat altogether), quit staying up until crazy hours, etc.
But. (There's always as but, right?)
I adore a juicy hamburger.
I love unwinding with a glass or wine or celebrating with my posse with a shot or something.
I treat myself with decadent spoonful or two of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food.
I stay up late with Babe some rights because it's the only time of the day where we get to be alone and have some grown up time.
Am I a bad person because I flat out admit that I enjoy some things that are bad for me and I have neither the willpower nor the desire to eliminate them from my life? Or, am I doing okay because while I recognize that I have some unhealthy habits, I strive to live my life as healthy as I can?
I dunno...but I'll keep searching.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The Evolution Will Not Be Televised!
(But I am going to blog about it...)
Ahhhhh, New Year's...a time to work off the hangover and make a bunch of resolutions that won't see the light of February.
Or maybe not...
On Facebook yesterday, the founder/owner of Tokyo Joe's (a Japanese-y type of quick food place--think Noodles and Co. but with Asian flavors) posted this: "...and to steal a phrase (thanks Lindsey) ... go make yourself a great NEW YEAR'S "EVOLUTION" ... better than just a Resolution :)
It's Time Out to Re-invent Yourself ... so make 2011 YOUR best year ever."
(Yes, I'm friends with "Tokyo Joe's.)
As cheesy as it sounds, it got me thinking...it shouldn't be about "resolving" to completely change, but life should be about "evolving" into a better you. I like the idea of evolution--I am a godless heathen after all and I *do* consider Darwin one of my peeps--so if I embrace the thought of evolving into a better AimCo and then take steps (baby steps, mind you) to become the better AimCo, then I really will evolve into a better me by the end of the year.
So, here's what I'm thinking...I want to:
1. Evolve into a better teacher/educator: I don't phone it in that often--I'm not a teacher that will do the same thing overandoverandover again because I know that it worked once. However, I'm becoming more disenchanted with the education system--the changes, the battles we fight, the shit teachers take from the media, parents, administrators, the district, the union, the school boards, etc. Instead of just letting the changes happen to me, I want to be a force of change within the system. Crazy, right?
How do I do this? No fucking clue. ;D I think my first step is to get my EdS (Education Specialist) degree with the emphasis in education. I have my Masters, but I think in order to move ahead, I need the admin experience. I DO NOT want to be in administration in the traditional sense of the word--I don't want to be in charge of a building. I get my feelings hurt too easily to do that, but I think knowing how schools work will help me get out of one.
Another think I need to go to evolve my career is to dump the thankless shit that I do in my building: Student Council, planning the yearly trip, being the "go to" person for everyone. I need to quit, period. Frankly, I never get props for it, very few people care, and frankly it takes a ton of time and energy away from other things I could be doing.
2. Evolve into a better wife/mother: See above. By letting go of some the things that I do at work, I can focus more energy into my family. I want more family dinners, I want less time spent on cleaning up the disaster-area my house can become, I want to have more fun and quality time.
In order to do that, I need to be more organized. Today is a start. I prepped as much food as I could for the week (lots of chopping going on) and labeled everything I could. I've made a Google calendar with EVERYTHING on it so I know exactly what's going on. I'm going to plan my clothes for the week so I'm not stressing out about what to wear. Finally, I'm going to be asleep by 9 (yes, 9!) so I can get up in the morning around 5 and not run around crazy to get ready. (In order to faciltitate this, there may be some Xanax ingesting, but hey, whatever works, right?)
3. Evolve into a healthier me: I need to become more focused on my health. See above...that whole meal planning/prepping thing is so we're not eating crap at the last minute because there's nothing in the house. I'm turning my classroom into a mini-workout studio where I can work out after school on a regular basis. Once I get home, I'm on mom-duty and I won't work out. So, in my room it is. I also ordered a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor so I can track my progress and really see how many calories I'm burning. Babe and I are also taking a "sober week" once a month to just give our bodies a chance to detox. Yes, I know if I just avoided alcohol altogether I wouldn't have to worry about it, but I'm vodka's bitch and I just can't quit it.
Notice how the 3 things fit together? I figure if I keep with the K.I.S.S. philosophy, I should be able to make some changes and I won't overwhelm my brain. I'll keep you posted.
Ahhhhh, New Year's...a time to work off the hangover and make a bunch of resolutions that won't see the light of February.
Or maybe not...
On Facebook yesterday, the founder/owner of Tokyo Joe's (a Japanese-y type of quick food place--think Noodles and Co. but with Asian flavors) posted this: "...and to steal a phrase (thanks Lindsey) ... go make yourself a great NEW YEAR'S "EVOLUTION" ... better than just a Resolution :)
It's Time Out to Re-invent Yourself ... so make 2011 YOUR best year ever."
(Yes, I'm friends with "Tokyo Joe's.)
As cheesy as it sounds, it got me thinking...it shouldn't be about "resolving" to completely change, but life should be about "evolving" into a better you. I like the idea of evolution--I am a godless heathen after all and I *do* consider Darwin one of my peeps--so if I embrace the thought of evolving into a better AimCo and then take steps (baby steps, mind you) to become the better AimCo, then I really will evolve into a better me by the end of the year.
So, here's what I'm thinking...I want to:
1. Evolve into a better teacher/educator: I don't phone it in that often--I'm not a teacher that will do the same thing overandoverandover again because I know that it worked once. However, I'm becoming more disenchanted with the education system--the changes, the battles we fight, the shit teachers take from the media, parents, administrators, the district, the union, the school boards, etc. Instead of just letting the changes happen to me, I want to be a force of change within the system. Crazy, right?
How do I do this? No fucking clue. ;D I think my first step is to get my EdS (Education Specialist) degree with the emphasis in education. I have my Masters, but I think in order to move ahead, I need the admin experience. I DO NOT want to be in administration in the traditional sense of the word--I don't want to be in charge of a building. I get my feelings hurt too easily to do that, but I think knowing how schools work will help me get out of one.
Another think I need to go to evolve my career is to dump the thankless shit that I do in my building: Student Council, planning the yearly trip, being the "go to" person for everyone. I need to quit, period. Frankly, I never get props for it, very few people care, and frankly it takes a ton of time and energy away from other things I could be doing.
2. Evolve into a better wife/mother: See above. By letting go of some the things that I do at work, I can focus more energy into my family. I want more family dinners, I want less time spent on cleaning up the disaster-area my house can become, I want to have more fun and quality time.
In order to do that, I need to be more organized. Today is a start. I prepped as much food as I could for the week (lots of chopping going on) and labeled everything I could. I've made a Google calendar with EVERYTHING on it so I know exactly what's going on. I'm going to plan my clothes for the week so I'm not stressing out about what to wear. Finally, I'm going to be asleep by 9 (yes, 9!) so I can get up in the morning around 5 and not run around crazy to get ready. (In order to faciltitate this, there may be some Xanax ingesting, but hey, whatever works, right?)
3. Evolve into a healthier me: I need to become more focused on my health. See above...that whole meal planning/prepping thing is so we're not eating crap at the last minute because there's nothing in the house. I'm turning my classroom into a mini-workout studio where I can work out after school on a regular basis. Once I get home, I'm on mom-duty and I won't work out. So, in my room it is. I also ordered a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor so I can track my progress and really see how many calories I'm burning. Babe and I are also taking a "sober week" once a month to just give our bodies a chance to detox. Yes, I know if I just avoided alcohol altogether I wouldn't have to worry about it, but I'm vodka's bitch and I just can't quit it.
Notice how the 3 things fit together? I figure if I keep with the K.I.S.S. philosophy, I should be able to make some changes and I won't overwhelm my brain. I'll keep you posted.
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