We made it!

We made it to Fort Myers! It was a long, long drive, but we finally made it!

Friday
It was my last day at work. I was happy that it was pretty uneventful because so many people were out for the holiday weekend already. I wrapped a few things up and left peacefully :)

When I got home, we packed up the last few things into our POD and hit the road! We decided to play the Flat Stanley game with a twist! :)

Of course, it was raining, so it was a gloomy drive. We made it to Madison, WI around 5:00 and settled in for the night.

Hidden gem: La Mestiza Mexican restaurant

Saturday
It was a very boring drive from Madison through Illinois. VERY boring and cloudy. But, I was happy to have an uneventful drive and get some more hours under our belt!

Hidden gem: Tuscan Hills Winery in Effingham, IL (We crashed a wedding! Congrats to Josh & Erin!)

 

Sunday
This was easily our best day of driving! We drove from southern Illinois through Kentucky and onto Nashville. It was only a few hours long and very beautiful. We'd never been to Nashville, so I was excited to stay downtown and explore the city.

We made the best of our day visiting the Titans stadium, the Parthenon and a few local places to hear some music.

Hidden gem: The Palm

 



Monday
This was our most stressful day of driving! We were on the road for a good 10 hours and endured the mountains in Chattanooga, Atlanta traffic and Florida rain. I was so happy when the day was over!

Hidden gem: The Florida Border!! (Not really hidden, but it felt like it when we were driving!)



 We drove a few hours from Gainsville and made it to Fort Myers on Tuesday. Since then I feel like we've had more activity than I've had all year so far in Minneapolis! We've been in the pool every day, been to the beach and unloading our POD burned quite a few calories.

It's back to work on Monday. I'm looking forward to getting back on track with our meals and figuring out my new workout plan, which will certainly include a lot of water activities and pool workouts. SO happy to be here and see my dream of living in a warm climate realized!

 

 

A celebration of life!

The past week was an eventful, emotional celebration of life! My family through a going away party for us. While I will still see my family often, it was difficult to say so long to my fabulous grandma and these three adorable faces.

I wanted to make it to Paisley Park one last time before I left Minneapolis. I hadn't been out that way in about 20 years! The memorial was amazing. AMAZING! I'm so happy I got to take part in it.

We also celebrated Charlie's first birthday without him, which was a difficult milestone. I'm ready for the 'firsts' to be over.

On the health front, I'm feeling good! I turned another year older this week. I'm so thankful that I've been mindful of my health and wellness over the last several years. I can't imagine how terrible I'd look and feel at this age if I hadn't been so diligent about nutrition and exercise for the last decade. I was on an awful, unhealthy track and I'm so thankful that I turned it around!

Also, the weather has finally improved enough to get outside and enjoy it! I made it to Target Field one last time.

I've also been taking advantage of the weather by walking all over Minneapolis this week! I will definitely miss walks along the Mississippi, but I'm so excited to stop being STATIC. There's only one more week until we move!

Getting back on track during disruptive times

Today is a great reminder about WHY I try to take great care of myself by eating well, drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly! It is so important and directly contributes to feeling well and performing at your best both mentally and physically.

I knew that my last few weeks in Minneapolis would be busy and stressful. I’m trying to pack and sell items we’re not taking with us, finish up my job, and see friends and family. Everything is hectic…and when I come home, there’s nowhere to sit and relax because I sold everything! I'm currently sitting on my friend's lawn chair because we sold our patio set on Saturday.

With this much disruption, my health is suffering a bit of disruption, too. I'm doing pretty well health-wise considering. I'm still getting in at least 10,000 steps every day and lifting weights 3-4 times every week. The weather hasn't been fantastic other than a few days here and there, but we have really been trying to grill our protein and veggies as much as possible.

That said, we ended up eating out (and drinking out) on Friday night with friends at our going away party, then again on Saturday evening for the Kentucky Derby. This is typically a big no-no for us. We ate our Saturday night leftovers last night for dinner, which I still count as "eating out" given the sodium and who knows what else the restaurant put in our delicious food.

This morning I felt bloated and lethargic. It's definitely a direct result of my nutrition (or lack thereof) over the weekend. The difference now is that I recognize how these foods affect me and I can turn it back around quickly. Before I changed my lifestyle, I would consider this type of behavior "off the diet wagon". But, now I don't act like I'm "on a diet" or "off a diet". I try to eat healthy and exercise most days. When things go a bit too far - like they did this past weekend - it's not a free pass to keep treating my body poorly. It's a wake up call to get right back on track.

Today's meals:

• Breakfast: Green smoothie and coffee
• Lunch: Kirkland turkey on wheat, fat-free cottage cheese
• Dinner: Big veggie salad and veggie farfalle
• Missed my snacks today, but I had lots and lots of water!

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day! May is always one of my favorite months. It represents new beginnings for my family.

• It's (hopefully) the start of better weather days in Minnesota. 
• Both my husband and I have birthdays in May. A new year of your life to make new goals is always great!
• Our beloved dog, Charlie, also has a birthday in May. This will be our first one without him :(
• Last May we moved out of a toxic situation into our current location, which has been an improvement to our health.
• This May we are moving across the country!

The week approaching this lovely day was challenging. I started out the week with one of the most stressful days at work ever. Nothing went right. I've spent almost 20 years there. Now I only have 20 days to go. DEEP BREATHS!

 

We also sold our living room furniture, which I think will be a benefit to our health this month. With nothing comfortable to sit on, it will force us to get outside for a walk or go to the gym and move more!

Have a happy May!

Hello Goodbye

"Hello, hello...I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello..." - Lennon/McCartney

It was a week of goodbyes with the hellos trying to burst through. Yesterday morning I saw a Facebook post about someone passing at Paisley Park. First, I messaged my friend, who is also a major Prince fan, to ask her if she heard. Then, I began alerting my co-workers like a crazy person. This COULD NOT BE Prince! No no no no no! Well, you know how that all unravels. I followed the news the rest of the day, then came home and immediately started the vinyl. There was no other solace.

 

 

Even though the biggest street party in Minneapolis history was just a short walk away from my apartment, I didn't go. I followed with everyone online instead while listening to Prince tunes and the helicopters buzzing above my apartment building all night.

 

On my walk to work this morning, I took in the aftermath. Quiet and cloudy:

 



 

From my favorite Prince song: "I am yours now and you are mine. Together we'll love through all space and time, so don't cry..."

Moving on...

Since I decided to quit my job and move across the country, I've been trying to find a new job! I've been working at the same company for nearly 20 years. It's been good from a security standpoint, but it hasn't been good for my soul aside from the few great friends I've made along the way. But, day-to-day, it's stressful and not something that makes me feel fulfilled at the end of the day. I'm ready to say goodbye #corporatelife

While having a paycheck and benefits is an obvious concern, I'm doing my best to really try to do something different. Something more creative, enjoyable and rewarding. I have a lot of ideas about what that could be. But, in the midst of trying to move, keep up with the job I still have for a few weeks and stay on track with life, it's been tough to have a good stretch of quiet time to meditate on the ultimate questions like, what am I here for? How can I make an impact and do some good? What are my talents? How can they be used?

I spent the week interviewing for a new job, which went well. I went to a LinkedIn training class. I took knowledge from that to do some successful networking. While my immediate actions and new connections might not bring anything now, you never know what will pop up for the future. Live in the moment. Listen to others. Help people. It will come back to you.

However, for now I'm just trying to say hello to my new life. Current stop is Limbo Land. But, more is on the horizon...

Life without a weight room

About 10 years ago, I decided I wanted to learn how to lift weights. I’d recently lost about 25 pounds through diet and pilates, but I wanted to take my fitness to the next level. My husband and I joined our community center gym, so he could teach me how to use the equipment and free weights. 

 

When I thought about how my weightlifting lesson would go down, I pictured one of those workouts that you see in a women’s fitness magazine. You know - the ones where the women (who are actually models) look fabulous and the workout calls for two sets of 15 reps with five-pound weights. But, that’s not at all what my husband had in mind for me. He said that I could easily do a workout designed for men. We started training with Men’s Health TNT Workout, and I fell in love with heavy weightlifting. I enjoyed it so much and it’s still a workout that I go back to today.

 

Ever since then, I’ve worked to challenge myself in the weight room. I lift as heavy as possible and learned to do some Olympic lifts. At one point, I beat the gym’s record for bench press. Weightlifting has turned into a fabulous and healthy “hobby” for me!

 

 

Now, I can’t even remember life without having access to weights and a gym. In my current living situation, I’m lucky enough to have a gym just downstairs in my building.
 

But, I’ll be moving in a couple of months and for the first time in many years, I won’t have access to a gym. PANIC!

I know that while I transition to my new surroundings that I won’t be able to just NOT do strength training. So, I’ve been trying to think of some creative ways to workout without having access to a gym. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

 

Swimming pool workouts:  Luckily, I will have access to a pool. And, since it will be summer in Florida, I’ll probably need it to cool off! I found some amazing workouts for the pool. Thank goodness for Pinterest.

 

Make use of free weights/body weight: There’s something to be said for old fashioned pushups. I also have access to a set of 12-pound free weights. I am going to get creative with step-ups, pushups with weights, planks and other body weight exercises to keep up my strength.

 

Try a new sport: There’s shuffleboard, pickleball and tennis available at my new place, which will give me plenty of opportunities to work on my fitness (and coordination) in new ways.

 

What ideas do you have for me while I adjust to life without a weight room? I want to know your creative workout plans!

Promoting my health - through the biggest changes yet!

For starters, I want to thank Kristy, who has a fabulous new blog, for prompting me to write this post tonight!

Remember how we celebrated the first day of spring earlier this week? Well, we did that happy dance, and then this happened:

 

For those of you that have known me for some time - or even if you haven't - I will complain about winter to anyone and everyone that will listen. I've done it for years and I'm sure everyone is tired of it by now. Ha!

I've talked on and on about moving out of Minnesota for YEARS in hopes of ending my annual 6-8 months of dread, depression and reliance on my light therapy lamp. I spend SO much time with my lamp that I feel like I owe it a nice steak dinner with a fancy glass of cabernet and probably a piece of cheesecake, too.

My diligence for having a healthy diet and working out regularly is in large part due to helping ease SAD. However, I have always dreamed of the day that I could just walk outside on the regular without having to worry about which coat I should wear or having to put on these bulky winter boots. And, have a life without having to worry about winter anymore!

I've gotten to the point in my life when I'm truly starting to realize that tomorrow isn't promised and that life can change in a moment. It's out of our control. But, what is in our control is what we do with today. Do I want to look back on my life and say, "Hey, I lived in a place I really didn't want to be for XX years and worked at the same place for XX years. It was a nice, safe life. And I was afraid to leave it all for the unknown."

As of today, I've lived in Minnesota nearly 42 years minus a 5-year stint in Wisconsin (Ooohh! Daring!). I've worked for the same company for nearly 20 of those years, which pretty much everyone views as commendable. And, so do I. My life does not suck! I have a great life married to my best friend, I have a dependable job that pays the bills and then some, and live in a fabulous neighborhood in Minneapolis. However, the SAD plague takes over for extended periods of time. I enjoy doing so many outdoor activities, being near/on the water and taking advantage of eating fresh foods - all of which I can only do in Minnesota for a fourth of the year - if I'm lucky. And, it's FINALLY time to put my health first!

So, after many years of wallowing, we are finally (and appropriately) moving to the SUNSHINE STATE. There's a lot up in the air right now, especially given that I gave notice at my job!!! We'll be leaving the state where we were born and raised, and I'll be leaving the place I've worked for so many years without knowing where I'll land. But, I know it's the right thing to do. I'm already so excited to take advantage of having a new environment, learning new outdoor activities and, most of all, improving my overall health and well-being. Stay tuned for the adventures as they unravel! And, please enjoy below a photo of the beach that will be just a few short miles from me!