Category Archives: Uncategorized

No More Bikes for Christmas!!

Posted on by

I think I finally reached my outdoor winter limit.. Here it goes…

My 10 year old god-daughter received a new sparkly purple and silver bike for Christmas. Now, like any child would, upon receiving this bike, she wanted to go for a ride at every opportunity but due to lack of time she never got a chance. Last weekend she asked could she come over to ride her bike. I reluctantly agreed and prayed Maryland’s bi-polar weather would work in my favor for just ONE day.

Saturday comes and she’s at my house excited and ready to go.. Apparently the sun gods were off work that day and their weather husbands were on vacation IT WAS FREEZING. I was really trying to fathom in my head why she would want to ride her bike in the sunless cold but couldn’t come up with a solution. Now, let me preface by saying, telling her “no, lets wait until spring” was not an option. I have realized the role I play in her life and I also remember being that young and 1. being excited to be with someone I look up to, 2. receiving something new and wanting to try it, use it, and do it all day. Nevertheless I digress.. I grab a hat, scarf, 2 sweaters, coat and gloves and head outside as she eagerly awaits.. We take off down the path and shes beaming with joy.. Was I beaming with joy?? Well, thanks to the wind,  my eyes looked like I cut 1,000 onions and the only thing that prevented my lips from freezing off was the ninja like tying skills I did with my scarf.

I decided to take her the long way on the path so that she felt satisfied, and go figure, she actually got tired along the way and had to take a break.. SCORE!! We finally get back home (after roughly 2.5mi) and watching her toil to get to some water while smiling made me feel better. Did I mention, she was not wearing gloves nor did she once complain about the weather.. It’s funny, when we want something bad enough we either ignore the or overlook the adversity. While I was busy highlighting the setbacks (mentally), she simply worked with what she had.

Soooo.. Despite everything I had a good time and I also learned a few things. As gung ho and lets all run a marathon as I am, temperatures under 40 degrees just don’t agree with me. Will I still do events under these temps?? Of course. I love skiing…but outside of skiing you will not find me volunteering to do ANYTHING outdoors, under 40 degrees, with no sun, and tons of wind. The greatest lesson however was, NEVAAAA EVAAAAA EVAAAA buy a kid a bike during an east coast winter unless you’re prepared to ride with them!! If you do buy them a bike and don’t let them ride it until spring you are cruel Lol.. Hopefully one day i’m not eating my words. If so…to that dreaded can I ride my new bike question I will cheerfully say.. Ask your dad!!

Bucks Lesson..

Posted on by

This is a continuation of the Beware of Bucks post… Let me begin by saying, I’m a deep person by nature. I know we all hate those people who try to be extra deep and philosophical and everyone knows they really aren’t that way at all lol… that’s not me. I’ll see a leaf blow in the wind and my mind will go to some deep thought on the metaphysics of the leaf Lol… Hey, I’m a capricorn, what can I say. With all that being said, I believe every experience, even the horrible ones, are  lessons and tests. Therefore, the good and bad are inextricably linked and the only thing that separates the two are our perceptions. So… I really took a lot away from my buck hiking trip.. If you are unaware what that trip was about, its imperative you read my Beware of Bucks post.

Now… Ill try to keep this quick (with a brief recap)…

After the whole hiking at dusk fiasco settled in, days later, I found myself upset about the whole ordeal. I was upset at the I don’t care if these two young ladies hike up a mountain at dark white guy who refused to give us a ride up the mountain. I was upset about the  map and markers that put us in that predicament… and I was upset that it even happened at all. After the steam from my brain wore off, I decided to do a true reflection on what happened that day, and what I could take from the entire thing. As I thought, things really hit me..

That whole hike I had tons of energy, from reaching the peak, to climbing down, my battery just seemed to stay on full.. Despite this, hiking back down, I thought it would not be long before I reached my car, so mentally, I had not prepared myself to do more than 3-4 extra miles. Because of this, when we were hiking extra miles to get to the car from the bottom, my energy was slowly starting to deplete. Not only that, I was freezing, and this slowed me down a bit too. When I got to the point where I had to decide to go forward or turn around and go back (bc of the imaginary deer,) I chose to go forward. Moving forward was the best decision I could’ve made bc shortly after that I was at my car.

I learned it’s much better to roll with life, and trust your guidance. Here I was, walking up a road that I knew would take me to my destination but I didn’t know how far I was from it and how long it would take to get there. When you don’t know the details of your situation, its easy to get antsy, and even think about turning around to go back. But what do we benefit from walking in the opposite direction of our goals,dreams, or callings out of fear?? You get nothing!! It doesn’t serve you or the world. It was no coincidence that when I felt like turning around and had a break down, I was literally around the corner from my car and didn’t know it. That’s the power of faith and trust. When you do everything you know how to do, leave the rest up to faith, and you will be guided every time. It’s cliche, but the breakdown is always right before the blessing. Even if that blessing isn’t right around the corner. I appreciated my car heat so much more.. my fingers.. my body… and my strength after that night. Lessons aren’t meant to bring you down for the sake of failing you… they break you down to build you up. Not only that, someone may be riding on your strength. Me getting to my car, helped me AND my friend. FAITH. FATE. POWER. Once you’re on the road, keep pushing forward, despite how tired, exhausted, or unclear you may be.. Even if you can’t see ahead of you, when you decide to advance and take steps, everything conspires to help you. Beware of shortcuts, glitter isn’t gold. I saw several perceived “shortcuts” but I stayed on my path. When you have faith you will meet FATE. Everything that happened that day was supposed to… and from that I gained POWER. Lastly, had I had a negative attitude, I probably would’ve never made it up the mountain to begin with. Sometimes we overlook the power of our brain. I could have easily had a break down sooner than I did.. again, my feet were nearly frozen, my fingers, I was hearing noises, I was hungry, and I was worried about my friend.. but I chose to look at the positive. My mind was focused on my car. Don’t get distracted.. distractions are designed to throw you off course, but if you do, refocus yourself.. We all deserve our greatest dreams no matter how big or small… Be unstoppable and keep the faith!! 🙂

 

New Year, New Focus

Posted on by

I’d like to start off this post by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope everyone celebrated and brought in the year the way they wanted. I certainly had fun, my buddy and I made it to my friends house literally four minutes before the new year, talk about cutting it close. I would like to blame his blackberry and the wonderful streets of D.C. for  our confusion.

I’m usually not one for New Years resolutions, maybe it’s my rebellious nature, but I usually have the why New Years approach. Especially because the real New Years starts during the spring equinox ( but we wont get into that today.) Despite my rebellion, I do have a new goal that I really need to focus on.

A few days ago my buddy and I did another outdoor workout and I found myself making a conscious effort to do slow deep breaths during every exercise. Now, I always take time breathe deep, but it has never been on a consistent basis, especially during workouts. I think because breathing is such a natural action for most, much thought isn’t put into how you’re breathing and unless you have been practicing taking deep breaths your probably breathe shallow throughout the day.

I must say, taking deep breaths during my ab workout was quite the challenge, you really want to hold your breath, but it felt good letting more oxygen into my lungs, I could really feel the difference.

Why is breathing deep important for workouts and life in general?? A few reasons (via naturalnews.com):

  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Relieves emotional issues, including stress and tension
  • Improves the quality of sleep
  • Raises our energy levels
  • Helps break down salt
  • Improves circulation
  • Helps to promote weight loss
  • Improves athletic performance
Tomorrow, be conscious of your breathing… Start with three deep breaths in and three out (consistently.) Once you get comfortable with that increase the seconds in and out, you will notice a difference. Next step, Focus on breathing during your workouts. It’s challenging but rewarding. You are in control of your body, exercise it!! Sometimes my workouts are so intense I’m cursing out everything, the grass, time, myself Lol (you’d never be able to tell on my face.) In my mind I can’t wait to finish my set, which means i’m focusing on the wrong thing. Once I focus on my breaths, things don’t get easier but I do feel better. Happy Breathing!! Focus… and the more you do it, over time, you will be breathing better naturally  🙂

Juicing Recipe

Posted on by

If you have a juicer, try this combination out. I use equal parts of organic apples and carrots.. So if I have 1 sm/med apple I use about 2-3 carrots depending on their size. For about 16oz of juice, 4 apples and 8 carrots will do. This recipe alone is delicious but I usually add in 2-3 inches of fresh ginger, gives a nice little kick. I suggest trying a smaller amount of ginger and adding more to taste. Remember, for maximum benefits & absorption, try drinking on an empty stomach (ie. Mornings).. or atleast 2 hours after last meal. Enjoy!!