Feeling Better Already

It seems like admitting to the universe that things weren't feeling all that great, alongside being proactive in doing the things that usually cheer me up... seems to have worked.

Today is day five of better eating, and finally, that barge seems to be turning around. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but the quality of my eating had been gradually falling off for a while, with predictable results. I hope I can do a better job from here on out.

After spending much of Monday and Tuesday (my last two days of spring "break") working feverishly on Big Life Tasks (filing taxes, investigating 529 plans, cleaning off my slovenly desk), I felt caught up enough to participate in an SMC Forum thread for project support. Each member posts a brag of three things she accomplished yesterday and three things she hopes to accomplish today.

Last night I was really annoyed with the stupid post I shared, my first, because I just wanted to go to bed, dammit, and not to have to finish unpacking that stupid suitcase. But, sigh, I had committed, so I unpacked the stupid suitcase before going to bed.

Getting those Big Life Errands done was no fun, but feeling that lightness of being from not having them over me is blissful. And I know that having a clean apartment always cheers me up, but it certainly takes a lot of energy to start cleaning when I'm already down.

So it was great to wake up this morning to a clean and organized apartment, taxes paid, files emptied of last year's bills, desk cleared, hall table tidy. Best of all, I set my alarm sufficiently early to allow myself to hit the snooze button once and still have plenty of time for a workout.

I realized that I'd been compromising my workouts quite a bit. I was using my laptop for the DVD, and often I had to wait for it to power up... and then, since the laptop was on anyway, might as well take a quick glance at email... and then see if there were any new and interesting updates on Facebook... and suddenly I only had time for half a workout.

So today I used my DVD player and TV set, which meant no opportunities for wasted time on Facebook and email. And I stayed focused throughout my workout, and pushed hard.

I'm now on the eighth and final "official" level of Rip 60 (there's an unofficial Level 9, plus some supplemental DVDs to try), but I think I'm ready to try something different.

I tried out my cousin's Insanity workouts twice last week. They were, yes, insanely challenging. But do-able, I think. I couldn't do 100% of them, but I was pretty pleased with how much I could do. I was thinking of buying the workout but then another SMC recommended something called Turbo Jam, from the same company that produces Insanity. She said she liked the moves a lot better than all the jumping and squats of Insanity, and claimed that it was actually fun, like dancing. I looked it up on Amazon and it looks like a very intense cardio kickboxing routine. I have no coordination whatsoever, but who knows, maybe I will learn some from this workout! In any event, it was available in "Very Good Used Condition" for all of $15. So I'm excited to see where this takes me. I'm looking forward to doing something that involves fewer stops and starts to adjust equipment. I plan to keep doing Rip 60 2-3 days a week and will add this new series of workouts in to mix things up a bit.

I'm also doing my best to get to bed earlier. It's ironic how much it helps my overall happiness to be well rested, and it's such a challenge to actually get myself to bed. The more tired I am, the harder it is to struggle against inertia and move myself out of my chair and into my bed. There's just so many steps in between!

I've done a little better the last couple of nights, and while I'm still feeling tired, I sense an improvement there, too.

Calliope is feeling better, too. She had a cold with fever for several days, poor nugget, and was mostly okay but eating poorly and a basket case when she got tired. Yesterday she completely lost her sh*t during dinner, and couldn't stop sobbing. I sponged yogurt off her face, brushed her teeth, took her out of the high chair, changed her diaper, and put her in PJs and sleep sack, all while she cried. Finally, after rocking her for a good five minutes, she suddenly lifted her wet face from my sodden shoulder and asked "kirl?"

We looked out the window and I explained that the squirrel had gone bye-bye.

Sadly she nestled against my shoulder again, and shook her head no when I offered stories. So straight into the crib she went, where she cried again and we had round two of bedtime singing and rocking. Then off to sleep. Twelve and a half hours later, she woke up good as new, save an occasional junky cough. Phew.

I've got an action packed couple of evenings, with interviews and meetings, and then am very much looking forward to a mostly unplanned weekend.