Fitness or Fatness

Seems as though everyone is confronted with those two thoughts! I have seemed to yo-yo between the two since i have graduated high school. They say once you graduate that you'll have to watch what you eat more and that you aren't as active. They weren't kidding. When i was in high school i went non stop. I went to school all day then went home after school to change and put on my work clothes where i would work til 10 at night and then come home and finish any homework i had. Kind of amazing to me now when i think back on it, no wonder i didn't gain a lot of weight, i didn't have much time to eat! I have found that if i am mindful of what i eat and if i make sure that i run at least 30-45 minutes a day then i am able to stay at the weight i want. My best friend has her personal training license and yet i still manage to gain weight. During this spring break i have switched my mind set to fitness and not fatness. They say weight can be a heredity thing, passed down to children from their parents. I'm sure that's true but is it genetic or just bad habits that are passed down to us? My parents have been over weight for as long as i can remember. My dad recently found out that he was diabetic and i explained to him that through diet and exercise a person is able to maintain and even reverse type 2 diabetes. He took what the doctor had to say very seriously and he and my mom have totally changed the way they eat and have become more active. Since last June my mom has currently lost 70 pounds and my dad has lost 65! I am so proud of them and extremely motivated by them. So I'm saying yes to fitness and no to fatness!

Smell of Memories

Remember when you were little how your grandma's house always seemed to smell? Maybe of old antiques or the smell of your favorite cookies because she knew you were coming! Amazing how the smells of certain things seem to trigger feelings and memories. Like every time i smell Polo, it makes me think of my grandpa in Florida. He has worn that same cologne for as long as i have known him. Even now when i smell that i automatically think of my grandpa. Everyone has their own certain memories that seem to be attached to something like smell. Sometimes they aren't always pleasant memories, like the smell of a particular food you recall getting sick on, and you swear you'll never eat that ever again! Music can also be tied to memories. Like recalling the songs that were played at someones wedding, that becomes "their song", and seems to bring a smile on their face when they hear the song again. Or playing a persons favorite song at their funeral, and when you hear it, you're reminded of the pain of loosing them. This summer i listened to a lot of Dave Matthews Band while running at the Nature Center and other trails outside and so when i hear it i remember the running time and the concert i road tripped to see him in August in Dallas, Texas with a couple friends! Simple things bring back the biggest memories. It seems that memories may even have smells!

Adventuresome Spirit

Ever feeling as though you were meant to go and be anywhere but where you are? Like you would love to just up and road trip, but then again, where would you go? Who would you go with? How much money would it take? I have that feeling constantly! How sometimes home doesn't feel like home. Its like your homesick, but what exact place would cure that sickness? I love going and doing, but I'm constantly reminded by reality of the consequences that would come with such thoughtless actions! Dang my mom for installing that mentality in me that if you cant afford it, you shouldn't do it! I'm sure later in life i will thank her, but in my moments of spontaneousness i feel as tho i will do nothing but spontaneously com bust if i don't fill that need in my life. I almost took a job as a flight attendant, thought that would cure my need to travel and seek out life and the world around me. Yet again the practical part kicked in and i knew i needed to focus on a degree, something to fall back on when i needed to be a responsible adult! Part of me wonders what would have, could have been. I don't have any regret for making that decision tho. In fact i have decided that i would pursue another part of who i am, the part that like to help people in whatever way that is. So here i am going to school to become a nurse! Hoping that once i have some experience under my belt that i can combine my love for traveling and helping people together and do travel nursing. I know some people that do it and make good money and get to enjoy different places while they practice what they love! So that is my light at the end of the long tunnel, the reward for my time and effort! So until then i will suppress my adventuresome spirit in the physical way and let my mind wander aimlessly to where it wants of road trips with friends, sand in my toes, and endless memories that some day i will make come true!