The Inspiration behind this adventure: My Thighs!

So... about a week ago, I looked in the mirror and I realized something: Hey- My thighs actually look pretty good! Something you need to understand about me is that I am not 120 lbs and don't have a higher than average appreciation for my own body. This is new! This is exciting!

What exactly lead me to this revelation? 

A couple of things. I've just recently had my second baby, so I'm in the process of regaining some sense of my former self (read: I would like it if SOME of my clothes fit). I've been running and trying to eat well, and starting a program called Isagenix to help me out with that. These things are starting to pay off... I'm feeling good and pretty darned proud of my self for dropping 60! pounds.

Bigger yet, there are these Huffington Post articles and the like that keep popping up in my Facebook newsfeed. They sentimentally encourage: Moms! Feel proud! Wear your swimsuit! Run around with your kids! Let the jelly jiggle! Who cares if you look like a whale in a black bikini! Mostly these articles only succeed at annoying the CRAP out of me (you will soon learn that a lot of things tend to do that...and I like to rant a little). But, the message is actually starting to hit me: I LOOK OK! And by ok, I don't mean I look like a supermodel. But I can look at my thighs and think: they are strong from running and keeping up with my kids; I'm actually going to look at them and love them for a change. I'm starting to change the way I think about my body. I'm not looking at the flaws, but focusing on the defined arms I have from holding my little for hours on end. Flaws there are (lots of them!) but I hold them with a bit of pride. Bags under my eyes from raising two kids. Tiger stripes (yeah yeah... we've all heard that one) which I used to be embarrassed of now make me realize women who don't have some kind of jiggle left around there probably don't have kids to chase around... which I think is kinda sad for them. I want to think of my body in an honouring way rather than an "I ate too much ice cream and I feel terrible" kind of way.

That's what got me thinking! There's actually a whole lot more of myself I should be loving. I shouldn't be compromising on any aspect of my life! I'm generally pretty happy being mediocre, but lately something inside is telling me to want more and be more. Exercise, and action are driving change in my life.

Starting with pride in my new self: My thighs!

Going forward, I promise I will not fill this blog up with crappy cellphone thigh selfies. PROMISE.

Welcome!

This is not my first attempt at blogging. I have a family blog which I have maintained and used for over three years! I have found that although I enjoy that blog, I write it for my children and extended family. To be honest, it's too politically correct and it's not written for me. FOR ME? A concept I may have temporarily lost when I became a mother.

FOR ME:  enter birth of this blog! My attempt at accountability, getting what I want out of my life, and setting/maintaining some serious goals. I want to network and grow with others striving for the same thing.

Disclaimer time: I'm opinionated on a lot of things, and an expert at pretty much nothing. Well... a few things but mostly only those that i'm opinionated about. I'm not terribly witty, but I am honest and a pretty 'average' person. I can spell (mostly).

What do we all want in life? Happiness! Where does that come from for me?

• Physical well-being- Training for a Rock 'n Roll half marathon, and embarking on an Isagenix journey to help me with my nutrition needs. I'll be posting links to training and nutrition schedules that work for me. 
• Mental well being- How I achieve balance between being a (temporary) stay at home mom and what I want out of life?
• Spiritual well-being- How do I take care of the inside of me? What kind of person do I want to be? How do I get rid of things in my life that are counter-productive to who I want to be?

Here are a few things I love amongst others:

• Running! I'm a tad bit of one of those crazy running personalities, when I'm motivated that is!
• Food and Nutrition! Oh man. I love food. It's the reason I don't generally love my thighs.
• My husband
• My kids

...and before you judge me, not in that order... there are also a few other dozen I'd like to add to the list, but i'll reveal them as they come into play in balancing my life! The top thing I want to focus on is my running, how it is improving me, and how I am working to fit this into a busy lifestyle. For starters, I've attached the half-marathon training plan for the busy mom (ME!) that i'm striving to follow. Feel free to take a peek HERE! I'm currently at week 5 and feeling pretty positive that this is a workable schedule for my life.

I want to be better at loving myself and indulging in the things that make me grow as a person, and make me happy. Family will always make me feel happy, it will build me as a person, but I don't want "mom" to be the only thing I can be.

I want to :

• Have something creative to call my own (this blog... perhaps more... will get into that later.)
• Encourage other people to let go of the disdain they have for themselves (let's be honest here, a lot of us do) and to be supportive of people, specifically moms who may want to find time for exercise in their own lives! I say exercise, because for me this is the gateway drug to happiness.
• Support my friends and others as they strive for these things in their lives
• Stop complaining about the things in my life that annoy the crap out of me and get rid of them (more on this later also).
• Most of all, I want to add to this list of loves and give myself some accountability to get there.

Although I want to be inspirational and happy with my life, it's also not my goal to try and personify some airy - fairy version of reality whereby I'm only thankful for everything obvious, and pretend that there aren't days where I want to curl up in a ball with 6 cups of coffee and still sleep for days. I want to share my challenges as well as my success. That said, I'm hoping a change in my perspective can kick start more action and a less passive way to live my life.

These are thing things I want to keep in mind and explore as I begin this blog. Here we go!