Wife Mother Runner life lessons Archives - Page 7 of 9

One Word Resolution For 2015

March 23, 2015

It’s already April and I should have had this posted by now, but I have still been considering what my word is. Then it was confirmed to me yesterday as I wrote my blog post about the races I did with my family.

My one word resolution word of the year is Challenge. I am going to participate in several races which are challenged races. I just completed the dopey challenge in January. That’s probably the biggest challenge of them all that I am participating in. The other challenge I am registered for is the Hartford Marathon Foundation Triple Half Challenge. I have to run the Middletown Half Marathon on April 12, the Mystic Half Marathon on May 31 and the Hartford Half Marathon on October 10. I will earn the HMF Trip Half Challenge jacket and finisher’s medal.

Having a registration booked and on the calendar will enforce me to work on my training. I have been taking it easy since I got back from the Princess Glass Slipper Challenge because I have a strain in my ankle that is slowly recovering. But now that April 12 is just 3 weeks away it’s time to sit down with my calendar and come up with a game plan. The Middletown Half is a hilly race so I have to put some effort into getting a decent time. I haven’t had a great half marathon time since the Cheshire Half in 2013! All of my other half marathons have been the Disney races which I began to run for “fun” and not for time.

The other Challenges in my life come in the form of learning new things. I am working harder at learning as much as I can with my job. I have always enjoyed learning and I have been learning something new just about every day. I crave learning new things and also learn when I teach. I have to teach more classes in the upcoming weeks so I know that I will also pick up new skills while teaching.

I was listening to the “Another Mother Runner” pod cast today and their subject was spot on in regards to what has been on my mind the past few days. They were interviewing Margaret Webb who wrote the book Older Faster Stronger. I have to check out the book. As I was listening to it on my way to work, Margaret said was “Whatever limit you encounter, keep pushing yourself.”

I experienced that last week when I had to give a presentation that someone else wrote. I thought I knew the content but I was feeling unsure of my delivery. I had to suck it up and just dig into it and I did as I always do. I faced the challenge and applied my best to it and the end result was great. I also had to teach a Level 2 class which I have never taught before and that was another morning when I felt like I was walking across a tight wire with no harness or net to catch me! I had to listen to my own advice that I give my kids. When you think you can’t do something, just believe in yourself and you can do it if you try.

What I also took out of that episode was stepping up my running game. I have been focusing on longer races in the past years. Yesterday when I ran the 5K with my husband I liked the feel and the energy of pushing hard during a short race. I want to focus on getting some decent times again in a 5K race. I ran a 35 minute 5K when I used to run a 27 minute 5K. I am injured now, but I still need to get my speed back up in those races. Margaret Webb also said “Women are distance athletes, we run long and slow. We don’t test ourselves running shorter distances.” That’s where I have been in the past 2 years.

I also want to step up my game with my blog. I have been immersed in my new job since last fall and my blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list. I want to keep up with it because I always thought that in my every day life, there was something that circled back to something else that was a thought that was bouncing around in my brain. The perfect example is above where I was facing new challenges and was feeling scared of them…. then three to four days later I listened to a running podcast not even related to what I was thinking about and the topic was exactly what I was feeling!

So to Gomer1 and Gomer2 of the Two Gomers Run For Their Lives pod cast and the Another Mother Runner podcast, this blog post is because of you. Dimity and Sarah, the topic was an ah-ha moment for me! Anthony and Steven, here’s my one word of the year finally!

My 2014 Year In Review

January 1, 2015

I usually do my previous year reflection while I am out on a run, but since I went for a run Tuesday and did some speed work during that run, I didn’t go for a run Wednesday. With Dopey coming up, I am in taper mode and I wanted to be careful that I don’t hurt myself. Considering I am in taper mode, I feel like I have been out for more runs lately because I am off of work and I enjoy getting out there. This Christmas I got my family Fitbits to use and I now have one myself so I have been actively making sure I am getting in my steps so I can earn my mileage on my non-running days as well. I love it. If I am behind on my steps I head outside to the driveway and get in some steps or I make sure I am active in the house and start doing laundry or the other night I began packing my kids’ clothes for their surprise trip to see me for marathon weekend. I am doing what I just heard Jeff Galloway recommend doing on a Mickey Miles podcast episode. which is to get out of the subconscious mind and into the conscious mind and make smart decisions on my eating and activities.

So about 2014… it was a good year for me. From January to present I have accomplished many things! In January I did my second marathon (which was my second runDisney marathon) and met more runner friends. I ran the 10K with Mandy and met her friend Diana Boucher (who is from CT!) For the marathon, I ran it with Kimberly Markey who had her last chemo treatment just prior to the race weekend and was doing the Dopey challenge. I also ran it with Alison Nicklas who is a friend of Kim’s that I had met at the Cheshire half marathon in 2013 and ran with her at various times. At that race I met Gail Savidge and had the opportunity to run races with them all throughout the year in various locations like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California and Florida! At the 2015 WDW marathon weekend Gail (aka Perfect Goofy Gail) will be earning her 10th Goofy medal so this race weekend is a big deal for her! I also met Linda Ambard at the starting line of the Marathon. She was being profiled by runDisney for their “Why I Run Disney” stories, which Kim was also profiled in. Oh I also had the chance to meet Chris and Heidi Powell in the Magic Kingdom!

Gail (left) Kimberly (center) Alison (right) me and Becca Gibson Kyler (pink shirt front)

Diana and Mandy at the 10K

The Powell Pack

In February, I ran the Princess Half Marathon in Florida which was one of the most fun half marathons! I got to meet Jindy and shared a room with her and I met Gail’s friend Rebecca Bastian one night at dinner and also gained a new friend. I had the chance to meet Eddie McCoy in person and I ran the race with Eddie, Kim, Gail and Dave Dunkowski (another new runner friend). We sprinted from picture stop to picture stop and had the best race photos! I was in training mode for May for the Providence marathon but was still recovering from issues that I seemed to have developed during marathon weekend in January with my hip/quad muscles. I was being careful and trying not to make things worse. But speed was not something I had at the time.

In March I was training for the Providence marathon in May, and March was my birthday month. Nothing too exciting happened in that month for me. I didn’t have any races on my calendar for March because I was focusing on my training. My job was getting very stressful and intense. I recall working many, many hours and having trouble with the balance of work and family. It wasn’t a good time.

In April I was happy to welcome Spring as usual. I ran an innaugural race in Middletown, The Harvard Pilgrim Middletown Half & Legends 4-Miler. Jeff Galloway, Amby Burfoot and Bill Rodgers where there! I went to a seminar Jeff was having the day before the race and on race morning I got Jeff, Amby and Roger’s autographs on my bib! The day after Easter I went up to Boston to watch friends who were running the Boston marathon. Eddie McCoy, Linda Ambard and Michelle Scribner-MacLean were the three people that I knew of who were running that race. I did get the chance to see Eddie run by me briefly at mile 20 and then I went over to mile 25/26 to watch for Linda and Michelle but I didn’t get the chance to see them before I had to catch my train back home. It was so amazing to be at that race and to be a spectator for such a large event. I do want to run Boston one day; but I don’t know if I will run it by my own qualification. It will be a major life commitment for me to qualify for that race. I did run my own Boston marathon event as a fundraiser and a long training run for Providence on Good Friday. I even earned a medal for it!

In May was my chance to get a PR for a marathon. I ran the Providence marathon with Gail Savidge who helped me get my PR. Kim and I drove up to Providence and met Gail who flew in from Arizona. We stayed at a hotel right near the start line and ran the event together. Kim was recovering from her hysterectomy surgery so she was forced to do the half by her coach and doctors and Gail and I ran the full. I was so excited that I got my PR! I think it is so awesome that you can meet friends at races and continue to run with them in other races in the future. I felt really good during that race. I think I may do it again in 2015. We took our annual family trip to Disney and while I was there I met up with Becca twice to do some runs around the hotel. That was great to meet up with her while I was on vacation and get in some casual runs with her. I love making new running friends!

In June I did another race that was new. Runner’s world was doing the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon hat trick event. I couldn’t do the 5K and 10K on the Saturday of that event weekend because it was my son’s birthday and the kids had a baseball game Saturday night that I didn’t want to miss. But I did plan on sleeping at home and waking up early to drive up to Boston University and run the half marathon with Kim and Gail and Alison. It was a “hot and hilly” half marathon! But I actually ran the Heartbreak Hill that is so famously talked about with the Boston marathon. It will always be a joke to Kim and Gail when I asked if I can get a PR at that race, because they ran the races the day before the half and it was HOT and HILLY!. I also had the opportunity to attend a Social Media Mom’s Disneyside even on the Road Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Kim drove us down there. That was a great time!

In July, I didn’t have any races on my calendar and I was trying to train for a triathlon with some swimming. But I was only swimming in my pool, no open water swimming. I had done some biking in the spring, but in July I was not on my bike. I was maintaining my mileage because I would be ramping up for the Dumbo Double Dare races so I didn’t back down much during the summer months. I mainly did my evening runs and then on weekends I would set my alarm and get up very early and do my long runs while everyone was still sleeping. Then I would have the rest of the day with my family and it wasn’t taking up too much of my weekend time.

During the summer we volunteered at the North Haven Animal Shelter to help out walking the dogs and playing with the cats. I wanted my kids to experience a summer filled with memories so that when they grow older, they can look back and remember their summers as a kid and all of the fun things that they had a chance to do. We went out for ice cream, had fires and s’mores in the back yard with the neighbors, went for walks, saw fireworks, swam, and went to camp. It was a great summer! I didn’t want it to end.

In July some major shifts happened in my work life. I received an email in late June that the President of my company was retiring. It wasn’t his choice to retire and everyone knew that. The moment I received that email I knew it was time for me to leave the company. I made a few changes to the resumes I had posted online to include the SharePoint experience I had and within days I was contacted by someone about a job in Bloomfield. She wanted to talk to me on the phone. On July 3 I talked to her on my cell phone out in the parking lot of my work for an hour. It was a very hot, summer day but I stood out there in the shade and talked to her very casually about why I am looking for a job and to see what she had to offer. Little did I know that it was going to end up being something I truly wanted. We planned to meet in person and I went to their facility several times in July to meet her and the other team members I would be working with.

In July, I also applied to be a member of Team Chocolate milk. I made a video and submitted it for review and it was selected to receive votes. I asked everyone I knew to vote for me every day for 2 weeks and they did! My son especially enjoyed voting for me each night from his kindle. They knew that it was important for me to get onto this team.

In August I was pretty confident that I would be leaving my job at Honeywell and I knew for sure that I wanted the job that I interviewed for in Bloomfield. I had several other calls with other companies, but the Bloomfield job was looking solid. I was getting anxious. The job had fallen into my lap and I was pretty sure I wanted it. I just couldn’t believe that after 24 years with the company I would really be leaving it. It was a 2 mile commute, I had flexibility to get my kids off to school and I had 4 weeks vacation. But I was very unhappy with the atmosphere there. I enjoyed the work I did and I really enjoyed working for and with Jack; but I wasn’t happy. We went to New Hampshire for our summer vacation and stayed up there for 10 days. It was a challenging trip. I was anxious about the job and Kevin was at a point in his career and life where he just wasn’t himself. It was a challenging time for me, but I was trying hard to make sure the kids were still having their #EpicSummer2014. While we were in New Hampshire I received an email that I had made it onto Team Chocolate Milk! I was so excited and my family and I celebrated.

I had one final interview scheduled for after I returned from New Hampshire and I was mentally checking out of my current job. I knew I didn’t want to stay. Waiting isn’t easy for me. I am not a patient person.

Labor Day weekend came around and I was heading to California for the Dumbo Double Dare. I was hoping to have news of the job by then, but I didn’t. I got out to California late Friday afternoon and met up with Kim, Gail and Becca. I also discovered on this trip that flying was giving me migraines. This one I got from the trip out west was so severe that I almost threw up the morning of the 10K race. It was real tough, but once I got running I started to feel better. I love California and the Dumbo Double Dare races. I helped Becca earn her Coast to Coast medal during the half marathon. It was her first coast to coast and she had tears at the end. It was great. I love helping people reach their goals. She had been through a tough summer with her back and wasn’t sure how she was going to do with the race. She did great!

I became a Jamberry consultant in September. I came across it from Facebook while looking for nail wraps for a race and decided that this would be something that I would be interested in doing because all of the parties can be hosted via Facebook and it is a product that I am very interested in. I am still selling the Jamberry wraps and have used it in many ways as fundraisers for a student in my son’s class who has cancer and also for Give Kids The World. I love that something I enjoy can be used in a way that can also benefit others! It is a great company to work for and the amount of time you put into it determines how successful you can be. They have great training tools and their products practically sell themselves!

September came around and I waited for news if I was getting the new job. The kids started their new year in school. Adrienne was a kindergartner now and Kevin was in second grade. I can’t believe it. They are both in school five days a week and it’s great because I am able to work outside the house five days a week. I finally got offered the job I wanted on September 8th and gave my notice on September 9th because my boss was not at work on September 8th. My last day of work was going to be September 19th. I was ready to move on. I planned on finishing work and then starting my new job on October 1. During my time off from work I had to find a new car and then my husband ended up having knee surgery for a torn meniscus. So I didn’t really take much time off for myself to “hang around”. But it was still good to have the break between jobs.

Goodbye Honeywell friends!

October 1 I started my new job and loved it from the start. I worked 2 days and then had to get on a plane on October 3 to head to Florida for the Tower of Terror 10 miler. On the way to the race I sat with a very nice couple on the plane and noticed that the man there had on the runDisney Mickey sneakers. So we got talking and they were also going to Florida for the race. They told me they owned a store in Middlefield and we kept in touch and I saw them the night of the 10 milers. When I returned home I went to their store several times for ice cream with the kids and to go Christmas shopping for my family. Isn’t it awesome how races can bring many different people together?! I also had a stomach-upsetting headache when I landed so I knew I had to get this problem resolved. I joined the girls as their escort for the 5K because I wasn’t running that race and took pictures and watched all of the runners while I was there. That night I ran the 10 miler with Kim, Gail and Becca and had a great time again with all of the picture stops. After the race we went to the after party and then went back to the house where I showered and turned around and drove to the airport (without sleep) to head home for a party back home. My daughter turned 6 in October and I can’t believe how much she is changing! She is so confident now and is doing very well in school. We had a party for her and at the karate studio with her classmates and it was a big success! For my training I was increasing my mileage but was also working my new job and the days were getting shorter so I was starting to feel the challenge of needing to get my runs in but I knew I may have to start using the treadmill. I dreaded it, but came to terms with it and had some successes. I did my long runs on the weekends again like in the summer and it all worked out nicely.

Bob and Mary Perrotti (They are from MIddletown and have a shop in Middlefield 10 minutes away from my house!)

November came around quickly and I had the Wine and Dine race in Disney World. I knew Bob and Mary were also going to the Wine and Dine race but I didn’t run into them there. I didn’t get to hook up with Kim Gail and Becca either, but I did see Joe Pardo and his wife Melissa and my friends Mandy and Kenn Remo at Epcot that night! I was on Joe’s podcast in the summer for one of his episodes. He is so awesome. Very friendly and welcoming and his wife is so supportive of his podcast and all the people he meets! I ran the Wine and Dine half marathon with Mandy and Diana and it was horrible pouring rain for most of the race. This was my first Wine and Dine half marathon and I was disappointed that I didn’t get to experience all of the picture stops and the after party. I planned on staying for the after party, but the weather was so terrible and cold, that I didn’t want to stand in line for the food and drinks in the cold rain. I went back to my room, slept for 3 hours and headed to the airport to get back home to my family for another party! My job was picking up during the months of November and December and I am really enjoying it. I learn something new every day and I think I am becoming a great help to my co-worker. I keep thinking about my one word resolution for 2014 which was “Grow” and feel that it is so appropriate for the year and everything that I have been going through.

Diana Boucher, me, Mandy Remo, Christina Palombo

On a Saturday in November my parents and I took the kids to NYC on the train to see the city. They loved it. We went to the Central Park Zoo, ate at a burger bar in Rockefeller Center, saw the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry and rode the subway. They were such excellent travelers and never complained about all the walking. I knew that we had to return before year end to show them the Christmas lights in the city.

The weekend before Thanksgiving I took a train to Philadelphia to run the Philadelphia Marathon. I met Jennifer Tara there and we roomed together. She was going to run the half marathon. We met Joe Pardo and his wife for dinner and had a great time in the city. Again, I can’t say how much I love making new friends through running and being able to hook up with someone and making a new friend at each race. I had planned to run the full with Danielle DeCarolis. She is a fellow Mickey Miler so we met up the morning of the race in the corrals. You can read my race recap for the full event’s details. I am looking forward to seeing Joe and Jen and Danielle at marathon weekend. For Thanksgiving I didn’t do a turkey trot this year. I did my own Turkey Trot at home in my neighborhood and then we went to my nephew’s house for dinner. It was a quiet but relaxing Thanksgiving.

December came along and I wanted my kids to have an Epic Christmas so we made sure to make plans to do fun holiday things. We went to Gillette Castle to see the lights, we saw lights around town, had breakfast with Santa, my son sang in concerts with his chorus, we put up our tree Thanksgiving weekend and we took them out of school one day to go to NYC. This time my husband was able to join us. It was so much fun to see the city lit up for the holiday. We also watched some of the older Christmas movies like the National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation and they absolutely loved it. They are at a great age to do things that we had done when we were their ages.

2014 was a good year. The kids and I tried new things like Rock Climbing, bike riding at the beach, they went on trips to cities they haven’t been to before, and Adrienne broke her foot. I ran many races in many places and I got outside of my comfort zone and I feel so happy. I am looking forward to another good year in 2015. I believe it is what you make of it. I know that this year I want to focus on achieving the goals that I set and to learn more. What are your goals?

Always smiling! This was 3 days AFTER the accident happened. We went rock climbing and she earned a stripe in karate before we found out it was broken.

A New Beginning Is Coming

September 30, 2014

As I went out for my run this morning, I wanted to start off my week on a good note. I wanted to get my run in early in the day and have a shakeout run from my Dopey training runs that I did last week. I am beginning my new job on Wednesday and I don’t know what my time will look like after work to do any running outdoors. I hate to say it, but I may need to begin using the treadmill indoors in the early morning or in the evening when I get home. I don’t want to use the treadmill. If possible I will try to do a run with lights in the evening, but I am resorting myself to the fact that the treadmill may be my only method of training for some time during the week.

I felt the anticipation setting in during the weekend, but I am not scared of my new job. I realize that it is the place I need to be. What I was mentioning to my husband was that I feel weird that I left a place that seemed safe and comfortable. But he reminded me that they forced out the President of the company, who built the place with his father and ran it for over 30 years. No one is safe there. That eased my mind. I know that I was sought out by my new employer and my skills were very strong and just what they are looking for. I just want to get my hands in the dirt and start doing “real work”. I know that in the beginning sometimes it takes time to do that.

As the day went on today I received an email from my new boss with my agenda for this week and things are going to be fine. I will sit in on a training class my first day and then work with my boss for my schedule for the month and housekeeping issues the following day. Nothing to worry about. I’m looking forward to it.

Lots of change is happening, I had to say goodbye to my old Jeep that I have had for 10 years. I brought my children home from the hospital in that car! It never let me down. But I had to get a new car, mine was 10 years old, and I wasn’t going to be able to use my Honeywell discount anymore, so I needed to take advantage of it now before I lost. it. I am starting my new job, and my husband also just learned that he was chosen for a different position within his company. These are all good things. They are just all happening at once! Then on top of it all, I have to fly out Friday on a 7:30 a.m. flight to Florida for the Tower of Terror Race! I have to admit that what I am feeling most nervous about right now is the early wake up for the flight Friday, the race happening at 10 p.m. Saturday night, and then flying on a 7 a.m. flight back home on Sunday! I have no idea how much sleep I am going to get. I intend to sleep on the plane on both flights. It’s just a little scary doing all this in the first two weeks of a new job. I am making an effort to hydrate myself a lot to prepare for running in the Florida heat and humidity, even at night. I am also working on my hydration because I don’t want to end up with a migraine from flying like I have experience the past 5 other times I have flown. I am looking forward to all my new things, running the Tower of Terror race with my friends, going to the Expo and checking out the merchandise, seeing Jeff Galloway and hopefully bumping into Mike Rahlmann and his BOGP Lizards! Change is good!

Running Out of Depression

August 12, 2014

Well since the topic of depression is now coming out due to the death of Robin Williams I’d like to talk about how running has helped me. I talked about my illness of kidney vasculitis in my post “Everyone Has A Story – My Story”. I was feeling depressed when I was going through the onset of my illness and the time that I went with unanswered questions. At that time I began running. It was only on my treadmill at home, but it was something that I began to do and it helped me.

I needed to move my body and push it to limits that I never did before. I used to hate running. But once I started, I began to love it. I didn’t want to feel like the illness was going to take over my life and my moods. It was a very difficult time for me, but running did help.

After my second child Adrienne was born, I had a lot of hormonal issues where I was crying a lot. I felt overwhelmed having a 16-month old ACTIVE little boy and a newborn who was having trouble nursing. For my six week check up I just sat in the doctor’s office crying. The doctor looked at my husband who just didn’t know what to say. It happens, new moms sometimes cry a lot. But I really had a hard time. After that appointment I needed help. My mom came over after just having had shoulder surgery not long before and wasn’t really allowed to drive. She watched my daughter for me so I could go take a walk. At that point I wasn’t running because I was still postpartum. But I NEEDED to move my body and get those endorphins flowing. It helped to walk. Eventually that difficult time got easier for me and I got into running much more when the time allowed.

Running isn’t the answer for severe depression, doctors and perhaps medication are required, but getting active and moving your body while releasing endorphins is very helpful to me. I have been through very tough times in my life where I felt blue or in a funk and after a good run, it has helped me come back and feel a bit more hopeful. But like I said, it’s not the only answer to dealing with depression. If you feel you are anxious or depressed, talk to a doctor and let them know what you are feeling. I did and it was a very smart decision for me. Don’t be afraid. It doesn’t mean you are weak or incompetent or lessen your intelligence. It will actually make you more clear, focused and balanced. Your brain is a very complex cocktail of chemicals and if some of those chemicals get out of whack you need to help put them back where they belong so you can do the things you used to do.

Depression Overwhelmed a Wonderful Artist

August 11, 2014

As usual I found out about popular news on Facebook. The talk of the afternoon was that Robin Williams died. At first I thought maybe it was a hoax like when the rumors were circulating that Jon Bon Jovi died. But when I went to yahoo there was a breaking news alert stating that he did pass away today from a suicide.

It was so sad. The reason why I am writing about it tonight is because I feel compelled to share that people are ashamed of battling depression. Just today I was talking to my sister (before we heard of the news) and she mentioned to me that depression is a disease. Many diseases are treated with medications such as heart disease thyroid disease and people aren’t charged for one people are battling with depression it’s a much quieter matter. It is treated more privately by those suffering from it. I think people suffering it are ashamed or don’t want to be judged. In my opinion I think there is a stigma around anxiety or depression disorders. Very intelligent, professional, wise people may be suffering from it but keep it under wraps because they don’t want their careers affected by it. Meanwhile all of those emotions are bottled up maybe not being treated.

It is ok to ask for help. It is ok to get treatment. If you have high blood pressure you take medication to fix it. It you have thyroid problems you take medication to fix. But I feel that people don’t get help for depression because they will have to take medication for it. The fear of being on antidepressants because of stigma is sad. I hope if anything positive can come from Robin Williams’ death it is the awareness that depression can be treated. You can get help and you don’t have to go through it alone.

Are You Easily Distracted?

July 25, 2014

Are you plugging along at work and then you are checking your email, Facebook, Twitter, whatever your social media favorite is? I can be easily distracted and I have also been listening to some great podcasts lately and one of them nailed what I had been feeling.

The podcast that I have learned a lot from lately is “Presentation Skills For Design Students” by Christina Canters. Episode 30 was helpful to me. It was “How to Stop Procrastinating and Get Stuff Done” with Hugh Culver.

When she asked Hugh what happens when we easily get distracted by social media things other than the task at hand that we have to do, my ears perked up. I wanted to know, why does that happen to us? It was interesting because Hugh said that mindset happens because we are having a manufactured distraction. What does that mean? It means there are harder tasks ahead of us, but we aren’t ready to work on them. Your brain sees Twitter or Facebook and says that will satisfy you because you may see something of value to you and is a quicker success than working on the larger task at hand. So it’s not the lure of the social media, but what is being avoided.

His advice to help keep focused is this:

1. Schedule the fun work – give yourself 30 minutes to “goof off”
2. Do the quality work – focused and single tasking so you can enjoy the goof off time
3. We only put in a couple of hours of quality work per day
4. Schedule boundary time – 60 minutes when you arrive to work so you can get things accomplished without interruption
5. Batch your work together (emails) – do them in groups of 10-15 minutes then stay off of it. those constant pings of email interrupt your workflow and productivity.
6. Blocking – make appointments on your calendar as meetings to accomplish tasks
7. Take Breaks – you need breaks. You need to move around, clear your head and refocus. Take breaks often.

Are you always “busy”? Being busy doesn’t mean you are always successful. Change how you think. It’s one thing to be busy, it’s another to be productive.

I already began using some of Hugh’s tips and started to batch my emails in time segments rather than answer them one by one as they come in. I am also going to try to use this approach in my home with projects. Grab 5 minutes to do a quick pick up along the floors, tables, and counter tops. Breaking things down in chunks. Are you easily distracted? What do you do about it?

Life Is Short – Enjoy Every Day

July 21, 2014

I had a great weekend with my family! Most of the time we have the best weekends. I put in two great runs, we had our traditional Friday night family night, we had closing ceremonies for baseball, we volunteered at the shelter, we hit the ice cream store, we rode bikes, we went to a family birthday party for my 2-year-old great-niece and we did some much-needed work around our yard.

Most weekend are spent like this but I also heard some terrible news during the week about a young, 20-year old man who was running on Route 17 and was struck by a drunk driver and died in the hospital. He was on life support for a few days so that his father could get to the hospital to see him. It’s just tragic and inexcusable. Drunk driving, distracted driving, it’s all out there and it makes running even more dangerous for runners who have to use the main roads for training. I ran on the exact road that he was hit on.

Life is so very short for some. I am always reminded that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. I try to live every day to the fullest and to teach my family to enjoy the moment. My son has stomach aches on Sunday nights sometimes. I think it’s because he knows the weekend is ending and mom and dad have to go back to work; but we try to make every night fun, when we are done working. They also LOVE going to camp so there is still fun in their days.

The point of this post today is to just remind you that life is so precious, it can end in the blink of an eye. My brother-in-law’s girlfriend was made a widow at the age of 32 with her 3-year-old son. Her poor husband died instantly of a heart attack at a young age. Life may be a drag at times, work may not be what you want it to be, but make the times that you can the best times. Make memories. My phone is loaded up with photos constantly. I love to relive my weekends of photos and see how much fun we had. I want my kids to remember all the fun we make of our weekends and vacations.

Live, Love, Laugh!

Challenges You May Face While Making your Dreams Come True

July 18, 2014

Yesterday I talked about taking the first step towards achieving your dream. Today I want to talk about some of the issues that you might face while taking those steps. Many of us have dreams whether it be to start a new job, or to quit a job to start your own business, lose weight, run a race, change careers completely. Whatever your dream is, it is yours alone. No one can make that dream come true for you. You have to work for it on your own.

While you are working to pursue that dream you may come across some challenges. It’s how you deal with those challenges that are important for the success of your end result. You may feel some of the following things, but don’t let them overcome you:

– Uncomfortable – we tend to stay where we are because it is comfortable and we are familiar with everything involved.
– Scared – the fear of the what-ifs or the unknowns are very strong feelings to keep us from moving forward
– You’ll be tempted to stay with the familiar and safe place – In regards to work, job security is never a guarantee
– Doubt – Sometimes you will doubt yourself or someone will doubt you which makes you doubt yourself
– You can’t please everyone and your decision is yours alone. If people you care about makes you doubt your decision, it’s ok to continue on with what you want to do because ultimately it’s your life and your dream.

After you get over the negative feelings and hurdles you will begin to realize that your dream is something you are good at and that’s why it was your dream in the first place. You will begin to feel confident that you can do what you set out to do. You will realize who smart you really are. You will stand out on your own. If you are like me, I am listening to podcasts about dreamers and am seeing that other people are reaching their dreams and are going through many of the same experiences I am going through. You may begin to network with those people and it will help build your confidence. Those new acquaintances are good people to have on your side, especially when the doubt and fear begins to creep in. You can reach out to them to express your feelings and may learn that they too had the same feelings at one point when working towards their dreams.

Something that I am terrible at is being patient. During the times when you want to know what will happen if you do this or that, there are times where you may have to wait. Waiting isn’t easy! It gives your mind time to think and time to think brings in fear and doubt. You may want to run faster and get a better finish time, but you can’t get faster over night. You have to be patient and work up to that pace slowly in order to get faster. You are going to get hurt when you do too much too soon. Did you quit your job to go back to school? Well you don’t graduate overnight. It may be hard to get all the basics courses done before you even get to the core classes related to the major that you are working towards. Be patient. It will come.

The best things in life are worth waiting for. It took me a VERY long time to start my family, but now as I look back all of those years are a blur now. I am so busy and happy with my family and am so blessed by the life that I have and waited so long to have.

Have faith and believe in yourself that you will achieve your goals. If you have achieved your goal and are now living your dream you will feel light and happy. Your life will have a burning desire to get started and do what you love. Isn’t that worth waiting for and overcoming all of your hurdles to get to as the end result? I know that is what I want for my life. I know that while I have many miles ahead of me on my calendar for the training plan for Dopey, I am looking forward to checking those miles off and seeing the success of all of my hard work.

Don’t give up on your dreams because of the feelings that you may have listed above. Not to sound morbid, but the number one regret people have when on their death beds is that they were never brave enough to achieve their dreams. Don’t put things off, we are not promised tomorrow. The time is now.

The EPIC Summer of 2014

June 28, 2014

This is the first official week of summer at our house. Despite the fact that my kids have been in the pool for almost a month now. The last day of school was Monday, June 23 so that means summer vacation!!! I wanted this year to be one of those summers the kids will never forget. I know that I have memories of my summers when I was a kid. These are memories I hope to never lose. That’s why I am creating the Epic Summer of 2014 for them. It’s all about FUN, sun, water fun, basic happiness, love and family time. What do you remember from your summers as a kid? I remember putting playing cards on my bike and riding around the yard sounding like a motorcycle. I remember when it was a treat for us to go to a friend’s house to swim before we got our own pool. Camping, air shows in Cape Cod, family reunions, staying up late at night, playing hide and go seek in the dark, bug bites, catching fireflies, soda in the glass bottles from the Pop Shop in North Haven, the carnival on the hill behind my yard and the Musco’s yard! Going up to the carnival grounds after they packed it all up to look for loose change and any money that may have fallen out of people’s pockets. Friday nights were always special because my dad didn’t work late on Friday nights, so we made popcorn and ate it in the “red bowl” and watched the Dukes of Hazzard, the Hulk, Donnie and Marie, and heard Dallas (when we were in our beds). And my parents always told us to stay in our rooms when we woke up and let them sleep! It never happened. Summers were magical. From the day you step off the bus to the weeks before school when it is time to get some back to school clothes from Sears. I want to create that feeling for my children. The day after my son’s last day, I put up a tent in the back yard for them to play in. Then I had my lunch break with them in there and gave them some one on one time. We went to the Hamden Fireworks this Friday night. We made water balloons today to have a water balloon fight. We took a little road trip to get ice cream from a seasonal ice cream place! We played with sparklers! I am looking forward to making many, many more special memories this summer! What special things do you remember about your childhood?

Change Happens

June 26, 2014

For the past few years change has been a big part of my life. This week some more change has come my way. I was just in a Town Hall meeting at work this morning because of another change at my company. I have been with my company for 24 years. I left for a brief time and came back, so in the books they have me as an employee for 20 years on July 5 of this year. In all of my time at my job I have worked with many other people who have been with the company for as long as I have. The President of our business has announced his retirement. He is 66 years old so it isn’t a surprise that he is retiring, it is well-deserved for him. I still have about 20 years left to work. I don’t know that I will remain at this company for 20 more years. I say this because there are no guarantees. In the past 8 months, about 6 men in upper management have also “retired”. That’s a lot of change for a business in a short period of time. That makes me feel a little uneasy.

Something has been brought to my attention this past week and it really has me thinking outside of the box. Am I ready for change? Is it time for me to make a change? In the meeting today, our new President said that change happens and it makes people uncomfortable but it is about how you embrace the change. Last week at the Social Media Mom’s Celebration Debi Sibler said we stay in our comfort zones because we are afraid. These statements are heavy for me right now. I have a lot on my mind. I don’t do well with change, I never have. I have a family to care for now which makes change and decisions even bigger to manage because I have to consider everyone else as well.

You know the old saying, “when one door closes another one opens.” What about if a door opens before one shuts? I had a dream about a major event happening in my life 2 months ago and something that was part of that dream happened to me this week. Is it all about perspective?

« First ‹ Previous 5 678 9 Next ›Last »

Category: life lessons