New Goal Sunday

Catching up on a week's worth of falling off the wagon is hard work. I didn't go to the gym much this past week, nor did I do well on my goal. But, on a positive note, I did better than the previous week on my goal.

I've gotten sick--like, really sick--and I'm feeling lazy and sluggish. I thought at first it was a nasty cold or upper respiratory infection, like Bro and Mom had, but I had slightly different symptoms. A few days ago, I started getting a stuffy nose (worse than usual). The next day, I woke up, and my voice was not doing well...perfect, because that night, I had to lead a choir rehearsal. Flash forward to today, and it is not going well. My voice is almost gone (comes and goes in spurts, and when it is there, it is super low), my nose is stuffed, my whole body aches, I can't sleep at night, and I am constantly hot/cold (both at the same time, like my hands will be ice, but my face will look flushed and feel like I'm on fire).

My goal this week is:

Give up one fast-food/frozen mocha a week

Start: 4 meals/mochas

GOAL: 3 meals/mochas 

DATES: 11/17-11/23

This week is one of my busiest before Christmas. It includes 3 day rehearsals and 1 night rehearsal at the school where I accompany the choirs, 2 piano lessons, a concert for the choirs I accompany, and a church choir rehearsal. It doesn't seem like much when I write it but I just know I'll be whooped come Saturday night. 

Oh well...as I always say, it's better to be busy--it makes the time go by faster.

Have a good week!

Motivation Monday

I thought I would incorporate a little motivation into my blog. This is a new segment: Motivation Monday, where I post a quote I find inspirational in my life.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.

-Calvin Coolidge

I had a good start to my day by NOT getting a frozen mocha (saving 570 cals, 94 g carbs, and 78 g sugar) and instead starting my day off with a silk vanilla almond milk (only 30 cals, 1 g carbs, and 0 g sugar). This is such a good alternative for me, not only because of the incredible contrast in nutrition information, but also because of my lactose issue.

When I was very little, I would often be sick (physically). My parents never knew the meaning of my illness until taking me to a doctor, where they found out I was lactose-intolerant. As the years pass, my lactose intolerance comes and goes. Every few years, it changes--some years, lactose-intolerant, others, not.

I could never truly verbalize HOW dairy products felt in my stomach or going down my throat because a) I was too young to understand, and b) I never thought about it before. Recently, I was talking with Mom about it and realized the problem:

When I drink milk, or eat ice cream, anything with dairy in it, (some) yogurts, etc...the dairy feels like it coats my throat...almost like my throat is swelling up. Swallowing becomes difficult. Mom was glad I was finally able to explain it. 

Ok, back to the almond milk story. I am a huge fan of trying new things, so I have decided to try new organic foods. I only try one every few months because of the cost. Last month, Silk almond milk was on sale for $1.00/carton. I bought one carton of dark chocolate milk. It was DELICIOUS!! So chocolate-y and yummy. But the best part of the milk was that it went very smoothly down my throat. It didn't coat it at all and I was able to drink the whole carton and still swallow. This was a great discovery! This month, I bought one dark chocolate almond milk and one vanilla. While the vanilla is not as good as the chocolate, I would still drink it over regular dairy any day.

Have a wonderful day!

New Goal Sunday & Happy Memories

Time for another goal. After last week's success, I am ready to go further!

Give up one fast-food meal (and frozen mocha), one per week

Start: 4 meals/mochas

11/10-11/16 goal: 3 meals/mochas

My long-term goal is to reach 1 fast-food meal/frozen mocha per week. 

I am a negative person, and noticed that I usually am on the blog writing about how I failed, or feel crappy...but I feel the need to post this positivity that happened Friday and yesterday.

Friday morning was awful for me. I had no motivation to go to work and was in a terrible mood. I eventually dragged myself into the car and got going. Fortunately, my dad is a business genius, so he was able to get a really good deal on Sirius XM for the past 3 years, so I still have Sirius XM in the car. I turned on the radio to "On Broadway", and immediately became grumbly.

"I don't know any of these stupid new musicals. Why do they keep making them? There's too much crap out there now." 

The song ends, and on comes "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin. I smiled and got teary-eyed. This song has such special meaning to me. This is a song that my cooperating teacher and I taught to the 6th (? I think) graders while I was student teaching. The students and I loved that song! 

All of a sudden, all of the good memories of student teaching came flooding back. The conversations with my cooperating teachers, the fun students I met and got to know, the events I attended, the memories I made with the students and teachers--all good memories.

I belted the song out at the top of my lungs all the way to school. While the day turned out awful (ending in sickness :( ), I had that song in the back of my head all day. 

Then yesterday, I woke up and could not get that song out of my head! I sang it aloud all day long and had a smile on my face all day.

Remembering great times in your life can be very helpful in shaping your day!

Here I am!

I am back! Finally, after a long blogging hiatus, I am ready to jump back into my journey.

The school year has started and is in full swing. What do I do during the school year? Here's a glimpse:

--substitute teach at my hometown school district (except for the K-2 levels; I just don't feel ready for those ages just yet)

--accompany the choirs at another local school district every third day and everyday as concerts near

--teach private piano lessons to 3 students; 2 at my home, 1 at the school I accompany (during the lunch hour; this student knows how to play the piano, I am just working on helping this student read music)

--play organ/keyboard, accompany the choir, and rehearse with/direct the choir at a local church every Sunday, with choir rehearsal every Wednesday night and a team meeting with some members of the church once a month before the choir rehearsal

I have been subbing quite a bit, and I have found that the school that fits me best is the elementary (or "intermediate" 3-5) school. My days, nights, and weekends are full, so right now, I am trying to find a consistent time to go to the gym.

My goal this week was to cut back to 4 frozen mochas and 4 fast-food meals a week. And guess what: I DID IT!!!  It has taken me weeks to succeed at this goal, mainly because I have felt lately like I need my coffee drink everyday to survive.

Since I finally completed my goal, I wanted to reward myself. When I started this journey, I would always reward myself with food. But that doesn't make sense, since I'm trying to LOSE weight and feeding myself more is wrong. Instead, I chose one of my favorite stores as a reward--ULTA.

I love that store. I used to go once a week to buy something new. After a few months, I realized just how much money I wasted in that store. It got pretty bad.

It took me nearly a month, but I finally get to go to ULTA!! I am so excited!!

Check back for a new goal next week.