Dream Boards & Mind Games

Ever have a friend that is almost addicting to hang out with? Someone who can always make you laugh and who seems to always be in a good mood? A few years ago I hung out with someone like that, I'll call her Jodi.

There was something about Jodi, something infectious. She could brighten even the darkest days and her laugh could make you smile and believe everything would be okay.

Jodi introduced me to many new people, a few new hangouts, a couple of new drinks and something called a dream board. At first I thought it was really silly. It sounded like a kindergarten project. When she said she was coming over with some wine so we could make dream boards I was interested. When she showed up with magazines, poster board scissors and glue sticks I thought she was kidding.

What happened to the really crazy and fun girl I liked hanging out with? Now she wanted to cut out pictures of what we want and glue them to a board? This was a whole new kind of crazy!

I asked her what the purpose was and she explained to me that we bring about what we think about and that if we put all the things we want on a board and keep them in front of us, where we can see it regularly, we can make make our dreams come true.

Figuring I had nothing to lose I went along with it. We had fun pasting pictures and drinking wine. I felt like I was back in college working on a project of some sort. I glued on pictures of people kayaking in New Zealand and ski slopes in Aspen, pictures of families having fun and women with perfect bodies, why not think big, right? After Jodi left I added a picture of a woman's beautiful long hair. I have never had good hair. I figured if I am going to test this dream board thing out why not see if I can make myself some good hair.

I kept the dream board in my closet on the shelf where I get clothes everyday. I didn't pay much attention to any of the pictures other than the hair one. I looked at that picture everyday and would laugh as I would tell myself "Wow, my hair is growing so fast and is looking so beautiful." It was like a game. I know our minds are very powerful but could I really will my hair to grow and be healthy?

Several weeks passed and then it happened. I started getting compliments on my hair. This was new for me because I never get hair compliments. I can't remember now who they were but I remember three people made comments to me in one week that my hair looked nice and looked longer. Later that week I ran into Jodi and she literally did a double take. She was working when I saw her, looked over, finished what she was doing then came up to me and said "You're hair is really getting long."

Nobody knew about my picture or my little self affirmations. I highly doubt my hair could grow a noticeable difference in three weeks so now I was confused. Confusion turned into panic. Maybe my hair is in such a need for a haircut and looks so horrible that nobody knows what to say so they say it looks good. How is that for positive thinking?

I have decided to believe that we DO bring about what we think about. We notice what we are aware of or what is present in our minds. Think about it... you bought a new car, now you see cars just like it everywhere, you want a baby and suddenly everyone you know is pregnant, you name your child Kelsey because you don't hear that name much but when you take her to the park you find every kid there is named Kelsey.

Coincidence? I think not.

There IS something to this "bring about what we think about" concept. I just don't know what it is or exactly how it works. I may never figure it out but for now I am going to keep on the positive side of things and not risk bringing about the bad stuff.

Did I mention to you that I LOVE Mondays! Mondays always seem to be so productive and I make so many sales to such happy people on Mondays. Oh and Tuesdays too! While I'm at it, I also have a winning lottery ticket for this weeks power ball thing (or at least I am buying it at 7-11 tomorrow morning!) :)

Christmas Letter

Well, I finally finished it; my Christmas letter for 2010!

Every year since 1998 I have written my Christmas letter in December for the NEXT YEAR. I know this sounds silly but that is how I do my goals for the upcoming year.

I write my letter how I with what I want it to say and I have my family tell me their paragraph as well. I keep the letter handy all year and we strive to do everything we already said we did so we will have an interesting letter to send! Of course I never get around to actually sending the letter the next year. I have yet to send this years letter out. Maybe this weekend.

In 2001 my paragraph went something like this:


Sherry the mom. Works from home. Ran several races-taking second place in one. Swims weekly. Takes Pilates. Took kids to Chicago's Navy Pier, Mackinaw Island and camping. Elementary school popcorn mom, Nightly homework tutor. Christmas Wish: Healthy smiling children.


I sent this letter out (including a paragraph for each member of my family) and my now ex-mother-in-law called me right away when she got the letter.

"Are you sick?" she asked me in a panic.

"No, what would make you think that?"

"Well your letter said you are taking Pilates... is that some kind of medicine?"

I still laugh about that today.

My letter is now written and it looks like I'm going to have a fun and adventurous year next year, not to mention accomplish a few goals I have been putting off!

Happy New Year

Monday again?

I hate Monday's. I hate Tuesday's too.

It's not that I hate my job, I don't. Nothing special happens on Monday that would make me dread it. Monday and Tuesday are pretty much the same as the rest of my week. I just can't stand starting a new week after the weekend.

I think some of the problem isn't work, but life in general. On Sunday the banks, the post office and other businesses are closed. It is almost as though I have a break from reality. Monday rolls around, the bills are back in the mailbox and the bank calls to give me a friendly reminder that my "grace period" is up in five days for this month's mortgage. My kids tell me on the way to school that they need more lunch money and their gym shoes are too small then I walk into work to find we have a meeting to discuss why nobody made their goals last month. It's not even nine in the morning and I am exhausted.

Something must change and this is the perfect time to make that change, but how?

For the past eleven months I have dreaded Monday's and knew I had to do something to make a change yet I tolerated, secretly hoping something would just change on it's own. Nothing happened, well, maybe things got a bit worse! That is the problem with waiting for things to happen on their own; change is inevitable. You can do nothing and it is certain change will happen but if you do nothing the change might be in the opposite direction of what you want.

Time to get serious and this is the perfect time to decide that. New Years Resolutions! I love this time of the year. Time to wipe the slate clean and start over; a do-over so to speak! 2008 was a great year and looking back at my list from this time last year, I accomplished a lot. I completed all but one of my "goals" and that last one I am working on right now. I have a tendency sometimes to wait to the last minute and on this particular goal it seems I will finish December 31st! Anyway, now is the time to figure out how to make me NOT hate Monday's in 2010.

I don't know exactly how I am going to make it happen yet but I will find a way. My initial thought is to get ahead on bills and complete all my online bill pay so I get very little mail. However, in the end it might just be that every Monday I treat myself to a large coffee mocha and a biscotti at Espresso Bay on my way to work. It might not help my pocketbook but I would sure look forward to Mondays.

It's all in the way you look at it.

Time to write something. I want to write something everyday but I haven't been here in months!

PERSPECTIVE!

Perspective is my word for the day (or maybe few days!) You have an incredible ability to see things anyway you want to.

Saturday I did a mountain bike race and I am not even what you would call a biker. Now, I HAVE biked, I own a mountain bike and I like a challenge so I would be lying if I said I went into this thing blindly. However, I, like always, was very unprepared for what I was getting into!

Nearly 28 miles of dirt, sand, single track and two track hills. Not just hills but HILLS! Hills lined with trees! I could add that I did this race on these tracks along side over 4000 other people but that wasn't the case because I started in the very back. Tracy and I went in the LAST wave of bikers and we were smart to start in the back of our group. My brother (Tracy's husband) had to start a few waves in front of us so he was in the middle of a crowd. He saw people wipe out and even ran over a poor guys arm.

There were times when my legs were burning and I would think to myself "this sucks!" but when I changed my thinking it became fun. So, like the marathon when Amy and I would get tired and trick ourselves, I did the same thing in this race. Coming up on the mile marker that said 9 MILES. My first thought was "9 MORE MILES OF THIS!?" I wasn't sure I could do that. My legs were burning. I shook it off, took a drink of water and changed my thoughts. I looked over at Tracy and said "Hey Tracy, want to take a nice 9 mile ride through the woods on this beautiful day?" She said "Sure, that would be fun" and suddenly, I felt good again.

Other times I pretended I was one of the pace bikes in a marathon because when I'm running I think how much I wish I was on the bike!

I don't only try to trick only in races, I do it in everyday life if I feel I need to. I even trick my kids.

When the kids wont get up for school I tell them "No school today because of snow" and they jump right up! On nights when I can't get to sleep I tell myself I have to get up and suddenly I realize how comfortable and warm I feel in my bed and I want to sleep.

Change your perspective and the whole situation changes!

Lessons in Long Runs (without much training)

I don't really like to write about running but today I feel I need to; if for no other reason, to remember my lessons.

The Chicago Marathon is October 11th. Way back in February Amy and I thought it would would be a great idea to sign up. We had lots of time to train and it would be an incredible accomplishment for us. So, we registered.

Fast forward about six months. Race is just over six weeks away and we have yet to train. I inquired to see if I could sell my number. NO. I was stuck with it, either I do the race or I forfeit my money. Amy insisted we had time to train enough to at least finish and that we should go for it. I am wondering now why I let her talk me into following through with this.

Three weeks ago I went out to run, first time since July 5th. It was August 30th and I ran a slow 10 miles. I felt great, maybe because it took me an hour and 50 minutes. Either way, I was thinking this marathon is doable.

Next step... have Erica give us a six week, extremely accelerated, program to train.

Done.

Saturday, September sixth, Amy and I set out for a 14 mile run. This is longer than we have ever run before. I was a little nervous because I had not run since the 10 miler and Amy ran during the week. She was so disciplined, getting up at 5 am and running. I was feeling guilty that I would watch her car pull out in the dark while I sat on facebook and drank my coffee. Now I was wishing I would have gone running.

However, we did it. I did okay, I probably did hold her back a bit but she never let on. In the end, we felt terrific. We had pushed ourselves farther than we had ever run before and we both felt really good! It took us three hours.

Feeling even more like this marathon was going to happen for us, we scheduled our next run, 19 miles. Our plan was to run from Sutton's Bay on the TART Trail to Garfield Avenue, Traverse City.

We were feeling good and excited that we were going to be able to say we ran from one town to the next and we were both going to run a few days during the week.

Didn't happen.

Amy did run on Monday a few miles but Tuesday she ran on the treadmill and her entire body hurt. She didn't run the rest of the week. I took a long bike ride on Monday but that was the extent of it, no running.

Saturday morning arrived fast. We drove my car to the bank on Garfield knowing the next time we saw it we would have completed our run! Amy drove us to the fire station in Sutton's Bay to start our adventure. We were both feeling good about this run. We were going to just run and walk, slow and steady. We could do this.

We were trying some new things, preparing for the marathon, seeing what would work and what wouldn't. We were told to do this during long runs and now I see that it is extremely important.

Here is what we learned, a hydration belt looks extremely dorky and is not very comfortable to run with but was very helpful. GU is gross but worked really good to help us keep running. Old, throwaway sweatshirts or gloves would have been very nice when we started our run. We were so cold our fingers and toes were numb.

The first 12-14 miles were good. We could probably even say we enjoyed them but then we discovered there is a big challenge in running just five more miles. Mile 15 was not too bad but we passed a Holiday gas station and felt a bit tired so figured it was a good time for a Snickers Bar. Inside the gas station Amy began feeling dizzy so she went out and sat on the ledge. I welcomed the rest. We ate our "power bars" and after about 10 minutes we started our run again.

This is were it all fell apart, the last four miles. I am sure the Snickers Bar didn't help us at all. We struggled through the next 45 minutes, walking and running, talking about Slabtown Burgers and Gobbler sandwiches. I don't think either of us was ever as happy to see my car as we were exactly four hours after we left Sutton's Bay!

We drove from the bank right to West End Beach and walked out in the cold bay up to our thighs. This was probably the best thing we did! We ate Slabtown Burgers when we got home, probably the worst thing we did (at least for me.)

My muscles feel pretty good, my Achilles are sore but not bad. My stomach, and Amy's stomach, was upset the rest of the day. I am really wondering now if I want to do this race. Next week we are planning on 22 miles. I guess that will be the true test.

I am betting those three little extra miles will feel like a hundred miles and I am certain we will not be stopping for a Snickers!

It's all a matter of perspective. This much I already knew. You can change your feelings or your mood just by changing the way you look at something.

Most of the time, if I am doing something unpleasant or if I am in a situation that I don't exactly like I tell myself that it won't last forever, just get through it. A good example is when I am running and just want to be done. I would continually try to trick myself by saying things like "almost done!" Or "just around the corner and I am back to my car."

Maybe my little mind trick worked but I am not sure because I never seemed to feel this sudden burst of energy getting to to the end of my run. Actually, it seemed like the closer I got to the car the more tired I got. It feels that way in a race too. As I get closer to the finish I hear people saying "just around the corner" and "you're almost to the finish" but for some reason this just makes me more tired.

My friend, Erica, said that when she is running she tells herself that she is going to be out there all day so you might as well enjoy it. I told her later that when she said that to me my initial thought was "how stupid." Why would you want to motivate yourself with a negative?

Turns out what she said is right. At least it works for me. Out of desperation I tried it once. Suddenly my body didn't feel like giving up. I got a burst of energy. Well, maybe not so much a burst of energy but at the very least some much needed strength to continue on.

As I thought about it later it all made sense. When I tell myself that it is almost over, in my mind I don't seem to try so hard or in some cases, even my body seems to start giving up. It is like our minds are strong until we tell them it is okay to let go. Ever have to go to the bathroom so bad when you are on a road trip? Somehow we are able to hold it until a gas station but once you are in the restroom door it is a race to see if you can make it.

So, I'm in it for the long haul. I will run like I will be running all day. I will work like this is the only job I will ever have and I will live like today is my last. No more doing it to get it over with or going so I can get back. This is what I have to work with so I will work it. The best part is... change is inevitable. My favorite part is that when I figure it all out and get into a comfortable groove... the adventure changes!

Words on Paper

Every day I write.  I guess it’s more like characters on the computer not exactly words on paper anymore, but I write.  I am a writer, a writer in my own mind and that's not right!

I guess you could call me a closet writer with a fear of coming out.  What if someone doesn’t think I am good?  What if my grammar and tenses are wrong?  I could never be a “real” writer because I didn’t study English or Journalism in college.   Oh I have a million excuses why I shouldn’t share my blogs and none of them are good.   Now, if my best friend had a dream or a passion I would encourage her to go for it!  Don’t hold back!  You have nothing to lose!  When it comes to myself, I am a coward.

A few times in my life I have taken the chance and stepped out of my comfort zone only to find a positive outcome.  It wasn’t always by choice, but I was always glad I did it.

Ten years ago I watched a girl jogging on the treadmill at the gym wishing I could be a runner.  It dawned on me that if I tried it, even just this one time for as little as fifteen minutes, someone might actually look at me and think the same thing.  Nobody would even know I was a poser.  Forty-five minutes and four miles changed my fantasy to a reality.

A few years later I was jogging around a track and could hear my kids talking as they biked in front of me.  “Someday I am going to do triathlons like mommy.”   Nothing like telling a kid your plans to make them hold you it.   Three months later I could call myself a triathlete. 

So, here it is.  No more fear.  Good, bad, to nobody, to friends, to strangers, it's out there.  I don't care how boring or exciting it is I am just going to write what is on my mind.  

Mel, MaryBeth, Jennie, Jennifer, Lisa and George thanks for all your encouragement!

Can't live without it.

Who would ever image the effect one simple thing could have on so many people.  It surrounds you no matter where you go.  It’s with you in stores, in you car, in your home, at the doctors office, on a solo walk in the woods and even in an elevator.  It may enhance your mood or even your energy level.  It might comfort you, soothe you or pump you up.  It motivates you to run, to dance, to be silly or even to fall asleep.  It’s often the focus of an evening, the most important part of a wedding or what brings life to a party.  It brings back memories that can make you smile or even cry.  Sometimes it doesn’t even need to bring back a memory to make you cry.  Without a doubt it moves you!  It can be specific to every single person on this earth. It comes in every style, language and culture.  There is something for everyone.  I can’t even imagine a world without it.  The lucky ones have been blessed with the talent to make it.  I sing praises (out of tune of course) for the wonderful blessing of music!