Last night I had a really cool flash of inspiration – a catchy title for today’s post.  Now of course I have zero idea what it was so it’ll be “shifting” for now unless something more awesome pops into my head.

It feels like AGES since my last post…but nope, sure enough it’s been a week just like my usual routine.  Which I adore, by the way…fivenineteen’s been such a great outlet and solace for me – and hopefully some entertaining reading for those of you who stumble in here by accident or follow along (thank you and thank you, by the way!!).  I love the slower pace of Sunday…time to mentally recharge, refresh, dream and wonder.

And for the past near week my gut has been both whispering and shouting at me that it’s time to make some changes (no, it’s not the voices in my head).  Starting with hockey.  The game that has changed my life these past nine years – my God, 1/5 of my life!  I’m going to take a sabbatical after our summer season playoffs wrap up – which could be as soon as tonight if we don’t win our game.  I have so many memories of all these years of hockey I could ramble on forever about it (and I have occasionally in here I’m sure). 

Know that feeling when you KNOW what you need to do and then talk about it…and you can’t help but be so happy and excited because it’s the right decision and you sound so goddamn authentic?  I had a great chat at the rink with my team Captain last Monday…and it felt so wonderful to tell him!  I have a ton of respect for him too – he’s fairly young (24) but far beyond his years in leadership and organization.  Hockey is a big time commitment and big financial committment too – believe me, I would never spend as much time or money as I have on hockey if it was not worthwhile to me. 

9 years.  NINE – OK, well almost nine, as it was some time in September or October 2003 that I suited up in brand new hockey gear and took to the ice, joining an adult beginner hockey clinic on a total random whim!  I had absolutely NO idea how much fun I would have, the amazing people I’d meet along the way, and all the crazy experiences of late nights and weird hours (11pm faceoffs on Sunday nights…in the dead of winter?  That soon became ‘normal’ for me.)  The charity games, benefitting our local Ronald McDonald House.  The off the chain tourneys in Vegas…fantastic!  And I had no idea I’d still be doing this all these years!

Along with so many fabulous memories, what hockey has provided for me is the incredible benefit of Sunday night exercise.  I used to stress out on Sunday nights, restless and squirmy on my couch watching TV, or sometimes having dinner at my folks’ house.  I’d stress out about stuff coming up at work mostly.  Skating my ass off Sunday nights broke that spell – so freeing and joyous!  When I’m on the ice nothing else matters.  And getting great exercise with great people, along with the bright lights and cold air at the rink…just an amazing experience.

Now I’m going to continue this glorious tradition of Sunday night exercise…back at my gym!  Which I have not set foot in in…probably a year and a half.  Ridiculous, right?  It’s like flushing money down the toilet every month.  And I’m going to take the money I normally budget for hockey league fees and get back to working out with a personal trainer.  I contacted B, and we’re going to meet later this week to talk about my goals and put together a plan!  I’m so excited!  B trained me for a few months 3 years ago, and I had to pull the plug when my work contract ended. 

That all seems like a long time ago…I was out of work but still in the gym every other day, training for my very first 5K.  And just trying to keep mentally sane through the unemployment.  I was so grateful for hockey during those months too, as I always knew when it was Sunday (because that was usually our game night).  Unemployment was awful in so many ways…and not knowing what day it was when I woke up was bizarre.

So now I will focus on improving my physical fitness.  Nine years ago I was, well, nine years younger and probably 30 pounds slimmer.  I was also skating 3 or 4 times a week, dropping in on various practices and scrimmages.  How the hell did I have the time and energy for that?  Nowadays, skating once a week is about all I can manage, and that’s definitely not enough to maintain fitness or improve my game.  Life is different for me now – I’m busier in different ways, I’m probably not as energetic and it’s harder for me to get home from work and springboard back out the door to a weeknight practice or scrimmage.

Working out at the gym with B will help me tackle the groan of middle age weight gain and improve my muscle tone.  My core is not anywhere near as strong as it used to be – my back hurts if I’m on the ice too long during a shift.  My abs and upper body need work, and I’d sure love to find more of my waistline again!  The plan is to work out with him twice a week, and then work out on my own on those all so important Sunday nights.  Maybe it’s time to get back in the pool or try yoga?

Yes, I guess my life really HAS changed a lot in nine years!  Seven different jobs (I do contracting/consulting work), new friendships, a few romantic relationships, a few 5Ks, the launch of this blog in 2009 and a totally new stretch starting my Silpada jewelry business.  I’m definitely not a slacker!

And yesterday I took a look at the clutter here in the home office.  This room pretty much looks like it’s barfed, as everything from the 3rd bedroom is moved in here while L and I finish up the popcorn ceiling scraping work.  Ugh.  Books piled up everywhere.  It suddenly dawned on me that a lot of these books have been just sitting in my bookcase (and now on the floor) UNREAD!  I haven’t opened a lot of them in 15 or more years…and probably never will!  So I jumped out of my chair and grabbed a few grocery bags.  Voila…35 books off to Goodwill – hurray!!  It’s still cluttered in here, sadly, but at least I made a small dent in it.

Tonight I will head to the rink with a smile…it’s our first playoff game and given it’s single-elimination playoffs, it might be my last time on the ice for a while if we lose.  Whatever happens is what was meant to happen…and either way I’m so excited about the rest of summer and fall and my plans…new adventures await!