Well dang…it’s been awhile since I posted in here, eh?  The last part of July literally went *poof* before my eyes…and now it’s August!!  So much going on lately!

What, you might ask?  Well, I spent 5 days in Kansas City (Missouri) last week at Silpada Designs National Conference (jewelry!), and it was even more fun than last year if that’s even possible!  It’s fun going as a first-timer, but just as fun having been once before.  I felt much more oriented and grounded in the mix of all the whirlwind excitement!

Take a look at those gorgeous babies in the picture…that’s hematite, pyrite and pearl mixed in with .925 sterling silver, the highest quality silver available in jewelry.  Same grade that Tiffany uses, but nowhere NEAR Tiffany prices!  What’s not to love?  Please message me if you’d like to learn more or would like me to personally send you a new catalogue with my compliments!

And on a more personal note, I’ve jumped on a glorious new journey to get back in shape and drop those extra pounds that have crept up slowly over the last decade.  I’ve joined a coaching program through Precision Nutrition – it’s their Lean Eating for Women program.  This is week 3 and I’m off to a pretty good start! [Guys, there’s a Men’s program too if you were wondering.]

Now, I was a little skeptical about signing up.  Some of you who tune in here regularly might recall my dip into Intuitive Eating.  How refreshing…intuitive eating is not dieting!  So I was worried that the LE program might in fact be a diet.  And I’m very relieved to discover that it’s not.  In fact, it embraces lots of Intuitive Eating principles such as paying attention to your internal cues and noting when you’re starting to feel full.  It’s habit-based coaching, meaning you start out small by learning and practicing a couple of new habits, rather than getting everything WHOOOSH all at once.  It’s too overwhelming otherwise!

So the initial habits have nothing to do with what to eat or what not to eat.  Rather, just getting good nutritional supplements and some exercise (the routines are provided, along with short video clips to demonstrate).  Then we’ll build on those going forward!  Oh man, I have been so sore – but in a glorious way – so much that I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning (damn those planks!!).  But I’m getting the discipline back in my brain, and frankly it’s nice spending some time in the gym rather than flushing $100 a month down the toilet for dues without ever setting foot inside.  I’m getting in the habit of having my workout clothes in a pile ready to throw into my car on my way to work so I can get in the gym right afterwards.  As much as it would be great to do early morning workouts (my gym opens daily at 5:00am), that’s just not in my DNA.  So, early evening workouts it is.

I also had to take some pictures and do some body measurements for a baseline (this is a year-long program).  THAT was a little painful.  Thankfully, J was a champ as always, getting my pictures taken and helping me measure my biceps, waist, hips, neck, etc.  I cried a little as I weighed in on the scales at 204.5 lbs (about 95 kg).  And I’m only 5’4″ (1.6m).  How the fuck did this happen?? 10 years ago I was 138 lbs (63 kg) and a svelte size 6!  I’m grateful J finds me attractive…believe me, I’m doing this for ME and my personal health first and foremost.  I don’t want to be gripped by high blood pressure or the possible danger of diabetes looming in my future (thankfully I’m not diabetic).

So that’s what’s going on these days.  I’ll definitely have more to post as I get more underway in this journey.  I know I’ll get frustrated at times…that’s where the “excellence, not perfection” motto has to kick in.  I’m a little scared too, but excited.

That’s when I remember the words of Dr. Tom Barrett, our keynote speaker at Silpada convention this year:  “Sometimes you have to do it afraid.”