So first off... super sorry for taking so long to finally post again! I have decided to start working full-time and I am finding that it is taking a lot out of me! I actually like the gig, although it officialy falls into the category of one of those jobs that you work for the money and not the glory! It pays well and I like my office and the people I work with, so really I can't complain. The biggest problem I am finding so far is that I am way too exhausted at the end of the day to even try to do some of the things that I want to! For example, I only made it to the gym once this week! What a pain! I love the gym, I love how I feel after going to the gym, but for some reason getting there after sitting on my tush for 7 hours just isn't easy! Not to mention how freakin busy it is there during the evening if I do actually manage to make it there! The only thing I can do I guess is not beat myself up about it, get used to the hoards of people and start getting there regardless of how tired I am! It will definitely help once the LRT reaches South Edmonton. It will make my travel time to and from work that much shorter and I pretty much have to walk by my gym in order to get on an LRT!
Okay, so basically my issue is this... how do people balance it all? If you have a full time job and you want to be healthy by working out, and you want to have a husband, and children, and pets, and you want to still have time to experience all of the wonderful things life has to offer... how do you do it? It seems to me at this point that in order to do some things that you have to sacrifice other things? Is this reasonable? I don't know, but I can say one thing for sure... it really sucks!!!! So I'm definitely taking input on this one... I want to know what you all have to say about it and if there are some of you doing it "all" how do you do it?
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Believing in your dreams..... & Yoga confusion!
Why is it that when you are a child and have a dream, adults tell you that you can do anything you set your mind to, but when you become an adult and have a dream none of the other adults in your life bother to tell you the same thing? No wonder it is so hard to believe in yourself.... how are you suppose to stay optimistic and positive about an ambition when nobody else truly believes that it is attainable. Sure, they might pretend for a while that they think its a good idea and that the ambition has some merit, but before long they tell you that you need to get back to reality and just play with the cards you've been dealt! I wonder at what age it is that we stop believing that we can achieve our dreams? I think that if everyone made a better effort at just believing, then the world would be a much happier place! Imagine, if every dream you ever had was supported unconditionally by the people in your life and the people you needed to interact with to make the dream a reality! I think if this was the case then many more people would be living their dreams instead of simply existing in their current realities!
On another note, I have officially decided to be confused about yoga. I went to a third class on Saturday and it was suppose to be Hatha Yoga which is the same as the first class I went to, but it was taught by the instructor from the Flow Yoga class I attended during my second experience and sure enough during this "Hatha" class we did exactly the same routine that she used to lead us through the Flow Yoga class! Are you confused yet? Cuz I sure am! To top it all off it was the annoying instructor that babbles the whole time! I think I will take the advice I was given and just get some Yoga DVD's! Regardless, at least I am doing it! That is what's most important, and if I'm really lucky maybe I'll get the Wii and Wii Fit Plus for my b-day in a few weeks and I can take advantage of the Yoga program on that, although I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do downward facing dog in my little bitty living room.....
Now just to decide what to add to the mix next.....
On another note, I have officially decided to be confused about yoga. I went to a third class on Saturday and it was suppose to be Hatha Yoga which is the same as the first class I went to, but it was taught by the instructor from the Flow Yoga class I attended during my second experience and sure enough during this "Hatha" class we did exactly the same routine that she used to lead us through the Flow Yoga class! Are you confused yet? Cuz I sure am! To top it all off it was the annoying instructor that babbles the whole time! I think I will take the advice I was given and just get some Yoga DVD's! Regardless, at least I am doing it! That is what's most important, and if I'm really lucky maybe I'll get the Wii and Wii Fit Plus for my b-day in a few weeks and I can take advantage of the Yoga program on that, although I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do downward facing dog in my little bitty living room.....
Now just to decide what to add to the mix next.....
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The best idea ever!!!!!!
Okay, so I'm in the bath today, thinking about all the things I want to accomplish and the fact that as much as I would like to not worry about being unemployed it actually is something that I should be worrying about, when the best idea of my life comes to me. Now I have no doubt that you would like me to share this fabulous idea, but I'm a little paranoid when it comes to my fantastic ideas because you never know when someone might steal one, and quite honestly I tend to come up with a lot of ideas that never pan out, so this time I am going to keep my fantastic idea to myself until it comes to fruition and then we can all look back on this day and remember when I first came up with the idea that is going to change my life!
Other than that, not a whole lot of exciting progress today although I did apply for a really cool job with Parks Canada that I would love to get, but probably don't have a shot in hell at getting...but hey, I definitely won't get it if I don't at least try! What really sucks about it is that I would be really great for the job if they would just give me a chance! Its an interpreter position at Elk Island NP, so I have no doubt that about a gazillion other biology grads have applied, all of which are likely to be more qualified than me but way less awesome! Oh well, I promised myself that I would find a job that makes me happy regardless of pay and that is what I'm going to do. That's not to say that I won't work in the meantime doing something that's maybe not so great cuz lets be realistic, we all need to pay the bills, but there is no way that I am going to give up this early in the hunt.
Okay, its late and I need to go to bed. I'm off to the gym tomorrow (that makes three times this week!) and hopefully another Yoga class. And just for the record I have now tried two different styles of Yoga with two different instructors and can I just say that if you are a Yoga instructor and you happen to be reading this, please do NOT babble the entire time you are leading the poses. A few key inspiring thoughts and comments are valuable, but a little quiet time when trying to find your inner self and connect with your energy force is entirely necessary!
-C
Other than that, not a whole lot of exciting progress today although I did apply for a really cool job with Parks Canada that I would love to get, but probably don't have a shot in hell at getting...but hey, I definitely won't get it if I don't at least try! What really sucks about it is that I would be really great for the job if they would just give me a chance! Its an interpreter position at Elk Island NP, so I have no doubt that about a gazillion other biology grads have applied, all of which are likely to be more qualified than me but way less awesome! Oh well, I promised myself that I would find a job that makes me happy regardless of pay and that is what I'm going to do. That's not to say that I won't work in the meantime doing something that's maybe not so great cuz lets be realistic, we all need to pay the bills, but there is no way that I am going to give up this early in the hunt.
Okay, its late and I need to go to bed. I'm off to the gym tomorrow (that makes three times this week!) and hopefully another Yoga class. And just for the record I have now tried two different styles of Yoga with two different instructors and can I just say that if you are a Yoga instructor and you happen to be reading this, please do NOT babble the entire time you are leading the poses. A few key inspiring thoughts and comments are valuable, but a little quiet time when trying to find your inner self and connect with your energy force is entirely necessary!
-C
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Motivation...what an elusive concept!
Okay, is it just me or is motivation a completely fleeting notion? One day I'm all rarin' to go and the next day I have a complete and total meltdown, get drunk to the point that I embarrass myself and my husband in front of his co-workers, spend the entire next day feeling shameful and sorry for myself and then somehow the following morning I'm suppose to get back up and attempt to rediscover that same motivation that prompted me to start this blog just 3 short days before? Why do you think that is? That motivation can be so strong at one moment and then completely non-existent the next? Is there some sort of motivation switch in the brain that can be turned on and off depending on what situation one is in, or is about to be in? I'm not sure about everyone else, but I think for me motivation is intimately linked to my mood. If I'm feeling stressed out or sad, then I tend to have little to no motivation to do anything, whereas if I am feeling anxious there is motivation but it tends to be fleeting, and then when I am feeling happy, motivation is readily available. There in lies the conundrum, to be motivated when happy is easy, but to be happy enough to be motivated... that is the trick!
Okay, enough rambling about my lack of motivation! Even without a strong driving force, I did manage to drag myself to the gym yesterday and participate in my first Yoga class ever! Just in case you have never taken a Yoga class it might be helpful for me to briefly explain the concept. The idea behind Yoga is that through a series of postures and breathing techniques, that challenge your ability to stay balanced and upright, you become in touch with your inner mind and body. In this way you are suppose to find a sense of peace and stillness within that allows you to be in tune with your surroundings and all the energy that exists both within you and around you. Now I'm sure that there is probably a much more elegant way to describe Yoga, but that is my brief rundown of how I perceived it. Now I imagine that for the most part if you are taking a Yoga class instructed by a reputable Health and Wellness facility then there are probably caps to the number of participants allowed in a given session. This would certainly facilitate the process of becoming in touch with one's inner mind and body. However, at a large women's gym club, said "cap" is non-existent and quite honestly there are as many people crammed into one small room with their mats and towels and water bottles, as imaginable. Needless to say, the atmosphere is a little less than conducive to finding inner peace! On the other hand, it was kind of nice, given that I had never in my life even heard of the warrior 1 or warrior 2 balance postures let alone positioned my limbs into them, it was a bit of a relief to be able to hide out in the back during this early part of my exploration into the world of Yoga. Bottom line, I don't think a single class in a large group configuration has given me a true sense of what Yoga can do for me, so I will be giving it another go because I am confident that it will ultimately be fantastic so long as I can get past the initial awkwardness and find a class that suits me more intimately.
Other than that, not much else accomplished these past few days, other than the amazing feat of actually getting out of bed in the morning. I am looking forward to the next few days though because I am optimistic that even if I don't necessarily find the motivation I am looking for to carry on with my big dreams that it will somehow manage to find me!
-C
Okay, enough rambling about my lack of motivation! Even without a strong driving force, I did manage to drag myself to the gym yesterday and participate in my first Yoga class ever! Just in case you have never taken a Yoga class it might be helpful for me to briefly explain the concept. The idea behind Yoga is that through a series of postures and breathing techniques, that challenge your ability to stay balanced and upright, you become in touch with your inner mind and body. In this way you are suppose to find a sense of peace and stillness within that allows you to be in tune with your surroundings and all the energy that exists both within you and around you. Now I'm sure that there is probably a much more elegant way to describe Yoga, but that is my brief rundown of how I perceived it. Now I imagine that for the most part if you are taking a Yoga class instructed by a reputable Health and Wellness facility then there are probably caps to the number of participants allowed in a given session. This would certainly facilitate the process of becoming in touch with one's inner mind and body. However, at a large women's gym club, said "cap" is non-existent and quite honestly there are as many people crammed into one small room with their mats and towels and water bottles, as imaginable. Needless to say, the atmosphere is a little less than conducive to finding inner peace! On the other hand, it was kind of nice, given that I had never in my life even heard of the warrior 1 or warrior 2 balance postures let alone positioned my limbs into them, it was a bit of a relief to be able to hide out in the back during this early part of my exploration into the world of Yoga. Bottom line, I don't think a single class in a large group configuration has given me a true sense of what Yoga can do for me, so I will be giving it another go because I am confident that it will ultimately be fantastic so long as I can get past the initial awkwardness and find a class that suits me more intimately.
Other than that, not much else accomplished these past few days, other than the amazing feat of actually getting out of bed in the morning. I am looking forward to the next few days though because I am optimistic that even if I don't necessarily find the motivation I am looking for to carry on with my big dreams that it will somehow manage to find me!
-C
Saturday, January 23, 2010
What happened to life as a grown up being easy?
Welcome to Crinkle's (aka Crystal's) blog! For those of you that have somehow managed to end up in your thirties without quite being sure how you got here, I hope you will appreciate my candid attempt at exploring how it is exactly that life as a grown up actually is harder than being a teenager, when we were so sure it was going to be the other way around!
I don't know about you, but last I remember I was in my teens with my whole future "grown-up" life figured out and the world as my oyster. Then, the next thing I know its ten plus years later and I'm married with a house, 3 pets and no kids, no job, no direction, and the world is no longer a tasty shellfish capable of producing a pearl but a smelly sea creature trying to swallow me whole!
Don't get me wrong! I love my hubby and my pets and my house. However, I can't even begin to tell you how completely lost I feel when it comes to the rest of my life! I, without question, wanted to have children when I grew up and I really wanted to have a good job, like a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or a journalist, or something else really cool that makes a lot of money. Now that I am grown-up, I still want these things, but at the same time I also want to get out of bed in the morning and look forward to the day. I want to have fun, and smile everyday. I don't want to be one of the millions of people that get out of bed in the morning and hate the fact that I have to go to work!
So as a promise to myself now that I am in my thirties, I have decided that I am going to stop trying to figure out life as a plan that I have to execute, but instead I am going to work on living life every day as it comes in the hopes that I won't wake up at 40 wondering how it is that another ten plus years have passed by!
As a part of this promise I am going to spend the next 2 years of my life doing all of the things that I have always said I will do! I am going to learn spanish, I am going to take cooking lessons, I am going to buy and then learn how to use a digital SLR camera, I am going to take yoga, I am going to go scuba diving in Hawaii (or Fiji, or Australia...the location is irrelevant), I am going to go birdwatching in Costa Rica, I am going to get a job that I love even if it doesn't pay well, I am going to go to the gym at least 3 times a week, I am going to eat healthy, I am going to love my husband like everyday is our last, and I am going to be happy.
If you are like me, feeling lost in life, I invite you along on this journey. I will make a promise to keep you posted on my adventures along with the challenges and obstacles I encounter along the way with the hope of finally getting a grasp on my life and the goal to inspire as many of you as I can along the way.
Here's to tomorrow: Day 1
-Crystal
I don't know about you, but last I remember I was in my teens with my whole future "grown-up" life figured out and the world as my oyster. Then, the next thing I know its ten plus years later and I'm married with a house, 3 pets and no kids, no job, no direction, and the world is no longer a tasty shellfish capable of producing a pearl but a smelly sea creature trying to swallow me whole!
Don't get me wrong! I love my hubby and my pets and my house. However, I can't even begin to tell you how completely lost I feel when it comes to the rest of my life! I, without question, wanted to have children when I grew up and I really wanted to have a good job, like a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or a journalist, or something else really cool that makes a lot of money. Now that I am grown-up, I still want these things, but at the same time I also want to get out of bed in the morning and look forward to the day. I want to have fun, and smile everyday. I don't want to be one of the millions of people that get out of bed in the morning and hate the fact that I have to go to work!
So as a promise to myself now that I am in my thirties, I have decided that I am going to stop trying to figure out life as a plan that I have to execute, but instead I am going to work on living life every day as it comes in the hopes that I won't wake up at 40 wondering how it is that another ten plus years have passed by!
As a part of this promise I am going to spend the next 2 years of my life doing all of the things that I have always said I will do! I am going to learn spanish, I am going to take cooking lessons, I am going to buy and then learn how to use a digital SLR camera, I am going to take yoga, I am going to go scuba diving in Hawaii (or Fiji, or Australia...the location is irrelevant), I am going to go birdwatching in Costa Rica, I am going to get a job that I love even if it doesn't pay well, I am going to go to the gym at least 3 times a week, I am going to eat healthy, I am going to love my husband like everyday is our last, and I am going to be happy.
If you are like me, feeling lost in life, I invite you along on this journey. I will make a promise to keep you posted on my adventures along with the challenges and obstacles I encounter along the way with the hope of finally getting a grasp on my life and the goal to inspire as many of you as I can along the way.
Here's to tomorrow: Day 1
-Crystal
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