It’s a New Year; I’m the Same Me

It is a new year; yes 2020 is finally gone and 2021 has sprung. 

We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve home together as a family thanks to all the hard work Kelci put into it. She literally planned a bag full of activities from 7pm until midnight for us. We enjoyed reminiscing over the past year, laughing over all the pitfalls, dodging marshmallows during an all out living room war with them, screaming trivia answers at the TV screen, popping balloons tied to each other’s ankles, and laughing at each other as we rolled in powdered donut droppings racing to see who could get them off the line and devour them first!  It was so much fun!  And did I mention Tony and I used my new wine guide book to sample a range of wines from dry white, bubbly white, sweet white and all the same in the reds?!  Whoa who knew all the variations a simple grape could be processed into!

All that though to share, it is a new year, but it is also the same me. The girl who loves the Lord most of all, family, friends, fun, organization, a schedule, tidy house, homeschooling the kiddos and feeling energized. 

All too often, that last ‘love’ though is hard to come by. I stay active, seriously we have stairs in the house and I am up and down them more times than I can remember to count most days. And I do not like to sit!  Friends who know me well know if I am sitting, I might as well be sleeping!!!

But as 40 began approaching a few years back, my energy levels changed and that meant I have had to work to keep them up. And with changes in energy, came a change in metabolism. The two go hand in hand. 

So for sometime I enjoyed getting outside and running. I was not ever a runner in high school. In fact, I tried track and field for a season and was literally carried off the track after passing out during a 440 relay practice. I could not ever breath properly and I always ended up with a headache. So I just didn’t run!  

That all changed in 2011 when we moved to the country and God put a young lady in my path and we were introduced to her very special little girl. Fortunately during that same season, I met an amazing group of ladies and we ran together. We ran all over the country out here exploring the roads and the countryside, chattering all the way. Those memories are so dear and so precious to me. I miss that group of ladies!  

But the need to run and the desire to run has not changed. I still have to run!  There is something about the endorphin release that happens that is so good for me and brings me such balance!  Coupled with a change of lifestyle a few years back and the inability to run freely outside (some dogs are big and running with pepper spray or a gun just isn’t fun!), we invested in a new-to-us elliptical. It has been great on my knees and allowed me to keep going. It’s not the same by any means but the impact is better for me and I still enjoy that endorphin release so much!  

When asked my age often I will laugh and answer with the attached phrase, “40’s are fabulous!”  And this has been so true. More on that another time! With it though has come additional physiological changes that require a bit more. So I took to strength training. I am not a fitness guru and I am always consulting a couple friends and the most trusted being my sister. I wear her out, I’m sure!  But trying to find the right videos on YouTube that target the right areas is so tough. And many days I would stop mid stream because they just were not geared for where my body was... or my mental ability was, as it usually is!  

Anyhow, this year I learned about a program my sister, some friends and others I am acquainted with on Facebook use called Beachbody. I wasn’t immediately a fan-it required a membership and cost money, neither of which I felt like I needed to invest. But as the story goes (and many months later) I realized I did need it. 

On a regular week, I read the Word typically with a reading plan, the Bible app and a devotion or Bible study; use Mealime to plan, purchase and prepare our meals; log MyPlate to track the calories in each meal, my water intake and exercising, and I work out on the elliptical. But as of this week, and thanks to Tony just purchasing it and setting it up and delivering to me a username and password, I am including Beachbody On Demand. 

It is a new year; I am the same me...but there is always room to improve!