Something called …

Something called. It is still calling me now. I can hardly believe it.

People hold onto your hats, because I am about to say something extraordinary.

After all the false starts I have had so far, between Curves and the YWCA, and all the other times I have tried to exercie in the past, I have the feeling. I am being called.

I am looking forward to, even craving exercise. WHAT?!

I never thought that this would happen. I never thought that going to the gym would feel like anything but pulling teeth.

Last night, I had a bad headache and the arthritis in my knees was flaring up. I easily could have said that I didn’t want to go, that I wanted to take the night off. But I didn’t. Because as much as it surprised me, I wanted to go. And by the time I was done, my headache was gone and my knees felt a bit better.

I am still going to stick to a Monday/Wednesday/Friday commitment for now, simply because of the time that it takes up. But I do want to go on Tuesday next week, to try out a beginners yoga class. I have never done yoga and want to try it.

This new desire to go to the gym, I think, is stemming from my friend Lisa. Gilles suggested that she start coming to the gym with us, and at first I was resistant but now I think it is a good thing. She has a devotion to the gym that is addictive. She exercises every single morning before work, and then again on the nights that I go. She is my inspiration right now.

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What I’ve learned today:

Friday March 25th

- It is easy to let things slip between the cracks. The trick is noticing them, and picking them back up.

Saturday, March 26th

- While Gilles will eventually tell me everything, he sometimes needs time (to the tune of a couple months) before he does. I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Sunday, March 27

- Whether I mean to or not, I have a tendency to manipulate those around me. For instance, Sunday we went to see Hall Pass. True, it is a movie that I was interested in seeing. But Gilles often goes to movies with other friends and leaves me behind. I think I may have pushed to see this one so quickly because, based on the connotations of the movie, I wanted to be the one to see it with him – I didn’t want him going to see it with a group of guys. I am not sure how I feel about this realization either.

Monday, March 28

- I like the gym. That will throw me for awhile.

PartyLite

Maybe it’s because I’m living in the city now. Maybe it’s because my friends see that I’m not in university anymore and go ‘Oh, she has extra time and money now.’ Maybe it’s because of my age, or maybe it’s because I am a woman. I don’t know. What I do know is that I have been invited to a lot of parties lately. Six this week, in fact. Arbonne, Mary Kay, PartyLite, Lia Sophia, Mom’s Pantry, Stella Ertois.

Now, being a commerce student, and a marketing major especially, my immediate thought as soon as I am invited to yet another party, is pyramid scheme!! Run away! (Okay. Maybe my reaction isn’t quite that extreme, but I do feel sorry for the people who get sucked into thinking that they are actually getting what they are putting in).

I am not going to go into details of why pyramid schemes are evil, or how unless ‘consultants’ are willing to make it their full-time job, they will spend around half the money they make on upkeep (after all, you need to buy the new magazines, the new product to show, and there is a monthly fee if you want a website). You can read about most of that in the link I provided.

What I am trying to get at is that many of my friends are not only agreeing to host parties, a few of them have become consultants. And being the person I am, I then feel obligated to attend their parties to help them raise money, buy product, and go to any conventions I am invited to. (After all, if I don’t who will right?) This was okay when there was just one here or there, but like I said, I have been invited to six parties this week. I don’t have that kind of money.

So, after all this gracious help and money spending, I finally started to say no. And out of all the parties this week, I only went to one.

I have to admit, it felt good. The first parties I veto’d were those of my co-workers. I don’t normally spend time with them outside of work, so I felt less of an obligation to attend their parties. (It also helped that they were hosts and not consultants.) That eliminated the Arbonne, the Stella Ertois, Lia Sophia and the Mom’s Pantry. Okay, two left. Which of these two are hosting and which are consultants? Both are consultants. Crap. Which is a closer friend? They are both close friends. Which night do I have less going on? PartyLite. Done. Sorry, Mary Kay.

I will continue to attend parties and support my friends when I can, but I will not break the bank doing it, and I will not attend more parties than I have time for.

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What I’ve Learned Today: March 24th, 2011:

It doesn’t hurt to stick your neck out there. Most people aren’t willing to take a bite at it.

What I Learned Today – March 23, 2011

That it doesn’t make sense to do a ‘What I learned today’ post, in the middle of the day. I have decided to talk about what I learned yesterday each day instead. It just makes sense. After all, if you are posting first thing in the morning how much can you honestly have learned?

In other news, my weight is up. 189 this morning.

I don’t get it.

That is as heavy as I was before I started trying to lose weight for the wedding, in November.

Is it because I’m gaining muscled from going to the gym again? That is what makes sense, and that is what I am trying to tell myself, but at the same time… 10 lbs of muscle in two weeks? I don’t get it.

Maybe I’m retaining a lot of water. I do feel kinda bloated.

Or maybe, maybe I’m not eating as well as I thought I was.

…

…

I don’t know.

What I learned today – March 22, 2011

There can be too much of a good thing.

I guess I already kind of knew this, but it is being reiterated in a big way today, as I rush to get all my assignments done at work whilst having more poured on, I collect PartyLite orders for Lindsay and drop them off whilst trying to remember that Partylite is supposed to deliver today, and oh - was someone supposed to be at home for that? And going to the gym, and oh – I have to get my plants started, and don’t forget to phone Gilles’ dad, and get the patching done let alone the new sewing (that I promised myself I would do months ago), and oh, you want supper? Okay, well wait here while I do another load of laundry.

I love my life. I do. But I need to figure out how to slow it down. Any ideas???

What I’ve Learned Today – March 21, 2011

Elsie mentioned something on Saturday that got me thinking. She said ‘You are supposed to learn one new thing every week.’ (Or something to that effect).

Of course, me being my hyper-exaggerated self, transferred that into – “You need to learn one new thing a day.”

To which I thought, What a great blog idea!

I won’t promise that I will make it on here every day. But I will try.

In addition to my usual postings, I will now feature a ‘What I learned today’ section.

So, what did I learn today?

I learned about a great website called winsaskatoon.com.

The lowest unique ‘bidder’ wins a gift certificate. It is great advertising, and a lot of fun.