Top Ten Reasons to Run in the Morning

1. Coffee. This could be the whole list, honestly.

2. No makeup, which is awesome just because, but also translates into your skin being able to breathe better during and after your run, as well as no extra awful sweat-stinging of your eyes mid run.

3. Great reason (excuse, if you need one!) to go to bed early or at least, at a reasonable hour. #sleephygiene

4. Nothing will wake you up like a morning run.

5. Taking your morning shower post run is a super efficient use of time! There is no need to shower multiple times in one day.

6. Getting your run done in the morning beats the heat of the day during the summer time! The sunrise during any season is beautiful and invigorating.

7. Nothing that happens during the day can ruin your motivation and/or time for your run...because it's done!

8. Energy,  mood, and focus is all impacted for the (way) better for the remainder of the day.

9. You will be hungry for breakfast after your run, setting yourself up for better health by actually eating breakfast. (I'm talking to you, meal skippers!)

10. Happy and healthy groovin'. Enough said.

The Daydream is Over

Good morning!
Totally have a fake smile on this morning because today I go back to work after ten days off!

Wow, did I enjoy that break! I found myself in a different kind of groove, a song and dance instead of a ball and chain! Some ideas about the way I want to live in the future were born; it was an exciting and creative few days.

Over the years my job has changed a lot. The pace has quickened, minor issues immediately escalated, work off shored. Our job title has changed to "Coordinator". I no longer DO the work I once enjoyed. Balance went out the window with the ability to work from home. It's sad to see the days of a "normal workday" no longer around. It's even more upsetting to feel what that feels like.

So, like my writing project that I haven't yet pinned down, I'm not sure where I'd want my career path to take me next. What am I looking for? What do I have to offer? How can I contribute something meaningful to the world, while being able to support my little family financially? Could it be done within the company I'm working for now?  I need to ask a lot of questions at this point in my life, and remember to keep a positive perspective. This is a beginning (it can easily feel like a dead end).

And now, of course, with my findings and all of my thoughts...another great question to ask is how I'll show up to work today and do my best?

What do you do for work? How did you choose what you do? Has your job changed during your time there?  What do you like to do when you take time off?

Never Give Up, Even When It's Terrible

I can say with certainty that over the years I've engaged in a slow, rolling start to my dream of being "a writer". I absolutely want to write. I've always wanted to write, and here and there I have written a few different things. Nothing very noteworthy, though some pieces more significant (to me) than others. It's really that I need to write. A living, breathing story is ready to burst, but my odd dilemma is that the face of it remains a mystery to me. Oh how I want that certainty!
I'm hoping that with practice and invitation, the creation will come forward. It may not, but if I don't try, we will never have the chance to meet.

So I'm starting again, now. In a year, if I haven't written anything, it will just be a year later, a year of inaction, a year of the same dreams burning a hole in my heart. What good is that? I know my writing will be terrible (and look, it is), but I'm going in anyway. Up until this point, my life has had a low grade fear fever fueling most every move - including trying to write - and I'm ready to apply the ice. I'll save fear for it's correct application, battling a fiery dragon, say, or running from a hungry tiger. I would have something to write about, then...