Put Me In Coach, I'm Ready To Play
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For March the One Little Word prompt was to take one little action. Take a step, no matter how small, toward whatever it is you are wanting for yourself this year.
My action was to go to a spinning class (also called cycling - my Mom thought it meant I was literally "spinning" in circles for the class). I've been thinking about it, without taking action, for way too long. I did it on Tuesday and loved it. I was nervous. I think it was a combination of inertia, motivation, and a pinch of fear. Would I pass out? Would it be way too hard?
The lady next to me was super helpful and kind. Hooray for kind people in exercise classes. And hooray for the community of people who just show up. We are all beginners at some point in time. I'll definitely be going back again.
The last song in the spinning class was John Fogerty's Centerfield with the chorus, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play."
I felt that way about myself this week and want to savor that feeling and seek it out again.
In fact, here's a couple other actions I took this week that relate to bringing light to my life in one way or another:
ESTABLISHED A REGULAR DATE NIGHT | We've been talking about this (also for way too long) without taking action on it. A million things on our lists. A million different excuses and reasons why not - one of the biggest for me was not wanting our kids to have more time with a babysitter (who we love). But enough is enough. We really need some specific time set aside just for the two of us to reconnect. I feel excited about our upcoming date and am really looking forward to some time each week where it's just the two of us. We need to create some new memories and connections and not just rely on the ones from our past.
HIRED AN ASSISTANT | This is another thing I've considered for a long time and finally took action on it earlier this week. This is a really positive step for me and my business.
There's still time to join the community at One Little Word. Enrollment in this year-long class is ongoing and you have immediate access to the past month's prompts.
MONDO BEYONDO | SPRING CLEANING FOR THE SOUL
I also wanted to let you know that a new round of Jen and Andrea's Mondo Beyondo 5-week Dream Lab Workshop: Spring Cleaning For The Soul begins on Monday, April 4th. From the site:
Join seasoned dreamers Andrea and Jen as together we clear away the clutter and make space for the life we’ve always dreamed of! Over the course of five weeks, this special Spring Dream Lab will provide the structure you need to systematically clean out your physical space, calendar, commitments and connections for the sake of more freedom, authenticity and true joy.
Dream Lab participants will receive daily inspiration and instruction in the form of make-a-clearing challenges, heart-felt stories and the perfect prompts to get you moving in the right direction. This password-protected, community driven class offers the just right blend of insight and encouragement for dreamers interested in creating space for positive, personal change.
Sign up here.
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I have been doing spin classes for awhile and love it I think it's the music that gets me going - most of the time I am caught out singing to the songs. The other great class is body combat - a really hard workout but is so worth is at the end - feels great! I love the comment about a date night! Something I need put into action!
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Just a great thing to see that other people are into Body Combat. My gym just had a family combat night tonight where I took my daughter to the class - such a great time!!
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Congrats on the assistant! And the spin class. Both sound like reasons to celebrate!! But the biggest reason would be the date night. Kudos to you & Chris! Dating even once married on date nights really is so much fun! You'll be laughing and smiling and so happy when you find yourself trying to find just the right thing to wear :) :) Heidi in Guelph, Ontario
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You are such an inspiration.
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That's so funny! I did my first spin class Wednesday. What a work out! I love that you can go at your own pace. I will definitely go back next Wednesday!
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we have a date night once a week and i look forward to it all week! now i just need to sign up for an exercise class too.
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we try to have date night once a month and it is always a wonderful evening--even if it is just dinner and a trip to the outlet mall for clothes for the kids :)
And, oh, to be your assistant! What a great job!
Have a great weekend!
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I'm so happy for you!
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hey :) nice work on the spin class! I used to do that 2x a week when I was out in newport..but I haven't found anything around here that has worked with my work schedule. Did you go through a a gym, or someplace else? I'd totally be interested! Just started yoga 2x this last week, and am already SO glad that I'm doing it! cheers!
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Hey - I'm going to the DAC. Lots of classes available - and the pool too.
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Thats so great - my hubby and I don't have kids but love our date nights. Life can get really busy and if we aren't careful we find that we really don't connect that much throughout the week. Date night gives us time to get away from the house and work and just talk. Would love to hear more about this as you guys progress. Our issue is $$$ and what to do. BUt we LOVE it. I hope you guys have a great time.
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We are less than 5 months from our 46th wedding anniversary. We were childless the first 22 years of marriage. I believe it is vitally important to put each other first, but very difficult to do when children are not only demanding, but also so wanted and so enjoyed. In a few short years children are on their own life paths and the house is empty -- what's built now as a couple will have rewards in the future. I've lived through it. Life can get very hard with financial, health or marital issues. We had to work at building our relationship. It's worth the time....
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Hi Ali, I love that picture of Simon and Chris. Tell him I said way to go!! He looks so big on that bike and the trees look beautiful and springy there. Congrats on your spinning class. I hear those are fun.
I have a couple ideas for your date nights which I'm so glad you are doing, we all need them. My husband and I just had our 16th anniversary today so this is what we do 3 times a year.
1. We go on daytime dates now that the kids are in school all day. It's kinda nice going out when your more awake and up and ready for the day versus night time when maybe you've had a long hard day already. Since I'm a stay at home mom he takes a half day or whole day it's different each time and we just spend the day together. By the time the kids are home 8 hours later we are happy and recharged and enjoyed our time together and are ready to take care of the kids by then. So no babysitter for us since they are at school. We sometimes hang here at home or go out to eat and shop. I don't know if Chris is able to take days off sometimes or half a day while Simon is at school and Anna is already with the sitter it would save you another sitter day and money.
2. My other idea that we do which we don't so much anymore but when they were little it was more often. They would spend the night at grandma's or my sister's house and we got the quiet house to ourselves and got take out and watch movies and we could sleep in go out and have breakfast then get the kids. This was only about 4 times a year and then about 2/3 times year in between those we go to the hotel close by that has exercise room and hot tub/ pool and nice restaurant and would stay there for a night. There is a mall and Borders and bowling close by so we do that too. It's just nice to be with my husband and have time to connect and no kids around. We don't need anything fancy or expensive either just quiet time.
I hope these ideas help you. It's getting harder to do nightly things and weekend outings since our kids are pretten/tween/teenagers and they have sports, friends, dances etc to go to at these times. I love our daytime dates though. Have a great weekend.
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I love the way your Mum thought you were literally spinning... I'm trying to picture you as whirling dervish! :-)
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I think we can get so lost in the day-to-day, focusing on the routine. It can be hard to make time for a date-night when our "to-do's" are overflowing. But it can be great to connect one-on-one, focus on why we fell in love. It's so important for a marriage and probably just as important to model what a relationship looks like to our kids. And taking time for you (us) is healthy. Enjoy the date night. Enjoy the spinning and the new assistant.
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I dont suppose you would consider a long distance assistant...say maybe a women from Ohio?! Tee Hee. That is great news and frankly, I wonder how you have ever done so much solo.
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Good work Ali! I have found having a list of specifics incredibly useful to me! And God bless your mother -- when I first heard of spinning classes, I thought it was literally spinning wool into yarn!
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Well I too started another exercise routine to add to my walking. I am doing an arobic video 5 times a week and it feels so good Ali. I should be seeing my OLW at the scales this week I hope.
YAY on the spinning class and the date nite
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Feels so good to make the little tweaks and even better when they work. Hope you have fun on your date nights and get some calm from your assistant! :)
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applause!!! for scheduling a regular date night. I have to say, it's made a huge difference in our life and marriage to schedule date night at least once a month (something we've been doing for a few years now). I kind of waited around for my DH to schedule things for us but that was never going to happen, so i took the initiative and just started putting it on his calendar. It is a great way to reconnect and SO important. Keep making it a priority!
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i babysat for a family all through highschool + college (actually and beyond...18 years!). anyway through a good portion of those years they had a standard date night every 3 weeks (3-5 weeks depending on the dad's travel schedule). i always thought it was such a good example to their children - that mom + dad are taking time to spend time together to reconnect. i thought it showed that they were a loving couple.
awesome job on the spinning class!
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spinning/date night/assistant...all awesome! i've really been working my word "less" this month too...the funny thing is that putting it into action has required me to do more...but has still resulted in some form of less.
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