A Year, A Gift

Saturday I turned 41. I spent time with family and friends celebrating the gift of another year. Some people get really depressed around their birthday and even refuse to celebrate. I can't say I understand that mentality. Having come scary close to lose each of my parents earlier in my life, I realized early on that our time here is limited. As the media is filled with stories of mass shootings and other tragedies and daily we are hearing of loved ones and friends who are being diagnosed with horrid diseases, one doesn't have to think too much about how short life is. We are reminded of it all the time. I believe that each of us is here for a short time with a purpose. It is up to each of us to figure out that purpose and fulfill it and strive to do our best. :) It is this belief that makes me celebrate my birthday each year with vigor. I'm 12 miles away from my monthly goal of 125. I met with a new trainer last week for a free consultation. He put me through a workout and talked to me a lot about the importance of including strength training in my workouts. I have been neglecting this since starting my monthly cardio challenges. Since our meeting last Wednesday, I have done strength training three times. Tonight I went through a circuit. It feels quite good to be lifting again. I like it. Brandon encouraged me to try to do it three times a week. This past weekend I did NOT eat clean. Mini cookies and cream cheesecakes Friday, Mexican food and sopapillas Friday night, a cookout Saturday night with cookies and cream ice cream cake, and a lot of fried fish last night. I spent a chunk of time yesterday preparing food for this week. I baked chicken breasts that had been marinated in Italian dressing. I'm not sure why I didn't grill them, but that will be next week's project. The best part of my lunch was the green beans. I bought fresh green beans and cleaned them. I put them on a cookie sheet and drizzled olive oil over them. The beans baked on 350 for 10 minutes. They were still crunchy when I ate them. YUMMO! you should try it. I want to share a brief story with you. Last year a soldier was killed in Afghanistan. He was from a city very close to my hometown. This summer there was a 5k in his honor and the slogan was "Make it Count". Apparently, each morning as the soldier was growing up, his dad would look at he and his siblings as they were leaving for school and say "Make it Count". This soldier carried that with him while serving our country. Since my mom shared this story with me, I've been saying this to myself each morning as I get up. If we live each day with the intention of making it count, I wonder what we can accomplish? Hmmmm.... Thoughts?