Welcome to the year of NOW!

"It has happened before and will happen again, I'm going to react differently this time."

Someone I respect sent that message out in a tweet today and it really resonated with me. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, I guess the lesson I need to learn is that the path I am walking over and over again isn't getting me to the destination that I desire. I'm getting close but not quite all the way. I need to find a different path. I think many people use New Year's resolutions to force themselves onto a correct path, but many times they are just setting off on the same old path to the same old destination once again.

This year I'm starting fresh. I hope that I've found the trailhead that will lead me to a healthier, slimmer, stronger me. The new year brings a clean slate they say and you can do anything you want with a clean slate. So why do we think that January 1st is the day that gives us a clean slate? Don't we have a clean slate every minute, every second of our lives? Why wait till January 1st, till Monday, till I get that raise, promotion, fall in love? Why not give ourselves the gift of forgiving anything we think we have done "wrong", and start anew at this moment? I am moving forward with my journey NOW.

My next year, next month, week, day, hour, minute, second is going to be the best one of my life. It's also going to be the only one I can experience NOW. I can anticipate the future, and remember the past, but the only time I can live in in this minute, this second, right NOW. NOW is when I will decide to eat the food that enhances my life, and not the food I know is not as nutritious as it could be. NOW is when I will decided to move my body instead of sitting an additional hour in my chair. NOW is when I will get outside, breathe the fresh air, and look at the beauty of all that is around me. NOW is when I will tell the people that I love how much they mean to me. NOW is when I will find love, if not from a lover or mate, then from my family, my animals, my friends, even myself. NOW is when I will come to peace with who I am, and respect myself for what I've accomplished.

The past year was my year of living exuberantly and it was amazing! I'm going to take that exuberance and carry it forward into next year, and make it the year of taking care of myself "NOW"!

Peace, and Happy New Year!

Love, Robin

Not exactly a failure, but...

I think I fell into a pothole along the way somewhere. What I'm going to do is pick myself up, dust off, and continue on my merry way.

I had all kinds of things I wanted to blog about the past six months, but none of them made it here. I will attempt to rectify that in a paragraph or two... 

What didn't make it into my blog in June about the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon was my injury. I ended up with a nagging hip injury that has taken months to heal. It was probably caused by the race route going up and over that hill on the freeway. Freeways are made for cars, and cars go around corners better if the road is banked. However, people walk much better when both feet land on a level surface. I think the combination of the incline (both up and down) and the "yaw" of the road caused my illiopsoas strain. I even went to physical therapy for two months to try to repair myself. In the end, massage and stretching were what did the trick, but I was out of commission for a while.

I did have fun though... My friend Patricia moved to Atlanta, and I decided to drive across country with her over the fourth of July weekend. It was a blast and I got to see parts of the country that I had never seen. I now have an awesome collection of shot glasses from each state we drove through. Nine states in three days, and Kansas was a whole day of it!

August brought a trip to Santa Cruz for the Santa Cruz High School All-Class reunion. My friend Kevin flew in from Denver to make the drive with me, and it was so much fun to catch up with all my old buddies. Neither one of us had seen Paul in over 20 years... we hung out quite a bit and had a nice time. I really miss my friends in Santa Cruz, but I've made some great ones here in Vegas.

In September I started training for the Ragnar Relay with some of those friends. The event was held in October, and was an amazing experience. We didn't do as well as we'd hoped, but it was so much fun... in a torturous kind of way. Imaging running (or walking) three 5-10K races, riding in a car, and going sleepless for 36 hours *all at the same time* and you'll know what kind of fun we had. Actually, it *was* kind of fun, cheering each other on, supporting each other, and acting as a giant team was a real learning experience. And yes, I would do it again, but I'd rather be a runner when I did it.

November was the month for Silverman. My good friend Christy had been training all summer to finish it... I decided to volunteer during the event so that I could cheer her on. She did so well and was such an inspiration to me that my new goal is to enter the 2012 Silverman 1/2. It's going to take a lot of dedication, but I need to do it!

My greatest accomplishment in December was that I rode my bike 50 miles... in one day... actually in 4 and a half hours. I am so proud of myself!! I learned a lot about endurance thinking, about not stopping for stupid stuff, and about the value of butt butter. As my wise friend Cyn says "If you're not hurt or puking, keep pedaling!"

I think I have to take that saying more literally. I can't do this halfway anymore, I have to keep on, keep moving, keep making the better choices in food, men, friends, everything. I have to learn that not doing my absolute best isn't hurting anyone but me, and that I deserve better than I've been giving myself. I have to stop shortchanging myself. I need to put myself first. That's hard for me to do. Ouch.

Wow... I did a lot this year! I didn't mention all the hikes, bike rides, and other fun stuff I did. I'll save those for another day. In the end, I'm pretty satisfied with what I've accomplished this year, and next year will be AMAZING!