Saturday, July 26, 2014

Energy

Once again I'm having an absolutely lovely Saturday. I woke up at 9:00, took my sweet time getting out of bed, and then requested over an hour of silence in the apartment so that I could drink my coffee and read my book club book in peace. My beautiful girlfriend obliged, and it was honestly like a gift. I feel like a million bucks having had that precious time this morning... and I finished my book: Annabel by Kathleen Winter. It's for a new book club I joined and it was incredible.

My inspiration for this post isn't another lovely weekend day though, it's energy. Deep, I know.

I think of a lot of things in terms of energy... "God", for example. When I feel most spiritual and connected to some higher power, it's because I feel the energies of the universe colliding and leading me towards something that - if I open myself up to it - I'm destined to be part of. It's like that feeling of all the stars aligning for something special; those energies working together for something bigger is what I see as God.

I also think of energy and where we get it or lose it. As an introvert, I see myself as gaining energy from peaceful, quiet, and calm time; usually alone, with my girlfriend K., or a close friend. I expend my energy in the opposite situations, where life is busy, full of people and activity. I can handle both kinds of situations, but it just changes my energy; whether I emerge fuelled or exhausted.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about situations in which you can be a doormat or more aggressive; receiving bad customer service, for example. She was saying that her boyfriend will always speak up in those types of situations; make sure he is heard and that the situation is addressed in some way. Some might see him as an asshole, but she always feels like she is never taken advantage of, and I so appreciate that notion. I hate bad customer service, but will rarely speak up, and if I do, it's not in a very aggressive way. I don't like to think of myself as a doormat though. I see it as where you're willing to spend your energy and where you aren't. There are limits, sure, and there are times where you must speak up... and perhaps situations where you really shouldn't. For me, speaking up - in these situations - often means expending my energy in a way that makes me feel really unsatisfied when it's all over. I don't feel better. So if expending my energy makes me feel worse, then why would I be motivated to act? In my friend's boyfriend's case, he can't not speak up in those situations. He would feel unsatisfied if he didn't, so it makes sense for him and not for me.

Like I said, there are limits, but it helps to consider that we don't have to be separated into doormats and aggressors. If we know ourselves, we just act according to what makes us feel best and that our energy is used wisely.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

This time I'm having a lovely Saturday

Again, my girlfriend K. is still on her family vacation, so it'd be better if she were here, but all in all - not too shabby (and it's only 3:40 pm).

I woke up around 8:00 after about 90 minutes of alarms that I snoozed through.  Why did I set my alarm for 6:30 on a Saturday morning?  Well, I had an ambitious intention to go really early to the farmer's market, but having gone to bed around 1:00 am, I felt totally fine forgetting that plan and "sleeping in" instead.

Upon waking, I made a pot of coffee and then puttered around tidying my apartment for a while.  My mom was coming for a visit and I wanted to make sure everything looked nice for her!  Then I made my smoothie and sat down to read, drink my smoothie, and start on coffee #1.  Then I moved to the couch to enjoy coffee #2 and some "Dawson's Creek".  I don't know why I chose DC but it hit the spot.  Showered, tidied some more, some more DC, some more coffee... then around 11:15 my mom arrived!

My mom and I really enjoy each other's company, but I think she likes visiting best when there's some way she can be useful.  In today's case, I needed her help hanging some art that needed to be exact and level.  She did a great job with it!  After that, we headed out for some lunch at an amazing Waterloo place called Famoso - a Neapolitan pizza place.  Delicious!

Then we walked across the street to Heel Boy, a shoe store, to buy some shoes for my bestie Mon's wedding next Saturday.  We found a perfect pair!  The only shoes I tried on.  Gotta love that!

Then we walked a few stores down to Honey Bake Shop for an afternoon treat.  Before we got back to the car, we stopped at a great independent bookstore in Waterloo called Words Worth Books where my mom bought a couple books by Mary Lawson.

Then back home for a cup of tea and our sweets from Honey, followed by a great conversation, and then off my mom went, home to Toronto.

What a charming Saturday visit in Waterloo!  I'm sure the rest of the night will be just as great!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Sunday

I'm just having a really nice Sunday and I feel like posting about it / as a result.  Unfortunately my girlfriend K. is not here, because that'd be one thing that would make it better.  I dropped her off in Mississauga yesterday so she could head home to Toronto, spend two days with her family, and then go with them on a family vacation!  I stayed overnight in Mississauga with my bestie W. for around 24 hours.  We chilled, we ate, we watched "Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights".  This morning, W's mom made us aloo paratha for breakfast.  I was in heaven.

Then I drove back to Waterloo.  The weather was perfect for a Sunday afternoon drive, and I had a great playlist to match.  I went straight to the gym upon getting here, and had an excellent work-out.  When I go to the gym, there's a number of forms my work-out might take.  Sometimes it's a quickie; in and out in about 30 minutes (save the shower for home).  Sometimes it's for a Body Pump class, in which case I'd warm up with 10-15 minutes of cardio and then do the class.  Today I had my medium-level luxury work-out: 10 minutes on the arc trainer, 20 minutes of strength training machines, 10 minutes on the treadmill, and then the luxury part -- long sauna, shower, and then 10 minutes or so on the massage chairs the gym has.  Who knew going to the gym could be such a rejuvenating part of a Sunday afternoon?!

That reminds me: yesterday (July 5th) marked 1 year since K. and I began our journey to better health and physical fitness.  As of July 5, I've lost a total of 47.6 lbs.  Even better, my lifestyle has changed completely and for the better.  I feel amazing!

After the gym, it was over to the grocery store.  You know when grocery shopping is the last thing you want to do, but you sense you'll want to do it even less tomorrow?  I'm glad I bit the bullet.  I also filled up my tank, took out some money at the bank, and got a drink at Starbucks.  A few errands and a treat, and then I was back home for the evening.  I'm here now with a beautiful breeze coming in through the patio door, my sweet cat Spoon nearby, and nothing to do for the rest of the day but relax, prepare for the week ahead, and enjoy myself.  That's why it's been such a nice Sunday.

Who's visiting?