Monday Motivation

Woke up this morning to the sound of my neighbors roof getting nailed on and a light rain falling. I'm not gonna lie, it was a rough morning as far as waking up goes! But after two cups of coffee, some sun salutations (with more than a couple of child's poses), I finally got up and moving.

This weekend was LOOOONG. It was month four of our yoga teacher training and we went through 4 full classes and an inversion module in addition to teaching circles, yoga anatomy, and assists/adjustments lessons. Not to mention my wonderful hubby surprised me by coming in to town on Saturday night and we all went out to celebrate my besties 28 birthday! (ughhhh we're getting old, but that's another issue altogether haha)

Needless to say I fell asleep at like 9:00pm last night and slept like a rock! But I still woke up tired and groggy. I think everything as far as getting ready for our move to Japan, keeping up with work, doing yoga teacher training, caring for four crazy fur-babies, finishing thank you notes (yikes, I swear they're coming y'all!), all of the weddings and social engagements we have, being a long-distance wife, and just remembering to breathe really caught up with me this weekend. I've been so gung-ho about getting everything done recently that I have barely stopped to take a minute to just breathe and relax, which may be why my meditation plan is all over the damn place.

Now don't get me wrong! I choose to do all of this and I loove it all but sometimes we need to take a step back and just chill. This is definitely something that I need to work on, but being able to recognize this feeling before having a meltdown is progress for me haha!

So, in order to get myself back on track today I decided to turn things down and just focus on the three R's that we use when sequencing a Moon Salutation: reset, reconnect, and refuel.

The first thing I did was take the dogs on a long walk and, don't freak out....I left my phone at home! Having that time to be outside in nature without any technology is really, really important. We're all so plugged in all the time, and I am especially guilty of this, that it can be pretty rare to go more than a few minutes without looking at a screen. We hear a buzz and immediately look at our phones, or sometimes (like Jess in New Girl) we have a 'phantom buzz' and literally nothing happened but we STILL check our phones!

After our walk I came home, took a long, hot shower and opened all of the windows. Then I rolled my yoga mat out and put on some music. Two of my favorite playlists to listen to when I want to focus inward are actually soundtracks from two of my favorite movies! Amelie and Pride & Prejudice (the one with Kiera Knightly...sorry Colin Firth). Today I went with Amelie, which is actually a beautiful soundtrack to do some yoga flow to, you should give it a listen :)

Then I took about an hour to do a little free flow, easy yoga stretching. Whatever feels good and healthy for your body, it doesn't even have to be an actual yoga asana, just get your body moving and focus on your breath. Even if you just lay down and do legs up the wall with a little pranayama, it will make a world of difference!

Afterwards, I was able to sit down with my planner and get organized for the week ahead. Now I know that TIME is the biggest scheduling factor that most of us struggle with when it comes to taking a few moments for ourselves, but it is SO important to take care of yourself mentally and physically! We should all strive to set aside a few minutes everyday for ourselves to refocus.

I was listening to the most recent podcast by Rachel Brathen (known as Yoga Girl) the other day and she was giving her list of tips and tricks to get started, or maintain, a regular yoga practice and her number one tip was: roll out your mat. This simple act will ensure that you spend a little quality time on your mat. Even if all you do is lay there and breathe, that is totally fine!

Maybe yoga isn't your thing! Maybe reading a book and drinking a hot cup of tea relaxes you :) Or going for a run! Whatever brings you peace and helps you reset, refuel, and reconnect you mind, body and soul is exactly what you should make time to do!

So, keep breathing, make time for yourself, and make sure you have some wine in the fridge because tonight is the first night of the Bachelorette.

Cheers!
Em

Monday Morning Motivation

Monday mornings have always been a bit of a 'catch-up' day for me. So, when the storms rolled in this morning, and the thunder started rumbling, I poured myself a hot cup of coffee and started going through my emails from the last 24 hours.

I love the feeling of getting my week started with a bang. And recently, it's been difficult for me to have that feeling of excitement since things around here are much slower than I am used to. But I've got NPR on the radio, its less than 107 degrees, and my to-do list is getting out of control!

There are new client searches to get started, closing details to organize, wedding vendors to respond to, offers to be written (!), and a million little details in between.

Setting the tone for your week early on is a great way to ensure productivity, something that is easy some days and nearly impossible other days. Usually I wake up and get the coffee started, put some essential oils in our diffuser (peppermint, sweet orange, and eucalyptus since it's been so hot), and turn on NPR (or HGTV) so that my brain has a chance to wake up as I'm getting ready.

Then it's on to the emails, and phone calls, and texts. I absolutely love my Day Designer planner because as I'm going through everything I have an easy to fill out blue print for my week! Each day has a timeline progressing in half hours, a notes section, a to-do list chunk, and a spot for top goals (because let's be honest...the top three things on your list are the ones that HAVE to get done).

Some days those are the ONLY things that get done, but that's life. Especially when you are awake half the night because your 70 pound dog is sleeping on your head because the smoke detector is beeping in the guest room and it is the single most terrifying thing he's ever heard.

But! I will get everything done today! And I will do it with a smile on my face because I am thankful, and alive, and motivated woohooo! (How's that for a Monday mantra??)

What are some ways you get started on the right foot on a Monday Morning?

Sunday Morning in Milton

It's a brisk Sunday morning here in Milton and the house is relatively quiet compared to how it's been the past couple of weeks. We were lucky to be able to spend the beginning of 2016 with dear friends and family who have since moved on to their next adventures. And although, it was wonderful having a house full of the people we love, it has been really nice with just the two of us the last couple of days. Right now the only sounds I can hear are the dryer humming, the Panthers game playing in the living room, and the clicking of my keys as I type. Utter peace. 

We woke up and made a huge Sunday morning feast of pancakes, coffee, and hash browns, and ate them while watching a couple of episodes of the X-files (#itsthelittlethings)!! So nerdy, but so wonderful haha :) Today will definitely be a day of relaxation, sports watching, and tidying up the house after the non-stop action of the last few weeks. 

There's always something exciting but a little bit sad about the new year. A whole year has come and gone. All of your accomplishments, regrets, memories, and changes from the previous year seem weirdly far away on this side of January first. It can be a little bit daunting looking a whole new year right in the face! You just never know whats going to happen! I'm getting quickly used to the fact that marrying a Marine means I will never have much control over our life, but that doesn't mean that the choices we make each day don't impact our lives greatly. We have been so fortunate to be surrounded by such an amazing and empowering support group. Through flight school, my real estate business, and our new neighborhood, we have met incredibly lovely people down here and I feel so blessed that, despite what can be a very isolating situation, we find ourselves flooded with love and encouragement. 

It's going to be an exciting year. The real estate market is in full swing, our wedding planning is full steam ahead, and flight school seems to be flying by with alarming speed (no pun intended). Living in the moment, appreciating each day for what is it, and always looking for the good in every situation will be my mantra this year! I know it will go by in the blink of an eye, just like last year, but I want to live each moment fully and bask in the excitement of this time in our lives!! 

With that being said, let's all travel, learn, love, eat, fly, laugh, read, dance, & live our way through 2016 with open hearts and minds, and hopefully through our actions, thoughts, and words, create a happier and more peaceful world for all of us to live in.

<3 Em

Have a Mindful Monday

As someone who gets easily excited and passionate about random causes and then has a hard time containing said excitement, there is a certain level of mindfulness that I always try to maintain. However, just like everyone, its hard to keep from falling off the bandwagon every once in a while especially about things like politics, religion, animal rights, HUMAN rights, you know, the touchy subjects. It's easy to become so passionate about your opinions that you forget to try understanding the others persons perspective. I'm not saying you have to agree or chose to even accept someones opinion when it is so far from your own, but all any of us really wants is to be heard and respected. 

That being said, since this is the season of forgiveness and love and kindness, I want to take extra measures to go out on a limb for others. I also want to try thinking a bit more before I speak, something that I'm okay about most of the time but an area that could still use a decent bit of work. 

Here are my goals for the rest of this year (and in general) concerning mindfulness:

1. Put a positive spin on everything. Not in that annoying, cheerful, beat to death kind of way. Just in that whole, hey, I want to try not to spread any unnecessary negativity around kind of way.

2. Up my random acts of kindness game. ESPECIALLY when it is not convenient to me. 

3. Build other people up, make them feel good about what they are doing, always encourage others to be the best they can be

4. Promote peace, love, and acceptance with my actions as well as speech

5. Read more so I can learn more about things I don't understand

6. Try to keep my sarcasm in check every once in a while, and fall back on self-deprecation less. 

Happy Monday - keep that caffeine intake up!

i like big cups and i cannot lie

Do you ever have those mornings where you just can NOT, to save your own life, get out of bed? You start thinking about ways to stay in bed just a little longer. It would be so easy to call into work sick and say you have some infectious disease or a broken bone. Maybe your cat caught a cold and you must take it to see a specialist in kitty flu? 

And as you run these insane dialogues through your mind the clock is slowly ticking to the point where no matter what you do, you're going to be late so you might as well stay in bed, right?? 

That was me this morning.

Unfortunately, I have discovered that I get my best sleep between 5:00-9:00am. And that is exactly when I am not allowed to sleep. My adorable, yet emotionally needy dogs like to go for a morning jaunt around 5:00am and usually if i suck it up and make a quick trip to the dog park they will let me go back to sleep for an hour or so. 

The good news is, it is now cool enough in the mornings that I don't immediately begin to sweat like a linebacker when I step outside at 5 o' clock am! In fact, it was super chilly this morning, which was awesome but did not aid my get-out-of-bed-round-two routine. 

However, as my good friend Indy hilariously reminded me via text the other day...

Pinterest Jesus has spoken. So, here I sit in my lovely little office emailing clients and helping people buy their homes. Definitely not a bad gig, and I'm VERY fortunate to have a job (especially one that allows me to use a degree I've earned) which can be very difficult for significant others of those in the military.

In these dire situations there is only one thing that can be done...

Time to bring on the epic, holiday pour coffee experience and get this day rolling ;)

CHEERS TUESDAY.