Sparkle

Bam! In the blink of an eye, the Lil' Dude is 3 year old.
And bloooob, blooob, blooob ..... the baby weight is still happy, hanging out with us.

Oh that darn thing!
I nursed him till he was almost 2. The weight came off relatively quickly (AT FIRST) until the "busy time of the year" for me at work hits. While I hustled at paperwork and reports, I also shoveled Rolos into my mouth like a champ! Oh those sweet little gold bite-sized pieces of smooth, chocolatey, sweet delight. My friend's mom said, "A moment on your lips, forever on your hips."  Oh how true!!!

Fast-forward to December 2015. Busy time hit. I didn't gain weight. I lost inches. I am good. Ooh. Whatever I am doing is working. :)

I may not be obese, but I do struggle with weight, self-image ... all that things that affect women. You know --- the pooch, the saggy Bingo arms, how your clothes don't lay flat on your body, or how they ride up, or how the clothes just don't look right. That's just the aesthetic aspect.

Mentally, I was tired. I was sluggish. I was blah. I didn't sparkle like I used to. How does one sparkle when you have to tend to a toddler, to the home, to your full-time work, to other obligations? Losing sparkle was just how "the way it is." Isn't it?? All these adulting is rubbing my sparkle off.
Forget sparkling. I am surviving.

If you have been a follower of this blog, you know that I love being active. I am not actually a sedentary person. I love working up a good sweat. I love feeding my body with goodies (and some junk). Imagine how un-sparkly I was when I wasn't exercising like I ought to be and when I was just shoveling junk into my body.

Now, it is almost 4 months into my fitness routine. It has been working out pretty well so far. It is something I can do and don't mind doing.
Do I love it? No. Not all the time. However, I do look forward to it more than not.
I am not at the point where I can just let it go like Elsa. It is still a conscious effort for me. I plan my meals. I schedule my workouts. But I feel good when everything is in order. There is purpose. When I was running far and long, I have a goal every day -- 3 miles, fartlek, 10 miles, negative splits. Now, I am back to having daily goals. And I thrive when I have goals.

I am taking care of myself.
I am happier.
And you know what?
I sparkle.