This is my time to LIVE!!!! No matter what obstacles come my way I'm going to did my way around them and WIN. NO MORE WASTING TIME AND NO MORE WASTED DAYS. I got this. #setyourlifeonfire #noholdingback #survivor ##everydayisagift

Decide. Commit. Succeed. I got up earlier. I finished Bella's morning things first. I pushed play on #insanitymax30 #cardiochallenge when I didn't want to. It's more cardio even if I followed the modifier track. I pushed. I sweat. I set the tone for my day. . There's no change in my comfort zone. I don't like where I and so it's time to achieve my goals. It's been a rough month for the family but I'm not good for anyone unless I take care of myself, which I haven't. . It's been two weeks since I stopped taking Neurontin and it feels so good. The detox was a bitch but I conquered it. The positive in taking it? I sleep better these days. . You can do anything you set your mind to!!! #FearlessVixenFitness

New Beginnings

With so much going on in September I'm almost thankful that it's over.  I'm not only because everyday is a gift to be treasured and you don't get to do it over again.  Two deaths, a major motorcycle accident, school has begun, on medication, detoxing from medication along with the change of seasons .... I feel like I've lost my way.... just a bit.

BUT TODAY I got up before 7, got my portion of before school activity done.  I did two short workouts plus Bella & I walked to school.  I am off to yoga soon as class begins in an hour.  Yoga is my sanctuary... it's my place of redemption, freedom, forgiveness and clarity.  I am determined to become the person I want to be... a true role model for my daughter.

So many negatives thoughts have crossed my mind in the last two months.  I have decided that I'm going to reverse them and put them where they belong.  Yoga teaches me there's no pressure and there's no judgement, that each day is different, that I'm ok with exactly where I am in this moment.

Enjoy the present.  That's why we call it a gift.  #EveryDayIsAGift #SurviveAndThrive

What Happens One Hour After Eating a Big Mac

Is It Worth It? 

This is a fantastic graphic that lays it all on the line.  No matter what you order, no matter what fast food chain you frequent, it all affects you negatively.  

Beth Warren, author of Living a Real Life With Real Food in respons to our Infographic: "While the infographic is surprising, it paints a fairly accurate picture. It’s not one ingredient that is a concern, but a lot of different reasons to take caution when eating a Big Mac,” she says." 

What do you guys think of this?  Personally I gave up fast food chains when I was 22.  I had joined Weight Watchers to lose those pesky college pounds.  What I learned there is that one combo meal had more fat content and sodium content than what I should be taking in for an entire day!! It just wasn't worth it.  To the point, it always left me hungry and licking the salt off the greasy wax paper the burgers came in.  

If you can't give it up permanently, cut down your trips until you're going so infrequently that you realize your belly hurts after you eat from eating these belly bombers.  

Do it for you.  

Do it for your health.  

Who else does this??? 😂😂 No shoes. No socks. Oh yeah take your fingers off he counter too 😋😄 #thestruggleisreal

Monday morning mantra ✨

Thai Iced Coffee Shakeology

COFFEE BREAK

Having My Coffee & Drinking It Too

Swap your morning cuppa joe for this luxurious Thai iced coffee drink made with Chocolate Shakeology. I use Chocolate Vegan Shakeology.  Recipe from Beachbody.com.  

Total Time:10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:
1 cup strongly brewed coffee, chilled
1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
½ tsp. ground cardamom (and cinnamon)
½ tsp. pure almond extract
1 cup ice

Preparation:
1. Place coffee, Shakeology, cardamom, extract, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

My LIFE in a nutshell. Who is with me?

About six weeks ago one of my docs recommended Neurontin for my hot flashes. She said a low dose to start and see how I do. The beauty of this drug is that I sleep through the night. I hadn't done that on a regular basis in 20 years. . Six weeks later I feel like a shell of my former self. My vitamins and hormone levels are super low. (Low hormones for this survivor is good for cancer prevention) but I'm losing my mind. My metabolism has all but stopped working. My adrenals are stressed out and worst of all I feel like I'm just here.... Well not really feeling much at all. . The funny things about it is that I wrote off the mods swings, the crying, the apathy to the onset of menopause. (Thank you chemo). I wasn't even thinking about what I was taking because it felt good to sleep and not wake up tired. . It's funny how you can talk yourself into something isn't it? I feel muted and lethargic and I'm currently at weight I've only seen pregnant. There's no particular reason for the weight gain as my habits hadn't changed - eat, exercise and enjoy. . A doctor gave me some answers with my blood work. The lack of progesterone and the Lowe vitamin Bs affect your metabolism. I had a B12 shot and felt BRIGHT. It was like the sun descended upon me right there in her office. . Today I resolve to move forward and get back to myself. Six weeks is a long time. Now I feel completely overwhelmed and behind. I'm not sure even where to start. But I'm starting. . #nevergiveup

My reason for breathing 💞. She may only be 9 but she will always be my babyGirl. Her giggle is one of my favorite sounds in the world. Her smile brings sunshine to my soul. ☀️

8 Minute Treadmill Workout

MyFitnessPal had this GREAT CARDIO routine posted today.  Say BUH BYE TO BORING cardio workouts!  You can do this on the treadmill, the elliptical or even on a stationary/spin bike.  It's only 8 minutes so why not repeat it two or three times?

I think I might try something like this on my next walk.  #Love2BFit4Life7 #FearlessVixenFitness

Theeeeeeeee #Yankees win!!!!! Bella loved it!!!

Bella's first #Yankee game!!!! #pinstripepride #mlb #yankees #nyy

Fig Pudding Shakeology Recipe

I love Figs!!! I've had them sitting in my fridge this week and they're so fresh. I love when they are in season.  When we used to travel to my husband's grandparents' home in Croatia we used to have figs everyday picked right off the fig trees (in the neighbor's yard LOL!).  I love fig with prosciutto but I'm making a SERIOUS effort to stay away from my beloved Italian and Spanish cold cuts for awhile.  *sigh*

Anyways ~ I normally put coffee in my shake.  Today I had the coffee after my yoga class and wanted to fortify my Shakeology.  Figs in Shakeology? YES PLEASE!

Fig Pudding Shakeology
1 scoop Chocolate Vegan Shakeology
6 Figs
1 TBSP Marcona Almonds
(these are Spanish almonds you can use nuts of your choice)
1/2 cup Almond Milk (unsweetened)
1cup Water
Cinnamon (I like a lot of spice)
Ice (I don't like a lot of ice)

ENJOY!!

Break On Through To The Other Side

BE PRESENT & BREAKTHROUGH

One of my biggest challenges is taking responsibility for my own failures and forgiving myself for making mistakes.  It happens and it's important to fail forward.

I learned how to do this when I began taking yoga regularly.  Lying still for two minutes was so hard to do.  It left me alone with my thoughts.  It forced me to recognize that I was holding onto years and years of resentment and anger.  I was alone in my thoughts and now I had to face it.  Holy Shit.

There's so much fear that makes you hide from facing what's been weighing heavily on you, wearing you down.  It's so easy to get busy and not have to deal with these things.  Do this, do that. go here, go there.  Bella was only in preschool at the time.

What I learned in yoga was that when you do the poses that there's no pressure to do them right and no judgement if you fall.  It takes a lot of practice to look like gumby-girl next to me.  You know, the one who danced all her life and has been practicing for years, and oh yea, she's also a teacher.  "Comparison is the Thief of Joy".  That's the truth.  When I stopped comparing and I stopped TRYING SO HARD to be perfect I got better... my flexibility improved, my breathing was better.

Yes, I was breathing better.  #justBreathe.  Through breathing in those two minutes alone, I pushed away the negative thoughts along with those heavy ones too.  It taught me to push them away temporarily, just as I did with Bella when I needed to get something done.  My thoughts were like a classroom filled with toddlers vying for my attention all at once.  I couldn't help them all if I couldn't even finish the task at hand.  "I'll be with you in two minutes" I would think while lying on my mat.

So what happens while lying on your mat, alone with your thoughts in those scary two minutes?

• I learned to breathe.  Inhale for 4 counts and Exhale for 8. 
• Inhale the good, exhale the bad.  Or as we watched in the American Girl Saige movie, "inhale blue skies, exhale gray skies".  
• I learned to let go.  All of a sudden what was weighing me down didn't matter.
• I learned how to JUST BE in the PRESENT MOMENT.  This was a revelation!!
• I learned that in the present moment that worrying about the past didn't serve me and that worrying about the future made me miss out on today.  
• That being said, I found myself wanting to not miss out today or any day.
• I learned how to let go of the past.  I STRUGGLED WITH THIS PART like you couldn't believe.  I had an unnatural attachment to my anger and resentment.  Yeah, it fueled me, but it didn't serve me.  
• I learned that I was angry at situations where others were not.  Who was living their life? Them, not me.  They were happy & I was not.  THAT was like Moses parting the sea for me. 
• I recognized that I had failed, made mistakes and was part of the initial problems.  I also had to accept personal responsibility for my actions.  
• THAT was another struggle.  I accepted that I had failed.  Now what???
• I found that it was time to forgive myself of my past and simply move forward.  

Always move forward. Keep moving forward.  I was holding myself back.  I was so focused on the good and/or bad results that I didn't spend anytime in the process, or the journey.  I needed to focus on the present, the moment, that day and trust in it.  #TrustTheProcess #TrustYourJourney.  

All of what I learned helped me move forward at 40 years old.  It was a rough time for me inside my head.  I hated 40, I hated that we moved back to the burbs.  I hated that so much had changed and I couldn't control most of it.  

When you start focusing on the good, the positive, the uplifting ~ things start to change in ways that make you happy and grateful.  #EveryDayIsAGift.  

Today, September 1. I'm struggling with my personal failures.  Someone else may not see them that way and that's ok.  I just know exactly where I went wrong in August.  I didn't accomplish my goals.  I didn't do what I set out to do.  Hell, I barely even tried.  I was really upset with myself last night.  My belly even hurt and I couldn't sleep. I was up until after 3am knowing I would feel the consequences this morning.  But you know what? I remembered that I have to own up to my actions and forgive myself in order to move forward.  Failing forward.... it's only a mistake if you don't learn from it right? 

Today I will focus on the journey; not the results.  

Today I will take two minutes out of my day to just be and to just breathe.  

Is it any wonder that when I didn't practice yoga that I started to falter personally? 

I need those two minutes. 

That's where my mind shows me how to focus on the journey and how to enjoy it.  

This is where my mind will tell me, "You're not on the verge of a breakdown, you're on the verge of a breakthrough." 

IT'S TIME TO MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH!