Man, I feel bad that I haven’t given any TLC to my blog in a
year?? Geez, that’s my fault. I haven’t been inspired and life has given me
some interesting turns in the road to prevent me from letting things out on
here.
First off I’m going through some life changes. I bought a
new (used) car in April. Yaaay! It’s a 2013 Maxda CX-5; charcoal grey, low
mileage, and great mpg. I’ve named my car Cole. I don’t know if you get it but
it could be also spelled another way (…give up? Coal? Cole? Ba-tum-tiss!) I’ve had
a 2000 Mazda 626 for a long time but after having to commute for the past 3 and
a half years has taken a toll on me and the car. The 626 started to show signs
of deterioration while my trust in keeping me safe whilst driving was
diminishing. I decided that it was time to move onto something better (and
bigger?). I had money saved up for a decent down payment for the CX-5 as I
bought it on sale too! I didn’t know that I could afford a new-ish car, and
looking back at the purchase I realize that I worked my ass off to get to sign
those papers. The years of education and pondering about my decisions has
accumulated to that moment.
With having a new clean car to start over with the timing
was perfect as I started to purge and reorganize my life. Believe it or not the
whole purging and reorganizing started in my room. Since losing some weight and
realizing there was clothing that I don’t care for I started filling up this
giant plastic bag from the Olympia Expo. One of the handles broke as I getting
the damn bag out of the house and into my car to drop off at Savers (it’s a
thrift store by Hope Services). From then on I have been organizing my paper
clutter, clothing clutter, and even my pantry. I was heavily influenced by
YouTubers who are considered as organizational “gurus.” I bought items from Bed
Bath and Beyond, Dollar Tree, and the Container Store to get all my crap
organized. Honestly, it’s been such a cleansing and refreshing experience. The
statement of “less is more” is very relevant at this point in my life.
I took an over-the-door shoe organizer with clear pockets and stored my scarves and belts
Going on with the whole “less is more” concept in my head, I
will be taking the next year off from Athletic Training. I have 10 days, well
more like 8 days if I exclude the weekend, left of my five year career at Monta
Vista. I love my job, don’t get me wrong, I know I’m good at what I do but I’ve
been inspired to push myself to be not only good but better. Then how do I get
better and become greater? I’ve realized I want to see where my potential will
take me. So I will be taking a couple classes over the next year to see what
kind of tools I can keep adding to my manual therapy box. I plan on taking a
pre-natal/pregnancy massage and Active Release Technique classes within the end
of this calendar year. I’m not sure what else I wanna take but I’m curious to
see what else is going to be out there.
I know I’m making a sacrifice to my income. Some or all of
you may know that I work two jobs. Since I’m quitting one I’m reducing my
income. However, because my clientele is growing at Athlete’s Advantage I feel
like I’m making a good decision. I want to expand my clientele as my skills
grow. I’m not sure how long I’ll be at AA but I want to be there as long as I can
until it’s time to see where to go from there. What I love about AA is being
able to customize my client’s sessions. There are times when my regulars have
specific points that need attention or if they just had a really long month or
week they just want a relaxing session. I love being able to provide the
service for them because the results show on their faces and posture. I know I don’t have a career in
athletic training, but you know what I have a set of skills that I can apply to
anything and anywhere I choose. There in lies the beauty of my timing. I’m
extremely grateful and blessed to be able to make such a sacrifice. I’m leaving
Monta Vista on a good note, I’m leaving a legacy behind but I want someone else
to sharpen their skills to make their own legacy there. I only hope that the
next ATC will become as good, or better than me as August comes around. I’m
going to be cliché and say that I’m quietly closing the door from Monta Vista
and opening another door then walking through it with my eyes closed.
My fitness life has been progressing quite well with some
setbacks here and there. Life isn’t successful if you don’t fail. I’ve been
counting my macronutrients and training with the 5-3-1 program with Jon’s
guidance. Yesterday I managed to max 1-rep on squats with 225lbs! I don’t know
if I want to count it as a success because I almost lost it and my toes came
off the ground. The fact that I tried and did it was gratifying enough. Today I
max repped on bench 130lbs! To know that I am strong at 5’3 and 177 pounds is a
great feeling. Plus I’m slowly losing fat and my muscles are becoming more and
more defined. A humungous thank you to Jon for helping me during the extremely low times I've been battling since beginning this fitness journey. You help me shake the crap off and keep going because the only thing that can stop me is myself. Thank you for making sure I don't hit the ground when I fall. I love you!
Here's proof that I could lift hella. Thanks to Clay for filming this!
I think I covered as much ground as I could in this entry. I hope you enjoyed reading it! Who knows, since I can make more time now I could blog at least once or twice a week. We'll see. Thank you for your support!
- Marie
