Looking up, Making plans

Hey there, ho there, friends.
I felt kind of crappy posting that last post, basically whining without really offering any solutions, but then people commented, and I remembered that I have amazing people in my life. Thank you so much, all of you, for commenting, liking, making me remember I am not alone.

First and foremost, the swollen foot and ankle eased the next day. I rolled out my shin and calf that evening due to the advice of a very brilliant cousin, and I may have had too much salt that day. It hasn't happened again this month. My knees are still bothering me, a lot, and I've stayed clear of kickboxing, as a result. The other day I made a decision to buy a new knee brace so I can at least walk longer distances with less pain. That should come in today (thank you, Amazon Prime), so positive step there.

I finished a book yesterday. I was uber motivated to write this after I finished, and I kind of wish I had, as I was feeling all eloquent and shit, but I'll do my best. The book was called You Are a Badass, by Jen Sincero, and it is about...well, pretty much what you would assume it was about. A kind of "mind over matter", "if you want something badly enough, and decide you will get it, you will," (in her words.) A kind of less spiritual, more tough loving "The Secret." I listened to it on audio, as I generally do for self-help, and her voice was kind of grating, and she pronounced "etcetera" as "eck-setera", which made me want to punch something. She posits that those great, positive things we want resonate at a high frequency in the universe, and that, in order to attract those things, we need to raise our own frequencies to match those other high-frequency things and people. It was kind of funny, listening to this straight-talking, tough love chick spout such woowoo stuff, but...but...the book kind of did resonate with me. Because when you got down to it, she was just saying that you have to make things happen, and if you truly believe you are worth it, why not make those things happen?

I still admit I'm not sure what I want to do with my big beautiful life, but I do know what I want to do with my big, beautiful body, and that's get healthy. And so I am. I believe I can, and I am. I've made plans, and even figured out how people can help (people are always looking for "accountability partners," and I've never figured out how to effectively use one until now.)

So, here's my plan.
First and foremost, I have cut out pop. I have done this before, and I never should have gone back, but whatever, I did. I had my last delicious Pepsi last night at 7:30, which is probably why I couldn't freaking sleep, and I will not allow myself any more, although I am allowing myself the sparkly water-drinks because I like fizz. So, yeah, no more pop.

Second, I wrote out my workout plan for next week in my bullet journal, in ink, darn it, and this is where my accountability partner, whoever you may be (Katie, Jess?) will come in, as I will be sending my weekly plans to you on Sunday night, and I need you to check in with me every day to make sure I did it. I am very good at keeping promises to other people; not so good at keeping them to myself. I'll check in here at the end of the week, but I really need daily follow through. I'm starting light, but eventually, when my knee is feeling better, I want to get back to kickboxing.

Third, 8PM is the magic number for two reasons - no more food and no more social media after 8PM. I am not sleeping nearly well enough, and I know sitting on my phone scrolling Facebook at 10PM is not helping me. I can use it to communicate, or to listen to a guided meditation, but no social media or games.
I'd better mark that in my bullet journal, too.

You are a Badass was a good kick in the rear for me - it may not resonate with you, but perhaps my frequency was at the right level :) I have some other thoughts on that, but I'll have to expound upon that another time.

If I start using the phrase "manifesting my dreams," though, you all have my permission to kick my ass.