Lisa Clark's Journal – December 2010 Archive (12)

We've been training now for a month. We've all encountered struggles. Today it was all 13 months are already worth the struggle because I made orange juice! Silly sounding perhaps... Let me explain.



A family I watch was out of juice and the girls asked for the usual orange juice. There was a bag full of oranges for juicing. Their juicer is manual though. My whole life, my family has treated me as the weak one who wasn't strong enough to do it for herself. I usually wasn't strong… Continue

It's normal in the dojo to do kata, practice our basics, even mount each other to practice a grappling self defense. I forget how these seem to other people...



My car wouldn't start Sunday. Thankful for AAA, I called for roadside assistance and had the usual hour long wait. What to do for an hour? Well, I hadn't practiced kata yet... the sidewalk was extra wide... time was plentiful... why not? So I did.



About 40 minutes in, a couple riding by on their bikes stopped to ask… Continue

This last week has been tough. Where to start!



Old injuries have been forcing creativity in the physical requirements. An unexpectedly busy week provided the perfect excuse AND reason to slack off. Between failing creativity and the unfriendly schedule, my miles, kata, push ups and sit ups have fallen behind, in that order. Something needs to be done. Though I'm not sure how yet...



An extra 50 sit ups and push ups a day will help. Longer sessions on the elliptical are… Continue

My mom has joked about my selective hearing tor years. I would be so consumed by a task that nothing else existed. Not her voice, dinner, the cat jumping onto the table, my cup spilling, nothing. This might be considered focused. But lately I'm learning a different type of focus.



In yoga, the instructor guides the class through 26 poses with dialogue and encouragement. Today's instructor is very detail oriented. She reminds us to direct our gaze, engage our abdominal muscles, relax… Continue

Lisa Spagnolo's journal mirrors my own thoughts. It was aptly titled "Repetition and the New Normal." My own life is restructuring. There is a new 'normal.' Its not just the UBBT requirements.

Financial ventures are new and more satisfying than before. I've wanted to nanny for a long time. Two families have recently presented the opportunity. Its developing deeper patience, greater understanding, inspiring laughter and meeting the bills. What could be…

Continue

Day 6 was hard. It made waking up today, Day 7, tough as well. Bodily aches and sore muscles are very satisfying though. Its like they're saying, "You survived yesterday's challenge. Get ready for today!" There was a lot to look forward to today.



I have started watching some very cute girls a couple days a week. They were the first chunk of the day. The family does not watch a lot of tv, and board games are a favorite activity. So on top of knocking out the 3 mile requirement walking… Continue

Sore. Achy. Grouchy. Sunday's everything hit like a ton of bricks but I pushed through to finish the daily requirements before class. Even a little prideful that I did 6 miles instead of 3. My knees are suffering for my pride... Then in class we did a third set of exercises. Yes. A third set. All but the last crunches were completed to add to my suffering pride.



My lesson for today is a very human one with a little back story.



For a long time, I really believed "fake it til… Continue

Sunday. Not a day of rest this last weekend. My aunt is moving rather unexpectedly and the whole family is helping. The day's objective was to move the garage, storage shed, books, games, movies, other media and glass into storage. An early start and off we went to Escalon with muscles ready.



I was a bit concerned when we left. My plan to start the day with at least half my requirements accomplished did not pan out. I woke up feeling achy, coughing, throbbing shoulder and head. What… Continue

This first week of any new adventure is very critical. It is the time to establish habits, discover challenges, and learn how to have fun on the new journey. That is why I decided to journal daily for the first 7 days. It is the freshest, most inspired time for reflection. Today's reflection is on hydration, or rather dehydration.



An unlimited month long pass at a hot yoga studio was an early Christmas gift from my mother, with a matching one in her stocking from Santa. It has been… Continue

I long ago learned to listen to my old injuries when they started talking. And oh man! They are talking today. Yesterday was nearly a double dose of the exercise requirements between my own ambitious morning exercises, daily activities, evening karate class, and a late night hot yoga session. The UBBT is about pushing our limits, expanding them even. Yesterday was just a little TOO much though.



So today is my first lesson in how to take a break when you need one.



The… Continue

Balance has been a struggle since an inner ear infection at the age of one. 12 years of dance, various sports, and now karate have helped. But! Nothing felt quite right until tonight. Yoga.



A while back I told someone I was thinking about trying yoga. They responded by saying, "Yoga is for flexibility. You're already flexible. Why do yoga?" That comment is like saying karate is about fighting. Yes karate is about fighting and yoga is about flexibility. Yet karate is about discipline,… Continue

I've been all aflutter this last week in anticipation of today. Some nerves but mostly excitement! So when I woke up this morning, I was surprised. My thoughts did not mimic the excitement, the thrill of the challenge. No. I very negatively thought, *Oh, now I have to do ____.* My first test of motivation.



Whenever I had trouble with a report in college, or got stuck on what to bring to a potluck, I started by taking inventory of what I already had. Today was no exception. Inventory:… Continue