Addiction

So many are addicted to so many things....alcohol, cigarettes, drugs. My addiction is a little different. It is Coke - Coca Cola that is! What were you thinking?

Addiction is defined in Webster as a "compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal."

I am proud to say that I am 10 days sober from my coca cola addiction! (Don't worry I can hear your applause) It's a weird thing, addiction that is. Everyone reacts differently between headaches, shakes, moodiness, etc. I know I'm making being addicted to pop sound really heavy but it is real. I tried to stop before and got the shakes when it came to the usual time I had pop in the afternoon. This time around, I haven't had too many side effects. In the first week, I was down 2 lbs, but notice that I have unconsciously been replacing it with eating. They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, so I have to keep the eating under control during this time.

I have definitely been tempted as well. Just the sound of pop opening (can or bottle) makes my mouth water! Today I gave blood and after they always give you something to eat and drink. I opened the mini refrigerator to grab a drink and there was a wall of Coke! I opted for the OJ, but definitely thought about the Coke for a while after that. It's odd when the urge comes up too like in stressful times and in bored times. I guess it just filled a spot for me.

For my weight loss and healthy living journey, I'm determined to kick this. I'm on day 10 of 21 and holding strong. After the 21 days, I'm hoping to not have the desire any longer. But as with any addict, you're always an addict. You just have more control and more reason to not fall off the band wagon when you're fighting it.

Here's to no more Coke, being more healthy and to others that are fighting any kind of addiction. I feel like I know by a small percentage a little of what you're dealing with. Best wishes!

PS - You're listening to "Addiction" by Medina

When The Love Is Right

Happy Anniversary Honey! Today marks 7 years married for Nate and me. We've been together almost 12 years all together. It's hard to believe it's been this long, but it's been wonderful. I've heard people talk about the "seven year itch." At the seven year mark, people get bored or become complacent in their relationship. I don't know if this is seven years together or seven years married, but it doesn't matter. I think that was once someone's excuse for not truly being invested in their relationship and it caught on somewhere.

I am happy to say that the seven year itch is a myth for the Hershbergers. I believe we are just as happy or happier than we were that long ago. Do we have arguments? Of course and family and friends have been witnesses to some of these! If a couple says they never argue, then personally I feel someone is holding back. Conflict isn't a horrible thing. You learn a lot from it. It's about how you get through/past/over it that shows the strength in your relationship.

What has been our success? Well, due to various circumstances, we were friends first. You have to enjoy each other's company. Nate makes me laugh. He makes me feel secure. While I adore him, I won't say Nate is the most romantic man on earth, but he knows when I need to be held or just listened to and that's important to me. I'm not always the easiest person to deal with and Nate puts up with a lot in my crazy moments. We teach each other things all the time, consciously and unconsciously.

Ultimately, if you're married to your best friend, can have open and honest communication, can laugh through anything and learn from each other, I think those are keys to success.

Our wedding song was by Tourniquet and called "When the Love Is Right." I wish I could find it to add to my playlist because it says everything. The lyrics are below and hold true for us to this day!

The journey through our life can bring
A place and time for everything
A day of hope, a year of fears
A thousand smiles, a million tears

Our paths were meant to cross
And I couldn't forget you
No matter what the cost
We both had to see this through

Take my hand, take my heart
We will never be apart
Never be apart
Because I love you

Follow me and I'll lead you
Lead me and I'll follow you
Anywhere, anytime
When the love is right
The path is bright

From the Father of Light you came
And I know I'll never be the same...again
A beautiful gift has been given to me
Your smiling face is all I see

The look that's in your eyes
and the smile that sets me free
has made me realize all that you see in me

Take my hand, take my heart
We will never be apart
Never be apart
Because I love you

Follow me and I'll lead you
Lead me and I'll follow you
Anywhere, anytime
When the love is right
The path is bright

Together now and forever
You are the one
You are my everything
To me you bring the love that I have waited for
The love that I....
The love that I have waited for

The look that's in your eyes
and the smile that sets me free
has made me realize all that you see in me
Our paths were meant to cross
and I couldn't forget you

The soul of you is the soul of me
The way that it was meant to be
Follow me and I'll lead you
Lead me and I'll follow you
Anywhere, anytime
When the love is right
The path is bright

Together now and forever
You are the one
You are my everything
To me you bring the love that I have waited for
The love that I have waited for
The love that I....
The love that I have waited for

I love you Nathan and I look forward to growing old with you!

Reflection

A little while ago I did another 5k in Wooster benefiting the Anne M Wolf Foundation. While I do the 5k's for my own personal achievement and satisfaction, I think it is also important to pay attention to the charities I'm contributing to. For this one, a friend works with the husband of the late Anne Wolf and it was important for us to support this charity due to the connection. I knew a little bit about Anne and Josh's story, but learned even more at the event. In summary, days after giving birth to their second child, Anne was diagnosed with Triple Negative Stage IV breast cancer. She battled this for four months before passing away. The Foundation was created to honor Anne, but also to help better the lives of others suffering with this diagnosis.

So, I didn't know Anne, but I watched at the 5k as family and friends came out in the hundreds to support Josh, their kids, and the Foundation. Turns out about 535 people supported this event raising approximately $20,000. This is a fantastic feat. Being the emotional person that I am, I reflected on what those four months must have been like as well as the journey that it has taken Anne's family to get where they are today. While those four months must have been so difficult physically and trying to think about the kids and making sure they would know her and her legacy had to be very emotional...She must be a proud mama. The love and support shown for her and her mission was so evident at the 5k. The material passed out has beautiful pictures of Anne always smiling. A friend and I were just talking last night that we can't bring ourselves to throw away the brochure that was passed out. Anne's smile is huge on the front and it is just a fantastic example of love and community coming together to support one another.

So, I was scheduled to run with a friend, then they had an injury and couldn't run. I really debated up until 15 minutes before I left home if I was going to do the 5k because I didn't want to go by myself and didn't want to drive out to Wooster, etc, etc. I tried to make excuses. When it came down to it, I decided to go because I would kick myself for signing up for a race and not doing it. I did the race in 40 mins 10 sec. Of the couple I've done, I think it's my second best time. It was a really nice course and beautiful weather. The thing is, I believe I got more out of this race than any of the others thus far. I got to see this whole story unfold about Anne and her story. When I look back, this was probably the plan for me all along and why there was something in the back of mind that told me I HAD to go to this race. Yes, I cried on the way back home! I just can't say enough about the positive emotions around this event. Everyone was happy and excited and it was all in memory of a loved one and what she stood for.

For my own reflections, I try to continue to think of Anne's story daily. While the sadness of those four months had to be insurmountable, her legacy lives on in a positive and loving light. Her family and friends are moving forward, but not by forgetting about her but by honoring her. In my own life, I need to make sure I do the same. In tough times, I need to think about how my situation is nearly as important as other's have encountered and there is something to learn around every corner. God's got a plan and we have to know to follow it because there is something in store for us.

If you have a moment, please check out the Foundation's website and learn a little more about Anne as well. She is an inspiration...even if you never knew her.

Adult Talk

So a couple of my nieces are into a new thing now..."adult talk." The past couple times we have seen the cutest 5 year old nieces someone could ask for, they ask if we can do adult talk for a while. I was unsure where we were going with this the first time, but I have come to find out they are very observant as you always hear that kids are of course. Adult talk is a discussion, primarily them drilling us in a Q&A, about various things adults deal with like work, bills and other responsibilities.

What did you do at work today?
Did you pay your bills today?
What were your meetings about?
What do you have planned for tomorrow?
Did you see the news?

These questions are coming rapid fire, but in an ever-to-serious tone from 5 year olds! While they are hysterical at their seriousness and approach to these conversations, I'm not such a fan of "adult talk." It really is pretty boring! Their reactions show this too, because I think they're kind of bummed that the answers are things like:

My meetings were about the welfare of my drivers.
Yes, I paid the bills and we are out of money now.
The same thing I did today is planned for tomorrow.

Like I said, BORING!

I was in a seminar last week on leadership, and one of the speakers made sure to reiterate several times to ENJOY THE JOURNEY! Whether this is career or life, I've got to enjoy the journey. I need to make this my motto. Don't get me wrong, I don't NOT enjoy the journey. I just need to be conscious of the enjoyment more often. Not everything needs a deadline or have to happen just the way I have in my head. The Type A in me is screaming at those words, but it's true.

Enjoy the music, the laughter, the smiles and fun times you encounter everyday...don't let it be too long before you pause and repeat this many times over!

Memorial Day

Let me just start by saying THANK YOU to all those that have served and will serve our country. Since I do not have someone in my immediate family (though I do have them in extended family) that serves in some type of armed forces, I don't think about it everyday. There are so many sacrifices that those people make as well as their families....so thank you. Your service is much appreciated and means the world to us.

Often Memorial Day, and this weekend, is one that everyone does parades and picnics, boating and yard work. In our house, we usually have some kind of get together with the family. There have been a lot of events going on with the family, especially on Nate's side, so we decided to take a break from family this weekend and do our own thing. I love them dearly, but I was excited to not have a "schedule" I had to meet on my time off. It was helpful that the whole family decided to take a break and not just us!

Here was the plan today....1. go early and quickly fist thing to the flea market extravaganza for some awesome priced veggie plants 2. go to the Clinton parade 3. go bike riding with BFF's 4. Nate would go kayaking in his new kayak (that is a whole separate blog!) and chill out the rest of the night.

1. FLEA MARKETS ARE CRAZY ON MEMORIAL DAY! I knew this going into it, but thought I was doing good going super early. I sat in traffic for an hour, tried to park for 20 minutes and was in and out in less than 15 minutes getting my veggies. I was a woman on a mission....almost gave up and turned around, but figured I had waited that long, I better finish it out. I really like the idea of having a garden of fresh, organic veggies so I stuck it out and got my awesome deal regardless of how ticked I was at the timing.

2. Missed the parade! Due to the amount of people that wanted to go to the flea market today and forgot that Megan had a plan, I didn't get back in time for us to go to the parade.

3. We got to go bike riding on the towpath with our friends. It had been flooded, so the path was still a little muddy and had some rough patches, but it was fun to do. We got ice cream after at the local stand, which was yummy. We got to watch Mia (1 1/2 yrs old) have her second ice cream cone and she kept holding it like she was carrying a baby! Very fun!

4. Nate went on the maiden voyage of the kayak with his buddy. The "we'll be back in around an hour" trip ended almost three hours later. They had a blast. As much as I was not happy about that timing and it cutting into "my plan," I couldn't help but enjoy his excitement about it. It was like Christmas for him, he was so excited to go. ** Side note: now he is saying that he did a "14 k" because they kayak-ed 8.5 miles, but he coasted most of the way! **

Ultimately, we accomplished everything in the plan but the parade, plus we had a healthy dinner, planted the garden and spent time with friends. Sorry for the long blog, but here is TODAY'S LESSON: While things may not always go according to MY PLAN when I think they should, it works out. I need to slow down and remember this because I tend to get stressed out about it. Sometimes I think the things that drive me crazy are God's way of telling me to relax. We have fun memories, pictures and a nice sunburn to mark the day! Who cares what we do as long as we're together??!!

5k Phenomena

So I just completed my 2nd 5k EVER in my life. Keep in mind, my first was about 2 weeks ago. I have to say that I think I like this whole running a race thing. Right now I'm still in the very beginning stages of it where I'm running a little, walking a little, then running/walking a little more. In both races I finished around 39 minutes.

The funny thing is that these races bring all kinds of competitors. You have the serious racers. For example, today's 1st place finisher ended at 14 mins 27 sec! Wow! Kudos to them. You have the recreational racers that can pretty much run the whole time, but they're not necessarily looking for any awards. There are the newbies, like me, who haven't really decided if they're recreational or serious racers. Then you have the exercisers just doing the race to get some exercise, raise money for charities, etc. Most of them are primarily walking.

Regardless of the type of 5k racer, everyone is pumped and ready to do it! I think it helps push me a bit to continue running or walk shorter distances in between my runs. I have a mental thing going on where I need to keep up with him or beat her or make it to the next stop sign or keep running if someone is about to take a picture of the race!! It feels good, though.

After both races, I have been very proud of myself. 1. I finished! 2. I didn't come in last! 3. I finished in under 45 minutes! I'm looking to see which one is next. Who knows? Maybe this newbie will someday be considered a serious runner....we'll see!

The Beginning...

So this is it.  This is my first shot at "blogging."  I've read blogs and read about blogging - then I threw it all out of the window.  Ultimately, I am blogging because I want to, not necessarily because I am looking for a cult following.  Maybe blogging about my journey, challenges and successes will help me to be accountable for what I set out to do.  

When I originally thought about doing this, I thought it would be good to document my wellness journey.  I am working on transforming how I think about food, what I eat, how I exercise and more.  In all reality, though, I know that my mouth/thoughts will run away once I start, so I can guarantee this won't be limited to wellness alone.

Moving forward, I hope to journal the wellness journey, but also the life journey.  Whether we like it or not, it all takes a toll on our health.  It only makes sense to include.  I hope to include goals, activities, stories, lessons learned, links and other stuff.

If you're reading, I hope I can keep your interest.  If you're not reading, I'm talking to myself which is not all that unusual, so I'm okay with it!

More to come.....