And Now May is a Wrap – Recap and Goal Check In

I think I blinked. How in the world are we to the end of May?? Anywho, for as fast as it was, I made it through and even got to check some things off of personal to do list as well as learn some things about myself.

I will start with the simple things – my list. (if you need a reminder of what is on the list I wrote my January post about what I was doing in 2021, or at least my TO DO list for the year)

Blog post for every month – check! you are reading Mays!

Book – check! I picked another one of the Reese Witherspoon book club choices, and although not one I would have picked with her seal of approval, I liked it. The Last Thing He Told Me… in a nutshell, it was about what a person would do to take care of the people they love, and what they are willing to give up to keep loved ones safe. Of course there was a bit of mystery, a bit of FBI stuff, and a successful artist in it, but the main idea is giving up what you love because the person you love asked you to. *as I was reading it I struggled with the main characters decision, but when you love someone and they ask you to let go, I guess you have to? Not a spoiler I promise.

New dish – omgoodness…. so before I tell you what we made, please know I am big fan of French Onion soup and as I have my favorite restaurant styles, I have really become a fan of the stuff we make at home. That being said, we found a recipe for French Onion Soup Pasta! It was so good that after we made it the first time, we had to invite family over to show them the glory of this dish…. craziness. (recipe found on myrecipes.com and just FYI, use Romano instead of parm!! trust me you will love it!)

So those are the check marks for the month, according to the list. That doesn’t mean I sat on my backside the rest of the month!

Angel and I got our hands dirty by doing another Wine and Vine. There is something about arranging plants in a big oversized pot and mixing colors and types of flowers that is just relaxing. I am happy to announce that we did this the 15th of the month and my flowers are still alive and perky! (I picked a lot of red because they draw in my hummingbabies and I want to make them as happy as I am!)

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  Audrey smelling the flowers I put together at Wine and Vine

Then there is work… I hate calling it that as I am finally living my dream of helping people through the home buying process and enjoying the showing so many different types of homes of all ages and the different styles of decor, it really is my passion… anywho in the month of May I believe I showed something like 50 homes?? It might sound like a crazy amount of windshield time (and it is) but seeing the face of a client when they find out their offer has been accepted – ESPECIALLY IN THIS MARKET – is a thing of beauty.

The grandbaby… what can I say about her except spending time with her just fills me up.She is so smart and definitely finding her own personality! Her love of music is definitely something her MiMi gave her, but don’t tell her Momma I said that, because she thinks it came from her! She is just so much love, stubbornness, adventure, and beauty in one very tiny human! I can’t believe that little monkey of mine is going to be a big sister here in just a few short weeks! I spent a little extra time with her in May and I loved every second of it.

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So what did I learn about myself in May? Actually it was probably more things that were reiterated rather than learned… I remembered how fierce I could be when there is something I want. How even when I am scared to death, I will put on my big girl pants and do whatever I need to do to succeed. I learned that when you are your own boss you can’t put the blame on someone else because you are that someone else. I remembered that I love with all of my heart, sometimes even when that love is not returned, but I refuse to let it be my downfall. Anywho, point is, with the world opening back up, I am being forced to look in the mirror and figure out what I want and how I plan to get it. I am not allowed to use the excuse that we are all quarantined and that is why I am not out there. As I would say before any race or big task “Its go time, Cupcake” and I am doing it.

So to end this months check in I will tell you what you have to look forward to:

1. I started a 90 day challenge: #autumnbod its a 10/10/10 x 3 deal – 10 sit ups, 10 push ups, and 10 squats morning, noon, and night – and every few days the numbers go up. I started that 5/28 and yes, I have missed a couple of work outs, but I was busy dead lifting a toddler to save her from disaster or sudden death, so that counts.
2. As I am doing more with my career, I am reading a Dave Ramsey book for June. I am NOT a fan of nonfiction, so this is a challenge all by itself.
3. There are already some new hiking places on the list for the next few weeks so I might have that part of my to do list checked off by the end of the month! **hoping that will also roll into a couple of 5ks!
4. Lastly, have been looking for some weekend places to get away and check off new places, so I will keep you posted on that as well.

As I always have to come full circle with my posts, here is the little #becomingabetterme plug – I will be 45 in 17 short days and since March of last year I have not really felt like myself. I know I am not the only one, and actually having covid for 90% of April didn’t really help, but seeing that I am checking things off my list, and even adding to it shows me that I have accepted rather than feared change or challenge. That I have not shied away for fear of failure, but rather tucked head and plowed my shoulder through whatever obstacle was in my path – or at least I am trying. For me and who I was just 5 years ago, that is a huge accomplishment. Thank you for taking this journey of #becomingabetterme with me.

How Do I Fix Me Better?

I have been on this journey for about 5 years now and I am still trying to answer that question. That along with a laundry list of others: What makes me happy? What makes me shine? What am I good at? What am I not good at?? Am I enough? Am I too much? Who am I?? I have really had some time to think about all of these questions lately and I am not sure I like some of my own answers, and if I want to take the next step in fixing me,  I have to face these demons and move forward.

When I started, my goal was to become a better me. Well, when I look at that in a broad sense, I guess saying please and thank you more or opening doors for strangers or even buying a coffee for the person in line behind me makes me “better”, right? Or in a more physical sense, losing 40 lbs would make me “better” – but that didn’t and still doesn’t feel like enough (especially when you consider I have gained back about 18 of that 40). Then I tried to work on the inside, which led to being employee of the quarter. That felt nice and I would consider that #becomingabetterme as well, wouldn’t you?  All of those changes left me feeling like I was still not advancing like I wanted.

Since the start of changing is realizing what NEEDS changed, it might be best to begin with the 4th question. What am I not good at? (what are my weaknesses)

The first weakness I am facing here now, and have been for as long as I can remember, is how I handle stress and chaos in my life. My first reaction is ALWAYS “what did I do wrong?” which I guess is better than looking outward for a person/situation to push the blame off on. The next thing I do is internalize and over think EVERY moment that led up to the situation and try to figure out what I could have done differently to avoid said issue… and then when I cant find one, I get more mad that it isn’t there, making myself feel even more like a failure. Take, for example, the major plumbing issues at the end of the year – into the first of this year… when it happened I went over and over in my head what I done wrong to cause these problem. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but it is the truth. I did… and that is just one example. I do this with everything, relationships, work situations, and family issues…

The next thing I do is grab on tight to what I can, as to avoid change.  I see this in my children at times and I so sorry I passed that trait on. When things are not going so well I hold on tight to the things I do have complete control over. My house (now that is back up and running)… is the simplest example. I can control where things are, so I reorganize, clear and clean everything, because I have control over that. By the way, it has never been so clean. (sorry, but I had to throw that in there, because it is true)  When I feel my world spinning out of control I all but bubble wrap what I can and hold it tight so it doesn’t spiral also.

I also have a habit of not letting go. I hold on, even to my own determent. I have seen, in the last few years, people around me who did not care about my well-being but rather what they have wanted from me and how much they could get. Sadly, I allowed this. I have always been scared to walk away from friends or family for fear of hurting them, regardless of what they are doing to me. I always feel like if I walk away, they may need me and I wont be there. I know that sounds silly, but its how I feel. I guess it goes the other way too… maybe one day I will need them again??

So, now that I have opened up, and said out loud what some of those areas are, I can get to the other questions.

What makes me happy: being able to work my dream job (and do it well), continue to guide my kids, my grandbaby, and having a healthy home.

What makes me shine: knowing that I have friends that I can count on, being able to help those I care about, making friendships that last, and having wonderful members of my family who want to be around me, not what I can give them.

What am I good at: making people smile, being a good listener, being a good parent, being a good friend.

Am I enough: yep

Am I too much: yep

Who am I: I am me. Unapologetically, complete, unabridged, and openly ME.

So although I am putting this in blog form, it is more of a group of statements to myself (that hopefully I will listen to moving forward), IT IS NOT ALWAYS MY FAULT! I DONT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE IN CONTROL! THINGS WILL NOT ALWAYS WORK OUT HOW I WANT!

I promised in the beginning I would be honest (I think I said I would show the good, the bad, and the ugly of this journey to be specific) and show all sides of what I go through as I try to be the best version of me both inward and outwardly and here it is.  I am a mess and I know it… but I am trying. I am always working on me.

So I guess the simple answer to my crazy big question is – I cannot change the world around me, I cannot fix what others decide is not broken.  What I can do to fix me is,  I can keep #movingforward, I can #keeptrying, and I can continue #becomingabetterme and now that I have faced these weaknesses, I think I can do it.

 

Change is Scary, but I Want to Live My Dream

As I mentioned in my end of year recap I had taken the classes and passed the state exams, but that was just on the 23rd of December. Things didnt really get interesting for me until the very last day of the year.

On December 31st at noon I discovered that I was officially welcomed into the fold, as my application for licensed real estate broker was accepted by the state. $700 to take the classes, $150 to take the test(s…. I took it 3 times), but the $60 I paid to apply and become licensed in the great state of Indiana was the key… I was there. Or so I thought.

So a little back story before I get into everything… yes, I know this is how I talk and this is how I write, so bear with me, please.

**I am a person who needs structure – or at least I have had it for my whole working career until now. Although I was not scared to tell upper management what was or was not working, I still “knew” that the only way in life was to work 9 to 5 and bring home a paycheck every other week. I cringe as I typed that because part of me still struggles with that. I have heard a million times “we have always done it, and we arent changing it now” and have even been accused of having that mindset (which in all actuality I am more of a figure out what works BEST and go with that… if it doesnt work, then try something else. Work smarter not harder) but that is not the case, I just thrive within boundaries and rules. At work at 9, check reports, send out letters, lunch at noon-ish, complete needed inspections, return voicemails,  leave at 6… with the more than occasional late hours through the week and then from home work on the weekends, it was just part of the job for me. I knew it and I knew it well. Having no schedule or a flexible schedule was unheard of for me! I stayed within the rules and was a firm believer in the policy and procedure manuals.   See photo evidence here:

 

Anywho, point is, I have lived in the worker bee cage and I was ok with it. Very ok with it even.

Back to the new thing…

Once the license is approved by the state, I wanted to become a member of the Board of Realtors – a REALTOR, by the way, is a real estate broker with a higher level of ethics and values. I realize that most agents are part of MIBOR (the board), but not a requirement exactly… however if you are serious about this as a career it becomes your primary connection to all things real estate. Tech support, seminars, etc. These things are not mandatory, with the exception of MIBOR Orientation. This was my all day class/training where I read the Realtor Oath and sworn in, pinned, and bonafide. I am not just a real estate broker, but a true, honest to goodness, REALTOR.  Yay!

Now, here I am less than two months past getting my license and becoming a Realtor and trying every day to learn more, to attend all of the trainings I can get, and still work on #becomingabetterme.

At 43 years old I have started over. This is new and I am equally scared to death and excited for this new adventure. I wake up each day now trying to figure out my next step. What do I need to do to make my career better? How do I find and help those who are looking to find their starter or in between or forever home? What is my next step? How do I get there? What is my next step? What is the best way to get myself out there????

WHAT IS MY NEXT STEP????

That is the truth, I don’t know the answers…  but everyday I am embracing this change, wanting to succeed, and knowing that when I take off, I will continue to give all that I have to make myself the best REALTOR I can be. As always this is just one step forward in this #becomingabetterme plan.

 

 

End of the Year Recap (actually done early this year)

I am not going to pretend that 2019 was a dumpster fire, but it was maybe a small trashcan fire?

The End.

Kidding.

I am not scared of hard work or long hours but I do want my time to be MY TIME and as I look back over the year, I cannot really remember when I could say that I had that… but rather than focusing on the negative, I am going to point out the positives of the year that have helped me rise from the ashes and become the phoenix I know I will be in 2020.

To start: Book Club. Yup. I started a book club. Consisting of 8 gals with different histories, different points of view, and of various generations we all spoke our minds and rejoiced in the ability to share with no judgement. In the #becomingabetterme campaign I was not sure that fiction could help, but it really did. Opened my eyes to books I never on my own would have picked, and forced me to step outside of my comfort zone with said books.

Next: Found out I was going to be a MiMi. Lets not pretend (again) that at first this was not terrifying news. My daughter becoming a mother at 20 and me a grandmother at 43… *shivers* (will come back to this)

Then: Checking one of the biggest bucket list items off my list. NYC! Could not have had more fun (or walked more!) I did have to uninstall my work email on my phone because I was NOT going to let work continue to hold me down while I was taking a much needed break.  Side note: the whole point of PTO is mentally take a break, to regroup, and spend time with friends and loved one – NOT continue to answer emails when you are 900 miles away! Anywho, trip was sooo needed and soo fun. Even having our flight canceled and having to stay an extra night with no clean clothes (or suitcase) was an interesting part of the adventure!

Continuing into the year: Things at work got rather rocky, and that was when I knew it was time to move on. When a company you work with lets one of its most loyal and conviction driven employees go, you know that it not the place for you, so I put in my notice and did the most scary thing I have ever done…. I signed up for real estate brokers classes to pursue my dream. A three week – 90 hour course, that you had to pass to be eligible to take the state exam. ***here is where we jump back to the whole MiMi thing… I had to pass 3 tests in the class to get my certificate of eligibility. The three tests were 100 questions each and collectively I had to get a 75% to pass. The first test I got an 87 out of 100, the second I got an 83 out of 100 – which meant I had to get 55 questions right to pass the class. Sounds easy right? With the scores of the last two, I was pretty confident I would be fine. EXCEPT the night before the final test my daughter goes into labor. I got to the hospital about 9:45 and it was clear it was going to be a wee hours of the morning birth. I emailed my instructor to tell him the status  – which I did not receive an reply since it was the middle of the night.

INSERT ADDITIONAL ISSUE ON THE SAME NIGHT…(I know I was not going to bring up the bad, but I felt this was important information since it had to do with the obstacles in front of me during all of this) plumbing back up in the house had us calling professionals in to extract the water and clear our lines all while Kat is in labor. Fun night.

So, I officially became a grandmother at 5:27am on November 25th to the most beautiful little girl in the whole world.

Back to class – I didn’t get home from the hospital until 8am so there was no way I was going to be taking any test. As we expected the plumbers/restoration team to come back at 10AM, I needed a power nap, so that is what happened. I did finally receive an email from my instructor with the information I needed to take the final test the next day. Done and Done! I took it and again, flying colors! 88 questions out of the 100. I was them eligible to take the state exam!

Fast forward to December 23rd: I am sitting here at the dining room table, coffee cup almost empty, and two pieces of paper that say I passed the national section AND the state section of the state exam for my Indiana Real Estate Brokers license.

Now, as I sit here not unemployed, but rather, in business for myself I am scared a little. I am not scared of hard work, and I am not above putting in the hours required to make a solid living, but part of this career change is more about taking my own life back. I do not want to work for someone who is not going to appreciate the time I put in, or the knowledge I  have to offer, or even more than that ME AS A PERSON…  and since I do value myself, this path is just one more way to #becomingabetterme.

I am well aware that there should really be more wins in the course of 365 days, but 2019 kind of fell short, so here is my promise for the upcoming year.

1. More gym – healthier me
2.  5ks – its go time again, Cupcake
3.  travel… travel… travel (even if they are just simple trips a few days at a time!)
4.  pottery class – I meant it, I want to make my own huge coffee mug
5.  spend time with my kids and grandbaby and friends
6.  #becomingabetterme continues

Simple really, I had a fire of a year, and now its time to fly! Cheers to the upcoming year. It will be the best year ever!

 

 

Never Really Been a Fan of Change, But Here I Go Again

For those of you who truly know me, you know that I have a soft spot in my heart (or the gene in my DNA) for property management. From my first day as a leasing agent 12 years ago, I fell in love with it. Now to be fair, I did come home crying the first two weeks worried that I wouldn’t make it or that I would suck at it, but I genuinely loved the job. Then as I progressed through the ranks, I found myself loving it more. Tears and concerns with every step, but still, the love was definitely there. With the ranks, naturally, came more responsibilities. I recognize that and understand it completely… however, over the last 5 years going even higher on the ladder has led to more hours as well. I can pretty easily say that I have said, at least once a month, “it will slow down soon and I will be able to breath.” By year 4, I really stopped believing it no matter how loud I said it.

I have spent far too much time working for someone else. I have lined the pockets of my employers (willingly!), but felt no matter how hard I was working, I really was still not where I wanted to be. I have said all along that #becomingabetterme had to do with my entire being. Not just my weight, or my health, but everything that makes up the person I am, so its time to take the next step.

First let me tell you a funny story…

For as long as my husband and I have been together, when we would be going anywhere, if I would see a house that I found interesting I would say “oohh, I wanna see inside that one!” and he would just nod, or laugh, or tell me to go knock on the door  *followed by a dumb laugh that said he was proud of that bad joke*. Then one day after I said that same thing about 15 times he gave me the same laugh and said, “you missed your calling.” I didn’t quite know what he meant and then he went on, “you love to look at houses, you love to talk to people, and you love to do paperwork. Why aren’t you a realtor?” Little did he know, that that was really my dream job. We laughed, when I told him that it was something I always wanted to do, but the classes were to expensive and the idea of not having a steady income during the learning process kept my feet on the ground.

UNTIL NOW…

Last week I was complaining about the hours I had worked, and that on my last two vacation days I got emails and calls and texts when I was supposed to be unwinding… so my husband finally said, “it’s go time, Cupcake.” (well that is my version of what he said, his statement was longer and a little more eloquent, but the point was the same.) So I called up a friend who is a realtor, asked him a ton of questions over coffee. Messaged my cousin who has been a realtor for 20+ years, talked to her awhile and then promptly signed up for classes next month.

Although there is a feeling of relief that I wont have to work 60 hours a week for someone else, there is also the fear of change, of failure, of a new beginning… but I am going to do it.

This journey has never been easy, and I promised to always tell the good, bad, and ugly… but this time it’s the scary I am facing. #Becomingabetterme has been a long process and will never end, but this time, I am ready for the change. Scared to death, but ready to face this new challenge and take the next level of investment in me. As I always say I am #movingforward #slowlybutsurely.

 

Not Quite Four Percent

Well, I promised to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly of this journey – so there is some ugly, some bad, and some good in this particular tale. So, again, I follow through with my promise. You are welcome.

In the last post, I was down five lbs, right? Well, wouldn’t you know that three days before weigh in I got on the scales and of course, I gained 1.2lbs back. I know that in the grand scheme of things, that is small potatoes (like legit, it could have been, I made potatoes to go with the chicken for dinner), but when there is $20 on the line, it becomes a freakin Idaho sized potato!

Not that I wasn’t going to the gym as much as possible, but when your work schedule consists of night meetings and there is NO WAY IN HELL you are going to the gym before work (more specifically before coffee!), you have to make the tough decisions – and the decision was made to skip the gym when I wasn’t home before 9:30.

Anywho, back to the gym, staying strong on the diet, more water throughout the day – you know, all of the things you do to get the metabolism moving faster.

So weigh in day… wear thin clothes, take off shoes and jewelry, go pee before hand (we all know we do this!) and of course I was back to a flat 5lbs lost. dang it! So close, yet sooo far!

I know it wasn’t the goal I set, I know there were other people who made it, but you know what else I know – I know I tried. I know I got back on the wagon. Most of all, I remembered how much I missed being at the gym and how good it feels to know there is a change happening. I don’t have to lose 7.6lbs in a month to be successful – I just have to know I am doing the right things and treating myself right in the process.

So… 

Good – I lost 5 lbs and spent time in the gym again

Bad – I didn’t meet the goal set out for me.

Ugly – I lost freakin $20 in the processes… guess that is the price of a lesson learned?

Either way, this journey of #becomingabetterme is no where near over, and I consider this a #nonscalevictory – learning took place, and isn’t that what life is all about?

 

When I Grow Up…

You can always tell how I feel in the AM based on my level of make up, whether my hair is done just right, or even the shoes that I wear. Today was one of those days… very little make up, jeans and tennies, and my hair was (at best) brushed. Just was not into Tuesday – and no amount of coffee was going to change that.
Then it happened. My lunch with Jenn.
We opted for the Garden Table since they have vegan meals there. I was super happy about that because the atmosphere there is always open and easy.
As we started talking about the current events in our lives, our conversation took a serious turn. I would almost call it the “What I want to be when I grow up” conversation. We discussed the whys and what fors of our lives and where and how we wanted to get there…. She shared with me the arguments she has with herself and I told her about mine. With ZERO sarcasm, I can say it really was a wonderful time.

Now that I am back at work (shhh… don’t tell that I typing this and not working, but I HAD to get this pen to paper so to speak), I have had a chance to breath it all in.
This journey of #becomingabetterme has basically been my WHY. When I started the healthy living, exercise, and self-discovery path, I knew I wanted to share with others the good, the bad, and the ugly of what it takes to be a better Heather, but I wanted to show the world that if I could do it, anyone could. How is that a WHY, you might ask – well to me its simple… I want to be a positive light in someone else’s life. I want to show the world that it is possible to achieve your goals – even if it takes a life time, and I want to show the world that this ol’ dog learned some tricks, and will continue to do so!
It is not every day that you get to have a heart to heart with a dear friend, and even more that you don’t get to have a conversation that makes you think seriously about who you are to the core.

I know that I am not perfect, I know that I never will be – but I am happy with myself. I still have a ways go, but I am #becomingabetterme and I am learning a little more each day about the Heather I want to be.
Thank you Jenn for reminding me to look at the reasons in life, and I look forward to seeing your perspective, as we continue on this journey of life and #becomingabetterme(s).

End of 2017 – So, I am a Procrastinator

If I had to rank 2017 on my “Top years of my life” I would say it was not in the Top 10… Not the Top 20 even. 2017 was really a rough year for me. Especially on the heels of 2016, which happened to be freaking amazing. Do not get me wrong, there were good times, I am not saying it was all bad, but it was very challenging and there were several changes.

You already know about the cruise (highlight), Kokomo experience (low), job change (highlight and scary experience), but you dont know about is the way the year ended… including how I ended the Log Blog – Making the Miles Count. The last post was in September, so Oct – Dec are a mystery to you…. did I make it to my 500 Miles in 2017?! Short answer: YES I DID!

October was a very “walkie” month for me as I spent a lot of time with vendors walking my properties and getting quotes, so I got in roughly 65 miles that month. Then November we decided we were going to start looking for a bigger house so we started heavy duty packing, purging, and cleaning – racked up 80 miles that month. (I believe most of those steps were to and from the trash can as I purged WAY more than my hubs expected!) Then December – another crazy month! With the Christmas season we had a tree to fill so there was a lot of mall walking, and still more cleaning, and then once our house was on the market – we had to find something to do during showings, so those hours we window shopped a lot.  Grand total of miles for Dec was 68 miles.

So for my Log Blog – I succeed. I am proud of that.

What I am not proud of is how in all of the chaos and I let ME get away from me. The person who goes to the gym to release the stress, the person who take a challenge head on (even if I talk about how I dont want to do it and am scared, I still move forward), and the me who learned what it felt like to healthy and happy at the same time and not allow myself to eat my feelings… that girl got lost in 2017.

I guess as I sit here and reflect on what all happened at the end of 2017, I have to give myself a bit of a truth biscuit to chew on… maybe a glass of water so I dont choke on the crumbs, because although I did fall back a few steps (and gained back a few more lbs than I wanted to), I did make it HERE. To the new house, still at (and loving) the new job, with new adventures in front of me. Not only that, but I am back at the gym at least 2 times a week. I am seriously thinking about finding a new Mr T… or maybe this time I will go with a Mrs T? A trainer with a different perspective on exercise, someone to learn more from – or even to build on what my 1st Mr T taught me.  Who knows, I am unpredictable after all 🙂

I guess to sum up my 2017 – not my finest year… but hey, just like on the spartan course, there are hills and there are valleys… I consider 2017 a hill… a muddy, slopped, rocky, and never ending hill… I just need to look at 2018 as the slide down the other side and continue on this journey of #becomingabetterme and make this year what I want of it!

 

Hello April – Log Blog

As I have posted already, April has been a trying month for me. A really trying month, but for every rain cloud there is a silver lining, right? That lining was how many miles I actually get to tell you about.

I am going to log this one kind of the same way I did the last one. There aren’t any treadmill or bike miles, and I never stopped to count the difference in my stair climbing, so they are all “Life” miles.

Here goes:

Sat 4/1 – 3.49 TOTAL: 3.49

4/2 1.78, 4/3 2.01, 4/4 2.13, 4/5 3.12, 4/6 1.92 4/7 2.77 Sat 4/8 1.38 TOTAL 15.11

4/9 1.93, 4/10 2.34, 4/11 2.27, 4/12 2.53, 4/13 1.49, 4/14 2.78, Sat 4/15 1.09 TOTAL 14.43

4/16 1.63, 4/17 3.03, 4/18 3.17, 4/19 3.14, 4/20 3.29, 4/21 3.68, Sat 4/22 2.71 TOTAL 20.66

4/23 .95, 4/24 3.82, 4/25 3.84, 4/26 3.07, 4/27 3.41, 4/28 3.17, Sat 4/29 2.19 TOTAL 20.45

4/30 2.34 TOTAL 2.34

And the drum roll please ….  *insert drum roll sound* … a grand total of 76.48 miles for the month of April!! HOLY COW!!!! I knew I had put in the steps and saw the numbers getting bigger, but it was not until I really started doing the math that I started to become more wide eyed about it!

Thinking that once I get this schedule figured out, and am working in Indy again, that I should up my planned miles from 50 to like 65! Even if I don’t, I will still be able to say that I have walked over 500 miles in 2017… I got this!

When Life Gives You Lemons… or However That Goes

I do not know exactly how this is going to turn out because honestly, I have so many things swimming in my head that I do not know where to begin.

After stepping off of the boat from the cruise I found out that everything at work had gone HAYWIRE. I am not going to go into any details, but trust me, it was not good.

When you are the Director of Property Operations, and a property isn’t operating, its up to you to deal with it… whether I liked it or not, it was the only option, I was going to be going to Kokomo (an hour and a half away from my house) to handle the problem.

I wont bore you with compliance details or info on what Low Income Housing Tax Credit is, but since that is the core of my job, I had to take care of it because losing money at a nonprofit is not an option.

Going into the property knowing I had less than 20 days to get an specific number of residents was a heavy load to carry. I knew that I would be able to get the applications –  it was just the processing and the moving in that I was concerned about. Sure 20 days seems like a long time, but when you only have nine days to sign the leases, the 20 is cut down rather quickly. Truly, sincerely, legitimately scared I was not going to be able to make it happen. I do not think I have ever been so stressed in my life and being away from home, in a strange town just added to it.

Since my blog always has something about gym therapy or working out the stress with exercise, I feel like I should add that in as well. Working from 8am until 10pm some days left little time to sweat out my emotions, until I realized how many stairs there were in the building. At the end of a rough day (again sometimes at 10pm) I would put on my tennies and just walk the stairs. Over the course of 13 business days I was at the property I would get in over 3 miles a day. I wish my Garmin counted the actual flights of stairs, rather than just plan steps taken, because I know I went up and down those things at least 50 times! It was not enough to work out the stress, but it did take the edge off.

Going back to the problem I was facing: how was I going to accomplish this goal???? What the EPH was I going to do?!?!

The answer turned out to be – JUST DO IT! More than that, do IT – and then some.

Now, instead of being behind and worrying about whether we could make it all happen, I am ahead of the game. Still have a long way to go, still have to be away from my family, but trying to do right by the people we serve, make a difference in the community, and support my organization.

Is it hard, hell yes its hard! Have I cried, hell yes I have! Will I break down again? I am sure of it… but I am not a quitter and failure is not an option.