May the Fourth be with You

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Happy May the 4th internet lovers of all things Star Wars!! Have you brushed up on your Star Wars knowledge or re-watched the movies recently? I have been watching A LOT of those wonderful YouTube videos of kids watching the infamous, "I am your father" moment. Sometimes they are hilarious, sometimes they are borderline sad, and sometimes they are just so cute! For me, there was no "oh my gosh" moment, a kid from school spoiled it for me long before it was socially unacceptable to spoil a movie. I still have harsh feelings towards that kid, maybe a therapist will help me get through it someday. 

But, back to the 4th, this article is a must read for every Star Wars lover, nay, breathing person out there. It takes a cold, hard look at what that simple line was saying, must we be doomed to follow in our parents footsteps? Have their same success and their same failures? Or, can we really, truly become our own person? 

This is such a great question and one that, honestly, plagues a great many people in the world today. And, Steve over at Nerd Fitness tackles it beautifully! 

Happy Monday and May the Fourth be with You!! 

Did She Get It?? And Lessons from My first runDisney Registration

Yesterday, as many of you know, the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon registration opened. I had about nine friends, including myself, trying to get registered when 12 pm EST struck. Three of us got in right away- the two that had refreshed their pages at 11:59 and clicked the registration button early. The rest, well the page froze, nothing would load, and when it finally did, there was a 15-22 minute line before registration. Sadly, those with the long wait times got all the way to payment, but the payment would not process.

So, which group was I in? Well, let's just say that I will be running my first half marathon in November and it will be the WINE AND DINE HALF!!!!! Ahhhhh, I am so excited to make this happen, and strange as it may be, the three people who got registered were the three original who planned on running. We will be two teacups and a sleepy mouse running across that finish line in the wee hours of the morning on November 8th.

To make it even better, a few of those who were not able to register will be coming to cheer us on and celebrate at the after party with us. We will have sign making parties filled with glitter and encouragement and two great photographers along the race route taking plenty of pictures. As sad as I am that some of my dearest friends and family will not be running with me, I am also so happy to be running with the two amazing people/friends/family that will be at my side.

This has also spurred on my running bug since, obviously, we will try to register together again for the Princess Half! Then, my cousin in California and I have plans of running a runDisney race together out there and getting me my Coast to Coast medal in 2016!! What incredible goals these are, and they are things I would have never imagined doing two years ago!

So, what wisdom can I share from that registration process?? First off, it sells out FAST. However fast you are thinking, cut that in half.

Be Ready- Early

The entire half and 5k were completely sold out within 40-minutes. That is crazy! If you want to get in, be prepared and clicking ahead of time. My friend got on right before me and had no wait time, I got on at 11:59 and had a 2-minute wait with 100 people ahead of me. Those that got on at 12:05 had a 22-minute wait and some never even got to the registration page before it sold out.

For runDisney races, the early bird definitely gets that worm.

Be Actively Prepared

Second nugget of wisdom, have an active account already. Everything is filled out for you and you can speed through the process, thus ensuring you get a spot. Also, have your account information handy. I swear by 1Password for all my passwords and it saved me again for this.

Prepare to Feel Rushed- You Are!

And third, get ready to feel rushed. My super calm cousin who I have never seen stressed EVER (not even at her twin brother's wedding that she planned while being 6-months pregnant) told me how stressful that experience was. That thing sells out fast and you should be prepared to input all your information at lightning speed. I have not found that written anywhere and think it is important to know. Move fast to make sure you get in.

I am so excited to be running this and could not stop dancing/running around my house like a crazy person/clapping uncontrollably after realizing I had made it and so had some of my friends. If you are a Disney fan, you should definitely plan on doing a Disney race at some point. I have heard so many things about these and cannot wait to experience it for myself!! 

Side note- if you are super tired of all this runDisney stuff, tomorrow will be totally runDisney free. Actually, it will be pretty fitness free but something I think all of you will enjoy!

Pay it Forward Challenge

I love our weekly challenges, but this week's takes the cake! Instead of doing something health and fitness related that is difficult, pushes us, and makes us healthier; let's do something that makes our world a little better! This challenge is all about helping someone else with no interests of help back, or even, a thank you.

This week, the challenge is a random act of kindness. It can be anything from a nice note at the gym, to paying for the guy's latte behind you in the drive through, to anything else you want!

When we are able to give of ourselves, we tend to feel better, have a more positive outlook, and take our attentions off whatever problems we may have. If you have ever had some random person pay your way for something, or, paid some random person's tab, you know just how good this can feel on both ends!

So, how will you be paying it forward?

Motivation for Your Monday

Happy Monday! Today is a bit chilly and quite wet in Florida and it is this weather that I absolutely love. We do not get many days where all you want to do is cuttle up on a patio with a good book and a warm mug of coffee, but this is one of them. Hopefully, that will be a bit of my future today! I also need to get to wrapping and order the last few gifts for under our tree and, of course, actual work as well ;) How is your Christmas going so far?

Today, I decided to do something a bit different but oh-so important for the MFYM- talk about gratitude. This was yesterday's task in Elf 4 Health and it was wonderful. Seeing all the things that everyone was thankful for and making a list of my own had an amazing way of relieving so much stress. This and making a list of the next day's to-do's might become a nightly activity for me.

Today's motivation may take a bit longer than the usual reading of a quote, but I highly suggest you do it. It really does have an incredible ability to calm our mind and put the focus on what we have instead of what we need to do, the time we have wasted, the errands and meetings that must be checked off the list, those bills, and everything else that can so easily come in and change our perspective of the day. Here are the twenty things I am grateful for:

1. My husband- he is everything I need.
2. Our cats- they make me so happy and remind me about the important things in life. Chuu is on my lap cuddling and purring right now. Is there anything better? I think not ;)
3. My parents- they are kindness and support.
4. My in-laws- I am so thankful to have in-laws that I look up to and sincerely love.
5. My family- I am so thankful for a close, loving family.
6. God
7. Our friends- They are incredible.
8. My home- it is peaceful and perfect for us right now. It makes me happy.
9. Forgiveness
10. Love
11. Grace
12. People who help others- Especially those who help ones with no way of giving back.
13. Kindness
14. Our business- I know of no other business that encourages the good in people, positive change and growth, and rewards you for helping others. I am reminded of this every day. Here's to people following what they love instead of a cubicle.
15. Freedom- My goodness, how could I not be so thankful to live in a place and time where we are free.
16. The health of my family
17. The ability to grow and change
18. The ability to travel
19. The internet- it is magic that makes no sense but boy, do I love it!
20. Having enough food and water daily, without worry.

What are your twenty things?