New Year, new me.

Welcome to 2015!!!  With a new year comes a new start, some changes and a new outlook.  During all of the craziness and adjustments we weathered in 2014 I learned a lot about myself.  The biggest thing that I learned has been that life is too short to settle for a life that doesn't make you happy.  So as I sit here enjoying our last "Pumking" from the beer stash it's time to talk about what 2015 means for me.

We've had ups and downs in the past year, just like any other year, and really it's all about perspective.  We've had good news and bad news.  Bad news lately has been a close family friend suddenly passed away and my Omi may have a rare form of ALS not leaving us with much QT left.  Good news is an upcoming trip to CalifonIA to visit my sister, good friends and do some great exploring!  So with all this craziness that we call life, I have to think what the hell am I doing?

So with that I am happy to announce some big changes in 2015..... (drumroll puhleaseee!!)

Our lovely beach....doesn't get old!

First and foremost I have finally committed to yoga teacher training!!! (I know this is old news since I already announced on Facebook and Twitter, but still.....yay!!!).  This is something I have been wanting to do, but just could never get the time to do, then with how well the move went (cough not cough)...ya know.  Time to make time!  Y'all know I love yoga and I really want to be able to share my yoga practice with others.  I already love teaching related to physical therapy, so I think being a yoga teacher will be a great fit!  Plus this will open new doors for me in my career down the road and allow me to do more of what I love!

Along with my quest to become a yoga teacher I am making some interesting, nerve-racking, but amazing career changes!!  In Charlotte my career is something I had figured out and I loved the direction it was going and everything I was doing (outpatient PT, private treatment, etc), and then we moved...... Hey you gotta do what you gotta do!
I have met some awesome people at my current job, but overall it was not a good fit!  I have realized this is the time for me to explore some other areas of physical therapy and finally delve into some better flexibility!!!  Helloo flexibility!  I will be working a combo of a couple different jobs, allowing me better flexibility and improved QT with my hubby and the pups!  Overall a better quality of life in general (more time to PracticallyFit blog)!  I'm nervous, but excited and I think once I'm in a rhythm it will be a great fit!  Time to do what I want to do, and hopefully still pay the bills....haha

So although change can be stressful, ultimately it will be a good thing and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store!!! How are you changing and adapting in 2015???  Cheers to the New Year!

Our New Year's party!  Cheesey!

Harry is not impressed with NYE!

Olive & her b/f Cooper! See we are all making new friends!

Talk, talk & more talk

Happy Holidays, readers!!! We had a lovely, busy holiday with family and friends galore, but now we are happy to have had a weekend to relax and spend time just the 4 of us (those goofy pups ;)  ).  It's been a relaxing weekend just in time for us to throw a NYE party and then hopefully to be followed by another relaxing weekend after.
Oh the holidays, another Christmas come & gone.  The holidays can be stressful and crazy, but hopefully at the end they are fun and a great time to catch up with people we don't see very often.  I spent a lot of this season working, while family was at my house.  That can make for a crazy holiday fo sho.  Lots of wine and good beer drinking to combat any stress....& the occasional run here and there too.
I spent a lot of this holiday observing...mainly observing how people talk.  How they talk about themselves, others, situations etc.  My main observation...why all the negativity?!?! When did we all start being so damn pessimistic about everyone and everything?  I think it's easy to join in with the Debbie-downer crowd and then it's easier not to notice, but having tried to remove myself from the gossip-ring it's amazing how every conversation has a negative-air about it.  Now this is not to generalize, certainly everyone I talked to over the holidays did not have a negative-tone, but I will say the majority of people did have at least one downer comment.  And the winner for most negativity directed at is.......themselves!!

Adriana Lima, obvi

That would be correct.  The most horribly depressing comments were always someone referring to themselves.  "I feel huge." "I wish I could be as organized as you." "I just can't ever seem to get it together."  When did we all start talking about ourselves like we don't matter?  I heard a lot of self-destructive talk especially surrounding the Victoria's Secret fashion show.  What's the point of even talking bad about yourself with something like that?  I'm not a Victoria's Secret model, nor will I ever be, so what's the point in comparing myself to a 5'11" thin, beautiful chick with big boobs.  Come on! My 5'4" frame is just as it should be, therefore me & Adriana Lima are not comparing apples to apples.

I'm no Adriana Lima, but I'll take it!

Negativity is contagious, we hear one person saying something and bam next thing you know everyone is agreeing.  The other thing about negative comments is the more we say them, the sooner they become a reality.  If you say you are fat enough times, soon you are going to believe it.  That's just a fact, honey.

Talking about oneself in a negative tone spills into talking about others in a negative-light.  It's also true that if you tear someone down enough your faults don't seem as noticeable.

My moral of the story today is...if you don't have anything nice to say....spin it into something positive about yourself.  I'll bet you'll feel better than if you highlight all your or someone else's faults.  So talk about yourself in a positive light, it's not arrogant or overconfident, it's a fact that you should love who you are.  I'm not perfect and guess what?  I'll bet Adriana Lima isn't perfect either. Embrace the imperfections and the perfections.

Settle.

The last 2 months have been full of change for us and our families.  New house, new furniture, engagements, job changes...the list goes on and on.  Now it's time to try and settle in....

Colin & I are settling into the new house and slowly things are feeling like home.  The Christmas tree and decorations certainly help!  Well, and the fact that we are finally done buying furniture.  The house looks great, if I do say so myself!
I've got my routine and schedule down pat, which my type A-self loves.  Finally found an amazing yoga studio, some great spin classes, and loving our new running routes along the water.  But with all the settling down there is always some stress to go around and it's always beneficial to take a look around and say am I happy?

Stress and change can mask who you truly are and keep you from focusing on what's really important....your happiness.  I've taken some time for self-reflection over the past few weeks as I noticed I haven't been myself the past couple months.  I made excuses saying that it was the move, or financial stress or any other excuse I could come up with.  But when I really got honest with myself I was able to target the lifestyle changes I needed to make.  While I can't publicly share all of it yet (don't worry Colin & the pups are all good), my lifestyle adjustments made me think that the holidays are a great time for everyone to have some self-reflection.  It's easy to get in the routine and just get used to the usual, but use this stressful holiday season to give yourself the gift of happiness, and make some changes that are going to lead to a better you in 2015 (cliche I know, but so necessary)!

Happy Holiday season, everyone, and look forward to some blogging coming up with some new announcements!  But for now just enjoy the pics of the new house!

FALLish

My favorite time of the year is upon us...the fall!  Now don't get me wrong I love summer (a very close second) and I have a certain appreciation for spring & winter, however fall is my favorite season.  Not only is the temperature amazing, but the leaves become a beautiful array of color, the food is so comforting, there are many outdoor activities to be had and I love my choices of attire for the fall!  Bring on the boots, jeans and scarves!  With Labor day behind us I think it only proper to discuss the season change ahead.

Fall Fitness:  Now one of the best things about the season is the weather!  We get cool, crisp days and some cozy rainy ones mixed in.  Perfect running weather!  Time to bust out some trail runs and enjoy the scenery......the best part???  You can run at any time of day, no more trying to get a run in before the heat of the day!   Fall is the time of year when I think I am in the best shape because I really enjoy running in the weather so I do a lot more of it.  In addition, the cooler weather brings on more hot yoga sessions and the lack of beach days makes me more inclined to go to the gym rather than lay by the water.
Now fall in our new New England atmosphere is going to be very different than what we've been used to in Charlotte, but it also brings on new adventures....apple picking and hiking!!  Now we hiked frequently outside Charlotte, but New England brings lots of new adventure to the table.  New state parks, new mountain ranges & ledges where we can try rock climbing (probably indoors first of course).  New England also has a larger variety of places and different terrains to hike...nice job, New England, keep up the good work!  You can also enjoy many outdoor activities without the heat which can help keep you active, hence the apple picking mentioned above or the pumpkin patch and tons of other fall festivals!  I find it easy to stay active in the fall between the great weather & variety of activities.

Football:  My favorite sports season!  Also a practically fit downfall!  Sundays and Monday nights (oh yea Thursdays too!) become consumed with friends, food and sitting on my ass in front of a TV.  I think I drink more beer and eat more wings during the fall compared to any other season.  So fall is also a season of finding balance and being practical with my choices from day to day.  With no more Panthers tailgates (boooo) I may be able to find more balance this season.  And of course...

WHO-DEY!

A few of the ones we are enjoying currently!

Fall Food:  Should I be like every other girl in yoga pants and say I love a pumpkin spice latte?  I mean I do, but it's not my #1.  Apple pies, warm soups & pumpkin beer!! Hell yea that's my favorite fall beverage the transition into pumpkin beer and other darker, comforting beers.  Southern Tier's Pumkin always a fan favorite, and this year Ithaca's Country Pumpkin is creeping high up on my list. Warm hot apple cider (sometimes with a lil splash of Captain Morgan's) and now that we're in New England cider donuts are back as well!  Now on the healthy spectrum...we transition from grilling to indoor cooking.  Let the crock potting begin!!! Lots of baked veggies and veggies/meat in the crock pot so we can come home to a warm meal.


Time to get used to shorter days and cooler weather, but the transition to fall is a good one.  It let's me change up my work out to more outdoor activities, warm up with some comforting beverages & food, and also let's me have my food indulgences while watching my favorite Bengals win a few!

Shiny & new

An insightful blog ahead....

A move, or any big life change for that matter, brings on a flurry of new things.  A new "home," new gym, new friends, new job....the list goes on.  New things can make life adventurous, exciting and/or stressful.  I generally find too many new things stressful.  Even if I treat myself to a little shopping spree I usually find myself stressin' after realizing the damage I've done to the 'ol credit card, despite all my new found treasures.  But sometime new things are coming whether you like it or not.

With the move we certainly had a choice to move or not, however with Colin being offered an amazing step for his career, how could I/we say no to that?!?  So we accepted the move and here we are in Connecticut.  I haven't moved in 3 1/2 years, which is the longest I've lived anywhere since high school.  So now I have found myself in an explosion of new!  New things are definitely exciting and can bring on new opportunities, such as Colin's job & his budding opportunities because of that new job.  But with this new overload I have found myself yearning for the "normal" I'm used to and feeling little overwhelmed by the new.  I mean come on you can even sense the dogs' anxiety when there's too much change!

In the past month I have started a new job, moved to a new state, tried new running routes, made some new friends, bought a new car, tried various new yoga studios & gyms and that's just to name a few.  In another 5 1/2 weeks (not like we are counting ;)  ) we will move to another new house.  Then BAM another new commute and new daily routine.  Life keeps changing and you have to embrace the new normals.  I have stress with most new things that I try.  But once I fall in love with the activity, food, job (whatever it is that happens to be new) I can't believe I didn't do/try it sooner.  New things can enrich your life immensely.  I finally reached a goal of achieving forearm headstand in yoga...AMAZING!  New pose = new limits.  Or even something simple, like hello why didn't I start watching House of Cards sooner???  Because we make excuses in order to not scare ourselves with something unknown.  I think the new stuff is what keeps us growing and becoming more of who we are.

In addition, I believe that embracing the new normal can also be accompanied by missing the "old normal."  Just because I make new friends, doesn't mean the ones I've had prior get left in the dust, right?  Right.  I believe the same applies to all areas of my life.  Things don't always have to be replaced with the new, just substituted.

Although new can be scary and stressful, I challenge people to try something new at least weekly.  Scare yourself!  It keeps you growing and learning.  Plus we all can't just stay the same...that would be WAY too boring!

Finally....

Finally it has happened to me! Thank you CeCe Peniston for giving me the song lyrics to express how I am feeling.  And yes that's her name & here is the youtube link if you would like to see the amazing music video that goes along with this great work out song:  FINALLY
I feel like CeCe right now, yea get it girl.  Because after a whirlwind of a move (like literally nothing else could've gone wrong) we are finally some sort of settled!  I say some sort due to the fact that we are in a temporary rental with limited furniture & 1/2 our shit in storage.  But hey it beats the hotel room with 2 dogs....right?!?!?  We got internet this week and you wouldn't believe how much that makes you feel like a person again.  But with 2 new cars, a new job & a new house under contract things are looking up for the Feehan's!  We are loving our new town here in Milford, CT so hello, Connecticut, because the Feehan's are here to stay (because honestly I'll be damned if I'm doing a move like that again anytime soon!)

So my apologies for my lack of quirky posts in the past few months, but now I am back in the game!  And our first topic today is ......drum rollllllll......ROUTINE.

God how I miss having a routine!  But funny how you get burnt out when you've been on a routine too long right?  Ugh such a catch 22.  During this entire moving process, it felt like every minute of every day was crammed with stuff & the "to do" list was never-ending.  Things just kept popping up.  Talk about anxiety.  I couldn't find a way to get myself in any sort of organization, which obviously made me nutso.  I wish I could sit here and preach to you all about how I embraced it and became more flexible and blah blah blah, but I can't.  I like a routine, no matter how often I get burnt out routine is what keeps me structured & attached to my healthy lifestyle.  Creature of habit = me.

However, there are those of us who hate routine....enter my husband.  Flying by the seat of his pants is his forte.  And some people just work like this, more power to you.  However, in all my interactions with patients, clients & just people over the years I find that some semblance of structure keeps you accountable to your plan.  Your intentions may be good, but unless there is some accountability most people get no where.  Nobody ever got rock hard abs with good intentions right?

The move was the hardest for me because it took all of my control away & like I said previously that routine went out the window (probably literally with how everything else went).  We ate take out for weeks on end, constant running, stress to the max 75% of the time, intermittent exercise & meditation, & pure exhaustion.  That was my life the past 4-6 weeks.  While I was kind of the grumpy dwarf some days & embraced it others, the fact was there was nothing I could do about my lack of routine.  And as another great song says...ohhh yea life goes on:  Just a little diddy bout Colin & Ashley

But it's true!!! As crazy as life was the past 2 months or so, life has gone on.  Pretty soon I will be back to working full time.  I've already got a gym membership & a running route I love.  So the routine, while it is a must to keep yourself on track for a healthy lifestyle, a break from it due to life or burn out or whatever is not going to kill you or make you morbidly obese.  Don't beat yourself up over a routine-lapse like I did the past few months.  But on the flip side don't let that drag out into a new lifestyle choice.  Maybe it's just time to change it up.  I don't recommend changing it up with a cross country move....maybe you just run a different route or something ;)

Our life in boxes

Beginning of the great trek

"Mom, we are so over the hotel life."

Hello Northeast with what was left of my lobstah roll!

"Finally a yard!!"

Did I mention we LOVE Milford?  Because all things considered with the move, we are LOVING our new town!

A few of my favorite things

I thought I would take a minute to let you guys know about some items that I can't get enough of at the moment!

1. Neutrogena Naturals night cream:  I've been using a night moisturizer for years, but after having a facial not too long ago the esthetician challenged to me to really look at my beauty products and see what I was really putting into my skin.  The results that I found were astounding!  Not only could I hardly pronounce most of the ingredients, but many of them were tested on animals.  This product was recommended by my esthetician and has great reviews online.  No animal testing, no dyes, no sulfates, no parabens, phthalates, no petrolatum.  It makes my skin feel so smooth and gives me a glowing look first thing in the morning! Also, being neutrogena, it comes at a great price and who doesn't love that?!?!?

They love laying on my yoga mats whenever they are out, goofballs.

2.  Manduka eKO yoga mat:  After my beloved Target yoga mat bit the dust I was on the hunt for a good quality yoga mat.  And boy was it a hunt!  After asking yogi friends and reading hundreds of reviews online I decided on this one.  Manduka is a renowned brand and offers a lifetime warranty.  Their eKO line is made from biodegradable natural tree-free rubber.  It's easy to clean, offers tons of cushion & there's no slippage during practice!  I still use a yoga towel to protect the mat because I sweat like a beast, but this mat allows you to practice without.  It's relatively inexpensive ($88) when compared to a lot of the name brand yoga mats out there.  I would love to spend the $118 on their pro series, but this mat is great & I feel good about the green impact of this mat.  Overall,  a great investment that makes me excited!

3.  Asics Gel-cumulus 15 aka my amazing running shoes:  Brooks have been my personal running shoe of choice for the past couple years, however when they made a change to my model it didn't work for my foot & it was time for a new running partner.  Along with the change in my brand I have slightly changed my running stride to more of a mid foot strike (this I can explain in later blog), but it made a stability shoe too supportive for me.  It was time for a neutral shoe and these Asics are off the planet.  I get great support but also unexplainable comfort, whether I'm out for 3 miles or 6.  They are light-weight & did I mention how much I love the colors?!  Asics' gel series is ultra-durable providing lasting support until the end of the shoe or you, whichever happens first  ;)

4.  Dark Chocolate Covered Fruit:  These sweet little gems are a Costco find!!! Yes, Costco, can you believe it?  Costco is amazing for American produced products and you can always find some healthy foods & treats in it's massive aisles.  The health benefits of dark chocolate & the super fruits involved (cherries, blueberries & cranberries) are highly researched including the benefits of antioxidants & phytochemicals (cancer fighting amazingness).  These give you a little touch a sweet with the dark chocolate and the fruit, but are not filled with calories or sugar!  Makes for my favorite evening treat.  Side note, they also go great with a glass of red vino mmmmmm

Hope you guys enjoy my reviews of these incredible products.  What products do you have/love????