Coffee and Chat

I've stuck with my plan to read thru the Bible in a year. I'm on track with my daily readings. Sounds good right? Wrong. You are probably thinking I am sounding like a horrible person. Truth is. I've "crammed" those readings in. I started the year off right, by putting that quiet time and daily reading at the beginning of my day. But lately, I realize it's 11pm and I haven't read it yet and I fall asleep reading my daily Bible reading. This is wrong.

The other day I did manage to get up early, grab a cup of coffee in my quiet house and focus on my reading. I felt so much better. I absorb it. I learn. I am moved. I am NOT falling asleep and making myself read it.

So here I am, today, 1:05pm. And I haven't read it yet. So why am I blogging instead of reading you ask? Because I had to get this off my chest. I've been trying to put so many things in line. My fitness, my finances, my faith, my family (no, not in that order) and juggling them has become a literal circus. Do I get up early and exercise or get up early and read? When is the best time to do one or the other? When do I get the laundry, dinner and family stuff done? What about work?

Life is a perpetual juggling act and I am very, very far from perfecting it all. Here it is, almost the end of February and I don't have a schedule for my day that fits. Of course the everyday surprises that pop up don't help that at all either.

So what works for YOU? How do you juggle it all. I feel the best when I start my day with a quiet cup of coffee and chat with God. I also feel great starting off with exercise, but yet I also like a lunchtime workout (which I just finished).

Let's hear it, let's pour a cup of virtual coffee and chat about what works for you? I want to know. I want to know who out there has it "all" planned out. Who out there flies by the seat of their pants, like me... If you are like me, what do you do to keep yourself centered and on track? Is it a lack of discipline, lack of focus, or just to much in general going on? I need answers!

Lessons Learned from Lack of Coffee

We all like to savor that coffee aroma, smell that fresh cup, and most of us are waiting for that first sip to ease our way into the day. Now back before I started Shakeology and was a full fledge coffee addict, today would have been a complete disaster and I would be in emergency mode... My Keurig 2.0 (see prior post on my Early Gift) quit dispensing water this afternoon. YIKES, no coffee right?

I found it amusing to realize that the panic that set in the last time my coffee pot died, versus the lack of panic when it happened today was both because I no longer NEED it and because I now have different priorities.

Before I NEEDED it. I had to have coffee just to function. I could. not. hold a morning conversation pre-coffee. I was in nod and stumble mode until that first cup was gone. Now, half the time I don't drink the cup I brew, or like today, it's just to keep me warm and because I still LOVE the aroma of it. Before I would never have used a Keurig, I went through so much coffee it would have cost me $10.00 a day for all those K-cups. Now, I use 1 maybe 2. I like it for the hot water dispensing on my green tea bags as much as for the quick coffee.

Anywhooo... back to the story. It died. I called the 800 Help Me Keurig number. They were fabulous! Talk about customer service! She walked me through a couple troubleshooting steps, I basically did surgery on the thing. We tried a couple more times with a little bit more result (my 10 oz of water took over 5 minutes and 4 oz took 3... yikes), but I was able to get enough out for this afternoons cup to keep me warm while I finish up work, yes and blog.  But, after a few minutes of unsuccessfully getting water to do more than drizzle out, she said they will get a new one in the mail to me today! Badabing! That was easy.

I love it when companies step up and do the right thing, even if it's just a coffee pot right? Makes me realize that in life, things could be so much easier if we just step up and do the right thing. We screwed up? Call it out. Step forward accept the blame and make amends if needed and move on. It's so much better than harboring ill feelings, trashing people unnecessarily, and causing that mole hill to become a mountain. I've done this. I'm sure you've done this. There are times that rather than facing the music we think it's better to place blame, hold a grudge, hide away to try and escape, etc... We all want to face our fears right? Whether our fear is not having a cup of coffee in the morning or taking blame and asking for forgiveness for something we've done.

The best way to fix something is tackling it head on. I've learned this the hard way. I'm a procrastinator by nature. In every area. You name it I'll get it done... at The. Last. Minute. This drives my poor husband bonkers. I've had other appliances that I knew were on their last leg, or had died, and I just put it off and put it off because I was too busy. Then when I did call (this is a TRUE story), I was 15 days past my warranty date! Talk about a screw up.

There are so many examples in life, little things like my call to Keurig, that could apply to much bigger issues. My OneWord for the year was Brave. Doing one thing each day that "scares" me, or causes me discomfort. It may sound silly, but this is just another baby step for me in the right direction.

So thank you Keurig. Both for immediately replacing my brewer and for the lesson learned.

Baby Sister, It's Cold Outside...

Two words. Michigan. Winter.  Yep, it's cold outside, again. We avoided the cold and snow all through December, but it found us. I decided to take my workout outside in the beautiful sunshine, which is horribly deceiving, and shovel today... I bundled up and was thinking how good the crisp cool (quite an understatement) would feel. At the same time, it would give me a break in the sunshine...

I even made a fresh cup of coffee to deliver to my sister, who also works from home, next door. She still has Arizona in her blood and she couldn't stand the thought of walking the 50 ft from her office to her house to get more coffee (not that the GREAT big sister that I am I walked the 200 ft to her office from my house...). This is how I found her... 

I thought she gained 100lbs, but it was just the pile of blankets and coats wrapped around her... 

I delivered the coffee then started my workout, shoveling the drive and sidewalk. Within 5 minutes the cold had sucked ALL the air out of me and I couldn't feel my fingers - yes, I wore gloves. My cheeks were frozen as well, I could not keep the scarf close enough to my eyes while shoveling. So, while my steps and sidewalk are shoveled, it is pretty much a failed workout attempt. I mean, it did burn some calories, but I since I froze before I tackled the driveway, it did not burn as many as I hoped. Next time I attempt to shovel the windshield will be above -10*... 

Thank you Michigan, for reminding me that while the view looks beautiful, it is horridly COLD. 

An Early Gift...

Last night on facebook a friend of mine asked the question, have you ever thought about buying a Keurig? Well I jumped right in and said "YES" I had hoped to get the Keurig 2.0 for Christmas, but then removed (or moved it to the bottom of my list) after instead requesting the Ninja Blender (my cheap walmart blender is kicking the bucket very very soon - hoping it makes it till Christmas.

I had to post her a picture as to why the 2.0 was THE ONE I wanted. Carafe and single cup options, seriously perfect after I kicked the 2 pots a day habit and now only need the occasional cup, but sometimes you want a full pot when friends are over, right?

So this morning, a crazy morning as always, as I'm rushing around to get to meetings for work, I get this awesome text from her, that says "I have a Keurig for you if you want it." Well, hello! She's amazing. She had an opportunity to blog and earn a free Keurig 2.0 K300 and they gave her one to give away!

I'm still so excited over this and can't wait to pick it up from her on Monday!
My Friend's Post...