the unperfected perfectionist

Do you ever have those weeks that you can't wait to be over because they have been so incredibly awful?  I know that everyone must have had this experience one time or another.  And if, indeed, you honestly never have had weeks like this, please contact me ASAP with your secret!  Ha ha!  I am kidding.  These times in my life are what build my character, right?  Absolutely!   Well, it is quite obvious that I had one of those weeks this last week.  I am so very thankful that today is the last day of this no good, very bad and horrible week.  I am even more thankful that tomorrow brings me the opportunity to begin with a fresh slate and high hopes for a wonderful week that will leave me forgetting about each and every struggle I had the week prior.  Of course I would never, ever want to dump all the details of my week on any of you but, I will say that if I was a negative person that had a tough time finding positives within unfortunate events or what have you, I would have b

The chill is in the air already and part of me is very excited about pulling on a cozy sweatshirt and my favorite jeans with my socks and sneakers. It was so crazy hot for most of the summer, that I hardly had the chance to wear anything much more than tank tops, shorts and flip flops. The other part of me is crying for summer warmth to return.  As long as the sun keeps shining bright through my windows, I can most certainly deal with the cool weather.   In my house, we now have the first week of school under our belt.  Emma, once again,  loves her teacher and came home excited about the new school year.  Seeing her happy and excited, puts my mind at ease.  As it is every year, the transition back to school is most definitely, without a doubt, much harder for me than it is for Emma.  Yes, she is in the fourth grade now, and yes, I still miss her company when she goes to school everyday.  I loved the days of preschool, when she would only go to school a few days, for just a few

It's Thankful Thursday !   I have been so out of my blogging routine, and posting so randomly, that I feel awful about missing Thankful Thursday's.   Lately, I have been deep in my thinking, as I shared with you in my last post, and I have been reminding myself quite frequently, how very much I have to be thankful for.  I hear about others misfortune or struggles or see things when I am going about my daily life that remind me how blessed I am with every passing day.  I had a huge reality check about how very short life can be this week.  I learned that a good friend of mine from my boarding school in North Carolina, passed away from complications of MS.  I had not seen her in many years but, had kept in touch through Facebook.  I knew she was not doing well and just a few days before I learned she had passed on to a better life, I was thinking that I should try to get down to see her.  Life is too short.  We are most definitely not promised anything in this life a

Where has the summer gone?   It has been a fabulous summer full of laughter with family and friends. It was both busy and relaxing all at once. Does that even make sense?? For the first half, I felt like I had my face buried in my books while trying to absorb as much new information about personal training and attempting to ready myself for a new chapter in my life. On the flip side, I enjoyed many afternoons with Emma sitting by the pool or floating on a raft feeling absolutely content with my present life.    This summer has been full of lots and lots and lots of thinking for me.  Some days, I am literally exhausted because my mind just spins and spins.  It is so crazy that I have times in which I would do anything to have a switch and be able to turn my mind off.  I have had this conversation with others and I know I am not alone in wishing for that very switch.  I have had lots of changes happening and decisions to make.  I want to make the right decisions, and in orde

Do you ever have those days in which you just feel you need a bit more inspiration than on other days?  I had one of those days today!  I prefer to be the one to offer up some inspiration to others but, there are many occasions that I must go searching for some of my own.   Its really ironic because as I was thinking I needed a dose of inspiration, Emma had turned on the T.V. and would you believe inspiration was staring me dead in the eye.  The Ironman World Championship was showing.  I don't watch much T.V. but, this really captured me today.  I watched the well trained endurance athletes compete in this event and amongst them were also people that had never competed before.  They told stories of several competitors.  A woman that used to be very overweight, a woman that was diagnosed with cancer and endured treatments at the same time she was training.  There was a man with no legs and a man in his eighties.  While watching this, my mind was being filled with inspiration

Hurry up and wait....Move forward without looking back and wait...Accomplish big things and small and wait... A holding pattern.   I have been having a great and busy summer so far but, today I had one of those days that I hadn't had in quite a long time.  I was feeling irritated with one thing after another and it was bothering me enough that I needed to sit back and think about why I was so edgy and why all on the same day.  It was at this moment that I had to remind myself that most  but, not all things, bothering me were either things that I just needed to deal with or things that I shouldn't have let get to me in the nature that I allowed them to.  I also thought about how very happy I've been and all the positives in my life currently.  So, yes, I may feel like I am in a holding pattern in some pretty big areas of my life but, as the old saying goes...."Good things come to those who wait."   I finally completed my class this week and took my b

Hello!  I am actually back on the writing block after only a couple of weeks!  Shocking but, true.  I am really, really trying hard to get back into the groove of the blogging thing again.  As I told you in my last post, life can be crazy sometimes.  It certainly hasn't' slowed down at all.  In fact, as summer is inching closer, I am in my final weeks of class and have all kinds of things to complete and prepare for, namely, my certification exam.  I am both excited and overwhelmed at times lately.  Nothing worthwhile comes easy or without hard work.  I truly believe that statement rings true for everything in life.  Hard work is sometimes horrible, difficult and even may feel defeating but, in the end...there is always some sort of reward that can be found and used as a reminder that all of the efforts paid off.  Sometimes the rewards are greater than others.  For me personally, just knowing that I haven't given up on something, is a great enough reward in itself.  Thi

Wow!  It has been a very long time since I have posted anything to this blog.  I thought about it numerous times but, I wasn't quite sure how I would explain my disappearance or even if I had the right words to express the roller coaster of life that I have been riding this year. As I had hoped, when ringing in the 2012 year, it has been full of big things and changes.  When the new year brought a fresh start, just as it always promises, the things it held for me, were not exactly all changes that I had imagined or dreamed for myself.   Now that I don't sound like the typical Unperfected Perfectionist  that usually tries to provide my readers with inspiration, stories of real life stuff and ways to stay positive in this crazy thing called life, I will try my very best to share my changes with some sort of positive outlook.  All I can ask of you, is that you bear with me as you read this post.  This is the first time that I was confident enough to share the roller coas

Happy New Year!  Yes, I am a fully aware that the new year rolled in 12 days ago already.  It is my hope to know that everyone survived the holidays without too much stress and exhaustion.  I hope that you were able to enjoy the moments spent with family and friends, laughing, reminiscing, indulging in holiday treats, relaxing, sacrificing sleep to sit up late talking or watching your favorite Christmas movies and building new memories that you will hold in your heart for years to come.   This  Last year, I am sad to even say this but, I didn't catch the holiday spirit that I normally have.  I usually love the holiday season and haul out every little bit of holiday decor, listen to the Christmas tunes and bake until I can't bake anymore. I tried my best each day to keep my spirits bright. I owed that much to my sweet girl. She was so full of spirit and excitement.  Witnessing this, helped me drum up as much spirit as I could find within myself.  As I sit here thinking