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I just got to thinking about my week and realizing that if any of us, at the end of any week, really stepped back and reviewed; we’d find all kinds of opportunities for growth, shining moments of brilliance, humor and tugs at our deep awareness happening.

I’ll review some of my week as I sit this beautiful morning at my perch; coffee to my left, jazz on my stereo and my cat Coco meowing her goodmornings all around me.

My week, believe it or not, started on a real rough note. Monday was not a good day. I realized, through a series of events spanning about three weeks, that my personal trainer wasn’t working out for me. The details don’t matter and I certainly don’t blame him for any lack of progress I felt (which I did). In a nutshell, as I told him, I felt like I kept approaching him for support and being hit with way too many “no’s” vs. “ok, let’s problem solve this”. It’s just not how you want to feel when you are hiring someone to motivate you. And I’m pretty motivated! I’ve distinctly changed my life to exercising hard 3-4 times per week, I’m almost 100% off sugar foods, eat far more consciously. On many levels I feel great but this 30 pounds I put on in the last few years are slow to budge. I never give up though and just yesterday was reading Christiane Northrup’s book about Menopause again, fortifying myself with a new plan! I’m not giving up, just switching gears.

I came home Monday after ending up bawling in my car after bootcamp/a demoralizing interaction and realized this wasn’t working. I don’t know what really was going on entirely because I just saw one client that day and ended up flattened on my couch the ENTIRE rest of the day. Sometimes those days just happen. I just felt utterly immobilized and flattened body/mind/spirit. I know enough now about my own process of change that these kinds of days signal a big shift is coming. But I felt horrible–my entire body was aching, stomach ache, headache the whole nine yards. I just said to myself if the only thing you accomplish today is doing one load of laundry then that’s your success story.

Well I guess I also accomplished removing myself from that situation that was no longer working for me. That’s not easy and to his credit he graciously let me out of my six month contract.

I was worried about this bummer zone I was in because John’s audition was the next day and I needed to be UP for it!

After probably 12 hours of fitful sleep I woke up feeling slightly better and went in for my much needed hair appointment. She took one look at me and said “look at your face! You’ve lost a lot of weight!”. I was kind of shocked because, at least my former trainer’s scale, wasn’t really demonstrating much of that. She hadn’t seen me in 6 weeks, just when I’d started the training. She naturally asked how it was going.

“Well yeah, I fired him yesterday”.

She replied “ok, let me tell you my story”.

She went on to share about how I had inspired her six weeks ago to go out and find someone for herself. She described the thorough assessment she got, the support she’s getting, the customized program she’s on with many many different elements and I realized “oh, this is what I’ve been looking for!”. And she said I was her motivation! Me!

I think I paid it forward to myself!

I came straight home and looked up her situation and it’s going to be perfect for me. As Alfonse and I are going on our 2+ week vacation in just about 3 weeks I decided to join when I get back but let me tell you, I’m still working out regularly and getting more sore and more results on my own this week! Go figure! I think that whole other situation was some kind of springboard. And I also think it’s not easy to walk away from a situation that you know isn’t enough or isn’t working or where you are not shining and I did it. So that was a success.

I’m also back on Dr. Michael Moseley’s Intermittent Fasting program and have followed it religiously the last 2 weeks and I feel really confident about it. It’s well researched and there’s an interesting BBC documentary on it should you want to check it out.

Another issue came up during my hair appointment that still has me shaking my head in astonishment. We were both sharing about the impact on stress and weight and she detailed her life situation which is very similar to mine: a sister who is disabled, lives near her and needs quite of bit of support, aging parents and then she drops this bomb “then of course there’s the situation in Colorado”.

I must have looked confused because she followed that with “surely I’ve told you about that”. I wracked my brain and couldn’t really remember anything distinct.

As my color was processing, she slowly and deliberately told me the story of her nephew who had been missing for 21 months, foul play expected and how his skull was just found 3 weeks ago in a rural area. How the detectives have brought in forensic anthropologists to dig in to the area the remains are being found scattered and clearly it’s being investigated as a homicide.

Wow. How we all end up finding each other is just some sort of Act of God. I found her via a Groupon.

I’m still kind of digesting all of that because, of course, I can understand a lot of what she and her family are going through. A missing person–an investigation–police, media–homicide.

Miracles show up when you least expect them.

I felt so much better when I left there–connected again, more alive and with a cute new hairstyle.

The next day was Alfonse’ audition and we all know how that went. 😉

Another super interesting highlight of my week involved picking up new chairs.

I’ve been doing all of this Annie Sloan furniture painting lately and “met” this woman online through a Facebook swap page (like an online garage sale). She had these gorgeous handpainted bar stools that I wanted! But they were already sold dammit! I couldn’t stop thinking about them so I wrote her again asking if she thought the person who purchased them from her would resell them to me for a profit–hey can’t hurt to ask right?

this is not a pic of the stools but similar motif–just couldn’t find a pic of them

Julie’s business is called Fleur de la de dah (her Facebook page- please go like it 🙂 )

Well that girl then made it her mission to find me two more similar bar stools and she did! I’m sitting on one of them right now! They are perfect! How nice a “stranger” can be sometimes. I still need to paint them though and will share pics when I do. 😉

Well we’ve developed a nice online friendship over these weeks and it just becomes more and more clear how much we have in common–she grew up in Sedona where obviously I spend a lot of time now, we’re both in the health care field, we’re both super crafty and in to the exact same craft obsessively, there’s more but it’s become sort of uncanny!

She posted these two other cane back chairs she’d refinished and no one was taking them. Although it seemed kind of dumb for me to buy someone else’s chairs when I have all these I’ve been accumulating myself to paint and refurbish, I couldn’t resist so I arranged to buy them. Monday, my bummer day, was the day I was supposed to pick them up but had to reschedule. For Wednesday.

As I was driving there I got a text from her saying she was in the Murano in the front of the building we’d agreed to meet at. I was driving so wondered when did I tell her I drive a Murano? thinking somehow she was talking about my car. No, she has the same car as me! lol

I met Julie and instantly felt like I’ve known her forever. Real, fun, just an immediate connection. Doors just keep opening when I keep looking.

I love her chairs and didn’t even know this was what I was missing in my living room until I brought them in. Aren’t they gorgeous in my space? I also love having something handpainted by her too. Love is all around me.

Now I’m going to share the one moment of my week that still has me laughing before I sign out of this weekly roundup.

After picking up the chairs I rushed back to my office for a new client. Now this man is what anyone would describe as a true character. He’s just a colorful unpretentious person who’s never really been for the kind of therapy I practice but his girlfriend is my client and she basically ~~pushed demanded~~ encouraged him to come.

I don’t how to describe this man other than a big burly man’s man who’s done all kinds of athletics and crazy adventures his whole life and now is paying the price in midlife. My job involves assessing past traumas and surgeries and scars before we get started. He kept “forgetting ” all of these major traumas to his body so as we went along they kept being remembered. This is not an unusual phenomenon by the way.

I started working on his back and as scars are very interesting to a Myofascial therapist I naturally inquired about a pretty big scar on his side.

He slowly replied “oh yeah, that’s when that cow was chasing me….”.

Now I had held it together very well during my intake as this guy is very naturally funny and quirky but when he said that I pulled back, curled and started laughing uncontrollably. “you got chased by a cow???”. It was just something I never expected to hear and made a direct hit for my funny bone.

He knew it was funny too and was tickled that he’d finally gotten to me and then shared he ran in to a barbed wire fence.

I just can’t stop laughing when I think of that moment all week. “Oh yeah, that’s when that cow was chasing me…”.

OMG, it’s still as funny now remembering it. He’s coming back next week. I can’t wait for more.

I’m headed out this afternoon for my annual weekend business spa/wine/facials retreat with my darling colleague Mya at a fancy resort outside Phoenix. Summer is the time to get GREAT deals on staycations in Phoenix and this one is amazing in that it includes the spa entrance fee with the room so we’ll be able to take yoga and fitness classes as well as work out in the gorgeous gym overlooking these huge rock formations–as well as just relax and catch up. I can’t wait–two nights this year! We have four bottles of wine between us. That should get us through the weekend. 😉