50 First Dates

I've literally been thinking of loving myself along the lines of dating or getting to know me.

Imagine if your first date was supposed to be something simple, like meeting for lunch at a little local bistro on a sunny Spring day...you pick out a classic little dress, your favorite strand of pearls, and those cute little sandals you've been waiting to pull out of the closet all winter. 

What if once I got to the quaint little restaurant the hostess showed me to the kitchen, to a corner of the prep chef's counter, where a few random vegetables and bags of this and that were strewn nearby, along with a dish towel?

And what if my date walked in and said, "I bought those ingredients, so help yourself...they don't have any chairs back here, and I apologize for the mess and chaos, but it is the lunch hour, so I'm sure you understand...oh, we can share that dish towel for our napkin.  I also have a nice walk to the laundromat planned for after we're done eating..."  And so you stand there, in a fully functional kitchen, pick at some food you eat while standing up, but really don't take it all in because all you want to do is get out of that kitchen.  This is this guys idea of a date?!  #$%^&

Maybe you get the point, maybe you don't? 

I do.

If my husband had tried to woo me with a first date like that, it would have been our last.  Unless he owned the restaurant and was going to be preparing me gourmet  meals the rest of my life...but that wasn't the case.

The point is I am learning it is important to slow down and date me. 

For the last week I have only made two significant changes in my day to day routine, but as I said, they have been significant.  One is I have stopped snacking, therefore eating only 3 times a day.  As a result, I have taken the time to woo myself with the cutting board and chef's knife, chopping veggies and preparing meals for myself, not just eating Ryan's leftovers or stealing tastes while preparing dinner.  I have taken time to sit myself down at the table to eat all three meals (dinner easy b/c I do that with family) AND while I'm eating, I'm not multi-tasking.  I'm literally just eating.  Profound, huh?!

The other change I made last week was including Yoga workouts into my routine.  I did Yoga 4 times last week.  Man was I sore after the first official workout but since I stuck with it, my muscles felt great as the week progressed.

I always drink a ton of water, so that didn't change.  Everything else remained.  As a result, I lost 3.8 lbs. 

Taking time to have lunch with myself is a date unlike the one pictured above that usually is played out with me in my work out pants with three day old hair, slippers on, no bra, and fuzzy teeth sweaters. 

And my workouts have been an amount of time I have to squeeze in necessary exercise to help my heart and muscles, but it's been stressful to make the time.  Somehow the benefits of Yoga and how I feel during and afterwards have been worth it enough for me to make the time, and without the stress.

I think I'm on the right track as far as it relates to me.  Now to get rid of the 3 day old hair ;)