What I Learned This Week- FIREFLY 2013

So Firefly was the most a-mae-zing experience. Never have I seen such a colorful group of people. Reflecting on it puts such a smile on my and on my heart because not only did I get to hear and see some of my favorite bands and share my vision of Mae Movement with thousands of people, but I was with the people that I love most.

Granit I see them almost everyday, but there was something different about working Firefly with them. It was like going to battle. Up at 6am… well 2:30 in my case and home by 3 am. We did this from Thursday to Sunday. Tired? Yes, extremely.

With my sleeping disorder I cannot help but go into a state of sarcastic snappiness. In my head I know I sound awful, but it’s as if I have no control over. Dee always says she has to love me through it. My best friend in the entire world Ali has to deal with me too. I love her more than she will ever know and the fact that she stuck it out put up with me and worked all weekend shows her strength and I know she loves me and my family or she wouldn’t do it. Then there is Jordan, my boyfriend, who drove down Friday and sat in 6 hours of traffic before turning around to go home. That alone would make me not want to attempt the drive again. However he finished work on Saturday and headed back down to Firefly.  He worked with us till 1 am and then did it again Sunday and was there to help us breakdown our setup and load it all up in to the car. He and Ali both did an A-Mae-zing job sharing the Mae Movement story. I was so prod of them, I felt like all of us and of course Dee were such a team!

It really Mae-ks you appreciate the people in your life. No one said Ali and Jordan had to work and help me out but they did and that mover’s is love.  There were plenty of times throughout the weekend where we wanted to call it quits, pack up and go home. We were so tired at some points through out the day that when we were telling people about the bracelets we accidentally said they were from France! Needless to say we were kicking on caffeine and the realization that the longer we stayed awake and worked the closer we were to sleep again. 

Working together Mae-d us all closer. It Mae-d me appreciate the people in my life and the opportunities God has blessed me with. Now this is only a fraction of why this past Firefly weekend was A-MAE-ZING but I wanted to share with everyone that for the people in your life that mean the most to you, the next time you see them give them a hug and let them know how much they mean to you. You will Mae-k their day, I promise. 

Enjoy The Ride

Enjoy The Ride

Here we go again. I know, I know, Haley with her crazy analogies. This one is big though, so hang tight.

For months, maybe even a good year, I have dealt with self-sabotage. Not being successful enough, thin enough, and smart enough. I let anxiety get the best of me. I was stuck in a narrow-minded way of thinking and was not to open to trying other ways. These thought patterns affected everything from my career, diet, fitness and sleep. I was trying to do things my way, certainly not Gods way. I spent time reading my devotionals, praying, asking for guidance. I had it all wrong though. God wants his children to be “strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy31:6)

Being strong physically can help you be strong spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

I could give advice on things I was struggling with, but did not have a will power to do it myself… that is kind of messed up, don’t you think?

Recently some people have come into my life that I am very thankful for and am blessed to know. With out even realizing it they are helping me to grow and break thorough a lot of what is holding me back. For instance, I have been so afraid of not sleeping I have weird rules about not eating late. Or I get very rigid in my diet and workout routine. Its makes it very hard for me to plan things, commit or enjoy just being present in certain moments. I wanted to enjoy life, who doesn’t! I started doing an intense interval training class and realized the people around me had something I didn’t. peace. Granit I am sure there are things they struggle with too but in this particular area they had peace because it was not about what they looked like. It was about what they could do. How hard could they push themselves to get through to the end. I left my first class feeling invigorated like I had just tapped into something completely new. This past month I have continued the class, along with other high intensity classes and even tried crossfit. My thought patterns began to change. I did not worry about what I looked like; I just focused on how I was physically improving. What I was capable of doing and let me tell you the body is an amazing machine and if you let it, it can do things you did not know were possible. I have not felt so alive and excited about life like I do know while everyone’s movement may not be nutrition and fitness the concept works for everyone. We work so hard to achieve goals, happiness and satisfaction. What does it really matter though if we are not enjoying the process? The best part of the adventure is getting there right? Whether you have exams coming up or a big presentation at work, you can find peace in the process. If you worry about that final grade or how your boss will react, your not enjoying it are you? Instead focus on how you’re going to study and prepare. What can you do to better your study skills or you speaking skills? Who can you go to for guidance? How can you make the process something you will look back on and say? “Wow that was awesome, I feel good about what I accomplished and it even brought me closer to my final goal”.  What are some things that you have been trying to accomplish that seem to go know where fast? So step back and look at your life. Are you doing things for the right reason? Are you faithful and hopeful? This can help you have positive lasting strength in life! So ask yourself.

 Are you enjoying the ride? 

Keep it Simple

Keep it Simple

Lately I have been given the chance to have some good talks with my padre. Being that I still do not have my car he drives into the city to pick me up and we have a good 20 minutes to catch-up.

He noticed a difference in me, and my attitude and I was not so quick to anger, I would not be negative or crude. I was just down right jolly and I don’t think he knew how to handle it.

One day he finally just was like, “ What is this whole Mae Movement, Tone it up thing doing to you?!” I explained that I realized something about life that I had never thought of before. He was always asking me questions and than having some sort of realization, where I just wanted to smack him on the head and be like “DUH!” Or sometimes I would listen to him and think about how many dreams he has but always puts a negative block on them.

If you know me in person, than you know I suffer from anxiety and to be honest I could be pretty darn negative too. I would let that nasty self-talk paralyze me and I could get real snappy, really fast. You know what though… it is not worth it. Life is way to short to sweat the small stuff and try and over analyze everything. We think way to much. You just have to go with the flow, dive in and be terrified. The greatest things in life happen when you’re terrified. Right now for me, I am extremely terrified and it’s awesome. I love the free fall.  I am really trying to take each day and make the absolute best of it. When I can’t workout, I use to become an anxious mess. Now I feel more relaxed than Bob Marley… btw his birthday was yesterday… you should all know that ;)

There are many possible life lessons’ I could touch on but one thing that was very present in my Dad’s conversations were these excuses that he had and I just wanted to scream, “do something about it!” “Your alive, dude, stop waiting!” Saying you do not go out, see friends or try something you say you have wanted to do for a long time. Whatever it is your complicating it. I Promise. I had to break through this myself and this is what I had to repeatedly try and get through my often-thick head.

      So Why Complicate Life?

Missing somebody?                                                    ....Call

Wanna to meet up?                                                  …Invite

Wanna be understood?                                            …Explain

Have Questions?                                                        …Ask

Don’t Like Something?                                              …Say it

Like something?                                                        …State it

Want something?                                                      …Ask for it

Love someone?                                                          …Tell it

We just have one life. Keep it simple.

                        Love

                       Haley <3 

                         xx

Tip Tuesday

Here is a quicky for you all.

What do you love to do? What moves you?

To follow up with Mondays post, you can achieve what you want, with the right amount of work and dedication. If doing what you love seems out of reach, I promise, it's not. You have those desires for a reason and they will continue to burn until you tend to them. So start small, break down what you want and take the smallest step. Maybe you have always wanted to be a fine artist but never had the education. So you just stopped painting and drawing all together. Pick up a pencil and sketch for 30 minutes. Then maybe next week draw something you love. Before you know it you could work out to taking an art class and maybe even continuing education courses. 

It does not have to be an action that moves you or a hobby. It could be a place or a person that perhaps you have not gone to or seen in a while. Its healthy to keep these things in the front of our minds and hearts because before long to much time passes and those gears stop turing, you completely loose sight and maybe have even forgot what you truly love. 

How do you make time for things you Love? Are they priority? Or do you keep them in the back of your mind? I challenge all of you to write down whatever it is and keep it somewhere you will see it, like your planner or on your dashboard in your car. See how much more motivated it mae-ks you to find your love again.

Intro

Happy February! 

 Ok so it is obviously Love month, where everybody thinks about valentines day and romance...awww.

However! Here at Mae Movement! We are turning the tables! You can not love someone else properly, if you do not love your self first. I do not mean stare at yourself in the mirror forever. I mean do things that will better yourself! take care of yourself! That is what it truly means to love yourself! 

So lets just dive right in!

Consistency

I get asked all the time, “What Keep’s you do determined.”  “How do you stay thoroughly consistent.” Now most of the time they are referring to my diet and exercise but recently it has also been about life in general. Which is great because Mae Movement’s vision is to appeal to everyone even if your nut a health nut! Although that is not to say I won’t try to convert you ;)

I struggle with staying motivated too, there are some days when I just want to sit on the couch and read a book. The last few weeks Dee has had my car, meaning I am stuck in the city unless she or Dad comes to get me. It has been a humbling experience and I had to cooperate. I thought I would back slide completely and to be honest it did take a week to get use too it. We should be able to be flexible though and it should not distract you from perusing you goals and your best self. I had to evaluate, the situation and myself. Figure out something’s that was temporally different. Learn from them and make them better.

1.     ROUTINE. Not having a car broke my usual daily flow of get up, have breakfast, drive to the gym, work, etc. I became very aware of how having a set schedule is key for productivity.

2.     CONVENIENCE. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic you know just how cold it has been lately. Running outside has not been much of option for me, with the snow and ice.  And No car, means no gym.  That is like taking away oxygen to me, I have had to find alternatives, but in all honesty it made it much harder for me to want to work out because it was different and lets face it change is uncomfortable.  I started jump roping in my apartment and used my Toneitup workout DVD. Convenient? Yes. Don’t have to think about getting to a gym, being out in the cold. Its there, whenever. Done. Easy. Sometimes when we are teaching ourselves to be more disciplined giving ourselves a convenient option can help us achieve our long-term goals because it helps you too at least start!

3.      SELF TALK. Oh yes, I talk about it all the time. It is so true though. I noticed the BIGGEST difference when I would wake up and say “oh my gosh, I cant go to the gym, I cant run (insert anxious thoughts), verses “Ok, I cant change the fact I don’t have car, how can I make the best of it.” Those daily affirmation’s, make the biggest difference! Do not Focus on the problem, Concentrate on the solution.  Still dedicate time for physical movement even if you put your headphones in and dance…. Yes I do that.

Now like I said I use exercise as my metaphor but if you are a student, and you miss a class or your teacher changes your exam schedule or your boss at work changes deadlines on you. Or perhaps last minute you have a business trip or a meeting all the way across town. One big one people say to me all the time is, “ I started a diet, but then we went on vacation, so I blew it.” Or “I didn’t have a healthy option for lunch, so I ate junk at dinner too.”

When your flow breaks it is frustrating but I believe this little checklist is a great reminder that before we panic when things change and break our flow, we need to stop. Breathe, and adjust our situation to make it work. Do not let the change take over, YOU are in CONTROL!

As Promised here is the Protein Pizza!

Crust

1 packet plain brown rice protein powder

1 tsp Coconut Flour

2 tsp Flax Meal

1 tsp Psyllium Husk meal

3 tbsp egg whites

3 tbsp plain unsweetened almond milk 

1/2 tsp Psyllium Powder

1/2 tsp Gaur Gum

1/4 tsp baking powder

Eye ball the next ingredients to your liking

Garlic Powder

Parsley

pinch of baking powder

McCormick All purpose seasoning

McCormick Garlic and Herb

Oregano

1 tsp Hummus

Toppings 

Tomato sauce

Almond cheese

Nutritional Yeast

Spinach

olives

Cottage Cheese

Onion 

Mushroom

Peppers

Red Pepper Flakes

Basil

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl 

Pour mixture on sprayed baking sheet, spread out evenly (add toppings) and bake for 15-25 minutes depending on thickness. I tried this a few times and let it bake till the edges got a little burnt. I then sliced the pizza and toasted it.  

Happy Friday!