The fun of ramping up...

The winds of change are a foot, and they're bringing me back again to focus on tweaking my lifestyle to support more orderly use of the energy and time allotted me. More than a tweak, really… the current in the air feels more akin to three years ago when I first started experimenting with a living foods lifestyle. That marked a wonderful watershed of change for me. I hope the next months usher in a similar wave of change. Certainly, this next week has all the hallmark signs of a fun kick-off – lots of new things coming onto the scene. For some reason, I went and ordered a host of items I've had on my mind to purchase for the last 6-9 months.

Ionizer: Yesterday I hooked up my new Genesis Rejuvenator ionizer to my kitchen faucet. Very psyched to be able to flood my body with this alkaline water. Have started experimenting with the acid water produced by the unit, as well…brushing teeth with it instead of toothpaste, soaking sprouts in it.

New blender: After conducting a bit of research, I decided to purchase the Blendtec 3HP Total Blender. Am not just ramping up the smoothies again, but am recommitting to focusing on finishing my first three live-foods books, and having this blender is going to open up some options as to the ingredients I can use and recipes I can make… as well as increasing the nutrition available in the smoothies I make. Apparently, the more powerful blenders actually break down the cell walls of the fruit and vedge components, allowing the nutrients to be more bio-available. Sounds logical to me… am looking forward to seeing how that actually carries over into how my vitality and physical performance increases.

Fitness equipment: I purchased an "Ultimate Rebounder", a 30' rope ladder (for boot-camp-esque speed & agility training), and some "Yoga Toes" which should be arriving any day now. And I also ordered a Kettler Apollo inversion table. Just can't wait to get on that thing. Next week is going to fun trying all these out.

Espresso machine: Even though my consumption of coffee goes way, way down when I jack up the raw (and I'm not a quantity consumer of coffee even now), still I value having the means to make exceptional espresso at home. And since I brought my espresso machine to work last fall, I've been on the lookout for a sale on a replacement machine. Lo and behold, I found a refurbished unit that is less than half the retail price. So, my lovely silver Ascaso "Dream Versatile" is on its way.

New computer equipment: And since our home PC drew its last breath months ago, I resolved to get a new system before I left the consulting world for a permanent position… which is occurring at the end of the month. So I shopped around and found an excellent refurbished (seems that's the way to stretch one's dollar…) Gateway with plenty of power for gaming and music production. Picked up a new 20" widescreen flat-panel monitor and some surround sound speakers as well. So… both the office and the kitchen are experiencing some heavy makeovers this week! Seems everything regarding work & health is undergoing a rapid shift at the same time.

New job: Am staying with the same company, but am assuming a permanent position… and beginning to manage a new project in the next month. It's this professional change, with a potentially more stabilized schedule, that has inspired me to resume working on my live-food books. I am determined to find a way to complete & self-publish the firsts one by the end of the summer.

Dance goals: My continued ballroom dance training and goals are driving much of this health & fitness activity. I started competing again, with five competitions so far since January and three more planned through June. And I'm planning to adding Latin in July to my regular Standard comp events. My schedule is currently so tight that I don't have much time available for travel to the studio to practice outside of my lessons. But around mid-May my schedule will change, and I will be able to start practicing more aggressively. In the meantime, I'm continuing to ramp up some fitness training to improve stamina, flexibility, speed, and leanness..

Since January I started working with a trainer every week with Meridian Stretching & Resistance Flexibility Training. It's been changing and unlocking my body and has definitely improved my dancing. But there's so much more that I want and feel I can unlock. So between the various fitness training plans I have and the increase in live foods, I'm hoping to see even more radical change occur over the next few months!