Scrum baby - #Microblogmondays

I took the most awesome course last week which was both a life changer for work but also has the potential to be a life changer in my personal life. It is called the Certified Scrum Master course (yes - scrum like rugby) and it is an applied methodology for living an agile life (ok - really it is applied to software development frameworks but seriously, it has the potential to apply to pretty much any situation). 

It is the anti-waterfall methodology for life. Instead of mapping out the details of everything you want to do at the beginning of any project, you set the high level vision of where you want to be. Then, during each sprint (1-4 week period), you prioritize your goals for the sprint, make sure each team member has to be successful and start the clock. The goal is to achieve fully working outputs in small bits, check with your stakeholders along the way, and deliver exactly what is needed. We tend to get stuck in the weeds very early in the project and spend way too much time on stuff that just doesn't matter & that we don't really need.

How much baggage do you have in your life (and job) that you do because you have always done it that way? What if you could cut that stuff out and focus on the real value?! It is so empowering.

At work, my job is the 'scrum master' which means I will be getting stuff out of people's way so they can be as successful as possible. I love it. I was born to solve problems. Woot woot.

At home, I will likely be alternating between the product owner and scrum master. And sometimes the team member. We could decompose tasks for the house into the product backlog and see if we work more efficiently this way. Maybe big tasks won't be so daunting. You know. So I never start. 

Check it out!  Http:://Scrumalliance.org

If you could be agile in your life, what would you do differently?




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... and today's hat is ... #MicroBlogMondays

I was on stay-cation for the last week, and this morning I returned back to work.  Everything is different when I am working.  I get up at 4:50 in the morning so I have time to work out and meditate.  I rouse the family from their beds & let the cats in from their adventures.  I have to shower, find work appropriate clothes, apply makeup, style my hair. I have to get lunches ready and put breakfast is on the table.  I commute at least 25 minutes (unless there is a 3 lane pileup on the way, and then it takes an hour).  Just to be in the office by 8:00 feels like such a production, and then I turn on the computer and have the hundreds of messages waiting for me to take action.  And I have to remember who I was before I took that vacation.  I am still struggling, and it is noon.  Crazy!

I really loved wearing the mommy hat last week.  Sofie learned to balance and ride her bike.  We went to the top of the world (the Spindletop Hyatt) and explored art galore.  We ate gelato and skateboarded.  We rode amusement park rides, baked cookies, went to a coffee shop for hot cocoa and friendship, woke up late, and watched cartoons in the morning.  We had a picnic and a sleepover.  I love these happy days.

The transitions between my hats are hard.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is?Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

Spring break - #MicroBlogMondays

Hello All Y'all! It's spring break!

I love the murals that are being put in the Heights and around the town. It's not all concrete jungle.

Most fun toy for little girls ever - #MicroBlogMondays

After my deep connection with the universe occurred last week through meditation, a nasty virus took hold of me and I have been grounded ever since.  I am back to work on day 6 of the plague (feeling a lot better) and trying to function today.  I was drawing a blank for my post, until I remembered the super-amazing-awesome toy that my husband found for Sofie this weekend.

It is called the "Flutterbye Flying Flower Fairy" (say that 10 times fast) and it is a remote control helicopter for 5 and 6-year-old girls (and 40-something year old women). The hardest part of using it (unless you get a defective one - the first one we bought had an issue; we exchanged it) is waiting the 25 minutes for it to charge up.  Oh, and the Fairy does fly like a kamikaze pilot but so does my Sofie.

Playing with the fairy is like having a bag of pixie dust for a friend.  Cosmic.  Why did we not have these in the 80's???

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is?Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

The art of meditation - #MicroblogMondays

I have always been a very spiritual person.  I occasionally feel like I've lost that connection with the universe and the world around me.  It tends to happen gradually.  I will have some change take place in my life (kindergarten starting, Mandarin lessons, house cleaning,... whatever) and I will accommodate that change with time. I'll get tired.  I'll get restless. I'll stop focusing on me and start focusing on all the crap I have to do.  And all the negative feedback that comes my way starts to circle around in my head.  Months go by.  Suddenly, I am exhausted, stressed, anxious and out of touch with my awesomeness.

Last week, after my 30 minute cycling workout (really pathetic, but I am suffering from tendinitis in my elbow at the moment), God spoke to me and said, "[Junebug], take a moment and meditate."  Eureka!

I have meditated by myself in the past, I have tried binaural beats, I have done yoga/breathing, and somehow Deepak Chopra soothes me at a different level.

I started my "Perfect Health" guided meditation and I felt SO MUCH BETTER after I was done.  I was so focused at work.  I was able to function after I got home.  I had an amazing day.  I kept doing it every day last week, and it helped a little bit each day.  I met all my goals for the week plus some.  Today's meditation was all about loving myself the way I am, and I got stuck on Sirius XM Love by chance on the way to work.  Weird, right? I never listen to that channel.  It is too goopy for me, but it was spot on for the day.

Now I am taking steps to make sure that I am feeding my soul with meditation, and I commit to not falling out of the practice.

NOTE: I have purchased a few guided meditations from Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey.  In case you are interested, there is a freebie 21 day mediation starting on March 16th called "Manifesting True Success".  Do it!   I find them to be life changers.  Did I mention it is only 15 minutes?

https://chopracentermeditation.com/ 

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is?Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

Chasing Rainbows - #MicroBlogMondays

I always think that there is going to be more time:

• Time to catch up,
• Time to spend with my family,
• Time to work,
• Time to spend with friends,
• Time to work out,
• Time to sleep,
• Time to read,
• Time to visit,
• Time to meditate,
• Time to dance,
• Time to see the world,
• Time to build a house
• Time to plan my life...

The time never seems to come to me, and I am always chasing it a few miles behind. I am struggling to pick the priorities. I want to help change the world. I want to make a difference. I want my time to count.

Mommy Fitness - #MicroBlogMondays

Since I discovered a weight room, I love to work out. In college, I would wake up "early" at 6 am and run to the gym every day.  Although the music tended to cater to 18-year-old-nerd-metal, I loved to hop on the bike, stairmaster or treadmill for 30 minutes. Then, I would head to the free weights and go to town for another 30 minutes.  After college, I discovered high-tech machines and worked out like a fiend after work every day for 2-3 hours.  It put me in the best shape of my life.  Then, I moved to Norway and fell in love.  My boyfriend (now hubby) wasn't into the gym but preferred outdoor activities.  I went on amazing hikes, road my bike to/from work, climbed up mountains...  But, I did get lazy.  We moved back to the US a few years later, and I went on a few more fitness quests at the local gyms.  When we lived in Denver, I would ride my bike up and down mountains for 40-50 miles a day.  Most recently, I was a cross fit addict and grew an amazing addiction to wielding iron like a bad ass.  Think Wonder Woman meets Shee-ra.

I have had periods of injury over the years - back problems, blown out knees, neck problems, broken ankles, twisted ankles, shoulder issues...  I am recovering from the broken ankle now, and I am trying to find that balance with being a mom, working a full time job, and working out on a regular basis.

I have been a YMCA member for the last year, but when I go, I really do not like their equipment. The machines feel cumbersome, and there isn't a lot of space for using barbells/dumb bells.  The boys hang out in front of the mirrors, building the empire of weights around them.  When I am in the free weight section, I feel like a peacock in a sea of pigeons.  I joined so I could also go swimming, but there are really weird men who hang out in the pools there.  They leer & watch you swim, or they are aggressive and yell at you for getting in their lane.  I find myself not going to the Y.  Also, I have to drive there, which means either I have to go before work (and get ready there) & miss seeing my Sofie in the morning, or I can go after work, fight with the other after work people & not see Sofie at night.

Why not go back to the cross fit place, you ask? The workouts catered to men (although 70% of the clientele was female), and the women gained manly physiques.  They were ridiculously expensive.  When you pay for a personal trainer & they pay attention & correct your form. When you pay ~75% of the same fee for cross fit, and your trainer's attention is split between 60 people, you get hurt.  Also, they only do workouts at certain times of day, and I would have to plan my day around the workout. In the past, I woke up & left before seeing Sofie in the morning, and I wouldn't get home until 7 pm at night every day.  I just couldn't find the balance there.

So for the new year, with the goal of getting in shape & recovering from this ankle thing, I bought myself a Total Gym.  Yes, the one with Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley.  AND I LOVE IT. It fits in my spare bedroom with the stationary bike and foam roller.  It came with specific exercises for women for a total body workout over 6 days. I ride my stationary bike every day, and then I go to town with the weight lifting. No, it isn't traditional iron, but in the last 2 months, I have worked out 29 days.  That is awesome!  Right?  Also, the exercises are safe for children!  So, Sofie can do a mini-workout with me each morning, if she wakes up at 5:30 (and she does).  And I am getting my muscles back.

Yes, I struggle with waking up at my original target time of 4:45 am ... but I am definitely working out by 5:20 and I usually get in about 40 minutes which is significantly more than last year.  The other part of my workout equation is this app called Fitocracy.  It is a totally awesome weight lifting tracking app that allows you to not only track what you do, but also gives you points and badges for doing different physical challenges.  It is so fun.  I love reading other peoples' workouts too.  And of course, you get to 'cheer' for people in their awesomeness.  This weekend, I ended up working out about 75 minutes a day, and my points were so high, I am wondering if I need to try to workout longer than 40 minutes a day.   Also, I find myself craving iron and am wondering if I should setup a home gym in my garage.... It is a question for another day.  But I am fitting the workouts in every day, and I am so pleased with myself that I am able to see Sofie and get it done.