Happy (almost) birthday to me!

When birthdays come around, it’s natural to become somewhat reflective. As I look at where I am in my life, I easily get hung up on the fact that I’m not anywhere near where I thought I would be at the ripe “old” age of nearly 32. I’m also a far cry from where society likes to dictate a ”successful” 32 year old woman should be in her life.

Divorced….Childless…..NOT a homeowner….

According to society’s standards, I am well on my way to becoming “that crazy cat lady from apartment 11E.” 

Alysia Ann Jansen, Spinster Extraordinaire.

However, when I choose to assess my current life situation from the depths of my soul, I’ll tell you what I DO find…….

A woman surrounded by LOVE thanks to a close knit family that has been through hell and back and come out the other side stronger than ever.

A woman blessed with a life FULL of LAUGHTER thanks to 3 VERY special little humans that make up a large part of her heart.

A woman that has created a network of inspiring friendships that fulfill her both intellectually and emotionally.

A woman driven by intuition and her heart….that makes decisions based on what her gut tells her. Always has. Always will. 

Regardless of how it stacks up to society's expectations, how can a person be anything but grateful for a life like this!

Therefore, in the spirit of perpetuating abundance, I’m planning something a little different for my birthday this year.  As you may know, I’m a huge fan of RAoA…Random Acts of Awesome.  Such a big fan that, between now and my birthday, I will be compiling a list of 32 acts of AWESOME that I will complete over the course of my birthday weekend (September 13 – 15). 

Now, I have MANY people in my life that deserve a little bit of awesome but, in the hopes of trying to spread some awesome to a broader group, I’m asking for suggestions from YOU! Do you know someone that is having a rough go these days and needs some awesome in their life? Or maybe you know someone that gives so much awesome that it’s about time karma came back around and returned the favour? Tell me…..and I’ll make it a priority to find a way to share a little piece of awesome that weekend with 32 deserving people! 

*A*

Happy Love Day!

It’s no secret that romantic relationships are a mystery to me. So, on a day dedicated to love, I decided to devote some energy to detailing the THINGS I KNOW FOR SURE when it comes to what I love……

My Family

Just the thought of my family can bring me to tears. Maybe I’m a big cry baby or maybe I’m just so full of love for them that it likes to express itself by way of water running from my eyes. Either way, I am in love with my family. I am proud of how close we are and the support that we share. At times when life could have driven us apart we came together stronger than ever; for this I am so grateful.

Easton, Alivia and Davin make my heart sing. The thought has crossed my mind that I can’t imagine having my own kids because I don’t want the relationship I have with them to change. They are the true loves of my life.

Blaine, Janine and my Dad. No words. Just more tears. The following quote says it better than I ever could……

Music

I love music. There is rarely a minute in any day where I don’t have some form of music playing. Heck, even when I shower I bring my IPod dock into the bathroom. I’m sure my neighbours hate me. Music helps me express the emotions I don’t know HOW to express and the emotions I don’t WANT to express. It helps me bring light to my feelings and keeps me sane.

Weightlifting

The barbell is my boyfriend. I am in love with it and, like in any good relationship, it’s hard for me to express exactly why. It inspires me, challenges me and occasionally pushes me to my limits so that I can learn exactly what I’m made of. In the last 17 months, since I devoted my time to strictly weightlifting, I have learned that I can do more than I ever thought I could if I just remove my brain from the equation. Stop thinking and trust in your abilities. Trust that you have everything you need in order to succeed. Who would have thought a chunk of metal would be so adept at teaching me life lessons without asking for anything in return. How could you not fall in love with something so selfless?

Reading

My mom used to brag that I taught myself how to read so I’m confident that my love for reading has been with me since the day I was born. I could spend an entire afternoon in a book store or the library. I choose books based on recommendations from friends and based on their popularity on “Best Seller” lists. But, if I was being completely honest, as we all should be when talking about what we love, I often choose books just because of how they feel. A book that opens easily, isn’t too big or cumbersome to hold and has just the right thickness of paper gets me every time. This may explain why the next time you see me I just might be reading a book titled “Why do animals not have religion?”

At the end of the day, I’m comfortable with the fact that I have NO idea where my life is going or what it has in store because I have all of these things to LOVE while I enjoy the journey.

*Often people ask me about my music playlists. So, below is a list of every song that came on while I was typing this………

In My head – Jason Derulo
Come Over – Kenny Chesney
Give Me Love – Ed Sherran
No Diggity – Chet Faker
Rich Girl – Hall & Oates
Shake it Out – Florence and the Machine
Fix You – Cold Play
Limit to your Love – James Blake
Migrate – Mariah Carey
Black River – Amos Lee
No Envy, No Fear – Joshua Radin
Late Night Hour – Ice Cube
Cry with You – Hunter Hayes
Put it Down – Brandy
Hoo-Bangin’ – Westside Connection
4 my Man – Missy Elliot
Coming Down – The Weeknd
It Hasn’t Been Long Enough – Eric Hutchinson
Through the Wire – Kanye West
Muscle Relaxants – The Rural Alberta Advantage
Tear it Up – The Dudes
The Ditty – Paper Boy
The Light – Common
Make me Proud – Drake

Aly's 31 days of Random Acts of Awesome!

Welcome to Aly's 31 days of Random Acts of Awesome or for short RAoA. Yesterday I committed myself, via Facebook, to a single Random Act of Kindness every day for the month of December. I spent last night brainstorming potential ideas and came up with a plan.
Here goes nothing........

Week 1: WORDS (Dec 1- 8)

• All the acts performed during these 8 days will be based around "words". Sending unexpected notes to tell someone I appreciate them, leaving secret notes for strangers to brighten their day, giving someone a compliment.......

Week 2: THINGS (Dec 9 - 16)

• All the acts performed during these 8 days will be based around "things". Sending flowers to a friend, buying someone's coffee, leaving new magazines in a hospital waiting room.......

Week 3: ACTIONS (Dec 17 - 24)

• All the acts performed during these 8 days will be based around "actions". Brushing the snow off a stranger's car, making muffins for a neighbour, inviting a friend over for dinner.......

Week 4: LOVE DON'T COST A THING (Dec 25 - 31)

• In the TRUE spirit of Christmas, all the acts performed this week will not cost me a dime......this is where I may need to get extra creative.

I haven't quite figured out exactly how I'm going to document it as I don't have a computer at home so some days it may just be a post via my Facebook. However, on days that I can, I'll write about my RAoA here on my blog to share the details of what I did and the outcome.

Now, here's the best part. I'm challenging you.....yes, YOU to join me. You don't need to commit to the 31 days but why not follow my "themes" and perform one Random Act of AWESOME per week along with me?

I'm willing to bet you and I will get more out of this than we ever could have expected.

Inspiration & Gratitude; two staples in my life!

I intend to use this blog as a way to share the moments in my life that inspire me with the hopes that they will do the same for you. I also plan to share an attitude of gratitude for all things I am eternally grateful for as there are too many words of thanks that go unspoken......

Today I am grateful for a new friend that recommended an A-MAZ-ING book to me.

Who Will Cry When You Die? by Robin Sharma.

I was reading it while having lunch today and came away with the following Golden Nugget.......

"We really don't discover how powerful and resilient we are until we face some adversity that fills our minds with stress and our hearts with pain. Then we realize that we all have within us the courage and the capacity to handle even the greatest curves life may throw our way."

Sometimes it's just nice to be reminded that....you can do it.....and you will.

What's this jib jab all about???

Do work, Be more. Because you can....... what does that even mean?

Do WORK.....
Everyone should do hard work.
In the gym, workouts should be hard.....life is hard so why shouldn't your workout be too.
Outside of the gym, everyone should work hard at being better today than they were yesterday. A better mom, dad, sister, brother, son, daughter, friend..... regardless of the role you play......work hard to be a better human!

Be MORE......
As a result of said hard work, both in and out of the gym, you will be more. More fit, fulfilled, purpose driven.....MORE!. Don't we all want to be more?

Because you CAN.....
You CAN.....it's just that simple.

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. - Helen Keller

Purpose

Nearly 8 years ago (when I was 22) my mom passed away after a 4 month battle with cancer. It was October 19, 2003. A day that I will, obviously, never forget and a day that changed me forever.

For months after her death I was a mess. Days consisted of eating poorly, little to no activity and a LOT of feeling sorry for myself. Eventually I realized that I needed to make a choice. I could spend all day, every day, wondering WHY this happened to me or I could accept that these were the cards that I had been dealt and start DEALING with them.

Life sometimes sucks...it throws you a curve-ball and then gives you a swift kick in the teeth. HOWEVER, maybe, just maybe, that kick in the teeth is exactly what you need. So, instead of wondering WHY ME.....perhaps you should ask yourself WHY NOT ME and start to figure out what you can learn from it.

Now I'm not saying losing my mom is what I "needed" but it did help me realize who I am and what I want to do with my life. I have a purpose now that I didn't have before: I WILL make a difference in my life........because I owe it to my Mom and I owe it to ME!

"I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all." - Leo Rosten

How are you going to leave your mark?