Crack of Ass

That's what time I've started getting up in the mornings - 5:30am - a.k.a. the ass crack of the day. And while I cringe when the alarm goes off, I am loving my new routine. I am much happier, I have less stress, and I am getting so much more accomplished.

The reasons for the early wake-up-call? Are many.

1) My husband used to run. I say "used to" because the man hasn't bothered to drag his sorry (and currently slightly larger) ass out of bed to trot for almost 10 months now. He claims that he's too tired to get up, that he doesn't want to leave me alone in the house with 3 kids so early in the morning (WTF? He leaves me alone with them all day. I realize mornings are tougher, and I annoy much easier, but still. Not at all a valid argument now that they are almost completely self-sufficient.), and that he doesn't have the time. I am sick and damned tired of listening to him bitch that his jeans are too tight and that I am somehow holding him back from running. He's also been really frustrated lately. Running has historically been his outlet for stress-relief, and he needs to get back to it. So I told him that if he got up, I would get up. He scoffed. So now it's all about spite.

2) I've gained between 15 and 20 pounds. The 66 that I lost was awesome...but at the end of that year, I was starving myself to maintain something that wasn't possible. This girlfriend needs to eat more than salad, chicken broth, and sugar-free jello. I'd like to lose 10 of those pounds. My jeans and everything are still cozy, but I'd like them to be a little looser. And I'm going to Florida in a few weeks. It would be nice not to jiggle quite as much. So since the hubby is getting up to exercise, I am, too. I've been exercising every day (or at least 5 days a week), but I'm only doing the bare minimum. Since I started getting up earlier, I am getting in a decent workout before breakfast, and then after I drop E off at school a friend and I walk at least 2 miles in the mall. So instead of averaging maybe 7 miles a week + a little extra cardio, I'm up to 10+ miles with a lot of extra cardio. I walked 4 of those miles today. Hooray!

3) Winter sucked. I hate the dreariness and general blahs of the season, and now that it's getting nicer out I want to make the most of the day. My kids are sleeping in (around here, we consider 6:45 sleeping in), and I am able to get a ton done before their feet even hit the floor. Lunches are packed, laundry is done, dinner is at the very least planned, coffee has been consumed, Facebook games have been played, and I am in a much better mood. Again...hooray!

4) I hate wasting the day sleeping. As much as I love sleeping, I feel so lazy if I stay in bed past 7am. Dragging myself out of bed at 5:30 has really alleviated the tension I feel in the morning. When I was getting up later, everything felt rushed - and that was very frustrating. I would be easily agitated, and I would end up yelling at the kids for basically no reason. Now that I'm exercised, caffeinated, and showered before I even have to look at my kidlets, the mornings are much smoother. Jon's much happier, too, now that he's back to running every morning - and he's noticed a huge change in my morning attitude.

5) I realized that I am a morning person. I fought this notion for years simply because I didn't want to get out of bed. But I am so much happier and more productive in the morning. My fantastic mornings give way to fantastic afternoons, and the evenings? Have been nothing short of awesome. Sure the kids are annoying, but because I'm nowhere near as stressed out I'm better able to deal with it without losing my temper. Much.