Smiling the best Superpower

Welp, Brian Johnson did it again.  Delivered to me an awesome food for thought message, and $25,000.  According to Frank Lipan's studies, smiling one smile has the same physical benefits as recieveing $25,000, or 2,000 bars of chocolate (minus the caloric intake).  Pretty awesome.  This TED talk, is a more than worth it 7 minutes.  Here it is, check it out: The Hidden Power of Smiling

Lipman discusses his 32 year longitudinal study at Berkley, measuring success and wellbeing in conjunction with measuring participants smiles.  Studies have also used athletes smiles on their baseball trading cards to correlate with their lifespan.  Players who had beeming smiles on their cards, lived up to 80 some years, whereas players that didn't sport (pun intended) smiles, had a shorter life expectancy.  So stop trying to be a hard ass in your athletic photos, and show your pearly whites.

Now on to the kiddos.  Thanks to 3D ultrasounds, we can now see that even in the woom, developing children smile.  Interestingly, Lipman also points out that blind children/infants smile.  So its not just a learned behavior from watching our peers or parents smile, its an innate behavior.  Children on average smile an amazing 400 times a day.  Now multiply that by $25,000 - children are the richest little buggers on the planet.  We should take note.

Smiling is also evolutionarily contagious.  So when you are faced with a smile, the odds are against you if you are trying to maintain your stern face or frown.  Also, interestingly enough by mimicing a persons smile it helps us determine is sincerety.

Lipman discusses a study that inhibited individuals from smiling (pencil in mouth), and the result was severly impared judgement on sincerety of the smile.  This is known as the Facial Feed Back Response Theory.  Inhibiting your physical response interrupts cognitive processing of emotional content.  How rude, huh!

Smiling makes us healthier, inhibits stress hormones, increases mood inhancing neurotransmitters, reduces blood pressure, makes us look good in the eyes of others (scientifically proven), makes us percieved as more likeable and more competant.  Humans smile to display joy and satisfaction, and by faking it until you make it you can change your physiological status to that of joy and satisfaction.  1/3 of humans smile 20 times per day, where as children smile 400.  Wow.  Tis the season for joy, so its a perfect time to try to catch up to those ankle bitters.

To quote one of my all time favorite movies, Elf, "Smilings my favorite".  :)  Your mission today smile 400 times. Go get em.

To The Hunt

I just have to brag about my AMAZING Thursday.  It has been a jam packed week as I’ve been marketing my tush off for Black Friday and Team Member Appreciation Week, as well as conducting interviews for new Team Members, working, working out, packing up my apartment, and getting some eating and sleeping in there too. 

So when Thursday morning rolled around, I embraced the EMPTY morning schedule.  I got up had breakfast, and indulged in getting sucked into a Cena movie, 12 Rounds.  Thanks Clint! Ha.  Luckily he had recorded it so we could fast forward through commercials. 



GREAT DAY.



I finally got my rear in gear, and did errands.  Fun errands.  I had a Barnes & Noble Gift Card burning a hole in my pocket since my birthday, so I picked up The Paleo Solution.  A fun read about the way our ancestors, the cave men, ate; and how that is how we should be mirroring our nutrition schemes.  I picked up some new tennis shoes.  I love how comfortable running shoes are, but they aren’t made to hold up to squats, leg press, and dead lifts; therefore my poor Saucony’s were pretty much floppy socks.  For fun, I tried on a funky pair of Nike Cross Trainers…and ended up loving them.  I’ve stayed away from Nikes for a long time, but since they are Cross Trainers I thought I’d give ‘em a shot.  They have a wider base and are more sturdy than the average running shoe.  Plus they are pretty shnazzy.  I went to Sam’s Club to fill up on the $3.09 per gallon gas, and pick up our usual.  15 ½ dozen eggs, bag of sweet potatoes, bucket of Organic Spinach/Spring Mix, Low Carb Monster (my down fall lately – woops), and some turkey tenderloins.  OH! And some delicious RED MEAT for dinner Thursday night. 

I attempted to go get an oil change, but they were pretty busy…so I headed home and got the steaks marinating, had some eggs for lunch, and went to the Chiro Clinic for a few appointments.  I got home fairly early and started to throw together dinner for the fam.  Steaks, sautéed mushrooms, roasted red potatoes (sweet potato for me), Apple Raisin Almond salad with homemade Apple Cider Vinegar and Greek yogurt vinaigrette, and cucumber water.  NOM NOM NOM.

Great day followed by great dinner.  Today (Friday) has been equally as hectic as the rest of the week, but I’m excited as I’m leaving town later this afternoon to head to Osseo.  Part of me wishes I was going back for Deer Camp again, but this fall was just a bit to crazy to make that happen again.  This year, I’m heading to Osseo for a different kind of Hunt.  Dress Hunting for Bridesmaid dresses for Brianna Joy’s wedding on 6.9.2012.  I’m looking forward to spending some time with my favorite cousins, and actually looking forward to the drive.  Some alone time, with some tunes.  But before I head out, I get to pump some iron. Leg day. Squats, press, front squat, more press, and to reward my hard work, trap work. Again, NOM NOM NOM. 

Good luck to all the Hunters!  Be SAFE, don’t over serve yourself tonight so that you can’t keep your eyes open in the stand tomorrow!  And I’d me more than happy to take some venison off your hands, so call me when you get that Turdy Pointer.

OATS

The USDA estimates that only 5% of the world's entire oat crop is actually eaten by humans.  Its my new mission in life, well maybe for the week, to increase that percentage.  Oatmeal is my favorite part of my nutrition plan, the highlight of my morning.  My tummy acts as an additional alarm clock most mornings, and oatmeal is usually part of the remedy to shut it up.

Oatmeal is claimed to have the almighty power of reducing cholesterol, and this is because of the beta-glucan (soluable fiber) in the oats.  Not only is oatmeal able to reduce cholesterol, I've read an article that claims it can diminish your high cholesterol issue completely.  Many nutritionists compare oatmeal to little sponges, full of soluable fiber, that absorbs the bad cholesterol, and carries it out of your body.  I won't get any more graphic than that, but We love fiber! :)

Good Man

Oats have long been a staple of many athletes' diets (myself included), especially weight lifters. Why?  Oatmeal has a high content of complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fiber that encourages slowwwww digestion and stabilizes blood-sugar levels. Thus the old addage that oatmeal "Sticks to your ribs".

I remember my parents making my sister and I oatmeal for breakfast before school.  But back then we would throw raisins, brown sugar, and top it off with some milk.  Yum, but things have changed.  Although delicious masking this superfood with sugar does it no justice.  This morning I put banana slices and some chocolate protein powder.  Deeeeeelish.

Mmm, already looking forward to tomorrow morning, for my next rendezvous with one of my favorite foods ever, OATMEAL.  NOM NOM NOM.  Have a great day!

Ketchup

Actually, my Grandma (Helen) would say "CATS-SUP".  TomAto, TomAHto (pun intended).  None the less, its time to do some catch-up as its been awhile since my last post.  So forgive me if this post lacks structure and proper flow.

Last week I spent an evening at my apartment sorting through anything and everything, in efforts to pack up and move out.  I moved to Eagan in June of 2009, with an opportunity to live in an incredibly reasonably priced town home with a then coworker.  I inhabited the basement, equip with bedroom, living area, full bathroom, two closets, and laundry.  Middle floor was main living room, and kitchen; third floor was my roommates space and a spare bedroom and bathroom.  So the town home was technically a 2 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 car garage, and a terrific space.  But that's exactly what it was....space.  I never felt like it was a HOME to me.

Long story short, I've spent the majority of my time over the last year with Peter and his family at their HOME  Because of some changes with my roommate, I now have the opportunity to conclude my residency at the town home, something I've wanted to do since late Spring.  Since the Andrus establishment always has friendly faces (including Peter), fun to be had, and welcoming family it truly has been my Home (away from Home - Prescott).  Peter and I have decided that rather than waste funds on renting an apartment, we have decided to stay put at the Andrus establishment so we can save up to take advantage of this buyers market sometime in the next year.  With my recent job change, and Peter's recent Hamline graduation we could use some time to get a head start on savings and to get our bearings with where we want to be and qualities in a home we want to look for.  It also helps to have a place that we aren't forced into a lease or a strict timeline...at least the 'rents haven't gotten too fed up with us to give us an eviction date yet.  

Okay.  Again, get to the point.  I went to my Crane Creek town home and ended up spending quite a while on Memory Lane instead.  With my initial move to Eagan, well, scratch that, with my move from La Crosse to Prescott, I down sized my belongings quite a bit, and even more with the move to Eagan.  So I don't really have all that many belongings.  My clothes are the issue, and not like most females.  Most of my drawers are filled with sweats, mesh shorts, sports bras, tank tops, and my favorite...cut offs.  The bulk of the remainder of my belongings....books.  I have a slight fetish with books.  Textbooks, coffee table books, quote books, autobiographies, photography books, and even many of my 3 ring binders of notes from some of the various courses I've taken and loved.  It was fun to revisit many of these pieces of literature and try to justify keeping or getting rid of them.  Since my previous downscale, I didn't have to part with many, but I did have to put most of them in storage.

I also came across my basketball memorabilia portfolio, and pretty much got lost in Mitchell Hall Memory Lane for quite some time.  Gosh those were great times.  Playin' ball with the gang.  Can't get much better than that.  I decided that between Peter's college football memorabilia, and my La Crosse collection, we will have a pretty sweet 'Man Cave'/Sports Den some day.  Its going to be pretty sweet. 

I'm not quite finished with packing up my belongings, but I'm getting there.  And it feels good to get rid of some irrelevant clothing and miscellaneous things; it makes me not want to spend any money on pretty much anything (besides food).  

Jump to the weekend.  Friday night we attended a beautiful wedding for a high school friend of Peter's - Vanessa (Leonetti) Rutz.  Sometimes weddings hit more than others, meaning, sometimes they make me tear up and cry (joyfully), and sometimes they don't.  Well, I took one look at some of the songs listed in the program, turned to Peter, and warned him..."I'm going to cry".  The song that the beautiful bride walked down the aisle to, was Etta James "At Last".  HOLY GOOSEBUMPS.  During the social hour they had some classic jazz (Louis Armstrong, Sam Cook, etc.) playing - I LOVE this genre.  And made the evening even more beautiful.  Peter and I spent time Dance Floor watching, entertained by the group of adorable little kids dancing with out inhibitions, and watching the spirited adults also dance with no inhibitions.  Lots of happiness happening.  Great wedding.

Saturday, I got up and went to MIXX class (aerobics) at Eagan - something I haven't done in a long time, and had been missing.  Got ready for the day, and took off for DT MSP to have lunch with Peter's parents before we headed to TCF Stadium to watch the Badgers battle...well, slay the Gophers.  It was a terrific day for a fun rivalry, and it was a blast to see SO much red in Dinkytown.  When we got to the Stadium, while waiting for Peter to get back from the bathroom, I was standing on the main level looking out to the field.  I turned and kind of bumped elbows with someone...I looked over, low and behold.  Tubby Smith.  I smiled and said Hi (he said Hi back), and I was kind of dumbfounded and didn't know what else to say.  And I was happy that Peter got back from the bathroom before he went too far, because he never would have believed me (which he agreed that he wouldn't have).  None the less, we had a fun Saturday!  And its so nice to be able to utilize the light rail and transit. We didn't have to worry about traffic or parking.  We are looking forward to 2014 when the St. Paul section is finished!

We both slept like BOULDERS (opposed to rocks), with all the fresh air and walking we got in (not to mention my aerobics class) Saturday.  I didn't even stir until 9am opposed to my usual 6:30am sans alarm wake up.  I got up, had a nice slow morning, then headed to work, got a workout in, brought some revenue in, and here I am relaxing with my boys (Peter, Clint, and Mac; Laci & Barbi too), getting ready to gear up for a great week.  Lately Mondays have been kicking my arse...so I'm pretty determined to have a GREAT day tomorrow.  I'm sure this week is going to FLY by, as I have a hot date with my favorite Bride To Be - Brianna Joy and the rest of the bridesmaids for the Hunting Opener.  Dress Hunting that is. I'm excited to see my favorite cousins, and to spend some girl time chatting about wedding/bachelorette/bridal shower planning fun.

With that said.  Enjoy my memory lane and weekend photos.  Sorry for not inserting them into the post where they belong, but I don't feel like doing that much monkeying around this evening.  So have a great week, "Oh and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night" (Truman Show, Jim Carey).  

Millions of LaX hoops sweatshirts and my TO THE HUNT Hat from the Werner's Wedding

My final semester I took this course through the Y...fun times.

Actually didn't let myself open these up, because I knew it would deter productivity for another few hours.

Physiological Psych class. Love hate relationship with that one.
BUT I got to hold and probe around a human brain.

Senior year Program Cover.  Love and miss you people.
This will be framed and displayed in my Sports Den some day.

Scantron.  Woof.

BOB's & SOB's ya'll.  BUCKS anyone?!

Probably my FAVORITE college course: Group Dynamics. 

The beginning of my love for anatomy.

Wish I could go back.  (minus test days)

Hoop Dreams

I think I pretty much started 'playing' basketball shortly after I could walk.  My dad played hoops with a bunch of guys a few times a week at an open gym a few blocks away at the local middle school; he would take my sister and me along, and we would run-a muck playing on the sidelines, the bleachers, the stage, and anywhere else we found amusing.  The guys he played with also brought along their kids, so there was always a group of kids to play with. As we got older (as in 3rd/4th grade), our dads started to develop our basketball fundamentals.  My dad would put me through post drills (where my jump hook was established) on the sidelines when he wasn't playing, and before leaving we would each shoot 25 free throws.  Five at a time, and rotate between myself, my sister, my dad, and another father-daughter team.  (I accredit my 90% high school, and 80% college free throw percentage to this practice specifically).

I believe I started to play 'organized' basketball in 4th or 5th grade, and for most of those late elementary and middle school traveling basketball years, dad was our/my coach.  Now, my dad has always been, and will always be a coach to me, but he literally was our coach.  And because of the group of little athletes we were, and our coaching staff...we. were. good.  I think our 8th grade year, we went 16-1.  Looking back those were some of my 'funnest' years.  Gosh.  To be kids again, traveling a few hours on a Saturday morning to play (at that time) 5-6, maybe 7 games.  (They have now decreased the amount of games they play to around 4 I believe).  But gosh, I would go back to those days in a heart beat.  Not a worry in the world, just playin' ball, hangin' with your friends.  

And now that I'm old enough to realize and appreciate, I have to be so thankful for the dedication of our parents to allow us those opportunities.  Driving us to and from practice, traveling on the weekends, putting up with a group of up to 15 obnoxious preteen girls, and loving us all the same.  That's what amazing parenting is all about.

Like any little athlete, I had dreams of making it big.  I first remember wanting to play division 1 college basketball, and not just for anyone, for the Wisconsin Badgers.  When I was younger my dad took me to many college sporting events, including Badger basketball games, especially since my uncle had a connection with the university.  I remember one game in particular that I got to sit behind the bench, and go back to the press room where they hold post game interviews.  For an 8th grade girl, I was pretty much in awe.  

I think it was also that same year that the WNBA was established.  So not only did I have aspirations to play college basketball, now there was a dream to play beyond.  One of my favorite players was Rebecca Lobo.  I had read her book, and I had her New York Liberty Jersey.  (which some obnoxious preteen boys often taunted me about).  Okay, this post is getting way longer than intended.  To the point.  In case you are new to my blog or are completely oblivious, neither of those dreams came true.  But I did have a great high school career, enjoyed playing 4 years at the D3 college level, met many incredible people, and was exposed to many incredible opportunities (i.e. playing basketball/traveling to London).  

Me holding the WNBA Championship Trophy

Yesterday, I achieved another dream.  Kind of. 

 I don't feel an ounce of failure when it comes to those childhood dreams, rather I am proud to have been bold with my dreams and achieved what I did.  I really didn't think that I would be so inspired and excited to see the WNBA Championship trophy yesterday at our LTF location.  But it brought me back to being that little girl, that just wanted to play basketball.  That mind set that the sky is the limit, and that the only way to dream is to dream big.  Good stuff maynard.  Good stuff.  

lack·lus·ter

lack·lus·ter/ˈlakˌləstər/

Adjective:

Lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired. (of the hair or the eyes) Not shining; dull.

This pretty much defined me for most of the day.  'But Abby its 1/1/11.  Its a new month.  A fresh start'.  Usually all of those things would excite and inspire me.  But such is not the case anymore.  Now that I have a job that relys on monthly performance and revenue; the fresh start is daunting.  We had a great month in October, and we achieved our goal and then some.  (105% to be official).  However, the day after month close out...kind of sucks.  Because you have to start from ground zero.  And depending on your new goal and the circumstances, you could be in for a tough battle. 

Our revenue goal is higher than it was last month, but there are less (business) days in November.  So we have to perform the same amount (our 105%) in less amount of time, to even reach 100% for November.  And November to me seems like a pretty bland month.  October is so colorful, and exciting with Halloween.  December is winter and Christmassy.  November is brown, and dull, and full of tryptophan.  Zzzzzzzzzz. 

So.  Lackluster was pretty much my demeanor for majority of the day.  BUT, I finally snapped out of it when I got to do my hands on work with my clients.  I can always rely on this time for me to think creatively, and brew up new inspiration for the days/weeks to come.  On top of that I'm holding my first employee meeting tomorrow evening.  I decided to hold off until my 2nd month into my leadership position to hold a team member meeting, because quite frankly I've been too busy running around learning with my head cut off to be able to hold a worth while meeting with my team members.  So I'm excited to celebrate October sucesses, establish November expectations, break bread (I'm making some chicken veggie soup), and as a cherry on top...the WNBA Championship trophy, owned by the Lynx this year, will be in our club at our meeting time.  Will be cool to see a Championship trophy up close in person, not just myself, but with my team.   Hopefully we will come away with some inspiration and some good LUSTER for our month of November. 

Mia Hamm has been quoted to say, "It is more difficult to stay on top, than it is go get there."  I couldn't agree more, and this is exactly why I felt pretty lackluster earlier today, but I believe in my abilities as a leader, and in my teams abilities to work hard and come through with yet another victory.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!  Happy November...here goes nothin. :)