I am going to try and write this from a forgiving and loving place...I am going to try and write this from a forgiving and loving place...I am going to try and write this from a forgiving and loving place....
This is one of those things that drives me absolutely CRAZY about myself and I want to change it but never have. I don't keep up with things. EVER!! It really is so frustrating. Here I am blogging about challenging myself every week and making weekly challenges so I will be able to keep up with it and I don't keep up with it. Gar. Come on, me!! Pull it together!! Two weeks in a row of not doing what I said I would do. BUT on that same note, I did do some great things otherwise. So there. Some love. Good job, me.
I did keep up with exercise and enjoyed playing more tennis, running, doing Comcast videos, going to the gym and doing Zumba. So that is great.
We are having a lovely weekend - watching movies, visiting with some friends and just enjoying being together. I really do love just hanging out with that guy, my husband. He is so much fun.
I also wrote a few letters. I wrote three thank you notes, a happy new home card and a happy engagement card. I still need to write three more thank you notes and a new pan pal friend letter! (thank for the letter, new pen pal friend, MS!!!)
So remember that at the beginning of this whole thing I told you about the inspiration coming from a friend who was picking a challenge each week? Well the challenge she picked last week was to eat 8 servings of fruits and vegetables every day and drink 90 ounces of water. She rocked it. I am doing a modified version of that this week.
Here it is, week 4's challenge:
eat a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal, including snacks
Now you wouldn't think this would be much of a challenge, right, but I have been finding that I don't eat as many fruits and vegetables as I should! We eat a ton of vegetables for dinner and lunch but I need to get in more fruit. So I am looking forward to buying a bunch of produce at the grocery tomorrow and going for it. Do any of you find this as a challenge too? Any good ideas for me? My friend HL is a rockstar at eating lots of veggies and fresh foods all the time, especially kale. I should check out her blog for more ideas.
How is everyone out there doing? How is your 2012 so far?
xoxoxo
Juice it!
ReplyDelete1) Beet + lime + ginger +/- apple
2) Apple + carrot + celery
3) Apple + carrot (then blend the juice in a blender with spinach and/or kale, some whole apple, watercress or purslane or really any greens. Fiber yum!)
4) grapefruit, apple, ginger
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DeleteI meant to just edit my reply, not delete it. Now that looks sketchy.
DeleteI was saying that that is a great idea - using the juicer we got for our wedding that has lived in the closet for 9 months! I will give it a go this week.
Also, I wrote 5 letters tonight - 3 thank you notes, a wedding card and a friend letter. That all evens out to be about a note for everyday, right? Right.
Good luck on week 4. Embarking on health!
Hi, Em. I am enjoying following this blog. You rock. Give yourself some props for living an 'examined life.'
ReplyDeleteI am approaching my 50th birthday (in March), and my S.O. asked me recently if I had any goals for the, um, 'second half' of my life. And that kind of question used to be really easy for me to answer -- New Year's resolutions, goals for the next 10 years, or what have you. Used to do that kind of thing all the time (still do it some). But I've made some good progress, I think, toward 'living in the present,' and checking in with myself on such a nearly constant basis, that I don't think of 'goals' in the same way much any more.
Nowadays, my one overriding 'goal' is to keep my life decluttered enough and free enough that I am open each moment to whatever is the best action or step for me to take -- open to receive in awareness and to say yes to whatever opportunities appear when I am in that kind of open, and unhurried, and uncluttered state.
It might be an age thing. Lord knows I went through, and benefitted from greatly, many goal-setting and life-reflection exercises in my 20s, 30s.... But my thought for you today is -- and maybe this is a suggestion for your week 5 (or some other week) challenge: maybe carry a card in your pocket throughout the week, and every time it occurs to you that something isn't working in your life, or is cluttering up your life, or (on the more positive side) every time you notice that *this* (whatever it is) is what makes you really happy, *this* kind of moment, then... just by writing it down, and maybe mentioning it to Mike, or blogging about it here, will just make you more aware, and so -- without self-mandating that you make change x in your life, and without needing to fuss at yourself (or to try real hard not to), you simply take notice ("observe") these things. And should that sort of awareness become regular and consistent, then you will slowly make the needed changes -- without really *trying* to, you know....
Anyway.... I sound like I think I'm all wise 'n' shit, but no. It's just a suggestion. I've been having some success with something like it lately, and it might give a slightly changed, and maybe more self-compassionate, perspective on your ambitious and admirable 52 project here.
For me, it has been about simplifying my life in many ways -- for example, in the amount of stuff that I own (I'm trying to reduce down to 'everything I own fits in one room'); in the number of people that I deal with (I slashed my facebook friends list down to 28 people, I respond to a lot fewer emails than I used to, etc.); my financial life (I've just cashed in some mutual-fund money in order to pay off my truck early, plus I live in a housing co-op, which means I write one (relatively small) check a month that covers rent, food, utilities, wi-fi, laundry, common-room furniture and fixtures, etc.); and so on. My biggest demon is the internet. I spend a lot of time on 'the interwebs,' and ultimately most of that time does not really add to the quality of my life -- indeed, it prevents me from doing the things that would give me greater satisfaction, such as reading literature, spending time with my family and friends, spending time outdoors, exercising, working on a handcraft such as quilting, etc.
Anyway, the internet isn't *all* bad -- but it can easily be too much -- and in fact why did I write all this? :-)
Take care! Wanted you to know that I am following, and supporting!
Love the juicing idea!!! I second that. I wish, wish, wish we had one.
ReplyDeleteI eat an apple every morning when I first wake up. It's easy on the stomach, settles me down to figure out what I really want to eat (not just jump for the Lucky Charms because it's what I make 4 bowls right away for the kids!)...apples are super easy to keep around. Keep a bowl of apples, bananas, and/or oranges out all the time. Then, when you are fishing in the fridge, hopefully you will catch sight of the bowl and reach for one of those instead!
Veggies are hard for me....except carrots. I can eat a pound of carrots in a sitting. With some hummus? Oh, yeah. Mmmmm. :)
Don't beat yourself up! I love the little bit of love you give yourself...and I am very impressed with the extra working out!
Hey beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe most convenient way I've found to get lots of vegetables into my diet is to make HUGE batches of ROASTED veges and keep them in containers in the fridge. My sister does this, too. Roasted veges taste good hot AND cold, so you can snack on them right out of the fridge or throw them on sandwiches or warm them up with some leftover quinoa, etc. etc. etc. Carrots (cut in quarters length-wise) roasted at 400 degrees with some olive oil and salt until they are lightly browned and crispy around the edges keep really well, and are SO yummy. I also roast a bunch of beets (whole, sitting in an inch of water, covered in foil, at 425 degrees for an hour - the skin will slide right off when they cool) and keep them in the fridge - sliced thin and paired with goat cheese, avocado and fresh spinach on Ezekiel bread (or any bread you prefer) is a super-fast, supper yummy lunch. Asparagus also keeps well when roasted, OH! and you can steam artichokes and keep them on hand for a couple of days - they are actually delicious cold, too! Just having lots of roasted veges in my fridge that I can grab for a quick meal or a snack helps keep me on track SO much. Does that help at all??? I LOVE YOU! YOU'RE AMAZING!!!