#2867 one thing at a time

I have a sticker that looks a little different from this one, but has the same words. I think it's funny, and I thought I embodied those sentiments, but it turns out, I don't. My cousin Sonia,  well, this could be her life's slogan. While she was here, she would get up, go to the bathroom, and stumble down the stairs looking for coffee. The first day she was here, I was up first and had a pot made, so she could just sit and drink it peacefully. The second morning, I slept a little later, so she was already up when I got downstairs. She looked at me frantically, grabbed my arms, and sort of yelled, "Where is the coffee?!" I introduced her to the magic and speed of the K-cup, and she was okay every morning after that. Truly, she would have to have a coffee before any other thing happened. I kind of admired her dedication to the mantra.

Another thing I noticed about Sonia's breakfast routine was what she ate, when left to her own devices. She would get a coffee, then prepare a slice of toast, sprinkled with a bit of olive oil, and top it with a slice of cheese (we had havarti, the King of Cheese, on hand.) She would also have a glass of orange juice, and a piece of fruit. Sonia sat at the table, her plate filled with the cheese toast and fruit, and she would peacefully eat, always chatting away with me and MT. There were no other distractions. She didn't mess with her phone. She didn't read a book or magazine. She enjoyed her food and drink, took her time, and only when she was finished was she ready to get on with the day. 

Maybe this sounds strange, but I have been thinking about distractions during meals a lot lately. My favorite influencer, Shannon at This French Life, is doing a cool series this month and next that she is calling the Joie de Vivre journey. She began the series three weeks ago, and has a ten-week series planned.  Check it out on Instagram (thisfrench.life). She posts pretty videos on weekdays for the series. She's also doing a series about locations from the book All the Light We Cannot See, a series currently on Netflix based on the book by Anthony Doerr. 

Anyway, Day 2 of the Joie de Vivre journey was about mindful eating. The prompt was about making better food choices, but in my mind, I combined it with the Day 1 prompt about setting boundaries. Wait for it...I'm about to tie it all together.

Friends, I did something this morning that I rarely do: I ate breakfast without an interruption. I know that sounds weird, but usually, while I eat any meal at home, I multi-task. I read. Sometimes I write. I often throw a toy for Stella. I eat and I drink and I do something else.  Today, though, I simply savored my meal. I had a coffee and a slice of gingerbread from Starbucks, along with a glass of oj. I put the bread on a plate, and just sat there while I ate and drank. I steadfastly avoided looking through that pile of mail that was staring at me. I refused to pull my phone out of my purse to continue reading a new book I just started. I ignored Stella when she repeatedly woofed at me and nudged her frisbee in my direction. 

It's not that I shut down my mind. I thought about what I was doing. I enjoyed the flavor and the tenderness of the gingerbread. I noted the warmth and flavors of the latte. The tangy sweetness of the orange juice played off the other two items nicely. I didn't have a piece of fruit; all we have are bananas in the house, and I am not there yet. I thought about what I wanted to accomplish today, and if I would make it through the day without a nap (more on that in a minute.) I looked around my house and made mental notes of what needed to be cleaned up, thrown away, or put away. When the meal was finished, I was totally satisfied and quite full. It was nice. I think I'll keep working on making mealtime a one-activity event a habit.

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I haven't been feeling great for the past few days. On Wednesday, I had a flu shot at my doctor appointment. On Thursday, I felt run down and achy. I took the day off from work, and slept off and on most of the day. I went to work on Friday, and that evening, I got a covid shot. When I got up yesterday (Saturday), every one of my joints was aching and I was just tired. I took the big dogs for a walk in the neighborhood, had some coffee, read, and then took a nap. I was cold and unhappy about my condition. I slept. I laid on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. I came upstairs to use the bathroom, then got on my bed and fell asleep some more. My left arm, where the covid vax happened, has a bump and is warm. I was in bed by about 9:00 last night, and slept hard all night long. Today I feel okay. I still think I want to take a nap with my weighted blanket. 

First though, I'm taking time to do an art project that has been really fun. I'm not done with it yet, so I'll share it the next time I write. I also need to do the bookkeeping for all my entities (home, business, family), and I'll probably call that a day's work well done. 

I will share this little art project I did this week. The prompt was to draw some boxes, then fill them with little drawings. I am in a total hygge state of mind right now. You know hygge - a cozy comfiness that is perfect for this time of year when the days get shorter and colder. Here is my art:

I added some stickers, too, because why not? It was fun.

That's all I've got today! I need to go to bougie Harmons to get some coffee and finish today's art project, not to mention pay all those bills. 

Have a beautiful week. Do something fun and take the time to enjoy yourself.

xo

#2664 habits

I have a bit of a crush on a man called Shankar Vedantam. Shankar is a journalist and the host of a podcast called Hidden Brain. Now, until just a minute ago, I hadn’t actually seen Shankar’s face because I only hear him on the radio and he is dang smart and that’s where my crush comes from. 

The other day, I was going down the road in my car and Hidden Brain came on. MT was in the car with me, so he was talking (of course LOL) over the top of Shankar, but I still managed to get the gist of the subject of the podcast, which was about habits. Shankar was talking to a woman called Wendy who wrote a book about habits and what I could hear was interesting and I wanted to know more about it. But then, a few days passed, and I forgot to go back to listen to the podcast and find out what Wendy’s book was called.

On Tuesday, I was going through my emails, I there was an email from Amazon telling me about cheap books that were available that day only. One of the books was called Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes that Stick by Wendy Wood. This HAD to be the book and the Wendy that Shankar was talking about! I bought the book (just $2.99 for my Kindle!) and then I listened to the podcast and started reading the book. 

You can listen to the podcast or read the transcript by clicking here.  

Like many people do, especially at the beginning of the new year, I think of things I would like to accomplish during the next 365 days. Some of my goals would actually be a result of habits that I form. I’ve often thought that if only I had the will-power or the consistency to do “things”, I would be successful at achieving my goals. Just a few pages into Wendy’s book makes me think that it is not mere willpower, but persistence and the forming of good habits that makes one successful. 

I knew a woman in WW who lost 100 pounds. I overheard a person say to her, “I wish I had your willpower.” The 100-lb loser said, “No, you wish you had my persistence.” I’ve always thought about that. What does it take to make a person so persistent? There have been times in my life when I felt I was persistent and had developed some good habits around eating and being active, etc., but things happen and I fall back into my old, not-so-great habits. I am excited to read about Wendy’s research and see what can be applied to my own life. 

Actually, I’ve already started to form a couple of new habits. One is that, first thing in the morning, when I feed the dogs, I pour myself a glass of water and I drink it while the dogs eat. My friendly co-worker Robyn suggested the water drinking, and I piggy-backed it onto feeding the dogs so that I would always remember to do it. It’s a good start to the day. Another new habit is that after I take the dogs for a walk after work, I immediately come upstairs to do my shoulder exercises. I have to do them, and by tying them to walking the dogs, it is becoming more automatic, like the glass of water. 

The book says that habits are just natural, like brushing your teeth every morning. It’s not something you even think about. You don’t have to talk yourself into it. That’s a habit. I want to make more good habits and figure out how to break up some habits I don’t like as much, such as plucking a candy from the dish at work just because I walk by the dish, or automatically reaching for a Diet Coke at lunchtime just because I always have a Diet Coke at lunchtime. It seems like the first step in breaking a habit is noticing you are doing it and then stopping yourself from the impulse of it. 

It’s kind of of “no shit” thing, and also kind of fascinating.  Maybe I’ll write more about it as I read through the book.

Thanks, Shankar! 

#2602 getting back in the habit

The last time I wrote here was Aug 14. I haven't written in my journal much, either. I'd made a vow to myself to write something every day, either here or in my journal or in my writing notebook. That vow was broken in August. There was a lot going on in the last 22 days, and writing definitely took a back seat on my priorities list. August was tiring for me emotionally and mentally in many ways. There were people coming and going and coming back. Work was tricky some days. There were a few days of quiet when I chose to flop down on the couch and watch TV, then go to bed by 9 pm. 

Two things became clear to me in past few weeks: It's very easy to break or lose a (good) habit, like writing every day, and it's very difficult to form a (good) habit. Bad habits seem to be pretty easy to form and pretty hard to lose, to be honest. 

Now, the page turns to a new month - okay, five days ago, I know! This morning, we are going to visit T, then MT will leave for Idaho. His original trip was cut short because the area where he was hiking was on fire and the Forest Service told MT and his brother to leave. Tomorrow he and Kevin will be headed back to Stanley to do a quick overnight hike to Cramer Lakes. He should be back Thursday or Friday. 

Tonight I have a concert at Red Butte Garden. The artist is Rodrigo y Gabriela. I have listened to a bit of their music, and I think I will enjoy the show. I love classical guitar. 

Later this week, T will graduate from inpatient recovery, and he plans to go to a sober living apartment for at least a month or two. I'm glad he made that decision. Right now he is safe and sober, and that makes me feel very happy. 

I have begun the Costa Rica Countdown (33 days!) I'm actually counting down to Oct 7, the first day of my vacation, the day I'll head to the LA area. Lizzie and I leave for Costa Rica on the 8th. Both Lizzie and I are doing some shopping to ensure we have the proper gear for the rainiest month of the rainy season. Truly, we didn't do a good job of figuring out a good time to go to the tropics. We had planned to go to Greece in October, and when that plan fell apart, we chose to go to Costa Rica and thought October would be a fine time to go. One thing we do know is that it will be very green and lush. We also have a high degree of certainty that we will get wet. It's all good, though. It's gonna be a freakin adventure!

All right, here's to getting back in the habit of writing every other day here. I'll be back on Tuesday Sept 7. 

See ya then!

#2475 why write?

 

Hi again! 

I was thinking about writing and why I do it. I don't really have an answer. Lizzie has a sign in her house that says "Write something every day" and at some point I thought that was a really good idea. I've always liked writing. I used to write little stories, in my younger years. I don't have a muse right now to give me ideas for stories. I thought I had one (a story) last year, and I wrote for a few weeks, but then the muse went away and now I just have some random scenes in a notebook.

Without a fictional story to tell, I write about my little life. I write general stuff here, mostly, and more private stuff in my journal. It's satisfying for me, and I suppose, in the end, that is the why. Writing gives me a little chance at being creative, maybe. My words and my little tales of every-day life certainly aren't anything special, but here it is anyway.

Today I've been going back and forth with myself about how often to write here. You know I like to give myself a schedule, as well as permission to take a break when needed. My first thought was to write a couple of times a week, like Wednesday and Saturday, say. Then I thought about the write every day mantra and had myself psyched up to write here on even numbered days and in my personal journal on the odd numbered days this month. So it will be one of those. I haven't committed to a plan yet. :D

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Have you checked out my 2020 Reading Page? I've read 59 books this year! My goal is 67, so I doubt I achieve that number, but I'll keep reading and see how it goes. I've got 29 more days to read eight books LOL

#2403 bike ride, Hamilton, and fireworks

This morning, the first day of my three-day weekend, my puppy decided we should wake up at 5 AM. She had been pretty steady with a 6 AM wake-up, but MT got up to use the potty and that woke her up and then we were up. MT went back to sleep. I took her outside, then brought her up on the bed, hoping she would chill and lay in the coolness of the fan. It didn't really work out that way, so we were up and moving around by 5:30. We went outside and it was breezy and nice. 

MT and I decided to go for a bike ride by 8 AM. We went out to Farmington and rode south on the Legacy bike trail. We had our longest ride of the year - 17 miles round trip. It took 90 minutes. That's about five and a half minutes per mile average. I felt like I had a pretty steady pace, but I struggled at times. I was shifting gears a lot. The last quarter mile, I was shifting back up to third gear when my chain de-railed. I had the bike serviced recently and it was shifting a lot better, but for some reason, the chain just jumped off the sprocket. I tried to put it back on, but it was quite oily and I couldn't get a grip on it, so I just walked that last little bit. MT was slightly ahead of me, so he didn't see me stop. It wasn't a huge deal. If I'd been further away from the car, I would have kept trying until I got the chain back on. I can do it, I just gave up on it today. I wasn't that far behind MT, so it wasn't a big deal. 

This afternoon we watched Hamilton on DisneyPlus. Rather, I watched Hamilton. The menfolk were there, too, but not wholly engaged. T likes it a lot - he was the one who got me interested in it. MT doesn't really love musicals, I think, but he did watch a big part of it and at the end was suitably impressed. Me, I'm totally in love with it and looking forward to seeing it again and again. 

Mac is not enjoying the noise of the fireworks. She has crawled under my bed. She's getting pretty big. I hope she can crawl back out! (She can and she did.)

It's only the third and it feels like thee are pyrotechnics exploding right over my house. I am not a fan, and I never have been. I don't think fireworks should be sold to regular citizens. Earlier this week, fireworks caused a massive 1,000 acre fire in the Lehi/Draper area that involved evacuating 42 homes. It is very dry here, and an errant firework can cause a lot of damage. Probably around here in the neighborhood it isn't as dangerous, but it is super annoying.

What are my plans for tomorrow? Well, I certainly won't be shooting off any firecrackers! I'll be hanging out at home, reading. I bought a couple of new plants that need to be re-potted, but I don't have pots, so I will have to go to a store to get some. I don't really have any plans, to be honest. Read, eat, nap, repeat is my favorite weekend plan these days. 

Enjoy the weekend! Be safe!