Monthly Archives: April 2013

Fun Things To Read On A Friday

Twenty pages in and I'm already sobbing.

Don’t bother me. I’m reading. 🙂

Seriously, this book is just…I don’t even know what to say about it. It came at the right place and time for me and I’m just loving every word of it. What are YOU reading?

I plan to do a lot of reading this weekend and definitely some cooking. Are you guys as happy as I am that it is Friday? I don’t have any big plans and I am THAT excited about it!!! I’m going to try and catch up on blogging this weekend because my brain is FULL and my fingers just can’t seem to keep up during the week.

Speaking of blogs, let’s talk about some links:

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*The Relay is next weekend. Probably should have read this months ago. 🙂

*I would like to be eating these for breakfast right now. PS – Thank you for all your breakfast and lunch ideas! I’m also sifting through this and this on recommendations.

*I finally broke down and bought these (I don’t know why I say “broke down” because they look awesome) and according to UPS they will be here Monday. I am so excited about this! Perhaps they will also help bring my mojo back!

*Check out A World Map of Flavors – 36 Regions, 36 Herb & Spice Combinations. PLUS RECIPES! They aren’t all Paleo, but I love advice on flavor combinations.

*You know I love routines, so I obviously loved How Rituals Can Supercharge Your Productivity (And Peace!)

*I get a lot of emails about troubleshooting Paleo. Paleo Mom wrote a pretty comprehensive post talking about exactly that.

*This caught my eye this week: Fitness + Stress – Some Thoughts On How To Manage Yourself.

*Speaking of fitness, Paleo Parents have a fun giveaway of CrossFit gear and clothing going on until May 1st. Also, Stacy’s post about Sugar + Metabolic Derangement (complete with dramatic photos!) really hit home for me.

*This Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist makes me oddly inspired to bust out my swiffers and my steam mop.

*Need a little pick me up? Check out these 3 TED Talks on the recommendation of Brene Brown. I would TOTALLY invite Brene Brown to a dinner party. Wouldn’t you?

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Hope your weekend is fantastic and full of your favorite things!


Ams and Am Nots – Plus Some Fun News!

Stretching our paws.

What I am NOT doing:

*Planning Meals at all — every night is a wild free for all or a negotiation between Garrett and I about who should cook or whether should we go out to dinner. Again.
*Having ANY desire to cook
*CrossFitting with any regularity (I MISS YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU ARCfit!)
*Responding to blog comments in a timely manner
*Making time to blog about all of the awesome stuff I have been reading lately
*Freaking out about everything anymore. So this is progress.

What I AM doing:

*Chugging away at the day job, and doing pretty well
*Getting outside for at least 30 minutes every day in the sunshine
*Sleeping 8+ hours per night
*Eating mostly paleo (plus corn chips! Oh, corn chips, I WISH I KNEW HOW TO QUIT YOU. Except, no I don’t because OMG YOU ARE SO DELICIOUS. Yes, yes I do want to quit you.)
*Diligently working on a gut healing protocol that involves some supplementation
*Diligently working on a cortisol lowering protocol that involves some supplementation
*Making time to read both fiction and non-fiction
*Drinking DECAF coffee at work! (Don’t worry, still drinking caffeinated at home)
*Feeling like I’m starting to figure things out

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I guess what I’m saying is we’re getting there. Life has been crazy for a bit, but it is definitely on the upswing. I am making progress, slowly but surely in some areas and very rapidly in other areas. It’s all a delicate balance and HEY! on Monday it is about to be turned upside down again. I mentioned a couple Friday’s ago that Garrett + I are going to be shaking up our routines shortly, and part of that is because Garrett basically got his dream job. WHICH IS AWESOME! And has been a loooooooooooooooong time coming! But also, it means instead of working part time and being done with work everyday around noon, he will be back to the 9-5 grind starting on Monday. This means both of us are going to be packing breakfast and lunch, and I am feeling a little bit panicked about that because HELLO, PLEASE READ ABOVE ON MY LIST OF WHAT I AM NOT DOING RIGHT NOW. KITCHEN TASKS ARE NON EXISTANT!

Guess that’ll get remedied this weekend or we’ll starve. 🙂

So! Lots of exciting changes. It’s a change of pace for both of us, but luckily I’ve just about got my feet under me at work, so it is so great that it will be Garrett’s turn to be challenged professionally. And you guys, he is so. damn. excited and happy about it which is great to see! While I’m nervous about what life will look like with both of us working so much, and of course what it will look like re-negotiating all of the household stuff (that has been Garrett’s domain for 3 years now…I think we may need to enlist some PROFESSIONAL HELP…EEEP!) I am mostly excited because two full time incomes mean there is a lot more financial flexibility when it comes to planning weddings and having babies. And I’m pretty sure my whole family (and maybe the internet) will sigh with relief when we finally stop talking about that stuff and starting doing it, ya know?

Anyway, since we are on the cusp of this big transition, and since I have about 48 hours to get my kitchen mojo back — can you guys help me out? I need to pick your brains about the following:

*Your favorite portable (paleo, preferably) breakfasts
*Your favorite quick weeknight dinners

I just need a little inspiration. (Frankly I need a little THINSIPIRATION too! Especially if we are going to start talking weddings. But that is a whole other blog post. And I’ll get there, so whatever for now!) I know I have been the crappiest at replying to comments lately, but if you have any ideas, wisdom or links to share that are helping you get through juggling full time jobs and transitions and all of that — HOOK A SISTER UP! 🙂


Capital City Classic Ten Miler Recap

Mental Will

You guys, I decided yesterday that I have a serious attitude problem when it comes to athletic endeavors. I need one of those awesome 90s motivational posters with a ski slope or Mt. Everest on it to tell me about how life is a very large percentage about attitude. About 3 miles into this race I looked over at my friend Lesley and said something to the effect of “This is why I’m crazy. I dragged my ass out of bed on a Sunday morning when I could be doing many other things, and here I am in the middle of running 10 miles, and instead of telling myself how awesome I am, I’m thinking of all the ways I could have done better — I could have trained more, I could have fueled better, I could have been more organized my stuff better. So no matter how much I do today, I have already decided (3 MILES IN) that I am NOT doing my best.”

I mean, you can imagine that the next 7 miles were loooooong, right?

But let me start back at the beginning. I had signed up for this race about a month ago after my friend Lesley and I had exchanged some fun emails about running. She had run The Relay before, she was making a bunch of running goals for herself this year so we had decided to do some an event together this year and since she is an awesome bad-ass and running coach, she would pace me. She mentioned this race in an email and impulsively, I signed up. I knew it would feel tough but I also knew that 2 weeks before The Relay I should be able to run 10 miles…uh, otherwise I was probably going to be in some trouble. 🙂

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The race started early, and it was in a beautiful area downtown, so despite being nervous I just kept telling myself what I always tell myself about running — that:

a) You are lucky that you even have the physical capability to be able to do it at all (OBVIOUSLY after the events of this crazy week, I felt that even more strongly) and

b) You always get to see things on foot that you never get to see just driving around…so be grateful!

start
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So the race started and I instantly had The Panic. The fact was I was undertrained (I haven’t run in almost 3 weeks, nor have I even worked out in almost a week) and instead of hydrating and eating well on Saturday in preparation, I drank wine and ate Mexican Food. BRILLIANT. 1 mile in and my legs were not feeling fresh and I wasn’t feeling super peppy.

The second and third miles were fine. Nothing felt great, but at least I didn’t have “I’M GOING TO DIE OUT HERE ON A RUNNING TRAIL” on loop in my mind. By Mile 4 I was basically ready to stop. The only upside to this, I thought, was that during The Relay I actually *do* get to stop at Mile 4. I’m going to remind myself of this moment when I am running in Sonoma! So I was starting to feel a little defeated, but Lesley just kept telling me to soldier on, so I did. Running is one of the few times in my life where I just want to be bossed around. 🙂

tower bridge
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We finally got to cross the Tower Bridge which was a pretty little bonus, but at this point I was still feeling TIRED AS HELL. Also, I had a super immediate and ravenous hunger that was almost making me nauseated. I’m guessing my pre-fuel strategy of “eat one meal on a Saturday and have it be Mexican food” was maybe not ideal. But we were busy on Saturday, and that is what happened — and hey — LESSON LEARNED FOR THE RELAY! Luckily I had an old Peanut Butter Gu with my water bottle so I chugged that down. (FOUL!)

We made it to Mile 5 which is where we saw my friend Grace who is part of my Relay Team and that was AWESOME! I was tired and feeling defeated and sometimes all it takes to turn that round is someone hollering your name and waving. This was also the point where I realized that I had forgotten to Body Glide my boobs. What? TMI? I mean, listen — this is real running talk, my friends and BOOBS NEED BODY GLIDE. Ah well, I managed to get all the other good spots, so don’t worry!

We kept going through a random neighborhood in West Sacramento and at this point I started doing some running and some walking. Anytime there was an incline, I walked. Anytime I wanted to die, I walked. 🙂 My mental fortitude was kind of shot by mile 6, and I was most disappointed by that, but hey — it is what it is. Here’s the thing about mental reserves and stress: when you are using a lot of it during your day job 5 days a week — you don’t have a ton leftover for random weekend 10 milers. Noted.

run
Source: Lesley’s Instagram

Mental fortitude running low or not, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and I feel pretty good about that. We finished our last few miles doing some running and some walking and praying the finish line would be soon! (Well maybe the praying was just me. Lesley was mostly just telling me that I could do it, on repeat! She’s a gem!) The last mile was through Old Sacramento which was cute, but also kind of weird terrain to be running on, and my capacity for dealing with weird at mile 9 was sort of low, you know? We came right up on the last quarter of a mile and our two favorite gentlemen were cheering us on, which was VERY cute. Lesley (again, with the gem-ness) had made me a poster and Garrett was doing some crazy town cheering and holding it when we ran by, and seriously you guys: IT MADE ME CRY.

Our boys are pretty awesome @lesleyjtaylor

Having the finish line be in sight, knowing that I didn’t die, feeling no knee pain at all (WOO HOOO VICTORY!) and seeing people that I love cheering me on….well, WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! It was just emotional. I also felt like, despite the struggles of the day, getting through that 10 miles made me feel like The Relay is going to be just fine. No matter what I’ll get there. (EVEN IF I HAVE TO DO SOME WALKING!)

finish
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Total Time: 2:24:57

It was a slow day, but it was a victory just to finish. The first 5 miles I average about 13:30, but the last 5 miles there was A LOT of walking and having a crappy attitude — so I think I’m going to have to revisit that attitude situation. If you have one of those Mt. Everest posters around, send it my way would ya? HA! Anytime before The Relay would be GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAT! 🙂


Fun Things To Read On A Friday

Let's get this party started! (Rocking my @nomnompaleo apron!)

Happy Friday! Let’s do the happy dance for the weekend!

I survived teaching my Paleo cooking class last night and it was so much fun! Now I have a Next Food Network Star hair up my ass! (NO I DON’T! I tell you what, it’s harder than Giada and her giant boobs make it look!) I have had the longest week ever and tonight I am looking forward to getting in a workout, having a glass of wine, seeing friends, and then SLEEPING THE SLEEP OF THE DEAD! I am literally planning the epic-ness of my bedtime. I’ve already had a pep-talk with Buster and he is on serious orders to not wake up wanting to play before 9am tomorrow. (Ha! We’ll see if that happens!)

On to some links, yes?

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*I’m running a 10 Mile race on Sunday and I’m so freaked out about it I can’t think about it, so I’m not. But I am wondering if these pants would make it more pleasant?

*I realized this week I need a little more of this “Magic” in my life.

*Rachel’s post about Lifting Heavy made me do a slow clap.

*On putting your actions where your intentions are: The Power of Goals. Simple, but powerful.

*Discovering Truth in the Silence. I need to tape this up to my bathroom mirror. I am not above that kind of dorky reminder.

*Here is some super awesome basic style advice: 8 Tips for Developing Personal Style

*I could really relate to Andrea’s thoughts on learning how to change behavior. And then, like a lightbulb going off, I thought about this post I read last week on Identity Based Habits.

*I want to make this guacamole STAT. Guacamole just feels like summer to me.

*There is no such thing as a calorie! Shout it from the rooftops, please.

*****

And that’s all I’ve got for the moment. Knock this weekend out of the park, friends!


Finding My Way

Morning Walk.

Operation: Stress Relief is going swimmingly so far. It’s not quite a full fledged operation yet, and surely it will be a work in progress for a long time, but you know I always love a good project and what’s more fun than making your mental health a project? (HA. SO MANY THINGS! SO MANY THINGS ARE MORE FUN!)

I’ve been trying to be a little bit easier on myself. I’ve started and ended my days this week with some walks and it is amazing what 60 minutes of alone time (well, alone-with-dog-time) and nature can do to calm my hamster wheel of a brain.

Clouds in the water!

Sometimes just removing yourself from all of this Life Stuff that feels so important and being quiet with yourself makes you realize that your day job, or the demands of blogging, or your skirt size, or the amount of money in your bank account aren’t the ONLY things worth thinking about.

I’ve been trying to balance work with self-care. Impromptu haircuts, dog snuggles, afternoon naps, ordering salads to-go even though I have all the ingredients in my fridge just so I can have a little bit of free time — all of these things have felt like little presents to myself in the past week.
Snuggly Work Buddy.

I’ve also been doing lots of reading about stress and hormones, because that’s what I do. I like information. It calms me. And when I’m looking to learn something new — about the world or about myself — there is no place I like to turn more than inside the pages of a brand new book. I’m completely in love with everything about this book and want to buy it for everyone I know. But then I would be that weird friend who hands out hormone books, and I’m not quite ready to be that friend just yet.

I’ve been making an effort, little by little, to reach out to those friends I love too. Weeks of being behind in email were taking it’s toll and I’m committed to getting out of that cycle, because good friends are so, so SO important.

The path to stress relief #eveningwalk

Mostly I’m just kind of meandering. And despite that fact that my Inner Control Freak usually hates that feeling, I’m trying my hardest to just get comfortable in my discomfort. Just holding steady and trying to find my way.

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On Scales, Progress + Learning to Listen

scale
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A little over a year ago I trashed my scale. Not literally, but I did hide it for a month and when I finally re-discovered it I kept it in a place that wasn’t super convenient for using. I wanted to leave that cycle behind me and it only took about a month to kick the habit.

I made a very conscious decision and I stuck to it stubbornly: I didn’t want to make judgments about my life based on what the scale said. BOOM. That’s all. Scary, but also simple. And I was determined to succeed. I had my body composition tested, which was AMAZING and gave me a whole new perspective on the idea of “goal weight” and it helped me realize that I really didn’t give a shit about what some random pamphlet that didn’t know me at all said I should weigh. It was freeing. REALLY FREEING! Plus:

*I felt great
*My clothes fit better than they ever had
*I was really proud of what my body was doing

The Look/Feel/Perform trifecta that Robb Wolf always talks about was completely in alignment. I was kicking ass and taking names and doing it all without the secret judgment of some electronic appliance. Garrett took this random photo of me at a CrossFit competition last summer and when I saw it I remember thinking, “Holy shit, is that actually me? You just look like a regular, normal, healthy person.”

photo

I had literally never had that reaction to a photograph of myself…EVER. Is it crazy that it was sort of a defining moment? I wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t fitting an “ideal.” I was just The Best Version of Myself, and I was able to fully appreciate it in the moment precisely because I wasn’t caught up with how much I weighed or how close I was to my goal weight or any of that nonsense. I bet you are smart enough to see where this is going because all of those verbs I just used are past tense. 🙂

I am not even close to that place anymore. I actually saw a candid picture of myself recently and had that momentary feeling of sadness and embarrassment. My closet is full of awesome spring and summer clothes that I pulled out recently when I cleaned out my closet and sadly the bulk of them are too tight. I was so excited to see this skirt again and OMG…the zipper practically screamed when I tried to zip it up. Slowly over the past month I have had this slow bubble of panic and insecurity and of course my thoughts have led back to “Damn, I bet I never should have chucked my scale.”

But here’s the thing: last summer my priorities were my workouts.  My life looked very different, and I was far less stressed. And the other night when I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep and fretting about these few pounds that I initially though were showing up for a short jaunt, but who now appear to be having an extended stay, I thought to myself: YOU ARE NOT COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES. This isn’t because you threw out your scale, this is because you let your priorities change. The things you are focusing on are not yielding the desired results. Don’t go running back to the scale — re-evaluate your goals.

I almost didn’t share any of this because I wondered if it would sound stupid or dramatic or mental or whatever. But this space is my real life, not a shined up version, and so is this struggle right now. Monte Nido RainRock offers residential eating disorder treatment to adults of all genders. I don’t have a plan to share that is all mapped out, but rest assured it is coming. How I look, how I feel, and how my body is performing is a very manageable trinity, and right now I’m feeling sub par on all levels. A lot of it has to do with my stress level, and I remember so clearly the advice from the Everyday Paleo Seminar – if you aren’t managing stress and sleep, it doesn’t matter how well you are managing the rest. That spoke to me and it’s where I’m starting. This is my Spring State of the Union, and as I acknowledge where I am without judgment, it makes it easier to get ready to move to where I want to be.

This weekend I prioritized my rest and relaxation over productivity. I took a nap on Sunday afternoon and also played บาคาร่า จากผู้เริ่มต้นถึงมืออาชีพ to unwind, instead of crossing some things off my list. Man, you guys, IT WAS HARD. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but it is true. I am very good at ignoring my body’s requests, but this weekend I listened. It wanted sleep. It wanted to flip through magazines. Surprisingly it still wanted to menu plan and cook good dinners. 🙂 It wanted a fun night out with great folks, but it didn’t really feel like drinking. It wanted a long morning walk with the dog and a conversation with a fun friend.

The bottom line is I need to be a better listener, and I need to make sure that the actions I’m taking are getting me where I want to go instead of keeping me where I currently am. Only time will tell, but if I was a betting woman I’d put my money on the idea that taking the time to learn to listen to myself will be more helpful that running back to a dysfunctional relationship with a scale. And I’m willing to take that chance and let you know how it goes.


Fun Things To Read On A Friday

Garrett just sent me this pic an wrote "Hangover Dog partied too much last night" and it literally made me laugh out loud.

Hola, friends! Thank you for all your kind words, suggestions and emails after Monday’s post. Over the past few days, instead of writing here, I’ve spent my time getting my head together, cuddling my dog, accomplishing tasks that have been stressing me out, and going to bed at like 8pm. SENIOR CITIZEN ALERT! As you can see, Buster is completely ok with this idea of getting more sleep. I don’t care if it makes us senior citizens or not, sleep is amazing for getting your head together. It works miracles, actually.

I wish I could say I also spent that time revamping my fitness and correcting some of the sub-par food choices I’ve been making, but I’m saving that for next week. 🙂 Also on the docket next week? I’m teaching a Paleo Cooking Class and running a 10 mile race. BOTH HAVE ME PANICKING JUST A LITTLE BIT. 🙂 Oh what would life be without a little self-imposed panic. OY!

Since I’ve been MIA around here (and clearly reading the internet more instead) (ok, and also playing Candy Crush – a bad habit I picked up from one of Garrett’s friends while in Tahoe) I thought I’d leave you with a few extra links for cruising into your weekend. Lots of good stuff around the internet this week!

*I CANNOT get over this. And while we’re at it, this either. Both made me do some serious head shaking.

*But let’s move on to some good stuff! Friday is for fun – and to me LISTS ARE THE MOST FUN! Here’s a few good ones:
17 Things To Do Today That Will Make You Proud of Yourself In A Year
4 Secrets to Being A Shining Star in Business + In Life
13 Ways to Bring More Mindfulness to Your Life
I needed to read ALL of those this week.

*Amy’s post about deciding what to read next is basically a map of exactly how I keep my library queue full. Too bad I’m hardly finishing any books lately so I mostly renew and return….but it’s exactly how my brain (and my reservation situation) works.

*Are your Facebook Statuses Costing You Thousands? I wanted to fist bump this author of this! We are all smart enough to not be slapping up drunken photos on our Facebook pages, I’m sure — but this was AWESOME food for thought about how the world’s largest social network may just be affecting your…ahem…networking.

*I loved this little nugget from Thomas Keller on Passion vs. Desire. I thought about it again while I was reading about “intrinsic motivation” in this post about Addressing Your “WHY” and Your Fears. PS – The CrossFit Invictus blog is always full of good stuff!

*Are you reading Hollywood Housewife? She’s a great writer and talks about so many different things (kids, makeup, LA living, spirituality) and honestly I can’t remember how I even stumbled across her, but I’m so glad I did. Anyway, this week on she did a little house tour on Design Mom’s Living With Kids feature. It was fun to see a little behind-the-scenes.

*Speaking of CrossFit, 10 Things I Learned At The Open has been floating around since the final workout was completed and I just LOVED it. The Open is always a bit of a transformative experience. I am in a such a different place this year compared to last year (DON’T COMPARE, HOLLY. DON’T COMPARE!) (EASIER SAID THAN DONE.) but regardless, it is a really motivating time. Garrett + I are about to make some major life routine changes (more about that next week!) (why do I feel like I need to clarify that I am NOT pregnant) and I’m really marinating on how I want my fitness to fit into that. (Hint: I WANT IT TO BE A VERY HIGH PRIORITY.) Every once in a while I just think to myself how glad I am that I found CrossFit. I’ve been doing it regularly for TWO AND A HALF YEARS, which is just crazy to think about. My life *always* feels out of balance when I’m not in that gym regularly, which I don’t think I ever said once when I was doing spin and yoga and kickboxing at 24 Hour Fitness. <3 *So I've seen a ton of "healthy living" (GAG. Can we come up with a new term for this? Suggestions welcome.) bloggers posting lately about participating in DietBet and it has just really nagged at me. Jennifer over at Wine to Weightlifting (two of my favorite things!) did a great job articulating why the whole concept just rubs me the wrong way.

*You know what rubbed me the right way? This video over at Marie Forleo about creating a vision for your life. She is speaking my language.

*Last but not least, I found Kristen’s post titled My Vegan Diet Caused Health Problems quite courageous. Kristen has been a raw, vegan blogger for a long time and her transition to Paleo is getting some flack on the internet. (Flack on the internet over food choices? SHOCKING, right? HA!) But what I really appreciated about this post though was her honesty about her choices and her openness to re-examining everything she thought to be true. I think it takes a really mature person to admit that something that you have been attached to for so long, may not actually be working like you thought it did. On top of the post was incredibly informative and well researched and connects the dots on a lot of food related problems that people don’t always realize are food related. It’s a long one, which is why I left it for last, but a worthwhile read no matter HOW you eat.

*****

Have a great weekend, friends! What is in your plate?


The Lake + The River

family

Our Lake Tahoe weekend was just what it needed to be and allowed me a good amount of time to read, lounge and think about everything going on in my life right now. There are A LOT of good things. But also, when I have a little bit of quiet time, or time when I am not rushing around to complete the next task on my To-Do List, there are a lot of things that need to be looked at with a slightly more careful eye.

windy road ahead

I wish I came home with some gorgeously edited photos and grand epiphanies, but mostly I just came home realizing that I’ve got a bit of a windy road in front of me. Things in my life are sorely out of balance. Too much work. Not enough sleep. Too much rushing. Not enough time. Too many expectations. Not enough planning. Too many projects. Too much distraction. Too much coffee. (Wait can there ever be too much coffee? :)) I’m sure you know what I’m saying though.

The year that my dad died I somehow came across this book. I think Oprah was probably reading it or something, so it wasn’t like I had made an important discovery, but it was something that I happily absorbed at a time when my heart was broken and my soul was an emotional sponge. I read those short essays daily and during a time of serious tumult, it grounded me. Hell, it grounded my life moving forward in the idea that no matter what is happening in this moment, we all have the ability to hit the pause button, re-examine our situation, find what is working and let that lead us to the real gifts of life. Powerful stuff, really.

The essays were really quick hits — an idea to throw out there and then move forward — no homework or selfy-helpy exercises, but there was one right in the beginning of the book that still I think about often. It was called Standing Knee Deep In A River Dying of Thirst, and fifteen years after reading it I still use it as a red flag indicator in my life. As we drove home from Tahoe on Sunday, I thought to myself how glad I was that we had gone: Good friends, fun shenanigans, a gorgeous house, a relaxing agenda — but in the end, I was still feeling incredibly thirsty — and it’s the thirst that always makes me pause.

Couch // mags // dog

Right now in my life I am juggling so many puzzle pieces but I just can’t seem to fit them all together into something that makes sense. Instead everything feels like a jumbled mess — the food we are eating is less than stellar, my training is hit or miss, my sleep is AWFUL, my work schedule is like an 8 hour race against the clock/cortisol fest. And with all of that going on, my agenda just keeps getting longer. There are lots of good things too, but the time for those things seems few and far between right now. I’m not reading. I’m not connecting with those people who are important to me. I’m not making time to actively recover. And it was clear to me this weekend that I was going to have to make some changes. So all in all, it was exactly what I needed. And while I’m not sure exactly what it all means right now, or what it is going to look like in the future, I’m open to finding out.

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Fun Things To Read On A Friday

Throwing a tantrum because he can't have salami and cheese for dinner. #dogchild

I would like to know where the expression “Working like a dog” came from because in Buster’s world this means laying on the couch a lot, demanding we pet him and throwing tantrums if he can’t eat salami and cheese for dinner. 🙂

Let’s celebrate making it to Friday by reading some fun things, shall we?

*It’s so weird to me that people still think this is such a radical idea, but I love it: Butter is a health food. It would be REALLY nice if butter slathered on sourdough bread was a health food too, but the butter alone is a good progress. 🙂

*Kathleen’s Forever Young manifesto made me so ready to go to Lake Tahoe this weekend. I want this weekend to be restorative because I need that so bad in my life right now. And when I get home, I feel some lists coming on. I need to get a little more focused on managing how I feel and my stress levels because lately I am feeling like a crotchety old lady (a little bit physically but mostly emotionally) and that is NO BUENO.

*I love seeing how other people organize their email inbox. It’s like medicine cabinet snooping in this modern age.

*If you have ladyparts, you should TOTALLY listen to these two episodes of the Balanced Bites podcast. (Hey, maybe next week I’ll talk about some new podcasts, eh?) Super great info!

*You know what you should do this weekend? Get some sleep! I hope some of you find space to write Take a Nap on your To-Do List.

*****

Speaking of lists, I have to go write my packing list! Have a fantastic weekend you guys!


Thursday Bullets

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This is my brain. On drugs caffeine bullets:

  • I am a terrible at delegating tasks and projects. TERRIBLE. And it’s not for lack of wanting to delegate, I just can’t seem to do it effectively. Even when I try, it is a big fat fail — or so I realized as I was still working at 8pm last night. I need a Delegation for Dummies book. Do they make those? I could ask Google, but you guys are smarter than Google. HOW DO YOU DO IT? No strategy is too small. Share, please!

 

  • You know what I’ve been enjoying lately? The Skimm.  It’s fresh, funny and informative. Me Likey.

 

  • I was catching up on the Balanced Bites Podcasts the other day (we talked about this already, I know) and I ended up “Buy with One Click”-ing my way to 2 new books by JJ Virgin after listening to the episode where she was a guest. It’s ironic because for a long time I had intentionally skipped that episode because she sells some gimmicky book called “The Virgin Diet” which is basically a Paleo protocol (which is ALREADY gimmicky sounding and I have low tolerances for gimmicky diet names and this was TWO MARKETING GIMMICKS IN ONE!)  BUT! I found her so irreverant and fun and her story was charming and so I bought 2 of her books (WHILE SITTING AT A STOPLIGHT!) I guess I am not immune to Marketing Gimmicks. HA! Anyway, her new book is basically about her dietary recommendations for people who seem to be immune to weight loss and I loved her absolute hatred for Jillian Michaels and the calories in/calories out mentality. (She had me at “Your body is NOT a bank account, Jillian, it’s a chemistry lab!”) (Sidebar: I still love this.) Anyway, it got me curious, so I bought it even though I’ve already eliminated all the foods she recommends.

 

  • But! You know how Amazon is with their persuasive “Customers who bought this also bought…” suggestions. So while I was buying her new book it recommended her old book which is obnoxiously titled “Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy” (GAG) and OHMYGOD seriously? My personal kryptonite is people offering solutions to fixing my Bingo Arms. SO I BOUGHT THAT TOO! At another stoplight. So. 6 weeks from now I hope to be rocking some Angela Basset arms. Is that reference outdated? Probably. But seriously? Who has had more bad ass arms than her in the last decade? Hmmmm. Obviously I will report back on both! I am on an impulse buying roll. (Which includes this potentially awesome/awful shirt from LOFT. Will I hate it? Only time will tell.) This is what I do when I am stressed.

 

  • How do I know I’m stressed? Because while impulse buying crap from the Gap I came across a maternity dress that was adorable and on sale and I thought “Ooooh, I should buy that for when I actually get pregnant. That seems like a smart idea.”

 

  • THAT IS THE DUMBEST IDEA EVER. I didn’t buy it. But the fact that I even thought about it is an indicator that things are SORELY out of balance. Also an indicator of that? ALL THE CAPS LOCK.

 

  • Garrett and I are going to Lake Tahoe with friends (and our dog!) (and our friends’ dog) this weekend and I plan to completely decompress so that I stop shopping at stoplights and thinking about buying maternity clothes when I’m not actually pregnant, trying to get pregnant or planning on getting pregnant in the season where I would actually wear said maternity clothes. I need this little getaway SO BAD.

 

  • Don’t forget about the crazy good deal going on with The Primal Kit! (OH WAIT, HOW COULD YOU? It is up on every single freaking site that one could possible read about Paleo stuff. HA! :)) In all seriousness though, if you are on the fence: GET IT. It is full of so much freaking good stuff and I would keep it real with you guys if it sucked. You won’t regret it like you might regret a turquoise peplum sweater from LOFT. The sale is only on until tomorrow!

 

  • Lemons and limes that are going bad smell like nail polish remover. Says the girl sitting beside a bowl of citrus.

 

Any bullets you’d like to share? (Or delegations strategies! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE with the delegation help!)

 

xo

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