Last Call 2012

Trite though it seems, I spent yesterday reflecting on the year soon drawing to a close.  What have I done well or not?  How can I improve myself and thereby the daily lives of my family members?  Here's what I narrowed it down to:

• Personal: Self Control and Discipline


• Nutrition--More plant-based whole foods.  Less meat, and the meat we eat will be local, fresh, and/or organic when at all possible.  Less sugar.  Less processed foods.  No GMOs--if I am what I eat eats, then I'm still eating rather a lot of GMO corn.  Read labels for hidden MSG.  We won't waste what's in the pantry (see budget bullet below), but I will change some shopping habits.  Take advantage of the two farmer's markets nearby.  Replant our own herbs.  Take note of what I'm missing.  This past year, it was too much caffeine, not enough iron and B vitamins (big no meat kick), and not enough vitamin D after the summer.
• Activity--move moving, walking, running, yoga, hiking.  More being outside.  Less TV and computer (after I finish this post).  How I live will influence my kids for life.  Get brave enough to let Isabelle ride her bike around the block with us walking.
• Routine--make one and stick to it.  Have a loose plan for the day, don't laze around in PJs then scramble to meet the household needs.  Pick outfits for the week for me and the kids on Saturday or Sunday.
• Interactions with Frank, Isabelle, and Will--be nice, be calm, be patient.  Listen more.  Talk less.  No more yelling in frustration, aggravation, or just across the house being lazy.  Give what I want to get.
• Finishing--this is a biggie for me.  I'm a professional procrastinator, an 85 percenter.  Almost finished is not the same as finished, as evidenced by the 2 recovered kitchen chairs that sat outshining their 4 shabby comrades.  Finished the other 4 yesterday. 
• Add a doula and/or basic lactation certification to my existing LCCE to reach more women around me.

• Family: Budget and Plan

• Cash budget--the only way I can stay honest on a budget.  It's going to be hard to reel in after this last quarter of 2012.  It's probably going to limit our intake of adult beverages, as hinted at with the title.  It's easy to feel like too much is never enough and forget that the pride of saving and smart planning is far more satisfying than consuming in excess.
• Meal plan--see the above.  It's amazing how much less I spend and how much more healthfully we eat when meal planning happens.  My goal is to have a written plan for two weeks at a time.  Shop for no more than 3 meals at a time since all these fresh fruits and veggies spoil faster.  Buy organic and see what I mean--scary to think what's in and on the other stuff to make it last.  It's not cheap to eat clean and healthy, but junk isn't cheap either.  Everything is pricey at the moment.
• Set savings goals--the first goal is to pay off the credit card and actually START saving again.  Make the habit even if the amount set aside is negligible in the long run.

We've had a lovely first day of 2013 despite too much Mexican food topped by too much champagne last night.  At bedtime, I deleted Facebook from my phone and have not missed it at all.  I'm detoxing myself from the smartphone.  It is still just a phone after all.  Real life going on around me is exponentially more interesting and more worthy of my attention.

Spending the morning in the woods on a hiking trail with the kids was so nice.  It's been so long since I was outside like that.  I'd almost forgotten the quiet reverence of the woods.  We covered backyard pinecones with peanut butter and seeds for the birds (and squirrels).  Now it's time for naps all around.  Happy New Year, indeed!

Week Two***

8  Power Vinyasa Flow 5 was a fun flow. I got lower in forward fold and worked to stay lifted and strong in poses rather than collapse to get a hand to the floor.  Each of these classes is really different, and I never know what kind of pose series the instructor is going to take me through.  Sometimes I am looking forward to something that isn't included; sometimes they pull out poses I'm not as familiar with.  It's all good and good for me.  Part of the mental side for me is letting it be what it is--not being disappointed when it goes a different direction than I'd expected.  Just like in life, it is what it is regardless of what I thought I wanted or needed--emptying expectation to be more open to the present.

Downdog with pants photobomb

Need to get knees down and back flat

Lotus: tight but there

9 HARDcore Yoga challenged my core strength an talked a lot about finding peace--nice on this second Sunday of Advent after lighting our Peace candle.  I'd never tried this one, and she talked about how much more there is to yoga than just strength, and how the true purpose is to create peace in your mind in a challenging pose, on your mat during practice, and off of your mat as you go out into the world.  Had a hard time sticking the last couple of poses in the balancing flow on both sides.  My rector spinae are sore from that Ashtanga class Friday, and core work is extra hard with this diastisis recti still.  Shavasana is still the hardest for me--just lying still.  Sounds silly, but being still and letting thoughts pass without attachment or judgement is tough.  It's in those moments of surrender that I listen for God and set my intention to carry forth the calm and peace that I feel.

10 Afternoon meditation and evening Chakra Balancing Yoga.  What's more peaceful than being still?  I'm sore, and this still counts as yoga.  It's harder for me to sit still and work on the inside me than it is to move, sweat, and work on the outer me.  Today, the lyrics, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me," kept running through my head.

Me: Calm

11 Align and Flow was horrible.  How's that for peace?  The music was louder than her voice, and her cues were not very good.  I've done a lot of yoga, and it sucked.  I almost finished, though, and tried, tried to get out of my head and into the class.  Turns out I spiked a fever and the body ache was fever not soreness from exercise.

***We got sick.  I mean everybody but Frank for the better part of two weeks.  For me, it started the afternoon of the 11th with fever.  By Thursday, I had a shiny new inhaler, steroids, cough syrup, and more meds to stop the cough.  The cough.  I should probably be a proper noun--the Cough.  It should have it's own room in our house.  It was bad, and it's just now eased up in the week since Christmas.  Then, the kids got it.  All Frank and I wanted was for everybody to be better enough to really enjoy Christmas, and we were, thankfully.  Needless to say, yoga went bust.  I'll restart today with the new year and continue through my birthday, the big 3-0.***