Today I’m thankful for The Artist’s Way. I’m almost done with the course and it has brought so much perspective to my life.  I just finished Week 10 and it may have been the most impactful chapter that I’ve done.  My therapist was pleasantly surprised with how much I got out of this chapter.  Some gems:

“When we are clear about who we are and what we are doing, the energy flows freely and we experience no strain.” (p163)

“For some people, food is a creativity issue.  Eating sugar or fats or certain carbohydrates may leave them feeling dulled, hung over, unable to focus-blurry. They use food to block energy and change.” (p163)

“We turn to our drug of choice to block our creativity whenever we experience the anxiety of our inner emptiness.” (p165)

“When we are ogling the accomplishments of others, we take our eye away from our own through line.” (p172)

“…We cannot afford to think about who is getting ahead of us and how they don’t deserve it. The desire to be better than can choke off the simple desire to be.” (p173)

“The need to win-now!-is a need to win approval from others. As an antidote, we must learn to approve of ourselves.” (p175)

I’ve realized that sugar is my drug.  Doing some introspection and looking to where I’ve felt the best about what I’m putting into my body and how I feel about my body and life was when I was not eating sugar.  Ever since I made the decision to eat sugar in “moderation” I have felt out of control about food-like an addict.  I haven’t been eating sugar now since February 5th except for 1 day a week where I don’t have any restrictions on what I eat.  I feel like a different person!  The difference in me is AMAZING.  My therapist was worried about that one day a week and thought that I may crave sugar after that day.  I’ve found the exact opposite to be true. It makes me feel awful and so I stop eating it and want nothing to do with it. Last Friday I had some fries (high carb=sugar) and they made me feel ill so I threw them away halfway though.  Who is this person?!?!?! I’m not ravenous all day anymore and I feel good about how I’m fueling my body so yay!

My other vice was my Droid and we all know what I did about that .

So thank you to The Artist’s Way for helping me to see these things and thank you to ME for putting in the work

I’ve been trying really hard to be mindful in everything that I do.  Sometimes I fail but most of the time lately I’ve succeeded at being mindful. Getting rid of my Droid was a further pursuit in my mindfulness. I had gotten into a very bad habit of looking at my phone to just pass the time.  Usually I let too much time pass and I wasn’t getting the things I wanted done done. On Thursday, I traded in my Droid for an LG Cosmos…

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…and I couldn’t be happier. I’m no longer attached to my phone and I fell less “connected” to my virtual world but much more connected to my real world.  It has also forced me to pick and choose what I REALLY want to read and do.  If I’m going to spend computer time on something, then it really needs to be worth it. I’ve been leaving more comments on blogs that I frequent because I’m on a computer, not a phone and I’ve made the time to sit down and catch up with my friends.  I’m really glad I made the switch and it hasn’t been too terribly painful. Plus, the phone bill of $45 vs. $100 takes all the pain away!

In life I’m trying to be mindful of everything that I do. The way I treat people, how I spend my time, how I spend my money, my eating, etc.  Just yesterday I was leaving the grocery store and noticed a jar of pizza sauce in my cart that I hadn’t paid for.  My first thought was, “That’s less than $2, it’s no biggie.” Then I thought, “That’s not being mindful.” and I turned my cart around and paid the $1.27 for my pizza sauce.  The woman at customer service thanked me and said that my karma was covered for the day.  Today in yoga, my towel left a thread on the floor and I could have just left it there but I didn’t, I picked it up and I threw it away.

I’d say the mindfulness is going well but as always, I struggle with my perfection complex.  If I’m not mindful, I feel awful and berate myself.  That’s not being very mindful of myself, now is it?  So, I’m working on that.  I’m a work in progress (and always will be) but I am working every day on loving myself.  By and large, I’m doing a really great job and I’m really proud of myself.

One area where I’m really trying to be mindful is my photography.  I’ve had a DSLR for a year and a half and I have never used the manual function.  I use the manual focus all the time but actually needing to adjust the aperture and all that? I’ve never used that function even though I used to take my own pictures with my Pentax SLR and develop them myself.  I’ve lost that ability and it makes me sad.  SO! This weekend, I turned my camera to M and took some pictures of Shaun and Lu sledding.

They’re not perfect but I think they’re pretty awesome .

I’m thankful for focus.  I’m making a big leap today-I’m going to Verizon to get a Non-Smart Phone to unplug a bit.  I’m tired of being so connected and I’m tired of paying a huge phone bill every month.  I find that it’s hard to put my phone down even when I say I am going to.  The pull of the phone is too great so I’m getting rid of it.

Wish me luck!

Today I’m thankful for my Mom friends that I met because of Lucy.  I talk to some of them every day and I don’t know what I would do without them.  They help keep me sane.

I go through phases with salads, sometimes I love them and other times I want nothing to do with them.  Ever since I learned how to make my sister’s shallot dressing, I always want salad.  I almost have one every day.  It’s simply amazing.

Ingredients:

For a large salad for 1 or side salad for 2-3 to share. All measurements approximates

-1/4 inch cut from a shallot
-1/4 tsp high quality salt
-1.5 TBSP Olive Oil
-2 tsp Balsamic
-ground pepper to taste

Cut approximately this much shallot:

Then chop it up really small (I had already started when I remembered that I needed a picture of how the piece I cut off).

When it gets pretty finely chopped:

Add salt:

Chop until it gets all pulverized and liquid-y.

The longer this mixture sits, the mellower it gets. I try to pulverize my shallots before I make anything else for my meal.  It can sit like this on the lettuce too.

Right before you’re ready to eat, add the olive oil:

And balsamic:

*Tip-You want about a 1 part balsamic to 3 parts Olive Oil ratio.

Add pepper and toss well!

Enjoy!

This salad was only romaine, some cashews, and the dressing.  It was delish!

Thanks Lissa!

I was in Seattle on business on Thursday and didn’t get a chance to post.  Since getting home I had work explode, I got puked on by a 2 year old that wasn’t Lu (good thing I love this little 2 year old with all my heart), and thought Lu had pneumonia but it ended up being “just” a bad cold and ear infection. It’s been a crazy week!

What’s important to me though, is that every Thursday I stop and think, and know what I am thankful for.  The truth is that I’m thankful for so many things in my life that this isn’t hard but I still think it’s a good exercise and it’s good to be mindful of what I am truly thankful for.

This week?

I’m thankful for my BFF Elaina.

(Warning-crappy cell phone photos ahead!)

We used to see each other every.single.day.  We sat right across from each other at work and talked all day long-no joke.  Either with words or with IMs.  Now that we’ve both moved (we actually both moved from the Bay Area within 2 weeks of each other) we hardly ever get to see each other.  We do IM, video chat, email, and text message but NOT ENOUGH!  The last time I saw her in person was SEPTEMBER!  Thankfully we had a team offsite in Seattle this week and we got to see each other.  It still wasn’t enough time but it was great to see her.

Shaun, Lu, and I NEED to make the drive up to see her and Richard and Brea (their sulky dog that I used to see everyday). We have to wait until the snow has melted some but then it’s ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!!!

It’s just nice having someone that gets you and that you can be silent with.  Or someone that you each talk over the other and with each other and come to the same conclusion.  Or come to different conclusions but see why they came to the conclusion they came to.  She gets me and accepts me for who I am.  I am extremely thankful for that.  I miss her already.

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I took my 30th bikram class in 30 days today!  GO ME!  The past 30 days has been amazing for me.  I’m much more accepting, I love myself more, and I’m able to let the little stuff just roll off my back a little better.  I look forward to bikram every day.  My feeling of empowerment in there is awesome and it spills out to the rest of my life.  I’m just happier!

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Here’s to the next 30 days.  Yes, that’s right, I’ve committed to 60 in 60 and I’m SO going to do it-no doubt!  If I do 60 in 60 I get to sign the challenge wall in the studio and I can already see my name up there.  It WILL happen.

Shaun has made me promise that I won’t then go for 90 in 90 or 120 in 120 and I promised.  He has nothing to worry about.  I think once my 60 in 60 is up, I’m going to aim for 4-5 times a week.  I don’t really enjoy going on the weekends-it’s too crowded and I’d rather see Lu and Shaun.  I do think going almost everyday during the week is do-able and recommended!  I think Shaun would agree!

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Today is also Heather’s 1 year Yogaversary.  Her post sums up my feelings about yoga pretty well!  Congrats Heather!