Heal{th} part deux

You may be wondering what has been happening since this post. So I thought I share an update since that post was four months ago. I am happy to report some successes! Here is the framework of the plan along with the corresponding news:

Laura's slim down plan:
30 days: April 13 - May 13 (August 13th and I am still going strong. This has deffinately been a lifestyle change)
Support:Co-workers (Everyone in my life has been amazingly supportive! Thanks guys and gals, it really means a lot to me !)
Goal: To make lifestyle changes that lead to a loss of 5 inches (from anywhere) and hopefully 7 -10 pounds along the way. Keeping the idea of balance in mind I feel that I am incorporating easy everyday habits that will add up to great results. (I have meany new habits, and a few I am still striving for... as for weight loss - 20!! I haven't measured lately, but I am now almost two pants sizes smaller.)

My personal approach is two pronged: In the Kitchen & Activities. I know that nutrition is key to good health and so is fitness. I also know what doesn't work... plans of diets or workout schedules that I'll complain about more than actually follow. So this is a trade off of one bad habit for every good one.
The kitchen component:
~ Finish meals before 8pm vs. Binging at Midnight
I have a collegue that says this is the single thing that she changed and in six months she went from a size 12 to a size 4! I think that really says something.
Still struggling with this one. I am a night owl by nature, so my sleep schedule is never the same. Sleep is based on what time I have to get up in the a.m. Midnight and 2 a.m. is a loooong way from 8 p.m. I think I should re-evaluate my sleep schedule before beating myself for eating 5 hours after the last itme I ate (because it happens to be 1 a.m.!!)

~ Energy vs. Wheat
I am proud to say that I am gluten-free! And I am lovin' it!! If it weren't for Outback Steakhouse's Flourless "Chocolate Thunder from Down Under" I don't think that I could have made it. There are so many gluen free options that it's really more of a conscious choice than giving something up. (D'Allisandro's Pizza still has gluten and I still splurge once in a while, but it's rare, which is what makes it such a guilty pleasure.)

~ Green Tea vs. Coffee
I am coffee free for the most part. When I am really craving something rich and dark I go for a Chai Latte and Muddy Waters (my fav local coffee joint) or I drink Yogi Tea's Detox blend which is rich and dark and oh so good for you. Love It!!!
~ Eat Breakfast vs. Run> Starve> Binge
I did well in the begining, but this has faded. I find that this is also tied to my sleep cycle... If i am up late and decide to eat late, I am not hungry first thing and before I know it I am scrfing down high caloric foods at 3p.m. So I am discovering that sleep plays a large part in this whole balance thing.
~ Go Nutrients vs. No Nutrients
Incorporate more raw veggies into my meals. That was the goal... and I have done pretty well in my estimation. I got bored with the typical carrots, broccoli and califlower. So I branched out to butternut squash, sweet potatoe and zuchinni along with kale, snowpeas and whatever other random veggie that looks interesting. If you're gonna keep up with this - It's gotta stay interesting.

On to activities:
~ Bike Trip vs. Cellulite Trip
Not once. I was really looking forward to this one. But alas, the bike is still buried in that garage and outside the temperatures are breaking all time highs. Maybe September might be a better time to start an outdoor activity.
~ Getting sexy thin vs. Watching sexy thin
I have felt a shift in how I view my body. I have stopped comparing myself to the skinny - mini's that I see on T.V. (I watch less of it too) I am more grateful now for the parts that make up my body. I don't single them out and berate them anymore. I have become kinder to myself and I think my body has rewarded me with health, strenght and beauty.
~ Yoga vs. No-ga
Look up the yoga classes this month and put them on the calendar today! I love how I feel after yoga class (specifically body Fit at gold's gym its a combo of different practices). I should get back into what I love! I don't know why I have resistance to something that I love. It's a puzzle.
~ Walk the dog vs. Sit on the couch
I should be better. But it is difficult for me to walk poochie when it's a million degrees outside. Again, sleep... if I go to bed early (before midnight) then I can be up and alert to walk her early. Darn, that sleep thing again!
~ Meditation vs. Aggravation
My meditation has evolved... it has gone from a one hour eyes closed quite time to an untimed dialog with myself of my aspirations, intentions, and affirmations. I have a lot of irons in the fire and so quite meditation has been difficult for me to maintain. To paraphrase Elizabeth Gilbert "I refuse to let meditation be just another thing that I beat myself up for not doing right." I know my quiet practice will return when I need it to. The important thing is that I continue to be still an d make a connection to my Higher Self each day.

All in all I think that I have had a successful 5 months! Looking back to see where I could improve is something that I enjoy doing. Not as a way to find fault with myself, but as a way of honing my skills. I think the difference is crucial to success.


L.

Potential

I recently purchased some paper. Not just any paper, scrapbooking paper. It is so pretty, with it's lovely patterns and rich hues. I was so excited to get it home and to do so many gorgeous things with it. But a funny thing happened... When I got home I set it aside and just stared at it. Then I remembered having a pile of untouched scrapbook paper. The realization made me think; Why is it that I have these beautiful components, but no beautiful product?

Reason:

I am addicted to potential (and afraid of what comes after that).

Clinging to potential is easier than to commit to an unknown outcome that could just as easily be a success as it could be a failure. The older I get the more I realize that those terms are relative at best and most often completely meaningless. What is a success and what is a failure? They are what I say they are. (look at Picasso - his confidence created a persona for his artwork to become a success) What's to stop me from saying that I am an unprecedented success? When I have the choice why would I choose to focus on a negative and bring it closer to myself? Why would I give failure one ounce of brain space? Puzzling. Why are we trained that way? To fear the unknown and therefore to assert that the worst case scenario is a certainty?!

Well no more. Potential need not be a pole I cling to for fear of actually accomplishing something (what there is to fear about that I am not sure, and when I figure it out I'll let you know). Potential is now, for me, an impetuous for achievement, creativity, and jumping feet first into the cool, refreshing waters of the unknown.

Image from Tinkering Ink

L.

Time

So I have been thinking about my relationship with time. I make the joke often that I have the most lax relationship with time of anyone you are likely to meet. But lately the old joke just doesn't seem as funny. Those who know me joke that it's a part of my charm. But I am not so sure that is how I wish to be charming.

I feel that it is something that I should be examine because it determines so many other aspects of my life. So here are my thoughts ...

I don't like the feeling of desperation that I have towards time related tasks. I am creative and wish to remain so. When creating, things often take much longer than you originally thought they would. I feel like I would be amputating a part of me by putting a deadline on my creativity. I want to be open to inspiration (which is on no man's timetable let me tell you). But I am not sure how to introduce time into my creativity (sounds like a great collection).

I also feel that I want to get the most from my time. I want to squeeze every last minute I can for all that it's worth. That only too often means driving like a maniac to arrive out of breath, half put together, and on screeching tires. That isn't quality time, let me tell you. Where did this desperation come from I wonder?

Too often my 'squeezing every drop' routine is on unimportant things, dare I say procrastination? Can it be classified as procrastination if I am avoiding my life at large because I don't know where to begin? My brain goes in so many directions that I can't decide - I want to do it all now!

I need to tame the monkey (to quote an old Buddhist saying). That's really accurate... my mind is like an untrained monkey. I think this a cry from my inner self to resume my neglected meditation practice (neglected because who wants to sit still and be quite when there is so much I could be doing?!!)

Time is the only equal in this world. We are not born with the same skin, money, abilities, opportunities, but we all have the same amount of time. I don't know where my feeling of 'lack' comes from in reference to time, but I desire to conquer this.


L.

Bock Beautiful

Downtown Charleston taken with Canon Rebel xti

I just discovered who I want to be when I grow up. I love seeing the work of other creative dynamos! It inspires me to want to do it myself. Today it just had the affect of drawing me in until I forgot what time it was! I have to go... but I just couldn't leave without sharing!

The Legacy

Taken with my brand new Canon Rebel xti

A few weeks ago I unearthed a family treasure in my closet. My grandfather's camera. It had been packed away shrouded in sadness. He has been gone for almost six years. Before he got sick he promised that one day he would teach me to use the mysterious 35 mm film SLR camera. (This was before digital took over the world.) Life being as it so often is, he never did teach me how to use that camera.

As I began going through the lenses and supplies in the bag, I found some unused film. I instantly put it into the camera and snapped away until the roll was used up. As I began wielding the camera at everything familiar it was as if I became possessed. I now had another appendage, another hand or eye. I couldn't believe the feeling, it was as if I had always been meant to do this.

My grandfather and I are so much alike. We like to know everything about the subject that we are fixated on. Something takes over and we become obsessed. It could be making snowcones, but by golly we will learn the nuances of making a snowcone. And if you have a snowcone from us, you'll feel your life has been changed and you can never go back. It's just the method of how we approach things.

I am so happy to have such an affinity for a craft that he obviously found enthralling. It gives me just one more connection with him. I was innocently trolling Google last October when I stumbled across some blogs by a community of women on the opposite coast and I was hooked. I couldn't wait to have my own blog and to do everything that they did, and to have friendships like the had. A whole new world opened to me. One blog stood out to me. I instantly felt a connection with the author through her deep lyrical posts and through her stunning photography. It was after taking all of this in that I knew that I had to capture the beauty that I see in the world. I have always known that I see things others don't and am sad for them. Life is beautiful in all of its messiness and pain.
We can be and are more beautiful after life patina's us a bit; after then new is rubbed off. Then you can see our layers.