Day 2-B-Well 21 Day Detox Cleanse: Focus!
What a perfect word for today: focus. There are new things to focus on and some old friends that hang around daily, such as my morning workout. Today was Curves as I am alternating between the Curves workout and my Couch to 5k training at the gym. Walks usually come in the evening but today I had the pleasure of taking Charlie on a short walk through the park too! Have you ever noticed how dogs are so good at living in the moment and totally focusing on whatever they are doing, even if that means sleeping or staring in the distance? Charlie focuses on every smell and sound on our walk and he takes his time, walking slowly, enjoying the moment. He is a great teacher!
I started off the day with my glass of water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and came back from Curves and made a bowl of oatmeal (with a little Almond Milk), coffee and strange as it sounds, I grabbed a slice of smoked organic turkey for my protein. I took my vitamins, including a pro-biotic, and felt great!
I had two doctors appointments and got my vision checked. It is strange that as I age, I find that I am repeating my mother’s life. She always had multiple doctors appointments and went prepared for a few hours of waiting in various areas of Kaiser. Today I followed in her foot steps, bringing my lunch bag with extra water, almonds and a green apple. I am focusing on being prepared and it worked. My mom was a smart lady! I used to think her habits were a bit silly, but now I realize how wise she was.
A Few Habits of my mothers:
Two drawers for socks ( white socks and black socks)
Reading the paper every morning
Watching the Tony Awards
Reading
Sending interesting articles to her children
Always bringing a water bottle with her Why is it that we think our mother’s habits are silly until we are their age?
New prescriptions, new medications to read about and new glasses ordered, I stopped at Whole Foods Market on the way home to pick up a few items on the B-Well shopping list that I hadn’t found the day before. Now I am completely “stocked” for the week.
I came home, made a quick lunch of salad and grilled chicken and then proceeded to swim and float in the pool, it is summer after all and I must have a little fun and relaxation. I am finishing up a fun mystery book: The Writing Class, by Jincy Willett and taking care of a few odds and ends.
So, my pictures, are lacking because Charlie, my dog, is terrified of the camera. At first we just thought it was the flash, but now if he sees the camera, he wants to run out of the room. I will work on this, I promise, but honestly my meals have not been that exciting yet. On the positive side, I am feeling great with plenty of energy and not too hungry or filled with cravings. I do have a challenge tonight because we are going to see Toy Story 3 and I will need a big bottle of water to keep me from temptation. 19 days to go! Focus!
Filed under Focus, Life thoughts, Power Words
Day 1-B-Well Detox: Smile!
Smile is the word of the day and you might wonder why I am smiling as I begin to change my eating habits, diet, and embark on this adventure of a 21-Day Detox Cleanse.
Today I feel like I am floating away having drunk about 64 oz. of water, but I digress…I started the day at 5:30 waking up and getting to the gym at 5:45 for my Couch to 5K workout. I am on Week 3, jogging for 3 minutes alternating with brisk walking. I am actually beginning to enjoy running and the nice endorphin rush that comes with it, giving me that great feeling for the day. I came home, showered and made my egg with some onions, a bit of coffee with Almond Milk and took off for my last day of school before officially beginning summer vacation!
I had a snack of cottage cheese and a handful of raw almonds and a green apple. Feeling content, I continued to drink my water.
Lunch was a bit disappointing because I didn’t really prepare as well as I should have, but we did have our staff party complete with sub sandwiches. I ditched the bread and cheese (which I am sure wasn’t raw) and just ate the turkey, lettuce and tomato.
I had a snack at home (corn tortilla with raw cheddar cheese and a few strawberries) and am now preparing for dinner. I think I will have a chicken breast and some veggies, salad and more water.
I promise to be a better food photographer beginning tomorrow, now that I am officially done with school and can spend a bit more time in the kitchen. I really think I will succeed at this detox. I keep reminding myself that it is only for 3 weeks, and that is the amount of time it takes to develop a habit. Hopefully I am developing some new good habits. Who’s cheering for me? Comments, suggestions?
Filed under change, Life thoughts
21 Day B Well Detox: A Lesson in Waiting
Off to a healthy summer!
I am taking the leap of faith and spending the next 21 days in a sort of waiting or holding pattern while participating in the bwell4life 21-day cleanse. What am I waiting for? I am waiting for the feeling of lightness and health. I am waiting for the ability to stick to something that is healthy and restorative. So come along via my blog on this journey with me, or join in! My goals are:
detox
establish a fitness routine
revamp my kitchen food contents
feel “light”
commit to wellness
start my summer on a positive note
I will post pictures of my new yummy meals, and note my progress.
Waiting is a challenge in this time of instant gratification when even a slightly slow Internet connection is cause for agitated huffing, but I think the things we wait for become more meaningful to us. There are numerous saying about this:
“Good things come to those who wait.”
We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
Carl Sagan
Waiting is mysterious because at times, we don’t know what we are waiting for, we just have a “feeling” that we are waiting forsomething.
Waiting for “the other shoe to drop,” my life to begin, a positive change, what is due, what I deserve…the list is endless. What if we stop waiting and take the first step? What if we make change happen? We can wait for the change to emerge, for the change to become habit or for the change to show, but taking the first step and being the catalyst for our own change is the best way to start the wheels of change moving.
Filed under change, Life thoughts
Why I Love Doves
The doves that live in our yard are definitely a couple, which is one of the reasons I love having them here. They have a soft and comfortable cooing that sounds at the nicest times, like when I am quietly reading on my favorite green sofa with the sliding door open to the breeze, or when I arrive home, tired from my noise infused day, plopping down in a canvas deck chair, staring into space or as I float in the pool and look up and see the pair sitting on a tree branch, looking down unafraid.
Doves are sweet in their predictable behavior, and it is a sweetness that is comforting, reminding me of what is important in life. I have a reminder posted on my refrigerator stating the three essentials in life: something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for. Doves have this and of course they are living in the moment but what are they hoping for? A life of safety, simplicity with a desire for security?
Today our adorable, family dog caught a bird that had been dive-bombing him. Was it one of my doves? My heart was aching for the bird and shocked at my normally friendly dog and the scene was unfolding before me. I yelled, screamed “no” but nature and instinct took over and the bird was dead. My dove! As I sat, mourning my loss, an ache in my heart, I heard the familiar cooing song! I looked up to the top of the pergola and there sat a dove. Sadly I realized, looking for its partner. Oh, this is heart wrenching, don’t they mate for life? What will that sweet dove do without a partner? When suddenly I heard the answer to the doves call…its mate was alive!
I don’t know who the other unfortunate bird was, but a wave of relief swept over me as I realized my friends were fine, sitting together at sunset and somehow I think they flew over to let me know they were all right. Doves mate for life I think, and they build a nest, prepare for their young, raise a family and then, in their empty nest, they are together, occasionally flying in for a cool drink and a calm sunset.
Filed under Life thoughts
Persist
I am a duck.
Persistance is the only way to survive. We must go towards our goals, our beliefs, our passions and what we know to be true and right, regardless of the obstacles to happiness, serenity, and comfort.
I want to be surrounded by ducks.
When sadness overcomes us…When thoughtless words hurt us… When people speak untruths…When we must watch others suffer…When those in power make decisions based on greed…When those without power bully others in order to feel powerful…When hard work and devotion is repaid with lies and unnecessary cruilty…We must persist.
Take that!
Go forward toward goodness and light while turning a blind eye to those with aims to hurt. Learn to be a duck. Water rolls off and though words leave a more lasting impression, eventually they too will blend into the murky water they came from. Grow feathers.
Filed under hurdles, Life thoughts, Persistance
Pray
Finding a way to pray by looking within.
Where have I been? It has been almost 3 weeks since I have taken this time for myself to write! My days have become filled with reading the writing of others, so my praying, for today’s word that hopefully will not fail me, is once again to find the balance in my life. My balance scale constantly fluctuates between reading and writing, learning and reflecting and of course, walking and reading somehow squeezes in there too.
I live through my cravings and use that as a determiner for how to spend my time. There are days when I just crave rushing home to grab my latest book and sit on my favorite couch to languish in words. Then other days I must move, walk or practice yoga. Today is a day when I am finding the balance having rushed home to read, settled in a comfy chair in my lovely spring yard, an hour later heading off to the gym for a treadmill walk followed by a great yoga class, returning home for a quick check of the email and here I am! Writing! If only that was the beginning of my day instead of the end of it, darn that work!
Praying is a practice that can take many forms. I am far removed from the traditional religious connotation of praying and am finding a lot of satisfaction in meditation, when looking for answers. I do, however, find myself talking to my mother (who passed away a year and a half ago) a lot lately and hoping she will visit my dreams to give me some much-needed advice. I do pray for that connection-to that other place that my mother now inhabits. I do pray for messages of wisdom to reach me, and for the ability to recognize the answers to my questions, when they are given to me. We pray as a way of connecting to our inner wisdom because when we are able to reach that place, we realize that the answer has been there all along.
This is today’s challenge: to find a way to reach your own “gut feeling” by balancing the chatter and the quiet, the looking out and the looking in. The reward is a sense of knowing, a sense of peace and hopefully a few answers.
Filed under Life thoughts
Relax
Relaxation=sanity
I used to think that it was a privilege to relax and take time to myself. I had to have a reason or excuse, or have worked very, very hard to earn a few moments of down time. Now I have come to the realization that I have to relax in order to do the work I do. I have to take the time to myself to rejuvenate, to think clearly and to keep myself healthy.
Relaxation can take many forms: meditation, yoga, exercise, solitude, a walk, reading a great book, staring into space, sipping tea with a friend, dozing on a lawn chair, gardening or napping at the beach-to name a few but my favorite new indulgence is massage. It has taken me a while to hone in on the best massage experience and I have decided that the massage environment is critically important. The environment can be a spa, a massage venue, or my new favorite, a therapeutic massage via a chiropractor’s office. The important elements are: quiet, calming music, essential oils that smell good, a convenient location, and a reasonable price so I can participate more often. Massage is not an indulgence, it is a recipe for health.
I feel better already!
Filed under Life thoughts, Relax
Choose
We all come to a certain point in our lives where we have to make a choice that will alter our life as we know it. The choice can be subconscious, deliberate, spontaneous or well thought out but we all face a time when we are forced to decide. I am at this intersection now.
I am happy and comfortable in my teaching job, working with five-year-old children, inspiring them, comforting them and confronting each day with the wonder of these children, awaiting the next discovery, surprise, or a book that is destined to become their favorite. Teaching is a wonderful career, but lately, a new seed of an idea has sprouted in my mind. It is the writing calling me to the keyboard, to the world of pages. I choose to write. I choose to take action to propel myself forward into the world of author and book.
My choice opens my eyes to author events, book signings, new books, magazines, and the literary circle that welcomes me with open arms. I choose to take this path and will discover where it takes me.
Filed under choice, Life thoughts
BetweenTheWords 