In the Woods

 This morning I went for a hike in the woods, and it was absolutely magical. There was a very light breeze blowing, which kept sending the leaves falling towards the ground. They were swirling lazily from the sky, and eventually touching down with a melodic little flutter. It was spooky and beautiful. If you like to hike and don't want to go far away to get to a trail, Priest Point Park is a perfect destination. The trails are well-maintained and provide a (mostly) easy walk through woods of both deciduous and evergreen trees, and include several nice views of Puget Sound as well as beach access if you want to get a little closer to the water. The uncharacteristic lack of rain this fall has left piles and piles of beautiful leaves to look at and crunch under your boots. Knowing Olympia, this isn't going to last much longer, so get out there while you can and enjoy one of the coolest (and free!) places in Olympia.

Trying Less Coffee For a Month

Since I've gotten back from my vacation, I've been looking for ways to maintain my feelings of relaxation and well-being. Specifically, I'm trying to pay attention to the habits I have that contribute to stress and undermine my ability to feel like my best self. One of the habits I've gotten into over the past couple of years is to have a second cup of coffee around nine or ten in the morning on days when I am at work. Often, about an hour after I have this second cup of coffee I start to feel tense, and I notice myself becoming impatient and irritable. Last week, I tried not having this second cup of coffee, and I was surprised to find that even when stressful things happened at work, I didn't feel as keyed-up as I often do. Now, that may just be because I'm freshly back from vacation, but it seems like a good opportunity to conduct an experiment. Goal #36: to not have a mid-morning coffee on the days I'm at work for a month. I'll see if this continues to make a difference in my ability to maintain my cool in stressful situations, and if so, I'll plan to cut my mid-morning coffee from my daily routine.

An Apple A Day

Alright, as cheesy as it is, I'm making Goal #34 to eat an apple every day at least through the end of this year (in Washington, due to amazing storage technology, apple season can go almost into the spring, but I will probably stop eating one every day once they start getting mealy and old-tasting). Research has shown apples to be beneficial for lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, improving overall cardiovascular health, regulating blood sugar, and providing anti-cancer benefits. Some links about apple nutrition and health benefits, here, here, and here. They are also tasty, filling, easy to transport, and inexpensive (at least where I live). I feel really fortunate to live in the apple capital of the world, as we have so many varieties to choose from. This morning I had a Honeycrisp apple with some quinoa, walnuts, cinnamon, and a little agave syrup. It also looks as though you get pretty much the same benefits from eating apples raw or cooked, as long as you keep the peel on, as that is where many of the nutritional benefits are found.

Taking An Afternoon Off From Everything

I haven't posted in almost a week. I've been busy being on call for work, and it was kind of a doozy of a week. When I am on call, even at the times when I don't get called in to work, I just can't relax. Being on call is very draining for me, and at the end of it, I always struggle for a few days to try to figure out how to recharge my internal batteries. This morning, after I was freed of my on-call responsibilities, I was feeling kind of at loose ends about what to do with my day. My body felt too sore to paddle or go to the gym, and my spirit felt too disrupted for me to believe that starting a house project was a good idea. What to do? What I really felt like doing was taking a nap and then laying out in the sun with a book, some popcorn, and several glasses of iced tea. And that's what I did. I just took the afternoon off from everything and it felt great. Being "lazy" is usually hard for me, but like savasana (the relaxation pose at the end of many yoga practices), I think taking time to relax may be just as important for a healthy mind and body as being active and productive is.

Let Free Time Be Free Time

I'm overdue to make a new goal, and for me, this one is a big one. Like a lot of people, I seem to have a really hard time allowing myself mental space from work. Even when I'm not at work, I'm often thinking about work, or working on work projects for "just a few minutes"on my days off. One of the places I find myself spending way too much time on my days off is in my work email.  It is not unusual for me to spend an hour or two of my weekend reading and responding to work emails, and sometimes even more time than that thinking (or worrying) about something I've just read. What would it be like to spend that time going for a walk? Or working on a painting? Or reading a book? Or having a conversation with someone I love? As far as I know, my time on the Earth in this body is limited, and I really don't want to look back and realize that I spent a lot of precious time by trying to be the most responsive and responsible co-worker.  In fact, a few of my co-workers have kidded me about how often I check my email and have admonished me for replying to work emails on my days off. In the spirit of trying to create better work/life balance I bring you goal #19: I won't check my work email on my days off. I know if someone really needs to get in touch, they can (and will) call me at home.

My Sweet Ride

Would you take a look at that pretty piece of machinery? That's right, that's my sweet ride, and these days we're getting out together and taking advantage of the nice weather. I rode to work 3 days this week, and I enjoyed it so much that I think it's time to make a new goal: I will ride my bike to work at least two days a week during the sunny season. Advantages to riding a bike to work (at least for me since I often walk, take the bus, or get a ride with a co-worker):
- easy exercise that just feels like fun
-noticing the beautiful scenery around me
-getting my body warmed up and ready to move before work is nice
-cheaper than driving or taking the bus
-self-reliant, you leave when you want to and go where you want to
-getting to sleep in a little longer than if I'd walked
-time for self-reflection and quiet thought (unlike the bus!)
-great bike bags make it easy to transport lots of groceries without hurting my back
-amazing feeling of the sun on my back and the breeze on my face
-If I get strong enough, maybe I will be able to handle pulling my paddleboard on a bike trailer by the end of the summer!

Free Workouts!

The other day I was wishing I had some new yoga DVDs to try out. Although I enjoy the few yoga DVDs I own, I have grown a little tired of them. As I think I mentioned in a previous post, I like to use yoga DVDs on days when yoga classes don't work with my schedule or when I am needing to be a little frugal. While watching a DVD at home is a totally different experience than attending a class, sometimes I really enjoy it, and it is definitely better than not doing yoga at all. I have been thinking about where I could look for some gently used yoga DVDs (Goodwill? Value Village? Garage sales?), and then thanks to some magnificent library staffer who put one of the DVDs pictured on the "Staff Picks" shelf, I realized that the library has tons of fitness DVDs that you can borrow for free! This evening I did the amusingly titled "Yoga For Surfers III" DVD, and it was a really challenging workout. I've had some friends tell me that they don't feel like they can afford to join a gym or attend fitness classes right now, so I wanted to give a shout-out to the library, where you can find lots of great yoga and other fitness workouts for free.

"If You Can Feel It, You Can Heal It"

This morning I did yoga at home, using a super cheesy yoga DVD from Ravi Singh and Ana Brett. The DVD is filled with sayings that make me laugh while I am doing the workout, such as: "part of you says no, but the more enduring part of you says: go!". Even though this DVD is pretty silly, doing the workout makes me feel great, and this morning, I was especially moved by a segment called "Meditation to Transform Emotions".  In this meditation, you actively try to feel emotions that are often thought of as negative (sadness, anger, fear) while thinking about a situation that brings these feelings up in you. The idea is that you will have more success changing emotions that are keeping you stuck if you take the time to allow yourself to feel them. While you try to feel each emotions, you also focus on deep breathing. As you let the feelings pass through you and are ready to move on, you finish with a short chant. I think it would also work well with humming or singing as a closing step.  Each time I do this exercise, I am surprised to find how much allowing myself to feel "negative" emotions in relation to events that have triggered them is helpful.

Taking Care of Business

This week I took care of some way overdue business- I finally got a referral to see a massage therapist I've been wanting to see for at least a year. Yesterday morning I saw her and got a fantastic massage and also learned some stretches for parts of my body that have been giving me discomfort. Afterwards, I felt like that kitten there on the left. Why did I wait so long? Oh well, happily, goal #12 is now accomplished!

Chehalis-Western Trail

Yesterday I went for a beautiful walk with my mom on the Chehalis-Western Trail. If you haven't been on this trail before, you are in for a treat. It's a flat, paved trail that is great for walking, running,biking, or skating. Spanning twenty-two miles, the trail runs north-south through Thurston County, and then hooks up with Yelm-Tenino trail. We heard many birds on our walk yesterday, and I have also seen families of raccoons and opossums on the trail. One of my favorite things about the Chehalis-Western trail is that some of the trailheads are right off of busy urban streets like Martin Way. You walk for a bit, and then suddenly you feel like you are far away from all the noise and bustle. The plants along the trail are waking up- many of the trees and bushes have little blooms starting to appear, but as you can see on the Thurston County Parks and Recreation site (linked to above), the trail is also a lot of fun in the winter. I can't wait for it to get warm; I think this summer I'm going to ride to Tenino, something I've wanted to do for years but just haven't gotten around to. Spending time walking with my mom out in the sun yesterday was awesome. I felt so relaxed, comfortable, and happy!

Gym Accessories

Fitness ball, Medicine ball, Bosu ball

Pictured here are three of my favorite accessories to utilize in my workouts at the gym. The fitness ball (also called a Swiss ball, a Pilates ball, etc.) has many great uses, and can be useful for working out most of your major muscle groups. There is a pretty comprehensive list here, and I try to work some of these exercises into every workout I do.
Fitness balls come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 14-34 inches, and they are most effective if you find one that is the right size for you. There is a range of recommendations based on height, but since most gyms only have 3 sizes, I typically think smallest=short, medium=medium, and largest=tall. Fitness balls will work best when they are well inflated. You might feel like a total nerd using one of these, but once you try it, you will see just what a great workout they can provide.

The ball in the middle is a Medicine ball. It feels quite a bit like a basketball on the outside, but it is weighted on the inside, generally with sand or steel shot.  Medicine balls are great for incorporating into strength training routines. and most gyms have them in a variety of weights and sizes. The one pictured here is a 5lb ball, and I use it for ab, leg, and arm strengthening.

The last ball (well, half-ball) is a Bosu ball. It is used for standing on and does a great job of helping develop core strength. I have seen people stand on the inflated side, but the way I use it is to balance on the flat side with the inflated side on the floor (as pictured here). I often do free weight arm exercises while standing on the ball for some extra core work, but my favorite way to use the Bosu ball is to stand on it and throw the medicine ball up and catch it repeatedly. If you put on an energetic song and do this rapidly (almost like dancing!) you get in an awesome arm, shoulder, and ab workout very quickly. Standing on the Bosu ball can take a little practice, and most people wobble a lot when they are first trying it. Don't get discouraged! Once you get used to the way it feels, it is actually quite easy to do and looks super impressive too!

A Little Time Away

This past weekend, Zach and I took a  mini vacation and went up to Port Townsend for a long weekend. As you can see, we had a lot of fun. This is us goofing around in the Rose Theater before we saw 56Up, the latest in a pretty cool documentary series that follows the lives of a group of people from the age of seven. Even though the documentary was really good, if I'm being honest, I had even more fun in the lobby taking pictures with Zach! I'm really lucky to have a partner who knows how to have fun and keeps me laughing and smiling.  If you are ever feeling sad or stressed out, I highly recommend taking some silly-face pictures with someone you love.
Being away from home, I was out of my normal routine and ended up eating a lot of things I wouldn't normally eat so much of: Hello Mt. Townsend Creamery cheese! Hello Southern restaurant mac & cheese! Hello a few too many adorable 5oz glasses of craft beer at The Pourhouse (we did manage to eat a few healthy meals from the delicious deli at the  Port Townsend Food Co-op).  I also didn't get in nearly as much exercise as I normally would (although we did do a lot of walking), and I didn't get myself all set up for this week with salads and a clean house. But you know what? I had a wonderful weekend clowning around with my sweetheart, eating delicious food, and relaxing. The happiness and well-being that brings me is well worth making some unhealthy food choices and missing a few days of exercise!

Working Out

Seeing this sign almost always makes me happy. I associate going to the gym with feeling physically good, being proud of myself for making the time to take care of my body, and with having fun. I didn't always feel that way though. There was a time when going to the gym caused me anxiety- I didn't know how to use much of the equipment and I didn't believe that I belonged there. Several years back, a friend and co-worker who is interested in fitness took the time to go to the gym with me and helped me develop familiarity with the equipment and a good work out plan. Now going to the gym feels really comfortable; the Y feels like "my place", and instead of bringing me anxiety, it is just the thing to relieve it. Although I am pretty dedicated to working out, there are times when I slip up and make excuses in my own mind about how I am "too busy" or "too tired" to go (sometimes this is legitimate, but often I could re-work my schedule to fit it in if it is truly a priority to me).  Goal #8: to work out at the gym at least twice a week during the rainy season. (I'm only including the rainy season in this goal because I think I may end up spending a lot of the summer on the water working on my paddleboard!). This goal should be easy since I am already meeting it most of the time, but I think having it on the list will help me to make working out a priority at those times when making excuses is easier.

Sunday Night Dinner

Tonight for dinner I made a variation of the Black Bean Soup recipe that I posted a few weeks ago (I used cubes of yam instead of carrots this time), along with a crispy romaine and arugula salad that I topped with red peppers, avocado, and a garlicky yogurt and cilantro dressing. The salad was really the star of the show here, due to both the freshness of the vegetables and the (may I say) amazing dressing I whipped up in just a few minutes.
The dressing was super easy and is as follows:

Garlicky Yogurt and Cilantro Dressing
1 cup non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup (or more) cilantro leaves
2 large cloves garlic, cut into pieces
drizzle of oil oil
salt to taste

Puree everything except salt in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt at a time, distributing evenly over the top, puree, and taste, adding more salt as desired. Keep in mind that the dressing is very garlicky and will get spicier as it sits.

Additions that would probably be good: 1/2 tsp cumin, lime juice and/or zest, a pinch of chili powder

Relaxation

Do you ever have those days where you don't realize you're feeling stressed out until you take a moment to sit and unwind? Tonight at yoga I had such a wonderful moment of complete relaxation. Once I felt it, I realized how much tension I had been holding in my back, and arms, and hands, and even in my face. Even if you aren't in to yoga, or just can't do it right now, I think it is worthwhile to sit somewhere quiet and warm and take a little time to let go of the stress and tension that can accumulate in your body. Put on some music you like, close you eyes, and give yourself a couple of minutes to breathe and relax.

Petting Kittens

This is Iris. She is my sweet, strange cat. Even though I love her very much, I know that I do not spend enough time showing her this with petting and brushing. One of my goals for this year is to spend at least five minutes a day focused on petting or brushing Iris. I've seen a few articles that say that petting a cat or a dog (or probably any animal that you are close to) lowers not only your blood pressure, but also the blood pressure of the animal you are petting. It is certainly a nice way to relax after a stressful day, and when I take the time to do it, my cats seem much more relaxed too.

P.S. For those of you wondering about The Smeagol, don't worry, she already gets lots of petting (although no brushing unless you want your hands scratched/bitten up), which she  pretty much demands by ramming her face against whatever you are holding (book, phone, magazine, etc.) when she wants to be petted. Yes, she's pretty adorable too.