Tag: daily routine

Hand Work

You may have noticed “hand work” on my weekly tracker.

As a person who has worked in an online/virtual format for many years, I long ago recognized the need to balance it out with real, tangible work – work that yields real product you can touch.

Years ago, I read about how grieving women tend to find relief in repetitive tasks such as knitting, crocheting, gardening, saying the rosary, etc. Little movements, over and over, with beautiful and useful results. This repetition helps us process grief and life’s upheavals.

The person doing it is awake, aware, engaged… but the mind can wander too.

It’s a form of meditation.

The mind enters a sort of “dream” state, and in it, ideas and thoughts can pop up. Some good, some bad. The right brainwave environment for a person to sort out their feelings and get comfortable with uncomfortable stuff.

We all need that, right?

I learned how to sew as a kid but didn’t do it too often. But in 2020, suddenly everyone needed a mask. I pulled out the old Kenmore and went to work.

Some of the early ones were sewn really poorly, but to my amazement, people kept asking for them and even paying for them! And I started to see them “out in the wild.” And then my awesome friend Megan sent me a ton of fabric from her studio in Washington. And I kept going.

I gave myself permission to practice and get better. And I also started learning how to crochet, using YouTube as my school.

So anyway, along the way, I made a little patchwork denim bag, and my daughter’s friends went crazy! They each wanted one…  and then I got the opportunity to put my bags at Melo Coffee Kitchen as artwork! Whaaaatttt???

And they’ve been selling!

I’m a little bit excited… Can you tell? 😊

30 for 30

I used to struggle to get 30 different types of plant foods in my diet each week. As I’ve been doing this for a while now — and enjoying the benefits of a much healthier tummy — I thought I’d share a few secrets.

Coffee Klatch ☕️

Every morning, I begin with coffee and add to it about 1 tablespoon of chaga, which is a mushroom product.

Two down, 28 to go!

Tea for Two 🫖

Teas count! I usually have a cup of herbal tea after my morning coffee. My favorite is ginger turmeric, but of course, I mix it up… each day is different. 

I’m going to estimate that you’ll get at least 3 plant foods and their wonderful micronutrients in one cup of tea.

Add a lemon, lime, or orange slice? You’ve got 4.

What’s the tally now? Six plant foods! 24 to go!

Nuts to You 🌰🥜🐿

We like to keep a couple of jars of nuts in the den… easy access to healthy snacks when movie time rolls around. We keep a big one just for cashews, a small one for pistachios, and a medium-sized one for mixed nuts from Aldi, which includes peanuts, pecans, almonds and hazelnuts.

Ok, so a handful here and there throughout the week equals 6 of your 30 plant-based foods. And just having them around will help curb your desire for the unhealthy stuff.

Ok, add 6 to the tally. 18 to go!

Shoot Some Salad, Salad Shooter 🥗🔫

I’m making a big salad for tonight, and marinating some chicken for Jimmy to grill.

Here’s the salad ingredients in tonight’s mix: romaine lettuce, baby spinach, baby chard, baby kale, broccoli sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber slices, celery, sweet pepper slices, avocado, olives, and green onion. 

There’s enough for 4 of us to eat, and I’m pretty sure there will be leftovers for tomorrow. I’m not too proud to eat yesterday’s dressed salad. It takes on a giardiniera vibe.

Ok, that’s 12 more plant foods to add to the tally.

If you count the red wine vinegar I use in the dressing, it makes 13! I’m not going to count the dried herbs, though…

18 – 13 = 5 more to go!

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy 🍉🍒🫐🍓🍍

It’s summer, and there’s a ton of ripe fruit available, so take advantage while you can.

This morning, we finished a pineapple at breakfast.

My lunch was apple chunks with peanut butter drizzle.

On the dinner table, I set out blueberries, watermelon, and cherries. So there’s 5 more plant foods for today!

5 – 5 = 0! I got 30 in one day! Now, any new veggie to cross my path is just a bonus!

Easy, healthy, and delicious!

Up Your Reps

One of the first posts on this blog, Get Ye a Morning Ritual, shared a great morning workout by Master Shi Heng Yi.

I’ve been doing this for over a year now and have recently upped my reps to 36. Master Yi uses the Ayurvedic numbers, so I’ve followed this pattern.

Really feeling it in my arms/shoulders and tops of my thighs. But yeah, it’s all good and I’m happy and thankful that I can do it and of course I feel better after I do.

Here’s the original workout:

The only problem with the 36 reps is that it takes a while, and I often lose count. My husband asks me a question, or the dog sees me standing still and gives me his signals for backyard, walkie time, or breakfast time… and so I pause, forget where I’m at in my count ….

So today, I did an 18-rep workout, and then I did it again for a total of 36 reps. I think this is gonna stick.

Whatever your health situation, this is a great way to get moving in the morning, and move that lymphatic system!

Weekend Routine

The weekend priorities are to see as many people as possible, spend as much time outdoors as possible, and get lots and lots of exercise. And of course grocery shop for the week and get healthy foods.

Check out the steps I got yesterday! Farmer’s market in the morning, then a 5K CLL walk with my support group, then visiting with family all evening. Plus a couple of walks with Max. 🐕‍🦺

Weekday Routine

Over the past year and a half, I started keeping a food diary that grew into a scorecard of sorts.

I had been dealing with an unhappy gut for a long time and, as previously shared, got AMAZING results from simply drinking a shot of kombucha daily. Things got better FAST, and I felt so much healthier, but I knew I could still improve.

I had read that for optimal gut health, we should try to eat 30 different plant foods per week. That seemed like a good and achievable goal. So, I started keeping track in a notebook.

It was a way for me to put gut health in a spotlight. At the bottom of 30 numbered lines, I put a question: Did I achieve the goal? Yes or No.

So that was the start. I’ve been adding more tasks and check-offs along the way… some proved useful, others have been phased out…

Any notebook or journal will do, but if you pick up a planner (they’re really inexpensive in May), you’ll be able to see the calendar, too.

Some people like keeping lists, some people like crossing stuff off a list, and some people get a little charge out of hitting their goals. I like all of that! So, in a way, this is a game. I’ve gamified my health.

If I hit all my goals, I reward myself in a healthy way. 🧶

Feel free to print one out and try it for a week. Or, make your own… I find that the time it takes to create a page each week is kind of a nice ‘zen’ task. Get some markers and get  creative!

Ooh… one thing that’s missing is the daily step count from my dumb watch. Gotta add that.