I know, i know, i am a total slacker lately. I did end up wearing skirts or, more appropriately, not pants for 30ish + days. It's been warm, so it's so much more comfortable to throw on a skirt when work allows. Our hiking trips have continued, and so does baby prep. I can't believe there is just barely a month to go!
I'm going to experiment with a Book of Days to try and return to a morning practice. I got off track and feel it. Each day i'd like to try and answer some questions for myself as part of a check in. These are based on some similar items i've seen around the web.
outside my window...
my thoughts...
today's quote...
i am thankful for...
i embody service by...
i feed my body with...
i am wearing...
i am creating...
i find adventure...
i am reading...
i manifest and co-create...
i hear...
i find joy in...
i am planning...
still life...
i might adjust with time, but we'll see how this goes.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Skirts & Packages
Ok, don't jump to conclusions with that title!
So Namaste recently launched a monthly magazine, Kama, Cara & Chol. She is the woman who put together the Sacred Feminine Intensive i've been working through.
In the magazine she offered up a challenge - 30 days of skirts & dresses. She didn't offer any hard & fast rules beyond that. Because of my career & hobbies i can not exclusively wear skirts or dresses - pants are required on job sites for safety. I decided to give myself a few little guidelines and take up the challenge.
So, my guidelines:
So Namaste recently launched a monthly magazine, Kama, Cara & Chol. She is the woman who put together the Sacred Feminine Intensive i've been working through.
In the magazine she offered up a challenge - 30 days of skirts & dresses. She didn't offer any hard & fast rules beyond that. Because of my career & hobbies i can not exclusively wear skirts or dresses - pants are required on job sites for safety. I decided to give myself a few little guidelines and take up the challenge.
So, my guidelines:
- From this past Sunday, May 10, until June 9, i will consciously choose to wear a skirt or dress for at least some of the day.
- Nightgowns count as dresses.
- I'll aim to take a picture every day, in a skirt or dress.
- I won't be wearing a skirt or dress where it would be inappropriate (construction sites) or uncomfortable (hiking).
So far i am 3 days in, and 3 for 3. I've stuck with shorter skirts, in part because we're in summer weather! I've felt some self consciousness balancing the length of the skirt and the positions i find myself sitting in to be comfortable. The denim skirt i'm wearing now has a little less mobility than the jersey skirt i had on Sunday, and enforces a more traditional "ladylike" posture.
In other news, the big box of medical stuff for the baby's birth arrived yesterday. I was sort of surprised by how small it was. Everything was neatly organized and arranged. It made things feel more real than ever that i may very well birth this baby at home. I've been slowly but surely stocking up on things we'll need in the house, items needed for the birth kit and whatnot. This simple brown box though was definitely a little bit of a wake up call though. This is real. In the next 2-3 months i am having a baby. Probably at home.
I am so unprepared.
I will keep working. I will get things done. I will keep cleaning, organizing, making space. I will keep taking care of my body and learning the skills i will need not just for labor but life with a tiny human. I will fall down sometimes and i will mess up and i will make peace with that.
I can do this. I will do this.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Getting More Done in a Day
4 days of getting up early. 4 days of starting the day the same way - a bath, reminding myself each day i start clean & new, meditation, journaling and then some thinks over a healthy breakfast. I clean the pans and head to work.
Work has been slow, but i still feel like i'm making things happen. I'm getting very diligent about putting my ideas into Remember The Milk, so that when i go home i know what needs to be done. I know tonight i have a little over 2 hours of things to do, although that includes making dinner (which is already a known thing and ingredients have been bought). Most are very minor things, like getting gas on the way home, getting & sorting the mail, and running the dishwasher.
The time for the small stuff adds up, but getting them done is often quick and means less stress later. Running the dishwasher daily, for example, means everything is clean & ready in the morning. No annoyance of not having the thing i want ready to go.
This life is comfortable. I am working hard, without a doubt. I realized last night i was actively doing until after dinner, around 7 PM. Since i started at 5 AM, that's a long day! But i also had so much to show for it - 2 crammed boxes of yard reduced to 1 with plenty of space, a yummy & healthy dinner for Duncan and i, honey & orange lip balm made, some minor edits to my altar space completed, errands run, and more.
At the end of the day, yes, i am tired. It's a good tired though. Not the tired of boredom and lazy, the tired of knowing my brain and body have done good work and now it is time to rest. I sleep more soundly, even with my pregnant body making that more difficult.
Today my morning has kept the same flow. I watched one of the videos for the intensive, and will start to focus on the Queen/Mother archetype Monday, when i've gotten through the rest of the videos for this section. Work is picking up, which is nice. The weekend has fun and busy, which will keep my spirits up without sacrificing my progress.
Work has been slow, but i still feel like i'm making things happen. I'm getting very diligent about putting my ideas into Remember The Milk, so that when i go home i know what needs to be done. I know tonight i have a little over 2 hours of things to do, although that includes making dinner (which is already a known thing and ingredients have been bought). Most are very minor things, like getting gas on the way home, getting & sorting the mail, and running the dishwasher.
The time for the small stuff adds up, but getting them done is often quick and means less stress later. Running the dishwasher daily, for example, means everything is clean & ready in the morning. No annoyance of not having the thing i want ready to go.
This life is comfortable. I am working hard, without a doubt. I realized last night i was actively doing until after dinner, around 7 PM. Since i started at 5 AM, that's a long day! But i also had so much to show for it - 2 crammed boxes of yard reduced to 1 with plenty of space, a yummy & healthy dinner for Duncan and i, honey & orange lip balm made, some minor edits to my altar space completed, errands run, and more.
At the end of the day, yes, i am tired. It's a good tired though. Not the tired of boredom and lazy, the tired of knowing my brain and body have done good work and now it is time to rest. I sleep more soundly, even with my pregnant body making that more difficult.
Today my morning has kept the same flow. I watched one of the videos for the intensive, and will start to focus on the Queen/Mother archetype Monday, when i've gotten through the rest of the videos for this section. Work is picking up, which is nice. The weekend has fun and busy, which will keep my spirits up without sacrificing my progress.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
3 days of 5 AM
Today is the 3rd day of getting up at 5 AM and doing the morning ritual. There are bugs to work out, without a doubt, but i am finding a flow.
Most of the glitches are minor - like putting on my work clothes, then sitting on the floor at the altar and getting a little dusty. Or the cat meowing as i try to meditate. Some of these i can control, others are just things to accept. I made some notes in my Remember The Milk list for tonight to change a few details that may help.
Alas, i also think i need about 5-10 more minutes, so tomorrow the alarm goes backwards to 4:55.
I did much better managing food yesterday. Lots of veggies at every meal. Today i finished planning my meals for next week and it's another week full of greens and healthy. I intend to do a bulk cook for the meats again. It has been helpful, and since it's often the thing that makes me take longer too cook a meal, i don't mind it just getting done all at once.
Which leads to a conversation i had with Mich this morning about ease. Planning my meals, pre-cooking elements, makes eating healthier so much easier (aside from overcoming the temptation of the drive thru). Having less clothes to look through makes it so much easier to get dressed. My purse having a distinct home makes it easier to find and go out. Using RTM for all my to-do's makes it easier for me to be productive and plan my evenings.
I am working, but it's toward a simpler life. I feel as if i am getting more done at once, and making the day flow easier. The more i do the more i feel a sense of freedom about my home life. Having less stuff helps, but also places for things to go, and making a habit of putting things away when i'm done with them. It's an extra step, but an extra step that provides calm and assurance that the things i need will be ready & waiting for me.
Most of the glitches are minor - like putting on my work clothes, then sitting on the floor at the altar and getting a little dusty. Or the cat meowing as i try to meditate. Some of these i can control, others are just things to accept. I made some notes in my Remember The Milk list for tonight to change a few details that may help.
Alas, i also think i need about 5-10 more minutes, so tomorrow the alarm goes backwards to 4:55.
I did much better managing food yesterday. Lots of veggies at every meal. Today i finished planning my meals for next week and it's another week full of greens and healthy. I intend to do a bulk cook for the meats again. It has been helpful, and since it's often the thing that makes me take longer too cook a meal, i don't mind it just getting done all at once.
Which leads to a conversation i had with Mich this morning about ease. Planning my meals, pre-cooking elements, makes eating healthier so much easier (aside from overcoming the temptation of the drive thru). Having less clothes to look through makes it so much easier to get dressed. My purse having a distinct home makes it easier to find and go out. Using RTM for all my to-do's makes it easier for me to be productive and plan my evenings.
I am working, but it's toward a simpler life. I feel as if i am getting more done at once, and making the day flow easier. The more i do the more i feel a sense of freedom about my home life. Having less stuff helps, but also places for things to go, and making a habit of putting things away when i'm done with them. It's an extra step, but an extra step that provides calm and assurance that the things i need will be ready & waiting for me.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Every Day I Try
Yesterday was, in theory, my first full day following the "rules" of the Sacred Feminine Intensive. My altar is still missing a few things, and there is still a little here & there to do, but it was ready enough that i'd soon be delaying in the name of perfection.
I mentioned previously about the challenge of food stuffs, and yesterday the challenge won. I ate a candy bar. And then too much eggplant parm. And chicken. And bread. And some more candy. Just grazed all evening on too much junk. Then i went to bed, tired and feeling bad.
So today i try again. Breakfast was once again pretty healthy - a little quinoa with a quarter of an avocado, some mushroom and kale cooked up and 2 eggs. I have a mason jar salad ready for lunch. I think the amount of grains in both is probably alright, particularly since quinoa is a pretty healthy grain. Plus lots of good greens!
I have a plan for a snack & dinner, and even dessert (banana "ice cream"). All very plant based and healthy.
Today being a new day and another chance was my focus. When i bathed i told myself i was washing off yesterday and starting clean again.
I hope to use this evening for productivity as well, going back to my project in the basement as i declutter and organize. I haven't made any progress since Saturday. Even an hour or two is making a huge difference in getting things done, and it's such tangible progress i feel really proud.
I mentioned previously about the challenge of food stuffs, and yesterday the challenge won. I ate a candy bar. And then too much eggplant parm. And chicken. And bread. And some more candy. Just grazed all evening on too much junk. Then i went to bed, tired and feeling bad.
So today i try again. Breakfast was once again pretty healthy - a little quinoa with a quarter of an avocado, some mushroom and kale cooked up and 2 eggs. I have a mason jar salad ready for lunch. I think the amount of grains in both is probably alright, particularly since quinoa is a pretty healthy grain. Plus lots of good greens!
I have a plan for a snack & dinner, and even dessert (banana "ice cream"). All very plant based and healthy.
Today being a new day and another chance was my focus. When i bathed i told myself i was washing off yesterday and starting clean again.
I hope to use this evening for productivity as well, going back to my project in the basement as i declutter and organize. I haven't made any progress since Saturday. Even an hour or two is making a huge difference in getting things done, and it's such tangible progress i feel really proud.
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