I love going to yoga on Sunday mornings. It is a good way to reset mentally for the coming week. It is kinda like going to church, especially because the instructor will usually provide a topic for the practice. This Sunday's "sermon" was about the three things that make life happy: peace, love and joy. We were to pick the one we were most lacking in our lives and think on it. I have peace and love, but sometimes life is so busy I don't feel like there is time to actually enjoy it. Joy comes from having a purpose in the things you do. So I decided to actually map out what it is I am doing with my time. Here is a 24 hour snap shot of my life:
5:45 am: Wake up.Check CrossFit Centurion's website for today's WOD (Trust me, I am not the only one who does this first thing!). Get up, uncover the parakeets,turn the Keurig on and jump in the shower.
6:10am: Make breakfast (sausage, eggs and coffee), pack lunch, clean up kitchen. Get ready for work while listening the Carly Rae Jepsen channel on Pandora.
7:10am: Commute to work, still listening to Carly Rae Jepsen channel on Pandora. It is Monday, I need some lightness to start off the week.
7:50am to 4:20pm: Working like a state worker. At lunch I start reading my library e-book "The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time."
4:30pm: Head home. Listening to my ipod on shuffle- I was in a spontaneous kind of mood.
5:00pm: Got home and prep dinner (chicken and artichoke). Had pre-CrossFit snack and fed parakeets. I also rolled out and stretched for 5 minutes- I am still feeling Saturday's workout.
6:00pm: Head over to CrossFit. Today's WOD is called "Suicide Watch." I've done this one before- it is sprints and kettle bell swings. Good news: you won't kill youself. Bad news: you will want to throw up. I am just glad it doesn't invovle lifting heavy things repeatedly! After WOD worked on handstand pushups.
8:15pm: Eat dinner, clean up kitchen, shower and watch BattleStar Galactica.
10pm: Bedtime. 7.5 hours of sleep!
So the majority of my day is taken up by work (10 hours with commute time. That is 60% of my waking hours). Life is busy! Is it too busy to schedule in some joy? I think the best way is to sneak in enjoyment through out the day: listening to music on the way to work, have some dark chocolate and tea after lunch, socializing at CrossFit. Life is what you make it. I can make it in to a grind or a flow. The most important part is to be aware of these little moments of joy and fully enjoy them. That is my busy joy flow.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Summer 2012
Happy Summer Solistice! The first day of summer- yay! The weather heated up sometime ago, so I am pleasantly surprised that the "actual" summer has just begun. Time seems to be moving more quickly with each year and how my time is spent seems a little unclear. So I decided to set some goals for my summer. This is my attempt to catch those fleeting moments and form them into a bigger purpose.
Goals for Summer 2012
1. Be my "Best" self. The best I ever felt was during my 30 Day Challenge. Good nutrition led to good sleep and that led to good CrossFit performance. On top of that I wrote in my journal daily to hash out my day. So my first goal is to really take care of myself. Eat good foods, get enough sleep, and write in my journal. This should give me a solid base for the rest of my goals.
2. Master the box jump. There is a 20" wooden box at CrossFit that is vexing me. Sometimes I can jump on it and sometimes I can't and the difference is all in my mind. These are my new spirit breakers and I am determine to jump on the box without flinching. Here is how it is suppose to go:
http://www.livestrong.com/video/5306-box-jumps/
3. Give my best performance at the CrossFit Centurion in-house competition "War of the Centurions." I have never competed in an athletic event in my entire life, so this one is kind of a big deal for me. I expect I will learn a lot about myself.
4. Learn to grill like a pro. I already ordered my grill and can't wait to get started. I loved grilled meats and veggies, but have never really grilled myself. Time to learn!
5. Make and follow a budget (that includes savings). Since I moved in January, my financial management could best be described as "by-the-seat-of-your pants." I actually manage millions of dollars for a living, surely I can do it for myself as well (and there is much less than a million to manage for myself :).
6. Watch all episodes of BattleStar Galactica & Caprica. I used to make fun of people who watched BattleStar Galactica. I apologize. This is good stuff, but getting through 100ish episodes is a commitment!
7. Have more "do nothing" time. Summer inspires lazy days. At least once a week, I want to sit out on my patio and just do nothing. This is harder than you think, life is busy.
8. Write a weekly blog post. Some weeks I am inspired to write several posts and then there are dry spells. I want to be more consistent and write regularly, especially when it is hard to write.
9. Put more effort into work. Lately work has been a J-O-B. Dreading something is no way to spend 8 hours of your day. Plus I (finally) have a really great boss. It is time to step up.
10. Have great hair and wear earrings. Coming back from vacation, I feel trashed and out of shape. It is so tempting to cover myself in a paper bag and avoid mirrors. Instead, I am going to focus on "not my body." So here is to highlights and shiny objects to help get me through this rough patch.
Goals for Summer 2012
1. Be my "Best" self. The best I ever felt was during my 30 Day Challenge. Good nutrition led to good sleep and that led to good CrossFit performance. On top of that I wrote in my journal daily to hash out my day. So my first goal is to really take care of myself. Eat good foods, get enough sleep, and write in my journal. This should give me a solid base for the rest of my goals.
2. Master the box jump. There is a 20" wooden box at CrossFit that is vexing me. Sometimes I can jump on it and sometimes I can't and the difference is all in my mind. These are my new spirit breakers and I am determine to jump on the box without flinching. Here is how it is suppose to go:
http://www.livestrong.com/video/5306-box-jumps/
3. Give my best performance at the CrossFit Centurion in-house competition "War of the Centurions." I have never competed in an athletic event in my entire life, so this one is kind of a big deal for me. I expect I will learn a lot about myself.
4. Learn to grill like a pro. I already ordered my grill and can't wait to get started. I loved grilled meats and veggies, but have never really grilled myself. Time to learn!
5. Make and follow a budget (that includes savings). Since I moved in January, my financial management could best be described as "by-the-seat-of-your pants." I actually manage millions of dollars for a living, surely I can do it for myself as well (and there is much less than a million to manage for myself :).
6. Watch all episodes of BattleStar Galactica & Caprica. I used to make fun of people who watched BattleStar Galactica. I apologize. This is good stuff, but getting through 100ish episodes is a commitment!
7. Have more "do nothing" time. Summer inspires lazy days. At least once a week, I want to sit out on my patio and just do nothing. This is harder than you think, life is busy.
8. Write a weekly blog post. Some weeks I am inspired to write several posts and then there are dry spells. I want to be more consistent and write regularly, especially when it is hard to write.
9. Put more effort into work. Lately work has been a J-O-B. Dreading something is no way to spend 8 hours of your day. Plus I (finally) have a really great boss. It is time to step up.
10. Have great hair and wear earrings. Coming back from vacation, I feel trashed and out of shape. It is so tempting to cover myself in a paper bag and avoid mirrors. Instead, I am going to focus on "not my body." So here is to highlights and shiny objects to help get me through this rough patch.
Friday, June 8, 2012
The Food of Paradise
Could there be a more perfect book to read on my way home? The moment after I bought my plane ticket, I started a must-have Hawaii food list on my "Reminders" app. When most people plan a trip to Hawaii, they think about the beach and drinks with little umbrellas. I think about Family, Friend and FOOD! Hawaii people love to eat and we love to talk about food.
Besides explaining where some of my favorite Hawaii foods originated, the book also captures why food is so important in Hawaii. "In a society that has little in common except the language 'pidgin' where neither religion, nor literature, nor art, nor music, nor social customs, nor a long shared history provide a common ground, Local Food serves as an important, indeed essential, basis that glues the diverse people of Hawaii together." "Recognizing this use of food as a common language drives home the point that food sustains more than the body, that it also sustains cultures. What makes people in Hawaii feel they belong is that they share Local Food." These sentences, on page 7, perfectly capture why home and food are so intertwined in my mind and heart.
I graciously ate my way through my Hawaii trip: Korean BBQ, apple bananas, Dobash cake, lau lau, fried noodles and lychee just to name a few. Of course I had a few things mentioned in the book:
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| Saimin |
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| Andagi |
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| Teriyaki Steak |
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| Seeds |
This book provided a"story" to some of the foods I have always enjoyed. It helped me appreciate how unique it is to grow up in Hawaii and be exposed to a fusion of food and culture. I admire the author's culinary curiosity. Rachel Lauden weaves history and recipes together in a way that honors Hawaii's heritage. It added another layer of enjoyablity to my trip home.
"The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage" by Rachel Laudan:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Food-Paradise-Exploring-Culinary/dp/0824817788
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