Sound barrier.

Alright kiddos- I did something super nutso last week. I up an quit my job. This is not the one I had mentioned last year, but in March I had begun a new job that I was very excited about. For various reasons, it was a big NOPE and here I am. I am not the type to do such a thing and I actually surprised myself. With jobs, I'm the kind of gal who will stay around and whimper for three years before making a move (I'm sure y'all noticed that over the years).

I should feel more afraid than I do. The hubs and I aren't swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck or anything. However, I have a few options that I am working part-time from home on and hopefully a little something extra on the side to boost our income until the hubs graduates and gets a good welding job.

I learned some interesting things over the past few days. Some I'm proud of and others I don't really know what to do with. One of my biggest fears is that we will be unable to pay our bills. Instead of letting that thought consume me, I'm working on a plan to make this ish work, y'all.

Remember this post? Well, I did.

Thanks to this newfound cavern of opportunity and terror, I will most likely be posting a lot more. Hopefully!

It's been a weird year and my head is still spinning big time, but the air feels fresher, that squirrel in my gut doesn't seem to be digging around as much and I feel inspired. I had forgotten what that actually felt like and it has been a long time coming. I truly believe if I work hard enough and stay positive and be mindful of our lifestyle/expenses etc....I can do this.

My mama always says when a plane is about to break the sound barrier it quakes, rattles and it feels like it's about to explode all around you. Then it breaks the sound barrier and it's smooth and quiet again. Boom, y'all. BOOM!

I have big ideas and I want them to step out of the ether of my mind and manifest "in real life". I am fortunate to have friends and family who love and support and encourage me. So, here goes! Wish me luck. I want to believe I can do it, to truly make it happen.

I'll swing by again soon to give you more soul high-fives!

-L

February Yoga Challenge - What I learned

Image.

Last month I decided to try the 30 day yoga challenge. Every night before bed I would devote time to practicing a pose of choice. This one and this one (5th pose in the series) in particular were working for me.

In conjunction with that I have made it a practice since Christmas to do some basic stretches every day when I wake up and before/after my daily jogs. Here is what I discovered:

1. That awful feeling of being inflexible when you first start goes away after a week of doing it every day. Now my body craves my daily forward fold. No lie, kids!

2. I did 26 days of yoga, as the last for days I fell off the wagon due to some major shifts in my personal life. However, as soon as I did, I experienced sciatica pain from hell! My body had grown accustomed to being stretched and cared for every day. Woah. Lesson learned.

3. The floor bow pose (second mentioned above) really intimidated me. The first time I did it, I couldn't hold it for more than 10 seconds at a time. By the end of the month I could hold it a full minute like no big deal. It felt good and powerful.

4. I didn't see any results physically per se, but I could feel it in my body. It didn't feel like drudgery as much as normal daily care for my body. However, if I had committed to doing a full series of poses every day, I know I would see tone.

As with the hydration challenge, I am keeping this as a part of my daily life now. It feels good and my body appreciates the extra care.

As for March- it's Meditation March for me. Every day I'm taking a ten-minute meditation (more if I crave it...don't laugh you really begin to crave the peace of mind). Care to join me?

P.S. This made me laugh.

Today's post is brought to you by H2O!

January azalea. photo by moi.

Good morning, friends! This year I decided to take a challenge every month of the year. January's was to stay as hydrated as possible. I had read that it can improve your skin, give you more energy, help you lose weight etc. etc. so, I gave it a try!

It is recommended for women to drink around 2.2 liters of water/fluids per day. That equals nearly 75 ounces. All in all, I drank an average of 95 ounces a day which is over that recommended amount; however I was still thirsty so I kept on drinking. A few days I only had 50-60 ounces and I woke up with bad headaches the next morning.

It took discipline to keep up with how many ounces of water I drank a day. Though, after a few days it became a game to keep track and ended up helping me with my memory a bit. By doing that, I automatically drank more water and less caffeine and alcohol. In fact, I think I only had one or two cups of caffeine the entire month and haven't had any since (with no headaches or withdrawals from it).

I also found that no matter how much water I drank, if I had a glass of wine I felt like crap the next day. I can be an idiot sometimes, therefore it took me a few tries before I figured it out. My body has completely gotten used to and prefers water. That's quite a capital benefit! I also stopped craving my evening glass of wine as I did before. I saved about $40 on that alone!

My skin does look better, so my mom says. But I didn't see the changes as much as I had hoped. I think it's because we had a fluke cold spell and the air in my house is dry and hot. I can tell though, on the days that I don't have any wine in particular that my skin is far more glowing and clear. As if I have a soft-focus lens on my face- sweet!! The days I have wine or go below my comfortable threshold of water intake, my skin looks a little dingy and the redness around my nose and cheeks comes back. You would think vanity would be my game changer...but sometimes I'm a bit thick.

When I would get bored, I drank decaffeinated berry tea and that would push me to get past the "boredom wall". The boredom wall is this thing I have in my mind where I start to crave things that aren't super great for me such as booze, sugar, convenience foods etc. because I'm bored. I used to give in to it almost daily. This experiment helped immensely in realizing when I had approached a boredom wall and what I could do to get past it. Surprisingly, by buckling down in those moments and drinking more water or decaf tea, the wall would almost always disappear with the cravings. I found that having little mandarin oranges around helped a lot too, due to the water in the fruit, but also the sugar (hello hypoglycemia!).

Results: drinking more water makes me feel awesome, save money, make better choices and look better.

Would I do it again? Heck yeah! In fact, I've kept it going and am currently on Day 39. It feels good, y'all! I highly recommend it.

Would you consider doing monthly challenges with me too? I'd love to know! February is all about yoga!

-Lu

Week 3 Update!

A picture I took in Apalachicola in August, 2014.

Hey y'all! I'm brighter eyed and bushy-tailed today than I was yesterday, wowsers! We are in the home stretch (no pun intended) of the moving game and I'm loving my new little house. We're trying to make it feel as much like a little beach cabin in The Keys as a little shotgun house from the 1940's in North Florida can feel. It's less than 800 square feet (but feels even smaller somehow). Ha!

Anyway, I wanted to give you guys an update on the progress I've made with my experiment with Paleo and getting into better shape physically and dietetically. Week three had its major challenges for various reasons. One, the moving. My stuff is everywhere and then some. Two, it was a really busy week at work and I got to help my mom with an art show (which was awesome, but busy). Three, going going going and not taking time to just be takes its toll on you. And it did for me last week. But, I digress.

Day 15: I did great all day, had dinner with a friend (which included some yummy potatoes, tofu and wine). I was also a cranky little B so apologies (again) friend for being such a party pooper!

Day 16-18: I did great all day, though I wish I had prepared more meals for myself. I mostly snacked all day throughout the week. The difference being: WINE. Not much, but I had one to two glasses every night. Oh and a small portion of fried chicken because I'm a human being.

Day 19: Tornado watches and severe storms. We ordered a pizza and cinnamon sticks and it was magical. Though my tummy did not agree! However, instead of blowing the whole day like I did the first two weeks I planned a "fun day", I let myself have a little treat every night. I could have done less, but whatevs.

Day 20: I had one beer with dinner and the rest of the day was terrific and easy.

Day 21: I did terrific all day and evening and had a half a beer, but it tasted gross so I gave it to my husband in exchange for my big fluffy bed that was calling my name instead.

So what are the results?

I lost major inches this week! Mind you, I walked/jogged every day (even the days I was working the art show, I still got some miles in) and it rained all weekend too (still did it! Proud of myself for that).
I lost two inches off my belly and a quarter inch of my arms as well as a half inch from my legs. I gained a half a pound, but I'm not worried about that. Hormones, plus a little more wine than usual and a half pound gain is a fair price to pay.

I'm thrilled to be in the fourth week of the challenge.

My goals:
Walk/job 17 miles (that will put me at 50 miles for the month!!).
Get back to my nightly yoga (I did zero yoga this week and I can feel it. It's probably another reason I've been feeling like I need to sleep all the time).
Make at least two meals for us this week. I made this (with no coconut flour) last week because of chocolate cravings and they were better than delicious. YUM!

Any goals for yourself for this week, guys? I'd love to know! I truly hope you have a wonderful day!!