Keeping things Currant

I thought this would be a good time to touch base and discuss how the resolutions are going.   As we are in that dreaded two and half week zone.  Three weeks to make the resolution a habit.  But the "newness" factor wears off at two weeks and I have been hit by the don't wannas and fuhgedaboutit.  BUT I push myself to keep on track.  The best thing I ever did was to be specific.  The goals where I can do a little bit every day is getting checked off my to do list.  The once a month goals have been glanced at from time to time.  On this HealthFULL (Finally Understanding Life by Living) Journey I have learned that I do better with deadlines.  You need me to do something in a week, a day, an hour; Done and done!  You need something done at my convenience or whenever; not happening it gets lost, forgotten, or buried under more pressing matters - like pinterest.com and reality tv. 

To keep track of my 12 resolutions I bought a calendar date book that lists a week on two pages - starting with Monday and running through Sunday.  I printed up a mini version of my resolutions for the front cover and write down the corresponding number on the calendar date.  This way with a glance I see what I accomplished in a day or what got ignored during a week.  It is really motivating to see a visual reminder and even more motivating to see the visual of the baby steps of completing a task.  I have really enjoyed the number one resolution of being grateful every day and actually write my blessing down for the day.  Most days by actually remembering my day I easily write down two or three blessings that were especially touching.  Think of it as sprint journaling.  Also my two other daily goals of reading the Bible in a year has been enjoyable as I skip around wherever the Spirit leads.  My Bible shared the tip if you read three chapters(not verses as that wouldn't be enough and not books because that would be extremely daunting but chapters - which is completely doable!) daily Monday - Saturday and then on Sunday read five chapters.  This is the pace I have been following and only one day did I miss as I wasn't feeling really well but caught up the second day.  It is best to not get too far behind or these resolutions stop being goals and more like anchors!  Also I like a record of when I exercise.  It is easy to twist facts when they are only floating in your head.  I think I exercised five times last week for an average of thirty five minutes a day.  I'll count that.  But in pen it holds more weight.  Oh it was only four days blah blah blah.  You get the message.  The calendar helps me stay accountable and motivated.  Great tools when you have many goals in a variety of your life. 

Also we are keeping record of my favorite tradition/goal.  The new produce or grain of the week.  Look at the title of this post?  No I didn't have a spelling mistake.  This week's fruit was red currants.  They were an easy pick for my hubby and me as we have heard of these berries but never really have seen them.   Oh they were gorgeous in the grocery store.  The red was so bright and inviting and the berries are tiny.  They look like mega rubies.  I must confess though as I was decieved as they looked sweet as they reminded me of champagne grapes (size-wise).  I also expected the skin to be a little tough as the red was so bright with a shiny luster - I expected almost tomato skin with that bit of a bite.  Nope!  They are tart little bursts of juice.   It was as if I was eating the pomegranate arils.  Which I enjoy - but only when my taste buds are expecting that sour burst of juice.  I was expecting a tough sweet berry.   Alright what to do with these berries?  I had so of planned on serving them with our spinach salad for dinner.  However, my hubby is not the biggest fan of tart/sour flavors.  So I headed to our trusty computer and searched for a recipe.   Not a lot of varying recipes for the red currant.  Big contenders were jellies (as the berries have a natural pectin most sites mentioned) and pies.   I have never made a jelly in my life (adore buying homemade jellies from bazaars and farmers' markets but haven't invested in the canning supplies for myself.  So pie it is.  Not the healthiest choice but was  a mighty tasty one.  Really simple fruit pie which I added a little bit of blueberries and strawberries with the currants.  As these are flavors we enjoy, and we didn't have a lot of currants to fill an entire pie.  Even my 14 mo. old son tried a couple.  Which proved to me he is truly a texture taster.  Also he helped himself to the berries when we mixed the pie "together". 

It is fun to feel in control of my life or at least that I am gaining back control.  That I have a say in what I do and that I am making choices that create a better version of myself. 

May your HealthFULL Journey bring you flavors of sweetness to soothe and sourness to motivate. 'Til we meet again. . .

The Broken Umbrella

Oh if my life was a movie this week... cue into the closing scene where a woman walks down the sidewalk in front of her office building with a bounce in her step and a giggle on her lips.  Now if this truly was a movie the woman would be 5' 11" just over a hundred pounds in a gorgeous trench coat- fantastic make-up and perfectly coiffed hair possibly a french twist, mega watt smile with a confident stride and the background a slight sprinkle of rain with a touch of sunlight.  But before we go into the fade back let's really examine the final scene.  Because this blog isn't a movie but about my real  HealthFULL journey on how I can Fully Understand Life by Living which means there are lots of these moments.  Here is the true final scene: A heavy set woman, no make-up, a quick ponytail, an awkward pace to her gait, and a giggle bordering between hysteria or tears, with an open broken umbrella and a gloomy gray sky with spurts of wind. Now the choices that lead into this scene.

Its Monday because this is real life and real life seems to come together harshly this particular time of the week.  We are approaching wintertime here in the South and instead of facing a harsh blizzard we tend to see a lot of drizzly depressing rainy days.  This would be one of those days.  I hate driving the truck in rain.  The accelerator tends to stick when it gets a little chilly and the automatic truck pretends it is a bucking bronco. Not fun!  But as I pull into our parking lot - wait for it I actually have an umbrella on me.  This is news because for seven years of our marriage - my husband and I did not own a single umbrella.  But I now own one that matches my purse.  Fancy I know!  My hubby calls it my little umbrella and I love it...or I did, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Work begins and time passes.  The minutes tick down and the clock is nearing break time.  Oh I so have the Monday blahs.  Its cold out and rainy.  No walk I pout, stomp, and whine I don't wanna.  But don't want to do something doesn't mean I can't.  That I am physically unable.  And I realized that as an adult I can't give into my teenage rebellion or even my child-like tantrum just because I don't feel it.  Sometimes we have to weigh our wants vs. our goals vs. our needs.  I didn't want to walk but after my high blood sugar reading (the highest I have had in over a month) I needed to walk and that my goal is to lead a healthier lifestyle.  Well grab the umbrella because we are going for a walk : sunshine, rain, or snow pull on the tennis shoes we're hitting the pavement.  Did I have other options then walking outside?  Absolutely!  I could have walked the steps in our five story building (they are bit daunting and creepy).  I also could have stretched in my cubicle for fifteen minutes but who wants to create that kind of scene.  No I'll take my cute little umbrella and walk.

It felt good the first break.  There is something about the smell of rain that is energizing as everything is refreshed.  The confidence building as I did something good for myself and I didn't even want to do it.  But I dug deep and accomplished my goal.  Its that first step willing to embrace the activity, isn't it.  I convinced myself go outside.  If you only walk once around the building so be it.  But my body craved movement and once the first step happened it was easier to follow it with 1500 more.  Great first break.

The day continues on and the afternoon break looms before me.  I silently debate my options.  I already had fifteen minutes under my belt.  Do I really have to commit another fifteen in the rain?  Yes because I knew I was working late, when I get home I will be exhausted and on mommy/wife time.   So if I wanted to get my full thirty minutes in for the day this would most likely be my last shot.  Plus it really was refreshing the first break.  Grab my tennis shoes and adorable umbrella one more time.  Hmm...the grayness seems a little darker.  The wind has picked up a little speed and an extra chill as I sink a little deeper into my coat.  One time around the building done.  I am feeling a shot of pride, a bounce in my step as my confidence grows and as I am too busy applauding myself a lot happens.  I notice the wind is picking up my umbrella and flinging it around.  I see one of the spokes has bent and then one final gust pulls the umbrella out of my hand as I simultaneously trip over the sidewalk.  (The same sidewalk that I have walked numerous times all of a sudden has a crack that raises three inches off the ground just enough for my shoe to catch it and stub my toe).  I lose the umbrella to the ground as I stumble three steps forward bracing myself for the inevitable fall and side step my umbrella (I don't want to break it) and the wind carries my friend away into the street into upcoming traffic as I twirl to catch both my balance and in a half-hearted attempt to catch my little umbrella.  I watch in horror as a SUV comes racing down (or driving normal speed)  bee-line towards my umbrella and I wondered if there was any possible way my umbrella could be spared and if not; Can an open umbrella hurt a moving SUV?  There was something child-like as I wanted to race into the street and save my priced possession like a child does their ball.  But miracles of miracles the umbrella is spared.  I grab the umbrella and race to safety.  As I turn the final corner towards my office building.  It was like I was not only in a movie but a cartoon as I look up into my umbrella.  As I gaze upwards one spoke (not the bent one) drops into two pieces.  I try to close the umbrella to see the damage and there is one side that sticks out now with the two pieced spoke and the bent spoke and I do the only thing that seems natural.  I giggle at my blessed misfortune.  Yes I tripped.  I lost my umbrella.  And my umbrella broke.  But I walked for thirty minutes.  I actually had a working umbrella for 28 of those minutes.  My umbrella did not get run over (and I didn't have to pay for any damage towards an expensive looking SUV).  And though I tripped, I didn't fall nor sustain any true injury. Well a little bruise to the pride as I was beginning to think I was all that and a bag of chips.  But a near fall and a broken umbrella bring me back to reality.  So Broken Umbrella thank you for the memories, the lessons, and the humility.

May your HealthFULL Journey be full of opportunities that lift you up and catch you when you fall. 'Til we meet again. . . 

Winners never quit and quitters never win!

Have you ever heard this expression before?

Winners never quit and quitters never win!

If we apply logical reasoning to this popular saying, one cannot be both a winner and a quitter. If I had to choose a team. I may have to be on the Quitters team. And if I am completely honest, maybe even captain of the Quitters team. However, I am working hard to be on the Winners team, even if it means only as a bench - warmer.

I never mean to quit. But then, it is hard to believe anyone starts a project, works toward a goal, commits themselves fully to an idea in hopes of not finishing. I even try to rationalize my reasons for dropping out, sometimes I even convince myself it is for heroic reasons. That by my stepping down I am allowing others the chance to win, lead, or at least finish. That by fading into the background I am choosing to be noble. Truthfully, it is easier to drop the ball early in the race then to get to crunch time and risk failing. Risk disappointing those who were counting on a flawless performance.

I wring my hand at the thought of disappointing others. There is only one other feeling that I hate to stir up in others even more than disappointment is knowing that I did something to cause someone else to become upset. I like people to feel calm, soothed, and downright comfortable around me. Which is why I believe I choose to avoid personal confrontation like the bubonic plague. Absolutely there are some fights worth fighting! Those fights may include helping others lead improved lives which I have stood toe to toe in some of those battles and happily would do so again. But when it comes to personal goals and battles I usually have chosen to sweep my half-hearted attempts under the rug. If I truly want to attain a firm grasp on living a HealthFULL life by traveling my HealthFULL Journey then I have to start finishing some races (regardless of if I place last or first) and most importantly see my actions completed. Not everything I have to offer will be perfect, but I will see my actions through from beginning to end.

As I close, let me share one of my first goals I plan to accomplish. I am raising five hundred dollars for the March of Dimes. This started as a charity my office chose to support. I felt it would be easier to rally behind by making it personal. I sent out letters and emails announcing my plans to participate in the March for Babies that took place in April 2009. I chose to March in honor of five wonderful women that I am privileged to call friends who were pregnant at that time (months later the world has welcomed four beautiful girls and one handsome boy). I also Marched in memory of a little boy that left us far too soon at the age of fifteen months, but left a profound footprint upon many hearts, especially mine. As the March neared, I was super nervous if I would be able to complete the fully anticipated six miles (they ended up shortening the length to four miles, whew!). I did finish the March for Babies and was pleased that I raised $350 of my anticipated $500. That is seventy percent! I felt pleased at my respectable effort.

Well one hundred days ago my family was greeted with an amazing miracle, my youngest niece. As of October 1st, 2009, she is still a week away from her original due date of October 8th, 2009. That's right! Our family's smallest miracle entered the world according to her schedule. Because of some of the March of Dimes funded research my family is directly benefiting from their passionate research and outreaching efforts. Because of organizations like March of Dimes my precious niece can experience the best of care even while starting off with such a fragile beginning. In honor of her I feel I need to see this goal to the full $500. I would love to be an aunt that can show all my nieces and nephews that we don't have to finish first but we should always complete the race. I am currently 82% of my goal at $410. Perhaps there are nine people who can donate ten dollars to this worthwhile cause and help me both honor one of my "newest" heroes while also motivating me further along my own HealthFULL Journey.

If you would like to help complete the goal of $500 in honor of my family's littlest miracle, please go to www.marchforbabies.org/SuzySullivan . Also if you have any comments, questions, or topic suggestions and would rather not share them publicly you can email me at HealthFULLjourney@gmail.com .

Thank you for meeting me here on my HealthFULL Journey. 'Til we meet again. . .

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith. -- 2 Timothy 4:7