Life Lesson #101

So My son is packing his lunch and decided he needed more chips and starts to try and stuff the rest of a bag stashed from his room into his lunch box. 
I can hear him struggling to make it fit and get up to help. It's in my nature not only because I'm his Mom but also because that's just who I am. 
As I get up I am asking questions, telling him I think I have a better way but as I get up I notice he just keeps trying to make it fit.
I say to him I will help you but only if your going to at least try it. I do not want to stop what I am doing to help if your not going to listen.
At the moment my hand reached the zip lock snack bag he had crushed his lunch bag and forced it closed and then looked at me saying
"I'm good"
WTH???
In that moment I Thanked Him!
"For what Mom?"

That has been the problem most of my life I am always trying to make life easier for everyone else when most of the time they like doing it the hard way and never listen anyways.

When they are just whining and not asking for help leave them alone. They are going to do what they are going to do but if they ask then it means they are really ready to learn... 

Thanks again! Lesson Learned... 😇

It's Been A While....

It seems like a while since I sat down and tried to formulate what I am thinking into  words. Lately its just been me and the trees in quiet contemplation.

2 weeks in and are already seeing changes..

Hard to believe it's been two weeks since I started my 30 day challenge.  

It has had it's moments for sure.  

I have been pretty quiet the last week and a half as the 4th of July started our real summer routine. I had a wonderful weeks of playing around with recipes and reorganizing how I spend my time and pay my bills. 

The New Moon Eclipse has been calling in more than just being disciplined with new food habits, seems I am in for a change of lifestyle as well. 

I have lost 8 pounds and do feel more energy since I have started.  Emotionally the last week has been the hardest. I real have had to rely on journaling and yoga poses to start my day and keep me on track. 

The energy of the New moon has been challenging but also seems to have brought some stability in areas there hasn't been for a long time.. Funny how with each day my old habits are fading and new ones put in their place. 

I am still working on being more consistent with my blogging but that to is a challenge and I see why it's hard to post everyday. I will still be playing around with that but like I posted on my Facebook page sometimes it's more about effort than it is about completion!

OveralI,  couldn't be happier with my 14 day outcome and I hope over the next few days I will catch up on my recipes and food blogs along with a few other articles I have journaled. 

It's been such a journey so far I can't wait to see what the next two weeks will bring in both weight loss and displine!

 

Morning routines always set the day

I have found out that how I start my day really can set the tone for how the rest of it goes.
I fantasize like most people about waking up to the perfect day. Being able to take time to stretch before your feet have even hit the floor, the sun coming through your window the birds chirping, you get the picture but seldom does that happen in my household let alone anyone else's.

I use to start my day with Coffee and Facebook. Checking in with the world while waking up. Plan my day and the set out or sit back what ever the day called for. Some mornings I would write, paint or draw other mornings get lost in the endless posts and YouTube videos that filled the gaps in my morning routine.
Since taking in Ollie all of that has changed.

The fact that I have added responsibilities is helping to show me where my time was wasted and how better to use my time. He is my first priority when I wake up there is no doubt about that!
Good thing I do the fireman's drill in no time because getting clothes on and out the door is a must after a long nights sleep for Ollie. His face is like lady what do you mean wait, you just went? 😆

It seems that getting up and at em has been helpful on this challenge. The first thing I grab when we get back from our walk is a tall glass of water. With temps rising early mornings have now become the perfect time for cool drinks.. 
Funny how a walk and water would start changes for the day but it has for me.
The walk invigorate me, the fresh air and the brisk walk seems to awaken my sense and by the time we're back home I feel good about how I started my day. The nosies of my surroundings and taking the time to clear my mind gives me a sense of confidence that social media could never give. No matter how many likes or shares.
Once we are settled back in I am ready for some writing, yoga and planning my meals for the day. My mind seems sharper and ready to plan the day and I find that my check in time for social site are dwindling as I gain more time for doing the things I love while reclaiming my purpose.
My mornings are never perfect but they are a practice in finding what works best for me. I knew Ollie would force me to get out of the house and in turn help me create a healthy walking habit for myself, he is doing that and much more.

Thanks Ollie for the incentive it's helping my morning routine be more productive and self nutring. There is no better way to start the day than taking care of myself and the ones I ❤️!

Waiting for the right time to do something...

Its funny how I really thought yesterday would be a bit rougher since I had to go out and do a few things as well as go shopping. I had enough food for a day or so of my challenge but not enough for the week.
Living in the woods has it's perks but it also has what most City people ( a former one myself) wouldn't like, Dump day. You see no one picks up our trash we deliver it. Now some people see this as a hassle but I see it as keeping my taxes down. Since I do it the town does not have to hire people, spend gas and then in large their facility now to accomplish it. So I really do not mind. It does make for a interesting topic as we go through the drive thru and everyone is so nice and if I didn't go I would never get to see all the other people from our town. Its only open a few days a week and a extra day in the summer due to everyone being at their camps. It also is a reason to have to leave so I make it a day out you can say.

I had made my list already and had decided that I would leave early to beat the heat. Ollie, I and my son headed off for the dump and once we were done I would drop them off and head out alone since it was to hot for Ollie to be in the car for any length of time. 

Since it was going to be another hot one I was rushing around trying to get things done and making a smoothie or juice was not top on my list. I usually have a bad habit of leaving the house without eating. In the past I head out and then grab something on the way home. I end up eating one meal that day or buying a pizza ( yes have a great vegan, gluten free pizza place in a near by town!) and then calling it a day when it comes to eating. Why would I think yesterday would be any different.

I can't lie, knowing that I was going to be alone while shopping had my mind trying to figure out if it was okay to stop at Dunkin for a coffee or one of their other summer drinks. I was spending my time driving thinking about how I should of ate, its getting hot and now I was going to put myself in a grocery store full of food and how getting something from Dunkin would help. Funny how your mind works against you when you really listen. I had a few stops before the store but I knew the first place I would pass was Dunkin. You think it would of been easy to pass by but I put on my blinker and was about to go in until I realized that I would only be cheating myself and that it was only the second day with the challenge but 3 days without coffee or a substitute. I manged to pass it by but believe me going into the store was another thing.

Summers gets a bit crazy in New England and especially around the 4th with campers coming up to the White Mountains and everyone up for the Camps so the stores were a mad house. Many people and shelves looking like a Storm was coming. People rushing around deciding what to get for the 4th and weekend I am sure. Here I was in the Product dept getting some fruits and vegetables. Now of course I was getting hungry and the heat was starting to peek so everyone including myself were just trying to get in and out. As I followed the shopping list my mind was trying to figure out what more I could eat. Going down every aisle looking for something to jump out at me.  You see on the way to home to drop them off we had a discussion about how with the heat I might need more than sugars so maybe we would extend the challenge to include anything I could make Raw and not cooked. That way if I needed some protein I could get it from nuts, beans, ect.  So here I was in the store trying to figure out how to put a Vegan Ruben Sandwich in the Vitamix!!  I managed to get out of the store with sticking mostly to my list but my mind was racing on the fact that I really needed to eat something. It was going on noon by now and I hadn't ate a thing.

By the time I got home my Son could tell that I was getting grumpy, hot and hungry and we joked that maybe doing this challenge now was not the right time. It made me think about how many times I had used that excuse to not do something. Oh diets work better if started on a Monday, I would go for a walk but its to hot, it's to cold, oh  if only this, if only that. Wow that is what got me to were I am now. If you follow my blog you know I start out good but I let excuses get in the way of following through. Like in true Gemini fashion I just move on. This time was the right time and the heat in its own way was helping. I was not getting as hungry for hot foods and wanted to be cooled down with salads and smoothies anyways. I told him about wanting to put a Ruben Sandwich in a blender and we had a huge laugh about it. 

Once everything was unpacked I ended up making lunch for everyone else then had to decide on what I was going to eat or drink.  By now I was starving and knew I would need more than a juice or smoothie to get me by. Yes, I am still cooking foods for everyone else, even Ollie gets some brown rice and sweet potatoes with his food.  I had decided that I would make a chickpea lettuce wrap.
It would take some time but be worth it and it so was. With some easy prep work and beautiful radicchio lettuce it made for a filling meal.

That did ended up being the only meal of the day like always but at least it was light and hit the stop. With the heat as the day went on I didn't feel much like eating which I am sure helped. With the extra water I am drinking it seemed to be the perfect way to satisfy my craving for something more hearty while helping me to not put a Ruben Sandwich in the Vitamix!!

Like the old saying never put off today what you could do tomorrow because when tomorrow comes you will of made more work then if you just did it yesterday!!! It's never to late to start something especially when it comes to your health and well being! 

If you would like the recipe to my Chickpea Salad you will be able to find it later today on my WordPress blog and like always if you enjoy my posts and blogs subscribe to get notifications and to get more insight follow me on Facebook and Instagram. I also want to say that I am working on videos right now and hopefully will be sharing them on here and other sites.
 Thanks for your support in sharing this journey and sometimes adventure with me...



  

So it begins...

Today was the first day in my 30 day Discipline challenge, 

It started out easy but as the day has gone on my body is craving a little more to fill my tummy.  

My morning Smoothie and afternoon Juice hit the spot but around 2 pm, I was craving something more and ended up making a pudding in the Vitamix. . 

I thought maybe I would use this blog to share my overall thoughts and experiences while using my WordPress blog to share my recipes, yoga and other items of interest over the next 30 days. 

So I will use this more as a Diary of sorts while the other as a Food and Healthy living record of what I made, ate and did. 

I must say I expected a little more of a headache today since it is my second day without coffee but I seemed to do fine. We are experiencing a heatwave which can be very draining. I have been drinking extra water and trying to stay cool but I can tell it's taking it's toll on both me and Ollie. 

We were not able to get in our major walking we do about 2-3 times a day because of the heat so it has made us both a bit restless and lazy at the same time.

Kept myself busy by putting somethings away and doing some early morning planting. With this heat, planning your day is key. I was excited to use some celery and basil from my container garden today. Cant wait for the tomatoes to come in! Not going to yield much again this year but the practice counts. Learning what works and what doesn't as we go on our second summer here. 

I am not sure if I will make it through the night without something more but for now extra water and hoping it will be somewhat cooler tomorrow but the weather man seems to think not. 

 What better time though to use only a blender and juicer, could only imagine the heat in here if the oven or stove had to be on. At least its another way to stay cool on these early Summer days.

So day one went good but the temptation is there. Tomorrow wont be a breeze as I have to go to town and I just cant pick up a pizza on the way home. Well if discipline was easy I guess it wouldn't make things a challenge.   

Just a reminder to see the recipes I used check out my WordPress blog tomorrow at http://justinebrasil.wordpress.com

and subscribe to both to be notified of posting and updates along with following me on Facebook at woundedhealer22  

always appreciate you sharing this journey with me.....  

"Discipline" The Calling of Saturn....

Last week I started to notice a pattern around the word discipline. Everyday that word would be said or read. To the point of not being able to ignore it. It was there. Making me think about the word and it's meaning around this Full Moon Saturn energy.
From You Tube videos to social media posts it was becoming obvious that this word "Discipline" was trying to get my attention.
I have to say that for a Gemini, discipline isn't one of my strong assets. Can I do it yes but do I apply it everyday no. Like the butterfly Gemini that I am sometimes I think it's not as much about discipline as It is about  keeping my focus on one thing at a time.
Every time the word has came up I have had to ask myself how disciplined am I but more importantly how disciplined could I be if I put my mind to it.
When I first learned of my food allergies it was very difficult for me to try and navigate the discipline of eating only what I could when the foods around me had so much I was allergic to in it.  It was really difficult learning how to focus primarily on foods that I could eat and changing the way I eat completely . I knew that in order to get better I had to be disciplined in not eat something I ate all my life but now had become allergic to. In the early years it kept me antisocial for a very long time until I learned how to not feel awkward or make the other person by not having something I was able to eat when we were socializing together.
I found that by bringing my own food to events helped with that. It gave me something to eat but also an opportunity for me also to prepare food something that I love to do.  Which had been a casualty due to all my food allergies. I had learned how to cook all these wonderful dishes but now I was allergic to them! I had to relearn how to prepare food in order for me to have a meal and feel satisfied. Not easy going from being a Meat and Fish eater overnight to being a raw vegan.
Since it was hard for me to process how could I expect anyone else to. Yet the most social thing we do in America is eat together. From sporting events to just Kickin It on the couch watching a movie it all revolves around food.
Those years did take discipline and patience with myself.
I also found myself as time went on over indulging in what I could eat sometimes and not really sticking to good healthy eating habits.
I could see why the Full moon energy of Saturn the Grandfather would be asking me to get back to being more focused and disciplined in my eating and lifestyle.
Since I'm very close with my teenage son I discussed the fact that the Universe seems to be wanting me to become more disciplined. That I felt it was time for me to really buckle down and make a commitment but also become more disciplined in my life. Like a true best friend  who has heard this line before I could tell by the look on his face it was for how long? I said No really!!
I reminded him of when I had to change my diet and he laughed and was like and how long ago was that?! If I didn't know better I would have thought Saturn was speaking right through that boy to me so I took that challenge and I challenged him back.
Since the toughest discipline for me really is about food and cutting back of starches and breads. A 30 day Vitimix and Juicer fast for the month of July is what it will be. It runs perfect with the Full moon Eclipse on July 27th. Using the energy of the Strawberry Grandmother moon will no doubt help me to complete such a gift to myself and give me a way to honor the memory of the friends I lost to illness, cancer and tragedy this winter.  Some have Lint, Ramadan, Holy fasts in which to cleanse the body, honor ancient ways and religions or to clear the mind and purge the body. Some would even say the Soul. It's good for the body and mind to be challenged sometimes and to form disciplines in honor of ourselves and others. Also to be an example to others how powerful we can be when we set our minds to something or feel passion in our hearts to heed the call.
I then challenged my son if I did it for the whole month of July then he needed to do it for the month of August. He accepted.  
So starting tomorrow I will be on a Juicer/Vitimix fast. Anything I can make from those I can eat or drink. I can still have a hot tea or tonic in the morning but no more biscuits and gravy Sundays..
Thank you "Discipline" for showing up in my life I can't wait to see what changes will come because I heard the call and took the challenge.