Silverwitch

Choose happiness, and happiness will choose you! Outing myself also as a fan of colouring books. Colouring is almost like a meditation. Right now, I have this one… CLICK Good luck with your challenge!

Sounds like a very nice and satisfying meal plan! Your description of kale, pear, avocado blended drink makes me want to introduce smoothies back into my daily nutrition. After all, I have kind of a "super-blender" sitting around, which I haven't used in what feels like ages. Congrats on loading up on high quality organic veggies! How is your shoulder doing with all this exercise?

That's exactly what I am thinking. Without numbers, it is also a bit more getting in touch with myself, as in following my instincts. Thank you! Thank you, I think today went well! Today was a good start: Two bis mugs of coffee with coconut oil, coconut milk and cinnamon, foamed up to creamy goodness, scrambled eggs with some chopped hot pepper, fried bacon and a few slices of cucumber. Not to forget my big yellow pill, the St. John's Wort. I had a light therapy lamp going during breakfast, and my husband liked it a lot, says it helps him to wake up. Good, I hope it will do soon the same for me! Dinner was right now (early for me) some lactose-free brie, butter, chorizo and one slice of pumpernickel bread ( goes so nicely with the brie but actually a bit too carb-y). Now I am having some tea, because for reasons unknown my stomach acts up a little. I guess I have to get used to a cleaner way of eating again. At least that's what I like to think, because the other possibility (some sort of stomach bug) is too unpleasant to think of. No, no - I would very much like a bug-free start. In all aspects! If I manage to stay away from the fridge for today, day one would be a winner. Besides food, there was only work, and the drive to it, through something between snow and rain, but closer to rain. Maybe I will take a nice hot bath now, counts als self care and might actually warm me up a little. It got so cold...

Happy New Year to you! How about making meditation one of the goals? As in thinking about what you really want and need? Get well soon, you seem to have caught quite a nasty cold.

Tomorrow the challenge starts, and not only the one here at NF … by tomorrow, I have to go back to work and we will see how planning something and actually living it go together. I am looking forward to this.

Yes, there are! Challenges are now four weeks long, and the first one will start this Monday! Scumspawn and I can be found at the druid's place. Just in case you're looking…

Ready to go! I have to say I do like the 4 week format. Feasible, still challenging, and much less likely to fall into the "fifth week slump." In a way, it will keep us probably more on our toes than the six week format. Maybe a little drawback is that there will be now so many short challenge threads, floating abandoned through space … I am toying with the idea of a general battle log, where everything is recorded and kept together. But then, it would be just another thing to maintain, and I have already a journaling goal in my challenge. I also stick with what works, just trying to get better at it. To be found over HERE.

Originalpiratematerial, where aaaare you? Come on over, 2016 feels quite okay so far… Wishing you a very happy New Year!

Oh, so I got that it is about health in all its variations … then I passed out because of multi-coloured flicker flacker cartoony madness… I agree with Jakkals: next time I take a look, you'll be probably some three digit numbers ahead with posts...

I hear you on the needless obligations! Needless obligations are … well, needless. Decluttering can be very satisfying, I know that from my last challenge - and it has a lot of positive side effects! Good idea to focus on health with eating better, and getting more sleep. Sleep is indeed essential, even though one sometimes behaves as if it wouldn't matter. It DOES matter! Good luck with your goals!

It sounds like it … but fact is I feel somewhat scattered, as in no real red thread to follow. If things will be going the way I hope I should end up by my birthday (August) with a more serene mindset, at ease with myself and my life.

week four

week three

week two

week one

Hi there! It is so great to have you here at the druid's place! Welcome! We will be together in this, and help each other to stay on track, I am so looking forward to this January challenge. Looks like we have similar goals. I just love how systematic you go about tracking your success.

This will be my second challenge with the druids. I feel good here, and I am sure this is the place to be for my quest to physical and mental health. I will turn 50 this year, and by the time I reach this magic date I want to have my life in order. In detail, this means to focus on physical health by doing yoga and pilates on a regular basis and by cleaning up my diet again. I've been slacking on my paleo, not liking the consequences. Mental health is something that for some reason I tend to neglect, and this needs to change. Usually, I sort of race through my work days, and if someone asks me what time it is, I answer something like "uhm, winter?" Not good. Also, I tend to sacrifice self care as something that is not as important as other things. Which is wrong. So a change of attitude is needed. Quest 1: return to my established paleo lifestyle to fuel my body properly, keeping below 40g carbs per day Quest 2: regain flexibility and core stability with yoga and pilates - twice per week should be doable Quest 3: have every day some time for self care, appreciating my body without judging it Quest 4: Whatever I do, I need to be fully into it. No matter whether work, sports, playing with kids, gardening … simply be more in the moment. To consciously live my day, I will write a journal, reflecting my day before I go to bed. From last challenge came a few things that I will keep continuing, since they have turned into good habits: drink enough water, take St. John's Wort, keep decluttering (very satisfying!), use the stairs at work instead of elevator, spend talking and/ or story telling time with my children. What I won't continue: step tracking and logging my water intake . Honestly, numbers don't satisfy me. Life is precious, I don't want to feel wasting it on the wrong things or - even worse - run through it without really feeling alive...

I am much happier now, too. Somehow I already have a good feeling about 2016. Maybe it is just the feeling that comes with things beginning, a fresh start - but I just love good feelings. If some of them are triggered by my St. John's Wort intake, so be it. It is just so pleasant not to feel down or stressed or otherwise impaired. Might as well enjoy it as long as it lasts.

Sickness got in your way, that does not count - feeling sick makes it very hard sticking with new plans concerning nutrition. Body and soul demand vigorously what they've been used to for a long time, and giving in means in this case not to put extra stress on body and soul. By the way: I hereby admit that next to my keyboard sits a nice glass of sparkling wine which isn't exactly Paleo… but we're about toswing over to a New Year, and I will be damned if I don't enjoy the ride!

Did I get that right - you're making a sabre? I agree with Emma: get to work, I wanna see something! Although … I do have a deep understanding for the necessity of lazy days. Recharge. Peace and quiet.

Today is the last day of this year. I feel good. It has been a challenging year in many ways, but overall I daresay it has been a good year. I am looking forward to move on to 2016 with my family.

Well, it has to do with a variety of things. First, I am not particularly fond of anesthesia, since I have a heart condition (rhythm troubles) that make me not exatcly an easy patient to do surgery on. And second, I just like the thought of being "complete"... I know it sounds weird, and if I would have to be, due to some malignant or otherwise unmanageable condition, I would of course got through with it, but I just like better if it does not have to be.

Rotator cuff injuries are so mean! I hope you will feel better soon! Well, as soon as possible - usually that sh*t takes quite a while. :-/ Nevertheless, you rocked this challenge! What do you think about the new challenge rules? I actually kinda like it - four week seems doable, the smaller breaks in between keep the momentum and one can simply focus on one or two goals, making them a habit and then keep going instead of losing oneself in too many things (which I tend to do). I'm thinking about my January challenge already, too. Main topic will be health, which includes self care, as a staple of mental health.

Hi there! Yep, I agree, the energy is totally different … like everyone is in hibernation right now. I wish I could be, too. "Unimportant things that get into the way of important things" -- nicely put. I guess everyone has this experience every now and then. If it becomes way too impairing, maybe a list of priority / less priority things could help. Until the priority list isn't done and checked off, the less important stuff does not get touched or so. I found myself sometimes using the less important things as a welcome tool of procrastination, keeping me from doing the important (less pleasant) stuff.

I am not gone… I am still lurking about... Brief summary: Had an on-off sort of cold that impaired me more than I like to admit. I am over that now. The other stuff: I did habe my second opinion, and it seems that I do not need to have surgery. At least not immediately. This is a huge relief (for now) since I am not so comfortable having to think about hospital stays, my kids, my husband, my job… ugh. My gyn still is convinced that I should sacrifice my uterus to the Gods, but I am not convinced. Since the guy from second opinion at least was able to reveal that nothing malignant is going on, I have decided to simply see these changes as the unpleasant part of (peri)menopause. I've been a bit shellshocked after the thought it could be something really bad going on. But I am equally relieved now. The challenge went well for me, but I have to say that I like the thought of challenges being now 4 weeks, with just a few days of break in between. It will keep momentum going. I will be jumping in first challenge in January - as a druid, and with similar goals. Working on 'em already! I'm quoting myself here: Next year, I will be turning 50. By the age of 50, I want my life sorted, decluttered and in many other ways on track. We will see. This ^^ will be my main quest until the 50 is here. It will include more decluttering, not only my house but even more my mind. Health, both physically and mentally, shall be the main theme. With paying more attention to this, everything else should be falling in place as well. At least I hope so!