Seabright's 2019 Battle Log of Awesomeness

[Seabright]

Mon, Apr 8

 

Main goals for the week:

 - Eat only the good stuff.

 - Play some music.

 - Walk around outside a bunch.

 - Make those calls. 

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/spinach, onions, bell peppers, and artichoke hearts. 1.25 sausage patties (they weren't very good).
• Lunch - at the workshop. roasted veggies, grilled chicken, a few little spanakopita thingies.
• Dinner - event at the Big Boss' house. more grilled veggies, piece of salmon, chicken stuffed with artichokes, 1 margarita (<- only 1! win!)
• Snacks - fresh fruit, 2 meat sticks.

Exercise

Knee still a tad iffy, but seems a bit better. 

• Yoga: 30 mins of work to free up my rib cage.
• Walk: 28 mins along the marsh road.
• Squats: 30.

Taking time

• Snuck out during the break and breathed some fresh air.

Mando

• Event after work. Got home late. Nada.

Bravery

• Went to that event. Super-brave, because I was already feeling a bit out of place. Made myself go, had a pleasant time, and left when they served the cheesecake.

Notice something beautiful

• That one big 'Akebono' flowering cherry on my way to work is now in FULL SPECTACULAR bloom!
• Note to self: get one of these for the new garden area for next year.

[Seabright]

So, I thought it might be a good idea to check in on that Plan I made a while ago. Here's where things are at:

 

The plan 

• Dad's medication still not approved. Fixed! Now on hospice so we won't have to go through that again. you know, hopefully. 
• Hiring issues at work. Made my very first hire of a real, live human. She starts in a couple of weeks. 
• Retirement planning and the lack thereof 'cause the whole thing is so scary. Read the book, did the exercises, and changed up a bunch of things. Starting sending a little bit of do-re-mi to an IRA each month. It's a start, and I feel a whole lot better about this.   
• Meeting with a financial advisor about savings and retirement issues. Still pending. I'm not sure I need to do this, anymore. It's on my mind, though, so I should probably check in with a pro at least once.  
• Putting together POAs & estate planning stuff for me and the spousal unit. Still pending. 
• Cleaning out Dad's storage unit. I need to be firm about doing this by myself. Plan: get the key, get the code, make it so.
• Learning how to play all the chords on the mando, kickoff my own songs, and play fiddle tunes and breaks. Started up the bi-weekly Thursday gentle-jam at our house. It helps to have a reason to need to get better. . 
• Quitting coffee. Did this, and then went right back on it the following Monday. I know I need to get off of it. At this point, intentionally using coffee as a mood enhancer, and that's okay. I'm taking this off the list for now. It's not a priority. 
• Getting on a regular schedule of inviting friends over for dinner. Just invited our first batch and working to get on the calendar. 
• Hikes and bikes. Rain just about over. Did stairs and squats and tried to stay on top of it. Time to knuckle down. 

 

So, a tiny bit of progress here and there, but some big stuff still outstanding. There are some mental blocks with some of this. Here they are:

 

• Meeting with a financial advisor about savings and retirement issues. 
  • Roadblock: finding someone.
  • Plan: research names on independent site, yelp the top picks, call someone up.  
• Putting together POAs & estate planning stuff for me and the spousal unit.
  • Roadblock: thinking this is a really big deal, when it's really a matter of getting stuff off the internet and just doing it.
  • Plan: get forms off the internet. fill out and notarize. store in file.  
• Cleaning out Dad's storage unit.
  • Roadblock: asking for the key and code from the spousal unit. For some reason, we're both acting like this is his personal storage unit, when it actually has nothing to do with him. He need not even be present.
  • Plan: get the key and the code. Send an email if you don't want to get into it.   
• Learning how to play all the chords on the mando, kickoff my own songs, and play fiddle tunes and breaks.
  • Roadblock: I'm not sure. Fatigue. Stuff on my mind. Feeling blah. Feeling like I can't do it. Feeling like I'm never alone.
  • Plan: I''m not sure. Smart money says, move my mando out to my fort once it's done.
• Hikes and bikes. 
  • Roadblock: It was rain, but now that's stopped. Now the roadblock is fitness.
  • Plan: Call my coach and put together a plan to get me over the ridge.

[Seabright]

Tues, Apr 9

 

Main goals for the week:

 - Eat only the good stuff.

 - Play some music.

 - Walk around outside a bunch.

 - Make those calls. 

 

Eating

• Breakfast - bacon and eggs. then I caved and had a chocolate croissant.
• Lunch - it was weird, and i wasn't sure what i was actually eating. the chicken was recognizable, though, and i think i successfully avoided stuff containing cheese.
• Dinner - chicken teriyaki bowl and an egg roll. because i never made it to the grocery store. fail.
• Snacks - ate a few Starburst candies instead of the mountains and mountains of hershey bars.

Exercise

• Yoga: Breathed, but that's about it.
• Walk: They did a working lunch, so no walk. Exhausted when I got home and just crashed on the couch.
• Stairs: 5 flights. Yay.

Taking time

• None. 

Mando

• None. So tired.

Bravery

• Used that one hideous episode with the VP of such-and-such in one of the workshop exercises. Bravely bared my soul. And got some good advice!
• Brave soul-bearing success!

Notice something beautiful

• There's nothing like the afternoon sun glinting off a full reservoir. 

[Seabright]

Wed, Apr 10

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs and veggies w/2.5 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad with chicken, a few veggies, slivered almonds, dried cranberries.
• Dinner - turkey burger with a whole wheat bun, no cheese, no sauce. 1 beer.
• Snacks - handful of raw nuts and raisins. a Diet Coke. 

Exercise

• Yoga: 15 mins of getting things moving. Sat with a quiet mind.
• Walk: 38 mins through the marsh. 
• Lunges: 6 each leg. SUPER cautious with these. No knee pain.

Taking time

• Long walk at lunchtime.

Mando

• None. Fail. Again.

Bravery

• On deck: Have that one tough conversation in the am. Also, maybe, you know, make those phone calls? There are only 2 of them. 
• Update: Had the tough conversation and it went pretty well. Didn't make the phone calls. 
• Other bravery:
  Oh dear. Will WWII ever end for us? I walked in to sobs, and how he had just gotten off the phone with the president to beg him to keep us out of the war. I held him close and let him talk and wondered how i would ever ever redirect this. The tears were hot on my shoulder and he held hung on to me for dear life. I said, 'I can't believe you talked to the president! That was so brave of you, to call him up like that. He needs to hear from people like you and me.' And more, how wonderful it was that he took your call. What was he like? (Not sure at this point which president we were talking about. Roosevelt?) I've always imagined him as a kind and deeply thoughtful person. Oh, he is, he really is. He was very nice. Did he answer the phone himself? He did! He said, 'President Obama here.' Oh wow. That's amazing! How long did you talk for? 10 minutes. He promised me that he would work hard and do his very best to keep us from going to war. That's so wonderful! Dad, I'm so proud of you for doing that. And  I told him that my name was John, and I was from Carmel, CA, and he said, 'How can I help you, John?'  When he answered the phone himself, I couldn't believe it! And on. And away from a war. And then to filling the bird feeder, and birthday cake, and will it be dinnertime soon? And the tears eventually dried. But the old hands still gripped mine for a long, long time.

Notice something beautiful

• There's nothing like the afternoon sun glinting off a full reservoir. 

[Seabright]

Thurs, Apr 11

 

I've been thinking a bit about creativity and energy and wondering why I'm so very very tired all the time. Sometimes it seems there's nothing left of the lively, creative me. And can't get myself to play music or learn a new song or try a new recipe or do much more than touch the bases as i walk by.

 

And I think the reason is, that we only have a finite amount of creative energy. There's just only so much of it, and you need to husband it, and direct it where you need it to go, and no other place. It's finite. You can't do it all.

 

When I realized this, the pieces fell into place. It takes all my creative resources, ingenuity, and wit to work with the fading mind and keep it moving towards the light. All the tools in my arsenal to coax that ravaged brain away from terror and blackness and back into the warmth of the afternoon sun in the garden. When the day is done, there's just nothing left.

[Seabright]

Mon, Apr 15

 

GREAT weekend! I ended up taking Friday as a sick day, and it was lovely. The weather was spectacular, and I got my teeth cleaned, got my hair cut, got my eyebrows tinted, sat in the massage chair at the mall, and had a great chat with my coach. Later, i sat in the garden with the kitty and the spousal unit, and enjoyed the warm evening. 

 

Finnegan, begin again!

[Seabright]

Lots of stuff over a bunch of days:

 

1. First on the scene of a car crash. 2 elderly people lost control of their car coming down a long hill and rammed into a power pole. Broke it in half. Wires hanging overhead. Air bags. Her head hit the windshield and she was obviously in pain. Couldn't open the driver's side door. Wires swinging low. Trying to get 911 on the line and was transferred 3 times. Squeezed into the space and knelt on the pavement by the driver, held his hand, talked to them both and smiled, help is on the way. Then it was time to finish the drive into work. Where I started to fall apart, actually. Surprised me. Chocolate helped.

 

2. Dad now on hospice. Such a relief. I have always thought of hospice as sort of a well-we've-got-2-weeks-to-live-and-we've-basically-given-up-so-let's-call-hospice kind of a thing, but it's more about a heightened level of care and oversight. Oh, and not ever going to the emergency room ever again. Someone even came and gave him a haircut!

 

3. LOTS of work-related stressors, hoo boy. Too many to go in too. Great news, though. I was selected to be part of a pilot program to provide one-on-one career coaching. Had my first session and it was pretty awesome, very much like my wonderful 1/1 nerd fitness coaching. Already feeling hopeful and excited and less lost. 

[Seabright]

Wed, May 8

 

Focus on food tracking, FTW! Also, find ways to be more mentally resilient (anti-fragile). 

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet with onions, tomato, artichoke hearts, and tons of spinach. 3 strips bacon.
• Lunch - salad with veggies and chicken. no nuts and no dried cranberries.
• Dinner - chicken strips. no sauce.
• Beverages - coffee w/breakfast and at the gig; water the rest of the time (lots).

Note:

The strips were the result of not having little meals in the house and running out of time. Long drive home, Dad visit, rushed home to pack my bass and change, hopped in the car, and swung by the Box on the way to the highway.

Fix:

Always do the grocery shopping, even when tired. Always. 

Exercise

• Last day of meds, so still no walking or exercising.
• Jumping out of my skin.
• Can't wait to start up again!

Taking time

• ZERO.

Bravery

• On deck: get through the meeting-filled day, eat lunch according to my plan, visit dad, eat dinner according to my plan, drive to gig, get through gig without going nuts on macaroons (<- not according to my plan), coffee okay, if needed, drive home safely, hit the sack. Resiliency to come in the form of deep breaths, addressing work head-on instead of procrastinating, and drinking lots of water.

Notice something beautiful

• Spousal unit's singing on 'Drink Up and Go Home'. Whoa.

[Seabright]

Thur, May 9

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet with onions, tomato, artichoke hearts, and tons of spinach. 2 sausage patties.
• Lunch - 
• Dinner - 
• Beverages - coffee w/breakfast 

Exercise

• Yoga - 20 mins
• Meditation - 5 mins
• Walking - Just around the office, staying gentle and groovy.

Taking time

• Deep breaths and took the back way home.

Bravery

• On deck (similar to yesterday): get through the meeting-filled day, eat lunch according to my plan, stay focused, prep for mtgs, do those write-ups. Resiliency to come in the form of deep breaths, addressing work head-on instead of procrastinating, and drinking lots of water.
• Bonus points for carving out additional time in the day for closed-door write-ups.

Notice something beautiful

• The reservoir is still full! I'll never get tired of looking at it.

[Seabright]

Fri - Sun, May 10-12

 

Eating

• Fish tacos, rice and tortillas on Friday for dinner, but otherwise good all weekend.
• Really trying to watch it, and kick this intestinal thing to the curb.
• Cooking: Made 2 meals -- chicken and veggies, and breakfast omelet w/turkey sausage.

Exercise

• Yoga - 20 mins Fri & Sat, focussing on abdominal area.
• Meditation - 5 mins every day.
• Walking - None on Fri, tons of gardening and errands on Sat, 3-mile hike in Nisene Marks on Sunday morning. Yay for me!

Taking time

• Tons and tons. On-my-owning it this weekend, so took the back way, stopped at garden centers, sat in the back with the kitty, and generally breathed deeply all weekend.

Bravery

• Slice my thumb big time while chopping veggies, right into the nail. Sort of had to jerk the knife out.
• All alone and got scared. Did not call the spousal unit to ask him what to do. :-)
• Paper-toweled it, averted my eyes, made it to the bathroom and patched myself up.
• Fainted after the bandage was on, but only a little bit. Made it to the carpet in time, and just chilled and breathed and yoga-ified my ass for a few minutes.
• Got back up, finished chopping, made breakfast and did the thing.

Notice something beautiful

• The butterfly bush is starting to bloom. 

[Seabright]

Mon, May 13

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet with onions, tomato, artichoke hearts, and tons of spinach. 2 sausage patties, 2 slices of bacon (hey, I was hungry).
• Lunch - 2 donuts. i couldn't fail any bigger than that.
• Dinner - green curry veggies w/rice. 

Exercise

• Yoga - 20 mins
• Meditation - 5 mins
• Walking - 1.5 miles

Taking time

• Actually made a little time to prep for tomorrow. I know this isn't kee-white the same thing as time for myself, but i'm starting to see that being unprepared is really really piling on the stress. 

Bravery

• On deck: Stick to my plan, and have those difficult conversations.
• Update: Only had one difficult conversation (I was prepared, so it went well). The other person was a no-show. Rescheduled for tomorrow.

Notice something beautiful

• Snowy egret on my walk! Also  2 canada geese with their babies!

 

[Seabright]

Tues, May 14

 

Eating

• Breakfast - omelet packed with veggies, 2 strips bacon, 2 sausages. I need to cut out the fatty pork stuff.
• Lunch - oy. cafeteria was closed! 2 slices of pound cake. 
• Dinner - chicken strips after the gig. 

Food fail-age!

Exercise

• BWW - pushups, ring rows, planks, and hip stretches.
• Meditation - 5 mins, snuck in at my desk before starting the work day.

Taking time

• 3.5 hour drive to the gig. In traffic. Lots of time to think about this and that.

Bravery

• On deck: Have that second difficult conversation. 
• Update: Did it. Not sure how it really went, but at least I got stuff said.

Notice something beautiful

• Cooper's Hawk flying low across the highway.

[Seabright]

Wed - Thur

 

Eating

• Really rough 2 days. Cafeteria closed - didn't realize how much I rely on it.
• Ate pretty poorly until Thur am, then pulled it out of the tank. 
• Thurs - break, lunch, dinner - all good.

Exercise

• Meditation - 5 mins, both days, one way or another.
• Walking - not done. Told myself I was too busy to take a break. Looking back on it, that's crap. There's 30 minutes in there somewhere, every day, and I can find it.
• Other - right knee, that part right in front of your kneecap, decided to start hurting like hell. Worse going up stairs, and I notice it while driving. This isn't the first time this area has flared up, and I need (kneed? har har) to look closely at what I'm doing to irritate it in this way.

Taking time

• Don't remember, which means nothing intentional. And that's not the point. Intentional is the point. 

Bravery

• On deck: Get at least 1 write-up done.
• Update: Got both write-ups done, along with all the tough end -of-year decisions. Started Wed feeling scared and desperate, ended Thursday feeling GREAT.

Notice something beautiful

• Yellow roses blooming they little heads off in the front yard!

[Seabright]

Fri-Sun, May 17-19

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - all good.
• Lunches - two bad, one good.
• Dinners - 1 bad, 2 good.
• Snacks - Jambas on 2 days. 

Exercise

• Meditation - all days, all good.
• Yoga - Fri only.
• Walking - lots and lots

Taking time

• Did this each day, and consciously, too.
• Took the long way through the harbor, volunteered to go get stuff, chair massage at the mall.

Bravery

• Okay. Bravely stuck to the new Dad-visiting plan. 
• Tracked what I was feeling and why, focusing on the 'story' that was going on in my brain, the things I was telling myself.
• Result: oh my god. I felt so much better by the end of the weekend. In a way I haven't felt in 2 years. Even my mom noticed---at the end of our conversation on Sunday, she said, 'It's so nice to have a fun, normal conversation with you. Things must be going well with your dad.' Whoa.

Notice something beautiful

• The little baby-kins so happy happy happy in the sunshine in the morning.
• Thunder and lightning! We never get that here.
• The foxgloves are starting to bloom.

[Seabright]

Mon, May 20

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs with spinach, bells, and onion, 2 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken and veggies.
• Dinner - turkey burger w/salsa, no bun, steamed broc, a few sweet potato fries (baked).
• Snacks - mid-AM poppyseed bagel, nothin on it, mid-PM 4 small raspberry fig bars (<- which is 3 too many yo).

Exercise

• Meditation - 5 mins first thing in the am.
• Yoga - Nada. Alarm went off at 4:45 am and I stayed in bed 'til 6am.
• Walking - 1.5 miles when I got home. The spousal unit came with!

Taking time

• A few stolen moments in front of the fireplace before starting the day.

Bravery

• Drinking less coffee today.
• Update: Headache kicked in about 3am Tues. Pretty mild though.

Notice something beautiful

• Morning fog drifting through the redwoods on the way in to work.

[Seabright]

Tues, May 21

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/spin, tomato, onions, artichoke hearts; 2 pieces bacon, 2 sausage links.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken and veggies.
• Dinner - roasted turkey and green beans.
• Snacks - am 2 small chocolate mints; pm 2 mini clif bars

Exercise

• Meditation - 5 mins with the kitty in front of the fireplace
• Exercise - BWW, logged in app

Taking time

• Went out into the rainy wet garden when I got home and took a few deep, cleansing breaths.

Bravery

• Ask someone else about coming over for dinner at some point in June. Ideas: Bill & Kathy, Rosemarie & Tom.
• Update: Not done.

Notice something beautiful

• The foxgloves are blooming right next to the forget-me-nots. Pink and blue!

[Seabright]

Tue, May 28

 

Knee pain! Yowzah! Time to get serious. Here's the plan:

 

Every evening: 

• Foam roller
• Stretches

 

M-W-F:

• 3 x 8-to-15 straight leg lifts
• 3 x 8-to-15 side leg lifts
• 3 x 8-to-15 bridges
• 3 x 8-to-15 clams

 

T-F:

• BWW from NF coach

 

M-W-Sat-Sun

• Keep up with the walking plan, avoiding steep hills for a while

 

Other:

• Take the elevator instead of the stairs for a while (both up and down)
• For the stairs at home, go up sideways, left leg first
• Remember that tendon injuries take a LONG time to heal, and are prone to re-injury. Go slow and enjoy the ride. 

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/spinach, onion, tomato, artichoke hearts, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 sausage links.
• Lunch - in an all-day meeting, so it was weird. Roasted squash, chunks of some meat (white-ish), one oatmeal-raisin cookie.
• Dinner - fail. chicken strips...and fries. *hangs head in shame*

Exercise

• Meditation - 5 mins with Dolly-kins
• Yoga - 30 mins of mostly twists
• BWW - Done!
• Foam rolled and stretched.

Taking time

• Stayed a bit late and did a few things and just plain didn't worry about it. Time well spent.

Bravery

• On deck today: Speak up on behalf of my people in that big meeting today. Say the things, even if my voice shakes.
• Update: I did it! The second one was hard, because I basically had to wave my hand to get anyone's attention. 

Notice something beautiful

• The sound of little Dolly's voice in the morning. She has a brand-new morning meow sound (good morning! chirr-up! good morning!). She gets more playful and comfortable with us every day. 

[Seabright]

Wed, May 29

 

On deck today:

 - Prep for meetings.

 - Have meetings.

 - Make plan to get people on my side., so I have allies in the room.

 - Execute plan.

 - Do all those other things, too, as well.

 - Stop at that hellscape Safeway on the way home and replenish supplies.

 - Evening foams, and exercises, and stretches.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/spinach, onion, tomato, artichoke hearts, 3 pieces of bacon. Next time, switch to veggie patties or turkey sausage.
• Lunch - turkey sandwich, no cheese, no nuthin' - just bread, turkey, tomato and lettuce.
• Dinner - chicken, broccoli and potato in some sort of light cream sauce. won't be having this again in a hurry. coughed for an hour.
• Snacks - some sort of crunchy flat-bread-y mini snack things, some sort of weird peanut butter with a bit of chocolate protein bar thingie that caused my digestion to grind to a halt.

Exercise

• Meditation - 5 mins when I got to work.
• Yoga - 30 mins of basics.
• Walk - 1.75 miles, to Mae's bench and back.
• Knee - foamed, exercised, and stretched.

Taking time

• Forced myself to go for a walk after work and really glad I did.

Bravery

• On deck today: Stay on track.
• Update: Done! The big one - I made that plan, discussed the plan with my coach, and then rethought the plan entirely.

Notice something beautiful

• Cows in the meadow!

[Seabright]

Thurs, May 30

 

Geez. Yet another all-day meeting. i'm really feeling the lack of caffeine now. It's been a full week, so no headache, but finding myself having negative feelings and such as that. Still a tad cranky. I'm afraid I turned to chocolate to get me through this day, and used it as a crutch and a mood enhancer.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs with spinach, onions, and bell peppers. 2 turkey sausages.
• Lunch - a meeting lunch, so it was weird. some sort of veggies, some sort of chicken stuff. avoided the sauce as much as I could. 
• Dinner - still part of the meeting, but at a restaurant. family style, so difficult. chicken satay, samosa, a bit of sea bass, some sort of veggie roll thingie, some sort of flat bread stuff. skipped the alcohol and had a clausthauler.
• Snacks - am chocolate croissant, mid-am some of those weird mini cracker things, mid-pm 2 choc brownies.

Exercise

• Meditation - 5 mins when I got to work.
• Everything else - nada. left the house early, inside a building all day, long drive home and got back around 8pm. watched a few mins of tv and then went to bed around 8:30pm. 

Taking time

• Nada.

Bravery

• On deck today: Get through the day without caffeine.
• Update: Done! sugar as a crutch, but done!

Notice something beautiful

• The Stanford University campus is really beautiful! Wide-open spaces, big oak trees, mature plantings, lovely architecture. A pleasure to drive through there.

[Seabright]

Fri, May 31

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs and sausage.
• Lunch - chicken breast, veggies, light teriyaki sauce.
• Snacks - apple sauce.
• Dinner - friends came over and brought spinach enchiladas,  no cheese. thank you, friends! had some blue corn chips (no salsa), and 2 margaritas, and lots of water. 

Exercise

• Meditation - 6 mins in front of the fireplace.
• Yoga - 30 mins flexibility focused.

Taking time

• Didn't really take any.

Bravery

• On deck today: have the tough feedback conversation (negative feedback about me). listen fully and deeply. 
• Update: wow, i feel so much better and generally reassured. had that feedback conversation with THREE different people, all of whom might be positioned to defend me if an uncomfortable topic ever comes up. So glad I reached out to have these conversations. Started the weekend feeling GREAT. 

Notice something beautiful

• My new little office is basically done!

[Seabright]

Sat & Sun, June 1-2

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs, veggies, and turkey sausage, both days. 
• Lunch - turkey and green beans on Sat, chicken breast, veggies and light sauce on Sun
• Dinner - chicken fajita with onions and bell peppers, plus broccoli. no tortilla (had it in a bowl) on Sat, veggie burger, no sauce, on Sun.
• Snacks - applesauce on Sat, 2 Clif Bars (carrot cake and blueberry crisp) during the hike on Sun.

Exercise

• Meditation - 6 mins on Sat, nada on Sun.
• Yoga - Just some gettin' movin' stuff on Sat, nada on Sun.
• BWW - Saturday evening.
• Walk - 3.5 mile pretty strenuous hike on Sunday in Uvas Canyon. Went all the way up to the Triple Falls at the top! Pretty hard, had to rest a lot, but got 'er done.
• Knee - foamed, exercised, and stretched, both days. 

Taking time

• Lovely moments in the garden. Took my tea out one morning. 
• Nap on Saturday.

Bravery

• Did that hike! When we hit the place where we couldn't tell where the trail went, I volunteered to cross the stream and climb up the rocks on the other side, since we thought they looked sort of like stairs. Turns out, up and around a big boulder was the rest of the trail. Yay!

Notice something beautiful

• Uvas Canyon is FULL of water this time of year. 5 waterfalls!

[Seabright]

Mon, June 3

 

On deck today - Day 1 of another 2-day all-day workshop. Goal will be to get through without caffeine. i will go easy on myself, though, and if a little bit of sugar will get the job done, it's okay.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs with onions, bell peppers, spinach and 2 turkey sausages.
• Lunch - roasted carrots, chicken chunks, a few roasted potatoes.
• Dinner - turkey burger and steamed broccoli.
• Snacks - big fail on the 'little bit of sugar' thing. stayed caffeine-free, but at some sugar-related cost. won't even list everything here. it was a horror show.

Exercise

• Meditation - 6 mins in the am, in front of the fireplace.
• Yoga -  20 minutes of basics and gettin' movin'. 
• Walk - nada.
• Knee - nada.

Taking time

• nada.

Bravery

• Went and sat at the table where the VP was sitting. She left almost immediately, but at least I did it. :-)

Notice something beautiful

• 2 bumblebees working the borage blossoms. 

[Seabright]

Tue, June 4

 

Just found out my favorite uncle went into the critical care last night with double pneumonia. I went through that with Dad winter before last, and it's very scary. Thoughts and prayers, Rebels. 

 

Eating

• Breakfast - 2 pieces of 'breakfast bread' (read: pound cake). Other breakfast offerings at the meeting were really pretty icky. 
• Lunch - roasted veggies in some sort of tomato sauce, some sort of cucumber salad stuff, a piece of salmon, a piece of chicken.
• Dinner - chicken breast and veggies in light teriyaki sauce.
• Snacks - another huge fail, but this time added in a cup of coffee, so I don't even have that excuse.

Observations:

Long meetings are challenging, because I can't control the food. In the future, plan for this. A REAL breakfast before the meeting; if there's nothing edible (for me) at lunch, head to the cafeteria; bring my bag and provide my OWN snacks and water.

 

Exercise

• Meditation - 6 mins somewhere along the line.
• Yoga - nada.
• Walk - An hour and 15 mins of line dancing. Worked up a MAJOR sweat, by golly!
• Knee - Foam rolled and stretched after a shower.

Taking time

• Forced myself to go the line dancing class. So very glad I did. This was a different group than the last time I tried this --- much nicer and more friendly.

Bravery

• Spoke up much more in today's session. Caffeine-fueled bravery? 

Notice something beautiful

• An elderly lady in tonight's class, wearing a lovely blue flowing blouse, smiling and dancing. 

[Seabright]

Wed, June 5

 

Uncle out of the woods. Yay!

 

Eating
 

Back on track! Never 2 in a row. You know, almost never. 

• Breakfast - eggs with spinach, bells, onions, 2.5 turkey sausage.
• Lunch - a banana. i know. sad.
• Dinner - the last chicken and veggie frozen bowl thingie.

Exercise

• Meditation - 6 mins in front of the fireplace. The little gray-kins helped, by walking all around me and talking to me, and then falling over against my legs.
• Yoga - Sun salutation and poses that stretched abs. Felt reeeeeally good. 
• Walk - 2-hour bass gig. That counts.
• Knee - Okay! Didn't really notice it at all today.

Taking time

• Nada.

Bravery

• Sang a new song at the jam tonight. There has to be a sh*tty first time!

Notice something beautiful

• The fiddle players elderly sister is learning to play the banjo! So cool. We got her up to sing a song. :-)

[Seabright]

Thurs, June 6

 

Working from home in my new little garden office today. Yay!

 

Notes:

• Little Dolly-kins doesn't really understand the door. She keeps looking in and calling me, but when I open the door, she skitters off (only to  come back as soon as the door is closed). I don't want to push a hole in my brand new wall for a cat door, so we're going to have to figure this one out together.
• The point of this office waaaaay out in the yard was so that I could finally have a place to work in peace. Still interrupted, though. :-)

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs with spinach, bells, onions, 2.5 turkey sausage.
• Lunch - chicken strips. fail.
• Snacks - applesauce.
• Dinner -  turkey breast and green beans.

Exercise

• Meditation - 4+ minutes. Interrupted almost immediately.
• Yoga - stretching and twisting.
• Walk - none.
• Knee -  still okay. skipped my rolling and foaming and knee-ing for the third day in a row, though. too easy to become complacent here.

Taking time

• Stepped out of the office a time or two to sit in the garden with Dolly.

Bravery

• Pushed back on a mandatory in-person weekly 2-hour Friday lunch meeting, proposed by the new director. I think (hope) I did it repectfully. A Friday meeting like this is really a cultural no-no at this place. 
• He pushed back, too, on my push-back, and asked if I would consider coming in just for this meeting, then go back home to complete the day. I alllllmost caved, because it would be easier and make me look all collaborative and reasonable and stuff, but then realized that he really was being unreasonable. I responded that with a 3-hour roundtrip commute, it doesn't make sense to come in for one meeting, even it if it's going to be with some really cool people and involve a free lunch. At that point, he added a video number.

Notice something beautiful

• My new office walls are wonderful!
• I realized that Dolly doesn't want to come in, it's that she wants me to come out. ;-)