philosophy

Make Healthy A Habit – Day Thirteen

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Part of being healthy is having a healthy mind.

And I believe our thoughts directly play into our health.

It’s very easy to allow negative thoughts to spread in one’s mind and take over but for the most part, it’s not worth being angry and negative…

Today, I had to catch myself.

I believe a woman was flirting with my husband right in front of me. And while that should have made me smile and feel proud, instead I felt a pang of anger and wanted her to just stop it.

Yes, I am a Leo. And Sicilian. And originally from New York.

But those are just excuses. Allowing my temper to flair over petty things is not good for my mind, body or soul.

And I’m glad I caught myself today and stopped that stream of negative thought from taking up anymore of my time.

Instead, I focused on positive things, like my husband and I doing yoga together for the first time. And now I’m going to do an all natural detoxing mud mask for my skin, because that too needs some healthy love.

And that feels so much better than holding a grudge.

Make healthy a habit. #makehealthyahabit

 

**For the original idea, please visit here.

 

Make Healthy A Habit – Day Eleven

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Today was all about focusing on what I’ve chosen to do – make healthy a habit and get rid of my unhealthy ones.

I know this is the right thing for me and I’m aware of why I’m doing it.

It hasn’t been easy but that’s okay.

And as I was thinking about these things today, I realized something has come in very handy for me during this time of change…

Self pep talks.

They’re incredibly helpful to remind me of why I’m doing what I’m doing so I can either keep doing it or stop. They help keep me going when the going gets tough.

And each day, change sets in a little more.

Make healthy a habit. #makehealthyahabit

 

**For the original idea, please visit here.

 

Make Healthy A Habit – Day Ten

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In the name of health, sometimes you have to make yourself do something even if you don’t want to do it.

As the momentum of the new year wears off, getting into the habit of making daily healthy choices has not been as easy for me as I would have liked.

I have to expect some unhappiness and frustration, though right?  If it was easy, I would have done it years ago. But now it’s time for the tough to get tougher as the struggle hits.

So rather than focus on the difficulty of breaking bad habits, I think I’ll focus on the new healthy habits that have already begun to settle in…

I rode my bike to the store for some things we needed today even though it was cold and the car was right there.

And then for a snack, I made dehydrated apple chips. I haven’t bought a bag of potato chips since I began this project and for me, that’s a big deal. (I friggin’ love kettle chips.)

I suppose that some things will come more naturally for me, like biking instead of driving, while other things, like quitting fast food fries, will be more difficult. That’s just part of the deal.

And discipline and strength have a ton to do with it.

I think if I summon these two things,  I’ll make it past the initial difficulty of breaking the bad habits that have become such a part of my life and replace them with the healthier ones that I want.

It’s a matter of staying strong. Wish me well as I keep moving forward… (and go another weekend without a glass of wine!)

Make healthy a habit. #makehealthyahabit

 

**For the original idea, please visit here.

 

Make Healthy A Habit – Day Nine

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Have Courage, Will Travel

 

I feel a bit like at an intersection.

One direction is the easy road.

The other direction, the not easy road.

I look both ways.

 

Life is choice and sacrifice.

The universe is the show.

Each day is another step.

I know which direction to take.

 

“Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”

-Walter Anderson

 

Make healthy a habit. #makehealthyahabit

 

**For the original idea, please visit here.

 

 

 

 

 

Make Healthy A Habit – Day Eight

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There was a wine tasting at the restaurant I work at today. Typically, I love these because I get to taste and learn about really cool wines. But seeing as I haven’t had a sip of alcohol in a week, it caused me to pause.

For my purposes, I’m not quitting drinking altogether but rather limiting my intake. Wine had become an unhealthy habit when it should have been a treat.

I allowed myself to taste the wine today though. And boy am I glad that I did. (It was a delicious and interesting zinfandel!) But I will not allow myself to use that as a reason to come home and drink two more glasses of wine to relax.

I’m not saying that a drink isn’t a nice way to unwind. It is! But in moderation. Every now and then.

A rarity rather than the norm.

“Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains.”
– Democritus

Make healthy a habit. #makehealthyahabit

 

**For the original idea, please visit here.

25 Days of Spreading Love: Reflections

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Thank you to all who read my posts and followed along as I counted down the days until Christmas while trying to spread love in the world. (The original blog post can be found here.)

I feel very fortunate to have love in my life and I want to make more of an effort to share that. And this project has helped me to do that.

Over the course of twenty five days (well, the twenty-fifth day was Christmas!) I found ways to spread love and by doing that, it became part of my day. Once the project stopped, I didn’t make such a conscious effort any longer, though it was something that had seeped into my brain and made me think of it daily and for me, that was something I was hoping it would do. Repetition… There is something to be said about the simplicity of its effectiveness.

I also learned a few other things that I thought I’d share with my readers…

Saturdays are a popular day to read blogs (at least mine…)

Love is a universal message.

Self-discipline makes things happen.

I can actually write everyday.

Never judge anything on appearance alone.

Love is your engine. It moves you. It stops you. It propels you to new heights. It sinks you to great depths. It gives you momentum to go on.

I can make a difference.

Thank you to all who supported this project and myself. I hope you consider joining me this coming week as I launch a new project… Stay tuned!!

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 24

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For the original idea, please go here.

1 Day till Christmas – spreading love by being with my family

In honor of the holiday this entire blog project has been written around, I chose to spread the love today but spending time with my family on Christmas Eve.

Thank you for coming along for the ride with me as I counted down the days till Christmas by spreading love in the world.

From my house to yours, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 23

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For the original idea, please go here.

2 Days till Christmas – spreading love by participating in a potluck

At work today, there was a potluck family meal. We were invited to bring whatever we wanted to share with our co-workers.

Typically, I would grab something real quick on my way and be done with it. Potlucks have never been my favorite thing.

But  not today. In an effort to spread love (and food is a wonderful way to do that!), I chose to take the time to prepare a dish. I even looked up potluck recipes from which I selected a three-bean salad.

It was interesting to see what people brought. And it was fun to try things I’ve never tried before. It was also very delicious to have so many dessert options, not to mention these little unbelievable meringues!

Overall, the potluck ended up being good food, good company and a good time.

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”
-James Beard

Spread the love. #spreadthelove

 

 

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 22

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For the original idea, please go here.

3 Days till Christmas – spreading love by spending time with one of my oldest friends

And by oldest, I don’t mean age. I mean length of time of friendship.

There are a couple girls whom I’ve known since my college days that have remained a constant in my life. And while we don’t see each other all that often (living in different cities), it never matters. It’s quality over quantity. And as soon as we’re in the same room again, it’s like time hasn’t moved and we can pick up right where we left off.

I cherish this not only because it’s rare but because it’s valuable to me. A friendship that has spanned over the course of twenty years is not something to take lightly. It’s something to be appreciated for what it is.

And tonight, I was given the opportunity to show my love and appreciation for one of my oldest friends. We’ve known each other for twenty years and have seen each other at our worsts and bests. And I adore her.

She’s in town for the holidays and graciously made time to come visit me.

Tonight, I made her dinner. As she looked through my wedding photos, we chatted about our lives and the direction they’ve gone. She caught up with my husband. And as we ate cheese ravioli with a vodka cream sauce, we reminisced about days gone and spoke of our plans for the future.

Spending time with old friends is a most lovely way to spread love. And I highly recommend it.

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spread the love. #spreadthelove

 

 

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 21

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For the original idea, please go here.

4 Days till Christmas – spreading love by showing my appreciation

My husband and I do a lot of shipping for both business and personal needs. And we use the USPS for much of it, though we try to conduct the bulk of our transactions online because, well… come on. Have you been inside a post office lately? Those lines move slow…

But our postman does not. He is always helpful, always willing to climb up the stairs to our place to drop off a package or pick some up and he always has a smile on his face. When we came back from our honeymoon, our postman had our mail all ready for us, making the whole “hold mail” process seamless.

I believe acknowledgment of someone doing a good job will show that person that their efforts have not gone unnoticed and are in fact greatly appreciated. So, in an effort to appreciate the hard work our postman does, my husband and I decided to spread the love by giving him a Christmas gift. We picked up a Target gift card and wrote him a Thank You/Christmas card that we’ll hand deliver as soon as we see him.

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.”
-Dalai Lama

Spread the love. #spreadthelove