Good morning readers -
And welcome to May. I know - we're already
halfway through it and seeing signs of Summer before it feels like Spring had
its chance to fully bloom.
This past month or so since I have not
been updating the blog has been a rough season. Not only with multiple health
issues that I was not sure how to highlight here without going into too much
detail, but in my career as well.
So - after talking to doctors, my dentist,
etc., I realized drinking the lemon (acidic) and honey first thing in the
morning was not doing me any favors. That one is nixed from my goals. Here are
my revised goals for the rest of the year...
1. Exercise - take a 15-30 minute walk
three times a week (probably around my office, in the District), and one long
walk on the weekends.
2. SLEEP - Make it a priority to have at least 7 hours of sleep
a night. This one has been bad lately. My almost consistent hour is 6 of sleep
and half the time it's less. This one needs work for sure!
3. Less sugar - This one is going better.
My GI doc said to cut down/out the chocolate (because of the caffeine in it),
so despite this being hard because I LOVE dark chocolate, I have decreased this
intake drastically in the last month.
4. Take Acidophilus once a day - This one
is less consistent, but I do take it a few times a week. I need to go purchase
more at Mom's Organic Market this week. Here's what I'm talking about: http://www.vitacost.com/american-health-probiotic-acidophilus-blueberry-20-billion-16-fl-oz .
I personally like the strawberry one.
5. Slow down. This goal is incredibly hard
for me. For some reason, my whole life I have been driven to have an active (probably overactive) social calendar and this does not provide balance and
time/space in my week and life to rest and just be. How do I quantify
this?
*One night a week (the same one, b/c
choosing a different night each week didn't really work for us), G and I are
home together. Keep a YA one, but maybe every other week.
I'm choosing to stay home on Wednesday nights, and leave Friday night for a
possible date night out with friends or my husband. On Sat/Sunday I am keeping
my social calendar to 10am - 7/8pm. The ultimate goal is to appreciate the "white space" on my calendar, and embrace resting and stillness...allowing my body to heal.
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Readers, #7 will be a real struggle! And
in the month of May it is not reasonable. So - in June, I'm really going to try
and clear my calendar now (except for G's birthday celebration), so I can focus
on resting and healing my body.
Something I haven't shared on here (at
least I don't think so), is that I have adrenal
fatigue. I've known about it for three years now, and I haven't really
taken the steps to allow my body to rest, heal, and for my adrenal glands to
start functioning again the way that God created them to be inside my body. The
one thing I do every night is
put on this awesome crème called, Adrenal Calm that my natural chiropractor
gave me. It is awesome stuff...it relaxes me, calms me, and off to dreamland I
go. Also, I sometimes use a spoonk before bed. It's like an acupuncture mat
that you lay on for 35 minutes and then take it out from your back (ever so
carefully) and then fall asleep. Here's the link for it. And believe you me, it
works! A girlfriend of mine who also has adrenal issues told me about it, and
we both love it. http://www.spoonkspace.com/ I
bought mine on Amazon - or rather, my husband purchased it for me for a
birthday present and included the travel size (which is great - since I travel
close to once a month).
So - I'm back. My usual Sunday morning time
to blog was eaten up by helping with an outreach / asks any questions in a safe
place / group called Alpha that G & I help out with from 10-11am at our
community. I will make it a priority to come and share my journey again. Thanks
for your patience and understanding. Life has peaks and valleys, and well - I
feel like I'm riding in the middle of both at present time.
A few tips to relax. Start appreciating
the small moments of life (learned this from "One Thousand Gifts" by
Ann Voskamp) and thanking Jesus for them. This small practice has help change
my attitude. The other one is to breathe deeply when really stressed,
frustrated, or annoyed. It calms me and I can think logically again without all
the emotions swirling to the top. Thirdly, the practice of shutting the door at
work or somehow being ALONE (not in traffic...doesn't count, sorry) at home and
just focusing on beauty - nature, a lovely painting, etc and drinking it in
while praying. This last small practice refocuses me on what is important in
life, and helps me remember that all "this crap" is just
circumstances trying to distract me, remove my focus from my King, and pull me
into the swirl of busyness, work chaos, home disasters, relationship woes, etc.
Coming back into His arms and letting it all go (this takes time) and learning
to trust Him more - well, it speaks life and refreshment to my soul.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and have a
fabulous start to the fourth week of May, dear friends. May peace like a river
fill your minds and souls as you embark into your spheres, and may the King of
the universe speak life and love into your hearts.
Until next time,
Tina Lou
