I'm a huge fan of Yoga with Adriene and have recommended her videos to a lot of people IRL.  She's funny, down-to-earth, and REAL (during the video I watched this morning, a little bug scuttled across her floor, and she merely said hello to him and brought his presence to our attention, saying he was going to do yoga with her....and that's totally something nerdy I'd do).  At the beginning of this year she created a 31-day yoga challenge called "Revolution," and I've decided to put myself to the task now.

Part of me wanted to wait until the start of a new month to begin this challenge, but a calendar page is arbitrary.  I'm ready now; I'm motivated; I'm yearning to feel better in mind, body, and spirit, so I have begun!


I've completed days 1-4 so far and appreciate that the practices build on each other and are also centered around a particular theme.  Having a mantra or certain concentration for each practice helps keep me focused and more mindful.  I find that I often feel very scattered, concerned about what's next or what needs to be done rather than what is NOW or what I CAN DO.  It's my intention with this yoga challenge to root myself deeper in the present and to get a better handle on all of which I'm capable (plus I gotta work on my strength and balance...let's be real here!).

I took yoga classes back in college for course credit and really got into it for awhile, but over the past few years have gotten away from it.  Nowadays I tend to get frustrated when I try a pose I would've been much more capable of in my yoga heydays, so the concept of honoring myself, my limitations, and my capabilities is one I need to practice, both on and off the mat.  I have set the reward that at the end of the challenge - if I have stuck with it - I'm going to buy myself one of these Turkish towels to use during my practice (in place of a blanket for knee support, etc.).  I just love how classy and bohemian they look!  And while the real goal here is to get more comfortable with doing impromptu practices at home, a little external dangling carrot never hurt anyone, right?  😉

For those of you who do yoga, have you had a hard time getting into the routine of a practice on your own?  What accountability measures did you put in place to make sure you stuck to it?  Besides Adriene, what other instructors should I check out?

I've had a project in the works for a few years (at home I'm a starter, not a finisher...not proud), but I finally was able to wrap it up with the help of another project (I weave a mighty tangled web of crafts).

Tangentially (but I'll get back to the point): for our wedding anniversaries, I'd prefer to stick to the traditional gift-giving guidelines for some inspiration.  For our first anniversary, part of my gift was a hand-lettered print I did of the title of our first dance song, but I never got around to framing it.  Lately we've finally been putting more stuff up on the walls, so I dug out that print and realized an LP album frame would be perfect for it (12" square, and I only know those exist because my stepmom-in-law did a framed album cover project recently).  I searched the Michaels website to see what kind of options they had, and wouldn't you know it - they had a BOGO sale going on!  One went on my anniversary print, but I had outside-the-box plans for the other.  Getting back to my original point....

I bought a 12"x12" piece of sheet metal from Home Depot awhile back with the intention of displaying magnetized eyeshadow pots, but never took the time to decide how to frame and hang it.



I used the same E3000 glue to affix a magnet to the back of each eyeshadow pot and let them dry for several hours.


I re-assembled the frame and hung it on the wall next to the mirror in our vanity area, and now I've freed up tons of counter space and can actually SEE all my color options!

I served them with some BBQ sauce, and they were a great way to use up the pulled pork!  These would be great for an event as they were easy to pick up and eat, and were relatively healthy (omit the cheese if you're being even more health-conscious.
 

Taco Casserole

Peach Enchiladas

This morning, dear hubby has been hard at work mowing the lawn before the worst heat sets in for the day, so I wanted to make him something special for breakfast.  I bought some plum tomatoes Friday for dinner that I didn't end up using, so I decided to throw together something to feature them.  What I ended up with was a cross between a quiche and a tomato pie.

 We had a good crowd stay for the fireworks, and as usual they were an awesome show!

I'm embarrassed I haven't posted in so long (especially since we had a pretty big 4th of July party and I failed to take many pictures)! I have been pretty active on Instagram but just haven't carved out the time to write any posts.  I've been in a pretty bad funk lately and am actively trying to claw my way out of it with the help of some amazing people. This post is somewhat of a flight-of-ideas about resources that are helping me lately - or that I hope will help me (and maybe you, if you're struggling, too!)

I've always been obsessed with journals, agendas, planners, trackers - all those little things that promise to help me get my life in order and stay on task. One thing I'm experimenting with in my fight against depression is bullet journaling, or my own version of it.  There are TONS of amazing examples out there of different formats, trackers, and creative elements to try (see my journaling Pinterest board for some drool-worthy inspiration), but I've never been successful at locking down one thing that works long-term.  It seems like my formats change depending on that week's (or day's) needs - which is fine in theory - but it doesn't help me develop a routine and make journaling a habit if the rules are always changing.

I really enjoy podcasts, because my attention span is too short for audiobooks.  I've stumbled upon one called Happier by Gretchen Rubin, and it is REALLY speaking to me lately.  Most are relatively short, featuring a few good nuggets of inspiration for how to improve your happiness.  She's written a few books on the subject, too, and I'm anxiously awaiting my copy of Better Than Before to come in so I can sink my teeth into it.

Accountability is a hugely important thing for me.  I'm fairly easily accountable to others - I hate letting people down - but a repeating theme in life is letting myself down by not following through on things I want or need to do (hence the lofty idea that journaling/tracking will magically improve all my outcomes by offering some external accountability!).  If a friend needs help moving, I'm there.  Yet I am "unable" to get out of bed 15 minutes early to do yoga despite knowing how good it makes me feel and how much better my day will be if I do.  It's this dissonance between knowing and doing that drives me nuts and starts the shame spiral swirling.

Mindfulness seems to be the glue that holds so many out-of-control aspects of my life together, and - unsurprisingly - I have a hard time creating a habit out of meditating and being mindful.  You don't have to carve out a huge amount of time to sit and meditate in order to be mindful, so small amounts at a time I do find myself bringing my awareness of situations or my feelings to the front of my mind.  But to truly live mindfully takes an effort I just honestly haven't put in yet.

Does anyone else identify with these internal struggles?  What methods of tracking or accountability have helped you?  How have you better disciplined yourself to do the things you actually need/want to do?