Gratefulness or Great Full ness?

This gratefulness list is an ongoing project. Set aside, sometimes, but temporarily. Picked up again. Continuing on. Some days, I have to scratch and dig to find something, like a hen searching for seeds, clawing at frozen soil. Those are the days I need to do this the most. That tiny seed, clawed for and found, nourishes my heart and grows in my mind to redirect my thoughts from burdened overload to a light-hearted perspective. Which I need.

The lists in the tabs above are numbered. Now, I don't number. And, I try to think of the whys. Taking the list to the next level of why I am grateful for something. What about that person/item/situation sparks gratefulness in my heart?

My goal, here, is to update this list about once a week. Perhaps, as you browse through, you will find a spark toward gratefulness in your heart, also.

• laughing with the kids (vs. insult = humor)
• responsibility - seeing it in our kids
• awareness/observation - they asked how I taught them that (Guess Who? game?)
• Farming Game - listening to B and N talking money, acres, tractors, cows, fruit...
• cold drink with ice on a hot day
• mini golf fun outing
• fresh corn on the cob, summer treat
• homemade jellies from the Farmers' Market booth - enjoying someone else's labor, glad to pay for it
• trip plans, tickets purchased, looking forward to family visits
• 2B Mindset food plan - wow! 14 pounds down so far, sustainable nutrition plan
• re-reading Four Seasons in Rome - how Doerr distills words to perfection
• from The Book of Mysteries Day 231 "Give thanks today for all your blessings, and for all your blessings in disguise - those of the past and the still-disguised blessings of the present."
• gratefulness or greatfulness? to see that life is full of great ness
• "The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest light to all the world." -Ann Voskamp
• Day 251 Book of Mysteries " The Miracle World "Imagine if the Red Sea parted at about six every morning...would no longer be amazing...we live in the miraculous...For you are already living in a miracle world."  [eg: sunrise every morning]
• passport applications sent in - trip in September! 
• a new car - wow, amazing! a first!
• one dried bean in a jar - first from crop - a small start, but a start - a literal seed investment and a reminder of the importance of every small step
• a new granddaughter - a life of beginnings for her
• boxes sorted, organized, emptied! relief of empty space
• create a 'smile file' from The Little Book Of Lykke, Meik Wiking Why?...elaborate on how they impact your life in  a positive way. This list is my Smile File
• Denver Botanic Gardens w/ H - wow! flowers - zinnias, amaranth and summer stock - ordinary flowers with far from common impact - absolutely gorgeous! wow power!
• Tiny House Festival - dreams, inspiration, new visuals to think about, plans, ideas
• another Little Book of Lykke quote: "...turn the idea of the pursuit of happiness into the happiness of the pursuit..." Happiness is a by-product of the process.
• boxes sorted and stuff gone! continuing process , freedom and clarity and 'weight-loss' (less burden)
• new backpack - looking forward to many trips with it - family visits and new scenery - plan to travel light
• PRAYING CALM - when worried about family (3 on Pike's Peak in a thunderstorm, 1 recovering from a tough birth)(capitals show how much I needed the calm...)
• A Light So Lovely, by Sara Arthur - new book about spiritual legacy of Madeleine L'Engle. Beautiful, honest - favorite quote..."she showed up..." Powerful words about her life.

Very Little

To write a short story, is, for me, a lesson in traveling light. Condense. Refine. Edit. Simplify. Clarify my thinking. Ask - what exactly am I trying to say? Limit the words. Especially for short shorts, a short story limited to five hundred words: how to incorporate protagonist, conflict, climax, and a satisfying resolution in few words.

Working within a framework, within a given, limited space provides form and structure, like an architect designing a tiny house, including all the necessary elements, excluding anything unnecessary.

Process. Practice. Patience - to write, refine, edit, and do it again, over and over.

Every word matters.

Here is my next five hundred word short story. Not perfection, for the learning process, for practice.




Very Little


Interesting things happen in grocery stores. Anywhere, actually, where people are, interesting things happen.

Brandy and I went to the store for two loaves of bread, chunky peanut butter and bananas. We giggled and talked about something silly - I don't remember what.

An older man walked past us. I thought he looked grumpy. Even that made me giggle. Some days everything is funny. This was one of those days.

Brandy said, "A loaf of bread. Mom didn't say what kind, and I have no idea. Shelves, thirty feet long, five shelves tall, six feet high. We could feed two whole schools with all this bread. Shandia, what do I get?"

"What looks familiar?" I asked Brandy. "What does she usually buy?

"Whole-wheat, I guess. This looks familiar. Yeah, this looks good."

Three little girls ran around us. One grabbed Brandy's jeans, to hide behind her. We giggled, they giggled.

Their mom scolded, "Really, girls, can't you behave? Leave her alone. Isn't it enough you smacked into that man?"

"It's okay," said Brandy. "She's just having fun."

"All day long she's just having fun. Nothing serious, ever, for her," the mom complained.

We couldn't help giggling. Brandy squatted down to be eye level with the girl, who gave her a sheepish grin. "You are mischievous, aren't you?" Brandy said. "I think you have a pretty smile, and, I think you should listen to your mom."

The girl glanced up at her mom. The other girls drew closer, drawn by Brandy's friendliness.

"Do you know what my mom tells me?" Brandy asked them.

The three shook their heads.

"'It's good to laugh,' in fact, she quotes some famous guy, 'The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.' And she quotes another famous guy: 'Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.' So, listen to your mom. She knows what she is talking about. Okay?"

Brandy held up her hand, and high-fived them.

"Not bad," I told Brandy. "You quoted a poet and a Roman Emperor to three cute little girls who probably didn't understand a word you said."

"Nonsense," said Brandy. "They understood perfectly. It will give them something to think about while they look at bread and pickles and bags of apples."

The older man turned toward us, a loaf of bread in his hand. "Please, excuse me. I overheard you. My grandmother had that plaque on her wall, 'Very little is needed to make a happy life.' She loved that, she always had it to remind her. Sometimes she didn't have much, but she was happy." He smiled, "Thank you for reminding me of her."

Brandy and I thanked him, then went to find the peanut butter.  I told her, "Even a very little encounter with someone is interesting. Because people are interesting, and they do interesting things."


"And every day has a reason to smile," said Brandy. We giggled.



(In case you are wondering, the quotes are from e.e. cummings and Marcus Aurelius)

Did You Eat a Rainbow Today?

What is that supposed to mean?

Think of it as a visual reminder to eat a healthy variety of fruits and vegetables. Every day.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Violet.

Daily, we should eat a variety of colors. This is something I am learning, working towards each day, paying attention to the colors I choose to eat, and choosing colors other than brown - dark brown for chocolate and lighter brown for the breads and grains I love to eat. The health benefits, especially if we replace less healthy choices, are many.

"The nutrients that studies show have anti-aging, disease-fighting, and skin-protecting properties number in the thousands, and the colorful fruits and vegetables found in the grocery store contain combinations of them all. Building your daily menu around these nutrient dense foods will earn you a health trifecta: whittling off unwanted weight, staving off the diseases of aging, and rejuvenating your complexion."

                                        -7 Years Younger, The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet
                                                        by the editors of Good Housekeeping

I was surprised how many of the colors I had in the garden and the refrigerator. Sorting them, thinking of them by rainbow color gave me a fresh perspective of the better choices I can make.

An innovative company where a daughter works sets up a health challenge for their employees each summer, challenging them with exercise or nutritional competitions. This summer, they designed a program monitoring the colors and categories of daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Each employee entered their daily servings of the color varieties on their computers. She shared her charts with me. Each day, they marked the rainbow chart for R, O, Y/W, G, B/V. (The W is for white, including apples, pears, onions, jicama, potatoes, etc). Beans are also included because of their health benefits: pinto, kidney for red; lentils, wax for yellow; black beans for blue/violet. The key is to find the flexibility and the beauty in the challenge. A colorful plate makes eating interesting and pretty. I admit, I have a long way to go. Brown seems so much more appealing and yummy and satisfying to me. But I am learning to choose red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet instead.

Learning. In process, not there yet.

What colors of the rainbow did you eat today?

My Current Favorite Breakfast

Chocolate Oatmeal, a recipe adapted from the Flat Belly Diet, is my current favorite breakfast. Those of you who know me at all know I am a huge fan of chocolate. What better way to start the day? And fortunately, chocolate is a wise food choice (not in the quantities I would prefer to eat, unfortunately) for its monounsaturated fat.

I don't make it exactly as the book's recipe, but I adapted it, adding a little bit of milk to add creaminess. Usually, I cook it in the microwave for quick-and-easy, but cooked it on the stove top for the photo.

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup 2 % milk
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of salt

Cook, 1:25 in the microwave. Or simmer on the stove, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Stir in 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips.

The pepper gives it a unique rich flavor, and the chocolate - well, it's chocolate. What more can I say?

Smaller Portions

We parked in the thrift store parking lot to drop off three bags of stuff we collected from our continual thinning out. It seems counter-productive to go inside and look for a few things, but, with some specifics in mind, we went through the door. Chair? No. Lamp? No. Shorts for the boys? Yes, because they were on sale that day, although they hadn't been on the "look-for" list. (I completely avoided the book wall). Small bowl? Yes.

As a visual reminder of portion control, I  wanted to find some small bowls, about one cup size. Won't be tempting to fill the bowl more than I should, whether it is cereal, lunch leftovers heated up, or rice or soup. This pair, for three dollars, is bright and cheery. They will be pleasant to pull out of the cupboard with a gentle reminder to watch the quantities, eat less food but more often, keeping the balance and making progress in my weight loss goals.
I fall into the trap of thinking I am doing good if I miss a meal. It happens, over and over - I get busy, time goes by and I forget to eat. Then, I get so hungry I snack on something with the quantities way out of proportion or eat too much at meal time, especially dinner. Not eating is really undermining my efforts to lose weight. Go figure. Instead, it is better to eat a little, knowing I can eat again in two or three hours. This way, my body doesn't go in to starvation mode and throw my system out of whack.
The times I eat like this, small but more often, consistently, I have lost more weight, faster. Somehow, I had forgotten this method and had fallen back into the eat nothing/eat way too much pattern. With, of course, no weight loss.

Measuring my food each time is tough - maybe I'm just lazy. Having these little bowls will help me visualize my portions and limit my intake. Added with exercise, I should see results.
How do you manage portion control?

Favorite Infusions

Have you tried the infused water I wrote about? 

http://travelighter.blogspot.com/2011/07/infused-water.html


My favorites: plunk a couple of strawberries (fresh is best, frozen works, too) in the water with some ice cubes; put in a few slices of cucumber; or the old stand-by, slices of lemon. Sometimes I make a pitcher to keep in the refrigerator, but usually, I just put the fruit (or cucumbers)straight in the water. Yummy, refreshing and healthy.

Infused Water

Last week I wrote about drinking enough water, enough quantity. Sometimes, plain water seems, well, too plain. A simple, healthy alternative is to prepare infused water. Simply put, it involves soaking fruit or vegetables in the water to give it flavor. Most simply, think a slice of lemon in a glass of water. Infused water has varied possibilities.

• Common infusions are lemon and orange
• Also try strawberries
• raspberries
• melon
• peaches
• cucumber
• mint
• ginger
• frozen fruits can be used, also

The varieties are limited only by your taste preferences. If you go to amazon and plug in water infuser, several different pitchers come up, with perforated channels to contain the fruit.  Of course, you can just dump the fruit or slices in the pitcher, but the separate compartments help contain pulp, seeds or any floaties. I took the container from the blueberries, filled it with cucumber, lemon slices, a blob of ginger (comes fresh in a toothpaste-like tube in the produce cooler section), and immersed it in the pitcher of water.

Kept in the refrigerator, the water makes a cool, refreshing drink (remember, eight cups a day).  The water can be replenished over the same fruit or vegetables for several days as long as it is refrigerated.
Enjoy!

June 2nd, One Year

This post has been harder to write than I thought it would be.  One year ago today, I began a serious program of weight loss and exercise.  For the effort, I have lost 42 pounds and dropped four sizes and twenty-three and one half inches overall.

Why is it hard to write?  Because I wish I had more to show, had done more, had worked harder, had been more consistent, had bigger results - the Perfection Monster rears it's ugly head!  Argh!  Must remind myself, this is a mile-marker along the way, I am not "there" yet.  On our recent six hour drive to Arizona, we could tick off the miles watching the mile markers as we neared the state border.  Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven.  Which is what I'll be doing on the scale as I count off the last thirty pounds.  And, if it takes me another year, well, there will be thirty pounds less of me to cart around.

This date reminds me to re-commit and confirm my goals. It is an expression of gratitude to the Lord to care for the body He has given me.  This daily effort is not for vanity, but for strength and health and to be well-equipped to do my job as home-builder, mom, wife, writer, grammie, and any other hats I wear.

My nutritional goal is to eat for nutrition.  That sounds redundant, but it takes my focus off what I "feel" like eating, what sounds yummy, comfort food, emotional eating, or bored, restless eating.  Instead, I evaluate if this food I am putting in my mouth will build health, strength, energy and leanness. Sometimes, more often than it should be, the answer is no, but it is a direction, a goal.  Note: fortunately, chocolate is a nutritious, acceptable snack - occasionally.

These are the products we have used ( with our daughters) over the last year:
Shakeology, a powder mix for shakes (with fruit), once a day
Recovery Drink, a powder mix for replenishment after a tough, sweaty, intense work-out

Turbo Jam,  intense cardio kick boxing and strength building work-out DVDs
ChaleanExtreme, a program of weight lifting and cardio workout DVDs
TurboFire, a workout program of HIIT (high intensity interval training) DVDs.

I continue to do the modified version, just to be gentle on myself because of my age (OK, yes, I admit it) and because of weak abs, weak back and I want to be sure to build enough strength without injury.  It is still a good, sweaty, workout.
Also, walking almost every day, and an additional ab workout a couple times a week (AbJam from the Turbo Jam series).
All the above are from beachbody.com; if you have interest in any of it check out: beachbodycoach.com/travelighter

Losing weight and building fitness is work. I get sidetracked, out of balance, out of focus.  Often.  I am grateful for our daughters who have worked with me, one also losing forty pounds (click here for her link), the other working for strength and fitness.  The camaraderie is encouraging on the days I really don't feel like getting up at four-thirty.  Worth it?  Absolutely!  Still a long way to go?  Yes, but without looking back.

Change

     How many times do we say we want to do something, rather than just doing it?  I want to lose weight, I want to exercise, I want to clean out that cupboard, I want to call that old friend, I want to read that book...The art of switching our thinking from 'out there someday' to 'now' is a challenge.
     If we want to change, we need to think about the changes needed in order to make the change. If I want to change things in my life, I have to change the way I do things. Is the way we've been going a dead end, not getting us anywhere?

 Do you know what Albert Eintstein said about insanity?

 "The definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting a  different outcome."  

     Ouch. If we want a different outcome, we must stop,

 turn,

move in a different direction.

     Think of a change you want to make.  Can you think of steps to take to do something differently to achieve that outcome?  Begin in little baby steps: eat a little less, exercise a little more, clean out three things a day from that cupboard, look up the friend's phone number, read ten pages a day of that book. Move in the direction you WANT to go, and guess what?  You'll get there!

More Means Less

Strange thing.  I lose more weight when I eat more, rather than less.  And, of course, I don't mean more ice cream, more sweets, or more helpings. But I do mean more:

• more often (every two to three hours, five times a day, 300 calories or so each time)
• more vegetables
• more fruits
• more protein (for me this has to be balanced with some carbohydrates or I get kind of "nutso")
• more exercise (two times daily)
• more water (one gallon daily, eight of these red glasses)

Lately, I hadn't been losing much, maybe a pound every week.  Still losing, but not enough.  I noticed that on the days I'd be too busy or not really hungry, I'd go too long without eating. Then I'd make bad choices and overeat or feel out-of-whack.  There seems to be an art, a trial-and-error to finding the balance point within my system, what works for me.

It's true - diets don't work.  You work.  And work hard.  It's a long, hard, day-in-day-out job, full of lots of little choices and lots of physical and mental and emotional effort to learn your body's point of balance and learn to not be overweight.  It's how I've lived for a long time, the overweight part, and it is a skill to learn to not be overweight any more.  The payoff for all the work?  Better health, energy, strength, and the confidence of knowing I can accomplish a tough, challenging task.
Brian Tracy, author of excellent motivational books like Eat That Frog! and Goals! says that,

"Persistence is self-discipline in action."

Once I realized that eating more would help me lose more, it gave me the motivation to continue attacking this weight goal loss head-on again and know that the seemingly little choices I make all day long will have the long term effects I want. Persistence.
More means more lost, traveling lighter.
*note: some people do very well on a high protein, low carb; I'm not demeaning that - the skill is finding what works to establish balance and health in your body system.