Bridges Through Life

September 2017 Goals and August Recap

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I never could have predicted the happenings in August. What an emotional month. I am happy we can put August behind us and move forward with September. Yes I will miss summer, but I think it is time for a new season, just please no snow yet. I never appreciated the beauty of Fall until I experienced Fall in New York state. The leaves, colors and cooler temps make fall so beautiful. This is why I must live somewhere with the four seasons. I hope to get in some park walking to experience the beauty in Fall, but before we get to September goals, let’s see how August went.

  • Set up Photo Gallery on Blog of Bridge Photos – success!! I learned how to create a photo gallery and it wasn’t that hard! Now I can continue to add to this page when I go places and do more bridges. I also arranged them in date order. There were times when I was doing bridges more consistently that the curve in my back got really good and there were times that I just wasn’t as consistent but it is cool to see them all.  

    Philly Art Museum Oct 2015
    Philly Art Museum Oct 2015
  • Update Yoga Page – rearranged and updated with my Yoga Workshop Friday series so that it is much easier to find specific poses and my posts. I also just added all my yin yoga weekend links.
  • Pass yin yoga training – DONE!!                                                                                                                                                                                                            yin yoga training certificate
  • Explore bullet journaling – I am still playing with layouts, but I like the concept of the bullet journal and it is nice to use to plan ahead and write my everyday things I am grateful for, etc.

September Goals

sept2017 goals

  • Self care – July and August were so busy and I need to learn to take a step back every now and then. I need to get back on my meal prep game after all the amazing food with the funerals in August. I need to get back to veggies and less processed food and less sugar. Honestly my face hasn’t been this broken out in ages and I know food is a huge part of that. Also just being mindful of my form when weightlifting and trying to balance out my right and left sides because as I get more aware of my body through yoga, I notice my imbalances more which then can lead to me experiencing some pain. Also little things like a hair cut, massage and doctor appointments. Just taking care of myself. September weekends are a little more open for doing so.
  • Apple picking – September means apples are back in season and I know there is some apple picking somewhere around where I live so I hope to seek some out. I used to eat an apple a day and now I kind of only eat a bunch when it’s apple season.
  • New York state parks – I am hoping there will be at least one weekend where Brian is around that we can go walk on a trail through some state parks. It’s funny whenever I tell people I live in New York and they assume the city, but there is sooo much more to New York state than the city and there are some fabulous state parks to do day trips to.

I think I will leave my goals at just 3 for the month. In addition to the goals above, I plan to ease back into my weight lifting and hopefully feel more balanced with my self care. 

What are your favorite Fall activities?

 

Tuesday Happenings

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I kept getting confused on whether it was Tuesday or Wednesday yesterday and then when I realized it was Tuesday I was like, hmm this will be a long week. I really need to get back to my regular workout schedule as that helps me keep track of days better.

                The last two days I have had my alarm set for 6am and while I normally get up right at my first alarm, I decided to have a second one set for 6:20 and enjoy the fact that Brian was home. I always have a lot of extra time in the morning which I love for writing blog posts, reading blogs, paying bills, etc. The morning is my productive time, but after the busy weekend, I needed the extra sleep.

                I made my usual breakfast and watched some Youtube videos on my phone for a bit before heading off to work. At work I did my usual tasks and then headed to a chiropractor appointment down the street at 11am.

                My back and specifically around my spine towards my right side have been out of whack for a few weeks. I have only done a handful of workouts the past two weeks due to this. I wanted to let it rest some and see how it did. While the rest took the constant pain away, every time I went back to the gym, including this Monday, I would just feel like it was still out of whack.

                I described my issues to the chiropractor and he made some adjustments. He got in the EXACT spot where the main pain was and there was definitely some cracking. After a few adjustments while lying on my stomach, I then moved to my back and he cracked my neck. He told me I had about 6 spots out of place! That was enough adjusting for one day and I will be back for a few more visits. I haven’t been to a chiropractor in 4-5 years so I was definitely long overdue.

chiropractor
the cool chiropractor table

                My shoulder area and back were a bit sore as I left, but as the day went on, I did feel more balanced. The chiropractor advised me to give myself at least a day before trying to weight lift again. I usually would go to aerial yoga Tuesday nights, but I felt like even that can use a lot of my arms and shoulders and I didn’t want to put anything out of place again, so again better to rest.

                The afternoon went by, a little slow as usual, but maybe slower since I ate lunch at my desk as I used my lunch break for the appointment.

                After work I decided to swing by the farmers market. I haven’t made it there all summer. I was always at a yoga studio Tuesday night and Saturday morning. I believe Saturdays have more vendors as there were only a few. I did pick up a few veggies for salads though.

                From there I decided to walk in the park for a bit. I wanted a little movement at least and see how my body felt. My body was quite sore so I decided to slow down my walking a bit (if you know me, you know this is VERY hard for me, speed walker here!) and only do a couple miles. I think I walked for about 30 minutes. By the end I was also quite hungry so it was time to get home. [Side note: at least by the end of the day I got 10,000 steps, a rarity for me these days]

                I was somehow a bottomless pit and just kept eating. My main dish included my zucchini pad thai. It was still really good leftover. I was worried about the zuchhini noodles being mushy but they still had a crunch which was perfect.

zoodle pad thai

                In addition I had a few cookies leftover from the weekend and some pickles and cheese and whatever I could find. Bottomless pit…

                Once my belly was satisfied, I took a salt bath. I was home alone and it was so peaceful. I put on a podcast and soaked for a bit. Then it was time to sit down and write for a while. I haven’t done much writing in the last few days so I was feeling really inspired.

                I can’t believe it is going to be September this weekend. August was just a crazy month with 3 funerals, unexpected travel for one and tons of people visiting and stopping over. I can tell you my food bill for the month is about half the normal. I couldn’t really buy much as the fridge was stuffed ALL the time. I didn’t eat the best and on top of not working out, I have been more tired for sure. I hope that September turns things around. Now that I got a chiropractor to help me get back in place and I will ease back into lifting. I already feel better eating more veggies with my meal prep this week, even if there are still some cookies in there for dessert. All about balance!!

                Be sure to come back Friday for my post on the State Fair.

 

Have you been to a chiropractor?

What’s one thing you do to relax?

Being Grateful in Tough Times

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This week has been quite an emotional week. It reminds me to be extra grateful for each day that we get. In an instant, life can change. In this time, I recently listened to Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations Podcast episode 3 with Sheryl Sandberg talking about her loss of her husband. One of the things that stood out to me was how Sheryl said her life has changed. Yes, there is more sadness, but also she learned to be more grateful. She is more grateful that she gets to age and still be here. Remember we can spend our life complaining, but what kind of life is that? Why not practice gratitude? For over a year now, I have written down one thing I am grateful for each day and it really has changed my perspective on things. It helps me stay more positive, even in times like this.

With gratefulness in mind, I want to list a few things that I am grateful for this week.

  • Stopping in Ogdensburg to have lunch with Shantel

ogdensburg ny
Ogdensburg, NY

I don’t know how we have managed, but somehow we really have seen each other once a year since graduating from Buffalo together in 2012. Even when I was living in other states, we have made it happen. When I knew I would be driving to Tupper Lake, I remembered swinging by Ogdensburg last year and knew it would be the perfect place to stop for lunch. Even though the situation of meeting up was sad, it was nice to catch up with Shantel and also eat a good meal (especially since I didn’t eat again for 7 hours after that).

 

  • Family friends

Lake Saranac
Staying at a family friends and enjoying this morning view of Lake Saranac

Brian’s family has so many friends and quite a social life in both Tupper Lake and Binghamton areas. While again it is always sad to meet people at a funeral, it is just so impressive to see so many lives that his family has touched and I am grateful to be marrying into such a community.

 

  • Beautiful weather

This summer has been so rainy for so many people and this week during services, it has honestly been some of the best weather all summer. When I am driving long distances, I find it is much nicer to drive in sunny weather and that helped me to enjoy my drives.

 

  • My buddy Lucy

Lucy
Lucy on my yoga mat

It’s hard for dogs to lose a loved one too. They have been sad as well. I am happy that Lucy loves me so much. She was following me all around the house last night and just soaking up all the petting and head massages I have been giving her. She even slept on my yoga mat all night last night.

 

                I could go on to say all the food, conversations, stories and just being there for Brian and his family in this hard time. I am grateful for it all. I know it won’t be easy getting back to a routine, but we are moving forward together.

                I also have to give thanks to everyone who has reached out to me via text, phone call, Facebook, etc. I really appreciate it.

 

Thanks Amanda for letting me Think Out Loud.

Listening to Your Body

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This week my workouts started out great!! After my travel to blogfest and taking much needed rest, my body was feeling good and ready to work. Then Wednesday I pushed my body. I did my deadlifts in the morning instead of after work and from that first pull, my shoulder and back felt off. I tried to adjust and pay super close attention to my form but still it wasn’t going well and I cut my sets short.

After the workout I made sure to do a little foam rolling and used my yoga tune up balls at home to roll my shoulder. I think the computer work is getting to my shoulder. I’m not sure why it acted up but my body was definitely telling me to rest. Wednesday evening I headed to a yin yoga class, mostly because it was an assignment for yin training to write about what we learned last week and attend a class. My body was sore going into yin. What I loved was that the teacher put in so many twists and it felt amazing on my spine. I definitely had so many thoughts in my head through class about stresses on our body. Throughout class I wondered, where am I feeling the tension vs compression in this pose? These are the things we learned along with meridian lines in the body.

I was happy yin was a slow practice and I really felt grounded through it. I think I kept my eyes closed about 70% of class and just went with, how am I feeling in this pose?

After class I got home, a little spaced out. Seriously it gets hard to walk straight after yin yoga at times. I got ready for bed and started writing about the class, at least getting something down so I could edit it later with a clear head. Brian arrived home around 10 and it was soon after that I passed out. I couldn’t be bothered. I slept like a rock.

I listened to my body and let myself sleep in and skip the gym Thursday morning. That was much needed.

I woke up feeling dehydrated. I knew it because I nearly got a Charlie horse when I woke up. So I drank a bunch of water and a rehydrate packet in the morning.

Work was pretty busy with month end and all was going well until I had to stay late to do some postings. I debated still going to a yin yoga class, this time one for fun that I really enjoy. As the time went on though, I was like, you know what I need a full rest day. With leaving work late, I decided to get ice cream for dinner.

almond milk ice cream

They had my favorite, almond milk orange, and I enjoyed every bit.

Then I came home and discovered some sushi Brian’s mom had bought. Perfect little dinner. Since I was having a relaxing evening and had everything for chocolate chip banana zucchini bread, I decided to make some. I had EXACTLY 3 bananas sitting on the counter and EXACTLY 2 eggs left, so I really think this banana bread was meant to happen tonight.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I took a lavender salt bath while the bread was in the oven. That felt amazing and just what my muscles and joints needed.

Then it was time to pull the zucchini bread out of the oven and not so patiently wait for it to cool. Then I discovered it was way too mushy so back in the oven it went.

cc banana zucchini bread

The zucchini bread came out a bit mushy. I probably needed to squeeze the zucchini more or something. It still tasted delicious though. It was nice to have a night at home. Today I plan to go to yoga after work and hopefully it will work out this time. Then it is the weekend FINALLY. I feel like this week was extra long, like by Wednesday I was ready for it to be Friday. 

To wrap up, I just want to say, listen to your body. Be aware of how you are feeling and don’t feel bad for taking an unplanned rest day now and then. Maybe you will find, you have time for something else relaxing, like a bath or baking. 

How do you spend your rest days?

 

 

 

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