delara, interrupted

It's really hard for me to brag. It's something I'm practicing, but it is still overwhelmingly difficult. And besides that, there are a lot of things irking me right now. In fact, I could echo Steve's "boo blog" and add about 20 more things. But... I am also practicing focusing on the positive in my world and being a joyful being. (Joyfulness is my Virtue Reflections Card for this week.) And so...

Here are some things in my personal life about which I feel proud recently:

I have FINALLY gotten back into my workout routine. Yay me! I have succeeded in meeting my goals for working out for the past 3 weeks now, and I love it. I'm one of those weird people who really ENJOYS going to the gym - I love the way I feel after working out, love the way my muscles and body feel while I'm weight training, and definitely love sitting in the sauna for 10-15 minutes after I'm done with my routine. Mmmm... love that heat. The only thing I don't particularly love is doing cardio exercise at the gym. I'd MUCH rather hit a bike trail, or kayak for a few hours on the lake, or hike through the hills, or do some cardio kickboxing. Nevertheless, goals = met, and I'm happy about that.

Along with being back in the swing of things with exercise, I am loving what I'm eating these days. Just made some egg salad yesterday (super yum!) and feasted on ghormeh sabsi and rice earlier this week. Most excellent. Although I still eat a little sugar here and there, it's in moderation and I'm ok with that. I'm eating tons of fruits and veggies and spirulina protein shakes and all kinds of nuts and whole grains. And so, if I have a cookie every now and then, or if I bake my own organic chocolate cake, or if I bake an apple pie, I will eat it. Balance and moderation feel good for my body. If I feel like I'm denying myself something, then I just want it more. So, none of that. I eat what makes sense for me. Just no dairy, still. Boo...

Finally, I have not used a plastic OR paper bag when grocery shopping, running errands or anything else for the past 2 months. It was my Earth Day pledge to myself - to use canvas shopping bags or not use a bag at all (like when buying only 1 or 2 things small enough to carry or put into my purse). It's pretty cool. And this is, of course, in addition to recycling just about anything I can get my hands on. I even took on recycling cardboard and newspapers from work. (Long story why our store doesn't recycle - mostly having to do with the property owner of the mall being too cheap to pay for a recycling dumpster like most of the other stores have in this area.) It's a great feeling to know that, at least for my small part, I'm leaving as light a footprint as possible on this earth.

And, of course, there have been many internally-oriented successes - speaking up when something at work was NOT working for me and attracting my perfect workplace, placing spiritual principles at the center of my actions, learning daily what it means to be in relationship with Steve and attracting greater love, being accountable for my actions, etc. I am recognizing the abundance that surrounds me and is because of me. And so, it's all good.