Over at FitViews about a month ago, Kerri wrote a post about her one word for 2017. (Spoiler alert: hers is CONSISTENT.) Today, I listened to an episode of Elise Gets Crafty on the same topic. She interviewed Ali Edwards about the practice of choosing a guiding word for the year. (Some of theirs included OPEN, WHOLE and BRAVE.)
Needless to say, these posts have gotten me thinking. I’ve been doing a lot of that these last few days as I consider how I want to get healthier in the coming months. (Because what I’ve been doing is not working. AT ALL. Guess that’s what happens when you do a whole lot of nothing.)
I’ve been brainstorming ideas for my one word for 2017.
Some ideas: connect, health, love, understanding, gratitude, consistent, joy (my word in 2014), change (2015’s word), strong, healthy, happy, determined, dedicated, open (to new experiences and ideas), act (Elise Joy’s 2017 word), involved …
Some of them can be grouped together, like connect, involved and act; or determined, dedicated and consistent; or gratitude, joy and love.
But the one little word that calls to me most of all is ADVENTURE.
After the slog that was 2016, I’m ready to seek adventures.
Eating well can be an adventure. So can exploring faith, getting healthier via walks and yoga classes, doing more craft projects (especially quilting) and, of course, journeying farther down the road to bestselling authordom.
If I plan correctly, I might even be able to take a couple of road trips.
That’s the goal, anyway: I want 2017 to be a year of adventure.
I want to learn to knit and do calligraphy. I want to write new stories and do oh so many things I’ve never done before. I want to embrace life, in all its messy imperfection.
And when I drop a few pounds along the way, that’ll be icing on the low-carb, sugar-free mug cake.
I’m going to have to start writing some posts in advance, so I have something in the can when I can’t think of a good topic. For now, here’s another set of random thoughts.
— So far this week, my Best Body Bootcamp workouts have been a bust. I skipped Monday and Wednesday sessions, and only did a 20-minute walk on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, my mind was (kind of) willing, but my body wasn’t having it. That’s right: I still was experiencing a residual achy-all-over, flattened-by-a-truck feeling after Tuesday’s massage. I’ll take that as a sign I need to get them more often. My body clearly isn’t used to a once-a-year treat.
The good news is, I feel fine and plan to do cardio and Workout B this morning.
The bad news? I burned off my rest days early this week, and now must work out every day through Sunday to earn my workout point. It won’t be easy, but I’m determined to do it. I want to be eligible for the grand prize this round.
— Instead of working out Wednesday, I spent the morning in the kitchen. After breakfast, I boiled some brown rice, cooked up some sweet potato/apple/onion hash and attempted to make sweet potato chips. (I don’t think the food processor cut the slices thin enough.)
peanut butter, banana and cocoa powder
— Wednesday morning’s breakfast smoothie was inspired by a tweet. Behold, “The Elvis”: 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1 cup almond milk, 1 frozen banana, 2 teaspoons cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons peanut butter. Not bad, but it could have used a bit more sweetness. I didn’t add any Splenda or anything because I thought the banana would be sweet enough.
Live and learn. Next time, I’ll add a packet of Splenda or a shot of sugar-free Torani. I have chocolate!
— I STILL don’t have my new glasses. I’m going to stop in there today and see what the heck is the holdup. The sooner I have new specs, the sooner I get to find out if I need reading glasses, too. I’m impatient that way.
— Fried eggs don’t reheat well in Mr. Microwave. I purposely left the yolks runny in the eggs I cooked up to take to work with me for lunch … and when I microwaved them, the yolks cooked through and the whites got rubbery. Next time, I’ll have to eat my eggs and sweet potato hash immediately.
— I need more sleep. If I went to bed earlier, I’d probably be rarin’ to jump out of bed and work out in the morning. Plus, I know sleep deprivation is bad for my health and my weight. So why am I blogging at close to 3 a.m.? Oh yeah … I work ’til at least 11 p.m., and then have to spend several hours unwinding when I get home. Blogging/playing online while listening to/watching Investigation Discovery is how I relax.
And yes, I’ve heard the experts say you should unplug XX hours before bed … or that your computer/phone emit some kind of blue light that affects sleep patterns.
— This post from Diana at The Chic Life really spoke to me: Perfect Eating is an Illusion: Be a qualitarian. What on earth is a “qualitarian”? Click on through to find out. Here, I’ll just say I love her emphasis on making BETTER choices rather than PERFECT ones. The need to eat perfectly has derailed me many a time.
— Day 3 is complete, and I’m still LOVING the WW Simply Filling approach. I’ve already noticed myself feeling fuller, longer. I almost didn’t want a post-work snack … But I spent a few minutes making tomorrow’s breakfast (overnight oats) and decided to go ahead and whip up a smoothie.
— Over at Chicklets in the Kitchen today, I’m sharing some of Lindsay’s food prep secrets. Stop by and share your favorite make-ahead meal.
— Speaking of Sunday food prep, I need to re-figure the Points values for some of my favorite recipes from The Lean Green Bean. If nearly all the ingredients are Power Foods, those Tuna Quinoa Cakes surely can’t have 4 Points apiece. The only ingredients with Points are the breadcrumbs — and 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs spread among 8 cakes can’t be that high.
— I’m not the only one who thought Matthew McConaughey was in “Sweet Home Alabama.” Somehow we were talking about Sir Matthew at the office and I had to imdb it to prove to my boss that he was not. (I was disabused of the notion a few years ago, when I wrote a scene with a heroine watching a Matthew McConaughey marathon on cable and mentioned “Sweet Home Alabama.” Someone said, “He wasn’t in that movie.” I looked it up, and sure enough, he was not.
He was, however, pretty darn great in “Magic Mike.” 😉
It’s a wonderful resource for bloggers who care about food, fitness and fun. They’ve compiled lists of members alphabetically and by location, allowing you to find like-minded or nearby folks. They publish regular “Blog Tip” posts on topics as varied as crafting an engaging “about page,” writing recipes and taking advantage of Twitter and using PicMonkey. Find them all under “Build a Better Blog.”
I have HLB to thank for turning me on to Buffer (if you sign up using that link, I get bonus space). It’s a great way to schedule posts to appear on Twitter and Facebook at regular intervals — and it’s available as an iPhone app, so I have access even on the go.
HLB also hosts recipe link-ups and features members’ announcements of giveaways/challenges. One of my favorite parts of Monday Announcements posts is the roundup of member tweets that caught admin’s eye. One — or more — of them always makes me smile, and I’ve found a few new folks to follow courtesy of those roundups.
Learn more about joining the fun and information exchange on HLB’s Members Page. You also can find them on Pinterest and Twitter, sharing posts worth reading.
With so many people in the blogosphere, it’s a jungle out there. By providing information and forging connections between healthy-living bloggers, HLB makes navigating the wilds just a little easier.
Adventures in weight loss, cooking & life 