10 ways to treat yourself without food or money

Are you bored or blue? These ideas will be a treat without the calories or cash.

1. Color while listening to relaxing music

2. Take a bubble bath

3. Reread your favorite book

4. Give yourself a mani/pedi

5. Check the city website for free events, such as concerts in the park

6. Get a free department store makeup session

7. Plan a date night for next month with 3 different friends, and get it on everyone’s calendars

8. Have your own paint night, using YouTube for a paint tutorial

9. Go on an evening walk around the neighborhood and try to meet at least one new person

10. Find an easy craft on Pinterest (and do it!)

Day 9: Enjoying the process

I teach piano lessons out of my home, and it's fulfilling to see kids, some very small, grow and progress each week. A few of my students have been with me for several years, and I'm watching them not only become amazing musicians but also amazing young people.

Since my own children have started taking lessons I have a gained a new perspective to teaching and learning. It's easy to have patience during the process with my students (most of the time) because I see them from the outside looking into their lives, I notice the weekly improvements, and growth is easier to spot. The process itself is enjoyable.

I have felt surprisingly impatient at times with my own children. Not completely sure why, I feel anxious for them to be good--right now, to learn every strategy--right now, and to comprehend every concept--right now. (It's definitely best that they are taking lessons from someone other than me!)

But the process is the same for them too. Weeks have turned into months, and they are both becoming accomplished. I'm amazed how much growth they've had since last September.

It occurred to me recently that eating right is a lot like learning to play an instrument. The progress is slow, the growth seems stagnant at times, the body doesn't always react the way we impatiently want--right now. But weeks turn into months, and months turn to years, and we will look back through the sea of days just like today, and be so thankful we kept plodding along.

So I will say I'm learning the art of eating right. Someday I might even be proficient at it! Meanwhile, I'm determined to enjoy the process.

Day 8: Let the fun continue

Today marks a full week of eating the way I want to eat for the rest of my life--and it feels great. Not that I haven't had my temptations to waver.

My goal is to make no exceptions to eating right for at least 21 days, thus establishing what my norm needs to be. Previously my norm has been to eat what seems right at the moment. The norm I am trying to establish is that every bite matters, and the exceptions should be minimal.

In the long run, I do plan to include indulgences. That's part of living, part of being human, and will make my new norm actually last.

One example of a kind of situation that might call for deviation from eating healthy was Eden's drama performance this last week. Afterwards our family stopped at In-N-Out to grab dinner. I chose this time to pass on the food, and ate later at home. (Incidentally, I ended up enjoying my food better than I would have the burger.)

The point, though, is that in the longterm perspective when a family celebrates together, we should all eat together. This time I didn't, but after my 21 days I plan to allow those exceptions.

Day 3: I need advice!

Today is Day Three, and I'm starting to gather my balance on this whole measure-what-I-eat-of-only-healthy-foods thing. For a bit there I was tottering on the brink! I can't emphasize enough how glad I am that I started this thing mid-day Saturday.  My mind and body knows that this isn't a short-term diet with a start and end point, this is a life-long journey.

Learning point: When starting a life-change, start mid-day on a Saturday. And above all, don't start on a Monday morning! Your mind needs to know this isn't a clean start, it's simply a daily choice.

My ear infection is healing, but still bothering me. It's difficult to tell whether lethargy and shakiness is due to that, or my new health regiment. Any time we change things up, our body tends to go ballistic. Just think of how your body feels after feasting at Christmas for a week. Ugh. Changing for good also has its effects, and I'm using logic that I mentioned on Saturday to work through it. In a few days, my body will adjust. Don't give up.

While hunger and even shakiness can be endured, there is another consequence from eating healthy where I'm needing advice.

The past couple of nights I can't sleep due to hunger. Last night I woke at midnight and was awake until past 1 o'clock. First, I have not been starving myself (heh, yeah that's never a problem!). I ate a piece of fruit within an hour of going to bed. When I couldn't sleep I got up and tried reading and made a warm cup of lemon water, both of which didn't help. Finally, I got four saltine crackers and was able to sleep afterwards.

Does anyone have advise on this? Is this normal? I have experienced insomnia on various levels for the past several years, and it's always worse with I cut back on eating.

Day One: Crash, Burn, & Logic

After weeks of mental prepping, and emotional pepping, Day One started off with a bang.  Of the crash and burn variety.

I woke up this morning to my daughter declaring that I have students at the front door waiting.  I glanced at the clock and realized...it's almost 10 o'clock!  What???  I haven't slept to 10 in... months? years? decades?

In my foggy state, I grabbed my phone to see I had 2 missed calls and several missed texts.  I clicked open my calendar app and surely enough, I had scheduled 4 piano lessons starting at 10 am on Saturday morning.

Moving as quickly as possible, I lumbered out of bed, grabbed on clothes, and ran a brush though my hair.  I made it down to welcome my students only 8 minutes late.

This past week I've been suffering from another ear infection, one of the side effects of the many allergies I spoke about yesterday.  My ear this morning was completely clogged, making my movements sluggish. Whenever someone spoke, it took me about twice as long as normal to process.

As I sat and listened to the first student go through her piano scales, it hit me that I hadn't eaten.  I hadn't had water!  I hadn't had coffee!!  And today was Day One!!!

The shakiness started during the 3rd lesson.  By the time I finished, it was past noon, and I was ready for food and a shower and possibly my bed again.  This day was really not going as I anticipated. Without giving much thought other than needing to feel better, I opened the refrigerator, pulled out last night's dinner leftovers, and warmed it up in my Starbucks Oregon mug.  And I ate it. Olive oil-saturated pasta salad.  Crash and burn.

After my shower, lying on my bed, feeling tired, shaky, and intense ear pain, the solution came: Make Day One start tomorrow.  After all, I royally messed up and I can't salvage today.  Make sense, right?

Actually, it makes emotional sense, but not logical sense.  

A couple of days ago I thought through the most important mental aspects of a life change.  I came up with these four: Logic, Organization, Faith, and Social Support.

Logic tells me to keep trying even though I fail.  Logic tells me that everything I eat the day before starting a diet is just as significant as everything I eat the first day of the diet.  Logic says what I eat today and tomorrow will effect the way my body feels 5 years from now.

Emotions say, you messed up, may as well splurge today.  Logic says, pick up where you left off and
keep trying.

Emotionally I wanted to give up.  Logically, I needed to do this day just as I had planned.

The crux: eating healthy isn't the exception, it's the rule.

So guess what?  I listened to Logic instead of Emotion.  I dutifully measured out my afternoon snack and dinner. Today wasn't perfect, but I don't need perfection.  Today was proof that I can keep going, and I definitely need that!

My Daily Avocado is Back!

***Disclaimer: For those of you who are new to My Daily Avocado, I am NOT selling anything. I'm simply a mom trying to be healthy and help others be healthy too. I don't preach; I just share ideas and examples from my own life.***

The past few years have been full and fun, with a bit of crazy in the mix. Having just turned 40, I look at the 30s as being, by far, my best decade yet. I began the past ten years as a newlywed; now I'm a mom of two and in love with my husband more than ever. Over all, life is really good!

So the crazy and the bad?  First, any mom won't need an explanation: life is simply crazy with kids! Besides the go-go-go and emotional roller-coasters in any mom's life, I have had a few health problems that have gotten in the way of my goals.

The biggest trigger has been allergies.  I have severe allergies to 25/50 things for which I was tested.  The Doctor said, "Wow! You're allergic to everything!" Those allergies include dust, mold, trees, grasses, and various kinds of pollen.  I pretty much knew all that, so no surprise. What did surprise me was my allergy to cats (yes I have a cat and no I won't get rid of her!) and cockroaches (...um...bummer?).

These and several other allergies reached a point a few years ago where I thought I'd be hospitalized.  I was chronically sick (flu or cold every two weeks), in bed constantly, and I hadn't exercised in months.  This all led to depression and other complications, along with a defeated attitude toward eating. And yes, I gained weight.

I have now been taking allergy allergy shots for the past year and a half and it's helped significantly. I'm not totally out of the woods when it comes to allergies (who knows what else I'm allergic to???) but it's better, and I'm a long ways from being hospitalized. Last summer I made the conscious effort to begin exercising again. It is paying off. I feel really good, my depression is gone, and my body is stronger. I am ready for the next step--eating right again. I don't eat badly, just not always logically or in moderation.  I really need a jumpstart.

Enter 21 Day Fix!  I have heard great things about this diet.  Even though I am anti-diet (I'm more interested in a long-term life change), this program is more of a door to eating more healthily and establishing new patterns and habits for the LONG-TERM.

I will call it the Container Diet, since measuring foods is how it works.  And... that's it! No counting calories. No weighing yourself. (I'm measuring inches when I start and finish.) There is a list of foods to choose from and various colors of measuring cups that I bought on Amazon.  It's that simple.  Lots of work, yes, but simple.  (My biggest effort comes from planning my meals, but I'll get into that in a future post.) The cost? A whopping $9.49.

Want to see how I do? Follow me for the next 3 weeks while I tough it out through my new health journey! I'm looking forward to inspiring you and keeping the momentum alive long after 21 days have come and gone.

Blessings or Stressings?

Life has been on the hectic side lately.  We are smack-dab in the middle of the kitchen project I mentioned a few weeks ago, living with half a kitchen—and not the essential half in my opinion.  There are beautiful cabinets up, but no counters or running water.  The past week has been bustling with strangers coming and going from our house at all hours of the workday and weekend.  After months of waiting, it’s a bit overwhelming to have so much happen so fast.

We have been eating frozen meals via a microwave in the garage and occasionally going out to eat.  My favorite place to go has been Jamba Juice, where they have all-fruit and vegetable smoothies and that kids and I like.  I even have a coupon I got through email for a buy-one-get-one free.  (Ask me to send you one and I will!)

There have been twists and turns in this project to be sure.  You reach a point, though, when you’re almost ready to say, “I don’t care if it’s not perfect.  Just be done with this mess!”

The cabinets were installed over a Saturday while Jay was at work.  I ran around town trying to keep the kids entertained.  When I got home, I looked about, pleased at the progress, but also puzzled because they looked nothing like the sample I had.  It turned out the wrong cabinets had been ordered for us.

Not the best news to be told when I’m without a kitchen, longing for this project to be done.

Now, for the good news.  We love the cabinets we got, even though they are wrong!  Furthermore, we get new paint inside our house, courtesy of a very apologetic contractor.  Still, this whole fiasco has been, to say the least, stressful.

Another thing that has me stressing (I mean blessing) is a sudden increase in my teaching schedule.  As the opening of the school season came, I was contacted by a slew of potential piano students who had happened to find me on the internet.  Without planning it, I have gone from one to nine students in a matter of weeks.  It’s great for the fundage, not so great for my sanity!  It is wonderful to be teaching again, though, and outside of being slightly overwhelmed by my new schedule, I’m truly loving it.

There are other stressors.  My husband has been working long hours, often six days a week.  I recently began teaching a Sunday school class for toddlers.  Not least on the list, both my kids have been demanding a lot of attention lately, with Eden begging me to teach her to read and Lance doing what all 2-year-olds do.

In short, my life has been demanding.  But, everything that provides stress also provides blessings, and I find that I really have a wonderfully full life.  How can I complain when the things that give me the most stress, also give me the most joy?