2014 Resolutions

I’m home from a pretty epic Christmas vacation! We traveled to Kentucky to see Josh’s family, then to Asheville to spend New Year’s with mine. We partied hearty on New Year’s Eve, too. We stayed in at my cousins’ house, and after the kids went to bed, we grown ups played a board game called Ticket to Ride, and opened the champagne an hour early because we realized it was unlikely we’d manage to stay awake until midnight. ROCK ON. And you know what? It was an absolutely perfect way to ring in the new year, with some of the people I love the most in the world. Josh and I made some pretty radical resolutions for 2014:

Resolution one: I’m trying the vegan whole foods thing at home. By at home, I mean that I’m going to stick with vegetarian when we’re out on the town or at someone’s home (you’re welcome, Mom and Dad). This is because I lack commitment, and because cheese, people. Cheese. I’m not ready to give it up forever, but I’ve at least parted ways with cheddar and gruyere at home. I’m four days in to the vegan way of life and I LOVE IT. Kale is my new best friend. We were already good buddies, but now? Besties forevs. Josh thought about joining my vegan endeavors, but he has allergies to tree nuts and soy, and I think it would be harder for him to get enough protein with those dietary restrictions, so he’s sticking with vegetarianism at home. Which means there’s still cheese in my house…le sigh. So far I’ve retained the courage of my convictions, but I freely confess that along with a lot of feeling great and happy with my decision, there’s definitely a little bit of withdrawal. And groaking. Do you guys know about groaking? Best word ever, and I’m officially voting we bring it back:

image from mangabottle.tumblr.com

That dog looks a great deal like my childhood dog, and he’s making pretty much the exact face I make while Josh eats things with butter or cheese. But I feel so much better on a plant based diet that other than a mishap in which I used real butter instead of smartbalance (yes, it was delicious) I haven’t felt the real urge to cheat. The “whole foods” part of this has been harder than the vegan part. I miss soda a bit, and peanut butter. I don’t mean the grind-it-yourself-from-just-peanuts butter. I mean the store bought, creamy, sugary kind. I’ve said I would stick with a whole foods vegan diet for at least a month, and then see how I feel. So far so good!

Resolution 2: We joined the YMCA! Okay, this one’s not such a radical lifestyle change. Chapel Hill/Carrboro has the nicest YMCA ever (it has a sauna, y’all. And racquetball courts!). Although as a grad student I’m entitled to use the university gym, Josh graduated, and he’s my favorite workout buddy. Also, the Y is great because I’m more into working out with old people and children, rather than extra perky 19 year olds in yoga pants (it’s bad for my self esteem) or big bulky dudes (too intimidating). So on our first day home from holiday traveling, we joined the Y, and for now, I’m going every other day. Also, I hurt all over. In a good way. I get a lot of aerobic exercise from biking everywhere in my daily life, but I’ve come to the realization that 30 is a really good time to sign up for some yoga classes (flexibility, unlike strength or stamina, is something you can maintain across your entire lifespan!) and to make friends with the weight machines (because biking really doesn’t do much for upper body strength…) If you’re looking for a gym, I highly recommend the Y. They’re a nonprofit, which means they do good in the community and you don’t have to worry about sketchy fees from cancelling your membership. Also, they really are a community space. The crowd I work out with is a LOT more diverse (in terms of age, SES, race, you name it…) than the crowd at some of the gyms in town.

I’m going to have to rethink my Project 333 wardrobe in light of my new gym membership! So much change, in this bright and promising new year. I know it’s totally cliche to make fitness resolutions, and I should probably be more realistic anyway, but here goes nothing. I’ve got this one body, for the rest of my life, and I figure I ought to take care of it.

for extra fun, I made Resolution Three: This is really really the year I’m going to learn the ukulele! This one might look familiar, since I made it last year. In 2013 I managed to acquire a ukulele, at least…and learned two chords. Here’s to at least two more in 2014!

Sweet Goodbye

Cupcakes from a recent, lovely wedding shower for two equally lovely friends.

I love sugar. So much that Halloween was my favorite holiday as a kid. I love baking. I love pie, and cupcakes, and there will always be a special place in my heart for cookie dough. And don’t get me started on ice cream. It’s an abiding, lifelong passion of mine.

I also hate sugar. I hate that it’s addictive, suppresses the immune system, is in all of our food (read the sides of processed food containers sometime. It’s wild!). It leads to diabetes, excess weight, and is linked with autoimmune problems, and this is in large part because as a society, we can’t stop eating it.

We gave up sugar at Casa Minify two whole weeks ago. This choice, like several we’ve made along the way, was inspired by Tammy at RowdyKittens doing the same thing, and writing about it. After reading her posts, I joined her bandwagon, and J along with me (we tend to do these things as a pair – although this was the inverse of going vegetarian, which was, counter to the fixed idea every last one of our friends seems to hold, his idea first. I swear).

We’ve been faithful, for the most part (there was one wonderful, decadent weekend long beach trip where we enjoyed both doughnuts and ice cream…small servings, though!) While we gave up refined sugar, we haven’t gone off the carb-avoidance deep end, and we’re still eating breads and drinking beer (within moderation of course), and small servings of fruit. But for the most part, our days are sugar free. Here’s what they look like:

• Breakfast: eggs and toast. plain yogurt. black coffee.
• Lunch: hummus on crackers (or on veggies, if I’m being good). banana. cheese.
• Snack: popcorn, or guacamole and chips.
• Dinner: quinoa and veggies.

(or occasionally, for dinner, pizza and beer. Don’t get the idea that we’ve transformed completely!) For lots of sugar free recipe ideas, there’s Sarah Wilson’s cookbook and handy recipe page.

I will confess that early on, I dumped the last of our chocolate chips into the one remaining container of vanilla yogurt and pretty much inhaled it. I’ve also added honey to my tea when I was craving a bit of a sweet fix. But this has been, to my pleasant surprise, one of the easiest habit changes to make. It turns out that once muffins and cookies and candy are gone from the diet, it only takes a few days to stop aimlessly trolling the kitchen, considering whether sugar-in-the-raw on a bagel would taste like dessert (I resisted). I don’t think we’ll be keeping cookie dough in the house anytime soon, but for the most part, we don’t miss the sweet stuff. I was hoping I’d feel radically different. Energetic! Healthy! Less moody! But that’s all false marketing from the anti-sugar propagandists, so far as I can tell. I feel pretty much like myself, except I’m not hungry all the time. I think I’m even starting to see some sign of a waist again. So while this is about health and not weight…there is some consolation in finding my waist :) I’m sticking with it, except for Sunday brunch. Life always needs room for pancakes and maple syrup, if only on Sundays!

The Wellness Challenge: 1/3 of the way there

This habit change project is cumulative – every month I add a new habit and keep going with the ones I’ve already developed. So far, I’ve resolved to sleep more, eat a real dinner each night, decrease my stress, and walk every day. I thought that since we’re one third of the way there (!), I’d post an update on how it’s going.

Sleep: I have such a hard time making myself go to bed at a reasonable hour every night. It’s not that I’m not tired. Believe me when I say that I am. But there’s so much to read for school, so many things around the house that need cleaning. Then there’s squeezing in a daily workout, spending time with my husband and the pup, work, all of the things I waste time on (electronics are the devil’s work. I lose so much time to Pinterest and reading all of the awesome blogs out there…YoungHouseLove is my current favorite). Long story short: I’m still not getting enough sleep. I also sleep in too late on the weekends, because I’m tired from the week. It’s a vicious cycle, but one that I intend to continue working on.

Dinners: I still go out to eat, but not as often as I had. I think that I am eating more real meals at home, about five nights a week on average (we grab dinner once a week with friends, and I think I lose another night on average for all of the takeout pizza/date nights/parties at friends houses and other sporadic non-minified dinners). I’ve learned some things along the way:

1. packaged vegetable stock is easier and faster than making my own, and sometimes worth it
2. a rice cooker with a steamer basket on top is a lifesaver. Quinoa and broccoli, rice and mixed vegetables…top ’em with a little soy sauce and you’ve got a super quick homemade meal.
3. frozen veggies are quick and easy and just as nutritious as fresh, and they keep longer, so in the winter when fresh veggies aren’t as abundant at the farmer’s market…I dig ’em.
4. I’m no purist – I’m perfecting the art of the “mostly minified meal.” Sauteed veggies and some rice (all homemade) with packaged, storebought naan? S’okay with me.

Stress: This semester is off the charts. So much reading, and all of it totally worthwhile, but there just isn’t enough time. It’s a scramble. But I had an epiphany about getting everything done: communication is the key. I asked my husband to take over dealing with the car we share (registrations, oil changes, inspections) and he has – he’s done a fantastic job. I asked my adviser to identify some priorities on the grant I work on, because I was struggling to balance everything, and he did – the clarification helped! There’s also an element of making tough choices to decreasing stress. I’ve turned down fun social stuff, and great volunteer opportunities, because I’m not going to be any fun or very much help if I stretch myself too thin. And I’ve been trying to be more balanced in how I spend my time (making time to bake and make crafts and hang out with friends) rather than devoting all of my time to school and work…because no matter how hard I try, I’m never going to be the perfect student. I’m just going to do the best that I can, and call it good enough.

Walking: Every single day, without fail. Rain. Shine. Spectacular cold. No kidding. I’ve even been running a little bit. This is because I’m so much more devoted to the dog than I am to my own health. Maybe my priorities are in the wrong places, but then again, maybe it’s human nature to love the ones around us (including our pups) enough that we’re capable of being better. He’s been the best motivation for habit change…and he’s pretty darn cute, too!

our "mixed use recreational area" - AKA the abandoned tennis court - is the only place near home where he can play off leash. He likes to gather all of the balls on the court in one place and then sit on them like a broody hen.

Anyone else making any habit changes? How’s it going?

As for the months to come, I’ve been ruminating on my whole sleep problem. I think maybe just adding new good habits is contributing to it – maybe it’s time that I gave something up, or started really limiting the time I devote to the things that aren’t so important (like Pinterest, for example). Anyone got good ideas for how to manage time so that you stress less and get more sleep (and have more time to make real meals, and take long walks…)? Share ’em in the comments!