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Challenge Accepted: It’s All About Me!

Challenge Accepted: It’s All About Me!

It should probably always be all about me, but whatever.

Here we begin another series of my blog in which each month I try something new! It’s all about health, but this time I will try new lifestyle changes and see what makes me happy.

As you probably already know, I decided to go for an entire week with no TV as part of our Focusing on the Positive theme for this month. For me, this is a huge challenge because my house is freezing in the winter and I want to exist only on the couch under blankets.

GOALS THIS MONTH:

  • Focus on myself and tasks I want to accomplish
  • Journal more
  • Do more positive thinking exercises

HOW DID IT GO:

Let me start off by saying, I picked a terrible week to start. The bomb cyclone was in the midst of hitting and the week started with my water pipes and the kitchen sink drainpipe freezing, despite all 4 of our space heaters being in the kitchen with the water dripping. So I started out bored with a huge mess of dishes that I couldn’t clean. (Check out my video blog below to see my first day shenanigans.) But I endured and here is what I learned:

  1. My fiancé will stop wanting me to entertain him if he gets a new video game and has his own successful independent week (and then I will be jealous and want to play it too.)
  2. When you are obsessed with crafting like I am, having extra time is amazing. I ended up making tons of reusable snack bags, which was extra fun because I used fabric with unicorns eating tacos on it… jan_blog_photo1.jpg
  3. I sleep more when I can’t binge Parks and Rec before bed.
  4. Journaling is an awesome way to pass the time and keep my mind focused. I am often overwhelmed with thoughts and things I need to do, so I always keep a journal with me. I mostly use it to make lists of things I need to do, but it’s great when you’re bored and want to doodle or write things about your day.
  5. Altering a wedding dress is hard. Yes I know this may not be the best way to find out if I am awful with a sewing machine, but I think I can do it! It’s probably fine if I ruin that very expensive dress… But I am still in the process of learning to do this and I think I can! You will know I failed if my next blog just says “I REGRET EVERYTHING.”
  6. Having a week to myself is fun and relaxing and makes me feel really accomplished. So accomplished that I need to spend a lot more time doing this. I came up with so many things I wanted to do that I almost felt like I didn’t get enough done by the end of it so I’m going to set a few nights a week to do this in the future.

I seriously recommend everyone who watches a lot of TV to try this. It’s easier to follow this goal when you aren’t allowed to watch TV rather than just telling yourself you won’t. Or, if you want to try your own way of focusing on yourself and being positive, I recommend this article on ways to make yourself genuinely happier. Whether it’s journaling, playing hide-and-seek with your dog, meditating, or whatever, I just want you to be happy! Like I was after my pipes unfroze and I discovered my love of unicorn taco snack bags.

VLOG:

FAVORITE RECIPE THIS MONTH: Kale Detox Salad Meal Prep

jan_blog_photo2.jpg

Makes approx. 5 meals

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of carrots
  • 1 bag Brussels sprouts
  • 1 lb fingerling or sweet potatoes
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • kale
  • 1 cup brown rice cooked
  • sesame seeds if desired
  • avocado if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Chop the carrots, Brussels sprouts and potatoes into small, bite-sized pieces. Place carrots, potatoes, Brussels sprouts and chickpeas on baking sheets and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil, parsley, garlic powder and thyme and toss until everything is evenly covered.

Place in oven and bake about 30-35 minutes or until all veggies are golden brown. Remove from oven when done and distribute them into Tupperware containers with brown rice. In separate Tupperware, fill with chopped kale so kale doesn’t wilt. Combine all together when ready to eat.

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