Dinner Flop & A Sweaty Yoga Mat

Day 20 - Well, I made it.  Mostly.  Last night, I concluded my "week of trying a new dinner recipe each night from my new Mediterranean Cookbooks".  Yes, I ate out day 4, but it was Mediterranean food, so I'm calling it good enough.  I no longer beat myself up if I don't get 100%.  I'll proudly take 80%, because 80% is far better than 0.  Sadly though, it ended on a flop.

Last night, from my Mediterranean Cooking, by Sterling, I made Olive and bell peppers brown rice.  I went to the store specifically to buy the feta cheese stuffed olives, although I had to settle for blue cheese stuffed olives because they didn't have the feta ones.  I grabbed a loaf of bread to round out my meal and reaffirmed that I need to start baking my own bread very soon.  But one mountain at a time.

I felt pretty special making my own roasted red peppers for the recipe, blackening the peppers and peeling the skin.  The rice mix certainly looked pretty when I was done, but Yuck!  Not exactly tasty.  I ate that small amount on my plate, out of sheer stubbornness for my effort.  My husband only took one bite.  They can't all be winners.

If you try it, I wish you better luck:

Yesterday, I mentioned that I felt it was a good day for Yoga.  In my mind, I was picturing the soft, slow, peaceful movements from my gentle yoga class and the restorative effects that would have on my sore muscles.  I was so mistaken.  I had never tried my new yoga dvd.  The concept when you first start is really clever, you are taken to a yoga matrix.  It is a screen with different blocks that you choose to build your ideal workout.  It is suggested to begin with a meditation and end with shavasana (savasana, corpse pose).  Each block has the time noted, so I built a 60 minute workout from 5 different blocks.

The scenery was beautiful.  Her voice was lovely.  She was not human.  Wink, wink.  This was more of a flow yoga than I am accustomed to and far more advanced that I am capable of achieving.  Still, I stuck tight on my yoga mat and kept going.  I figured whatever my body was doing to even attempt to do what hers' was, had to be good for me.  Often I would be following her voice (in my mind perfectly) and look up and her body would be doing something completely different.  I just adjusted myself as best I could and kept trying.

When we came down to the mat to do the core segment, my back was so sweaty it was sticking to my yoga mat.  These movements were more intense than the ab segments on my arms & abs of steel dvd.  But, I found myself loving it.  I felt so "in my body" while doing these very hard movements.  And I loved the way my arms felt when I tried  to gracefully move them like hers for the back bending poses.  Thankfully, I did not have a mirror nearby because that would have totally killed my zen feelings about my gracefulness.  From the inside, out.  One day at a time.

To end, I will mention this, for full disclosure (not because I want to give too much information).  I have been "fighting" with my period for over a week.  I keep getting cramps, I am having some pms symptoms and wish it would just get on with itself already.  Here's the thing, at my age, sometimes those peri-menopausal issues are a nuisance.  Will I get it?  Won't I get it?  What the hell is going on?  But, I just have to go with it.  I have to accept myself where I am right now and know that the cumulative effects of what I am doing are ultimately going to have far-reaching and lasting benefits on my health, wellness, vitality and energy.  Even if that doesn't translate on the scale as quickly as I would like.  I know I am doing the right things.  In the right ways.  For me.  I know that I feel healthier.  I know that I will get there.

Like Henry Ford said:  "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't -- you're right."

Until next time...  Be well!
~Tracy