Distancing - Day 3

I found a dead cardinal under my kitchen window this morning. His deep scarlet feathers were so bright and vibrant. It saddened me to see him just lying there.  I immediately thought of his mate. Is she missing him? Is she waiting for him to come back? I started wondering ...Does a bird  mourn when they lose a member of its group? Did you know that there’s  loads of research out there studying bird behaviors after the loss of a flockmate? Turns out that birds respond by making new flockmates and spending more time with their previous flockmates. And that is how I spent an hour this morning...reading about bird behaviors and the symbolism of dead birds. Something that I would never have taken the time to ponder if I weren’t in self-quarantine.

It’s been six days since my husband and I were possibly exposed to the COVID virus. He’s feeling fine. I’m still fighting some kind of cold or illness which seems to be getting a little worse. Headache, stuffed up, hacking cough and shortness of breath but NO fever as of today.

 I’m doing everything I can to stay above the wellness line. Getting adequate rest, taking probiotics for gut health, opening windows and getting outside for fresh air and a little vitamin D. I’ve been slathering myself in essential oils, running the diffusers, taking supplements, upping my consumption of fresh fruits and veggies and staying hydrated. I’ve been meditating, practicing yoga, doing breathing exercises and walking. I’m pretty confident that I will start feeling better soon. If not, I’ll call the doctor again to see what she says.

Here’s what day 3 looks like....

• Opened the windows and started the diffusers. Today’s blend is Thieves and Christmas Spirit.... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
• Breakfast: cup of dairy free yogurt, raspberries, walnuts and  ground flax
• Brewed a cup of my favorite tea
  
• Took the dogs outside for some fresh air and exercise.
  
  
  
• Did one load of laundry. It’s so nice to be caught up so I only have to do one load each day.
• Sat down to do some schoolwork. My school district asked teachers to reach out to parents and check-in on the children. My colleagues and I worked on an email and generated a list of suggested activities that students can be doing while at home. The school district where I teach was ill- prepared to handle this emergency and there are many parents upset with the lack of communication between school and home. My daughter’s school, on the other hand, has been amazing! They were prepared and have communicated frequently with the families. What a difference a strong administration makes! 
• Wednesday’s daily cleaning is vacuuming the whole house. I usually vacuum our downstairs every other day & sometimes every day depending on how busy I am or how much energy I have or if it really needs it but I do a whole house vacuum on Wednesdays. This includes the basement and our stairs. It usually only takes 20 minutes to vacuum my whole house.
• I’m still working in zone 1 of my house, which is my kitchen and pantry. Today I wiped out drawers and cleaned and organized the cabinet under the sink.
• Lunch was roasted vegetables( broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peppers, onions and asparagus) sprinkled with my homemade ranch mix and we watched the rest of the documentary- Heal.
• Took a walk outside...found some signs of spring popping up.
  
• Worked on painting my daughter’s dollhouse with her.
• Dinner was just pasta with sauce, veggie meatballs and a salad.
• After dinner, our family took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood. 
• For some creative time I worked on making some jewelry pieces. Some wrapped wire earrings, leather cuffs and a clay necklace. 
  
  And that about wraps up day 3 of distancing.

Trying it again!

It's been forever and a day since I've written anything here. Just like with most things in my life I have good intentions but then life gets in the way and I let things slide and this blog is one of the first things that I let go of when I get in over my head in the busyness of life.  

For the most part I have been "Doing" lots of the things that I had set intentions to do...I am exercising(walking), reading daily, creating, going on dates, meditating and cooking new healthy plant-based recipes. I just haven't documented it here and within that lies the problem. If I don't document life here, then I don't take pictures or document it for Project Life and that is something that I usually LOVE to do and have always made time for. I love the albums when they are finished, they are so special...So, I am going to try once more to commit to documenting things here for myself. We'll see how it goes. 

Ritual to Release Guilt

About 6 years ago I went out to Idaho to Brave Girls Camp and participated in my first "Write and Burn" ceremony. We simply wrote down our negative thoughts and feelings on a sheet of paper and then watched as it burned.
Recently, while searching for information on practicing self-care I stumbled upon this book and was intrigued.

Here

It contains a ritual for releasing guilt which is very similar to the "write and burn"ceremony that I had participated in years ago. So, I took bits and pieces of what worked for me and what the author offered in this book and developed my version of a ritual for releasing guilt.   It is a therapeutic way to process painful memories and work through heavy emotions.
If you are like me and tend to feel guilty about things or if your guilt about a specific thing tends to pop up again and again, then you may need to do this ritual to release guilt on a semi-regular basis. Do it as often as you need to.

 I am going to do this ritual today as I work through and release some heavy emotions so that I am open to the love flowing toward me. 

Ritual to Release Guilt

ingredients:

• Trivet or hot pad
• Fireproof or heatproof container(I use my fire pit when it's nice outside)
• Frankincense incense and a censer
• White Candle and candle holder
• Matches or lighter
• Paper
• Pen or Pencil

instructions:

How to cook Ritual to Release Guilt

1. Center and ground- take some deep breaths.
2. Light the the incense and the candle.
3. Sit with your eyes closed and think about your sense of guilt. What is it related to? What/ who triggers it? Can you pinpoint what you feel guilty for?
4. Write your emotions on that page! Anger, jealousy, sadness; basically anything that you want to process. Cursing is mandatory!
5. Imagine your emotions flowing down your arm and into that paper. The paper is absorbing ALL of the emotions and guilt that have been stuck inside of you.
6. Fold up the paper and say: I release this guilt to the universe. I invite peace and serenity to take its place. Open my heart to a positive flow of energy and support me as I learn to love myself and care for myself freely. Thank you for my many blessings.
7. Then, over the fireproof container burn that bitch and send all of the energy and guilt back to the universe.
8. Later, take the ashes and allow the wind to take them. Thanking the universe for taking it from you.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Daily 5-minute Self-care Morning Routine

Carving out a quiet space for myself before my day begins is a valuable practice that helps me to slip into a grounded mindset from which to approach my  morning routine. I usually get up before my husband so that I can make time for this simple 5-minute self-care routine before my day begins in earnest. Here is a 5-minute self-care morning routine that I've recently built into my previous daily routine. You can try it and if it doesn't work for you, tweak it to make it your own. 

What to do:

1. Wake up and stretch before leaving your bed. I follow this routine.

2. Sit cross legged and and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and do a quick body scan. Is there anything that hurts, feels off or may need an little extra attention today?

3. Get up and drink a large glass of water. Mindfully be aware of the liquid in your mouth and the feeling of your muscles moving as you swallow.

4. Mentally review your schedule for the day. Take a moment to accept your upcoming tasks. Don't focus on how you'll actually execute them, simply acknowledge them and know they are on your list to things to do today.

5. Choose an affirmation for the day based on your body scan, your upcoming schedule and your general mood. "I am enough," "I am calm and capable," and "I meet challenges head on," are some good affirmations that work when you can't think of something at the moment.

6. And go...You are now ready to move onto the rest of your morning routine.

Sometimes if I have an extra few minutes I work in a self-care journal that I've started. This seems to compliment my routine very nicely. 

Weekly Intention-2

I decided that this year I would use a mystical wisdom card deck to help guide me in setting my monthly and weekly intentions.

This month's intention is: Take a leap of faith: Remember there is always hope, new possibilities and miracles just waiting around the corner. Enjoy each day as an adventure and live each moment to the fullest. Take a leap of faith and trust where the universe is taking you. This is your time to seize your unlimited potential and embrace yourself for new beginnings, adventure and joy.

My weekly card reading: Resilience- Rise Above Tribulations:  Endure and withstand stress and recover quickly from life changes, misdeeds or a bad ordeal. Face life adversities with courage and patience. This takes compassion, determination and strength that will now be defeated. The resilience of the human spirit and the validity of love inhabits us to rise above our tribulations and fly again. Accept your reality in a positive light and make it good. 

Last week was very upsetting at school since the district has decided to change the level of  services provided to our transitioning English language learners. This change goes against what I believe is best for students. It's disheartening to realize that our prestigious district, which has the financial ability to offer these services, has instead chosen to offer minimal services to a very needy group of students due to the fact that these children's parents are unable to advocate for them. I could sit back and accept what the district is saying but instead I'm moving forward, advocating for the children and being the voice that they don't have. Of course I will do what I am being told to do by the leaders in my district but I will not just sit back and allow people to make decisions about my students without first trying to do what is right. I’ve had meetings and raised questions but it seems I’m not getting the results that I’m after. I suppose this card reminds me to face this ( and any other ) adversity with patience, determination and strength and while I need to accept what is happening right now, to continue to advocate for my students and believe that good will come from it. 

This Week's Mantra: I have the strength to quickly rise above my problems.

I am becoming: more comfortable with advocating for people who otherwise would not have a voice.

I am grateful for: the time that I get to spend with my family.

This week I will learn: how my body responds to eating an entirely plant based diet. 

This week I will finish: the laundry that has been piling up all around the house.

This week I will let go of: pressing snooze 5 times in the morning before getting out of bed.

This week I will create: a daily 5-minute self-care routine to start my day.

This week I will simplify: my life by organizing Lindsey's sports basket in the laundry room.

This week I will forgive: myself if I don't get everything done that I plan on.

Here's to a week of practicing courage and living brave!

One Little Word 2020- DO

One thing that I look forward to each year is choosing my one little word- OLW- a word that I will reflect on throughout the year. I will use it to guide my actions and to push me toward living my core desired feelings: engaged, true, strong, kind and connected.

This year I've chosen 'DO' as my OLW. 

I spend year after year adding items to my 'to do' list, yet at the the end of the year I feel as if I've accomplished NOTHING! I don't only mean tasks either.  I mean experiencing things, doing what I love, and what feels right. I mean truly LIVING the life that I want to live.

This year I want to stop wasting all of my time planning, making lists, watching videos, dreaming about what I want to do, where I want to go and what I want to experience. I want to stop making excuses. Stop searching for perfection{just the right time/ circumstances}. I just want to get out there and DO it! 

Weekly Intention-1

I decided that this year I would have some fun and use a mystical wisdom card deck to help guide me in setting my monthly and weekly intentions.

This month's intention is: Take a leap of faith: Remember there is always hope, new possibilities and miracles just waiting around the corner. Enjoy each day as an adventure and live each moment to the fullest. Take a leap of faith and trust where the universe is taking you. This is your time to seize your unlimited potential and embrace yourself for new beginnings, adventure and joy.

My weekly card reading: Cheer up- Live in the moment: Don't dwell on the past, as it cannot be changed. Do not obsess about the future as things beyond your control can happen at any time. Do something spontaneous this week. Just live in the moment and enjoy what you are doing. Be still and go with the flow. If you are feeling exhausted or disheartened, just rest and do nothing. Nurture yourself to re-energize for tomorrow. Do what you need to do the cheer up!

This card is absolutely perfect for this week, as I head back to school and back into our crazy schedule. I'm trying hard to take it one day at a time and not feel complete overwhelm when filling out my planner for the week. Trying to think about ways that I can still fit joy and fun into a hectic schedule and how to stay true to my core desired feelings. I want to allow myself to rest if I feel exhausted and to ask for help if needed. 

This Week's Mantra: I live for today, and I feel cheerful!

I am becoming: afraid that if I don't get serious about my health, I'm going to get very sick. 

I am grateful for: having all 3 of my children home together for a few more weeks. 

This week I will learn: how to photograph my artwork in manual mode.

This week I will finish: my angel painting that I started before Christmas.

This week I will let go of: staying up late to watch Youtube videos.

This week I will create: a winter schedule that will work for me. 

This week I will simplify: my life by cleaning out the mudroom closet.

This week I will forgive: myself if I don't get everything done that I plan on.

Here's to a cheerful week of living in the moment!