A Starting Line Of Sorts

I have covered 75 miles this last month! Mostly running them. I am going to call that a great beginning to getting out there and running outdoors again! (We have a ten month monsoon season here. Not really, but when it's only light for a short time each day and we are on a 240+ day streak of cold temperatures, it sure feels like it!)  I owe most of those miles to the beautiful ladies getting out there with me. Here's to amping that up a bit in June!

My husband is going back to school in eighteen days to finish his MBA in the next twelve months (as well as still running two businesses and consulting for another; it essentially means a 90 - 100 week for him) - so I am making a plan for survival! But this article was a wonderful heart-grab for me this weekend. (The second page especially is beautiful!) Remind me of it in a couple months when I am feeling the stress and needing to make good choices, OK? Here's my plan for this next season in a nutshell:

1. Counting gifts and making time for daily gratitude.
2. Asking my friends for help (being vulnerable.)
3. Having fun! (Running with girlfriends, enjoying sunshine, eating healthy, swimming in the lake with my kids, etc.)
4. Reading some books this summer to keep my head in the place of taking responsibility for my own inner choices, growth and happiness. (This one was my absolute favourite this last month.)
5. To keep making art and being creative. It keeps me honest. 

This is my last week of Whole30 - but I am planning on carrying it on. It has been so great for me. I keep trying to summarize why:

• It's the first way of really conscious eating I've done where I don't feel hungry, I don't feel deprived and I feel so incredibly good. 
• My running is completely improved by it (as is my muscle recovery when I push it.) I've added a lot of miles this month and I'm not suffering for it.
• I think I need a lot more protein in general and it really works for me to focus on that. 
• I have more energy, I sleep better, I don't have an afternoon slump of exhaustion, I feel consistently healthier and I don't have wild cravings at all (except those first few days when I was adjusting to it.) 
• My skin is clear, I take better care of myself, and I have even noticed a (very positive) effect hormonally. 
• It doesn't feel high-maintenance to me, or complicated, or like I have to figure out a lot of detailed things. 
• I absolutely know this is not for everyone - both my son and husband need way more carbs and grains to feel right and healthy. But both my daughter and I feel better. So I feel like I am just learning what is a good fit for us. I just listen to my intuition, our bodies' feedback and I pray a lot that God will lead me to individual research that is best for my kids and family.   
• My migraines have not stopped completely. I had a five day streak where I didn't have any but it still has been hit and miss. But because I feel so much better all around, I'm not disappointed about this way of eating. And I feel like I have been able to isolate more clues about the headaches.  
• The hard parts? Expense! (It's a lot of meat, veggies and fresh fruit - and sadly processed food is still much, much cheaper.) I do miss a glass of red wine some evenings, corn chips (with Mexican food) and I know I will want some things like potato soup in the autumn and some quinoa pasta with my meat sauce. But I'll add in some planned times of eating what I miss in a few months. 

Also - have you seen this? It's amazing. As is everything I've ever read that she writes. She continues to teach me so much.

"It takes a certain amount of effort to be miserable and another kind of effort to be happy, and I was willing to do the work of happiness." - Ann Patchett, Truth and Beauty

Happy beginning of Summer!