Learning new things

Relaxing on the couch with M, watching Band of Brothers (for the first time) with a glass of wine marvelling at how green and young these actors were before they become famous: James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Michael Fassbender, Simon Pegg and a bunch of others.

A very good end to a challenging week. Somehow I've ended up learning JavaScript: guess I might as well some new skills in the 'downtime' that I have. The basics seem easy, but it definitely gets difficult, fast.

I took the time out to walk and learn, enjoying the briefly beautiful autumn weather while doing some Rosetta Stone Portuguese lessons. I'm still not sure how much I'm learning from them, but hopefully they'll help me get less lost next time I'm actually in Brazil or Portugal.

On the nutrition front things have been decent. I've had plenty of produce for most meals, and breakfast and lunch have been about 95% vegan (which is a decent success rate in my eyes). There's been movement each day (boxing rounds on the bag, a strength circuit and definitely yoga).

I can't say I haven't been frustrated with how things are, especially regarding work, but that's all part of life I guess. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I've found that I develop most when I'm challenged.

That doesn't mean I don't take the time to make some things easier for myself. New yoga mats are a start (motivation is always higher when there's new stuff to try out).

Oh and taking a decent picture with a light, swish-y hair courtesy of a new haircut doesn't hurt.

I couldn't resist.

Motivation for the week

What a difference an productive/enjoyable/relaxing weekend makes. I feel so much more motivated to kick of the week on a good note rather than fall into the Monday blues, both at work and from a personal perspective.

The crisp Saturday morning shined bright and was the perfect send-off for the local farmers' market. We put in our winter meat CSA order, bought some farm-fresh eggs and vegetables, and marvelled at the beautiful, colourful ears of corn.

Last year in California, the weather pretty much sustained farmers' markets all year round. It's a very different story in Illinois, and while it makes the winter sadder for me, at least I have next summer to look forward to. 

A few more errands in the morning was followed up an hour of training at the local Wushu school. I'm finally feeling like my body is getting back into the groove and the tiny, little muscles all along the shoulders, hips, legs and ankles are finally co-operating with me again. 

As a reward for training so hard, I baked Tim Tams! Not really. Well, I did back Tim Tams but not as a reward, but for a bake sale at M's work. They turned out to be a lot of effort, and are nowhere near as attractive as the commercially available ones, but I like to think they're even better because they're made with love (and certainly not because you can't buy them here in the USA without spending a fortune).

Sunday kicked off with a circuit morning workout which is always more fun when M decides to join me in the apartment gym, followed by the chore that is house-cleaning. Lunch and shopping with new friends at the outlet stores to stock up on clothes for the 'cooler ' months (puffy jackets seem de rigour for winter) followed by more baking capped the weekend. 

All that, plus fitting in some yoga and Rosetta Stone Portuguese lessons means I feel accomplished, but rested. Not a bad mindset heading into the work week. 

Time for a few work calls, then a sweaty workout, and more work calls. Monday, you're going to be awesome. 

Weekend Musings

Weekends always feel too short, I think we all need 4 day work weeks, and 3 day weekends. I'm still trying to figure out what to do when the weather gets even colder given how freezing it is, and quickly it got so. 

Thankfully there's always warm curry mee to sooth the soul. So, maybe my vegan plan got derailed this weekend. Between beautiful Malaysian food, and large home-cooked breakfast, there really was no argument. 

My goal is to eat less meat in general, so I guess that affords me some flexibility. Speaking of flexibility, a little wine is always appreciated at the end of a long week. I'm still learning to appreciate Californian reds given I'm used to the robust Australian reds. 

Everything in balance though - I did make time to go to training (which I've been missing), walked for 2.5 miles on the treadmill while watching TV, and stretched our my poor muscles with some relaxing yoga flows. Just enough to keep active and my body mobile. 

I still haven't planned out my meals and workouts for next week, and really should given I'll be on the road again for a bunch of the time. I know that I'll have to otherwise keeping on track will be more challenging than it needs to be. But sometimes motivation is just lacking. 

Thinking about my goals for the month though might get me back on track. How about: 

• 20 minutes of yoga each day to treat my muscles 
• As much produce as possible before the winter hits for my health and to nourish my body
• Setting enough aside enough time with myself to figure out what I need