July 2023 W.I.S.H. Thread, Hello Sunshine!☀️

[Summer2018]

Do you have a method of self-soothing that works well for you?
I sleep with a white noise machine. White noise or the sound of ocean waves helps me to self-soothe. Reading helps me a lot.
And what self-care activities are you planning for yourself today?
DD is off and doesn’t have plans which is rare, so we will be chilling with each other at home while the thunderstorms rage outside. We are also beginning to prepare for vacation.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I just finished 4.5 mile run, my longest yet since last summer. Other than that, I might go wild and shop somewhere indoors without a mask! Actually, I did the weekly family food shopping yesterday for the first time this year, so that would make it two in one weekend. Look at me going wild.

I am so pleased for you! Nothing beats that feeling of freedom after shielding from the world. Crossing everything that continue to meet your goals this month

 

[Oneanne]

Good topic - I agree volunteering is a good way to meet like-minded friends. I think another place would be community events, but they might be hard to initially attend by yourself. Near us, we have weekly music in the park and events held my our county art council working on adults learning new art skills.

Like some others in this thread, I'm also an introvert, so I'm mostly content doing things myself or just myself and my family. As I get older though, I do want to work on cultivating my friendships. As DH and I get closer to retirement, I know there will be many more hours to fill during the day. I'm hoping to have more time to do things to meet more people as well as occupy my time.

My mom is a much more social person than I am and is my role model as far as friendships go. My dad passed away 19 years ago, so she was a young-ish widow at 60. She still misses him terribly to this day, but she has such strong friendships because she takes the time to cultivate them. She is very generous with her time and just a very caring person. Many of her friendships have started and developed from church relationships, but not all of them.

Some of the things she has done / does to cultivate her friendships:

• She helps plan her class reunions each year (at some point they decided to start having one each summer) which had rekindled relationships she had with classmates from years ago. She's then very good at calling those ladies to get together after the planning is over for the year.
• She takes food to families at church who have had surgeries / babies, etc. This keep her involved with people - they often go out of their way to do nice things for her / include her with group activities they may know about.
• She volunteers at our local hospital re-sale shop. Most of the volunteers are retired ladies like her and she has developed many friendships with them.
• She has always liked hosting things and always invites small groups of people to her home for various occasions. She was the church organist for years and always had a choir party at Christmas, etc. This is turn gets her invited to other occasions with those people.
• She invites people out for a birthday lunch even if they are not super close friendship wise. That may sound a little weird to those of us who aren't very social, but it gets her a lot a meals out with different people and she has developed many relationships from that.

I really don't think she does any of that specifically to get friends, it's just a by-product of the way she lives her life.

Hearing about your Mom is so inspirational, thanks for sharing!

 

[Oneanne]

This morning I went to my first spin class and the others there were a mix of ages and abilities, so I fit right in. I managed to keep spinning (at my own rather slow pace) for the entire class and do feel like its going to be a good fit for me. That's my first self-care thing for today. Yesterday I saw a notice on the bulletin board at the library that the community theatre group in a neighboring town is performing 'Romeo and Juliette' and I'm going to head over there for the matinee this afternoon... that's self-care #2.

For self-soothing I've mentioned before that I stress chew, it has to be a very specific crunch to be effective. Knitting is another thing I turn to, kind of a mediation with movement. My acupuncturist recently told me how "defused attention" can be calming and centering... that's when you pause look at something broad, like the horizon at the ocean or a mountain range. I have been stopping to look and notice while on my walks and now will make it even more intentional.

 

[Oneanne]

I find walking outdoors, whatever the weather, really helps me to destress. Somehow being in nature just grounds me in the here and now. Walking by the sea is my favourite especially on a stormy day but most often I simply head out for a walk from home so tends to be alongside the River Lagan.
I’ve just recently returned home from a family holiday in Donegal and our bedroom faced the Lough. We left the windows open and I fell asleep each night to the sound of the waves lapping the shore. It was such a soothing way to end the day and made for a restful night. If I ever won the lottery I’d buy a house by the sea.

Today I am going to sit down with the food planner I filled out yesterday and work out what groceries I need ( and then go get them) so I am prepared for the week ahead. I have a family of fussy eaters that I have no problem catering for but somehow I always let my needs fall to the bottom and just eat whatever suits everyone else even if it’s not what suits me. Today I am changing that by putting my needs up there and making sure I hit my nutrition goals. I won’t let them starve lol as I have planned things that either they can eat or that can be adapted for them or alternatives that are easy to cook either alongside my meals or by the boys. Only right to provide them with some essential life skills by getting them to cook their own dinner occasionally right! I mean they are 25 and 16 so not babies. I was a mum by 25 so cooking an odd dinner isn’t going to do them any harm and will allow me to focus on what I need to do for me.

I'm also blessed to live by the water, my town actually have waters on three sides: a bay, then Puget Sound on one side and the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the other side... and they are all so different.

 

[newski_mom]

I'm so jealous of those who live near the water! I'm definitely land locked in the midwest. DH always talks about retiring someone near water, but I'm just not sure. It will greatly depend on where our kids end up. I can't imagine moving away if they stay semi-local. I think I would like to possibly be a snow-bird and go somewhere warm during our cold winters, but time will tell!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Do you have a method of self-soothing that works well for you?

Being outside is definitely one for me as well. No matter how stressed I am, if go sit outside with one of the cats for a bit and read, I feel calmer.

The DIS is actually one for me as well. I think it's the combination of social connection but at a slow pace.

And what self-care activities are you planning for yourself today?

DH and I went to the movies.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Self soothing lately is turning on theme park youtube and zoning out....I really should return to knitting as that used to help me chill in college. My roommates and I would watch our sitcoms and I would knit to keep my hands busy, never made anything interesting but it was calming.

 

[PAsFab5]

Good morning friends, my posting will be minimal as I am on vacation this week but wanted to share my breakfast view! Have a great day!!!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Beautiful sunrise!!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Happy Monday!!



What are you doing to start the week strong?

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

1. Going for a 30 minute walk.
2. Tracking my water intake
3. Getting my 5-a-day fruit and veg

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Monday is my cross-train day, so it's lifting today. Since I have the time, I'm going to pick a longer video for an extra challenge.

 

[PollyannaMom]

What are you doing to start the week strong?

This morning I'm tackling a project I've been putting off. It's not directly health-related, but it will give me an accomplishment boost that will bleed into everything.

Exercise-wise, I'm working some new stretches into my routine throughout the day.

 

[Oneanne]

End of last week was really stressful for work. With all the changes in play there was a lot of tension, like when an ameba stretches to the point of breaking in two. I think this week will be more of the same as people shift into new roles and ways of thinking, so my motivation this week is to do whatever is needed to maintain balance.

Today I'm going to work in the garden, tomorrow I'll have my second spin class (fingers crossed the padded bike shorts arrive in time for class because I am sore in places I didn't know could get sore), Wednesday I'm going in to the office for the first half of the day then I have a orthodontist appt, so that'll break up the week.

Other than that I'll keep up with the cleanse, or at least my version of it. I've decided I'm not going to get to doing it 100%, but want to lock in on the changes I've made using it as guidance... mostly being dairy, sugar and grains free.

And yesterday turned into kind of an emotions processing day, so I need to sort thru that.

 

[newski_mom]

I'm going to stick with my tracking this week. I did pretty good last week and even though I definitely didn't eat perfectly, it still helps me to track it anyway.

I'm also going on a walk tonight. I've been saying that since we got back from our trip on July 5th, but this morning I told DH I was going to do it, so I've said it outloud so maybe that will hold me to it better.

I was reading an article this morning about heart health and it made me realize just how important even just walking is for our bodies as we age. I need to do better.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Topic for Tuesday: We all know how easy it is to tell yourself you're going to start a new habit, but how do you maintain the discipline on day 3, 13, 33? What keeps you focused after that initial burst of "I can do this!" energy wears out?

 

[Summer2018]

Happy Monday!!

View attachment 778399

What are you doing to start the week strong?

Being so close to vacation...fancy dinners out, grilling steaks on the beach, fudge from Cabot's in Provincetown...I'm struggling not to start vacation early. Having my school BFF over yesterday was exactly what I needed to stay too busy to snack during the day. I made my low-fat quiche for lunch served with frozen raspberries in our ice water (deliciously refreshing). It was HOT and HUMID, so right after lunch on the patio we got right in the pool. We skipped the floats and immersed ourselves in the water up to our chins for 3 hours, only getting out once to refill our waters and pee. The entire time I was moving my arms and legs in different ways trying to get in my movement for the day. We never ran out of things to talk about and totally lost track of time. Before we knew it, DD and DH were coming home. I needed to start dinner, and she needed to go home and let her dog out.

Today I have my long-awaited pedicure and gel manicure appointment at my new place. (My day spa discontinued doing nails one week before my June appointment and my toes have looked terrible all summer, yeah I know, first world problems. My vision is such that I can't properly see to take care of my toes, but I've kept up on my fingernails. The gel manicure is just so that my nails stay nice all vacation long in spite of the sand and salt water). The appointment will take up my afternoon which will keep me out of trouble today. I'm going to try to eat more fruits and vegetables today...I've been lax.

The rest of the week, I will be home preparing for our trip. My challenge will be to behave myself, but I really want to try.

 

[Summer2018]

View attachment 778649
Topic for Tuesday: We all know how easy it is to tell yourself you're going to start a new habit, but how do you maintain the discipline on day 3, 13, 33? What keeps you focused after that initial burst of "I can do this!" energy wears out?

That's a great quote. Right now, the struggle is real. I know that I can get through today. I do believe that I need to take it "one day at a time."

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

View attachment 778649
Topic for Tuesday: We all know how easy it is to tell yourself you're going to start a new habit, but how do you maintain the discipline on day 3, 13, 33? What keeps you focused after that initial burst of "I can do this!" energy wears out?

This is exactly what I needed to see this morning! I struggle often to keep going and often give up if results aren’t quick enough. I think keeping the end game of being healthier and fitter and hopefully more able to enjoy the hot Florida sunshine in a year or two with my family and grandkids is a great motivator for me. My youngest really wants to go to a water park on that future trip and I know how many steps there are involved there so I am keeping that to the forefront of my mind. I love the fact that my 16year old son really wants to do those rides with me/us so that’s my ultimate aim- be fit enough to keep climbing those steps to a water ride .
My walk yesterday didn’t happen as we had unexpected visitors so I did 20 minutes strength workout after they’d gone and then walked 50 minutes this morning. It feels like a win as in the past I’d have just not bothered trying to make it up.
Another motivator is that I am putting £2 in a jar for every 1lb weight lost so hopefully as I drop a size or two I have the funds to treat myself to a new outfit/ manicure.