On Wednesday, I hosted a dancing event while at work. Even though I was on the job, I still managed to find time to dance to two songs - about 8 minutes worth of activity. Later in the evening, Zilya and I met Jinn for some walking in the market (30 min) and then returned to her dorm to play games. We tried out a new contraption called the Kin-ect and I really enjoyed it! I danced to four songs for about 15 min. worth of activity!

On Thursday, I had green bean casserole for lunch - which amounted to two servings of vegetables and included the vegetable of the week. I had two glasses of water and another serving of vegetables with my dinner.

Goal Setting

Week four at this school and I'm incredibly homesick. Last week I struggled with even the most basic of tasks and allowed myself to become completely overwhelmed with so much that was outside of my control. But I am slowly learning that berating myself for being two steps behind isn't really motivating myself to move forward. Instead, when I criticize myself, I find that I divide into two sides - one angry and shaming, and the other scared and holding on to old habits with a tenacity that's unshakable. It really creates a Chinese finger trap situation where as long as I pull, I'm met with incredible resistance, but when I start allowing the outcome to be what it will and stop struggling, I find myself free to make any choice I want. Never is the old adage, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" more true for me than now. Even if I have to take a hundred first steps, I'll still be farther along than if I never took a step at all.

Yesterday, a new interactive communication/gaming tool was released. I have been struggling with whether spending my coin on this is a valuable use of my coin or not. I'm also struggling with what I should require of myself before achieving this reward. On the one hand, I'm considering setting an xp or level goal, but on the other, maybe I should set a goal of x number of days where I participated, or how many times I positively reinforce myself. I wonder if any of my peers have any suggestions?

Lackluster

Lately I feel like the only student who is posting on a regular basis. Perhaps the other students are so engaged in their work that they simply don't have the time. I failed to live up to the two glasses of water yesterday, although I did have one glass, and one serving of vegetables. While on a lunch outing with Nelo, I tried two different kinds of leafy green dishes. One was called coleslaw and it was mildly appealing. The other, collard greens, left a foul taste in my mouth. The acrid flavor of this dish made it inedible for me, although not for Nelo whom upon tasting it remarked "hmm...a little bland".

Stress and Fitness

Again this week, I am clearly seeing the link between stressors in my life and poor decisions. Last night, I visited a street vendor for the first time in months because I spent the day working so hard that I didn't take time to eat until it was too late to do anything else. I paid dearly for that decision as my stomach rumbled and grumbled the night through. Even this morn I feel weary and under the weather. I know that one of my goals is to feel better, but I can't do that if I keep sabotaging myself. Today I am working twice as hard, and the only way I know how to deal is by eating. I will make a pact to drink at least two glasses of water today, whatever else. At least then I can say I'm attempting to keep on track.

Weekend Events

The weekend past was a busy one for me as I continued my studies of Health and Fitness here. On Friday, I did very little - only taking time for a few glasses of water, although at a dinner to celebrate calamitus' hockey game, I partook in a turkey burger...a very different animal from the beef I've come to know. Also, I finished my first challenge, which was to maintain my healthspiration page for one week. I have found this resource to be very motivating and invaluable.

Saturday, however, started off early - meeting Zilya and Calamiuts at a salon in Gym to work on our fitness. We spent an hour and a half using various contraptions and weights to tone out bodies to the fullest. Thereby I finished my second challenge, visiting Gym twice! Later in the day, Zilya and I met Biirna and did some browsing at the local bazaar. Probably 45 min. of the experience was 'workout' and the rest was fun :).

Sunday, Zilya came over and we went to Gym again, this time in hopes of attending a class taught by local arts masters, however, the class was empty and we decided to workout instead. 45 min. later, we finished up and headed to the pub where I had a stirfry with squash, tofu, and other vegetables. I finished my third challenege yesterday and am extremely proud of myself for completing all three!

Eating Healthy for Less

I was working on my health-spiration blog when I came across this article addressing the healthiest foods under $1. The article is VERY illuminating and has several healthy (and cheap) meal suggestions. I recommend that everyone check this out!