living well. – Dancing in the rain!

FANTASIC February! -W.I.S.E. Project 2016

February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 michd74Leave a comment

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If you listened to my weekly Podcast on Living a GOOD LIFE, you already know that I think that the W.I.S.E. Project has been a success for me so far and how excited I am to engage in the W.I.S.E. principles for February. If you have not listened but would like to, you can listen HERE

Februarys W.I.S.E. Principles are :

Worthiness~ I know that I am deserving of the time I invest in myself to live a happier and more fulfilling life. In February I will make choices, keeping in mind that the time I spend on myself is worth it!

Inspire~ I love that feeling of being truly inspired by something. I find inspiration in nature, in art, in music and in interactions. I want to find that one thing that stimulates and motivates me, igniting excitement and change!

Simplify– A simple life is a happy life. I will embrace anything that makes my life simpler. Whether this means de-cluttering, pre-prepping meals, less obligations…I am all in.

“The Mother of genius is simplicity”

Empower-Being in control of my life and happiness makes me feel very powerful and sharing my experiences through blogging and podcasting not only keeps me accountable to myself but hopefully I can empower others to make changes to lead their own best life!

As a side note I was thinking the other day about how much I love that feeling of being in the mountains. The crisp, fresh air, the larger than life landscapes, Caribbean blue lakes nestled into mountainsides. The feeling I feel when I am there is best described as gratefulness and I think I need more of that in my life. I know that, as much as I love the mountains and the ocean and the feeling I get when I am there, what I am looking for is not there, it resides in me. I want to have that feeling, everywhere I go!

Have a FANTASTIC February! You are worthy! Be inspired. Be W.I.S.E.!

I would love to hear your ideas about what inspires you and what “Happy Hacks” you have to simplify your life.

Chat soon

Michelle

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE- W.I.S.E. Project 2016

January 13, 2016January 13, 2016 michd742 Comments

One of the things that I want to accomplish with my W.I.S.E. Project is to be more mindful. I am not paying much attention to the news right now and not watching much TV because I am pretty focused on the here and now of my life and trust me that takes up plenty of time. If you are following along you know that I have already noted a significant difference in my happiness level, my energy level and my overall well being.

As fantastic as that is, I know that I have a lot of work to do. I tried to make a list of all the things I wanted to work on and when I filled the page I decided that I was defeating the purpose of being in the moment if I had pages and pages of things to stress over.

One thing that is bugging me is my inability to rise and greet the world in the morning like those people do in fairy tales, they sit straight up in their spotless bedroom, move aside their bright white bedding, stretch their toned, tanned arms over their head, run their fingers through their playfully messy but otherwise gorgeous silky hair and put a smile on their notably flawless, make-up free face. Then without further adieu, like moaning, sighing, swearing, hitting snooze or putting their covers over their head for five more minutes, knowing full well it will be half an hour they get in the shower where they sing as they lather their hair. They emerge from the washroom as if stepping off the cover of In Style Magazine to kiss their picture perfect children that they haven’t had to yell at ten times to get up, they are sitting quietly at the kitchen table with their orange juice waiting for Mom to whip them up a delicious and filling breakfast. Mom is clearly going to work with her brown Italian leather briefcase nearby but she is not in a hurry, her children come first, and then her husband of course, who emerges out of nowhere with a to go mug of coffee for her and passes her the lunch he lovingly made (there is probably a love note inside the brown paper bag). She touches his sexy dark hair and lightly traces the length of his face with perfectly manicured fingers. He gives her a devil may care grin, he is sporting just a hint of stubble and he winks at her with his incredible green eyes that don’t appear to have just woken up. The family embraces and all smiles they recite some stupid fucking family cheer about being fabulous and embracing the day. I hate these imaginary people. Please tell me they are not real because I just can’t do it!!

I love the morning. I do not love getting up. No matter how early I go to bed I will manage to lay in bed till the last possible second.

On Sunday Haley and I planned to do our rockin 80s dance party work-outs at 6:30 in the morning, when Monday morning rolled around we unanimously decided that 6:30 p.m. was a time that worked better for countless reasons. It did work. It has been lots of fun. Never mind that my body isn’t used to all the squats and lunges and for two days I cried out every time I had to sit down. By the end of day Tuesday my co-worker caught me falling into my office chair.

Today I added music to my morning routine. I chose wake up smiling: Oldies Morning from Google Play. It’s the music your mother’s mother loved. It really does help. I had ten extra minutes this morning, only because I had to pee so bad! The music and the ten extra minutes really started my day off right. It is a beautifully mild January day, the sky was a perfect shade of medium, morning blue and I swear I heard birds singing!

For two weeks I have also added drinking 16 oz of water to my morning routine, as soon as I wake up!

Most sources I’ve read recommend drinking 16oz of water right after you wake up, I drink a 500 ml bottle just as I am getting up and another as I am driving to work.

Here are five solid reasons to drink a big glass of water right when you wake up.

It fires up your metabolism. Drinking a large, cool glass of water after you wake up has been shown to fire up your metabolism by a whopping 24% for 90 minutes¹
You’re dehydrated when you wake up. You just went 7-8 hours without drinking any water! Even if your body isn’t telling you that it’s thirsty, it probably is.
Water helps your body flush out toxins. Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate. Getting fluids into your body right after your wake up will help your body flush out toxins first thing in the morning.
Your brain tissue is 75% water. When you’re not properly hydrated, your brain operates on less fuel, and you can feel drained, or experience fatigue or mood fluctuations.
You’ll eat less. Studies have shown that people who drink a glass of water before every meal lost 4.5 pounds over a three-month period, because “it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories”, and people “feel full as a result”
Your body is 72% water, and you don’t have enough water in you when you wake up. Drinking a big glass of water first thing in the morning is a great way to rehydrate, and start practicing your “badass-ery” from the moment you wake up.

Go Forth with your day and be W.I.S.E. be well and be Badass!!

Don’t forget to you January’s W.I.S.E. principles during your day, Wonder, Imagination, Smile, Energize!

Getting W.I.S.E.

January 10, 2016January 10, 2016 michd746 Comments

When I said lets chat soon I didn’t expect a month to pass but that’s what happened and I am not going to beat myself up over it. First of all I am so glad I started the W.I.S.E project, I needed it. An acquaintance said to me, “It doesn’t make sense, you are always happy!” Then begs the question, “What is happiness?” It’s like anything “You’ll know it when you see it!”

For the most part I try to stay positive and I would say I am generally a happy person but I was letting things in my life control me instead of me controlling them. Just the simple act of deciding to take control of my mind, my life and slow down and enjoy the little things has been amazing!

Wanting to be happier in no way means that I am depressed or that I am unhappy with my life. I have a good marriage and a wonderful family, I enjoy my job but I really have not been getting the best out of my life.

I was existing, and doing everything in my life on autopilot like a lot of busy moms. I was shoving food in my face without really tasting it, starting five books but never finishing them, snapping at my family.

I am smart enough to realize I cannot change anyone but me and I think I am off to a great start!

However…it has only been a little over a week.

Christmas was not great for me. I can remember waking up everyday caught up in a mass of tangled sheets and feeling worse than the day before. I felt this heaviness pushing me down. I was not only homesick, I had some personal issues that I was working through and though I realize that there are some things in life that we need to accept and move on, for me to do that I had to allow myself to feel everything that I was feeling and that was hard. For those of you that know me, you know I don’t shy away from feelings but the hard part was experiencing something painful all over again in memories and learning to accept it.

The day my husband went out of town for work I spent one whole day in my jammies feeling sad and watching movies that were even sadder. The next day I tore the house a part like a mad woman, decluttering, cleaning, getting rid of useless crap. That alone (though still a work in progress) helped me immensely. To organize my space helped me organize my mind. I saw a picture of our house we moved in just over five years ago. I remember the house seemed so large and I felt at the time so bare. I wanted to fill every inch. Well I did that and I hate it, I long to have it look like it did in that picture.

I have made a conscious effort to get more sleep and get up earlier. That to is a work in progress but it is definitely something that I am making progress with. I am eating better and drinking lots of water. I haven’t had bread, potatoes, junk food, alcohol or anything with cheese and gravy in over 10 days. YAY me. I am drinking a shit load of water. (By the way I have not given up alcohol, I barely make time for it as it is and red wine has minerals that are valuable to my well-being. I would be doing myself a disservice.)

I feel clearer and I feel like I have a lot more time because I am not tired and irritated 24/7

My phone still takes up a lot of my time and I hate it but baby steps people, baby steps…

My W.I.S.E. principals for January were wonder, imagination, smile and energize. I made a couple of notes and I am looking forward to the remainder of the month.

Wonder: I really do take pleasure simple in things like sunrises, sunsets, storm clouds, fluffy clouds, the color of the sky. I even saw the Northern lights the other night and they are always stunning. I don’t think this one will be an issue for me, I could lay in a field and look at the stars for hours on end. I don’t love the cold weather but I can see the beauty in winter, just like in any other season. I love the intricate designs the frost makes on the windows and the way a dusting of snow gently weights the branches down. I envy photographers who catch every moment of every season in all it’s beauty.

Imagination– I discovered I like to paint. I’m not an artist by any means but I’m not terrible and it relaxes me. I usually start with a plan but it is surprising how my mind leads the brush. That is imagination at it’s finest, when you can relax to a point that your ideas lead you, not the other way around. I also have put my imagination to the test in the kitchen and I have been successful. It’s easy to eat better when you are enjoying what you and can come up with creative and fun new ideas.

Smile– I try to smile at people all the time. When people smile back it is really uplifting. If could challenge you all to one thing, this would be it. Take a second to smile at people. It will make you feel good, or they will think you are crazy and walk the other way. It’s a gamble! But just smile. Happiness is a beautiful thing, it’s contagious and just smiling, even for yourself with lift your mood. Laugh lines look better than frown lines.

Energize– December was a soul sucker of a month so of course the thought of feeling more energized was appealing. I mentioned that I am eating better….to be clear a thousand times better. I am not eating mindlessly. I am taking the time to prepare and enjoy every bite of my food. I am not only paying attention to what I eat and what it does for me I am being creative with my meals and enjoying cooking again. I have more energy and I am getting plenty of rest. I have a massage booked and big plans to add more activity to my days. I read on my friends blog (check her out she is wonderful and funny) http://kerfree.com/ that using a Kettle ball is a quick, easy and effective workout. I think I will get one for work and home. I turn 42 next week and I know this is going to be a great year. I never liked to act my age so I am surely not about too start now.

Last night I started to read The Happiness Project and the Author Gretchen Rubin started a project similar to mine and her friends thought she was crazy. She is, crazy awesome and insightful. I can relate to a lot of it. Her life and circumstances are so much different than mine but she still has the same problems with her husbands clothes slung over chairs, stacks of crap on table, her kids things underfoot and though they seem like small things they have built up overtime to be frustrations that have weighed her down.

So far I have learned that I have a lot to learn and a lot of work to do but Rome wasn’t built in a day. One thing I do know, and Science says it’s so, is that a great deal of happiness is based on our own choices so choosing to be happier is a really great step.

If you are following along I would really like to hear from you and learn from your experiences. 40% of happiness is intentional and to me that is fabulous news. That means, no matter my genetics and my social economic circumstances I can deliberately change my happiness level. Would anybody ever deny that they wanted to be happier? Even the happiest people around would choose to be happier if they could. At least I think so…