Adjustments and Attitude

My week feels like it's been sandwiched between positivity and stress. The most frustrating part for me is that I know there were things I could have done earlier to help avoid or at least minimize my stress.

Earlier this week I wrote about making necessary adjustments to my schedule in order to accommodate what was important in my life at that point in time. I do believe this is important. After all, we can't control everything, so it's good to be flexible so as not to feel like you're not getting things done or making progress (towards whatever you hope to achieve). At the same time, I have to admit that sometimes it feels like making adjustments is something that I'm always doing.

I'm trying to stay positive and optimistic, but there comes a time - like this morning when a sudden burst of coughing had me up at 5 am - when you think, 'Enough is enough!! I just want things to be normal.'

So this week didn't go as planned, but it definitely had some good outcomes.

Positives: 
- I enjoyed my yoga class at the new gym. I'll definitely be continuing.
- I passed my driving theory test with flying colors. I'll confess, I found it tough. Even though I studied hard (crammed for 72 hours to be honest), I walked out of the test room not feeling very confident at all. I was super relieved when I got my results. I could literally feel the weight being lifted off my shoulders. Now to prepare for the practical test.
- I've been on eBay and various other sites trying to sell furniture and other things that I realize are just not needed anymore. It's tedious, but people have been buying. It's been great to see things go!

Things to work on:
- This week, dinners were a struggle for me. Aside from Monday evening, I found myself just throwing things together without taking much time to cook, which is something I love to do. I spend a lot of time making food for D and so I get a bit burnt out and don't focus on foods for me (we're doing different levels of the Whole Life Challenge). I need to find more time to cook proper meals for myself. Mindless eating, even if it is eating healthy foods, is not something I want as part of my routine/life anymore.

- Lack of planning and major procrastination is what led to my mega cram session for my driving theory test. Part of me is glad I did it this way as I don't know how I would have retained so much info over a longer period of time. That being said, I was upset at myself for not being a better planner. I knew that this test was coming up - I should have made daily studying a priority (hmmmm I remember telling myself this years ago when I was in school). It was an unnecessary stress I put on myself.

Even though I do have a lot going on, I need to be better at prioritizing and working efficiently. I don't want to get so bogged down in things that I neglect to do things that make me happy -- focus on my own training, cooking good meals for myself, sorting through my things (and not just things for the house). I guess it all sounds a bit selfish -- need to focus on me, me me. I don't plan on neglecting all the other things, I'm just don't want to lose myself in the process. Does that make sense?

The biggest challenge with this will be for me to actually be at peace with my choices. I don't want to take an hour for myself for yoga class and then be lying on the mat thinking - Oh man, I should be home unpacking more boxes.

I wish it was easy - after all, I'm the only one putting these pressures on myself. You'd think it would be simple for me to tell myself to relax. I just need to remember that doing things that make me feel happier and calmer lead to overall productivity and satisfaction.

I'll say that again: Doing things that make me feel happier and calmer lead to overall productivity and satisfaction.

Ok. That's my mantra for the upcoming week. Let's see how it goes.

Coriander and Chili Chicken Curry

I had a craving for coriander - isn't that a strange thing to crave? I just couldn't get the smell of coriander out of my mind, so I decided to include it in our dinner. The spicy kick from the jalapeno balanced out the sweetness of the coconut milk and carrots. I added lots of fresh coriander towards the end, which gave it great flavor as well as fragrance.

the curry simmering in the pot

on a plate with a small baked sweet potato 

Ingredients
1 onion, medium size, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 jalapeno peppers
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

400 ml coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt to taste
pinch of cinnamon

4 chicken breasts thinly sliced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 bunch fresh coriander

Directions
1) Sauté the onion and garlic in the extra virgin oil until slightly colored
2) Add the jalapeno to the onion and garlic mix and sauté for 1-2 minutes
3) Add the chicken to the pan and lightly brown the breast strips
4) In a separate pot, add the coconut milk, coriander, and spices. Mix and bring to a simmer.
5) Add the chicken and onion mixture to the coconut milk mix. Cook for 5 minutes.
6) Add the chopped carrots and coriander leaves. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes on low heat.

I would have loved to have had this with a bowl of rice or some warm naan, but since I'm on the Whole Life Challenge, I opted for a baked sweet potato instead. Again, the spice from the chili helped cut through the sweetness making it a nice mix of sweet a savory.

Hello June!

Last week's enthusiasm about joining a gym was thwarted by the onset of a chest infection + hay fever. It was mega-frustrating to deal with, but by now I'm totally used to things not going according to plan. The thing is, even if I can't get through my day doing exactly what I want to do, I know by now how to stick to the basics -- drink lots of water, get in some exercise, and take care of what needs to be taken care of.

In the past I would really let setbacks get in the way of my overall progress. Now I know that I don't need to do that. One setback doesn't mean failure - it means that the plan for that day needs to be adjusted.

Realizing this and being able to follow through with making necessary changes has really benefitted me - not only in terms of me taking care of my health but also in terms of how I approach things in life in general.

Today was a much better start to my day and to a new month. To be honest, when I looked outside and then looked at the calendar I was a bit taken aback that it was June. Seeing the wind, rain, and overcast skies did not make it feel like summer was approaching at all! It was a bit disorientating. Nonetheless, the weather is the weather, and whether it feels like it or not, June is here!

I feel like the months have just passed me by, but when I take a look at it, it's not like I wasted the days away.

From my trip to Los Angeles for my Jiu-Jitsu instructor certification in January to earning my Pink Belt to starting to teach my own Women's Self-Defense class to buying a new house ... the days have been busy and productive.

At the same time, things like my weight lifting and my blogging have not been given as much attention as I would have liked. I hope June is the month for me to turn that all around and it started off right with a lovely yoga session at the new gym.

Although the yoga session itself was great for my stretches, it sometimes felt a bit overwhelming as it was an hour full of instructions -
'Now lie down, point your toes towards the mirror, raise your arms above your head, point your fingers towards the back wall, look right, stretch left, inhale, exhale ... ...' so on and so forth for a whole hour! Kind of made my head spin. Still, the instructor was good and I will definitely be back to her class.

I've found that no matter how much food prep I do on Sunday, some of the prep tasks spill over into Monday, so I spent most of the day in the kitchen plus doing errands around the house before heading out to teach our Bullyproof class. It's so great seeing the kids progress!

So, June started off well. My big task of the week is to pass my theoretical driving test. To say that I should have started studying sooner is an understatement! That's going to be my focus for the rest of the week - with stretching, lifting, running, and Jiu-Jitsu-ing whenever I can :)

New Chapter

Yesterday I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of moving to England. I have to say, it's been quite a year. From packing up my belongings and saying good-bye to the country I got used to calling home to settling down in a new country -- so much has happened. The biggest change has definitely been shifting from teaching in a university to teaching Jiu-Jitsu. As I continued to get more involved in Jiu-Jitsu training it was definitely something I wanted to do, but it wasn't something I saw becoming a reality so quickly.

celebrating my 1 year anniversary - I thought it would be fitting to wear a traditional Kuwaiti dress as a reminisced about Kuwait and planned for my future in London

The move and my adjustment to this new life has been good. I've taken it all in stride and I'm happy with where things are headed. That being said, I don't really feel like I've been myself over the past few months. I was kind of moving from one day to the next without really feeling fully focused. I'm hoping that now that I've moved into the new house and things are finally starting to fall into place that all that is about to change.

Today was the perfect day to start that change.

My 2nd year in England started with a renewed commitment to myself. I've spent a LOT of time trying to get the house sorted, doing tons of cooking, and running errands. While that aspect of my life will not change, what I want to do is reorganize how I'm handling everything. I found too many days to just pass by without me taking the time I need to get my own things done (studying, lesson planning, blogging, etc.). I also spend so much time prepping food for D and the household that I don't often take time to prepare proper meals for myself. I need that to stop. I am committed to eating 3 proper healthy meals a day. No more snacking as meals, even if it is on healthy foods. I need to eat properly.

In addition to all that, I joined a new gym! I actually went and signed up last week but today was my first day there. It felt good to be back to weight training.

The new gym is close to my house so that's quite convenient. It's fairly large - huge cardio section, a spin studio, an aerobics studio, several resistance machines and an ok size free weight area. They've got a lap pool as well as an indoor basketball court. It definitely has all the basics for a good workout. I think what it's lacking is a bit of character and atmosphere, but I'm going there to get in my workouts so I guess that doesn't matter too much. I'm also not too keen on the fact that I have to wear a wristband while I'm at the gym -- but that's a minor inconvenience too.

 a glimpse of part of the cardio section

I didn't want to take too many photos on my 1st day. 

 the wristband - is it really necessary?

I started off with a basic workout today -
dynamic stretching
warm-up on the treadmill
45 minutes weight training
cool down on the treadmill
cool down stretching

decided to wear a new pair of trainers to my new gym

It felt good to be back in the gym.

I'm hoping that this renewed focus and commitment to myself will help me reach my next set of goals.

Gym Membership

I haven't been feeling like myself for the past month. There's just been too much going on and I feel like I've just been scraping by.

My food has been on point - but I've been so tired, stressed, and distracted that I haven't really been enjoying cooking or eating. I'm glad the Whole Life Challenge has been helping me stay on track and forcing me to cook/eat at home otherwise I know that there would have been many, many takeouts ordered over the past month.

My exercise has been regular but minimal - This week was definitely better in terms of exercise as I got back on the mats for Jiu-Jitsu training and have been attending more classes to assist with coaching. It's felt great. My wrist injury is holding me back from joining in full force, but I'm taking steps to improve it. I've definitely felt lost without my weight-training and as much as I have been trying to take advantage of working out outdoors, I have to admit that unless the weather conditions work in my favor, I've stayed indoors and haven't done as much as I would have liked. Not having a gym membership has felt weird. I don't think I've ever gone for any period of time over the past 8 years without a gym membership -- so not being anchored to a gym has felt strange to me. Thankfully that changed from today!

I signed up at a local gym (membership starting from Tuesday). The gym itself is pretty good, but what was most appealing was the fact that it has yoga/pilates class almost every morning, and that works really well with my schedule - I just hope the instructor is good.

I've only signed up for a one month membership at the moment. I want to see how I like it before committing to this particular gym for a year. The location is really convenient for me so I hope it works out.

I've found that it's so easy to get distracted with daily errands and little tasks that other, possibly more important, things don't get done. I've realized that by losing myself in the set up and organization of the new house that I've been neglecting my own overall well-being. That's had an impact on my sleep, my mood, and my overall enjoyment of things in general. I really do think that with a gym membership and yoga classes to look forward to, I'll feel more like myself. I need to get back to basics and focus on my long-term goals.

I can't wait to get started!

Settling In

I've been absent from pretty much everything for the past week or so as I've been packing up one house and moving into another. It's been busy to say the least. I've been trying to take things in stride and not let myself get too overwhelmed with things -- but I've been exhausted. On my feet from 5 am until the late hours of night packing, moving, unpacking, etc. I'm happy to say that things are coming together, slowly but surely. I just need to remember to be patient.

Although I have a lot of work ahead of me in terms of the house, I've made a promise to myself that from this week I would try as much as possible to get back to my normal routine. Last week, as a stroke of luck, because of the elections in England, all the Jiu-Jitsu classes were cancelled. As a result, I didn't have to go to work all week, which meant I could focus solely on the house. It was not that I didn't want to teach/train, but I knew that I wouldn't have been able to (definitely not in the capacity that I would like) if I was dealing with that plus the move -- so it was kind of a blessing that I could focus solely on the house.

I have to say, being on the Whole Life Challenge is what has helped me stay the most on track during this stressful time. On more than one occasion it would have been very easy for me to give in and order a pizza or grab a croissant for breakfast. However, the food parameters of the challenge helped me stay on track. I prepared meals in advance and had healthy snacks on hand if needed. The exercise and stretching portion of the challenge was a bit more difficult as I was SO tired. However, I got in small workouts during the day (at home) and even though I felt lazy in the evening to stretch, I made sure I did it and was always thankful as it felt great after a long day of running around and lifting boxes.

So all in all I've been doing ok, but to be honest, it hasn't been 100% focused effort. From today, however, that changes. Even though there's a lot to do, I need to get back to some sort of routine and make sure I carve out some time for myself that doesn't involve sifting through boxes to ensure I keep my sanity!

I haven't really gotten off to a great start as my sleep broke just past midnight and I haven't been able to get back to sleep (it's almost 5 am). I know that rest is important so I will try and catch up on some zzz's during the day if I can. Things don't always go according to plan -- but you gotta make the best of your circumstances anyway.

Hello May

I knew that things were serious when I wrote sat down to write a list and 'Must Do' was the heading instead of 'To Do'. Yes, it's come to that point in time where there are tons of things that must be done, and they all pretty much need to be done NOW!

My instinct is to panic, procrastinate, and pout. However, my attempt to adapt a new calmer, much more mature perspective on life (which I wrote about in a past post entitled: Living a Good Life) has been a great help.

Instead, I'm just trying to take things in stride. There's a lot going on so it's natural to feel a bit stressed, but I'm not letting it overwhelm me. I just have to tackle things one task at a time and not let myself get distracted by things that are out of control.

Moving house is a lot of work, but it's not impossible.
Starting the Whole Life Challenge will require discipline, but it's not impossible.
Getting my chapter edited for publication will require time, but it's not impossible.
Preparing for my classes will require a few hours of prep, but it's not impossible.
Getting in my daily exercise and stretching will require getting up a bit earlier in the morning, but it's not impossible.

You get the picture.

It's taking this more laid back approach that has enabled me to not freak out when a dollop of dark blue paint fell on my brand new cream carpet or when only part of my furniture delivery arrived with the other part not to be found anywhere.

I've realized that there are so many opportunities each day to freak out and panic ... but there are also just as many opportunities to stay calm and be productive.

It's still a challenge, but each time I succeed, I feel happy.

It's a new month. I'm going to do my best to make it a good one!