What I’m Reading: First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety,
by Sarah Wilson. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely noticed my anxiety increasing – not to the level of a disorder, but in a way that affects my sleep and what I feel willing and able to do in my daily life. This book combines information and research about anxiety with the author’s personal journey through her anxiety, mania, and depression. It’s raw and real and a good reminder that we’re not alone.
What I’m Learning: We recently attended a knife skills class through the library system and learned how to carve flowers out of apples, radishes, strawberries, and small peppers. While my technique definitely could use some improvement, it was fun to try something totally different and gain a little confidence with a paring knife. Would love to try this swan apple!
What I’m Eating: This chocolate quinoa breakfast bowl from The Minimalist Baker. I’d never tried quinoa for breakfast before, but I love it for it’s protein and fiber. This bowl is easy to whip up, is vegan, high in protein, and tasted amazing with the fresh blueberries I picked up the other day. I’m always looking for variety in my breakfasts because I think it’s easy to get stuck in a waffles/pancakes/eggs rut. Especially it can be difficult to find breakfast recipes that are easy to scale down. Only two people live in my household, and oftentimes for breakfast it’s just me. Many recipes are written for four or six people and depending on what it is, can be difficult to scale back for just one or two people. I made a double batch of the quinoa and saved half to mix in the chocolate/sugar when I reheat it.
What I’m Loving: The Crane Wife, by CJ Hauser (published in The Paris Review).
“These were small things, and I told myself it was stupid to feel disappointed by them. I had arrived in my thirties believing that to need things from others made you weak. I think this is true for lots of people but I think it is especially true for women. When men desire things they are “passionate.” When they feel they have not received something they need they are “deprived,” or even “emasculated,” and given permission for all sorts of behavior. But when a woman needs she is needy. She is meant to contain within her own self everything necessary to be happy.
That I wanted someone to articulate that they loved me, that they saw me, was a personal failing and I tried to overcome it.”
What I’m Grateful For: Building up a habit of movement every day. This is the first time in my life where I have opted into exercise more often than I opt out. I have been tracking my yoga habit for the last 153 days, and I have logged a yoga session on 92 of those days (60% of the time). I also often opt into walking where I need to go. I have always thought of myself as a weak person physically; now, I realize that I don’t have to be weak, that I can build up a habit of exercise that I enjoy, and reap the physical and mental benefits of doing so. Yoga with Adriene publishes a monthly calendar of yoga sessions around a central theme, and I often use this to decide which video to do on a given day.
What I’m Trying Out: The Brady Street Festival is today, and from the pictures on Facebook it looks like quite the event! Particularly hoping to catch the Drag Queen show tonight!
Have a happy weekend!
pieces of paper (cranes & airplanes) 