How-we-doing Humpday

After writing out last Wednesday's Pat on the Back post, I started brainstorming other things I should be grateful for.  Progress is progress.  Success is success.  I'd like to keep this up.  This week I'm happy about two food groups that I enjoy eating.

Whole Grains.  I LOVE whole grains!  I prefer brown rice to white rice.  I wish I could afford more wild rice...really adore that stuff!  I enjoy whole wheat noodles and bread.  Ezekiel bread with the sprouted grains - I love that too!  It makes no sense to refine a grain.  None.

Veggies.  I am not a picky eater.  I enjoy those odd veggies people have horror stories about.  I enjoy Brussels sprouts, Lima beans, and okra in any form.  In fact, since my last pregnancy I eat all the "A's" that I once could not fathom eating with joy.  That's right.  Artichoke, avocado, and asparagus are now welcome on my menu.  I've been known to turn up my nose at cooked greens (mustard, collard and turnip), but I can eat ANY greens raw and still savor them.

Vision Board...sort of?

I've always felt so lame making a vision board.  I act like I'm ashamed of my interests, passions and good memories.  Like I want to hide what makes me happy.  What a pointless habit. A disgusting waste of energy too. 

I'm working on creating a vision board on my computer desktop.  It shows random pictures of past events and memories that make me happy and/or motivate me.  I'm about half done with it.  I add a picture here and there when I have a spare minute. 

I'm also considering a photo album.  Real, hard copies of photos are SO much better than cropped, shrunk images, collaged onto an icon-crowded desktop.  The feel of a photo has a "macaroni and cheese" effect on me.  Comfort food. 

I seek the comfort of prints when all else fails.  And it works.  I'll see one of those photos, all by itself and not part of a busy collage.  That photo will make me smile.  That memory becomes more tangible when I hold a picture in my hand.  The moment captured becomes more real, more intimate. 

I often forget the amazing adventures I have been on.  Usually I'm too caught up worrying about the things I haven't done.  Waste of time and effort.  More positive moments are available in photo form to remind me of the thrill of whitewater rafting.  Camping trips.  That crazy, high train trestle I walked across.  Disneyworld.  The beach.  Sweet family moments.  Friends.  Family.  Connections. 

Pat on the Back

Do not let the last post fool you.  I do have bad habits.  But, I have made some positive changes.  Those positive changes are progress that I need to acknowledge, no matter how small they seem to be. 

Sugar.  I have eliminated white sugar from my coffee; rather, I switched to Agave Nectar.  It is true, you use less nectar than white sugar.  The taste is not as strong as honey - at least not the Agave in the Raw.  I'm sure the darker nectar is more intense.

Chocolate.  We all need a little chocolate.  It stimulates parts of my brain that otherwise seek out far worse substances.  It is a lesser evil.  I like dark chocolate, but lately I've only had milk chocolate around to nibble on.  I've gotten very good at portion control by eating only one or two rectangles off of a Hershey's bar or by eating only one little chocolate out of an Advent calendar.  Hershey's are approximately 17.5 calories per rectangle on a standard size bar; the Advent chocolates are about 15 calories each.