Kick Ass & Take Names

Yeah, About That

- thecolorcodedlife@gmail.com 2 Comments

So basically I let life get in the way recently and haven’t posted.

It’s not that I haven’t been writing. It just that I have written so much, and then something else happens, and then I am unsure what to actually post.

It started with Saturday, June 11th.

  • I wrote a piece about what it’s like to grow up female. I wanted to explain how hard it can be sometimes for men to understand the little and pervasive ways that women deal with society’s expectations every single day.

Sunday, June 12th

  • Then I woke up Sunday morning to the horrific and devastating news about the Orlando shooting. I didn’t want to post the piece about growing up female after that because it paled in comparison to what others were dealing with and the shared pain that we all were feeling.
  • Again, I sat down and wrote out my feelings about the terror in Orlando and how hard it can be to even express these feelings after something like that.

Monday, June 13th

  • But before I could even get that post published, a shitstorm of politics rained down about gun control, and Donald Trump just generally being an asshole.
  • At which point I AGAIN wrote out my views on the current shitshow of our gun laws and the presumptive Republican nominee.

The Rest Of That Week

  • And for the third time, before I could publish anything, something got in the way. This time, I got so fed up with everyone being hateful to each other on Facebook that I just took myself off the social media channel and took a break from the internet.

Just in case you were wondering where I have been these past few weeks, there you go. Plus a visit from my baby sister was thrown in there, so obviously I was showing her around my new city instead of sitting inside and writing.

Luckily (or unluckily) for you, I am back at it!

I may still post my writings from the past few weeks in the upcoming one, but we shall see.

The important thing is that I am writing again, and that is what I need to be doing.

Not to mention – THE CHALLENGES!

 

(1) MEDITATION

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I am currently reading Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy by Rick Heller.

(And by currently reading, I mean I started it last night)

However, I am already highlighting away and learning a lot about the overall practice of meditation, as well as how to use it for myself.

I will definitely be sharing what I’ve learned and how my practice is going in the upcoming posts.

 

(2) GETTING UP EARLIER

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In an effort to follow this challenge (Get up earlier and use that time to focus on something you love – DBQ) I have been getting up a half an hour earlier.

I have been using that time to read my magazines and just luxuriate in being awake before the rest of the world. It has also meant that I have been getting to work before everyone else, which has been really nice as well. I can use that time to get my brain sorted, go through emails, and get on top of any writing I need to do, before the world comes crashing in.

I will definitely be continuing this throughout the challenge year.

 

(3) WRITING TO SOMEONE, ANYONE

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The challenge was this: Send a card to someone (as many different someones) every day. – MA

And last year, I had asked for a bunch of #Skimmbassador’s addresses to write them Holiday cards. Sadly, I didn’t get through all of them, and I wanted to make it write.

Which is where this comes in! I am pulling that list back out and writing each of them a postcard or letter to share the love. I plan on sending at least 7 a week, and hopefully many more.

 

(4) READING IS MY SPORT

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But seriously. If it was an Olympic sport, I would get gold. One of the challenges was: Read all of the books I own – Me

In an effort to do that, read The General’s Mistress by Jo Graham over the weekend.

My assessment?

  • Loved the historical aspect of early in Napoleon’s military campaigns and reign
  • Loved that she took ownership of her life
  • Felt meh about some of the “romance” aspect. Sometimes I felt like the author threw it in there just to have it
  • Great beach read, wouldn’t read it if you want something intellectual
  • Overall, I would give it a 3.5 out of 5

I plan on doing this with all the books I’m reading, so feel free to check them out (literally! #librarypun)

 

There you go, folks! Where I’ve been and where I’m going – at least for now.

Catch ya on the flip side!

Always,

Amanda

Sometimes, Nothing Is Harder Than Just Starting

- thecolorcodedlife@gmail.com

Well, it’s been a week of good and bad in terms of following my challenges.

The Good:

  • Got up and went to yoga on Wednesday and felt amazing for it
  • Meditated Monday – Wednesday
  • Did planks Monday & Tuesday
  • Got up earlier than normal all week long (minus today)

As you can see, it’s the after Wednesday portion where I cracked like a woman on a Target spree.

 

The Bad:

  • Stayed up WAY too late reading on Wednesday night and skipped meditating and planks on Thursday
  • Ditto Thursday night (plus used the excuse of a dentist’s appointment on Friday to avoid it)

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Willpower Fail

Unsurprisingly, there is plenty of research that shows that as the week goes on, we basically suck at willpower. We deplete ourselves with the 9383948184 decisions we make throughout the day, and by the end of the week, we are just exhausted.

The same actually goes for each day, too. That’s why you’re more likely to binge late at night and/or later in the week – your willpower has been used up.

That’s also why I HAVE to go to yoga in the morning. Otherwise, I can talk myself out of it.

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So, how do I get back on track?

That’s a good question. And it’s partly why I’m recording my failures here.

I need your help. Please push me (even if I get annoyed) and remind me of my commitment! Text me, post on my Instagram, tweet me, post on my Facebook page, comment here.

I don’t care how you do it, but I could use some help in motivating myself! And let’s be honest, we feel a lot worse (usually) letting someone else down who is expecting something from us, than letting ourselves down.

So expect more from me so I can expect more from myself!

THIS WEEKEND’S CHALLENGES

In addition to continuing to work on the above challenges, I will be taking on new challenges as I go.

 

(1) The “send a card to someone (as many different someones) every day” challenge.

With all of the craziness of work and life and the commitment to the challenges above, I don’t think it’s feasible to write one every day.

BUT, I am going to modify this challenge to be, “write at least 7 cards a week to as many different someones as you can.”

That way, whether I do them all at once each week, or one each day, I am still embodying the spirit of the challenge 🙂

And if you would like for me to write you a card, I’ve made a handy little Google Form to do so! Just click here and I will happily write you a letter!

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(Obviously, butterflies land as I write my letters using an old fashioned pen.)

 

(2) The “try one brand new (to you) food item from a different country per month” challenge.

This one, I can’t wait to do! Randomly, (in the sense that I didn’t know this when we moved here) we ended up in a heavily Brazilian area of our town.

Which means there are some awesomely authentic Brazilian restaurants within walking distance of our place.

Thus, since I’ve never had Brazilian food, I figured tonight is the time to try it! I will absolutely update you on how it goes.

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So there you have it, folks! My honest assessment of this first week of challenges, and the two I plan on completing this weekend.

Let me know any thoughts or comments on all  of this in the comments below!

Until next time!

 

Always,

Amanda

Yoga To Be Kidding Me

- thecolorcodedlife@gmail.com

I know, I know. I’m just so punny.

Today’s challenge was bestowed upon me by my former yoga instructor back in Alabama. This woman changed my life over a year ago by showing me that I was not too ADHD, Type-A, unflexible enough to do yoga.

  • Attend yoga classes for a month. Being consistent with your practice. Feel the difference. Post postures in your FB feed – PL

For almost a year, I was a solid devotee to the yoga lifestyle. Then my life crashed in around me, and going to yoga slipped to the bottom of the list.

So to honor and thank my former yoga instructor and to bring myself back to where I was in my yoga journey, I’m jumping back on the bandwagon!

There’s a 6am class that I have decided to commit to attending at least three days a week to start. If I can handle that for awhile, I will move to doing it every day.

And to keep with what I have been challenged, I will also post pictures on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. So you are welcome to follow along there if you would like.

 

UPDATE ON PREVIOUS CHALLENGES:

Well, Tuesday’s challenges seem to be off to a pretty decent start.

I can definitely tell you the planks have left me feeling sore, but I kind of enjoy that in a weird way. It makes me feel stronger and that helps boost my self-confidence.

I’m only on my second day of meditating, so I can’t tell you if it’s made me more zen yet, but I’m trying!

 

See all ya’ll tomorrow!

Always,

Amanda