2013 non-goals & Chinese dinner..

Happy New Year!

I've been taking a bit of a breather from the blog world lately. Sometimes I feel like I get all caught up-- Tangled in a mess of the thoughts & opinions of others, my own thoughts and opinions, and before you know it... I feel like I am losing any relevance, and then I think everyone else thinks I am a wack job, and then.. ya know.

At least, that is what my ego likes me to think.

ANYwho.

Not a big fan of the holiday season, so since I didn't have many nice things to say about Christmas, and all the hoopla that it entails, I just enjoyed spending 10 days with my love, (almost) internet free. R has been working like a dog since we moved here, so it was really nice to get in some extra lovin' while he was off.

We had dinner in China town on Christmas. We had high hopes since all the folks in there were Chinese and/or Jewish.. but the service ended up being terrible, and my vegetarian entree had prawns in it. Prawns are not vegetarian. (OH, I should mention, I finally committed to being a vegetarian again. More on that later-- going on 3 weeks now)

New years was a blast. Our friend caught wind of some party happening near down town. $25 a ticket, DJ's spinning 45's all night, and open bar. Not too shabby. Rob and I danced the night away, and made out almost all night long like a bunch of horny teenagers. It was awesome.

We hang out with "the guys" a lot, so our public display of affection is often limited to wedgies and my acceptance of his flatulence.

Earlier in the day on New years eve we ate Ethiopian food with some of our friends who moved to LA from Florida.. it was grand. Seriously, if you haven't had Ethipean food, and you like Indian/Ethnic foods, go try it.. SO freaking good.

While he was off we hiked in Runyon Canyon, geeked out at the Pace Museum, went for jogs together, got a little wild and slept in past 6:30 some morning (I think our latest was 8am!), ate a lot of ethnic foods, hung out in Venice, and cuddled (a lot).

Rob went back to work yesterday, so I have been spending my free time thinking of how I am going to make this year better than the last.

2012 was pretty good to me. I stayed on a pretty healthy track, lost 20 lbs (gained 10 with the move, and lost 10 again-- so it evened out, and I get to keep my 20 lbs lost status, woop woop)

2012 highlights:
Losing 20 lbs
Being 100% med free, and managing my spectrum with great ease and awareness (BP talk)
Finding my voice
Volunteering with the Red Cross & meeting some really awesome folks.
Deepening my yoga/spiritual practice
Self love & acceptance
Dress shopping with my mom and MIL.
Moving to L.A. (Road tripping with my lover and kitties was mostly a blast!)
Medical Marijuana (I had to include it because MM is a depression killer, and big pharma is a depression perpetrator. IMHO)
Strengthening, repairing and developing friendships, old and new.
..and closing out the year with my sweet guy!

There is a lot that went down in 2012-- I changed more this year than any other year (I think I say that every year, but that's a good thing) I'm really excited about 2013 & I am getting married in just 59 days! AH!

So here are some of my New Years Non-Goals.

(Last year I talked about non-goals being better than goals because non-goals are something you just do because you should/it's important, and goals are something you think about doing and usually end up never doing-- Kind of like resolutions.) ;)


2013 Non-Goals

1. Maintain a diet that is strong in Sattva Guna. Essentially this is the "yogi or Sattvic diet." You want to avoid foods that are Tamasic (Harmful to the body/consciousness-- meat, fish, egg, onion, garlic, scallion, leek, chive, mushroom, alcoholic beverages, , blue cheese, and stale food.) Limit the consumption of Rajasic foods (stimulants, spicy foods, salt, chocolates, etc.) and mostly consume foods that are Sattvic-- fresh fruits, high-in-chlorophyll veggies, nuts, berries, legumes and some milks/cheeses (from healthy animals) is okay too.

2. Recommit to a full time work out routine. I was really consistent until about August-- Fell off the wagon with work & the move, but it's never too late to get back on! I'm hoping to become a better runner, more flexible & consistent yogi, and I'd like to once and for all shed the remaining 20 lbs I have hanging around to get me at the lower spectrum of my "healthy weight."

3. Find a community project to get involved with. I'm not exactly sure if I want to go with volunteering again, or if I want to find a job that is community based, or if I want to start my OWN project-- But I know I want to do something that serves/benefits others.

4. Attend at least one group meditation per month. (..and Yoga doesn't count) I am not very good or consistent with meditation, but I know how powerful the benefits can be if you stick to it and grow with it. I think the best way to accomplish this would be by attending & exploring some of the many guided meditations offered throughout the city (They're usually free too!)

5. Quit using fowl/abrasive language & quit resorting to yelling or "talking loudly" when I am angry/upset.  I love a good swear word, the F--K word being one of my favorite expressions for many emotions, but BOY do they sound cheap! In 2013, I'd like to keep it a little classier and use better words to express my frustrations. Something I really don't like about myself is how easy it is for me to get loud (and then swear) when I am frustrated/angry. I'm better and more mindful than all that.

6. Save money to ACTUALLY take a Yoga teacher training course in the fall.

7. Stop relying on alcohol to make social interactions easier. This is something I am almost a little embarrassed to admit on public forum, but it is the truth. Alcohol is such an acceptable drug in our society that it is hard to tell when you think you might need to cool it-- especially if you are functional & not one of those crazy angry belligerent drunks. The truth is, I can hardly have "just one drink" and I drink more when I am anxious, frustrated, uncomfortable, etc, and that has to stop immediately. I also have no problem drinking several glasses of wine at home, alone. I spend a lot of time alone, so I never really thought too much of it but Alcoholism is something that runs deep in my family, and I do not want to perpetuate the cycle. I know all too well the effects that alcohol abuse has on a family, and I think being aware of and owning your "weaknesses" is the only way to fix/end bad cycles. I am not saying that I am an alcoholic (yet), but I am saying that I  can see the slippery slope, and I refuse to go down that rabbit hole.

8. Spend my time more wisely. Some days, I really waste my time. I HATE it and have become completely intolerant of it since my uncles car accident the week before Thanksgiving-- in a single instant he lost everything that was normal to him. He will never walk again, he will never use a toilet again (his waste is deposited into bags attached to his body), he wont make love (in the normal way) to his wife ever again, he has lost an incredible amount of privacy and he is destined to a life of sitting in a chair. I am not suggesting he will never have joy again, because he will.. but what I am getting at is.. Knowing that someone as vivacious and loving as my uncle could have it all taken away, really gets you thinking about how one should spend his/her time. I have not been as productive as I could be or as active & grateful as I should be.

9. Stop engaging in confrontation. I have a tendency to call people out. Sometimes I just can't help it. As a Sagittarius, I love the truth more than I love peace. Now, I am in NO way suggesting that I will stop speaking the truth, or calling out injustices, but I think I could afford approaching such issues with a lot more tact and I could be a little picker when it comes to which conversations I chose to engage in.

10. Be a kinder, more supportive (wife!) partner to Rob. I'm a fire personality-- he is water. I think R really appreciates my straight-forward-no-BS personality, but I could definitely be "softer" towards him. Sometimes when I am trying to be constructive, I am not being mindful of where he is coming from so I end up tearing him down instead of building him up, which is NOT my intention at all!


SO there you have it. Some typical, some not.

What improvments are you interested in making this year?
XXXOOO.

Namaste!

Ryan