Eating the Elephant--Volume 3

Overall this was a really disappointing week as I'm realizing that I've bitten off more than I can chew between this and my other goals. I'm really going to have to accept less than perfection in order to keep making progress. I'm also going to have to get real about what I can and cannot accomplish.


Goal--Have a Clean Kitchen
As of Saturday afternoon, the kitchen did not look like a war zone, which is how it usually looks on the weekends. There is one load of dishes waiting to be loaded ,but that's not awful. Overall, considering we cooked at home six nights, it looks okay.

Progress

• Empty the dishwasher and actually put the dishes away when it is finished--I did this all week up until Saturday. There is one load waiting to be loaded.
• As dishes become dirty, load them in the dishwasher and start it when it is full.--Better--but not perfect.
• Wipe up spills as they happen--I did conciously think about this one and did better.
• Throw garbage away as it happens versus letting the empty boxes and cans sit on the counter.--Better--but not perfect

Elephant Ears for the Week--I'm going to leave the same elephant ears as they are not ingrained yet.

• Empty the dishwasher and actually put the dishes away when it is finished
• As dishes become dirty, load them in the dishwasher and start it when it is full.
• Wipe up spills as they happen
• Throw garbage away as it happens versus letting the empty boxes and cans sit on the counter

Goal--Always have clothes ready to wear in the morning

Progress

• Put clothes away as soon as the dryer is done--I am still awful at this. There are three loads of laundry waiting to be put away.
• Mend clothes when buttons fall off etc, instead of sitting them aside to do something with later--Didn't do this.
• Put clothes away after work (hamper, hang up jackets, take jewelry off, etc.)--Was pretty good about putting things in the hamper, but I still need practice.

Elephant Ears--I'm going to keep the same ones this week as I didn't do a stellar job.

• Put clothes away as soon as the dryer is done
• Mend clothes when buttons fall off etc, instead of sitting them aside to do something with later
• Put clothes away after work (hamper, hang up jackets, take jewelry off, etc.)

Goal--Clean Living Room

I'm in the process of doing a deep clean on the living room, so some of these are getting taken care of that.

Progress

• Carry dishes into the kitchen when you are done with them--Butter--but not perfect
• Carry the kids belongings up to their room instead of waiting for them to do it--I left Cat's things sitting. Was just exhausted and didn't want to keep taking her things up the stairs..
• Put shoes away instead of kicking them off on the floor--Total loser on this one.
• Throw papers and other trash away instead of piling it up--Not a total loser, but I didn't do a great job on this one.
• Go through mail once a week--I did go through the mail this week and didn't let it pile up.

Elephant Ears--Not enough progress to justify moving on to new habits.

• Carry dishes into the kitchen when you are done with them
• Carry the kids belongings up to their room instead of waiting for them to do it
• Put shoes away instead of kicking them off on the floor
• Throw papers and other trash away instead of piling it up
• Go through mail once a week

Goal--Clean Bathroom

I made less progress in keeping the bathroom clean than in any other area. I'm still awful about throwing my clothes down and not in the hamper and at putting things away.

Progress

• Refill the toilet paper as soon as it is empty--I did this one and did carry mroe in from the bathroom.
• Put clothes in the hamper instead of on the floor--Loserville on this one
• Put away bottles, jars, etc.--I did an okay job on this one, but not stellar.
• Don't leave books, magazines, etc. in the bathroom--Loserville

Elephant Ears

• Refill the toilet paper as soon as it is empty
• Put clothes in the hamper instead of on the floor
• Put away bottles, jars, etc.
• Don't leave books, magazines, etc. in the bathroom

Goal--Clean Family Room

Progress

• Don't leave my computer bag sitting down stairs. Put it and all the related junk by my desk.--I was a loser at this.
• Carry dishes and food upstairs as soon as I'm done--I was pretty good at this one.
• Pick up garbage (magazines, soda bottles, etc.) as soon as I'm done--There are still coke bottles sitting around that I left out.

Elephant Ears for the week

• Don't leave my computer bag sitting down stairs. Put it and all the related junk by my desk.
  Carry dishes and food upstairs as soon as I'm done
  Pick up garbage (magazines, soda bottles, etc.) as soon as I'm done

Seems like this is the same exact post as last week and in a lot of ways it is. I just need to keep plugging away. I'm thinking about taking a day off of work to get the house cleaned so the work is incremental and not the huge overwhelming task it always seems to be.

Blissful Acceptance

Luke, my beautiful Aussie / Collie Mix, came to us from a shelter when he was three and he had a lot of ingrained bad habits: barking insanely at anyone who comes to the door, not being able to walk on a leash, having accidents when we take him to PetSmart, and biting other dogs. Not a list of all the things you'd look for when you went to adopt a dog. However, he's also one of the smartest and most loving dogs that I know and cuddling with him is pure bliss.

We've taken him to doggy obedience school, but he got so nervous every time he went that he would have an accident and then look ashamed of himself. We take him for walks and he pulls at the leash because he's so excited. For the longest time, I thought that with enough exercise and practice, he'd get better and sometimes he does a really good job on the leash and other times he's right back to ripping my arm out of the socket. Unfortunately for Luke and us, we spent a lot of time comparing him to dogs that walked beautifully on leashes because their parents had started working with them when they were puppies.

I finally realized that it wasn't fair to compare Luke's behavior that that of a dog that started walking on a leash when he was a baby. Could we make up for the lost time? Maybe, but the price would be a whole lot of frustration on our part and Luke's. That's when I realized that I had to accept Luke for who he was: a beautiful, furry companion who loves us with all his heart. That's who Luke is and at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter to me if he can walk on a leash or not. We have a big back yard and we take him out to play and do psycho puppy several times a day so he's not suffering by not being able to take walks.

The next realization was that my whole family was worthy of the same compassion and acceptance that I show Luke. I need to accept that cleaning the house is not a priority for a daughter, but that she brings a lot of joy to my life through her singing, her stories, and just being Caitlin. Sean can be grumpy and messy, but he's always willing to help me move the heavy stuff and he's great to talk politics with. John will never be as driven as I am, but that's okay, he's always been there for me and he's been my moving buddy through more moves than we can count.

Accepting myself is a little harder to do as I regularlly flagallate myself for not being pretty enough, for being too fat, for being a slob, for anything and everything. However, beating myself hasn't helped me really change my life. All it's done is make me feel unhappy and guilty. I still want to make changes, but I need to accept with all my heart who I am right now. I need to take the good with the bad and be happy with who I am.

It is amazing how many blissful lessons I learn from someone who can't talk at all, but who manages to be very articulate with his eyes, his ears, and his love.

Chow Street Bliss

Street food isn't gourmet and there are no food critics eagerly awaiting a table, but street food is hearty, delicious, and unique. Every culture and every city seems to have booths or carts selling street food. You can buy hot dogs in Chicago and New York, satay in Shanghai, and tamales in Mexico City.

The Maxwell Street Flea Market in Chicago is home to some of the best Mexican food you can get. The aromas of steak tacos, quesadillas, and grilling corn filled the air as the kids and I meandered through the flea market today. Finally, we could resist no longer and we headed over to the booth with the longest line (because we figured it probably had the best food) and ordered steak tacos (me), a cheese quesadilla (Cat), and a steak quesadilla (Sean). We waited for what seemed forever as we smelled the heavenly aromas and watched the steak grilling.

Finally, our number was called and we grabbed our food and headed over to the parking lot to sit against the fence and chow down. The tacos were pure heaven and rivaled the tacos I'd enjoyed in the "Little Red Truck." In Mexico, the meat was perfectly seasoned and the tortillas had been cooked from scratch at the booth. I washed my tacos down with a Coke in a glass bottle and I thought I was full until I found the booth selling corn on the cob. I couldn't resist and the corn tasted amazingly good, despite the butter dripping down my chin.

Walking down the street eating amazingly good food, I was reminded of my trip to Suzhou, China and the satay that we'd eaten walking down the street. It was January and there were street vendors standing around the Temple of Mystery grilling yummy smelling meat over an open flame. Although we were a little worried about what the meat would actually be, we decided we'd live on the wild side and we stepped up to the booth. Luckily the vendor spoke a little bit of English so we were able to order chicken and beef satays. Despite our trepidation, the satays were warm, spicy, and wonderful and we were glad we'd taken the risk and tried them.

I'm sure there are people who never eat street food as they're worried about sanitizing everything, sickness, etc., etc. etc. To the naysayers I'd say, that there's a risk with everything you do and if you walk past the street vendors to the nearest five star restaurant, you could be missing out on some of the best and most blissful eating around.

Flea Bliss

Sean, Caitlin, and I went to the Maxwell Street Flea market today and spent an enjoyable few hours wandering around the booths full of trinkets, treasures, and even a few useful things. There were stalls selling school supplies, beauty supplies, and more than a few booths selling socks. As we walked through the cross section crush of humanity, we saw every ethnic race living in Chicago represented. Shops were selling Shea butter from Africa, trinkets from China, vegetables from south of the border, and people selling junk that could have come right from their garage. As we were walking through the press of people, I heard one man say, "One man's trash is another's cash." And down on Maxwell Street it is true.

Visiting the Maxwell Street flea market, I was taken back to a Sunday long ago when my dad had taken my brother and I to the original Maxwell Street Flea market when we were kids and being lily white suburban kids, the neighborhood was almost as much of an experience as the market itself. Sadly, the original Maxwell Street market was closed and taken over for the University of Illinois Chicago, where my son now goes to school. Funny, how the world comes full circle.

I love flea markets as there is always the thrill of the hunt and wondering what treasure you're going to find to take home. Flea Markets are earthy and original as you see real people selling real stuff, some of it good, some of it bad, but all of it interesting. As we wanted through the booths, my daughter found some "Adidas" sneakers and she was crowing about how they were a great deal for only $10. I tried to gently tell her that they were counterfeits, but she didn't quite believe me.

Flea Markets are not only a North American affair, one of my favorite flea markets is the Amsterdam Flea market where I spent a memorable Saturday afternoon wandering around and looking at the treasures for sale. I picked up a few Van Gough prints and some interesting art by local artists, but what I remember the most is the feeling that the world really isn't such a big place as I watched the locals sort through the merchandise much as the locals in Chicago sort through the merchandise at the Maxwell Street Flea market.

Street markets harken back to an earlier day when merchants came into town on the weekends to sell their wares. Now we have access to anything we want any day of the week and there are few surprises in store when we go to Wal Mart as we know what the shelves will hold, but there is something blissful about wandering the aisles of a flea market and wondering just what treasures you'll happen across.

Zoo Bliss

Some of my earliest memories are trips to the zoo with my dad. We'd go to visit my grandmother in Poplar Bluff, MO two or three times a year and we would always stop at the St. Louis zoo on the way south. We'd spend a couple of hours walking around watching the bears, seeing the lions, and connecting with one another. Most times we'd spring for a trip around the zoo on the little train and we'd enjoy seen backstage at the zoo.

When I got a little older, we got into the habit of going to the zoo on New Year's Day and spending the day walking around and enjoying the animals. Some years it was almost spring like and the weather would be warm and other years it was a subzero freeze out, but regardless of the weather we always enjoyed seeing the critters and spending time together.

Zoos continued to play an important part in my life even as I grew older and my first official date with my soon to be husband was when I kidnapped him and took him to the zoo. We drove from Jacksonville, IL down to St. Louis and spent the day wandering around the zoo and watching the animals. One of my favorite parts, as it always is, was checking out the aviary at the zoo that was built for for the 1904 World's Fair. We wandered through the paths that I'd walked as a child and I found myself falling in love.

Marriage and kids soon followed and zoos continued to be a part of my life. My parents took Sean and Caitlin to the Madison Zoo and they got to explore the same wonderful small zoo that I'd explored as a child. Before my parents moved from Chicagoland to western IL, we also spent a few New Year's wandering around the zoos with the kids. The same magick was there only now I was enjoying the zoo with both my parents and my kids.

Living in the Chicago Burbs, we've only visited the St. Louis Zoo a few times, but I remember one memorable trip when Sean, Caitlin, and I went to St. Louis and Caitlin and I went to the zoo in what seemed like a raging typhoon. The rain was coming down harder than I could ever remember it and we were walking around the zoo trying to see the animals. We ended up lost in the River's Edge exhibit getting soaked to the skin. Although we didn't see many animals that day, but we enjoyed some shared camaraderie and had a great story to tell when we got home.

The last few years, we've headed downtown sometime in December to enjoy the Zoo Lights program at Lincoln Park Zoo. There is something magickal about being at the zoo after dark and wandering around and listening to the carols and watching the critters cavort in the snow. Our sojourn to Zoo Lights is our modern day solstice celebration as we celebrate the shortest day of the year and give thanks that the days will soon be getting longer.

The kids and I headed to Lincoln Park Zoo today and enjoyed a beautiful day wandering around enjoying the sites and sounds and watching other families enjoy the zoo. Caitlin, my little wanna be zoologist, enchanted all the animals and watched enthralled as the pumas and birds of prey put on a show that seemed to be just for her. It was also wonderful to see all the other families introducing their young children to the zoo.

I felt total bliss sitting at the zoo today and knowing that somewhere out there, my dad was smiling because the love of zoos, families, and animals was being passed on to one more generation.

Moon Bliss

Eating outside is one of the great delights of Chicago Springs and Summers. After a long cold winter, you're ready to get outside and enjoy the sun while you're eating your meal. On a personal note, everything seems to taste better when cooked or at least eaten outside. We have a beautiful backyard and I love sitting outside and soaking up the sounds and scents of summer.

At my last job, my best friends and I would head to Starbucks a couple of times a week and in the summer, we'd sit outside and enjoy the weather while we talked about jobs, kids, life, and anything else that struck our fancy. Those were some incredibly special memories and I cherish the memories of those warm summer days sitting outside and enjoying the day. My last day at that company, two of my friends met me at Starbucks and we toasted my tenure there as well as the new things that were in my future.

Even today, if my friends and I go out for lunch in the spring or summer, we'll often choose to eat Al Fresco as it seems to make the experience a lot more lively and more fun. I went out for lunch just last week with one of my new coworkers and we enjoyed burgers and conversation as we discussed our company and what we thought the future might bring.

I have a beautiful back yard at home and we really enjoy eating outside and enjoying our beautiful Magnolia tree, Maggie, and our fairly private backyard. Unfortunately, this year every time I was ready to go outside and enjoy a meal something came up: it was raining, it was too hot, there were bugs, I had something else to do, etc., etc., I know a lot of those sound like excuses, but at the end of the day the purpose of eating dinner outside is enjoy myself and relax and if I'm sweating bullets or swatting mosquitoes, I'm not going to be relaxing and am going to spend the entire time wondering why I'm not inside in the air conditioning.

It's the full moon outside tonight and I was on my way up to bed when the backyard beckoned. I cut up an apple, filled a glass of wine, and headed outside to light the tiki torches and soak up the moonlight. I hadn't realized until I was outside that Maggie's leaves were almost touching the table or that there were no birds chirping at night, but plenty of crickets. I sat and sipped my wine, ate my apple, and enjoyed the cool moonlit air.

There is something magickal about a evening when the summer is just turning to fall and sitting there enjoying the calm, I felt truly blissed.

Butterfly Bliss-Volume 3

For those of you who haven’t read about my butterfly challenge, I’m following the lead of one of the bloggers I greatly admire, Charley Forness at Scribe for the Tribe, and trying to make small changes every week in the hopes that the small changes will add up to bigger changes in my life. The original challenge article is here. This weekly check in will include a report on last week’s progress and on my goals for next week.

Goal--Lose 30 lbs by 12/31/2009

Progress

• Walk at least 20 minutes three times a week-- I only walked twice this week. Once I get home from work, I just want to putz around the house and not do anything. I need to figure out a way to get more motivated on this one.
• Drink three bottles (aluminum ones) of water a day--I didn’t do such a good job on this one. Two days I managed to drink two bottles of water and two days I managed one bottle.

Butterflies for this week (Based on my progress from last week, I'll keep the same goals)

• Walk at least 20 minutes three times a week—I think I need to work on this as it isn’t habit yet.
• Drink two bottles of water a day—I need to be realistic about this and acknowledge that I’m struggling. Hopefully, I can start drinking two bottles and then work up to three.

Goal--Have Sean's tuition and the taxes paid by 12/31/2009

Progress

• Cook dinner at home six nights a week to save money.--We did a good job on this and we've worked on cutting the costs of the food that we eat as well. I'm also trying to work through the food in the freezer.
• Pack my lunch four days a week--I didn't pack lunch at all this week, but I did come home and eat one day. I ate out two days and skipped lunch one day. Definitely need to keep this as it is not a habit yet.
• Not buy any magazines--I did buy a Woman's World magazine, but resisted the urge to buy several more.

Butterflies for the week

• Cook dinner at home six nights a week to save money. I still need to work on this as it is not ingrained yet.
• Pack my lunch four days a week—This one needs to stay on the list as it is not a habit yet.
• Not buy any magazines—I'm going to keep this one until I can eliminate buying the Woman's World.
  

Goal--Build my online presence

Progress

• Post five book reviews at Amazon—I didn't get any book reviews posted as I spent my time working on articles for KUDOS Power. I also wrote an article for More magazine that I'm waiting to see if they post online.
• Comment on at least 10 blog entries around the blogosphere—This was pretty easy as I read a lot of good blog entries this week. I'm going to eliminate this one as a butterfly as it is ingrained.
• Get listed on three more blog sites--No progress on this one.

Butterflies for the Week

• Post five book reviews at Amazon
• Get listed on three more blog sites
• Write two more articles for online sites

Goal--Build KUDOS Power

Progress

• Write five articles—I wrote four articles for KPI and two articles for KPO this week. Good progress on this one.
• Find five sites to post articles on--I found a list of sites where you can post articles for free. I also found that I can post articles on More magazine and several paper magazine sites. This is definately something I will explore.
• Reorganize the site for both individuals and organizations--Site has been completely redesigned.
• Rewrite The Portable Coach--Did not do this one. Am going to postpone it until next week as I will spend time this week working on articles.

Butterflies for the Week

• Write three articles for KPI
• Write three articles for KPO
• Write an article for More
• Write an article for Divine Caroline
• Rewrite The Portable Coach

Goal--Build better relationships with my family

Progress

• One dinner or activity with John this week—I didn’t make it out with John this week
• One dinner or activity with Cat this week—Did not get time to spend with Cat this week as she had layout for pacer every night this week.
• One dinner or activity with Sean--Sean and I went to the Holocaust museum this week.

Butterflies for the week

• One dinner or activity with John this week
• One dinner or activity with Cat this week
• One Dinner or activity with Sean

Wish me luck this week. I’ll check back in next Sunday.