My 2013 July Self-Care Goals

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

I am so glad to be focusing on self-care this month, with our lovely hostesses, Valerie, Shirley, Iris, Kate, and  Carrie 

I definitely need it. I started a new project and the nerve pain in my legs and back got out of control…and I didn’t realize how good things had gotten until I saw how bad this was. Some of it has been the physical stress, but some has definitely been the anticipation/fearmini badge/overwhelm/eeek!/woohoo kind of stress. Good, bad, ugly…all the colors of the rainbow.

It’s such a balancing act. “Playing it safe” for me equals regret and resentment, so I do push myself to do and try things that stretch my limits, or show me where my limits are. I haven’t figured out yet if it was “worth it” but sometimes in life I have to leap and give myself the opportunity to see what I can do.

So especially since I’m feeling quite depleted, self-care is taking center stage. I’ve been pondering my self-care goals for the last few days. Wisdom generally dictates that 2-3 goals is a good plan. And yet I reserve the right to chuck wisdom out the window—when I really need to replenish, I do really need to jump in to self-care headfirst. So here goes:

  • Do a compassion or gratitude meditation 4 times a week (I’m hoping for daily—this gives me wiggle room)
  • Take 2-3 days off in July and DON’T JUST DO WORK FROM HOME
  • Go back to kitty snuggle times when I get home from work, ideally daily, but 4 days a week works for me
  • Drawing—at least 3 days a week, hopefully 5. Bonus points for breaking out the fingerpaints.

Our fantastic group of bloggers:

Before we get into the “rules”, know that the main “rule” is to relax, enjoy, take good care of yourself and have fun.

Why join us? Because self-care takes a village, too.

These posts are to inspire you all to make July a month of reflecting on self-care and the many ways to nourish ourselves.  We encourage everyone to participate in this event in a way that feels appropriate to them, whether through making different choices around food, adding in movement, personal reflection, journaling or other self-care.  If you would like to share your experience with self-care, we would love to include you in the experience, whether you join us for one week or every week. We ask that you link back to this post so that more people can learn about this retreat, and leave a comment for the weekly theme host, too! That way, we can make sure we see your post and that you’re entered into the drawing.

ADDENDUM: NOT A BLOGGER? FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME OR ONE OF THE OTHER HOSTESSES YOUR GOAL/PROGRESS AND I/WE WILL POST IT ON OUR BLOG.

As a little added incentive, for each post on your goals and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, you’ll be entered to receive a $50 gift certificate to Nuts.com  (they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options)

We also have a Facebook group and we’d love to have you join us! Just send along a request (it’s listed as a private group.)

Curious about past retreats? Recaps for July Retreats 2011 & 2012 are here:

http://www.gfgoodness.com/2012/08/05/a-july-self-retreat-recap/

http://www.gfgoodness.com/2011/08/11/4117/

Posted in self care carnival | 6 Comments

July Self-Care Retreat 2013–Join Us!

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

Holy heck, it’s almost July. And so, if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know mini badgethat means it’s time for the July Self-Care retreat. This is actually retreat #5 and our 3rd July retreat—man how time flies!

To be totally honest, this is just about the worst time for me to do this. I’ve started a new challenging project and that’s where most of my “spare” time is going. But that also really makes it the absolute best time for me to be doing this, because when I get busy, self-care is so much harder and yet so much more necessary

There’s a great story from the Dalai Lama where a student asked how long we should meditate a day. And he said, 30 minutes. “30 minutes!” exclaimed the student. “But what about when you’re busy?”

“Ah”, said the Dalai Lama. “When you’re busy, you need a full hour.”

That’s definitely my experience. When I’m under stress, it’s so much easier to put off whatever form of self-care of whatever kind, and yet that’s when I need it most.

I’m really glad to have this support to help me along, because I really need to focus back on what is really important–taking care of ME so that I have the energy to do other things I care about, which includes taking care of others.

Our fantastic group of bloggers:

Before we get into the “rules”, know that the main “rule” is to relax, enjoy, take good care of yourself and have fun.

Why join us? Because self-care takes a village, too.

These posts are to inspire you all to make July a month of reflecting on self-care and the many ways to nourish ourselves.  We encourage everyone to participate in this event in a way that feels appropriate to them, whether through making different choices around food, adding in movement, personal reflection, journaling or other self-care.  If you would like to share your experience with self-care, we would love to include you in the experience, whether you join us for one week or every week. We ask that you link back to this post so that more people can learn about this retreat, and leave a comment for the weekly theme host, too! That way, we can make sure we see your post and that you’re entered into the drawing.

As a little added incentive, for each post on your goals and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, you’ll be entered to receive a $50 gift certificate to Nuts.com  (they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options)

We also have a Facebook group and we’d love to have you join us! Just send along a request (it’s listed as a private group.)

2013 Posts thus Far:

My Self-Care Goals 2013 GF Goodness

Guest Post from Linda on Self-Care

July Self-Care Goals on City|Life|Eats

Wrap up and July Challenge on Eat, Recycle, Repeat

13 Self-Care Lessons from the Masters GF Goodness

Guest post from Linda

Debi of Hunter’s Lyoness on Unconditional love

City Life Eats on Infusing some new into yoga

Iris of Daily Dietribe on Letting Go

Cheryl of GF Goodness (me!) on Re-Writing the Story

Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl on Emotional and Spiritual Growth

Kate of Eat Recycle Repeat on “How to Surrender”

Cheryl of GF Goodness (Me!) on Depression and Self Care

 

Curious about past retreats? Recaps for July Retreats 2011 & 2012 are here:

http://www.gfgoodness.com/2012/08/05/a-july-self-retreat-recap/

http://www.gfgoodness.com/2011/08/11/4117/

Posted in self care carnival | 2 Comments

Carrot Top Pesto

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABelieve it or not, my very favorite pesto is carrot top pesto. There’s some stiff competition from Kale Pesto and Garlic Scape Pesto and of course, regular basil pesto. Perhaps it’s such a treat because it’s quite a rarity.

Yes, it’s your fault, deer! I’ve seen you do it, no lying and blaming it on the rabbit. Fess up!

We’ve had a crazy overpopulation of deer dearthis year and have rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels to boot. Did you know squirrels eat kale? Seriously. Like it’s a corn on the cob, too, they don’t eat the spiny stuff. Mr. Dude was highly entertained when I discovered this, pitched a fit and tried to scare off the squirrel by throwing stuff at him. Missed by a mile. Oh well.

Back to the carrot top pesto.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

My carrots bolted. No, I didn’t know they could bolt, either, but apparently they do! So I wanted them to go to good use before they were chowed on by the deer. I know this is just the loosest of recipes, but it’s delicious, and you can’t go wrong.

2 cups of carrot tops (loosely packed)
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup hazelnutsOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Blend together and enjoy. Use however you enjoy pesto–with quinoa or pasta, on fish, on veggies, on bread, by the spoon…

And, as a special bonus, I’ve loved crows since I was a little kid, and I decided (as kids do) that 3 crows together meant good luck. We don’t get anywhere near as many crows in VA as we did in NY, but these babies were strutting their stuff for me this afternoon. I assume they were wishing me luck in my teaching gig which starts this weekend.crows

I’m submitting this to the Diet Dessert and Dogs’ Wellness Weekend. Hop over to check out the eats and treats!

Posted in recipe, side dish | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

By One, Give One G-Free Campaign

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

A quick shout out to a new Buy One Give One Campaign, started by G-Free Crusader Dee Valdez (AKA Gluten Free Dee). In a nutshell, if you buy g-free products from certain lunapic_136908524432277_58manufacturers and tweet about them through June 17th, the companies will donate products to a g-free foodbank. Good deal!

Here’s how it works: (from Dee)

  1. Purchase a product from a participating sponsor
  2. Take a picture or make a quick video of why you LOVE the product and what it means to be able to feed a hungry gluten free kiddo (be sure to thank the generous sponsor for participating as well!).
  3. Post the pic or video on the sponsors Facebook Page with #GFDBOGO on all postings
  4. Post the pic or video on Dee’s Facebook Page with #GFDBOGO
  5. Spread the word (Tweet it! Pin It! Link It! Gram It! + It!)

There are a lot of participating brands–Udis, Glutino, Qrunch, Sandwich petals & more.

I’ve worked in many a foodbank over the years, and would absolutely love to see a foodbank with a g-free pantry in the DC area. Celiac doesn’t discriminate—there are many people at need who need to be gluten-free, too. And there’s also nothing like enlightened self-interest. We may not think of ourselves as someone who would use a foodbank, but if a natural disaster strikes, that can change suddenly, as many people learned after Sandy.

So pretty pretty please, consider supporting the Buy One Give One Campaign and encourage others to as well.

Posted in cheryl's musings, news | 2 Comments

Elana’s New Book-A Review of Paleo Cooking

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI was so super delighted to receive Elana’s new cookbook, Paleo Cooking in the mail last week. It’ll be released on June 18th and you can order it now on Amazon. Sometimes if you order early, they ship before the release date.

Nope, I’m not paleo . I’m allergic to labels–they give me an instant headache. But I love good food. Real food. Tasty food. Food I can eat (minus gluten, dairy, soy, corn, sugar, etc.) And that’s exactly what’s in this book.

It just so happened that I was itching to play in the kitchen when I got this, so it was perfect timing.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFirst, I made the Tangy “Peanut” Sauce. Because I was physically incapable of waiting 24 hours and going to the store and getting coconut milk, I used blended young coconut, and my sauce was more of a thick, creamy, delicious dip. I loved it as it was, and even made a double batch. I did thin some of it to a sauce, and it’s excellent both ways.

The (lack of) wisdom in making ginger ale as something to photograph didn’t occur to mOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAe until I was taking the pictures. It would bubble when I added ice cubes, but by the time I could get my camera in position and focused, bye-bye went the bubbles. Cat sat and watched and did not offer any assistance, clearly. The ginger ale was cool and refreshing, and something I’ve long missed since giving up sugar.

I also made the Rosemary Chicken (pictured above, using chicken thighs) which was simple, fragrant and flavorful. We often make a similar version of this, just without the measuring and adding dried minced garlic or onion. I was even able to talk Mr. Dude into grilling rather than baking, which made it extra delicious.

The recipes were fantastic, the pictures are gorgeous and I definitely have other recipes marked, like the Cauliflower Rice and the Spicy Chai. I’m also finally considering caving in and buying an ice cream maker just for this book! I’d highly recommend it. I’ve also posted on other recipes that I’ve loved from Elana’s other books and website.

Posted in review | 6 Comments

Foxes- Parting Gift for 2013

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

It seems that foxies have a cycle where they move in and March and the “lease” on the shed is up in the beginning of May. They’re welcome to stay, but they don’t, for reasons that are a mystery to me! But oh, they left us with such a gift. Foxes are known for being somewhat shy, and these years’ foxes were much shyer than last years’. On their last day here, though, they relaxed, and both parent foxes got to spend some quality of time relaxing and being gorgeous.foxy duo   Oh yes, right there.yep, thereSmooches!wuvfoxy duo 2Hey lady, a little privacy, please!

privacy plsNo, we never figured out which fox was mom and which was dad. The red fox did almost all of the child-rearing and was a frequent visitor so we assumed that was mom, but I couldn’t find out much on foxy family behavior.

Need more Foxy? Part 1 is here, Part 2 , Mother’s day Foxy edition, and one all grown up beautiful baby is here. Squee Fox from last year is here.

Can’t wait to see our foxy friends next year! Fingers crossed that they keep visiting us.

Posted in Foxy family | 2 Comments

Happy birthday to me…

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

I’m turning 35 today! What a strange feeling. I’ve always felt somewhat like a kid, and for c 35most of my career, I’ve always been the youngest. The youngest in my grad school program, the youngest in my job in DC Government, the youngest in my family to get married…and, well, most likely, that’s kinda changing.

I have mixed feelings about getting older. The older I get, the more comfortable I get in my own skin. The older I get, the more I’ve come to truly love and respect myself, and treat myself gently and kindly. The older I get, the more my priorities reflect what’s important, and the more likely I am to say no to what doesn’t serve me, and to stand up for myself and what I need. And, of course, I’ve been unbelievably lucky that many of my medical issues have quieted in the last few years, although this month has been pretty challenging.

And yet for some crazy reason, a contingent of grey hairs has taken up residence on my head. I have no idea why they’re here, and quite frankly, I’d prefer that they leave. Not only that, the more I glare at them, the more that appear, so I’ve decided to ignore them for the c bday caketime being in the hopes that when they don’t get the reaction they’re looking for, they’ll leave. As much as “wisdom streaks” are often a part of the package, I’m less than enthused, and for the first time, I actually have the sense of my body aging, which feels foreign.

I feel like we’re constantly bombarded by images of women in their teens or 20s as the standard of beauty and so there’s a sense of strangeness there. They look so young! How could this have happened?  Like anyone, I enjoy being seen as attractive and start to notice the subtle changes in my face vs the cultural norms and standards. But I also like growing into who I am rather unapologetically as well.

Most of the feedback I get from people around me is how hard it is to get older. It may be that I just don’t understand yet and that in 10, 20, 30 years I’ll be singing the same song. But there’s a part of me that also welcomes all the changes, too.

surprise flowersIt’s funny…as I was reflecting on my birthday, I really feel the need to take some time to celebrate my life. I mentioned that to Mr. Dude, and his response was *duh*, that’s what birthdays are about. I tend to disagree. We celebrate a fun, self-indulgent day, eat a tasty cake, figure out interesting stuff to buy and/or get stuff…but that’s different than a life-celebration. I haven’t quite figured out what I want to do, but that’s definitely on the agenda.

Please, gift me with your comments on what you enjoy most about getting older, or how you like celebrating the years of your life.

Posted in cheryl's musings | 9 Comments

Garden Grown: Menu Plan May 20th

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

http://angelaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Screen-Shot-2013-05-18-at-11.22.27-AM.png

Okay, to be totally honest, I forgot I was hosting. I knew I was hosting on May 20th, but it just seemed unreal that it could ALREADY be May 20th. I’ve definitely taken on too much as of late; my body has been clear about that. It’s a matter of figuring out how to juggle and getting through lots of personal and work stuff. Speaking of work stuff, I’ve got a new newsletter on healthy-ish GF products. Check it out!beautyfox

Our theme this year is garden grown. If you’re interested in hosting for future weeks, go see Heather at Celiac Family for the details for future weeks!

I’ve been quite pleased with how the garden is growing. It seems that our “guard foxes” deter deer. But the foxes haven’t been seen in a few days, so…deer, if you’re reading this, the dude at the corner of Karmich and 286 has a much nicer garden. Go there instead. Thanks much.

Right now, we’ve got kale, garlic scapes, carrots (only carrot tops right now), and a little bit of stevia which was so kind as to re-seed itself. I’ve never had that happen before, so I’m grateful!

scapes 2013We’ve alherbs 2013so had a lot of the perennial herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano) out in full force.

So…because to be 100% honest, I didn’t plan this week out fully, and if I said I had a firm plan, well…I’d be lying.

Mon

Tues:

  • Broccoli in a chickpea/garlic sauce

Weds:

Thurs

  • Rosemary salmon (for my birthday!) Yahooza!
  • Roasted carrots
  • Some sort of chocolaty concoction

Friday:

  • Leftovers!

What about everyone else?

 Melissa at Mom’s Plans is balancing delicious and budget. She’s got a tuna casserole on the menu that looks delicious.

Kimberlee of The Peaceful Mom has recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Both her Spicy black beans and her black bean chili caught my eye (mental note: I must be craving black beans!)

 Heather of Celiac Family has some herbs growing in an Aero garden. As usual, she has a pictorial food plan, which I love and my eyes went right to the Pigs in a blanket. I haven’t had those in forever (give or take) and I used to love them. What fun!

Angela of Anglea’s kitchen has rhubarb! I am quite envious; I’ve always wanted some, but supposedly we’re too far south here in VA. She’s also got ribs on the menu that look delish.

Posted in menu plan | 7 Comments

Roasting Veggies Part 2: Carrots! Whole Foods Potluck

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYes, an actual a recipe! As delightful as the foxes are, I do need a break from foxy pics time to time, don’t you?

A few weeks ago, I decided to start a series on Roasting veggies. I’ve roasted cauliflower, asparagus, onions and peppers since days of old, but never ventured beyond that and I’m here to inspire you to avoid such a tragic loss *sob*. Part one was on Roasted Green Beans.

I adore roasted carrots because to me, they’re kinda like candy. Sweet, with yummy caramelized bits=crazy delicious. They’re really easy. The only tedious part is the slicing, (my wrists do not like repetitive motions) and as always, I recommend bribing someone else to do it for you. Although coconut oil generally bothers my tummy, it actually doesn’t for this, for reasons that make no sense to me, but I’m not complaining.

This (non-recipe) recipe is going to Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat’s Whole Foods Potluck, which features some great, real eats! I just peeked and it looks like an amazing roundup. It’s also going to Diet Dessert and Dog’s Wellness Weekends.

1.5 lbs carrots, thinly sliced (that’s all that fits on 2 cookie sheets or I’d definitely make more)
2 TBSP coconut oil, melted
coarse sea salt
a pinch of two of mixed herbs–rosemary, thyme, basil (optional)

Roast at 350 for an hour on until perfect. Stir ever 20 min or so.

Posted in recipe | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A (foxy) Mama’s work is never done

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

Mama fox was nice enough to give us a few peeks of her little guys, and a few shots of her grooming them.
grooming 2

Seriously, buddy? It’s Mother’s Day. You gonna make your momma bend over backwards to groom you?
grooming

Guess that’s a yes.

Takes a lot of love to look this gorgeous!
comfy fox This baby looks almost like an adult.

Posted in Foxy family | 4 Comments