my favorite month

may day
may is definitely my favorite month! the fifth month has it all: beautiful weather, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, graduations, and a nice spot near the end of every academic year. harkening back to my childhood, i associate may with relay races in the sun, blooming azaleas, parties with streamers (and presents!), and the true beginning of water ice season. in more recent times, i ran 2 of my three marathons during this lovely month. and this year, i get to spend most of this glorious month on an elective, topping things off with an exciting vacation to napa/sonoma.

yay for may!

this time, josh and i will be kicking things off with a mini-trip to high point for the NC half marathon which is tomorrow morning. i know at least one person who reads this will be there — runner kristin, who will be completing her first 26.2! much more exciting than my plans to non-race again. hopefully we will run into each other — i think it’s so much fun when the virtual and real worlds collide.

after the race, i have a japanese straightening appointment (another YAY — omg i am so dependent on this process despite the $$$ and time it takes up), and sunday should be a relaxing day. this will be necessary because next week i will be in our same day (ie: acute care) clinic wearing a special mask and goggles seeing the 8,423 children in durham whose parents are all convinced have swine flu.

but let’s stay focused on the positive for now. which brings me to my may goal . . .

mindful in may
zenhabits writer leo babauta had an excellent post on his site yesterday. he states:

benefits of practicing mindfulness (click to enlarge if desired)how to get better at itthe full post can be found here. for those that are link-shy, he ends with a checklist of 11 things to focus on, including:

1. do one thing at a time.

2. do it slowly and deliberately.

3. do less. (why do i think this one is going to be very — VERY — hard for me?)

4. put space between things.

5. spend at least 5 minutes a day doing nothing.

6. stop worrying about the future — focus on the present (also will be extremely tough . . . but worth it, i imagine. i spend way too much time fretting about what might happen at some point!)

7. when you’re talking to someone, be present.

8. each slowly and savor your food (may help me with my restaurant issues!)

9. live slowly and savor your life.

10. make cleaning and cooking become meditation. (ooh, i like that)

11. keep practicing.

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4.30.09

workout: 4 miles @ 8:27/mi. i was in a slightly speedier mood than usual, and it felt good. i also did some jump roping and . . . ummmm . . . some dance dance revolution while volunteering at active teens. although admittedly i am not good enough at the latter activity to have gotten any sort of workout from it.

doin’ time: not really. i had this lovely pasta dish in mind but it wasn’t happening at 7:30 pm when i got home and hadn’t even bought ingredients yet! i just wanted to share this lovely wrap creation that i made instead:
veggie burger, avocado, and swiss inside a whole wheat lavash wrap, grilled on the skillet until all melty, toasted, and delicous.
and beer. sometimes simple really is the best.

reading: an article on vesiculo-ureteral reflux.

flossing/nails: check and check! i think i can officially say i am back on the flossing wagon.