Simplicity

[coffeesnob318]

I’ve been keeping track of all my Happiness Project goals on one calendar. It was a good idea when I started, but as I’ve added goals, that little calendar has started to look really crowded. Actually, it’s started to resemble the notes pages of conspiracy theorists or the clinically insane (implied parallel unintentional) in movies with the small text going every which way, notes in the margins, etc.

So I’m simplifying it. I’ve been coding some things and writing out others (hence the diary-of-a-madwoman look), but I’m going all code now. Clicky if you want to read my progress.

C is for Cleaning –
This is a slow process. Turtle slow. I have to make more of an effort to clean a every day. A grown person just can’t live like this. Well, maybe some grown people can. But I can’t. It makes me anxious, and that is not happiness. I’ve tried programs like Fly Lady (www.flylady.com – I think – if you’re interested), but the prep work before you even get started cleaning took up all the time that I had to clean. It’s not practical for me. What is practical is loading (or unloading) the dishwasher, putting the laundry away, filing or recycling mail. I can do at least one of these things a day.

V is for Vegan Day –
It’s been interesting to see people’s reactions to my move toward veganism. I’m not even anywhere close, but everyone has an opinion. It’s surprising to me how dismissive or defensive people get (I’m talking about face-to-face friends. You’ve all actually been quite encouraging. Thanks for that, by the way). I get less shit for being a Christian. Reactions range from light-hearted ribbing *cough*thinly veiled animosity*cough* to full-on lectures on why it’s an awful idea. I don’t understand. I’m not asking them to be vegan. At all. I’m simply explaining why I am interested in trying. But if I have to hear that it’s impossible to get iron and complete protein by being vegan (False. While it’s true that meat is one of the few sources that give you a complete protein, you get complete protein from eating a variety of plants, too. It’s just from multiple sources instead of a single source, which is not necessary anyway. As an added bonus, you’d be missing out on all the saturated fat that is in meat. But I digress...), I may throw a bit of a fit.

Perhaps the defensiveness stems from their reluctance to think about where their food comes from, because they’re afraid that they might feel the need to act on this knowledge. So I play nice. I proclaim that the main reason for my curiosity is the health aspect. I feel better when I eat better. Just about everyone does. I would be lying, however, if I were to say that feeling better is my only motivation. The meat and dairy industries are corrupt (as most industries are) and can be downright barbaric. There’s no getting around that. There are local places that use kinder methods, but you really have to know what you’re looking for to be sure. It’s not difficult to foresee a time when my love of cheese will be overshadowed by the inhumane ways it was made. And that’s what they don’t want to talk about.

I’m used to it, though. It’s the same reaction I get when I start talking about how much the farmer who grew their coffee was (not) paid. Ignorance is indeed bliss, but that doesn’t make it right.

All that aside, I’m having a great time expanding my vegan repertoire. I’m using more fresh fruits and vegetables, and I’m becoming more comfortable with making substitutions in my beloved recipes so that I don’t have to refer to a book every time I try to do it. Also, Pampered Chef just came out with a mango slicer that has revolutionized my life. I love mango, but I hate preparing it. Not anymore. *angels singing*

R is for Reading –
I have started to enjoy reading again. For the last decade or so, I would go through phases of reading a lot followed by months and months where I didn’t read anything at all. It’s a residual effect of grad school, where I had to finish everything I read – no matter how much it ate my soul to get through it – because it was necessary for class discussion or a lit review I had to write. And I have just now figured out that I don’t have to do that anymore! I can read for fun! I have stopped reading three or four books just in the last month because they were dull to me. Before, I would have drudged on through, although I have no idea why. I’ve always been picky about what I read on vacation, because who wants to be bored on vacation? I have now started asking myself, “Who wants to be bored ever?” It’s quite liberating. It felt scandalous the first time I did it, but in such a wonderful, delicious way that I can no longer deny myself the joy.

W is for Writing –
I haven’t written anything in a long time (besides journaling and blogging). I miss it. It’s hard to get back into the habit of it, though. I would like to see at least one “W” a week this next month.

P is for Prayer –
The journaling is going well, but writing it out isn’t necessary for remembering to do it. I just want to make sure to pray every day, no matter what form it takes. I am more grounded and sane when I do.

A is for Activity –
Any effort to move extra counts. I have found that there’s no need to be strict about a minimum time or effort, because once I get started (therein lies the rub), I actually enjoy it. I don’t do exercise that I don’t like (sorry, free weights – it’s not personal – I just hate you is all – well, maybe it’s a little personal), and I feel so good after I walk or run or do pilates that I just want to do more. I just have to remember to make time to do it.

And to hell with the food diary –
It’s useless to me. I understand why it should work. It just doesn’t work with me. It has revealed some interesting food issues, though. I moved pretty quickly from being horrified with my daily intake to being complacent about it. I knew that it wasn’t doing me much good when I found myself thinking, “Well, I’m already having one piece of cheese (glass of wine, cup of pineapple, etc.) – I might as well have five.” I know. It makes no sense.

[aside – eating an entire pineapple in one sitting? Terrible idea. Terrible, terrible idea.]

I would like to tell you that this tendency to overeat is based on my aversion to wasting food. And while I do have such an aversion, it doesn’t really work as an excuse here. If all the excess food does is add more calories that I then must burn off, it’s being wasted anyway, because I don’t need it. In fact, it’s more of a waste. It wastes the food, and it wastes the extra time it takes to rid myself of the extra calories. And in the long run, if I don’t stop my excessive ways, it will lead to wasting money on medical expenses paid to treat all the potential problems that such overindulgence could cause. So overeating is actually more wasteful than letting the food go bad. My brain realizes this; I need to quit buying into my own rationalization. If wasting food were really my guiding concern, I would simply make less food or freeze it to use later (which I would like to do more often).

The only other thing I can think of to explain my “more is more” food philosophy is that it’s just a part of our culture, especially in this state. We’re bred for excess. Everything’s bigger here, even the people. That’s right – I blame Texas. :) Of course, I have to take responsibility for hiding behind the bandwagon. I know better. I just need to act like I do.

Comments

[nonnierms.livejournal.com]

R--I used to be the same way, I'd finish that book no matter how numbing it was.......now I don't. And if the book itself doesn't appeal to me but I am interested in the character/plot......I skip to the end and read that and then am done with it :p I refuse to waste time reading something I don't want to anymore! there are too many other good books I could be filling my somewhat-limited reading time with :p

[coffeesnob.livejournal.com]

I've taken to reading reviews online of books I am not excited about reading but want to know how the plot turns out. Some people really don't understand the concept of spoiler alerts, which I use to my advantage.

[coffeesnob.livejournal.com]

It helps that most of them tie together in some way. The more I read, the more I want to write. The better I feel from having a good diet, the more energy I have to exercise. And a lot of the books I find interesting lately are food and running memoirs. So they feed each other most of the time. The rest of the time? Yeah - totally overwhelming.

[ex-redrain.livejournal.com]

I hear you on the veganism. My mother is really good at lecturing me on that one. I'm really good at ignoring her. If you keep going with this, check out the Veganomicon cookbook. Awesome.

[coffeesnob.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. The Veganomicon is on my covet list. I almost swiped the last copy in Borders before they closed, but I hesitated, waiting for the price to go down more, and someone beat me to it. Now I'm stalking it on Amazon.