Handbook for 2009, pt. 1

I wish I could take credit for the inspiration of this post, but I can't. A few weeks ago one of my colleagues sent me this Handbook for 2009 in an e-mail. I have no idea where it came from, but I'm guessing it's been all over the internet recently.


Health

1. Drink plenty of water.
I've been trying to do this recently, but it sure gets tiring running to the restroom all day long. Though my intentions are good, I'm not always successful. But I'm trying.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
Again, good advice. Unfortunately I do this all wrong, too. I usually don't eat breakfast (I know it's terrible...don't yell at me...) and I sometimes don't get a balanced lunch. It all depends on what my day is like at school. J and I suck at regular grocery shopping. Right after we've been, I have lots of healthy choices for lunch and things are good for a week or so. Then we need to go shopping again, and we don't always do it right away. So then I eat lunches consisting of whatever I can get my hands on. Then we are out of food, basically, and I don't eat lunch unless I can get to the cafeteria. Believe it or not, that doesn't happen very regularly, either, so a lot of times I don't eat lunch. Suffice it to say, by the time dinner rolls around I am starving. Once you have a bad habit in place it's really hard to break it...but this is something I'm working on still.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
Such good advice, but so hard to do during the school year. During the summer it's easier for me because I can go to the grocery store more regularly.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
I've got the Enthusiasm and Empathy down...the Energy part is slowly coming. It's been helping that I have been working out five days a week with one of my friends. At least twice last week I didn't want to do it, but I forced myself. I was glad I did after the fact, too. I'm trying!

5. Make time to practice meditation and yoga.
Hmm. Not sure this is going to happen. In fact, pretty sure it's not going to. I'm too busy running to the rest room because of all the water! And I'm just not that patient.

6. Play more games.
Totally agree. J and I have an entire closet full of games that we hardly ever use. And just the other day he asked me if I wanted to play Cribbage with him and I turned him down. I should have agreed. Maybe I'll see if he wants to play tonight.

7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
Always a worthy goal...but I don't keep track of how many books I read. I should do that. It would be interesting to see how many I actually read. In the last week alone I have read seven or eight... Granted none of them were "hard" reading. They were mostly chick lit books and a few young adult novels, but I've been reading like crazy lately.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
This is hard for me. Why is it so hard? If I could do this perhaps I could work on the meditating bit. Although, while this is hard for me, it's nearly impossible for J. Unless we are sitting in public at a restaurant, he talks all the time. When we are in public, though, I practically have to bribe him to talk. Go figure.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.
I do manage to do this most days. There are times when I need more than this and other times when I get by just fine on less. But I would say I average seven hours a night.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
I don't always walk, but at least five times a week I have been working out. We ride the stationary bike and use the rowing machine or walk every day. Twice a week we have been lifting weights, too. My friend's husband is a PE teacher and strength coach, and he has worked out a schedule for us. I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but I don't really. I'm thankful for the routine, and I'm committed to it, but if I didn't have my friend to talk to during the work out, I would probably not do it so often.

What are you doing for your health this year?