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Strengthen 2015: January and February

Published on March 5, 2015 By Emily. Updated on March 5, 2015

As you may recall, at the beginning of the year, I committed myself to getting stronger in 2015.  I finished 2014 feeling a little beat up and I was ready to stop trying to do all the things.  Here’s how it’s going so far:

Mind

I have a semester and a half left of grad school, folks.  I will be done by September.  I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this fact.  I’ve been working hard the past couple months to complete all my work, hence the lack of posts sometimes, and I’m really excited about my research topic.

Meanwhile, I’m working on some of my other skills goals as well.  Last weekend I took a photography class through IS183, which was something I’d been planning to do for literally years.  I haven’t had much time to practice, but I feel like I have a clue about shooting in a manual mode and I’m looking forward to sharing pictures that reflect that.  I also developed my interior painting skills this month…and I’m still looking forward to doing some more.

After_years_of_procrastination__I_finally_bought_myself_a_mat__yoga__strengthen2015

Body

Oh, body.  I wrote in January that my goal was to do yoga 6 days a week, but that only lasted like 2 weeks before I started missing days.  I keep promising myself that I’ll jump back on the bandwagon, but it’s been a struggle (though I’m up to 2 days in a row!) Scheduling is part of the issue; ideally, I’d spend some time on the mat first thing in the morning, but I’m just slow in the morning and I’m trying to get in the habit of making myself a real breakfast as well.  It just doesn’t seem possible to do everything I want to in the morning.  I’ve no issue with working out in the afternoon, but my schedule has been so erratic that it makes routine difficult.  Hopefully the next two months work great!

_SheReadsTruth__SRTLent_Day_4

Spirit

My spirit is so much better than it was last fall.  A lot of that has to do with circumstances, but I’ve also done a few other things.  The current She Reads Truth study is a 47 day study on Lent that’s been excellent.  Speaking of Lent, Brian and I both chose to stop working on Sundays.  This may sound like an easy and wonderful thing to give up (like, giving up washing dishes or something), but I realized that part of my stress and my inability to relax was the fact that I was working all the time.  If I wasn’t doing work for school, I was reading for grad classes or writing blog posts or completing tasks for my part time job.  I love to work and I love getting things done, so stopping has been a sacrifice and a struggle (as Lent should be), but the rewards have been great: I manage my time better and I actually relax at least once a week.

Relationships

Relationships are difficult to strengthen; everyone is so darn busy! I did get the chance to visit with some friends in the past couple months, but the relationship I have seen the most improved is the one I have with Brian.  For one, the no-work Sundays have provided us with the opportunity to spend time together.  We’ve made the afternoon a “Date Day” – last weekend we went out to lunch and to The Clark Art Museum – and it was awesome.  In addition, we started using You Need a Budget at the end of January and it’s been awesome.  We never fought about money, but we definitely viewed it differently sometimes.  YNAB is not only helping us achieve our financial goals, but it has provided an impetus for many productive conversations that have put us even more on the same page.

Looking forward to the next couple months!

Related Posts

Strengthening: 2015 So Far
Strengthen In 2015
2016’s Word: Connect
How I Rehydrate Dried Beans
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Filed Under: life Tagged With: strengthen

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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