-Trying to formulate ideas on how to get kids to be more participatory in the making of meals. Even though it was on the later side, we took a family walk to Safeway, split up in the store and did our shopping, got home and collectively baked some chicken breasts for dinner.

-Watched Contagion as a family which was made in 2011…crazy to have lived through something like this so real with COVID, flashbacks to vaccination lines, news about overflowing containers with dead bodies, already understanding what the R-0 value means…

-Eric finished installing the silver baseboard in our kitchen today (woohoo!) while I made his coffee and cooked boba.

-Was wiped out after lunch but was compelled by Eric already asleep in bed to also take a nap while kids continued their Star Wars marathon.

GRATITUDE:

Very thankful these days for this morning walk turned coffee shop date that Eric and I have been having. It usually happens on a Saturday morning starting between 5:30-6am, which seems ungodly. But really it’s been so nice to find this quiet time to connect with each other on a weekly basis. Feeling spoiled today because it’s only Thursday and we slept in past 6:30, but somehow snuck it in…we talked about habits and tried to figure out how to better use the Reminders and Notes apps. It’s the 2025 version of prior couch laptop dates.

MINDFULNESS:

Seeing the shape of the full shadow moon behind the bright crescent on our walk to the grocery store this evening. 🌖

Working on getting habits organized and distractions minimized today. Will need more structure to this blog but for now this is just the mark of beginning again and keeping the routines I’ve built up over the past year just a little stronger – Eric says it’s “small improvements” but I think the idea of “1% gains” resonates more with me seeing as how that has been an effective state of mind the last few years with all that has transpired with Jasper, my health journey with the anemia problems, getting physically stronger, eating better, reading more, carving out more time (even if it’s just a small bit) with Eric – listened to a podcast with James Clear (Atomic Habits) today and he described it as “fewer moves, bolder strokes”.

Last year was the year of Strength, and this year will be the year of 1% Gains.

I’d like to make a point to make a note of gratitude in this daily writing also. I’ve been good at implementing this with the kids, and have seen the benefits it’s had for them. I know it would likewise be good for myself but have failed to be consistent in this practice.

GRATITUDE:

-Starting the new year with the best things in life this morning. None of us stayed up till midnight, but we did wake up and get to Cowell beach early and had the beach to ourselves for a good hour.

-Speed puzzling with my family at the dining table today to finish another Magic Shift puzzle.

-Really feeling good that this year will just keep building on. the momentum of refining what made 2024 so good.

MINDFULNESS:

The warmth of the sun on my face while laying on the sand with my Rumpl blanket wrapped around me and Juniper sitting next to me.

Books I read (or listened to) this year…wish I had a list of all the podcasts and subject matter I took in also.

Finally unlocked the 1 year (365 days) of walking everyday goal of 10,000 steps! Decided around October to just start walking 11k a day since it was telling me I was averaging that already. Increasing 2025 daily goal officially to 11k.

I got a little stronger in 2024. Lifted this yesterday for 1 minute (just picking it up and literally holding for 1 minute)…78 lbs. A pretty drastic difference remembering back to the beginning of 2023 when I could barely lift the 3lb weights without my right forearm feeling strained and was barely doing 10 minutes of yoga daily.

So I walked a little more…

I slept a little more too.

And actively exercised on purpose too.

For record sake, putting the two DEXAscans from this year here too.

And from our scale, which never really seems to change but I guess there have been some very small improvements in muscle?

This always makes me smile and since today marks 20 years of meeting on New Year’s Eve 2004, it seems appropriate to post and remember how much he still makes my heart smile.

And just like that he’s turning 12…remembering that this night 12 years ago was the most physically painful and scary nights/days of my life. What a journey it has been and continues to be…

The sun was shining brightly today. And! This is a great opportunity to actually use the Japanese that I know since we did things that are exactly like the sample sentences I’ve learned! This is pretty exciting if I’m honest.

きょう、テニスをしました。

家族と公園にいきました。

Today, I played tennis.

I went to the park with my family.

Got a pretty good night of rest last night and was able to get on the yoga mat first thing which felt good.

We watched the BHS musical performance of Footloose and it definitely brought back some nostalgia of the many hours in the pit for rehearsals back in my high school days. I hope that my kids can find their place and friends where they can feel that same sense of belonging. Afterwards we walked in more sunshine to get boba and enjoy an afternoon pastry at Maison Alyzee. Hard to wrangle Juniper to stay with us long enough but we did manage to squeeze a little family time where the two kids weren’t totally fighting or snapping at each other. Hopefully we can all get proper rest this week and also all find ourselves with better moods.

FOCUS: Hoping to get a little garden time in this week. Mom & Dad come back from Vegas tomorrow and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to take mom out for a short birthday outing one morning before they head to Minden again. Jasper’s birthday is this week and I should probably figure out some kind of amazing surprise for him….

A day in SF NihonMachi (Japantown), watching a movie, having bullet train sushi, trying taiyaki!

84 yoga and/or strength workout since starting this new routine 106 days ago. I bought myself a new yoga mat, but it’s still in the box. I feel like I need to set some sort of goal and only upon reaching it can I finally unpack the small, great pleasure of what this new mat will bring. I remember buying the previous mat when doing prenatal yoga more than 12 years ago now since Jasper will be 12 next week! Anyhow, what is the appropriate goal? 100 days? How many times does it take to build a habit? See James Clear link that it could be 2 months to 8 months depending on the person…so I guess I just need to decide what is appropriate for me…if the goal is 100, and I were actually to push through every day till the end of March, then that would be 100 exactly. I think that’s fair and definitely motivation to push it up a notch and. It take a rest day on the weekend like I have been doing. Also makes me grateful I just did a yoga session at 11pm despite it being late and out of routine from the early 5:30am I’ve been striving for. No excuses from here till day 100!

Hard to wake up the last couple of days…not sure the daylight savings time change or the slight going to bed later. Regardless, it’s making the mornings very difficult this week.

Spent a lot of time researching for Japan trip today. Still feels like so much more to know and plan though.

Found the website that talks about the Tokyo Toilets! Scavenger hunt time?

GRATITUDE: Took Juniper and her friends to the BIS incoming 6th grade tour today. Crazy to think she’ll be in middle school already…I guess I haven’t fully accepted that Jasper is there already and from what I can tell, for the most part thriving in his day to day. Maybe thriving is an exaggeration, but he’s beyond just surviving that is for certain.

As for me, I spent the whole day taking the 3 Japanese quizzes for Lesson 7. It’s really making me question the time commitment I’ll be able to have these next 3 months when I really should be planning our Japan trip, tending to the backyard garden. The weather is absolutely perfect to be working outside these days and I just can’t get out there…I’m trying to assess other ways I can keep learning Japanese and make it a commitment that I won’t skimp on. Seeing as I’ve been able to do this pretty successfully now for yoga/strength training/cracking down on the simple carbs to try to get metabolically healthy/being vigilant about protein the last 3 months, it would seem fair that I could commit to a rigorous Japanese study schedule also…just need to brainstorm the guidelines and give myself deadlines I think…I’ve been researching sources to continue/review the Genki Vol. 1 handbook…I really don’t feel like I’ve grasped the concepts from this past lesson, not to mention I have 1 more lesson still ahead before the trimester ends. Must come up with a plan of action for this…

FOCUS: 1 hour ruck in misty to finally raining conditions this morning. Still thinking it’s a little strange putting on a heavy backpack (today I had the 10# ruck plate plus 2 bags of beans and dried peas). However, I do see how doing this everyday (or 3x a week in my current goal) could be very good for building strength. Not sure I’m imagining it, but I definitely feel more conscious to align my pelvis and keep core engaged while walking which I think in turn has been helping with my right hip/glute/back issue. I mean, the consistency of yoga and strength training almost every day has really improved a lot of things in my body and there have been significant gains in range of motion and ability just since the beginning of the year. That feeling of success is definitely motivation to keep going and keep pushing ahead, or in this case keep carrying heavy things…

INSPIRATION: