Resolve to Love #1: The Temporary Body

This was supposed to be posted during the first week of January – not the last! But thanks to my procrastination, here we are. I think part of the reason I delayed in posting this is simply because I wasn’t sure how to make this idea sound positive, when there’s a certain morbidity to it. But hopefully, I will get my point across in an uplifting manner.

So our first thought to ruminate on during this one-year challenge is this: Ultimately, our bodies are temporary, and therefore, how much time do we really want to waste on worrying about our appearance? Perhaps there are other, more productive ways to spend our time, our energy, our thoughts, our money, since we will, after all, end up in the ground someday. (There’s the morbid part, but please, read on!)

Copyright: Five Seed

Now I’m not suggesting that since we’re all going to die someday that we should just let our bodies go to ruin. Not at all. Our bodies are wonderful gifts that allow us to experience this world, and the healthier we are, the better we can experience it. So of course, we should spend some time moving every day, we should try to eat healthy foods as much as possible, etc.

HOWEVER – when you stand in front of the mirror and find despair creeping in because you have spent years trying to trim your thighs or because your butt just never seems to get smaller, or… Why waste that good time when our bodies won’t actually be around that long?

I will always remember a story Anne Lamott often tells in her essays and spiritual lectures:

“When I was 38, my best friend, Pammy, died, and we went shopping about two weeks before she died, and she was in a wig and a wheelchair. I was buying a dress for this boyfriend I was trying to impress, and I bought a tighter, shorter dress than I was used to. And I said to her, ‘Do you think this makes my hips look big?’ and she said to me, so calmly, ‘Anne, you don’t have that kind of time.’”

That’s what I’m trying to get across in this seemingly macabre post. We’re not going to be here forever, so ultimately, who cares what we look like? How much we weigh? Whether or not we have cellulite? We don’t have that kind of time. Life is short. Why waste it on fretting over our appearance?

Make more time for this, less time for fretting over your weight!

Your challenge for the last week of this month is to remind yourself of this fact daily. And please leave a comment here if you have had a Lamott moment like the one described above.

Next month (just a few days away!), I promise to post the next challenge on time!

Resolve to Love Challenge: The Survey Results

For those of you who answered the survey (thank you!) here are the results:

::Sixty-two percent of you have resolved to lose weight in 2012.

::How often have you made this resolution before? Twenty-five percent have made it once before, another 25% twice before, 8% have made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight more than three times before, 25% five times before, and the final 17% of you, five or more times.

::Only 7% of you weigh yourself every day. (Yay!) Eighty-five percent of you do NOT experience anxiety when you can’t weigh yourself on a regular basis (another yay!), but a full 50% of you said the numbers on the scale affect your confidence level. (That’s why I never weigh myself – it’s too easy to fall into insecurity.)

::Forty-six percent of you feel you must be constantly vigilant in order to maintain your weight, and 33% of you avoid certain foods in order to maintain your weight. As for social settings, 41% of you expressed feeling anxiety at gatherings involving food. However, this anxiety was not always triggered by weight issues, but by nutritional preferences and/or special dietary needs.

::Predictably, no one claimed to be satisfied with their weight “always.” Thirty percent are happy with their weight most of the time, 15% are satisfied half the time, 23% once in a while, and 32% of you said you were “never” happy with your weight.

::The final question (How much of your time, money and energy are spent on weight issues?) prompted a slew of interesting responses from both sides of the spectrum. Here are a few samples:

Way too much. But doesn’t everyone? The day that chubby women appear in beauty magazines is the day that maybe – MAYBE – I’ll feel beautiful the way I am.

About a minute out of every three months when I finally get curious enough to get on the scale. I used to obsess over my weight, but now I barely care. I have way too many other things to concern myself with, and besides, I think I look great, so who cares what number the scale reports?

I pay for a gym membership to help me access a way to help keep me healthy and strong. I feel better and have more energy and am happier when I’m able to exercise a few times per week.

I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about it and trying to convince myself to FEEL what I THINK: that my weight shouldn’t matter if it’s not affecting my health.

For me, I often feel lulled into thinking I don’t have anymore weight issues. After all, when you finally find yourself free of planning your entire life around your eating disorders, you feel like you are completely healed. Yet, I was drawn to this subject because I was annoyed by the many “lose weight in 2012″ slogans I heard over the past month or so – nothing new when January rolls around. I also realized, yet again, that I do still have some issues and I truly want to release them.

My own answers to this survey would be reflected in those you readers gave: I, too, am only sometimes satisfied with my weight, my confidence is affected by my weight and appearance, and I’m scarily gifted at trying to trick myself into weight loss goals under the guise of getting healthier. (Not that there’s anything wrong with wanting to lose weight or getting healthier – I simply mean to say that I’m very good at tricking myself into trying to lose weight by pretending that it’s about my health.)

Thank you all who answered this survey and stay tuned as I (very belatedly) post about our first Resolve to Love assignment in the challenge.

A Little Kingsolver Wisdom

Even though I had two weeks off from work for Winter Break, when I started up my bicycle commute again this past week (and in LOVELY weather, I might add!), I found myself pushing my legs to pedal faster and faster. By Wednesday, sick of being so sweaty and rushed when I arrived at work, I finally sat down with myself to figure out what was going on.

I was bored. Yep, simple as that. There are only a few ways to “switch up” my ride during the first two miles – after that, I have to ride the same way every single day. So there I was, getting bored by the ride that used to thrill and relax me and turning it into something less pleasant.

The solution turned out to be quite easy: audio books! I’ve never been one to wear my headphones during a ride. I just like to listen to the wind, the birds, the cars when I’m out riding. But I realized it might be fun to try some audio books. I downloaded Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, (which is rapidly rising to the top of my Favorite Books List) from the library and have been enjoying it for the last couple of days. It is amazing how this experience has changed my ride – I now take MUCH longer to get to and from work because I’m savoring every moment of Kingsolver’s beautiful prose and the sight of the beautiful winter sky. No more sweaty arrivals at work! No more boredom! I only hope I can find another audio book as captivating as this one.

I’ll be back next week to talk about the Resolve to Love Challenge and to update you on other aspects of my bicycle commute. I’ve got some great interviews in the works, as well! But for now, I thought I’d leave you with some wonderful Kingsolver quotes:

“If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”

“Human manners are wildly inconsistent; plenty of people have said so. But this one takes the cake: the manner in which we’re allowed to steal from future generations, while commanding them not to do that to us, and rolling our eyes at anyone who is tediously PC enough to point that out. The conspicious consumption of limited resources has yet to be accepted widely as a spirtual error, or even bad manners.”

“Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil per year per citizin — about 17% of our nations energy use — for agriculture.”

“Finally, cooking is good citizenship. It’s the only way to get serious about putting locally raised foods into your diet, which keeps farmlands healthy and grocery money in the neighborhood.”

The Resolve to Love Challenge

The new year is almost here and with it, a slew of good intentions and goals – many of which we have set before and never met. Let’s be honest: How many of you (secretly or not) have resolved to finally lose that extra weight in 2012? How many of you have set this goal before? How many times have you made this your resolution?

Why do we put ourselves through this?!

I think all of us women have been around this hamster wheel dozens of times as each new year comes and goes. Even if we do lose the weight, so many of us gain it back, and are right back where we started, more discouraged and more determined.

But here’s a question for all you readers out there: How is it that such glorious, beautiful, creative, powerful creatures such as ourselves end up reducing our vision for the next year of our lives into an action intended to improve our outer appearance? And please, let’s not kid ourselves that this is about our health. I realize that certainly IS the case for many, but not for all. There are plenty of perfectly healthy people kicking around with 20 extra pounds, just as there are numerous people at their “ideal” weights who are NOT healthy.

I have the feeling I’m going to get a lot of backlash on this issue, but I’m going to stick to my guns here. We women fiercely defend our desire to lose weight. We have a MILLION reasons why it’s okay, a MILLION rationalizations to convince ourselves and others that it’s not an aesthetic pursuit, but one of health, sexuality, empowerment, self-esteem, etc.

But I’m going to have to argue here that I believe 80% (or more) of us seeking to lose weight are doing so because we believe we will be happier, more desirable and more lovable if we are thinner. I believe 80% (or more) of us are lying to ourselves when we insist that we just want to “get our groove back”, or that we are trying to “get healthier.” I believe this because I have witnessed it and lived it, myself. I have told myself a million times that I just want to get healthier or feel sexy again, even when I’ve lost some weight, already. It’s a cycle that never ends. These little dramas are the things that we use to keep ourselves “playing small,” as Marianne Williamson would say. We don’t have time or energy to see what we can really do because we’re too busy worrying, watching and fretting over our weight.

No, really. Ask yourself, in all honesty, why you want to lose weight this year. Most of us know how to PR ourselves at this time of year. We want to “get healthy,” “eat right,” “exercise more.” We know all the politically correct ways to say this. But honestly and truly, what is beneath those words, those intentions? Do you have a secret thrill that maybe this time you will gain control and get down to that perfect number on the scale that you’ve been dreaming of? I believe that for most of us, the answer to this question is YES.

Dove's "Real Women" campaign from early 2011

So here it is, folks – my big challenge to you, one that will last the entire year: Resolve to love. There are two parts to this challenge:

1. Resolve to love yourself just as you are right now. Nothing else needs to change. When you change on the inside, the outside will change, too. The more you love and accept yourself as you are right now, the more you will find yourself making wiser choices for you mind, heart, spirit and body. Suddenly, overeating will seem more harmful than helpful. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself gravitating toward physical activities that feed your mind, spirit AND body…and you won’t have to force yourself to perform these activities (bicycle commuting, jogging with your dog, playing Wii tennis with your kids, etc.). This is it. Period. Just love and accept yourself EXACTLY AS YOU ARE RIGHT NOW (at this weight, at this size). You will truly find yourself exactly where you wanted to be all along if you diligently pursue the act of self-acceptance without worrying about food, exercise, etc.

It sounds easy, but truthfully, this is one of the hardest resolutions you could ever make for yourself. There’s no mystery why we tend to set our goals around food, exercise, numbers on the scale – this is easier than learning to see ourselves through the eyes of love on a consistent basis. Yet we can accomplish nothing of true value if we cannot see the value inherent within us at any given moment, no matter what we look like on the outside.

2. Resolve to keep yourself in a space of love. This means that the only diet you can focus on is one in your mind – cutting all the calories of those nasty, negative thoughts. If you haven’t tried this one yet, you will likely be shocked to find out how often you have negative thoughts. This is something I have worked on for many, many years, and yet, only this past year do I feel that I’ve made some significant steps towards positivity. A Course in Miracles calls our negative thought mill the “ego,” which is “suspicious at best and vicious at worst.” When we run on autopilot, this is often our default setting: the ego. The negativity. The fear-based thoughts and manifestations. Over time, this becomes such a rut in our minds that we don’t even realize we are doing it!

The only way to climb out of these rutted paths is a daily practice of “redirection.” Start your mornings in a way that allows you to put your best foot forward (prayer, meditation, etc.). Listen to your thoughts and change course as often as necessary (which can seem like a never-ending process, LOL!). The only diet that truly matters is this – cutting out those negative thoughts and nourishing ourselves with positive thoughts. The perfect place to start is right here with your weight. Can you learn to love yourself just as you are now? Can you extend that acceptance to others?

Now what sounds like a better resolution to you: Losing weight or loving yourself and cultivating a positive mental habit?

Want to join in the Resolve to Love Challenge? Leave a comment here telling us why you are joining in and how you intend to start your practice of self-acceptance and positive thinking. You can join any time during the year. I will revisit this topic often and would love to hear from you as we go along!

I’d love to start out with a survey. There are ten questions (9 are multiple choice). You can skip any questions you don’t want to answer. No personal information is required so this is completely anonymous. Please note that I will be sharing the responses on this blog, though again, it will all be completely anonymous! Thanks and Happy New Year!

The Luxury of Minimalism

There is seems to be a myth going around that being “eco-concious” is either really complicated or that it’s a drag – that it requires a lot of sacrifice. Today, I want to bust those myths open.

First, let’s tackle the complication issue. It’s no surprise that people think being green requires way more time and effort than we want to put out. Unfortunately, our consumer-driven culture latches on to every trend in an effort to profit from it. I don’t mean to sound cynical because there are a HUGE amount of wonderful, green businesses out there (umm, hello! LOL). But there seem to also be a bunch of unnecessary products that have been created just for the sake of being green – which they really aren’t, which makes them not-so-green, after all. But the point is, much of living a green life is more about “un-learning” (a term Good Green Witch uses) and “de-stashing.” Not acquiring a ton of new products that will supposedly make your life easier and greener. This is something that I’ll occasionally be writing about with more specific examples, but for now, let’s leave it at that.

Simple is beautiful.

The second issue is what I want to focus on in this post – the luxury of minimalism. The idea that being green means making sacrifices is a big fat lie. Admittedly, we have to do a little retraining of the mind – we do live in a Culture of Convenience. But there are other rewards to gain from a greener, more minimalist lifestyle.

This is something I’ve thought a lot about in regards to my store. Most bath and body shops offer ten million (a slight exaggeration, LOL) products in twenty million scent blends. As for me, you know I don’t think we need a lot of stuff for the skin. A few basic moisturizers, and some medicinal balms/oils. And perhaps some fun perfumes and other aromatherapy products (a passion of mine). When I first started, I worried that no one would want to buy my products because they were so basic and minimalist. Then I realized that this is a GOOD thing! When you aren’t buying a line of products that includes 20 items, you can afford the best – organic oils and butters, rich waxes, fresh, handmade balms, etc. It is something that I’ve been trying to express in the shop over these past few months – that minimalism can be luxurious.

This is true in all parts of our lives when you think of it. Simple, inexpensive food from the produce department and bulk aisles can be prepared fresh and delicious all year long. People believe packaged food is simpler and cheaper, but not really! Yes, it is easier to drop a bag of food into the microwave, but there’s a certain luxury to food that has been chopped, sauteed, baked and stirred with your own hands that can’t be compared to prepackaged food. And alternative commuting – not “convenient” I suppose I must admit, as it takes extra time. But there is something unexpectedly luxurious about walking or riding your bike to work. Being out in the fresh air (even when it’s cold) seems so freeing. There’s less a sense of rush and traffic-related stress. You’re creating endorphins as you ride and by the time you arrive at your destination, you are almost always happier than you were when you started!

Life is full of these unexpected little luxuries: a handknit sweater you made yourself, fresh eggs from an urban homesteading friend, handmade beauty products, organic herbal tea you mix yourself… Yes, everything takes a little more time living this way. That’s when it’s time to determine what really matters. What needs to be cut away? Less TV? Less (gasp!) texting? Buying fewer gadgets that tempt you with their easy access to Facebook and email and all the things that don’t actually need to be checked every hour?

This is something I’ll be talking about a lot more in the coming year. I think it’s about time we see minimalism for what it is: luxurious!

What do you think?

The right moisturizer for the job

Last week, we talked about how showers tend to dry out the skin, especially at this time of year. It is recommended that you slather on some moisturizer within three minutes of your shower to prevent the loss of your own natural oils and to protect the skin throughout the day. But what to use? You might be surprised.

There are generally four categories of moisturizers: balms/ointments, oils, creams and lotions. Lotions are the most popular of all the moisturizers. The reason is that they contain alcohol, which keeps them from being too greasy. They absorb easily into the skin and generally leave little to no residue. These lotions are not the best solution for dry skin, however – the alcohol (the ingredient that makes it so popular) counteracts the moisturizing ingredients! Further, many popular lotions today are rated a 5 or above at the EWG’s Skin Deep Database.

Take a hugely popular product, Lubriderm’s Daily Moisture Lotion. Check out this list of ingredients:

WATER, MINERAL OIL, PETROLATUM, SORBITOL SOLUTION, STEARIC ACID, LANOLIN, LANOLIN ALCOHOL, CETYL ALCOHOL, GLYCERYL STEARATE/PEG-100 STEARATE, TRIETHANOLAMINE, DIMETHICONE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX, TRI CITRATE PPG-3 MYRISTYL ETHER, DIMETHICONE EDTA, METHYLPARABEN, ETHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, FRAGRANCE, XANTHAN GUM, BUTYLPARABEN, METHYLDIBROMO GLUTARONITRILE

Are there enough petroleum-based ingredients and parabens in here for ya? LOL! According to the EWG, this product is rated a whopping 7 (out of 10). They list the following as high level concerns: Endocrine disruption, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns.

Lubriderm is not alone in this. Go check out the Skin Deep Database and see where you lotion rates. You might be unpleasantly surprised!

The second most popular moisturizer is the cream. These are very much like lotions in that they absorb very easily and don’t leave a lot of residue. Why? You guessed it – most of these have some form of alcohol in them! These seem to have a lower rating on Skin Deep (lower is good!), but if you look at the ingredients in these products (Eucerin Cream, Neutrogena Hand Cream, etc.), they are, like lotions, made from petroleum-based products and are full of parabens. Not good!

The next category is oils. This is a great way to moisturize, but as you can imagine, many people don’t like to use oils because of the residue. However, this is a far more natural way to moisturize – assuming you are using a pure oil, that is! (Stay away from mineral oil and anything containing it!) My recommendation would be to use sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, etc. You don’t need a lot – a little goes a long way. Rub it into still-damp skin right after your shower.

Copyright: Five Seed

And if you really need some help for super dry skin, the BEST thing you can use is an oil- and wax-based balm. I think many people cringe when they hear this because we’ve been taught that waxes and oils clog our pores. But these are natural products and they know how to interact with our skin – and vice versa. Oils enhance our skin’s natural moisture and wax seals that moisture in, protecting us for hours after application. In my personal line, I use Coconut Vanilla Bean Balm (or the Tonka Balm) as a body moisturizer and for my face, I use Flower Balm in the morning and Flower Elixir at night (to give my skin some “breathing room” while I sleep). I’ve been doing this for two years now and I believe it has truly healed my skin from years of treating it with benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid.

If you want to make your own, I highly recommend using organic oils and combine them with a semi-solid butter – cocoa butter and shea butter are my favorites. I also recommend beeswax for the skin, though candelilla wax is another favorite of mine and is plant-based for all you vegans out there. If you prefer to buy them, make sure to look for a list of all-natural ingredients. Balms do not need preservatives or petroleum-based products or parabens or any other such nonsense!

Yes, oils and balms leave more of a residue, it’s true. This is why they are the least popular moisturizers despite their efficacy. There is a simple remedy for this, however. First of all, only apply a little at a time. You will find that you do not need nearly as much of these products as you would need of lotions or creams. Secondly, you can use a dry washcloth to blot off the excess. Make sure you give your skin a few minutes to truly absorb the oils/balms before you blot – this will help a lot, as well.

What kinds of moisturizers have you found to work the best on your skin?

When Wet Makes You Dry

Many of you who have been following this blog for a while know that I like to get a little dirty. I never shower every day unless I’m really dirty (and I mean that literally – like when I’ve been gardening all day and am actually covered with dirt) or really, really sweaty. The reason for this is simple – showering too often strips your body of its natural oils and dries you out. And the side benefit: showering less saves water!

I’ve mentioned this dry skin issue before and I tend to get a lot of skeptical glances. But it’s true! Showering really does dry your skin. The top layer of our skin consists of dead skin cells and oils produced by the living skin cells. The purpose of this oil is to form a protective layer over our skin, keeping the water of our bodies from drying out. This layer of oil also protects us from irritating substances and germs.

When this layer of oil is stripped away, the water content in our skin decreases, causing the skin to dry out. Do you know the most common cause of the loss of our skin’s oil? Too much soapy, hot water! The more you wash, the more you are drying out your skin.

To remedy this situation, the University of Iowa suggests taking warm (not hot) showers that are no longer than 10 minutes – and never more than once a day. Also, use soap minimally. In most cases, you don’t need to wash your arms with soap, for instance. Save the soap for the underarms, feet and groin areas. Plain old water is sufficient enough for the rest of your body.

When you’re done with your shower, be sure to pat dry – don’t rub. Rubbing exacerbates the loss of oil in the skin. Finally, be sure to moisturize within three minutes of getting out of the shower – this will seal the shower’s moisture into your skin.

What kind of moisturizer? Stay tuned – we’ll talk about that on Monday!

10 things you miss out on when you drive your car on an autumn day

Quince Park in October

1. Watching a pill bug cross the street in front of you.

2. Feeling the shift in the wind patterns.

3. Hearing the sound of dry leaves skittering across the road.

4.Waving to fellow pedestrians.

5. Smelling the scents of people’s dinners cooking as you pass by their houses.

6. The feel of the cold air and the warm sun.

7. Noticing the brilliant leaves slowly changing colors and blowing into the spokes of your bike as your ride by.

8. The sound of kids giggling as they get off the school buses, and the nearby barking of dogs waiting for their human companions to step through the front door.

9. The clean, crisp scent of fall.

10. The meditative calm that washes over you as you pedal, pedal, pedal to your destination.

Black Friday: Hit or Miss?

Each year, it seems that Black Friday is slowly overshadowing the actual holiday (Thanksgiving) of this holiday weekend. In fact, it’s downright ironic that we spend one day focusing on gratitude and the next three days focused on the frenzied acquisition of more stuff.

There are certainly fun aspects to it – I know a lot of people who love the tradition of waking up early with their sister or mother to pick up Christmas presents at a great price. We all love the thrill of a good bargain, right?

But I’ve also seen many downsides to the Black Friday weekend. The last time I went shopping on Black Friday was about 4 years ago, to get some DVDs at $1.99. It took half an hour just to get my hands on them, while pushing through a massive crowd, and then I had to wait in line for 45 minutes. I realized I would rather have paid full price than deal with the long lines and pushy crowds.

This year, I’ve been especially annoyed by the commercials that have debuted recently. The AT&T 4G LTE commercial (and others like it) make me crazy. Our tech toys are rapidly developing – Smart Phones, tablets, readers. Hell, even I am thinking of getting a Kindle Fire someday. Maybe. But each year, there’s a new generation of tech toys, and they are growing exponentially. I can only imagine the kind of e-waste they are creating when people chuck their old phones and tablets for the newest version. And everything has to be smarter, better, faster. “That’s so 27 seconds ago.” Do we really need to promote the idea that satisfaction can only be gained through instant gratification?

And how about the winner of Five Seed’s Most Offensive Holiday Commercial? Best Buy! Have you seen their “Game on, Santa” commercial yet? Yep, that’s the one I hate most of all. A woman goes into Best Buy and is surprised by all the items the store is offering for $100 or less. The saleswoman jokingly says, “Santa better watch out, huh?” The shopper gets a competitive gleam in her eye and the commercial cuts to Christmas Eve at her house, when Santa arrives carrying a cute little wooden toy. He goes to put it into a stocking, and finds that the stockings are already full of items from Best Buy. He turns to find the shopper standing behind him, who says, very snarkily, “Awww…guess I didn’t leave any room for you. It’s awkward. Maybe you could fill his [stocking].” Then she points to the family dog who has an empty stocking in his mouth. Then the words, “Game on, Santa” flash on the screen.

Sure, in a way, it’s a really cute campaign. Or maybe just clever. But I also find it really annoying and as I said before, offensive. Why? Santa comes to the house holding a simple wooden toy, and the message seems to be that such a toy is a useless, unwanted trinket. No, get your kids a tablet, instead! Santa’s handmade (elf-made) toys are made to look like a joke compared to our tech toys. Not good enough for the kids, so give it to the dog!

According to Advertising Age, “The intent of ‘Game On, Santa’ is to allow moms to revel in their role as ‘chief gift giver.’ Mr. Panayiotou said that his team’s research found that Mom really wanted to feel like she was ‘winning’ the holidays, though she didn’t necessarily need to take credit publicly. The spots show women talking about various gadgets with Best Buy employees, before flash-forwarding to Christmas Eve, where Mom celebrates her purchases amid Santa’s arrival and razzes the big guy.” Personally, I find this “competitive Christmas” idea to be a bit strange, and I feel that Best Buy is twisting the whole “Mom-Christmas-presents” dynamic. Now I’m not a mother, but don’t moms (like the rest of us) buy gifts in order to express love to their children/family members? It’s not about the gifts, themselves, but the emotion behind them. According to Best Buy, though, it’s about the “stuff,” the victory, the win. Hmmmm.

And the worst part of all is this is the inevitable violence that seems to erupt in at least one store during the shopping madness. This year, the big stories were the pepper spray incident in California and the allegedly shoplifting grandpa in Arizona who ended up with a shattered face after an altercation with the police.

Is it really worth it?

Just Do It

I woke today to winds so strong that it sounded like the bush in front of my window was going to crash right through the glass. There was no sun and it was below freezing. I immediately decided to do an hour of YogaGlo and just drive my car to the post office to avoid the unpleasant weather.

However, after breakfast, my body started to warm up. The sun came out. The wind remained, but it sure looked pretty outside with all the leaves blowing and the sun shining.

What a beautiful day!

 

I closed the YogaGlo window, put on two pairs of pants, a heavy jacket, my helmet and ear muffs and took off. And you know what? It turned out to be one of the best rides I’ve had all season. Challenging, yes – it’s not easy to ride against strong winds. But the day was beautiful and I’m so glad I decided to just do it.

An essential for cold weather bicycling: earmuffs.

So don’t let the weather get you down. Looking out your window doesn’t always give you the most accurate perception of the weather conditions. Just go out and try it! I find I’m almost always glad I did.

I’m so grateful for my bicycle and hope you all take the chance to ride yours, even around a park for fun! And speaking of gratitude, Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I’ll be off for the rest of the week and will be back next week with some more fun posts!