Seeking Joy Every Day - December Sanity Challenge 2013

This month my goal for the December Sanity Challenge has been to seek out joy, especially in the small moments. The everyday moments. And honestly after a few days, you suddenly begin to see joy all around you. Today I want to share with you a photo essay of joy I've found over the past two weeks!

 

Joy is: Going to a local production of  "The Grinch" and seeing the wonderful talent of people in your community! 

 Joy is: Seeing the smiling faces of friends & children you absolutely adore in a local Christmas production! 

photo from: Southern Blonde

Joy is: Seeing your finished stacks of Christmas cards and actually being slightly sad you finished them! It's a joy to connect with others on a personal level with hand-written notes through snail mail. 

Joy is: Being old enough to look forward too and actually enjoy the Annual Family Christmas Potluck! 

Joy is: The annual Family Bingo Tournament at said potluck dinner! (And if you don't love bingo, you have to love those bright, vivid buttons!)

Joy is: Seeing little ones fascinated by their picture reflecting back to them from a smartphone (Oh technology, how I'm learning to love you!)

Joy is: Winning a brand new set of crayons at said bingo tournament! Is there anything better than the scent of new crayons?

Joy is: Seeing the local Sudan club drivers at your small town Christmas parade!

Joy is: Getting really excited about your small town Christmas parade even when it's only about 20 minutes long and it's raining!

Joy is: Being grateful for those who give their talent and time as volunteer firemen serving rural areas!

Joy is: Smiling faces and handmade signs!

Joy is: Little boys tossing tootsie rolls from the big shiny firetruck with sirens blaring down main street!

Joy is: Still getting a thrill about seeing Santa show up at the end of the parade! 

Joy is: A hot steaming mug of my great-grandma's Russian Tea.

Joy is: Seeing three snuggling kitties on your bed, as Cheryl said, a big 'ol pile of wuv!

Joy is: A really sweet companion on chilly winter nights.

Joy is: Seeing the contentedness of a 12 year old furry friend.

Joy is: Seeing your "Sammie" hamster run up to you in her cage every time you enter the room!

 

Joy is: Keeping a record of all the amazing things that bring you joy and peace and gratitude! I recommend this really fun and beautiful journal, illustrated by Molly Hahn.

*What is joy to you? Do you look for it every day?*

*******************

A message from our host Cheryl Harris: 

The holidays can be a beautiful time of family bonding, celebration and beauty. They can also be an overdoing, overspending, over stressing time of all flavors of excess. For the last 3 years, I’ve been delighted to host the December Sanity Retreat and the July Self-Care Retreat. This is our 6^th retreat! It’s been wonderful for me to have an extra excuse to focus on self-care and rein in my natural tendency to need to bake (at least) 18 kinds of cookies.

 

I know how powerful it is for me to focus on self-care, and I imagine it’s similar for most of you, so as a gentle extra nudge, we’re doing 2 giveaways.

Giveaway #1: Let us hear your voice!

Prize: a $50 nuts.com gift certificate) they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options (US/Canada)

Comment on any of our hostesses’ posts on the Sanity Retreat, like this one. Leave me a comment on how you cultivate gratitude in your life, OR what you’re most grateful for on this week’s post HERE

Giveaway #2: make the challenge your own!

Blog on your own self-care plans, and a post will be chosen at random as the winner. If you don’t have a blog, contact the hostess of the week and they’ll post for you.

Prize: a box of fun things from me.

As always, self-care is whatever it means to you. So the December Sanity Challenge can be on whatever YOU need to work on to stay sane during the holiday season

Balance around food * Joyful movement * Sanity & stress management * Making space for art, expression, and spirituality * Connection with friends and family

Or whatever else speaks to you along those lines.

The challenge—post on what you plan to do to make your holidays sane, happy and healthy.  Make it specific!  Not just “I’ll get more sleep”, but “I’ll get at least 7 hours of sleep, 5 days a week”.  Not just “I won’t go crazy making desserts”, but “I’ll make a maximum of XX desserts, and space them out over XX time”.  You know what you need to do to keep this doable, and writing it down will help you get there!

I’m delighted to be joined by wonderful hostesses with like-minded blogs:

• Kickoff: Gluten Free Goodness 
• Dec 7th Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat
• Dec 14th Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl
• Dec 21^st  Valerie of City Life Eats
• Roundup: Gluten Free Goodness

I hope you choose to join us, too.  Grab a badge and we’re good to go!

We’ll also be meeting up in our Facebook group for extra encouragement and support. You’re more than welcome to join us there.

Posts so far:

• Valerie’s Kickoff post
• Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl’s Seeking Joy
• Eat Recycle Repeat’s Joy to the World

Cheryl's 30 days of gratitude:

• Day 1: Gratitude
• Day 2: Grateful for Genghis Khat
• Day 3: Grateful for amazing people
• Day 4: The roundabout road to gratitude
• Day 5: Grateful for beautiful weather
• Day 6: Grateful for New Experiences
• Day 7: Grateful for Local Apples
• Day 8: Grateful for Acts of Kindness
• Day 9 and 10: Grateful for Everyday Miracles

December Sanity Retreat 2013 - Seeking Joy!

I don't participate in too many "blogging carnivals" anymore, but there are two each year that I really love and WANT to be a part of. 

Cheryl Harris created the "December Sanity Retreat" and the "July Self-Care Retreat" several years ago and I think the messages behind these events are so important. Self-care is hugely neglected in this country and I believe it's truly vital to our overall health and well-being, especially during this crazy time of year! 

I have been a much happier and healthier person since I began making an effort to take better care of myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Cheryl's online retreats have been a huge part of creating specific times each year to better focus on serious self-care. This month I am choosing to focus on joy. To find joy in every day. I'm also choosing to slow down and enjoy the holiday. We are not attending too many events, not baking too many cookies, not buying too many gifts, etc... 

I've also broken down tasks to do them slowly through the month. I have a bad habit of putting things off until the last minute and then having a major holiday breakdown three days before Christmas! This year I want to find the joy in each day during each small task. From washing dishes, to making dinner, to wrapping presents, to writing cards (yes, I still love sending Christmas cards! I won't give that up!)... I plan on finding joy in the every day of December. 

So this year my focus is on joy. Today I've found joy in the sun coming out this afternoon after a rainy and gray few days.  What can you find joy in every day this holiday season? 

Some joy I found during our recent holiday trip to Washington DC!
Right outside of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, I found lots of kale
in the natural areas. It really made me smile! In all the amazing plants they could have
placed in that little natural area, they placed kale! So pretty and such a delicious
green! I wonder if the squirrels are enjoying it?

Do you want to participate in our December Sanity Retreat? Here's how you can!

More on the December Sanity Retreat & Contests

The holidays can be a beautiful time of family bonding, celebration and beauty. They can also be an overdoing, overspending, overstressing time of all flavors of excess. For the last 3 years, I’ve been delighted to host the December Sanity Retreat and the July Self-Care Retreat. This is our 6th retreat! I wish I could say it was all about altruism, but honestly, it’s been wonderful for me to have an extra excuse to focus on self-care and rein in my natural tendency to need to bake (at least) 18 kinds of cookies.

I know how powerful it is for me to focus on self-care, and I imagine it’s similar for most of you, so as a gentle extra nudge, we’re doing 2 giveaways.

Giveaway #1: Let us hear your voice!

Prize: a $50 nuts.com gift certificate) they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options (US/Canada)

Comment on any of our hostesses’ posts on the Sanity Retreat, like this one. Leave me a comment on how you cultivate gratitude in your life, OR what you’re most grateful for on this week’s post HERE

Giveaway #2: make the challenge your own!

Blog on your own self-care plans, and a post will be chosen at random as the winner. If you don’t have a blog, contact the hostess of the week and they’ll post for you.

Prize: um, ironing out details–either a gift certificate or a box of self-care books, meditation CDs, chocolate and other fun things from me.

As always, self-care is whatever it means to you. So the December Sanity Challenge can be on whatever YOU need to work on to stay sane during the holiday season

Balance around food * Joyful movement * Sanity & stress management * Making space for art, expression, and spirituality * Connection with friends and family

Or whatever else speaks to you along those lines.

The challenge—post on what you plan to do to make your holidays sane, happy and healthy.  Make it specific!  Not just “I’ll get more sleep”, but “I’ll get at least 7 hours of sleep, 5 days a week”.  Not just “I won’t go crazy making desserts”, but “I’ll make a maximum of XX desserts, and space them out over XX time”.  You know what you need to do to keep this doable, and writing it down will help you get there!

I’m delighted to be joined by wonderful hostesses with likeminded blogs:

• Kickoff: Cheryl of Gluten Free Goodness 
• Dec 7th Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat
• Dec 14th Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl
• Dec 21st  Valerie of City Life Eats
• Roundup: Cheryl of  Gluten Free Goodness 

I hope you choose to join us, too.  Grab a badge and we’re good to go!

We’ll also be meeting up in our Facebook group for extra encouragement and support. You’re more than welcome to join us there.

December Sanity Challenge -- Finding Perspective When You Don't Meet Your Initial Goals

Image created by the lovely Jennifer Yandle Photography & Design

Just to keep it real... I should have written this post 3 days ago... THREE days ago! But I'm behind. I think my goals for next year will include sticking with my deadlines!

So it's been a month since the challenge began! How fast the month went by. Let's look at my goals:

• I will write down three things I am thankful and grateful for every day. 
• I will enjoy a dessert/sweet treat/baked good only once per day and in a small portion (1 small muffin, 2 small GF cookies, etc...) 
• I will take a short 15 minute walk outside at least 2 times a week, both for letting go of stress and to encourage myself to exercise more. 
• To help with our budget this month, I will not buy anything new (used or thrift store items okay) for myself. See Leo Babauta's challenge this week for my inspiration to do this for the remainder of the year... and I would like to pursue this in 2013 as well. 

I have to admit, I didn't do very well at keeping them. I started off well. The first week went swimmingly, but after that, the goals were kind of left to the wayside. Out of all the goals, the one I probably had the most success with was not buying new things for myself. I did end up buying three things over the course of the month and a few e-books, which I didn't even think about as "things" until after I bought them... but overall I put off a lot of impulse purchases and that was the primary goal of my my personal financial challenge!

However, what did happen over the month was that I re-examined my thoughts on a peaceful holiday. What did it really mean? What were the things that stressed me out? How could I avoid those things?

So the things I did accomplish:

• I let go of perfection -- Usually I wrap all gifts, do all the shopping, and I can stress myself out by trying to make it perfect... this year I asked for help, I asked husband to help, I asked him to wrap and to purchase/decide on quite a few of the gifts. I let go of making sure it was perfect. 
• I made time for the one holiday tradition that I truly enjoy doing, Holiday Cards. -- I love writing them and sending them and I always make sure to write a note inside each of them to make them personal and that was important to me. So I spent a lot of time writing those cards and sending them... in years past I've put it off because I Felt like other things had to be perfect... so I let go of that and did what I enjoyed. 
• I let go of expectations. -- I think most often I am disappointed when I expect something and it doesn't happen. And the holidays can be a major time of disappoint and frustration. So this year, I expected less and simply enjoyed the time. And it was a much more enjoyable holiday! 

I do wish I had spent a little more time working towards my initial goals, but I still feel good about how the holiday went and I feel it was a peaceful and enjoyable time. I appreciate this challenge not because it "requires" you to follow the goals you set, but it puts you in a better frame of mind. It helps you to think of things differently overall and have a most positive experience.

This year's event was also hosted by the following bloggers: 

• Dec 1st -- Valerie of City|Life|Eats 
• Dec 8th -- Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat
• Dec 15th -- Cheryl of Gluten-free Goodness
• Dec 22nd -- Iris of Daily Dietribe
• Dec 29th -- ME! Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl

Cheryl is offering a $50 Nuts.com gift certificate and I am giving away two brand-new signed copies of my "The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook" after our monthly event is over.

From Cheryl: "Last, but not least, we do have a FB group – if you’d like to join, you’re more than welcome. It’s a space to support and be supported, and it’s the same one we used during our last Self-Care Retreat."

To get a “flavor” of past retreats:
http://www.gfgoodness.com/2012/08/05/a-july-self-retreat-recap/
July Self-Care Retreat and the December Sanity Retreat.

Other posts in this year's Sanity retreat:

• Intro Post for the Dec Sanity Retreat at Gluten Free Goodness
• Ginger Lemon Girl’s A Peaceful Holiday Season
• Sleep, Move, Dance, Stretch at City|Life|Eats
• Join the December Sanity Challenge here at The Daily Dietribe
• Kickoff Post at Gluten Free Goodness
• Kate of Eat, Recycle Repeat Shares her Do's of the Season
• Zen of Candy Cane Marshmallows at Gluten Free Goodness
• Chacha’s gluten-free kitchen Sanity Goals and German Chocolate Bites
• “Being Gentle" at Gluten Free Goodness
• December Merriment at Yoga Twist on Life
• Self-Care at Healthy Happy Vibrant
• Preciousness of Our Moments here at The Daily Dietribe
• Gluten Free Goodness Takes "A Pause”
• Embracing the Here and Now with Love at The Canary Files
• Change your Story by Iris of The Daily Dietribe
• 7 Goals for Staying Sane During December shared on The Daily Dietribe
• Sanity Goals Update from Cheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness
• A Sanity Challenge Update from Carrie of Gingerlemongirl

A Sanity Challenge update...

Here's a recap of my personal goals for this month's December Sanity Challenge, which I shared a few weeks ago:

• I will write down three things I am thankful and grateful for every day. 
• I will enjoy a dessert/sweet treat/baked good only once per day and in a small portion (1 small muffin, 2 small GF cookies, etc...) 
• I will take a short 15 minute walk outside at least 2 times a week, both for letting go of stress and to encourage myself to exercise more. 
• To help with our budget this month, I will not buy anything new (used or thrift store items okay) for myself. See Leo Babauta's challenge this week for my inspiration to do this for the remainder of the year... and I would actually like to pursue this in 2013 as well. 

So how have I done thus far?  I'm sort of embarrassed to admit not very well... The first few days were a piece of cake, easy-breezy, no problem. And then I found myself getting (once again) boggled down by stuff. Holiday stuff. Calendar stuff. Work stuff. Life stuff. Stuff... stuff... stuff. 

I've eaten too many sweets. I've forgotten to be thankful. I dismissed taking a walk on multiple occasions. I bought a Roku without even THINKING about my spending challenge (I mean it literally didn't even cross my mind until I was sharing about the purchase with hubs that evening..) Ooops...  And a fancy-smancy dish-drying mat that's supposed to dry quickly.. even though hubs said that it was proprietary and didn't count. I'm not exactly sure what proprietary means in this case, but we'll go with it... 

But at the same time... it's a good reminder. The "stuff" can so easily get in the way. So, so very easily. The vacuum of Holidays can be so enticing, so enormous, and so easy to get swept into. So easy, that even when you purposely plan NOT too... you STILL find yourself in thick of it without a second glance.

Another goal that I've also found myself working towards is spending less time online. Less social media. Less email. Because time is precious... and the interwebs can be a time-waster and a joy-sucker. 

And I need the time. Time is truly priceless.  

So I'm taking a cue from Cheryl's most recent Sanity Challenge post and be more gentle towards myself. Not with cookies or chocolate, but by simply being more forgiving towards me. This challenge isn't about perfection, it's about worrying less and enjoying more. 

So I'm going to watch quite a few AS MANY cheesy Christmas movies as I can (because no matter how cheesy, they still warm my heart)... listen to as many Christmas songs as I can (because I love them), and let go of the perfection... 

sigh with happiness!

already watched this twice... 

elf, elf, elf, how I love you!

And "x" out of  facebook and email more often, because I really don't need to keep up with everything you've done in the past fifteen minutes. (As much as I love you!)

And really try to sneak in a few more evening walks... because I really do love them when I actually make the time to lace up my worn out sneakers. 

And Elf... I might watch Elf at least 3 more times... because I laugh senselessly for two hours straight. And laughing is awesome. Way, way underrated... that laughing. 

I'm not exactly sure where this photo came from (someone shared on facebook from a picture they saw on pinterest! I swear I'm not trying to steal anybody's photos!)... but it's cracking me up today... 

(Hopefully this is the correct attribution!) 

This Week's Menu - Beginning of December

December 2012 ALREADY.... 21 days until Christmas! How are you handling the stress of the holiday season? Make sure to check out the December Sanity Retreat 2012, begun by Cheryl Harris and hosted by several wonderful gluten-free bloggers. This past week's post was written by Valerie of City Life Eats. Iris of The Daily Dietribe also wrote a fantastic post about the event in which she shares her own personal goals for the month.

Do you make lots of cookies or candy for Christmas? Generally I don't, but I'm working on a new project so I hope to test a bunch of recipes in the next few weeks, and my plan to try out some new gluten-free Christmas cookies! What are your favorite kinds? The theme of the Gluten-Free Menu Swap this week is gluten-free christmas cookies, so share your favorites over at Lisa's blog "Extraordinary Life." She is hosting the menu swap today!

A few cookies I definitely want to make this year:

• Refrigerator Pinwheel Cookies
• Spritz Cookies
• No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

This Week's Menu: 

• Monday -- Big ol' batch of slow-cooker beef stew, this will probably last for 2-3 meals throughout the week. (Will freeze leftovers in portion size containers.) This beef stew was made with about 1 cup of frozen leftover beef stew from another batch  added to: 1 pound browned, grass-fed ground beef + 3 diced carrots, about 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans, 1 large chopped sweet onion, 2 chopped potatoes (yes, it's a starch heavy stew... lol), and about 3-4 cups of beef broth + salt, pepper, and fresh garlic. All added to the slow cooked and cooked on low for about 9 hours. 

• Tuesday -- A big salad plate with mixed greens & raw veggies, shaved ham, poached eggs, with an oil & vinegar dressing. PS... GF Rice Chex make awesome croutons! 

• Wednesday -- I'm still in Thanksgiving mode, so I am going to slow cook turkey chops (thick slices of turkey breast) and serve with Cheryl's Celery in Chestnut sauce with steamed broccoli and my favorite apple-cranberry sauce on the side. 

• Thursday -- Dinner out since we have errands -- Hibachi stir fry with no sauces -or- leftover slow cooker beef stew!

• Friday -- Homemade GF pizza using this vegan pizza crust, it's a super easy, super crispy crust! I'm thinking of making a BBQ chicken pizza with caramelized onions. 

• Saturday -- Leftover slow cooker beef stew from Monday, as I'm having a gluten-free baking class that day. 

• Sunday-- We've made this crustless kale & bacon quiche from Jenna's Everything Blog at least 3 times and we love it so much we're making it again... really delicious and hearty meal! 

December Sanity Challenge 2012 -- A Peaceful Holiday Season

Image created by the lovely Jennifer Yandle Photography & Design

December... a time actually meant for rest, reflection, creativity, and self-care. But is that what you think of when you envision December? I don't. It often can mean a never-ending to-do list. A focus on gifts, gifts, gifts... christmas cards, ornate decorating, doing everything possible to create a picture-perfect Rockwell holiday. And really, it was just a painting. A lovely painting... but it's not what the holidays are all about.

For me, December is a time to reflect on the journey of Christmas. As a Christian, it's a deeply spiritual time of remembering the miracle of Christ's birth. It's also a deeply spiritual time for many, many other religions and beliefs. It's a time to honor our friends & family. It's a time to rest and rejuvenate.

But so often with sparkly lights, weeks and weeks of Holiday sales starting the actual DAY of Thanksgiving now (ironic, no?), and holiday party after holiday party... it's no wonder we can lose sight of the serenity of the season.

Last year was the first year I participated in Cheryl Harris' December Sanity Challenge. It was truly a gift to realize that I didn't have to be a part of the "crazy-ness" of Christmas. That I really could stop worrying about being perfect, measuring up with the absolute "right" (ie.. expensive) gifts, keeping up with friends & relatives spending enormous amounts on gifts and food. The holiday didn't have to be about "keeping up."

So once again I'm accepting this December's Sanity Challenge. I want to enjoy a peaceful, less-stressful Christmas. And you can too.

Cheryl suggests making a few concrete goals for the season. So here are the goals that I want to work towards this December:

• I will write down three things I am thankful and grateful for every day. 
• I will enjoy a dessert/sweet treat/baked good only once per day and in a small portion (1 small muffin, 2 small GF cookies, etc...) 
• I will take a short 15 minute walk outside at least 2 times a week, both for letting go of stress and to encourage myself to exercise more. 
• To help with our budget this month, I will not buy anything new (used or thrift store items okay) for myself. See Leo Babauta's challenge this week for my inspiration to do this for the remainder of the year... and I would actually like to pursue this in 2013 as well. 

This year's December Sanity Challenge will be hosted also by the following bloggers:

• Dec 1st -- Valerie of City|Life|Eats 
• Dec 8th -- Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat
• Dec 15th -- Cheryl of Gluten-free Goodness
• Dec 22nd -- Iris of Daily Dietribe
• Dec 29th -- ME! Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl

As a little added incentive, for each post on your intentions and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, Cheryl is offering a $50 Nuts.com gift certificate and I am giving away two brand-new signed copies of my "The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook" after our monthly event is over.

From Cheryl: "Last, but not least, we do have a FB group – if you’d like to join, you’re more than welcome. It’s a space to support and be supported, and it’s the same one we used during our last Self-Care Retreat."

To get a “flavor” of past retreats:
http://www.gfgoodness.com/2012/08/05/a-july-self-retreat-recap/
July Self-Care Retreat and the December Sanity Retreat.

I hope you'll join us in having a sane, peaceful, and joyful Holiday season!