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Dec 31

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‘Tis the Season (for Goal Setting)

New Year’s Eve is a special time.  Although I’m not into staying up until the wee hours to see the clock turn twelve, I am into the bigger-picture optimism and hope and anticipation and motivation that come with the imminent arrival of a clean slate.

I obviously like and believe in goals and the daily practices that are part of achieving them (after all, this is what wellfesto is all about).  But I recently found out that everyone thinks about their aspirations differently, and for many, goals are a really private matter.  I conducted a survey a few months ago, and learned from my relatively small (70-person) sample that Read more

Dec 28

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Blog #13: Some Meta Thinking About Purpose

photo by maria reyes-mcdavies, via flickr creative commons

photo by maria reyes-mcdavies, via flickr creative commons

In the “purpose” section of my wellfesto, I share my belief that we become what we do all day long.  If you agree with this, you’ll likely also agree that it’s damn important to shift our time balance away from things that feel misaligned with who we are and what we care about and toward things that feel well-aligned.  As I shared when I launched it, that’s one of the reasons I’m writing this blog – to spend more time each day thinking and writing about what matters to me (health + wellness).  And since purpose is foundational to health, I’m both experimenting with it and creating/reinforcing my own purpose as I write (super deep, huh). Read more

Dec 27

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Play!

photoChristmas night in our house was marked by a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit.  We all paired up and tried to figure out whether Helsinki or Oslo is further north (Helsinki), what the name of the first astronaut to return from space was (some Russian dude), and what organ hepatitis impacts (the liver).  I’m thankful I married into a game-playing family, as I love games.  I grew up playing hearts, cribbage and gin…I kept a deck of cards alongside my Eurorail pass as I traveled through Europe in college…I’ve bonded with friends over board games in my adult life…and I have fond memories of falling in love with Sean over al fresco Scrabble games. Read more

Dec 26

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To Track or Not to Track?

I remember reading a New York Times Magazine feature on the quantified self movement a few years ago and thinking the people they featured were fascinating and a little bit crazy and a little bit awesome…but definitely nothing like me.  I was blown away by the amount of effort people were spending tracking their sleep, food, workouts, mood, etc; and I (admittedly judgmentally) took the stance that I’d rather spend more time actually in REM, eating meals, and exercising than graphing and reflecting on my activity. Read more

Dec 25

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Silent Morning

peaceSean and I ran six miles through Palo Alto this morning and didn’t see one car (moving) on the road.  Not one.  On any other day, this may have felt eerie or unsettling, but on this Christmas morning, it felt comforting and special and peaceful.

For those who celebrate Christmas and those who don’t, the national holiday gives us all a beautiful excuse to slow down…to eat a steaming breakfast with our families…to make a call to a loved one far away…to show gratitude for all that we have…to find a way to help someone who doesn’t have as much…and to find peace in ourselves so we can spread peace in this world.  All of this is so amazing and so simple and for many of us, far too rare. Read more

Dec 24

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The Real Food Diet

garden carrots

Gluten-Free, Raw, Flexitarian, Pescetarian, Fruitarian, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, Zone, Blood Type, Atkins, South Beach, Macrobiotic, Low-Glycemic, “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” Mediterranean…EEESH!  When did eating food (or hosting a dinner party, for that matter) get so complicated?  In the western world, we are so entirely bombarded messages from our friends, coaches, trainers, newspaper reporters, etc about which diet can best optimize our health that it can be immobilizing.  And while we jump from one regimen to another, it’s easy to lose sight of both what our body is telling us and what an absolute privilege it is to have choices at all. Read more

Dec 21

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The “To Don’t” List

I’m a list maker…always have been.  I like lists because they make me feel like I’m moving forward (or at least planning to move forward), and because checking things off simply feels good.  Beyond liking lists, I need them to both remember the past (I jot down a “top 10” list after every trip I take) and frame the future (I keep track of everything from fleeting ideas to daily tasks to big picture goals to places I want to visit and people I want to meet).  As a function of spending time at a computer during the day, I’m making more and more lists online (Evernote is my favorite platform for this), but I still prefer the old school ones I write by hand and tack up on my wall or chalkboard or fridge to see every day. Read more

Dec 20

Finding Your Fitness Guru

Michael Olajide in Action

Michael Olajide in Action

Fitness gurus have marked stages of my life just as much as the basics (jobs, apartments, relationships, etc) have.  Michael Olajide (who taught me that boxing training can get you fit faster than almost anything else) and Elena Brower (who taught me that yoga and gymnastics aren’t very far apart) marked my NYC years…Les Leventhal (yoga) was a constant in my life in San Francisco…and now two local teachers — Alyssa Blau (spin) and Rebecca Bara (yoga) — are my go-to people in the ‘burbs.  Finding a teacher you love is super personal and involves a lot of trial and error, but finding someone who speaks to you is beyond worth it. Read more

Dec 19

Holiday Cards in July?

photo(4)I dumped our stack of holiday cards into the corner mailbox this morning, feeling relieved to have gotten them out the door before January or February (for the first time ever).  Getting our act together to get cards made and mailed isn’t easy and undoubtedly involves a swift argument over who was on the hook to get the missing addresses, followed by a late-night push to get envelopes stuffed and stamped.  If it’s such a scramble, what keeps us (primarily North Americans and Asians, according to wikipedia) sending cards year after year (the first “Christmas card” was sent in 1843)?  Read more

Dec 18

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Eggs By Candlelight

My mom lights candles at dinner almost every night.  Even if “dinner” means cheese, crackers, and a glass of wine in the kitchen, she finds a simple tea light or two to adorn the counter.  She dims the overhead lights and lets the candles flicker until the dinner ends…and sometimes even a bit beyond.  I never thought much about this as a kid; in fact, I don’t think I even noticed it.  But now, as an adult, I find myself lighting candles most nights.  This little ritual makes me feel like I’m at home…”home” in a deep sense that connects my childhood dinner table with the one around which my own children now gather.   The sparkling light calms me (and makes my husband look extra handsome).  And the simple act of lighting candles makes dinner feel unique and precious, even if it’s scrambled eggs and toast. Read more

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