2026 - Mindful Living and Connection

leftatthetrafficlights

Yesterday I had a hangover and developed a very sore and swollen roof of mouth and throat - suffice to say that I know my body is absolutely rebelling against my mistreatment of it and has had enough! I don't know why I drank on Sunday - I'd decided I was going to sort myself out, started the day really well and then within a few hours was caning bottles of wine!! 🙄🤦‍♀️Dh had bought two for me a couple of days earlier and I had thought I'd keep it until our anniversary later this week and we'd share a few glasses so I'm not sure where my brain went! 🤔 Mouth and throat are still a bit ropey but I am now hangover free and intend to be permanently - no more alcohol for me ever - I've told dh to get me a bottle of sparkly elderflower for our anniversary 😁

Today I have done my meditation practice but no asana yet as I need to vacuum before I do anything on the floor - I really wasn't up for it yesterday due to the hangover and there's more cat fur than furniture now!! 🤦‍♀️😂

I'm quitting smoking today too - I'd restarted again due to my 'stress-relieving' patterns of behaviour and really need to get off them. I finished my last one last night and am buying no more!

If I can eat some decent food today (or at least manage a decent smoothie!) then I am officially off the blocks with the healing process and will finally feel that I'm achieving something! 😁

Other than sorting out the house and doing my asana, the rest of the day is going to consist mainly of listening to meditation music, writing and reading. I'm not pushing myself physically over the next few days as the complete lack of food has left me feeling a bit wobbly so I'm going to ease into stuff and listen to my body - the world will not end if I don't clean everything every day!

I'm feeling very grateful to be on the healing path now - I've felt ropey for a long time and it's all self inflicted. I remember how great I felt when I was eating properly, not drinking and smoking, doing daily walks, asana and meditation and just generally being active - giving it all up to 'deal' with external stresses is the most stupid 'coping' mechanism to use and I should have known better! I'm just incredibly thankful that I have the opportunity to turn things back around now before I do serious damage!

Anyway, I need to go and vacuum so I can do my asana practice - have a fab slow day!! 🐌 😁

Wednesday2000

Good luck giving up!😍

I drank too much last night as I went to a vegan event in London and there were half price cocktails!

I came back from the hotel this morning as my dog is being dropped off soon. I treated myself to an iced strawberry Matcha. I'm really getting into Matchas as it makes a good substititute for coffee. I can't drink coffee as it gives me migraines.

leftatthetrafficlights

Thanks @Wednesday2000 😁 So far so good - day 3 today and I haven't murdered anyone! 🙌😂 The vegan event sounds interesting - half price cocktails have been my downfall many a time - for some reason I've never had a hangover from a cocktail night 🤔 hope you feel okay! 😁 I've never tried matcha - I like some herbal teas (chamomile, peppermint and hibiscus and lemon verbena mix) but avoid most of the commercial ones as they tend to smell much better than they taste! I like green tea with lemon too - but only if I can add the lemon as I like quite a bit! It's a shame that coffee causes migraines - I used to drink so many lattes but have come off them now - my favourite oat milk has far too many calories/too much fat in it! 😳

Yesterday I did my asana practice in the morning before looking after my grandbaby for the day - I didn't manage a meditation or yoga nidra practice unfortunately but I'll get them done today.

I had a smoothie for breakfast (watermelon, apple, frozen berries, cavolo nero, turmeric, ginger, nigella seeds, flax seeds & amla powder) before I went out and it was lovely - Tuesday's one was a bit too thick so I'm getting the hang of the required quantities finally! 😂

Yesterday was a much more spendy day than expected (all from my persie spending money though) as my grandbaby wanted to go out - all my suggestions of free activities fell on deaf ears so we ended up at a soft play and I bought lunch - the soft play was actually very reasonably priced but my food was horrendous so that was a complete waste of money! 🤦‍♀️ My grandbaby really enjoyed himself though so I can take the hit! 😉😂

Last night I made a curry from leftover beans (black and cannellini) and roasted carrots, some runner beans and kale from the garden, half a carton of passata that my dd donated as she's going away and a couple of spoonfuls of curry paste from the opened jar in the fridge. Served it with naan bread from the freezer and some chutney - it was really nice and we'll be eating it again tonight as there's plenty of leftovers!

Today I'm planning on sorting, organising and doing an inventory on my tins/jars/packets cupboard - it's going to be interesting as I have little idea of what lurks in there now - it used to be that I could tell dh exactly what was there and it's precise location - now it's a cupboard of doom! 🤦‍♀️😳 oh well, I'll feel that I've achieved something once its sorted!

Right, time for tea and sorting the moggies - have a fab slow day! 🐌😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Didn't get round to doing the inventory but I'll sort it at some point this weekend 😁

Asana is going well - really didn't feel like doing it this morning as my cravings are pretty dire today but did it anyway and I'm glad I did!

Had a smoothie for brekkie, watermelon and grapes for lunch and tonight I had mushroom tofu with cashew cream, roasted figs with vegan feta, hg new potatoes with a dijon and maple dressing and a salad of rocket, blueberries, strawberries, black grapes, a few more cubes of feta and blood orange balsamic vinegar - absolutely lush!! 😋😍😁

We've got two of our grandbabies here tonight and tomorrow so it won't be a quiet weekend but it will be a lovely one! 🥰

On Sunday, we're going to do a few bits in the garden and I'm hoping to harvest some elderberries so that I can make some cordial next week. I need to get some beetroot pickled too - I've got a black garlic balsamic that I'm not that keen on so I'm using that for the beetroot as I think it may be interesting!

Anyway, time to get a beverage and then I'm having a shower and doing a yoga nidra practice before I go to sleep - have a fab slow evening! 🐌😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Finally got the cupboard sorted! 🙌😁 my grandbaby helped me (she loves tidying and sorting!) and I've inventoried the contents so will do the freezers today - the upright freezer is scary - thankfully the chest freezer has lots of baskets so it is much easier to check 😉

I may do the grains & pulses cupboard today while the football is on but I'll see how I feel - I want a list of everything we have so that we can stop spending money on stuff we already have and use up what we've already got - this year has been so disjointed that I feel completely out of control with my food stocks and I don't like it! 🤦‍♀️

The weather today seems better than yesterday so we may get the elderberries harvested - dh will need to do most of it (I'm vertically challenged!) so I'll see how he feels - it could end up being a tomorrow job 🤔

No asana done yesterday due to having the grandbabies - none yet today either as we're having a lie-in! If I don't get round to doing it today, I'll do two sessions tomorrow - not ideal but to be honest, I'm always exhausted after the grandbabies visit/stay and need to decompress a bit - asana should help with that really but I am never in the right mindset for it the following day which is bizarre!

Quitting smoking and drinking is going well - today is day 7 alcohol free and day 6 fag free - I worked out how much I've saved this week by not partaking in either based on my recent consumption and it's a scary amount!! 😱 I can't believe what I've been doing really - I knew that it wasn't pretty and I was certainly feeling it physically but hadn't really considered the financial implications. Now that I have, it's even more incentive to remain toxin free!!

I'm popping to the supermarket today to pick up some more fruit and a few other bits - I've still got a small amount of August's budget left so should be able to start September with the full budget amount which will help enormously with keeping spending under control - dh doesn't get paid on the same date every month so it's easier to run the food budget from the 1st of the month - this year has been a total free for all and I have completely lost track! 🙄

I'll be happier once I'm back in control of everything - I used to deny it but I am a total control freak and I feel very antsy when things slip away from me! I like order and calm - chaos leads me to bad choices and that costs money!! 🤦‍♀️😂

Right, one more chamomile tea before I get sorted 😉 have a fab slow day! 🐌😁

amber03

I’ve decided this next week to use all the spare bits and bobs in the freezer. Going to have some interesting teas.

leftatthetrafficlights

Happy September! 😁

@amber03 - let me know what random meals you end up with! I love having 'use up' roulette - it was mainly when I had unidentified freezer objects (ufo's) and it was always a gamble! 😂

Yesterday was very productive - we emptied, cleaned, inventoried and organised our two freezers (interestingly, for the first time ever, there were no ufo's!); I made a couple of blocks of tofu and some soya milk; I stripped, laundered and remade the bedding; sorted the moggies litter tray and vacuumed the kitchen, utility and hallway.

I also did my asana and meditation practice first thing after 2 days off it - I missed it to be honest, starting my morning with it definitely affects how my day goes so I need to work out how I can do it when my grandbabies are here 🤔 prior to the moggies arrival, I had my yoga room but now they are camped out in there, I can't really use it (too many cat toys, feeding bowls, scratching posts etc) and it's impossible to do it in the front room when the babies are here unless I get up ridiculously early which I'm reluctant to do on a weekend! The easiest solution would be to do evening practices when they're here but I'm normally exhausted by then - kids are hard work 😂 Oh well, first world problems! 🙄🤦‍♀️

Today I'll be doing mindful cleaning after my practices - the house is a mess so it will be tricky to resist the temptation to go at it all guns blazing but I am determined to practice mindfulness in everything I do. I'm seriously considering putting on a bell alarm on my phone every half hour to help me maintain that state - it may help keep me on track 🤔

I want to start my walks again but I think I may begin those tomorrow - it's important for me to increase my exercise but I need to do it slowly and remember that I'm not fit, healthy or young anymore! I'm pretty sure that after cleaning today I'll be knackered and may see the walk as a chore as opposed to a pleasure which wouldn't be ideal - mindful walking is a daily practice that I want to introduce so if I need to put it off until tomorrow it isn't a problem.

I'm on day 9 today of not drinking and day 8 of not smoking so I'm really pleased to have the first week under my belt. I've been having smoothies daily and apart from making a couple of questionable food choices this weekend, my eating has been healthy again. I'm definitely feeling better than I have been for a while - now that I feel confident that I've eliminated the alcohol and tobacco from my life, I'm intending to be very strict this month on sticking to wholefoods and my daily practices.

I am starting to feel in control again which is lovely after so many months of feeling adrift - I am so grateful that I have such a wonderful life as a general rule and that, despite navigating the storms in a very self-destructive way this year, I am finding my way back to peace now 😁

Have a fab slow day! 🐌😁