I feel like I’ve been slacking a little bit the entire January. Since my 3-week vacation in December I’ve felt the need to take it slow and not attack my goals-list for the new year immediately. I’ve been just looking at it from the distance, letting it brew in my mind and getting to it when I felt like I was filled with excitement and passion for it. That time is now that we’re entering the second month of the brand new year.
Yesterday I got to be home alone for a couple of hours and started listening to all my favorite songs from my early teenage years, that I still very much love, but haven’t listened to much at all. These include Pink Floyd, The Doors and Billy Idol. I had a little dance party while blasting the music (luckily we only have one neighbor), and my ideas just started flowing like never before. Here’s some of them:
Medicinal Mushrooms
I will start drinking medicinal mushrooms more regularly. I have reishi powder in my tea box that I occasionally sip before bed. Reishi has a calming effect, but that’s not all: it also helps defend against tumor growth and cancer (important to someone like myself with cancer in family history), improves liver function and detoxification, balances blood pressure and hormones + fights diabetes, and more.
There are so many other mushrooms like chaga, cordyceps and lions mane, all with magnificent healing benefits. Learn more from Four Sigmatic’s informative website HERE. They make “just add water” mushroom mixtures with coffee or cacao for your easy mushroom fix. Plus get 10% OFF when you use code KATARIINA10.
Sea Vegetables
It wasn’t love at first sight, but I’ve grown to love sea vegetables aka seaweed. There are so many different varieties (just like mushrooms) and ways to enjoy them. I like to sprinkle them in my savory foods instead of salt, crunch the toasted ones on top of my salads, or just simply eat as snacks. In NYC my spiritual mentor introduced me to a macrobiotic restaurant called Souen that had amazing seaweed salads and that’s when I started to get over my fear of seaweed. I like to use THESE seaweed and sea salt mixes from Maine. I should also mention that make sure you’re getting your seaweed from clean waters (like Maine).
Music
I want to go to more concerts with my husbands. We live right next to Oakland that has the Fox Theater as well as Yoshi’s, both famous concert venues that feature quite big stars every now and then. I would love to see this year: Roger Waters, Robbie Krieger, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alice in Chains.
Social Life
Not just RSVP yes, but also go, no matter how my social anxiety tries to keep me safe at home when it’s time to go. Meetups, friend’s events, workshops at yoga studios and community centers. I need to do it all. It’s going to be a year of YES.
Videos
I want to make more videos! Even if they’re questionable quality shot with my phone and edited with iMovie on my phone. As a kid we made so many videos with friends dancing, acting, singing and I was fearless in front of the camera. Now I feel super awkward and shy, and stumble with my words. What happened to the brave child that just went with it without overthinking everything?! I want her back! In an effort to be that little girl again I will start making more videos about everything and nothing. No matter how bad I think they’ll be. Subscribe to my Youtube channel to get notified.
Farm Box
To make life just a tad easier, I started ordering a weekly farm box that brings local, organic veggies right at my door once a week. That way I don’t have to go to the supermarket (I so dislike going grocery shopping!) or remember to go to the farmers market (I tend to forget!). I can skip deliveries and substitute items freely. Every box comes with recipes I can use my produce to cook. Simplifying things is what I’m all about. Use code KATA2423 for discount!
Read Books
This is a tough one for me. Every year I make a list of 12 books I want to read during that year, giving generous 4 weeks to finish one, but yet, I keep falling off the wagon. I’m still reading The Tao of Inner Peace that was on my list for September last year. Oh, come on girl! I will make my list for this year soon so you can see it.
Hey Katarina, I agree on not jumping on to new year to do lists as soon as it starts.. but there is an immense pressure..haha, like you are lagging behind! Good luck with your posts.
P.s: I love the feel of your site 🙂
Thank you Shru! I felt the pressure to accomplish so many things by the end of Jan, so I decided to continue my vacation mode and allow myself not to tackle my to-do’s at all. It worked. February is the new January! 🙂 LOL
Enjoyed the post … and your cat. Medicinal mushrooms?? I am now going to have to look into these more. I’m completely on a tea kick as I try to eliminate as much sugar (cough, cough Soda) from my diet. Great tips! Thanks.
Mushrooms are so good for you. I’m happy I found this company because the “just add water”- method of preparing them makes it doable for me. I take them more as shots. Warm shots. Chaga in the morning to energize and focus, and reishi before bed to relax.
Sugar is the devil. I’m so addicted I take 30 days off every year just to get back to balance. Plus now I have so many ways to cope when the cravings hit that I feel like I’m on the winning side. Good luck with kicking soda out of your life! You CAN DO IT! XO
I want to read more too but I find myself listening to podcasts instead! I’m slowly working the goals I set for this year and just recently wrote out a plan for each one that I can really out 100% into when Feb comes. I love your blog by the way!
Foirell | http://www.citygirlrell.com
Thank you Foirell! I love listening to business podcasts and usually do that when commuting to/from SF on the bus. Reading in a moving vehicle makes me nauseous so podcasts to the rescue. I love winding down from my day by going to bed early and reading a couple of pages from a book. I usually fall asleep while reading so it’s the perfect sleeping remedy too. 🙂 XO
I’m right there with on the reading. I even contemplated joining Goodreads to make me read more. Life can get so busy! I love that you’re pointing it to make it a point to set aside the time.
I have a friend I met in SF who reads one book a week! I’m so impressed by him and every time I feel like not picking up the book I see his face smirking at me. Strange, but good motivation. 🙂 I love winding down from my day by going to bed early and reading a couple of pages from a book. I usually fall asleep while reading so it’s the perfect sleeping remedy too. 🙂
I love all these things. I struggle with a little social anxiety as well and need to get out there more. Good luck!
I feel like my social anxiety gets worse the older I get so I really force myself to get out and talk to strangers. Even now, I’m sitting at a local coffee shop, but it took me hours of contemplation to go or not to go, while finding tons of things to do at the house so I didn’t have to go (I vacuumed, washed all the throw pillow covers, re-organized my teas, and my husband’s clothing drawers 🙂 )
But I’m here now, nobody attacked me and I’m still alive. Slowly getting comfortable sitting on this table people around me.