I feel really balanced right now and actually at peace with letting the universe kind of take over for me. While I’m actively doing things to improve these areas of my life, I feel a sense of calm falling over my life even though there are both sad and happy things taking place. This is the general feeling I’ve gotten in my 2nd week challenge, and I’ll briefly go over the 7 areas again to discuss progress and areas of improvement. 

Food: I’ve kept my habit of drinking water and tea consistent. I tried to drink coffee one day, and the creamer just felt like it sat in my stomach for hours; it was awful. Water and green/black tea have been life altering in my overall physical well being, cleansing out the bad and revitalizing the good. My Dukan Diet has been going really well. I’ve slipped up a few days when I go to events or out to eat even though I try to make healthy choices. Once I make one bad one, I seem to tumbleweed. But regardless, I’ve lost 8 pounds so far and I’m going to continue cutting out sugary foods and bread because I feel so much lighter without those unnecessary foods. I’ll continue on to the consolidation phase of the diet, alternating pure protein/dairy days with protein and vegetable days until I reach my goal weight of 135 (12 more pounds). I’ll try some new recipes to make my meals more interesting. 

Exercise: D- again. I DID do 3 hours of walking on Saturday at a festival (but this was quickly voided by a piece of Louisiana blackberry pie the size of my head). On Sunday I did a 3 hour hike through the woods and got 20,000 steps in. But other than that, the work-week continued to be stagnant. My cortisone shot did not work as much as I hoped, so I will be getting an MRI in the next coming weeks. Laying off exercise for now, and focusing on diet. 

Mental: I’ve continued my French lessons 4 of the 7 days of the week. It’s getting harder to retain things without repetition or quizzes as if it were a class because it just moves on lesson to lesson. I’m learning things I’ve never gone over now, so it’s a bit confusing. Still going forward! But this week’s challenge was about positivity. I really did not do well with this, although every time I did spew negative thoughts/feelings/words, I was aware of it and I tried to make it right at the end of any statement by finding some good out of the situation/person, etc. It’s very difficult at work, especially. I’ll keep trying! I really can’t think of something mental for this week other than potentially creating travel plans with a friend. Certainly takes a lot of mental work. Any ideas from my readers? 

Creativity: Okay so these physical creations I keep telling myself I’m going to make keep getting pushed to the side when it comes to deciding do I want to watch Game of Thrones after work and cook dinner/relax or do I want to break out my arts and crafts? The first always wins. SO I’ve decided to focus on some creative elements that don’t involve creating something physical but rather developing new skills. I briefly started to get back into guitar 3 weeks ago, and then stopped again. So, this week I vow to pick up the guitar for just 10 minutes 4 days of the 7. 

Spirituality: Purging was minimal this week. I have no motivation yet. Life circumstances may push that motivation soon, but it certainly didn’t happen this past week. But, I feel like I’ve been a good energy in other people’s lives this week, giving healing positive advice and letting many people vent to me without pushing my own problems in their face in comparison. Maybe a light “I know how you feel because I experienced it in this instance” but nothing more than that. That’s made me feel spiritually pretty good. I think this week, I will wake up just 10 minutes earlier so I can enjoy a bit more of nature and let my mind wake up slowly. I will light an incense in the morning, drink my tea on the porch, and then proceed with my ritual after enjoying 15 minutes to wake up. 

Beauty: I did not do my hair mask this week either. I did continue exfoliating twice this week. Win some, lose some. Keeping it simple, with the hot humid air, I desperately need to get my oily skin under control because I have perpetual acne right now and I am notorious for picking at pimples. I vow to not pop any pimples this week/not touch my face other than to wash it. I’m also going to only wear a tiny bit of concealer and mascara so my skin can take a breather from the makeup I’ve been trying to hide this dreadfulness with. 

Relationship: This was an A+ this weekend. I strengthened a new friendship with a girl named Cori. We are able to talk about deep philosophical things, manage problems really well, make decisions effectively together, and travel well together as we learned from our weekend trip to Yellow Springs. We walked around an incredible street festival full of handcrafted items, artisan shops, etc. and had a great time. We then found a campsite, pitched our tent, made a fire and dinner, and talked late into the night about men, travelling, family, school, etc. The next day we hiked for 3 hours through Glen Helen Trails, seeing waterfalls, meadows, animals and ALL THE BUGS. But good conversations were had then as well. I did something new by going there, but also I was the one who brought all the camping stuff! This was my first experience without any men while camping and me-- miss fashionista, Starbucks drinking, office worker-- brought EVERYTHING to the party ;) This week, I will aim to let many people know how much I appreciate them. This is something Cori brought up, and people are often taken aback by it when she tells them sporadically how much she appreciates them. I feel this can be a very rewarding experience. 

I’ll start by saying if you’re reading this blog and you started with me the first week of the 360 Well Being Challenge, then thanks for coming back to read more, and I hope the second week is just a good if not better than the first week’s challenges! 

I have to say I excelled in some areas, and pretty much flopped in others, but I did at least attempt to do everything which is better than nothing! You never want to criticize yourself too much because chances are you’re doing a lot more than anyone else. I’ll go through each of the seven aspects with my thoughts on what went well and what I can improve upon starting tomorrow. 

Food: My 64 oz of water per day challenge went very well, probably a solid A-. I say that because on the weekend, I didn’t all together forget, but it was more difficult to remember that I needed to drink that amount especially since I was being even more active at home than at work with cleaning my much neglected house. Otherwise though, some highly beneficial results have come from drinking so much water. I find I haven’t been getting any mid-day migraines, my skin is getting clearer, and I feel much more alert. Only downside is I literally have to pee every. Single. Hour. This challenge will continue into week 2 in conjunction with the new challenge: The Dukan Diet. I’ve been going kind of half-ass on this diet already for the past week, cheating here and there and in just doing that I’ve lost 2 lbs! SO I’ve made the absolute decision to go all in and attempt to lose the 20 lbs. (YES 20) that I’ve gained in the last three years since moving to Ohio. If you’d like to join, here’s a link. Also This one has a more detailed run down of the specific foods allowed in each phase. 

Exercise: This one I would say I got a D- on. I did the weights about 3 of the 7 days. I think when I’m not weight lifting in conjunction with other exercise, it’s not very motivating. BUT I finally received my cortisone shot in my back so hopefully (fingers crossed!) I’ll be able to get back to the gym (that I’ve continued to pay for monthly without going to) and really step up my game. This week I’m going to make going to that gym or walking outside for 20 minutes a day a high priority. It’s not difficult at all, and I need to put my Fitbit to some real use. 

Mental: So I’m pretty much fluent in (basic) French now. I give myself an A++ for this challenge. Duolingo allows me to set daily goals and has challenges of its own for keeping a streak for how many days you practice your language. I would do it on my break at work or after watching my nightly shows with Colin. I will definitely continue this challenge, but I want to focus on a different kind of mental energy. I implemented a positive Friday at my very first job here in Cincinnati. You couldn’t complain about anything or talk bad about anyone. When I consciously did this, I found I spoke significantly less because I actually thought before I spoke. I urge you to try not complaining for the next 7 days and watch how much your own mind changes about not only yourself, but about those around you. Urge other people to try it when you find their negativity starts wearing on you. Don’t be mean about it and say “stop complaining you big whiner” but try being the optimistic positive one in a situation or don’t feed their flames with more negative comments. Console them and move on. 

Creative: If you recall, this challenge was open for working on an area of your home or room. I chose to work on my staircase wall. While I did not put anything up and while I lost half the items I bought to go on that wall, I did think about it and made tiny strides by pinning some ideas about how to arrange said items on the wall. Also, I developed some ideas on what kind of style I’m going for with the items. I do love travel so I may frame the numerous pieces of paper, tickets, small trinkets I’ve collected from my travels. I’ll continue to work on this, but I also want to continue this trend of creating positive spaces. This week’s challenge will entail printing quotes and photos that I find uplifting and inspiring. It could be in regards to writing, to life, to exercise, to goals, etc. I have a desk area at home, now I need to make it my own. I’ve lived here for 3 months, it’s time. 

Spiritual: I did conduct a small incantation for the well being of my cat who didn’t look like he would make it for a bit, and the next morning we made the decision to risk bringing him home instead of carrying out the full treatment for something the vet didn’t really think was the problem. We thought he’d rather be home than in a foreign place. He improved immensely just that day, and while some would call it coincidence, the effects of every spell I’ve ever conducted in my life have taken fruition within 24 hours. I believe spells are not to be abused and overused, only to be cast with sincere need. The threefold rule can be good but also can come back negatively on you if you put out something out you shouldn’t have. I didn’t conduct the other 2 spells I wanted, but I made a small stride towards learning more about Wicca, and pinned some items to my Pinterest board to know how, when, and with what should I cast my spells with to make them more meaningful and powerful. I’ll continue this, but this week’s challenge is more about mental spirituality and clearing my mind. With recent events in my life, the past week was extremely stressful and I need to let go of the past to pave way for new doors and opportunities. I will do this by de-cluttering not only my mind, but again, my space. I want to downsize as much as possible. Sell things I don’t need and live minimally. I’ve already purged my closet quite a bit, but I know I can do more. There are items in my basement I know can go. I strongly suggest whoever is reading this to do the same! You don’t reallllllly need 5 sets of bed sheets or 20 mugs that you can’t fit in your cabinet. Purge, people! You’ll feel so much lighter once you do. 

Beauty: As I stated with my water challenge, my skin has gotten clearer. I don’t know if it’s because of the water or because I’ve been exfoliating and moisturizing my skin for at least the past 3 nights. I’ve never been great at a face routine but I think I’ve finally developed one I can stick to. I’ve also been consistent with a 7 day teeth whitening kit. Unfortunately it’s affecting my lower gums too much, but my top teeth have definitely made an improvement. I drink so much coffee that I needed to give a little TLC to my smile. This week, I will focus on those things as well as getting my hair back in shape. After I got a balayage 2 weeks ago, the ends have been less the ideal. I will do a hair mask with coconut oil 3 times this week. Pinterest has some fantastic posts on creating home hair masks. Though I don’t recommend vinegar or mayonnaise which many of them do. Your hair smells for minimum a week and turns into a giant grease ball... this is coming from someone who’s hair doesn’t get greasy for at least 3 days. Just giving my two cents. 

Lastly with my relationship: Doing something selfless. I found that it was hard to deliberately do something, but in thinking back on my week I did give a whole bag of expensive Bourbon barrel aged coffee to Colin’s sister’s husband because even though I wasn’t a fan, I was pretty sure he’d like it. I also got Colin his favorite beer without expecting anything in return. But these things didn’t really make me feel ‘good’ about my deed. I wish I could’ve done something a bit bigger. Taken care of someone or something that another person actually needed. I’ll continue to work on this, but I think I want to try something new this week. Whether it be with a friend or with Colin, I want to go somewhere or do something I haven’t done before. I have some plans in the works to go to Yellow Springs Street Festival this weekend, then camping, and potentially hiking if my back is up for it. I hope this pans out.