Category Archives: Writing – Reverb10

Review 11 Things for 2011 on 11/11/11

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Last December I wrote about 11 things I going to give up in 2011.

Seems it would be appropriate today to check in on the progress.

1. Cable TV – we still have it and we’re still talking about how we need to get rid of it. Not because we’re watching too much (thanks, Ruby), but because it is an added expense on our new one-income household.

The problem? We have bad internet and research is showing that good internet comes with cable.

Any advice?

2. My Yoga Journal subscription – gone. Haven’t thought about it once until now.

3. Paring down books and clothes.

I have definitely caught the clothes swapping bug. I went shopping in a store once this year. The rest were swaps or hand-me-downs from lovely friends.

Books have been traded, swapped, sold and donated.

Newest challenge? Keeping Ruby’s books corralled and her clothes sorted and passed on once she’s finished with them. Again, the generosity of friends and family with gifts and hand-me-downs and she has quite an extensive wardrobe.

4. Eliminate sugar, dairy and bread for a month.

I did it and NEVER felt better which inspired me to visit the allergists and lo and behold, I am really allergic to dairy. Not in the my-tummy-hurts-way, but in the why is my nose completely stuffed up way.

I have been dairy free since January (mistakes have been made and paid for) and I am happy to report I haven’t suffered the wrath of a respiratory infection, cold or much more than a mild case of the sniffles since.  Seasonable allergies (to every single plant in Sacramento) can finally be treated with regular allergy medicine.

While eating dairy free is a ridiculous pain the in butt, it has made my life world’s better.

5. Cutting out screen time at 8:30 pm.

I did it all during January and I never slept better or felt more refreshed. I kept track of my progress on a Gold Star Chart (like Gretchen Rubin). Simply amazing. I kept that screen time limit all month!

February rolled around and I promptly forgot the chart and the screen time crept right back to bed time. Clearly, this is a work in progress.

6. Clearing out the clutter.

Another work in progress. Jed and I got rid of countless bags of our stuff only to have it replaced with baby stuff. Again, a work in progress. If you know anyone needing baby girl stuff in Sacramento, please send them my way. I will have plenty to pass on.

7. Quit signing up for e-courses and finish 2010’s.

I am still working on 2010’s (a gentle nudge to do so) and only purchased two in 2010. I really liked one (and I still need to finish) and the other was only $12 (totally worth the price).

8. Consistently exercising – making friends with cardio.

2011 has been a good year for exercise. I found my perfect exercise partner and we hit the gym most weekdays during summer break and we’re both exercising (albeit way less) well into the fall.

Cardio is still mind-numbingly boring, however I am trying to make nice with it by walking with Ruby in the pouch and friends by my side.

Want to make a walking date? Leave a comment and let’s set up a date.

9. To stop taking things personally.

It is definitely less of a struggle to do this, but these days I have less opportunity to be criticised. I think. Or I am just too tired and involved with my new kid I stopped caring. Jury is still out.

10. Hire a housecleaning service.

Holy crap! BEST money I’ve ever spent. Plus it turns out the people I know with tidy houses have help keeping it that way. Need a referral? We love Angela, Sally and Elsa over at California Green Clean.

11. We finally became a family.

2011 saw the end of our adoption wait. Ruby is finally home and we couldn’t be happier.

Looking back at the year so far – were you able to let go of what no longer worked in your life? What can you give up going forward?

Trying Technology

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December 18 – Try

What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?

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2011

I want to try to use technology better next year. I’ve already committed to learning to use Skype over my winter break and have already lined up some people to help me figure it out.

What is your favorite can’t-live-without-it technology? What makes your life easier/more fun/productive?

Please note: NOTHING is too obvious. I practically have a stone tablet on my lap for getting these posts out. {Just sayin’ – I may be one of the models in the photo}.

Please share what you love and why you love it. Maybe you’ll convince me to try your favorite.

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2010

This year I wanted to try teaching yoga.

What happened?

At first, I totally freaked out.

Then I got a grip and I loved it.

I am so grateful for Michelle’s February Recess and her faith in my teaching.

I’m also glad I didn’t quit because I was afraid.

Teaching yoga has taught me things I wouldn’t have ever known otherwise.

So grateful.

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What did you try this year? How did it turn out?


(Author: Kaileen Elise)

11 Things For 2011

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December 11th’s Prompt:

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011?

How will you go about eliminating them?

How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

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1. Cable TV. One phone call and we’re free! Or at least that’s how I hope it works.

How will it change my life? Saving money and not falling into the I’ll-just-turn-it-on-for-a-minute trap.

2. My subscription to Yoga Journal. Just letting it run its course.

How will it change my life? I’ll get my yoga writing from blogs like Michelle’s, Madeleine’s, Kim’s… and I’ll stop wondering why I keep subscribing to a magazine I don’t have much in common with.

3. More books and clothes – can’t wait until the next swaps.

How will it change my life? Saving a ton of money on new-to-me clothes and books and I’ve got an outlet for my stuff I no longer need. Spring SwapAsana anyone?

4. Sugar, dairy and bread { just for a month!}

How will it change my life? I’m not sure other than I’ll have to be more mindful about what I am eating. Want to join me? {then click workshops}

5. Screen time after 8:30 pm – a girl has got to read books.

How will it change my life? I’ll sleep better and get through my huge stack of library books faster.

6. Clutter – 10 things at a time.

How will it change my life? Getting rid of stuff I don’t need will make room for what I do. Plus knowing I don’t have to do it all at once will take the overwhelm out of the job.

7. Signing up for e-courses – I think I’ll finish 2010’s.

How will it change my life? Less guilt about spending and not using.

8. My sedentary ways. Consistent cardio here I come!

How will it change my life? It will help keep moodiness at bay and maybe even help my trousers fit better.

9. Taking it personally. {A 2010 resolution that needs repeating. –Daily.}

How will it change my life? I won’t be so shaken and stirred by other people’s opinions of me.

10. Guilt about housecleaning – we’ve asked for help.

How will it change my life? More time to focus on projects and fun.

11. Waiting.

How will it change my life? How won’t it?

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What things will you let go of in the new year?


(Author: Sam Davidson)

Wise Words To Live By

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December 10th’s Prompt: Wisdom.

What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

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Work: Not taking it personally was my new school year resolution.

How is it playing out so far?

I am listening more and talking less. I am happy to report I am suffering much less wanting thing to be different than they are.

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Life: I’ve also been paying attention to the details more.

Here are some examples of some hidden treasures around Sacramento this afternoon.

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What wisdom did you find this year?


(Author: Susannah Conway)

Mrs. PartyPants

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December 9th’s Prompt:

Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

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In March, I turned 40.

To celebrate some of my yoga teacher training buddies and I went on a yoga workshop weekend in Ukiah to study Balance with Mary Paffard.

I know. We know how to party!

A must stop if you are ever in Clear Lake

Once we were primed and ready (ie totally full of fried goodies) we off to Vichy Springs Resort for some soaking in the mineral pools.

An excellent way to spend an afternoon

Post soak, we hopped on down the road to meet the other YTTs for dinner at Oco Time.

Look at those lovely faces.

We chatted, we laughed, we snapped photos and drank a beer (or two).

More lovely faces.

We told jokes and talked about birthdays, age and yoga.

And then it was over.

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It’s funny what a difference a decade makes.

My 30th birthday was a huge drunken bash.

I’m glad that nonsense is over now.

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What’s your most memorable party this year?


(Author: Shauna Reid)

What Makes Me Beautiful

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Prompt: Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.

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I can’t help, but tell the truth.

Some say I am too direct.

Sometimes I have no tact, but everyone knows where they stand.

I can break complex ideas into simple language.

I get annoyed when people try to act smarter than everyone else with fancy words.

I am fiercely loyal.

I see the good in people.

I tend to point about the absurdity of the obvious.

There is nothing better than a belly laugh.

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What makes you different/beautiful?


Author: Karen Walrond
The Beauty of Different
@chookooloonks

Community – A Twitter Love Letter

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Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

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Dear Twitter, 

I know we met in 2009, but it wasn’t really until 2010 that we solidified our relationship. I used to be a little embarrassed how much I loved reading tweets and finding out how people spend their time. I think it is because I was still trying to figure you out. 

I just didn’t get how useful people on Twitter can be. Questions about WordPress, online polls, browsers or blogging with kids? Ask and multiple answers come quickly. 

Need help planning a yoga class? All you have to do is ask. 

Want to trade stories about rock shows and cute rock stars? Twitter is the place to do it. 

Thanks for the great year! 

Love,
Tams 

PS – In 2011, I’d like to meet more teachers committed to self-care and time-wasting practices like yoga, reading for pleasure and goofing off on social media.
Do you know any? 

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Where are your people? Who do you want to connect with next year?


Author: Cali Harris
caligater.com
@caligater

Student Blog

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Prompt: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

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The last thing I made was a student blog.

I used kidblog.org, Mrs. Ripp‘s getting started with kidblog documents, and help from my Twitter PLN (Personal Learning Network).

We are also using new netbooks purchased by our district for our grade level. We’re piloting a mobile computer lab in primary grades.

If you are a teacher on Twitter, I’d love to connect. You can follow me at @tamihackbarth – be sure to @reply and say hi.

If your class has a blog and you’d like comments, please leave your URL and we’ll add your class to our blogroll.

Please feel free to stop by my class blog and say hi. Students will be adding their posts shortly and will need lots of comments to stay engaged.

What about you? What was the last thing you made?

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Author: Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project
@gretchenrubin

Loosening The White-Knuckled Grip and Finding A Little More Peace Along The Way

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Prompt: Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

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A short list of what I’ve let go of this year:

My ego.

Matt.

My regularly scheduled life.

Why did I let go so much?

It just wasn’t working anymore.

Or ever, really.

To be honest, I was tired.

Tired of fighting every single battle in the world. I was tired of the constant struggle of trying to be in control. I was tired of learning the same lessons -over and over again.

The experience of loosening up my grip on everything has been nothing short of revolutionary. I feel lighter and less anxious. My connections are more heart felt and to be honest, scary. I feel vulnerable. Not in the oh-my-god it’s so scary way, but in the let’s try it this way and wow the level of kindness is awe inspiring.

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Is there something in your life that is no longer useful to you – an old story, an outdated belief, a pair of shoes? Can you let it go?

Author: Alice Bradley
Let’s Panic About Babies
@finslippy

Wonder: Who Are You When You Are Perfectly Still?

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Prompt: How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

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Recently at a yoga+writing workshop we were asked to answer the following question:

Who are you when you are perfectly still?

We were asked to a write a word at the end of the page and write a story that leads to the word.

See if you can guess my word.

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Once there was a little kid, who despite being quite bright, had some trouble at school.

The bright student just would not do the work.

Quietly sitting, not participating, not following along.

Just sitting.

It turns out this kid had other things on the brain. Big issues at home no one at school knew the depth of.

See, the grown ups in this kid’s life were fuck-ups. They didn’t know what to do or how to help or even to acknowledge that they, themselves were the cause of the issues of the kid.

The girl, she did what ever necessary to be “good.”

But the boy, he acted out.

No one knew how to help them.

She suffered silently while he cried out for help.

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So who are you when you are perfectly still?

Prompt Author:

Jeff Davis

The Journey from the Center to the Page

@JeffreyDavis108

Profound Moment – Paying Attention to the Details

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Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

My first instinct when approaching this prompt was to retell the stories of the really hard parts of my year. If you’d like to read about them you can – here and here. Oh sadness, why are you so vivid?

My next instinct was to get all “yoga” on you and say something like,<insert breathy voice here> “every moment I feel alive”  – because I’m just that good at being in the moment.

Ha!

Then I wanted to punch myself for being so pretentious and figured that wasn’t the direction this post would take if I wanted to keep my readers.

So I’ll talk about something that has made me all misty-eyed and proud.

Drum roll, please….

I noticed – on several different occasions – the trees changing color.

What the big effing deal about that?

For starters, just about every tree in Sacramento changes from green to Technicolor yellow, orange, red. It is like an explosion of color and so different from the evergreen trees around where I grew up. You would pretty much have to be blind not to notice.

And until last fall (during yoga teacher training), I didn’t ever notice the beauty.

How can that be you ask?

Usually I’m stuck in my head and mired in how to get from here to there or how to get this group of people to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it and for them to think it was their idea – instead of paying attention to the details of life around me.

Not this year.

This year, I am paying attention to those damn leaves.

I’ve even picked out my favorite trees – they are twins.

They live across the street on the corner a couple of blocks down the street from me.

I found out recently they are ginkgo biloba trees. They are at least 10 feet tall, slender and right now have bright yellow flower petal shaped leaves covering them.

There is also a pile of leaves on the sidewalk and street. I’m hoping to see the flurry of leaves falling when the wind kicks in.

I hope I don’t miss it.

Why do these leaves make me so heart-swelling happy?

Because I am finally noticing the little details of life. I think they call it living in the moment. I have heard this is where the peace and the happiness live.

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Has there been a moment that took your breath away this year?


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Today’s prompt is from:

Author: Ali Edwards
Memory Keeping Idea Books
@aliedwards

Cutting Through the Crap: Can I Really Eliminate What Gets In My Own Way?

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Prompt: Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?

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Procrastination is my key avoidance tactic for everything important and writing falls into that category.

Procrastination – or busyness – will protect me from all the monsters in my head: the chorus of self-doubters, the harsh critics, the if-it-isn’t-perfect-it-couldn’t-possibly-good-enoughs.

I’m so busy!

I have a full-time job,

a part-time job,

another quasi part-time job….

I haven’t got the time to write really good posts!

Social media is an amazing tool for distraction – I can look around the web “for ideas”, click refresh on Twitter to see what people are talking about, check in with my readers on Facebook and leave a blog comment.

Social media is part of blogging, right?

You have to be part of the conversation, right?

What it comes down to is this: I avoid getting quiet enough for my real writing, the juicy uncomfortable bits, to shine through.

Call it procrastination, but really it more like fear.

Or self-doubt.

Or perfectionism.

Will I be able to eliminate it?

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Is there something that gets in the way of what is important to you?

Today’s Prompt is from:

Author: Leo Babauta
focusmanifesto.com
@zen_habits


One Word

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Today’s #reverb10 prompt:

Prompt: One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

2010: Restorative

From deciding this is the style of yoga I want to teach to really learning what it takes for me to be fully rested, restorative was the word of this year.

I am planning to keep restorative close to heart in the coming year as well. I think it will come in handy.

Next year: Transformation

By this time next year, I hope to have become a parent.

What about you? What is your one word?


#reverb10

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The last few days of December last year had me writing furiously to catch up with The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge set forth by Gwen Bell.

I didn’t find the challenge until December 27th and decided to jump in with both feet.

Head and heart.

I completed 16 of the 31 prompts in 4 days.

It isn’t pretty or polished, but it is real.

The Best of 2009 Challenge was such a heart warming experience during a time when I usually fall into a pretty deep depression so I was beyond thrilled when Gwen announced this year’s December project: #reverb10.

The button to the right is a link right to the project. I hope you decide to join me. You don’t have to have a blog or Twitter or Facebook to participate. All you need is a journal and an intention.

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If this project interests you and you’d like to follow some of my friends on their #reverb10 journey subscribe to their blogs.

Blogasana by Michelle

MadYoga by Madeleine

Powerful Moon by Geanette

Just A Titch by Amy

Y is for Yogini by Lo

Click here to see a full list of participants {or to add yourself}

EDIT:

This is My Happiness by Jenna