Summer Solstice Commitments to Practice

Happy Summer Solstice to all!!
Wednesday seems to be my blogging day now, thanks to Jamie Ridler. 

I may yet again reach a day when my posts consist of more than simply answering Jamie's Wishcasting Wednesday query. 

But for now, this is it.  I have many ideas brewing, it just seems to be pinning down the time to tackle them!

Today, the question is, "What do you wish for this summer?"

Although I will be working part-time throughout the summer, there are many things I wish to accomplish.

Mainly because the end of this summer marks the end of much of my free time.
I will be starting a full-time job in September!!  I am very excited about this new opportunity.
I am also trying not to panic at said loss of free time.

So, I believe the most important thing for me to do is to become more efficient with my time and I plan on doing this over the summer by creating some schedules, menu plans and routines to ease the transition for myself and my family.

I also have two weekdays off each week this summer and so I plan to make the most of those by spending precious time with my little girl, doing the things that she wants to be doing. 

This I know, will consist of much time
~swimming in the river
~a trip to Canada's Wonderland
~the Toronto Science Centre
~and the ROM 

Fortunately, these are things that I am totally into doing as well.
Especially the many days we will spend at the river :-)

Blogger friend Christine Reed who writes Girl On Fire and Monkey Brains  prompted me today as well, with this question:

"We are in the new moon (June's moon is the Strawberry moon) AND at the Summer Solstice. Seems like an auspicious time to commit to a new practice of growth and exploration. ♥ ♥ ♥ What practice do you need in your life?"

The answer to this question is simple, although not new.

Music.

Again and again and again.
I keep needing to pull myself back to what I love.


Blogger friend Pauline at journal illustrations reminded me today that:

"Habit is about baby steps"
And she is right.  That's why I'm starting small.  I'm committing to starting out with:

10 minutes each morning of guitar/singing practice
(Why do I forget again and again how joyful this makes me?)

Also, reconnecting with my morning pages practice as that always encourages me to practice my passions.  However, I'm going to be an "Artist's Way" Rebel and only do 10 minutes (gasp!)

And one more habit is to move this body, through 10 minutes of walking or yoga which provides me with the energy necessary to fulfill my main practice of growth and exploration.  Which of course is:

finding Joy through Music!

Time to renew my vows to "Commit".  It is still, afterall, my word of the year!  Oh how quickly I forget!!

What do you wish for this summer?

Menu for Week of March 5

Here is a photo of last Thursday's meal of vegetarian chili-cheese nachos

with spinach, strawberry, pecan salad.

Last week's menu plan went over well, and so I am encouraged to do it again!
And a piece of good news as well. My sister-in-law's partner gave me an

external keyboard, so typing up my posts is so much easier to do now!

This week we will dine on:
Monday~Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, Green Beans
Tuesday~Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli and Tomatoes, Baked Beans
Wednesday~Pepperoni Pizza, Caesar Salad
Thursday~Vegetarian (TVP) Tacos
Friday~Potato-Leek Soup, Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche
Saturday~Grilled Steelhead Trout, Sun Brown Rice, Roasted Veggies (peppers, sweet potato, onions, zuccini, mushrooms)
Sunday~Ginger-Beef Stirfry with lots of Veggies over Rice Noodles

I also found a couple of recipes through some other blogs that I'd like to start incorporating into my menu plans and I also do plan to begin including some of the recipes for some of these options you are now seeing in my menu plans. One step at a time!

Beet and Lentil Salad

Crispy Baked Onion Rings

Tomato & Pesto Soup

Please feel free to share or link to your favourite menu plans or recipes. I'd love to read them!

Menu For This Week

I did it!!! Finally, I wrote out my menu plan for the whole week!

This is what we've had and will be having this week.

Monday~ Dahl appetizer, Vegetarian Chili, crusty rolls

Tuesday~BBQ Ribs, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Curried Butternut Squash, Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday~Spaghetti and Meatballs, Broiled Goat Cheese, Tomato and Basil Egglplant

Thursday~ Vegetarian Chili Cheese Nachos with Spinach, Strawberry, Pecan Salad

Friday~ Roasted Chicken with Brown Rice, Green Beans and Carrots

Saturday~ Dinner @ my sister-in-laws (Grilled Salmon, Potato Soup, Ceasar Salad

Sunday~ Whatever, eat up leftovers, make yourself a sandwich.

My goal is to ideally post my menu for the week on Monday. That is what I WILL post this coming Monday.

Well, So Much For That!

This new beginning only mangaged three posts for the month of January, but it is afterall, a beginning. So I'm not about to beat myself up over it. In fact, I think I will celebrate the fact that I did indeed make three posts in the month of January. Goodness knows, I did an awful lot more than that in the other corners of my life in January. In fact I'm feeling inspired to.... make a list... (drum roll here).

In the month of January I have:

~started walking again! Most mornings, I walk my daughter to school (that only takes about 7 minutes at a leisurely pace). Then, instead of heading directly home, I take a new and different "long way home" which usually ends up being about a 20-30 minute brisk walk (as well as allowing me to become more familiar with our neighbourhood and the many lovely old century homes in the area-we just moved to this town in the summer of 2011)

~really been focusing on my word for the year by committing myself to daily guitar practice. Honestly, a minimum of 30 minutes each day is doing wonders for me. I mean, there have been days that I have skipped, but on the whole, if I can manage to pick it up for at least 30 minutes, I often end up playing for a lot longer than that or returning to it several times thorough out the day. I have several new songs that I can now play to show for it too!

~completed the Morning Pages Challenge from Jamie Ridler. This has been very satisfying. First of all, I love the routine of it. Since I haven't been working much since before Christmas, I need something to get me out of bed a little bit early and the Morning Pages have been my motivation. I have also loved having this little piece of the day in which my thoughts flow into words onto paper and I gain a sense of organization over my thoughts, needs, wants and desires. It gives me an opportunity to send a little message to the universe, a documentation that doesn't have to be a committment, simply a voicing of what is floating around in my head. Finally, it has provided me with the starting point for the rest of my day as I often make a list of my things to do within my morning pages. This has been extremely helpful in acheiving consistency in the two items mentioned above (walking and guitar).

~been working on menu plans and cooking yummy meals. Why, just the other day I made delicious cabbage rolls, something that for some stange reason, I have never made before. I also made a heavenly split pea soup with ham, which has always been one of my all time favourite meals. The meal planning is coming along, I get the ideas in my head for what I'd like to prepare; it's the actual putting it down onto paper part that is still in the development stage.
Perhaps that is something I can develop here on my blog! Oh I love the lightbulb moments!!

~begun to reacquaint myself with my yoga practice. In fact, yoga practice is next on my agenda after completing this post. Which, much as I'd love to write more about my relationship with yoga, I must postpone for another post as I need to get moving onto the actual practice of it and then guitar and then the dishes and the laundry and the rest of the TTD list for today.

And so, I think all in all, January was a pretty good month for me. Now here, three days into February, I am looking forward to even more of the same,but with more hearts and chocolate !!