GOALS

So as you can probably tell from my sparse postings these past few weeks, I have not been doing so great with my goals for work/life balance lately. I suppose this is to be expected. It wouldn't make sense to set goals for yourself that are easy to achieve ( I guess it also doesn't make sense then to put things on your to-do list that you have already done just so you can check them off? Oops).


While finding time to eat right and exercise have been challenging for me this month, I have not thrown in the towel. I know you were worried that I have been sitting in my closet eating Red Vines, peanut butter cups and pork chops all week but FEAR NOT. Before going vegan and committing to a healthful lifestyle, a few set backs would have sent me running for a box of E.L. Fudge cookies. I used to truly believe that if "I couldn't do it right, I shouldn't do it all." I believed that complete perfection was the only way and I consistently failed to reach the impossible bar I had set.


Now, even when things get busy, I try to remember that BALANCE not perfection is my ultimate goal. It is unfortunate that many of my meals this week came from an Amy's frozen vegan dinner box and that I didn't get to the gym everyday. It also isn't great that I haven't had tons of time for the things I enjoy such as yoga and blogging. However, it is not the end of the world.


Yesterday, I was working with one of my students who is not doing so well this year. He has a learning disability which often means he has to work twice as hard as his classmates in order to achieve success. I talked to him at Saturday school about the fact that he needs to be reading more consistently in order to grow his reading level and improve his grades. I talked way too much (as teachers sometimes tend to do). When I was finally done, I looked at him to see what his thoughts were on the situation.


He looked back at me (probably relieved that I had finally shutup) and then informed me that he already knew he needed to read more in order to reach his goal. "I have already finished two books this week," he told me proudly.


I didn't think much of the conversation at the time. It is one I have had many times over. My students often encounter setbacks and then they decide to work harder. Then they encounter more setbacks. Then they work harder. And harder. And harder. They know that if they want to achieve anything worthwhile that they will meet many struggles along the way...


As is the case with most of my moments of clarity, this student helped me to remember something important... I have not failed. I just need to work harder if I want to reach my goals. So this weekend, I tried to recommit to my goals for healthful living and work/life balance.


First, I tried to recommit to eating fun, nourishing, humane food by dining at an NYC vegan restaurant called Candle 79. The food was AMAZING and definitely inspired me to get back in the kitchen to cook up something creative ; )

My dinner:

MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKPEA CAKE
seasonal vegetables, red pepper-coconut curry, ginger-apricot-date chutney, toasted almonds

Patrick's dinner:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH-WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO
cashew cream, pumpkin seeds, fresh herbs,
frizzled leeks

Side of broccoli and cauliflower

More dessert

I know what you're thinking... how does eating at a nice restaurant equal working hard? Well no worries. The next morning I woke up to some Fall Oats (with pumpkin granola and apple cider) and then headed out the door to do some ACTUAL work. I did the longest run I have done in quite some time and it felt GREAT. It made me think about setting some other goals...

Marathon maybe? Stay tuned...