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What I Read Last Month :: May
I guess I have always been a nerd. I genuinely loved school and was even always a proponent of a traditional liberal education which includes teaching specific knowledge of specific subjects as opposed to the progressive Montessori style which teaches only abstract skills (although I still continue not to convince many of my friends and family members who insist learning about significant historical dates or the factors that led to a scientific discovery are "pointless in the real world"). However (as you'll soon find out!) I recently read a much better articulated defense of traditional schooling which argued that "a mental skill is not the same as an algorithm -…
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Celebrating Sunny Days in Ireland with My 2018 Summer Bucket List and Whole30 Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef
What a fabulous last two weeks it has been in Cork! The weather has consistently been the best that it has been since I've lived in Ireland and I am thrilled to have sunshine and warm days finally. It actually feels like summer which means it's time to pull together my 2018 Summer Bucket List - a tradition that Jonathan and I started a few years ago. It's my favorite time of year and I know that for me to ensure the optimal experience, I need to have some sort of plan. Making a Summer Bucket List is kind of like setting New Year Resolutions for me (but arguably more…
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Balance is NOT Key (for me at least!) + a Whole30 Stone Fruit and Blackened Chicken Salad
As I've written many times over the past year, the decision to dedicate time to truly knowing myself better has been life changing. Before that I would have, as most people do, just assumed certain things to be true without giving it much consideration. It's easy to be distracted by what I wish I were like or what I (or others) think I should be like. And thus I just assumed that I must like music (I really don't), that pizza is delicious (I have always been underwhelmed), and that "everything in moderation" is a good thing (not for an abstainer like me). And learning that, for me at least, balance is…
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Challenging = Breaking Up with Bad Habits, Easy = Whole30 Jamaican Jerk Steak and Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner
A very common source of disagreement in the Vasquez household (and many others as I hear) is a difference in perspective on a particular issue. Jon is the prototypical male/husband whenever I am describing a problem, offense, or irritation that I am facing. He swoops in (sometimes before I have a chance to even finish giving the context) to save the day and "solve" the problem. I knowthat he means well and that his intention is to help me to move past whatever it is I am dealing with as quickly as possible. He is genuinely trying in earnest to support me. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, that…
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Curiosity as a Motivator: How what we attend to becomes more interesting and a Whole30 Avocado Egg Salad
“My True Rule is that persistence is its own reward. Somehow, the more you stay with something, the more you accumulate wisdom and meaning in whatever it is you're doing. Just by watering that flower, you get really attached to that flower." Bob Miller, President and Publisher at HarperStudios. I can remember vividly all throughout my education being completely enthralled and excited whenever there was an overlap in ideas or concepts between various classes or subjects or between what I was learning in school and "real life." I loved hearing about a new theory in science for example and then later reading about the same topic in a literature class,…
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Keys to Success: Take Action, Learn by Doing, and Make These Whole30 Spinach & Artichoke Meatballs with Lemon Cashew Alfredo!
It's a well known fact: If you don't use it, you lose it. While recently in Malaga, we spent time everyday "practicing" our Spanish, something which although I studied for about 12 years - I am not so great at anymore (ahora yo hablo un poquito y mas despacio). To be fair, between the four of us, we could cover the basic requirements needed to get around in terms of reading signs and understanding very basic conversational language. But as we struggled to formulate cohesive sentences and relied heavily on "Spanglish" or pointing, we reflected on the fact that it is much more challenging when you have to yourself communicate…
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The Impact of an Inch: Kicking Your Barre Workout Up a Notch (But Just a Notch!)
We are often quick to dismiss the magnitude of small, but consistent progress in the right direction. However, as nearly anyone who has achieved something great (I'm talking anything from inventing a truly disruptive product to just making it through the day without losing your cool and everything in between) will attest, it's all about the little steps forward which over time have a cumulative effect. C.S. Lewis said it well: "isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different," - a truth I am constantly reminding myself of when I fail to recognize growth or become discouraged with my pace of change. And…
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Thinking Creatively About Creativity and a Whole30 Salmon on Roasted Broccoli with Lemon Vinaigrette
I think there are two types of people out there - there are those that really get a kick out of starting up new activities, hobbies, and projects, with diverse and wide-flung interests - the "Mile Wide" group. And then there are those that like to stick to more and more of the same, continually investing time, energy, and effort into their very specific and often nuanced areas of interest - the "Mile Deep" group. My husband and many of my close friends are in the former group. Jon is always trying out new and different sports, hobbies, reading topics, and ideas. It gives him energy and keeps him from…
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What I Read Last Month :: April
Often what I read throughout a given time period follows a particular theme and I have very often over the past year chosen a reading list which matches that month's Happiness Project focus. However in April, although not the focus or even intention, it was clearly all about food and nutrition. Which makes sense because a large proportion of my time the past few weeks was spent developing Whole30 coaching materials. And I don't mind at all since this is one of my favorite topics and it was fun to read some other sources of information and perspectives on health as we get fired up for the Flex in the…
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Purpose in Leisure Time and a Whole30 Sweet Potato Crusted Quiche
Ahh. That's a sigh of contentment after the three day May Bank Holiday weekend here in Ireland. It was a particularly quiet one for me since in addition to having an extra day off from normal work, Flex in the City was closed and Jonathan was away for round two of his sailing course. And although I love all these things (ok - definitely less so when it comes to the day job, but I do love teaching at the studio and spending time with my husband!), I have to say that it was a pretty fabulous few days at home and around town for me and little Coco. The weather was nice,…
