Monday, 9 November 2015

Check-In: 2015-11-09 (Monday)

Diet: WIN! (fruit, vegetables, moderate added sugar)
Exercise: PASS (walking)
Sleep: PASS (regular wake-up times, adequate hours)
Mindfulness: PASS (meditation)
Love and Support: WIN! (visiting with many friends, visiting with family)

Had a good weekend. I went to Athabasca to visit family and friends. One the one hand, this is disruptive to routine, which makes hitting targets trickier. But on the other hand, this is disruptive to routine, which is great for mental health.

I'm still eating too much added sugar, though the home-made ice cream and fudge was worth it, as was the post-noodles candy-and-TV that's part of the Sunday tradition. But I did only buy a moderate amount of candy this week, and I ate a bit less of it than usual. I'm actually keen to get back to a healthier sugar intake now that the leftover candy of Halloween is starting to fade.

I went a bit short on walking a couple of times recently so I'll need to do some better exercise soon. But I'm keeping up with the recommended amounts by the Heart and Stroke Foundation so I'm managing. I'm at about the same level with sleep. I'm getting to bed a bit late, but I'm at least consistent and feeling an acceptable amount of energy during the day.

On Friday I had a really good meditation where I intentionally engaged my emotions. I didn't force my emotions, but rather just let them do their thing. I have a bit of a tendency to repress, especially when nervous, so I figure some exercise in letting them express would be good. Since I was just meditating and calm the emotions were generally positive, and the physical sensations were quite pleasant (I find that emotions have physical sensations that are difficult to describe). I think technically my Friday meditation was already recorded in my Saturday check-in, but my weekend wasn't well structured for mindfulness since I was on the road. But it's also easier to be in the moment when doing something non-routine. I guess to be fair I'll give myself a pass rather than a win, but I feel like it's a solid pass.

The real win was in the Love and Support category. I went to the Café Croissant at L'Alliance Française on Saturday morning and met some new people there while also practising my spoken French skills. I then visited Amber and Jason since Jason just got back from Calgary again. I then met my parents and some of my aunts and uncles for a late mini-Thanksgiving (my aunts were busy with Elections Canada so we didn't have Thanksgiving at the time). Then I met my friend Geoff for a chat at a pub, then met up with my parents again for a visit in the evening. On Sunday it was family breakfast and meeting Jim, Shane, and Dean for supper. So my social fuel tanks are pleasantly full.

This week is going to be a little unusual for my education targets. Jim is still in town as he's getting a ride out tomorrow, and on Wednesday a game called Fallout 4 his the street. I'll still have French classes and I really want to get some hours in to AI again, but I may have to accept some lower goals this time around. More on that later.

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