3 Habits to a Beautiful Life

This past weekend was a goodie! We went to the Calgary Corn Maze and had sooo much fun! The next morning, though, I awoke feeling very ill with something I presumably got from my kids. As I'm sitting here not feeling so hot, barely even able to get off the couch, I figured I'd write a blog post. Truthfully, I'm a miserable mess. My head is pounding, every muscle and joint in my body is aching, and it seems as if I have the patience of a 2-year-old. My poor husband lol. In short I'm ruining everyone's life around me. So you're probably wondering why I'm telling you all this. I honestly have a reason and I hope you will read on. I thought I'd take this opportunity to be real and share a few habits that I've incorporated into my life that has allowed me to build a beautiful life.

Habit one: Anytime I'm feeling in a funk or unhappy I acknowledge the feeling and snap myself out of my miserable state. This way I'm able to identify why everyone around me, including myself, is miserable. For me, at this moment I am feeling physically ill and mentally overwhelmed, that life is still going when I can't.  

Habit two: Realizing you get what you tolerate. Life has a tendency to throw curveballs when you least expect them, this is definitely one of those times. I was finally in the groove. I had a perfect routine going, working out every day and then boom I get hit with old mad sickness. In the past I've been hit with hard times.  I've dealt with sadness, depression, and physical illness. I used to stay in those "down" states for extended periods of time. My life changed the day I realized that misery was a habit and happiness is a choice. I can sit here and feel frustrated and sorry for myself or I can snap out of it and realize, yes, I'm not feeling so hot, but life is goooood. The old saying that if it rains it pours is usually associated with negative thoughts. But if it rains negativity it pours negativity so why can't it go the other way? If it rains positivity it pours positivity. Bring on the rain!! 

Habit three: Train this new way of thinking the way you train a muscle. Trust me this isn't some faked happiness I've be training myself for years. In the past, I used to get knocked down by something and it seemed as if I would live there for months sometimes years, now I can snap myself out of it really quickly. Remember, you get what you tolerate so just don't tolerate the bullshit. If you don't settle for anything but a beautiful life you won't get anything but a beautiful life. This can go negatively too. The more you do anything the more wired you become. If I decide that today is going to be a shitty day, no doubt about it it will be a shitty day. But if I choose to see the beauty in today it will be beautiful. This morning Olive was fighting for my attention and at first, I felt like running to my room and slamming the door in her face. If I had done that she would have felt neglected and hurt. Hence she would have craved more of my attention and boom! my worst nightmare in my face. But instead I stopped myself and realized she just wanted her mommy, she had no clue what I was feeling because I hadn't communicated it to her. As soon as I sat her down and explained that mommy wasn't feeling good and I need her help, her natural human instinct of empathy came out and she wanted to do nothing but help me. I shared how grateful I was for her and all her help. Children don't have the ability to think logically they just react to emotion. Realizing no matter if you agree with their emotions or not, it is justified because it's very real to them. When it came to Jason, truthfully, I feel that all men just need to feel appreciated. I talk more about this on my blog post Finding Fulfillment in a Relationship.

These are just 3 of the many habits I have instilled into my day-to-day that I feel have had a huge impact on my over all life. Life is too darn short to feel like crap. I want to live in a beautiful state all the time, even now when I'm feeling ill. It takes consistency and persistence to build new habits. Make a beautiful life your only option. Because I promise you anyone can have it. I made a promise to myself to live in a beautiful state and that doesn't mean I won't have bad days I just won't stay there. My children are my life and I want nothing but endless happiness for them and the best way to teach something is to live your teachings. Remember life is what you make of it, so make it darn fantastic! 

Eating on a Budget

Something I get told/asked a lot is; "Isn't it really expensive to eat healthy?" To be completely honest, I just never thought about it that way. I personally put food so high on my priority list. I always put my money there, before I put it anywhere else. Food is what nourishes me. My body is my home, it's the only place I have to live in for the rest of my life. I want to give it only the best, most nutrient dense foods I can. But in saying that, with everyone feeling the huge economic down turn, saving money anywhere and everywhere is more important than ever. This combined with the rise in produce prices can make it more difficult to afford all the food for a healthy diet. Here are 3 ways that has helped me keep the budget down.

EAT LOCAL. Eating closer to home can be part of the solution. Shopping locally cuts down enormously on fossil fuel consumption, tends to be cheaper, and supports our local farmers and the local economy. Shopping locally, also, brings with it a, strong, sense of community. I feel that, the sense of community, surrounding the food industry, has been lost, in our generation, to large corporations such as the McDonalds and Walmarts. Here in Calgary, we are fortunate enough to have some amazing farmer's markets which make it a lot easier to shop locally. The one I go to on a weekly basis is Calgary Farmers Market.

FOOD BUYING CLUBS. This could be the most convenient way to get a good abundance of food, for a really good price. The, one and only, downside of food-buying-clubs is that you don't get to choose your produce. I, personally, don't mind this at all. I love getting a big box of the freshest, most scrumptious, produce! Buying this way keeps me thinking outside of the box by incorporating new fruits and veggies when preparing food for my family. Every summer I try to find, at least, 12 people, who are interested, in committing to a food buying club with me. This way you're guaranteed a variety of fruits and veggies each, and every, week. Nom nom nom! For reasons above, I always buy from clubs that support our local farmers; two birds with one stone, I'd say thats a win win. 

GROW A GARDEN. This is, by far, my favourite, and the most fun way to keep the money in your wallet! Growing a garden is great for sustainability, and you can't get any more local than home. A home garden allows you to connect with your food,  and to spend quality time with your family. I don't know why, but when you grow it yourself, it tastes sooooo much better. In the spring, I will be sharing a post on gardening. Whether you live in a house, duplex, townhome, condo, apartment or cardboard box you can grow your own garden. If you're looking for help setting up your own garden my friend Landon owns a company which helps with the dirty work. Check out his website here. From the Ground Organic Gardens