Food: Something you wouldn't know - unless you've been spying on me in a serious way - is that my school lunches have changed. For quite some time (more than a year, that is), my school lunches were really predictable. This term, I've started taking non-salads occasionally. Especially welcome in colder weather to have a hot lunch! A great food behaviour change has been the introduction of No Cook Weeks. These are the greatest. I have fresh organic fruit and veges delivered every fortnight, and the week following will be a Cook Week, the week after a No Cook Week. I still have quite a stash of frozen meals in the freezer, plus it's holidays right now and I'm cooking quite a lot, so this wonderful destress habit can continue for a while. Knowing that I don't have to do anything except thaw and heat is such a calming feeling. Obviously, I love cooking, but I love not needing to cook as well. An added benefit is I am more likely to cook the fresh produce before it's past its best instead of needing to ditch it. The other food behaviour change is another not many would have noticed - I no longer buy peanut butter. I gave it up for Lent, then went a bit crazy with it after Easter. Peanut butter is no longer my friend. I had decided I couldn't trust myself with it, when a quote came up on Facebook - if you can't eat it responsibly, don't keep it in your house. Good advice.
Clothes: The 'search keywords' that lead people to this blog are usually fairly ordinary (recipes, movies, that sort of thing). By far the most searched item though is stockings. This has been a bit of a surprise... and a little unnerving... Nevertheless, I am far more adventurous with my stockings now, and they definitely initiate comments and conversations.
Organisation: I have a slightly more organised house. Not by much, but every little bit helps, right?
Photography: I'm loving the Daily Photo. Partly, it's feeling like I have an excuse to take those photos I'd normally walk past because I'm a local. But I'm also enjoying getting up close and personal with my environment again, and seeing my world through the lens again. And seeing the colours in the northwest of the state - so different from Brisbane! - made for an even more interesting trip to Mt Isa and Townsville.
Running: This feels like the big one. Running is a brain thing for me, and to train for the half marathon involved not just running but brain training as well. Taking different routes and doing different gym workouts, as well as different running shoes and tweaking little things about my running practice - these all helped the Gold Coast Half Marathon to be a successful and positive experience for me. Having run many, many kilometres in these shoes now, one big bonus about them is the grip. To get anywhere, I need to run down a fairly steep hill, which is often (usually) covered in leaves. When it's been raining, this makes for a slippery descent. Similarly, the downhill slopes on the bike path can be a bit on the slippery side after (or during) rain. I can feel these shoes really gripping though, and I no longer worry I'm going to slip.
Coffee and Movies: Looking at the list of blog posts for the last 3 months, I see a lot of coffee places listed... Now when I have a catch up with someone, we purposely find somewhere I haven't been before, so it can get to the blog. I also see on the list many movies I wouldn't normally have watched. I like that people will ask if I've seen something, then if I haven't they loan it to me. This is not just broadening my movie experience, but I am flattered that people want to know what I think!
The Term 2 Goals: Well. The facial expressions were a bit of a disaster after the first week or so - it was so hard! I am very pleased to report, though, that I was successful in putting away teaching materials after each day. I think I can say now that the practice has now become a habit. Woohoo!
Tuesday's Daily Photo:
