The Me Monthly - Volume 12

ME THIS MONTH
These past few months have been Alexander Hamilton after the Revolutionary War: NON-STOP. I just feel like we have had so many things going on - way more than we're used to or want to handle. We've spent a lot of time with friends and family (which is great!) but it tires us out and it's hard to keep it up, especially with work and child and this diet I've been on. If we slightly become hermits this month, it's not you, it's us. We've also had some personal health issues to deal with, some people we love move far away, and some seriously sassy two-year old attitude. We're just tired. I just want this month to be calmer. Sorry this is starting out with so many complaints. I'm just really starting to feel all of it and I'm trying to be healthier, so the not feeling top-notch isn't cool.

Anyway! Some good things - I have a trip to look forward to at the end of this month! We're going to Boise to eat mac and cheese, listen to one of my favorite bands (Death Cab for Cutie), and possibly watch glass blowing! We also get to see Sara and Garrett! :D And we might be going to St George this month. It has been about 6 months since I got to see my parents, so I'm also very excited for that possibility. Other news - my list hits the year mark this week! I've completed 21 goals, with a few more to be finished in the next month or so. This list has been fun, and I've really enjoyed doing these updates. With everything that's been going on, I think they're the only thing that has kept me doing things. I know not many people read any of this, but it's all still really good for me.

Watching: The Paradise! Started and finished it in a week (or less). It's so good!! I started watching Call the Midwife after I finished, and it is so good and sad and just everything. BBC knows how to do shows.
Making: AIP cookies. I've tried about 4-5 different kinds and I have found 2 that are AMAZING - Pumpkin Snickerdoodles and S'mores Cookies (but I didn't add the marshmallows or chocolate).
Reading: Hamilton: The Revolution and it is so interesting! It's about how the musical Hamilton was written, staged, casted, etc. and it makes me love it all even more. HUGE thanks to Sara for such a kind, wonderful gift! And hooray for finally reading a new book!

THE FOCUS GROUP
29. Learn some knife skills, especially for cutting onions
Still working on it! But I cut my thumb fingernail twice this month, so I definitely think I need to watch some more videos, practice more, and definitely be more aware of what I'm doing haha :)

53. Learn the health benefits of different fruits and vegetables
I want to finish this one off this month. Maybe write a little bullet list of all the benefits of the fruits and veggies I eat the most/want to try more of, figure out what makes a balanced, complete meal, and find food combos that help different issues or something!

1 YEAR - 12 PROJECTS - 30 DAYS

Project 1 - AIP Diet (June - Finished)
I wrote a pretty decent summary of everything related to this in the last update's Me this Month section, but just a quick recap! Because of my ulcerative colitis, I did 30 days of the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol diet (AIP). This diet focuses on eating whole, quality foods (meat, fruits, veggies) and cuts out everything that can cause inflammation - dairy, grains, eggs, refined sugars, nightshades, seeds, nuts, additives/preservatives, etc. - and before this I almost exclusively ate most of those things. I thought it was going to be INSANELY hard and that I was going to just fall apart from lack of things I liked, but here I am, 30 days later and still 100%! These are the only explanations I have for why it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be:

• Divine help - I believe that God has helped me through this entire process. I feel like my heart, mind, attitude, and tastes changed almost overnight so that I could do it. I have been so surprised and amazed at my self-control - I know how I was. There's no way I'm not having extra help. I know that starting this was inspired and this is obviously something God knows I need to do. 
• Friend/Family Support - Without my friend Kathryn guiding me to this diet and being there to ask about my successes and worries, to encourage me to keep going, to help me set health goals, etc. I would not have even begun. She is knowledgeable, helpful, understanding, and just fantastic! So many thank you's to her! Also, my cute husband. He has put up with endless grocery shopping, dishes, and whining about how "I want that [insert any delicious food] so badly" and so on. I just love him :) And big thanks to Sara for giving me health-food-buying tips and gifting me so many pantry items to help me get started. Also, huge shout outs to family and friends who have asked how my diet is going, asked what they can make for me, or asked for recipes I've tried. It makes it all feel more normal.
• Pinterest and AIP chefs/bloggers - I have been on Pinterest more in the last month than I have in years. I have found so many chefs/bloggers that exclusively make AIP recipes and the food is amazing. In 30 days I've only made 5 recipes that I didn't like, and I've cooked almost every day. Trying this kind of diet is so much easier now that people have created these communities online to show that eating healthier is doable and delicious.
• Planning - It helped immensely to have things on hand, to figure out what meals I wanted to make each week, and to know exactly what I could and couldn't have. If I had just rushed into this, I probably wouldn't have lasted a week.

This has all definitely been an experience, but not the great and terrible one I was anticipating. I'm going to stay strict AIP for another 30 days before I start reintroducing foods (with one cheat meal of Mad Mac in Boise). Here are some things I needed to do better and plan to change moving forward: 

• Fermented foods/bone broth - AIP has a big focus on gut health, and fermented foods brings good bacteria to your gut and bone broth helps it to heal. I was too scared to try these things, and they're expensive, but I want to add them more into my diet to really heal my insides.
• Complete meals - while everything I ate was 100% compliant, I don't think I was getting all the good nutrients I needed at the right times and all that. I'm planning to read more into it and focus more on this in the next 30 days.
• Other parts of the protocol - While the diet is a big part of AIP, the other parts really affect you too. These are things like avoiding stress, getting good sleep, exercising, getting outside, etc. and I did not do many of those things this month. I think that's one reason I'm not feeling as good as I could right now.

After reading all this and that last sentence, I'm sure you're wondering: How are you feeling? Honestly, I'm not sure. Not worse, and mostly better. I feel like I've had more energy, my head doesn't feel as fuzzy/cloudy, and I have definitely lost weight. But I still have some issues that need sorting out, and I'm still trying to learn how to listen to my body. I'm hoping these changes I make will help, and that my next 30-day project will allow me the time to really focus on them!

Project 2 - Limit Phone Use (July - Started)
For this one I'm planning:

• No phone before 9am or after 9pm (except to check for work messages)
• To help me wake up/fall asleep better, and be more productive in the mornings/evenings
• No phone on Sundays (except for scriptures in church and family messages)
• To help me lessen distractions from the spirit on the sabbath, and to find better things to do with my Sunday - like read, study, write, serve, spend time with family, etc.
• Remove Facebook from phone (already done)
• This app is one of my "black holes" - I get sucked in and spend way more time than I wanted to, looking at nothing
• Avoid being on phone around Daisy (only 10 minutes on for every hour she's awake)
• Real talk - I think my phone use is hurting my relationship with my child and I need to make a change or she may not turn out as well as she could

I am on my phone way too much. Around my family, before bed, during me-time. WAY TOO MUCH. I think one of the main culprits is Facebook (hence the limiter) - I just scroll through it not really looking at anything, wasting time. Instagram can get me too, but I only look at my feed and I don't follow very many people so I can start at the top and get to photos I've already seen within a few minutes. I just finished a fast from these two apps, and while it helped a little, I think these limits will be better for me. I need to make a serious change. This will probably be hard, but I've been 100% AIP for 30 days - I can do anything! Wish me luck though, I think I'm still really going to need it.

KEEPING YOU POSTED
15. For one year go to the temple once a month
Got to the temple this month! It was so good to go. We did a session and I got to see one of the old videos! What an experience haha :)

45. Organize and backup my computer files, pictures, music, etc.
I haven't had much work the last week or two, so while Daisy napped I started organizing some folders with art bundles I've downloaded. I think I have the basic organization all figured out, and now I have to start going through all the zipped folders in my downloads and put them in their places. It's going to take a LOT of work, but little by little I am doing it!


NUMBERED NEWS
49. Play 51 new games (at least 15 award-winning)
19. Torres (6/3/18) *5 - 2000 Spiel des Jarres Winner*

85. Watch 101 new movies (at least 20 award-winning)
34. Murder on the Orient Express (6/30/18)

90. Make 5 different kinds of ice cream
1. AIP Strawberry Ice Cream - Finally broke out one of our ice cream makers to celebrate 30 days 100% AIP! This recipe wasn't too hard to make, and it turned out mostly okay. Coconut milk ice cream is definitely an acquired taste, and as I ate more of it I liked it more. I'm interested to see how it holds up over the next few days. I would make it again!


DAISY'S BOOK OF THE MONTH
Another book from Nana that Daisy has been obsessed with: Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm

She says "wash!" in the cutest way and I have to read it. Before we got it, she would always pick it out at Nana's house too. It has cute rhymes and I like the art in it, but it is kind of odd. But all children's books are a little odd, so it's probably pretty normal haha :)