goal overdrive
I like goals. They give me something definitive to work towards, and I have a sense of satisfaction when I’ve accomplished them. But I’m beginning to wonder if I haven’t gone into goal overdrive lately. I take this as a good sign because I finally have the energy to establish–and think about meeting–goals again. For now, I’m leaving them all on the table, even though I know I will soon need to do some serious prioritizing if I want to see any real progress. These goals stretch across many parts of my life, and some are short term, and some have no end in sight. Here is my very, very random list:
- Finish reading all the books I’m “currently reading.” If it weren’t for GoodReads, I don’t know how I’d even keep track.
- Do yoga five days a week for 6 months. “Doing yoga” can mean as little as 15 minutes of quality time with my mat. It’s habit and practice that count most. If I do this, then I can start actually thinking about looking into teacher training programs, something that’s interested me for a very long time.
- Stay off sugar, and give up the friggin’ dairy already. I had cheese today. Delicious, creamy Brie cheese that is almost impossible to find in Korea. As a consequence, I have had a nasty headache and grumpy stomach for the past few hours.
- Spend time every day with poems. This can mean thoughtfully reading one author (or one theme), or, ideally, spending time on some work of my own.
- Get cracking on my grad school time line. I have my list of schools. I need to draft my personal statement and develop a reading list for my sample scholarship.
- Learn more about how to live a high vegan lifestyle. Clearly, the cheese is a struggle, but I’m also just not ready to give up sushi and shrimp. I’ve made so many big changes to my diet for the better in the last year, I’m content to hang out in this funny pescatarian stage for quite a while, but the closer to vegan I can get, the better. Any tips from my vegan readers about how to break the cheese habit?
There you have it. As always, I’d love any advice on how to make these goals a reality, and would be curious to hear what you’re working to these days.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Thanks for the link to Good Reads! I have so many books to finish as well. I think there is a vegan cheese available – check out Lauren’s blog: http://gingeristhenewpink.blogspot.com/. She has tons of good ideas!
I really enjoy reading your blog and all the good info. It’s very inspiring. I can’t give up sushi, either! But I tend to stick to cucumber and avocado rolls. I also find that seaweed (yes, just plain seaweed) helps with my craving. My kids and I love this snack: http://www.amazon.com/Seas-Gift-Seaweed-Roasted-0-2-Ounce/dp/B000HVX6NK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1266349682&sr=8-1
I have to hide it from them if I want anything left for me!!!
February 16th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
It must be a week for Brie. We bought some this week, too, because it was on sale. My stomach hurt immediately, though, as my body is not used to having real dairy.
Did you invent the word pescatarian? If so, very nice.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Here’s the link to the vegan cheese that everyone is raving about:
http://www.daiyafoods.com/
February 17th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Thanks, Chris–I’ve heard awesome things about Daiya and am very eager to try it when I’m back in the States. Unfortunately, the odds of finding it here in Korea are approximately 0. A friend did suggest making a pizza with hummus instead of cheese though. Interesting idea!
And Kyle, no, no I didn’t coin pescatarian, but if you want to believe I did, that’s cool. If you want to hit up OTB again…I know where you can find company.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I grew up in Switzerland even though I live in the States now, and I have to say, I never would have thought that 10 months ago I could say I have been dairy-free for 10 months. I did it because of a dairy allergy and gallbladder problems, but I am still impressed with myself
First off, I found this article EXTREMELY helpful:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/editors_picks/861 – super helpful on so many levels. One of the tips was to give yourself some time (like a few weeks or months ) between eating cheese and trying substitutes, and I do think that helped.
I gave it a few months after giving up dairy and to try cheese substitutes again, and I used the suggestions at the bottom of the article to start and found others. My current favorites are Sheese Strong Cheddar (though I hated the medium and smoked cheddar versions, and have yet to try other types), Surnergia Mediteranean Feta, Daiya Italian style (but meh on the cheddar version) and Dr. Cow. I hate Teese. I like Cheezly too incidentally. And I need try Follow Your Heart again.
Now I realize that most of these options will not be available to you in Korea (I listed them more for your reference) but perhaps you have access to nutritional yeast? Or could get some shipped to you? There are lots of nutritional cheese-like sauces, and I found they really can do wonders for cravings. Here’s the link: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/10/easy-macaroni-and-cheeze.html
Hope this helps!!
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Instead of going straight into no cheese, I transitioned to goat cheese first. Much easier on the stomach and not as available so you’re automatically having less of it.
I am no help with the fish cravings because I still want crab and sushi like all the time.