Then and Now

With super cold temperatures and not much snow, I've decided to post some good days gone by:

 

10th Mountain Division training starts really early, as you can see here.

 

 Uncharted territory on skis. Going where no Esty has gone before! (sorta)

A nice view of sunset. Them mangy mutts love to play together "Who can mark the most objects." I can't hold it long enough to even compete.

 

Right before the tiny dusting we just got, an uber-windy hike was had that nearly blew the kids into the forest. Those cute little tumbleweeds!

Unlearning

I've done pretty well with not ingesting wheat and gluten. When I say pretty well, I mean that I did drink a swig off of a beer and I did not drink anymore of it once I was reminded that, indeed, most beer contains gluten.

I feel better. I feel good. I think it would be the right choice for me to not eat large amounts of gluten. I'll miss it, but then again, I won't miss the way it makes me feel (think slug that never got to sleep all night). Here is the point: I am not anti-gluten, but am trying to be conscious of its prevalence in most typical food and trying to unlearn the habits that lead me to consume it day in and day out. Change is, oftentimes, good...whether we can see it immediately or not.

It takes time to adjust. We have such deep-rooted habits that sometimes even the idea of changing them sounds absurd. Its all a matter of inspecting your thoughts and the habits that follow. Are they serving you? Or are they abusing you? That's a big question with a big answer. Ask and listen and quit lying to yourself!

I've got two large boxes full of gluten-loaded food if anybody wants some!

Sans Gluten

Pray for me. I am am trying to go one month without eating gluten....well, after I have another waffle. But really, after that, I want to give it a month's time to see how I feel. I am pretty convinced it does not sit well in my body. Likely creating a sort of sludgy paste in the colon that just makes my system (shitstem?) lethargic and heavy. Time will tell. Plan on doing some juicing and detox teas and lots of probiotic homemade kefirs. I'll let ya'll know what the heck happens.

Everyday This Year

So the jokes have been flying about the new year. "I've skied everyday this year!" And just before the clock struck twelve, "Get your drinks now or you'll have to wait until next year."

I've been working on my taxes all day so the new year is just the way I imagined it....ha, kidding.

As for resolutions....re-solutions. Mine is usually the same: be nicer. To everybody, especially myself. Ya see, y'all don't get to hear the banter in me brain that degrades and grinds all day up in the spacious goopy noggin. So, naturally, it has to start somewhere, and what better place than right at home. I just read a great Aldous Huxley quote that sort of encapsulates that idea with more grit:

It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder."

Of course, one of the best ways to make this re-solution stick is to first own up when you are being unkind. And not beat the living daylights out of yourself when do catch yourself being not-so-nice. So, maybe awareness is really at the root of this re-solution. But man, no bigger obstacle to niceness than being in denial that you're being a jerk wad. Its all nice to think about and much harder to apply. Guess I've got another year to try my best at it.

"I have done my best." That is about all the philosophy of living one needs. - Lin Yutang