Better late than never!

I said I was going to post more this year and doggone it I meant it! So here we are, seven months later and I'm finally doing a second post for 2017. I think we're already on an upswing from last year! Let's see how we're coming along on the to-do list I put out at the beginning of this year:

Sheridan's To-Do List (posted 1-4-17)

- read ALL THE BOOKS

- raise $1000 for ACS and Team CMMD. You can help with thisHERE!

- be able to run 10 miles

- complete my yoga teaching certification! 

- plant a better garden than in years past (I'm not good at this)

- meditate every day (two days in a row so far!)

- keep my priorities straight

- look for volunteer opportunities in my community (any suggestions?)

- love life 

Well, to start off I haven't read ALL THE BOOKS. I know, I know. I've been working to make reading more of a priority, but it seems to never be as much as I want. I did recently finish reading a pretty great book called Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams. It was funny, insightful, educational and all about a place that is now near and dear to my heart, Peru! More about THAT later. Whether you've traveled to Peru or not, it's a good book. Check it out if you want a good, easy, fish-out-of-water-adventure-story. 

While I didn't read ALL the books, I DID manage to raise not just the thousand dollar goal, but a whole $1500 for the American Cancer Society and Team CMMD! I hit that one thousand faster than anticipated because I have awesome people in my life who were willing to support my goal and give to those that need it so desperately. In addition, I was able to run 10 miles! Not very fast, I essentially hit exactly the same time as I did in 2014 (and it wasn't fast then, either), but I made it across the finish line, only a little worse for the wear. 

At the finish line with my favorite running partner

At the BAR with my favorite badass, Erica

I did complete my yoga teacher certification! I am not actively teaching yet, because it's been a bit busy for me to pursue much over the last month or so, but I'm happy to say that my yoga studies are far from over. I'll be starting a Yoga Therapy Certification program this fall that I'm very excited about to be able to apply to my personal and professional life. 

I did NOT plant a better garden than last year. I didn't even plant a garden. On the bright side, I did finally get around to purchasing and applying Miracle Grow plant food to some of my indoor plants that desperately needed nutrients. So, that's something, right?

Meditating...yeah, I haven't been doing that. I need to do that. Let me add that back to my current to-do list.

But have I been keeping my priorities straight? I think so. I have a LOT of priorities, so I could probably do a better job of focusing myself, but all in all, I've been trying to practice compassion to myself when I don't get to everything on my to-do list. Because I have a lot of friends and family and goals and interests and hobbies and that's a great thing. Most of the time. Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with everything I have going on, but for the most part my life feels very fulfilling right now. I've got some work to do to get everything settled in place as I've been going through a lot of changes recently, but I feel more or less on the right path. Hey, what's life but a work in progress, right?

Soup is a good food to remind you to slow down or you might get burnt.

And the million dollar question is, have I been loving life? Yes, without a doubt, I have. For all the little frustrations and lack of time and occasional feelings of inadequacy as I try to fit forty hours worth of stuff into a twenty-four hour day, my life is pretty awesome. As I said, I've got an abundance of friends and family and while it's hard to keep up with everyone, it's a great problem to have. I've got an incredibly happy home life with a husband and dog who are my favorite people in the whole world, who are supportive and loving and fun to be with. I've recently started a new job that I won't go into detail just yet on, but it's been a very exciting opportunity and I'm happy to see where it leads me. And while I do still take on too much, the projects and interests I've been pursuing are really amazing and I just need to make a LITTLE more time for some of them. But it's a privilege and a joy to be able to pursue these things at all.

Happy family

So am I a little behind on, well, everything? Yes. Definitely. Am I mad about it? Nah. Life's been busy, but life's been good. I'm happy, healthy, slowly figuring out what it's important in my life and what's just noise, and I know I can't do it all, but I can at least try, right? 

I know I dropped a lot of stuff in here that you might be wondering more about, but I'll get to all that later. Maybe. For now, let's see what's on the to-do list...

Sheridan's To-Do List:

- meditate. No, really, meditate! 

- dedicate more yoga study time (Let's shoot for two readings and two practices this weekend?) 

- run + circuits once this weekend (Tom, I'm counting on you for some help!)

- be present while enjoying time with others (instead of worrying about all the to-dos I might miss getting done)

- pick a new book to start

- sign up for half marathon (yes, you read that right!)

What does your to-do list look like lately? Any big to-dos you've been putting off that you can try to get to this weekend? 

Another New Year?

Welcome to 2017! Another year come and gone and almost a whole year since I've updated Sheridan's To-Do List! Well, I never was very good with deadlines and this is no exception. Let's skip the formalities and just remember that everyone reading this pretty much knows me and knows what's going on, so I don't need to update you from all of 2016, right? Right. 

Whatchu lookin' at?

First item on the 2017 To-Do List is to take more selfies with our beloved Tigger. Last I updated, we were having trouble getting this little scallywag to the vet. I'm happy to say that three trips, two medications and one muzzle later we did eventually get him all updated on his shots and such. Apparently, Tigger really hates the vet. Oh well, he's been good otherwise. A little attitude, but with a face like that you just kind of let him get away with it. It's easier than arguing. 

I'm extra excited to start this new year off on a healthy and happy note with my sweet Blogilates planner! I don't really follow Blogilates much (but you can here if you want!) but I just really like this planner. It has places for your calendar, to-do lists, meal, water and fitness trackers... all the good stuff that I'll probably fill out diligently for all of January and then intermittently for the rest of the year. But, hey, it's worth a shot, right? I've so far managed to fill out two whole days and did almost everything I wrote down! 

First workout of the New Year. Don't I look excited?

Although I'm just always trying to get myself fitter and more fabulous, I do have a few things that I'm specifically training for in the first half of this year. 

First and foremost, the Broad Street Run! That's right, after a 3 year hiatus I am signed back up for that badass 10 miler. I don't know that I've run a combined 10 miles SINCE I completed the BSR in 2014, so I've got my work cut out for me. So far I've managed roughly half a mile of uninterrupted jogging. It's a work in progress.

But, Sheridan, you may be wondering, how are you signed up for the Broad Street Run when the lottery hasn't even taken place yet? I'm glad you asked, diligent readers. It's because I'm actually running with a very special group called Team CMMD. They are a local group based out of Chester County that brings runners, cyclists and other community members together to raise money and help out families afflicted by cancer. I was introduced to this group by my good friend and badass cancer-fighter, Erica Griffiths, for whom I'm running this long, badass race. 

And just so I'm not coy about it, I NEED YOUR HELP! I'm running and raising money for the American Cancer Society and Team CMMD to help out all our friends and families that have or will one day deal with cancer. Please throw a few bucks at these great causes! I'll do the hard work, running. You do the easy part, sit on your computer and donate. It's that easy. You can do that here: https://teamcmmd.kindful.com/broad-street-2017/team-e-mama-strong- 

Don't you want to see more embarrassing pictures
of me pretending to be in shape? Then donate HERE!

Of course, running is not my favorite thing to do, but I do it because it's good for me and because I can do good things by raising money for these causes. I'll be doing my best to keep everyone updated on my very slow progress. Seriously, I'm no runner. If I can do this, you probably can, too. If you're interested in getting into running or other fitness ventures, let me know! I'm always game to talk strategy since I know what it's like to start from literally 0 and want to get fit. I'm not trying to sell you on anything. I just dig talking about it. It's motivating for me, too. 

Hope to see you this year, Peru! 

Another reason I'm trying to shape up is to prepare for our hopeful future trip to Machu Picchu! The details aren't finalized yet, so I'll get back to this after things are more concrete. For now, just enjoy this badly photoshopped picture of Tom and I with a lama. 

Downward dog? Savasana? Tigger makes up his own asanas

Many of you probably know that my latest venture has been to work towards my yoga teacher certification! I REALLY wanted to start a new blog, or at least better keep up on this one, as I set off on this new adventure, but I didn't. Partially, I've just been very busy. Partially, this undertaking has actually been a much more intensely personal and spiritual experience than I initially expected and I've been better off reflecting on it quietly to myself. Now that I'm more than half-way through, though, perhaps I can start sharing some of what I've learned here. 

Yoga is a funny thing. Did you know that the asanas, or the poses, that you likely think of as yoga is really only 1/8 of all the encompasses yoga? It's a whole lifestyle-philosophy and while I guess I knew some of that before going into it, it's been really exciting delving deeper into it. I won't go any further now, because maybe you don't care much, but I'll try to address this further in another post. If you EVER want to talk yoga, definitely hit me up. It's kinda my thang. As you can see above, Tigger is also a fan. 

Some of my biggest inspirations

Finally, this year is all about finding joy in life. I'm a happy person in general, but the political events of recent months have shown me that maybe that happiness was partially because things were going the way I'd like them to in this country. I mean, things were moving slowly and occasionally slipping sideways or backwards, but I thought we, as a country and maybe as a world, were moving forward. Together. For a better, more inclusive, more progressive, global society. And then...., well, you know. 

So, as I've been presented with a country and a world that I'm not nearly so pleased to be a part of, it has opened my eyes to a few things. One, I need to be more involved in my politics. More on that in another post. Two, I need to be more involved in my community because CLEARLY there has been a disconnect somewhere along the way of what kind of people have our citizen's best interest at heart. I'd like to be one of those people that practices what they preach. 

Lastly, and most importantly, I need to be able to learn to have joy and peace in a world full of suffering and strife. It literally pains me sometimes thinking about the state of the world and I know that there is only so much I can do and only so much responsibility I should feel for these things, but it doesn't make the thoughts any easier to bear. Luckily, yoga is fantastic for this practice! As is the book pictured above, which I just started reading. What better start to the new year than the teachings of my boy, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu? I'm looking forward to learning more of the incites gathered from these two spiritual leaders brainstorming secular and scientific methods for accepting joy into our lives. I'll be sure to share any particular gems I find in this.    

Overall, though I'm nervous at the state of the world, I've got plenty of exciting things I'm working on this year. What are you looking forward to this year? Or this week? Do you set New Year's resolutions? Tell me about them! Seriously, I like knowing these things. We can, like, cheerlead for each other. 

Sheridan's To-Do List

- read ALL THE BOOKS

- raise $1000 for ACS and Team CMMD. You can help with this HERE!

- be able to run 10 miles

- complete my yoga teaching certification! 

- plant a better garden than in years past (I'm not good at this)

- meditate every day (two days in a row so far!)

- keep my priorities straight

- look for volunteer opportunities in my community (any suggestions?)

- love life 

Thanks for reading, guys! I'll try to update a little more frequently this year!