Time of My Life

For the next 30 days, I will be participating in the WEGO Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge by blogging about a predetermined topic each morning.  Please visit http://blog.wegohealth.com to learn more - and please check back each evening for your regularly scheduled programming.

How many of you created time capsules when you were kids?  

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I'm sure my best friend and I did (I wonder where we put that...), but I also know I had plenty of shoe boxes and tupperware bins full of treasures and memories - that my parents are now sorting through as they de-clutter my room.

I had a box for each of my boyfriends, complete with the strawberry air freshener, the bottle caps from our bonfire, and lovey-dovey figurines.  I had a box full of soccer photos and medals and an old mouthguard.  I had a box full of notes from high school friends, a pop top that my crush of far too many years threw at me on a field trip, and Homecoming corsages.  I had boxes upon boxes of greeting cards, as I never throw handwritten notes away.

If I were to create a time capsule today, it would include so many different things, as my life is undoubtedly extremely multi-faceted.  It would include pictures of my family; it would include the Juice article about my "family" dinners; it would include notes from my dear students; it would include pictures of my kitty cats; it would include flyers from Planned Parenthood; it would include memorabilia from Freedom Writers; it would include tickets from various concerts and festivals and flights; it would include sand from Florida and sweetcorn from Iowa; it would include programs from conferences where I spoke.

And, it would include a great deal regarding health - fitness and nutrition - as that has become increasingly more important in my life, as evidenced (obviously) by this blog.

My health time capsule would include the following:

1.  A LINK TO MY BLOG (is that cheating?): what is a better chronicle of my health than this document itself?

2.  CHIA SEEDS: if you would have asked me two years ago about chia, I would've stared at you blindly, and my mind would have wandered to these guys:

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Now, I understand the great health benefits of the tiny, nutrient-dense chia seed: omega-3s, antioxidants, protein, fiber, and a great source of other essentials like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and more.

3.  FLAXSEED: again, I knew nothing about the importance of flaxseed before joining the healthy living blogging community.  But, now I know how rich it is, and I try to incorporate it as much as possible.  Like chia seeds, flaxseed boasts high amounts of omega-3s, antioxidants, and fiber.  Unlike chia seeds, however, flaxseed must be ground up in order to be digested by humans.

4.  THE ABS DIET: seriously, this book has changed the way I eat.

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It just makes sense.

5.  RACE BIBS AND MEDALS: who would've thought that running would become such an integral part of my life?  Certainly not my high school cross country coach, especially after my friend and I got lost on a four-mile run since we were so far behind the other girls.  Alas, I pretty much live and breathe running now and absolutely love it.

6.  RUNNING BOOKS AND MAGAZINES: I am seriously inspired by Runner's World and read it cover-to-cover each month, and I consider Dawn Dais's The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women to be my Bible.  I've also learned a lot from The Nonrunner's Marathon Trainer and Chi Running.

7.  CROSSFIT WORKOUTS-OF-THE-DAY: As you know, I've become super interested in CrossFit and have been working out with two of my colleagues every day after school.  It is paying off - in huge ways.  The definition in my muscles is ridiculous, and I love it.  It's sad to say, but I miss CrossFit over the weekends.

This is just a brief sampling of what my health time capsule would include, but I think it gives a good idea of how I try to live my life: eating well, exercising, and being healthy.  Of course, there's the occasional glass of wine (or a slew of drinks with umbrellas in them), and sometimes there's some chocolate or ice cream or nachos.  But generally, I try to stick to solid nutrition and a consistent workout plan - since I know that's what my body both needs and wants.

And it's too bad the Internet wasn't around when I was younger: it would've made my "time capsules" much easier for my parents to clean up.  :)