Diggin It: Sisyphus

You know, I’m really starting to dig this Diggin’ It series. It’s my chance to tell you what’s going on in my week, besides food. Because, you know, food is great and all, but it’s not everything. OK. It’s kinda close to everything, but not quite. So, here we go, Diggin It: Sisyphus edition!

I'm using this Sisyphus Ant photo for Diggin' It 8
Find this gorgeous ant photo on Pinterest:

I’ve been in PC mode this week. That stands for Post Conference. Now that Chopped Conference is over, I have to get back to real life. That’s not as easy as it sounds and now that I’ve done this for three years, I was prepared for the aftermath. I actually built time in this week for PC mode. That means a little extra self care; a little extra self kindness.

Be kind to yourself. Who knew how important those words could be!

I also spent some time figuring myself out a little. I’ve been a big fan of Myers-Briggs for years – I’m an ENFP. But recently my friend Julie of The Little Kitchen, has been recommending the Strengths Finder assessment. She even bought me the book that has the code in it so I could take the assessment myself. Thank you, Julie!

So, I took the Strengths Finder assessment and I learned that I have the following strengths:

  • Activator
  • Restorative
  • Futuristic
  • Ideation
  • Positivity

I looked at that list and I was like…wha???? So I looked up the ways they describe each of those strengths. Here are the top characteristics of my five strengths.

Activator: I like to make things happen (this is true), which can also mean I’m frequently impatient (Shawn nods his head furiously). :\

Restorative: I am a great problem solver. I can see a problem and brainstorm the solution and make it happen (again, so true!). It can also mean that I focus on my own limitations with an eye toward eradicating them.

Futuristic: I am inspired by the future and I can inspire others to share in my vision of the future. I think my mom calls that Pollyanna syndrome…or rose colored glasses. Either way, I see good things coming our way, if we’re willing to take action and solve problems. 🙂

Ideation: I love ideas. OMG. This is so true! I am inspired to find connections between seemingly disparate notions. I’m also inspired by the art of invention. This must be the writer in me. More about that later.

Positivity: This is a word that I didn’t even know existed a few years ago. Seriously. Someone said it in a meeting and I was like…is that actually a word? I grew up in a small town, people. That means I have Small Town Vocabulary Syndrome. STVS. I just made that up, but you get my point. Anyone, having this strength means I have contagious enthusiasm. Hmmm. I guess that’s way better than a lot of other contagious things. 🙂

All-in-all, I really like these strengths. If I met someone with these strengths I would think they were a pretty great person. And so to know that these are MY FIVE STRENGTHS? Well, I’m just humbled and happy all at the same time.

OK. Enough about my strengths. Up in ideation I mentioned something about writing. Here’s my big reveal. I’m writing a book.

[Insert hands by the side of the face, mouth agape emoji!!!]

It’s hard for me to say those words out loud because it just feels a little…bold.

Who am I to think I can write a book?

But I’ve been reading Big Magic, the book by Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity, and it’s been inspiring that Ideation side of me to go for it!

The thing is, I had this idea come to me a few years ago as I was driving home from work one day. Why is it the best ideas come to you when you’re doing something mundane like commuting to or from work? I can still remember the exact spot I was at when the idea danced around my head.

Elizabeth says in her book that ideas are entities that roam around looking for people to land on, so they can be made manifest. And this idea has been good and patient with me over the years as I’ve been working on it.

Should I tell you about it? Well, I don’t want to give the plot away, but let me just say this, if you were magically given the power to eat whatever you want and still rock a bikini, what would you do with that super power?

OK. On to other things. I confess, I’ve been more than a little consumed with the election coverage. I’m not saying anything profound when I say there’s a lot on the line and it can be pretty nerve wrecking. I’m such a big Hillary fan and so I was proud of her performance in the first debate. YAS!

Also, Shawn and I started meditating together this week. I love it! We take the dogs for a walk in the morning and then after that we do a 10-minute meditation together. I’ve been meditating regularly for at least the last year. Before that I was meditating not so regularly for about two years. I love that we’re doing this as a couple now. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

Finally, it’s getting chillier here in Missouri. Being cold is something I’ve lamented (aka…hated) for years. It’s kind of a running joke between me and Shawn. He swears I need a sweater if it’s less than 70 degrees outside. And he used to be right about that.

Then I listened to Ray Cronise talk about the importance of cold exposure on our metabolism. I’ve seen it referred to as the Shiver System.

Ray recommends exposing yourself to cold temperatures as a way of boosting your metabolism. His motto? Gloves and sweater make you look better. Ray also says you can acclimate yourself to cold and all I can say is…it’s true.

I have definitely felt chilly this week, but I like the fact that I can handle the cooler temperatures. It’s a little empowering.

OK. Let’s talk food. This week I brought you a couple of my favorite recipes, the Vegan French Dip Sandwich and the Vegan Vanilla Wacky Cake. If you were to have both of these on the same night? It might be the best night ever!

Easy Vegan Vanilla Wacky Cake

Diggin It: Sisyphus

Here are some other cool vegan foods and other fun things from around the interwebs that I’m diggin’:

Vegan Almond Poppyseed Cake. I love every word in that recipe!

Crispy Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts. This is going to be in my kitchen, people!

Coconut Butter Hot Chocolate. I’m sooo into hot chocolate.

This Rustic Beachy Retreat. Some day I’m going to take a week in a sea-side cabin like this one…minus the animal skin rug in the kitchen. Ugh.

Sparkling Fall Sangria. I would use white wine and would be loving this drink!*

Frosty Java Cacao Shake. OK. Take out the Java and I’m all over this one!**

Black Rice, Beet and Kale Salad. I know. Sounds weird, but looks great!

Bananas Foster Affogato. I’m pretty sure I don’t know what an “affogato” is, but it looks amazing.

Blue Jean Couch. Scroll down that page and take a gander at that couch. Love!

Spiralized Quick Dill Pickles. Adee got me started on this notion of making your own quick dill pickles and I love it. Here’s a recipe so you can try it too!

Success Chart for I'm Diggin It: Sisyphus
Check out this Success Chart on Pinterest

I’m calling this Diggin It: Sisyphus, the character in Greek mythology who was forced to push a stone up a hill every day…only to watch it roll back down every night.

Does that sound familiar? Because sometimes we feel just like Sisyphus, pushing a rock up a steep hill day after day. It’s easy think everyone else has this whole success thing figure out…and we don’t.

Success can look like one big, long straight line to the top. In reality, it’s a lot of starts and stops. Whatever you’re working on, keep at it. Let’s say you’re learning the guitar, it feels awkward. It can even hurt. No matter. Do it again. Then do it some more. You may think you’re never going to be able to play a song. Then the next thing you know…you’re doing it!

This is how I feel about writing that book too. I want to sit down and just get ‘er done, but I have to follow the flow, and just keep at it day after day!

I’m Diggin’ It is my compilation of favorite things from life and the internet. Leave links to your favorite digs of the day in the comments…or just follow along for fun!

Diggin’ it: The act of recognizing the beautiful things in life that make you happy.

Hugs,

Marly Signature

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